Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Somali militia issues death threat to Swedish artist

A Swedish fighter with the Shebab, a Somalian milita with ties to Al-Qaeda, has urged Muslims to kill an artist from Sweden who depicted the Prophet Mohammed as a dog, US monitoring group SITE said Tuesday.

"Wherever you are, if not today or tomorrow, know that we haven't yet forgotten about you," said the Shebab member Abu Zaid in a video warning to artist Lars Vilks.

"We will get hold of you and with Allah's permission we will catch you wherever you are and in whatever hole you are hiding in," Zaid said in a recruitment video with English and Swahili subtitles that calls for Muslims to join the radical movement.

Vilks has faced numerous death threats and a suspected assassination plot since his drawing of the Muslim prophet with the body of a dog was first published by Swedish regional daily Nerikes Allehanda in 2007, illustrating an editorial on the importance of freedom of expression.

"Know what awaits you, as it will be nothing but this: slaughter! For that is what you deserve," Zaid said in the video that SITE said was posted on jihadist Internet forums on Monday.

"To my brothers and sisters, I call you to make (migration), and if you can kill this dog called Lars (Vilks), then you will receive a great reward from Allah," Zaid said, according to SITE.

The drawing by Vilks prompted protests by Muslims in the town of Oerebro, west of Stockholm, where the newspaper is based.

Egypt, Iran and Pakistan also made formal complaints about the drawing.

Source: AFP

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