A cartoon about Islam's prophet Mohammed, published in a Swedish newspaper in August, did not constitute incitement to racial hatred, Sweden's justice chancellor has ruled. Three Swedish Muslim organisations had asked Chancellor Goeran Lambertz — the only official in Sweden entitled to indict in cases concerning freedom of the Press — to press charges of incitement to racial hatred against the newspaper Nerikes Allehanda and its editor-in-chief Ulf Johansson.
The cartoon featuring the Prophet Mohammed’s head on a dog’s body was originally published in Nerikes Allehanda on August 18 and immediately provoked protests by Muslims in the western town of Oerebro, where the paper is based. Islam considers idolatry blasphemous and the depiction of Mohammed in any pictorial form is strictly forbidden.
Lambertz noted that for the charge to stick, it needed to be proven that "contempt" was expressed. "Neither the article nor the sketch, which has a satirical tone, expresses contempt against any ethnic group," he said in a statement.
"While many practicing Muslims may perceive primarily the cartoon as offensive, neither the content of the article nor the cartoon can be considered as crossing the line of what is permissible within the freedom of the press," he said. "The justice chancellor will therefore not pursue the matter."
Artist Lars Vilks and Nerikes Allehanda editor-in-chief Ulf Johansson, have received several threats after the publication that was accompanied by an editorial on freedom of speech and religion. Last week, a bounty of $100,000 was offered on Vilks's head and 50,000 dollars for Johansson. The offer was attributed to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, a leader of the al-Qaeda in Iraq.
