Controversial Danish cartoonist to publish memoirs

COPENHAGEN - The former Danish newspaper cartoonist who received numerous death threats for his drawing depicting the Muslim Prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban is to publish his memoirs, reports said Tuesday.

That controversial cartoon will be the cover of the book, to be published in November. The autobiography was co-written with journalist and editor John Lykkegaard.

Kurt Westergaard won notoriety worldwide after the cartoon was published in September 2005 by the Jyllands-Posten, sparking outrage among many Muslims and violent protests worldwide months later.

Islam prohibits images of the prophet Mohammed.

“This is not aimed to start a new crisis, but it (the cartoon) set everything in motion,” Westergaard told Danish news agency Ritzau about the decision to use the cartoon for the book cover.

Earlier this year Westergaard, 75, retired from the daily Jyllands-Posten where he worked for 27 years.

The book contains some 30 drawings and cartoons by Westergaard, and charts his efforts for freedom of speech.

Westergaard has been under police guard since the incident, but said he did not regret creating the Mohammed caricature.

He was forced to barricade himself in a panic room in his home Jan 1 when a 28-year-old Somali-born man broke in and threatened him.