A Swedish Muslim group is planning to sue a local newspaper for publishing a drawing of the prophet Mohammed with a dog's body. The Nerikes Allehanda newspaper in Orebro printed the cartoon made by artist Lars Vilks in an August editorial that criticised Swedish art galleries for not displaying Vilks' art.
Mahmoud Aldebe, chairman of the Swedish Muslim Federation, told the Associated Press (AP) that the group would sue the newspaper for inciting hatred against ethnic groups. "It ridicules our religion. This is discriminating and insulting for us," he said. "They want to see just how far they are able to go by pushing the boundaries of press freedom."
Islamic law is interpreted to forbid any depiction of the prophet for fear it could lead to idolatry. To sue the newspaper, the group needs to file a complaint with the Chancellor of Justice, who is the only institution in Sweden permitted to prosecute media in cases related to freedom of expression and media libel cases.
Overnight Tuesday, about 200 Nerikes Allehanda newspapers stacked up for delivery were set on fire in an Orebro suburb, but it was not immediately clear whether it had anything to do with the cartoon, police said.
The fire was started at a bus shelter on the Vivalla estate shortly before 3am, the newspaper reported. "The fire was intentional. Newspapers don't just burn by themselves," police spokesman Thomas Ginghagen told Nerikes Allehanda. Some 200 to 300 newspapers are reported to have gone up in flames. Police have not made any arrests in connection with the incident, the Local reported.
It is the second time in a few days that copies of the newspaper at the centre of the Mohammed caricature row have been destroyed. Over the last weekend a number of newspapers were thrown into a fountain in protest.
Aldebe, of the Swedish Muslim Federation, said his group did not support any acts of vandalism and that it had told its members to refrain from violent protests. Last year, violent protests broke out in Muslim countries after Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published drawings of Mohammed, including one that depicted him wearing a turban shaped as a bomb.
Meanwhile, Sweden's Minister for Integration Nyamko Sabuni believes that the ongoing row will benefit the country's integration process. In her first public statement since the publication of Lars Vilks's controversial sketch, Sabuni rejected calls for limitations on freedom of speech, according to the Local..
By demanding a ban on the publication of certain inflammatory material, leading Muslim representatives have raised issues that are central to the experience of adapting to a new society, the minister said. "Integration must of course take place within a democratic framework. Since freedom of speech is part of our democracy we are fully entitled to say, write and express whatever we want.
"I understand that some people feel they have been insulted, and they have every right to protest. But to begin speaking about curtailing freedom of speech is a gigantic step and is not something I feel is relevant here," said Sabuni.
