Controversial Muhammad Cartoon Goes on Sale in Denmark

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The Danish cartoon of the Muslim prophet Muhammad that caused an international uproar and outbreaks of violence in 2006 will be sold by the Danish Press Freedom Society, the group said on Wednesday.

Some 1,000 printed copies of the cartoon that depicts Muslim prophet Muhammad with a bomb-shaped turban are being sold for about $250 each, the Society's chairman Lars Hedegaard told The Associated Press. Each cartoon will be signed by Danish artist Kurt Westergaard, who drew the cartoon in 2005 and gave permission for its reproduction.

"All we are doing is starting a debate," Hedegaard said. "We are using our freedom of speech.

"We have not, and are not, breaking any laws," he said.

Westergaard's cartoon first appeared in the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, in 2005, along with 11 other cartoons depicting Islam's most revered prophet, but there was not much protest against them at that time. After it was reprinted in the French newspaper, France Soir, and other European media in 2006, however, the cartoon sparked protests and violence worldwide.

Dozens of people died around the world as a result of Muhammad cartoon protests, including people in Nigeria, Libya and Pakistan. Danish embassies in predominantly Muslim countries, such as Indonesia and Pakistan, were burned or attacked, and churches in Lebanon and Nigeria were also attacked during the riots.

Muslims consider any depiction of their god, Allah, and their prophets to be blasphemy.

Last year, there was an assassination attempt on Westergaard that led to the arrests of three people. Since then, the Danish cartoonist has been living under police protection.

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