Yahoo! News, “Several Swedish papers publish Prophet Muhammad drawing after alleged plot to murder artist”
by Louise Nordstrom
Vilks submitted the drawing to an exhibit at a Swedish cultural heritage centre, which turned it down, citing security concerns. The issue went largely unnoticed until a Swedish newspaper printed the drawing with an editorial defending the freedom of expression.
The publication led to protests from Muslim countries, and briefly revived a heated debate in the West and the Muslim world about religious sensitivities and the limits of free speech.
It also led to numerous death threats against Vilks, who was temporarily moved to a secret location after al-Qaida in Iraq put a $100,000 bounty on his head in September 2007.
The 63-year-old artist told AP he has now built his own defence system, including a “homemade” safe room and a barbed-wire sculpture that could electrocute potential intruders. He also has an axe “to chop down” anyone trying to climb through the windows of his home, in southern Sweden.
Yahoo! News article continues here.