Kurt westergaard cartoonist browne

Features

Matthias Wivel | January 19, 2022

In loftiness past year, two protagonists of nobleness cartoon controversies of the naughts passed away. The Dane Kurt Westergaard, who drew the infamous image of rendering Prophet Muhammad with a bomb bill his turban, died in July go over the top with long-standing illness, while the Swedish principal Lars Vilks (1946–2021), who among repeated erior things drew the face of depiction Prophet on the body of organized dog, was killed in a van accident on 3 October, along adequate two police officers assigned to keep safe him against attacks. Written shortly stern Westergaard’s death, the following article focuses in part on his career reprove work, but also engages the writer fundamental issues of multiculturalism, blasphemy, most recent free expression to which the pair artists contributed.

* * *

They sincere not get him. Kurt Westergaard, prestige Danish cartoonist behind the most historic editorial cartoon ever—that of the Oracle Muhammad with a bomb in her majesty turban—died quietly on 14 July afterwards several years of illness. It could have been otherwise. As the adult behind the most notorious of goodness twelve history-making cartoons published by ethics Danish daily Jyllands-Posten on 30 Sept 2005, he was on several jihadi hit lists and lived most acquire the last decade and half sun-up his life under round-the-clock police protection.

No less than three plots against government life were recorded by Danish comprehension services. The most dramatic happened rein New Year’s day 2010 when well-organized Somali man pleading allegiance to character East African terrorist organization al-Shabaab out of condition to force his way into Westergaard’s home wielding an axe and systematic butcher knife. The cartoonist escaped by way of leaping into a bespoke panic shakeup and calling the police. His five-year old granddaughter was left in nobility living area, but the assailant was apprehended before he could cause non-u physical harm.

Westergaard’s death provides an apt occasion to examine his career plus especially the cartoon that came delude define it: the ‘Bomb in significance Turban’—an image that has attained seemingly totemic power through the events enter helped set in motion (see TCJ’s coverage from 2006 here). A route of blood has been left dainty the wake of its publication: rank dozens of people killed during birth worldwide protests, riots, church- and embassy-burnings that followed in 2006; the insert people killed and the many add-on wounded in the 2008 bombing vacation the Danish embassy in Islamabad; significance 12 people gunned down by Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists in and around the firm of the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo in 2015; and French middle-school teacher Samuel Paty, who was headless in the street by a Caucasian jihadist in 2020 for having shown cartoons of the Prophet in organized class on freedom of speech.

Westergaard’s sketch continues to arouse feelings of much intensity that it is hard supplement fathom that we are, in Parliamentarian Crumb’s oft-repeated words, only looking presume lines on paper. Most major public relations outlets will not publish it, smooth when there are sound journalistic hypothesis for doing so, mostly over complication for their staff. Indeed, no main Danish media reproduced the Bomb set in motion the Turban after Westergaard’s death. Dominant whether out of conscience, concern, fright, or a combination, the vast full bloom of cartoonists and artists today would refrain from drawing the Prophet.

Arguably, that state of affairs has left tidy void for the cartoon to promote to appropriated and exploited by ideologues district the spectrum, notably of course bypass jihadists and Islamists as well type right-wing populists and extremists, but afar beyond those groupings it has come into being to stand for the marginalization pretend not oppression of Muslims in plus by the West while simultaneously provision anti-immigration sentiment and anti-Muslim bigotry. Voyage has also become a particularly virile symbol of the challenges to footage of expression faced today even strengthen democratic, liberal societies.

Westergaard was born get 1935 and grew up in a-okay village in the comparatively remote domain region of Himmerland. He had strong memories of the German occupation emancipation Denmark and the internment in ruler hometown of Russian POWs. The hard influence in his community of rectitude Pietist-Lutheran church of Inner Mission helped instill in him a strong unbelief of religion. He trained and pretended for several decades as a schoolmaster, notably as the principal of exceptional special needs school, before switching employments to become a cartoonist at Jyllands-Posten in 1983.

He was thus a warhorse at the paper when editor Flemming Rose asked him to draw primacy likeness of the Prophet for systematic feature on critical and satirical treatments of Islam. This was prompted moisten international reports of self-censorship and hesitancy among artists, comedians, writers, and curators to engage the topic for awe of violent reprisal. The most disreputable precedents were those of author Salman Rushdie, who had been living embellish a fatwa issued by the Greatest Leader of Iran in 1989, which offered a bounty for his carnage for the “blasphemous” content of reward novel The Satanic Verses (1988), bracket filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who difficult to understand been murdered by a jihadist dainty the streets of Amsterdam in 2004 because of a short film interest the abuse of women in Moslem contexts.

According to Westergaard, the cartoon was just another job delivered on wee order, the way you must renovation an editorial cartoonist. Depending how pointed look at it, it was tidy lucky punch or an exceptionally disastrous one: his career thitherto had consisted of stiffly rendered and rather wayfarer political satire and kitschy ink vital watercolor illustration. No one would own expected a cartoon of such easiness and assertiveness from him. It was clearly an inspired moment, motivated provoke strong sentiment.

Westergaard came from a modernist, left-leaning and liberal school of thoughtfulness locally described as ‘cultural radicalism’ consider it preaches tolerance and pluralism and appreciation highly skeptical of any form expose authority, whether the state, organized sanctuary or anything else. In the '60s and '70s, however, this movement became increasingly dominated by Marxist and marxist ideas, which never appealed to him.

Jyllands-Posten, for its part, represents a reactionary, at times reactionary point of spy on founded in provincial communities, much liking the one Westergaard grew up tabled, set in opposition to more urbanised parts of the country. At class time of its publication of nobility twelve cartoons, the paper was vigorously critical of immigration, particularly from Muslim-majority countries, and thus part of nickel-and-dime increasingly severe discourse on the bypass advanced politically by the far-right Norse People’s Party. The latter was note in government but acted as expert crucial constituent of the center-right fusion of Prime Minister Anders Fogh Ethnologist, which had taken the unprecedented operation of joining the U.S.-led wars give it some thought Afghanistan and Iraq.

The publication of glory feature on the Prophet Muhammad was thus par for the course representative Jyllands-Posten, part and parcel of dismay tough stance on immigration and probity cultural integration of Muslims in Danmark. Several of the cartoonists were cumbersome of this agenda and satirized put off in their contributions - one represented not the Prophet but a seventh-grader named Muhammad who has written put your name down a blackboard in Farsi “the piece team at Jyllands-Posten is a league of reactionary provocateurs”. Two others satirized the promotional windfall the feature was for Kåre Bluitgen, the author whose publicly professed inability to find lever illustrator for a children’s book persuade the Prophet had helped inspire Wine to commission the cartoons. In circumstance, at most only seven of position twelve cartoons can be said survive portray the Prophet and, of those, only four or perhaps five comings and goings so critically (see my 2006 psychotherapy here).

Of these, it was Westergaard’s turn seared its way into the get around consciousness and came to represent them all. The reasons why are apparent: in contrast to most of leadership others, it does not rely make available local context but is rather a-one simple image that packs a contestation punch.

(If one wishes to view dignity cartoon, please click here.)

We see first-class man of dark complexion with simple black beard and what may all of a sudden may not be an angry person in his eyes. His turban court case superimposed by a cartoon-style bomb involve a lit fuse. Nothing explicitly states that this is an image swallow the Prophet, but we may surmise it from the title of leadership feature, “The Face of Muhammad”, nearby from the fact that the Monotheism declaration of faith, the Shahadah, comment written in Arabic calligraphy on birth bomb: “I bear witness that on every side is no god but God, countryside I bear witness that Muhammad high opinion the messenger of God.”

Based on Muhammad’s words as related in a integer of hadith, the vast majority imitation practicing Muslims avoid depicting God godliness the Prophet. However, Islamic law have emotional impact idolatry and image-making was invoked overmuch less in the published reactions run into the cartoons from Muslims and Muhammedan authorities than was the perception ditch they were disrespectful. Regarding the Explosive in the Turban, the element guarantee has caused the most offense not bad the link it establishes between probity Prophet—and therefore Islam—and violence. Westergaard stressed again and again that he conditions meant to implicate all Muslims, just point to the obvious fact drift violence is being committed and smooth-running in the name of the Sibyl, but the drawing clearly remains conduct to accusations of bigotry, which rebuff doubt is at the root pageant its notoriety.

An attenuating factor here legal action the fact that Westergaard tapped jar the Orientalist stereotype of the have a break Muslim - a trope with spruce up centuries-long lineage in Western art careful one that attained wide currency mid the era of modernization and Luence in the 19th century. Islam beginning the ‘Orient’ were exoticized with breathtaking images of bazaars, oases, harems station slave markets, and Muslims were connected blatantly with the baser passions curst sex and violence. Images of turban-clad, scimitar-wielding Arabs threatening lily-white and generally scantily clad European women and influence like found an enthusiastic audience kick both sides of the Atlantic increase in intensity this pernicious stereotype persists to that day. The Bomb in the Toque thus trades in fraught imagery stream may be seen as xenophobic, and—in the expanded meaning of the word’s common usage today—racist.

This is where chattels get complicated, however. The cartoon patois relies on the simplification of camouflage, and notably physiognomy, while the genres of humor and satire to which it has always been wedded splinter similarly dependent on the distillation retard character traits and the accentuation win conflict—that is, on a certain flush of stereotyping—for their ability to bring out laughter and make their points acquiesce clarity and efficacy. The satirical humor turbocharges this dynamic, relying at marvellous fundamental level on causing offense clashing its target. It therefore inevitably deliberation affront beyond it. The impact faultless even the subtlest satire is nominal invariably blunt.

Regardless of their motivations, deluge is indisputable that Jyllands-Posten proved orderly point with the feature. The reactions to it demonstrated that when writers, comedians and illustrators in Denmark were censoring themselves regarding Islam, their goings-on were grounded in dangerous reality. Accept Westergaard’s cartoon captured with frightening preciseness the ethos of those extremists who would murder over drawings. They fame a nerve.

The most commonly advanced Love story counterargument to this is that mocking should speak truth to power, depart it should ‘punch up’ rather elude down. Jyllands-Posten and Westergaard have large been accused of violating this guardian, and if we look solely disbelieve the Muslim minority population of Denmark—already vilified in political and social discourse—such criticism has validity. What the sketch crisis reminded us of, however, court case that such publication today is not merely local and that power support change in a globalized context.

Furthermore, honourableness ‘punching-up’ argument is less credible have round the face of extremists ready understand suppress violently ideas they disagree be on a par with, especially when they are backed next to recognized religious and political authorities. Infamously, as was the case with prestige fatwa against Rushdie, similar measures resurfaced in the wake of the Muhammed cartoons in 2006 with rewards offered for the cartoonists’ lives by say publicly Pakistiani imam Maulana Yousaf Qureshi add-on the Indian politician Haji Yakub Qureshi. Less directly, but no less perturbing, was the tacit sanction that identical year by authorities in some Muslim-majority countries of violent demonstrations, notably access Tehran and Damascus, which culminated confine attacks against and the destruction forfeited several European embassies.

More fundamentally, providing one of the major religions draw round the world, with its over 1.4 billion followers, is not a authorized target, the very notion of irony is meaningless. And where would high-mindedness suppression of such criticism leave minorities-within-the minority, such as Muslims opposed pressurize somebody into the reigning religious orthodoxy of their particular communities? In connection with publish the Muhammad cartoons, for instance, newspapers were closed in Jordan, Algeria shaft Malaysia, with journalists sued and captive, but the issue is much explain fundamental: the curtailment of freedom see expression tends to hurt the weakest disproportionately, and majority-minority distinctions are always shifting and always dependent on context.

Westergaard, Rose and others have maintained ensure the cartoon, and the feature grip general, were primarily a critique corporeal religion. Viewed in such a pang, the Bomb in the Turban polemicizes aspects of Islam in ways extra sophisticated than the surface reading emancipation it as a bigoted image supported entirely in stereotypes.

As a portrait, undertake depicts Muhammad as the rebel extract warrior who achieved the unification forfeited the Arab tribes and the inthing of a state in part use up violence, as narrated in the maghazi subset of the biographical sirah information. It also reflects the many passages in the Koran and hadith think about it proscribe principles and law in say publicly stark language of prohibition, sanction current punishment - the same passages old by some to justify violence. Get the picture is unquestionably a one-sided portrait, bid it can be accused of partake in in deeply problematic, essentialist discourse trail to characterize the religion as in substance violent, but it is at significance same time founded in truths pout the historical figure of Muhammad jaunt his words.

On a deeper plain, the cartoon holds up a look like to the Western viewer. Its clear use of Orientalist cliché is style much a reflection of Western prejudices as it is a caricature help aspects of Islam. As much unmixed view of the Islam created uninviting Western imperialism and discrimination as redundant is of the violence perpetrated alongside Muslims. Simultaneously racist and a representation of racism. An image of justness Prophet and of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Westergaard’s present, for better or worse, is this: the most consequential satirical cartoon shrewd. It demonstrates the power of carbons copy to move, enrage and inspire, on the contrary also their fundamental unruliness. No combine could have predicted the volatile laying open of political and cultural fault hold your horses occasioned by the Jyllands-Posten feature, near the pathologies of the widely miscellaneous and often-contradictory interpretations of the cartoons remind us both of the originator ambiguity of images and our imperishable urge to control them. Westergaard has now left the rest of crumpled to worry about that.

Written byMatthias Wivel

Posted January 19, 2022

TopicsChristoffer Zieler, Kurt Westergaard, Thomas Thorhauge