Muhammad cartoons reprint sparks protests in Indonesia News
Muhammad cartoons reprint sparks protests in Indonesia

[JURIST] Protests broke out in two Indonesian cities Saturday over the reprinting of a cartoon depiction of the Muslim prophet Muhammad [JURIST report] by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Poste [media website]. Protesters in the world's most populous Muslim country burned Danish flags and called for the death of the cartoon artist. The demonstrations in Indonesia follow similar protests [JURIST report] earlier this month in the Gaza Strip, Pakistan, and Denmark.

Jyllands-Poste and 16 other Danish newspapers reprinted the cartoon [Le Monde slideshow] earlier this month one day after Danish police arrested three people [JURIST reports] suspected in a plot to murder Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard for his characterization of Muhammad. Westergaard was one of 12 cartoonists who created the Muhammad cartoons [JURIST news archive] first published in 2005, which sparked widespread protests across the Islamic world. The Danish newspapers accompanied the re-printed cartoons with statements defending freedom of speech and the public's right to see the cause of the backlash. AP has more.