The Danish caricaturist Kurt Westergaard, who has been threatened with death by Islamists himself since the so-called “Mohammed cartoons” were published, commented on the attack on the editors of the French satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo”.
"A fantastic and anarchist sheet"
The Internet edition of the newspaper “Jyllands-Posten” quotes him as saying that “Charlie Hebdo” is “a fantastic and anarchist paper that attacks all those in power when there seems to be a reason for it. They spare no one, and are very sharp and sometimes grotesque in their expression. ”Even if they sometimes went to the limit, drawings like those published by“ Charlie Hebdo ”are used. They are an expression of freedom of expression. At the same time, he can understand that Muslim or Christian groups clash with the work of the magazine. If you work as a cartoonist, you know which sensitive area you are operating in when using religious symbols.
Westergaard told Norwegian Radio, “The worst part, apart from the tragedy of innocent people being murdered, is the fear of freedom of expression. That the media are afraid to express themselves, to write or to draw about certain events. I hope that those who we call moderate Muslims will now show themselves on the street in a large demonstration and express their loyalty to the modern, democratic countries with their freedom of expression. "
The newspaper “Jyllands-Posten”, which published the “Mohammed cartoons” in September 2005, speaks in a comment of an attack on freedom of expression and democracy: “'Charlie Hebdo' was one of the magazines at the height of the The caricature crisis showed strong solidarity with Jyllands-Posten. We haven't forgotten that. ”Using the free word while being threatened sometimes feels like a bad dream.