Sudan condemns Denmark over reprinting of Muhammad cartoons News
Sudan condemns Denmark over reprinting of Muhammad cartoons

[JURIST] Sudanese President Omar El Bashir [BBC profile] Wednesday addressed a massive rally in Khartoum protesting the reprinting of a cartoon depiction of the Muslim prophet Muhammad [JURIST report] by Jyllands-Poste [media website] earlier this month, saying that he would ban all Danish citizens from entering the country and calling on Muslims to boycott Danish products. It was unclear if Sudan would expel Danes already inside the country. The Danish government did not respond to Bashir's statement, but Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller [official profile] said earlier that the Sudanese government has in the past used anti-western sentiments as a way to rally public support. AP has more.

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 report] 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.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Stalin born

On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.