Kurt Westergaard

Kurt Westergaard (born Kurt Vestergaard; 13 July 1935 – 14 July 2021) was a Danish cartoonist. In 2005 he drew a cartoon of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, wearing a bomb in his turban as a part of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons, which triggered several assassinations and murders committed by Muslim extremists around the world, diplomatic conflicts, and state-organized riots and attacks on Western embassies with several dead in Muslim countries. After the drawing of the cartoon, Westergaard received numerous death threats and was a target of assassination attempts. As a result, he was under constant police protection.

Early life Westergaard was born on 13 July 1935 in the village of Døstrup, in the Mariagerfjord area of Jutland. After the plot was foiled, the Danish secret service was made responsible for protecting Westergaard. He was placed under police surveillance when traveling to and from work

In a 2009 interview, Westergaard said he was trying to "show that terrorists get their spiritual ammunition from parts of Islam and with this spiritual ammunition, and with dynamite and other explosives, they kill people." Westergaard also criticised the reaction of immigrant communities in Denmark to his cartoon, stating that "many of the immigrants who came to Denmark, they had nothing. We gave them everything – money, apartments, their own schools, free university, health care. In return, we asked one thing – respect for democratic values, including free speech. Do they agree? This is my simple test." Westergaard was unharmed due to security precautions in his house. He escaped to a panic room when he saw the intruder standing in the hallway wielding an axe. The intruder attempted to break down the reinforced door with his axe, shouting phrases like "We will get our revenge!", "Revenge!" and "Blood!"

In March 2013, a psychiatric patient was taken into custody by the Danish police. According to Danish newspapers the man had been a passenger on a bus, when he started yelling and threatening to bomb the bus and Kurt Westergaard, who was not on the bus.

Al-Qaeda hit list In 2010 Anwar al-Awlaki published an Al-Qaeda hit list in Inspire magazine, including three Jyllands-Posten staff members: Kurt Westergaard, Carsten Juste, and Flemming Rose, along with other figures claimed to have "insulted Islam," including Salman Rushdie, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and cartoonist Lars Vilks. The list was later expanded to include Stéphane "Charb" Charbonnier, who was murdered in a terror attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, along with 11 other people. After the attack, Al-Qaeda called for more killings.

Death Westergaard died in his sleep in Copenhagen on 14 July 2021, a day after his 86th birthday, after suffering from a long illness.

Awards Westergaard was awarded the Sappho Award in May 2008, an award given by the Danish Free Press Society to a 'journalist who combines excellence in his work with courage and a refusal to compromise'.

On 8 September 2010, he was awarded the M100 Media Award (M100-Medienpreis) by German Chancellor Angela Merkel for his contributions to freedom of opinion.

Memoirs In 2011, Westergaard, helped by John Lykkegaard, published his memoir Manden bag stregen.