of Kurt Westergaard and Lars Hedigaard!
I watched it last night at 6 PM, and it is a MUST SEE for anyone concerned about FREEDOM OF SPEECH and FREEDOM OF THOUGHT!
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First time on television in Canada, Kurt Westigaard, creator of the iconic ‘Moetoon’ bomb turban drawing associated with the riots of 2005 speaks. Along with Lars Hedigaard, creator and president of the International Free Press Society, this is an exciting and interesting hour of TV. Sadly, it is also a brave hour of TV. Salutations to Michael Coren for having the raw courage to have this guest as well as giving him a very fair interview. Once not so long ago, it took no courage to interview cartoonists. Now one has to have special security in place.
(As an aside, I made a mistake in the movie editor when I set up this clip so the tops of heads my seem chopped off. This was a technical error on my part and not some kind of prophesy or dark humour.)
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Michael Coren also wrote a piece in the National Post, before his interview with Kurt W.
Here is a snippet, and link to the full article,,
Michael Coren: Freedom's curmudgeonly hero
Posted: October 06, 2009, 9:00 AM by NP Editor
Michael Coren
Tonight on my daily television program, The Michael Coren Show, my guest will be a wanted man. Indeed three people were arrested last year for plotting to murder him and he is under constant police protection because his life is under permanent threat. Yet 74-year-old Kurt Westergaard resembles a kindly uncle more than a danger to the state. And truth is, he’s only seen as a danger if it’s an Islamic state. Because this bearded, gentle and disarmingly unassuming man set off an international crisis in 2005 when his cartoon of the prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb as a turban was published in Denmark’s leading newspaper, Jyllands-Posten. The subsequent protests and violence led to more than 100 deaths, attacks on embassies and the storming and burning of Danish and Western buildings throughout the Islamic world.
This was the only television interview he gave in Canada. I’d like to think it’s because I have a known commitment to freedom of speech but, frankly, it’s also because some journalists are frightened of giving him any exposure — we were obliged to record the interview early so as not to publicise his movements because of security concerns. “I’m an old man, I haven’t so much to lose,” he says with a smile when I ask him if he’s ever scared.
The great Dane is angry more than frightened. He grimaces as he recalls the December evening in 2005 when the Danish secret service contacted him and said he had to leave his home. He asked when. Now! For the next nine months he lived in 10 different safe houses and was driven in a dozen different cars. “Did I know that the cartoon would put my life in danger and cause so much trouble? No. But if you want to know if I’m sorry or if I will apologize for what I did, absolutely not.” A pause. “No, absolutely not.”
The story has context. Proudly tolerant Denmark had been shaken by a wave of extremism from elements of the Islamic community. First a noted author could not find anyone sufficiently courageous to illustrate his book about Islam. Then leading Danish comedian Frank Hvam openly stated that he would “urinate” on the Bible on television but wouldn’t dare criticize the Koran. Finally a professor of Moroccan Jewish descent was abducted and badly beaten up by an Arab gang for merely reading passages of the Koran to a class of non-Muslims.
Read the whole article here,,
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