GagWatch

I’ve not been following the Swedish MoDog controversy as closely as I could have been, but here’s the story so far:

On August 18, Swedish newspaper, Nerikes Allehanda published a by Lars Vilks as part of an editorial piece protesting the lack of art galleries willing to show such work. The image is based on the odd Swedish phenomenon known as roundabout dogs. Inevitably enough, outrage followed, with Iran leading the charge with the claim that it was all part of some ‘Zionist Plot’.

The Swedish government, media, and the newspaper in question have been very clear that no apology will be forthcoming and, following protests in the country, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said:

I think it’s important to say two things. First, we are eager to ensure that Sweden remains a country in which Muslims and Christians, people who believe in God and people who don’t believe in God, can live side by side in a spirit of mutual respect.

We are also eager to stand up for freedom of expression, which is enshrined in the constitution and comes naturally to us, and which ensures that we do not make political decisions about what gets published in the newspapers. I want to make sure we keep things that way

Recognising a handy distraction, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt and Jordan all jumped on the offended bandwagon.

And then the death threats started. A woman was arrested for threatening the artist. She attempted to justify the attacks by claiming that “her beliefs and convictions had been desecrated and attacked”. Aww.

The latest news is that Swedish companies are lowering their profile in the Middle East amid fears of violence and a statement purporting to be from al-Qaeda put a $100,000 (£50,000) bounty on the head of the cartoonist.

The internet threat stated: “We know how to force you to apologise. If you do not, expect us to strike the businesses of firms like Ericsson, Scania, Volvo, Ikea and Electrolux.”

Mr Vilks, however, is taking things in his stride:

“I suppose that this makes my art project a bit more serious. It is also good to know how much one is worth,” he said.

A leading Swedish daily newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, yesterday republished the cartoon in an act of solidarity with Nerikes Allehanda and the daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet has urged Swedes to defend their right to free speech in the face of religious fanaticism.

“Freedom of expression is not a privilege for the media companies and journalists but a guarantee that citizens can have different impressions, numerous sources of information and inspiration, as well as the possibility of drawing their own conclusions.”

Quite.

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