'Vilks was target of Gothenburg attack'
Published: 21 Sep 11 08:25 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/36268/20110921/
Controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks was the target of a foiled attack at the Röda Sten art gallery in Gothenburg on September 11th, according to a report in the Metro newspaper.
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Vilks has meanwhile decided to cancel his participation in a debate on Friday at the Gothenburg Book Fair due to the security risks involved.
"The debate will be held but the security situation dictates that it wouldn't have been were I to be present," Vilks said.
The artist, who has faced numerous death threats and a suspected assassination plot after publishing a caricature depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog in 2007, was coy about whether he would be attending the book fair at all.
"If I do I am not going to talk about it. I'll have to sneak in in costume, so if you see a bearded man with black glasses on, then...."
Sweden's elite counter-terrorism unit, together with the police, on September 10th arrested four men - 23-year-old Salar Sami Mahamood, 26-year-old Abdi Aziz Mahamud, 25-year-old Abdi Weli Mohamud, 24-year-old Mohamed Adel Kulan - for plotting an attack.
One of the suspects had bought a pocketknife to be used in the attack, and
one of the men had asked for Vilks at the art fair, according to Metro.
Adel Kulan was later released due to lack of evidence and the suspicions against the other men were downgraded from preparing terror crimes to preparing to commit murder.
They remain in custody.
The arrests led to an evacuation of the Röda Sten art gallery, while Vilks himself was in Stockholm at the time.
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Truth in art will always prevail : )
If people had just let this drop it would have vanished into the fog of the past. But as we keep getting these reports of assassination attempts it just keeps bring the story of "Mohammed as a dog" back into focus. In the I think ends up as counter productive.
We dug ourselves out of Christianity's chokehold, and must make sure no new religion arises and crimps our hard-won freedom of speech.
In away I think that has already happened. Remember Mohammed with a bomb on his head and the "Draw Mohammed" day? Also, you can find many ex-Muslim (and xian for that matter) sites on the internet such as the council of ex-muslim in the uk (http://ex-muslim.org.uk/). Some reports I have read have suggested many more Muslims have left their religion over the last 10 years than at any other time in Muslim history.
Meanwhile muslims in sweden who support the fatwa on his head ,as well as threaten him saying they would kill him if they saw him, go about freely without any consequences.
The only complaint should be is the work bad art.
Still, like the previous poster I agree there are 'hotheads' out there, and you mustn't take any chances
You can leave 'one of the'.....I think even at the start of this century he is the greatest artist of the 21st century.
No seriously, you really don't have anything better to do if you have time to try and kill this guy.
But to me all these threats we read about are just the 'counter terrorism units' that want us to believe they have a lot of work to do.
It wasn't long ago that Roman Catholicism ruled the Western world, and heretics with opinions angering their clergymen were tortured to death.
Our society shedding itself of such Corpus Christianum and moving to secularism is perhaps a path more Islamic societies may eventually choose...
Is Mr. Vilks threatening his own life?? He's responsible for the barbarity of his attackers?
Or do you not hold Muslims to any behavioral standards?
You expect so little from them you don't even hold them accountable to behave like normal adult human beings? Like children or animals instead?
You've just summed up the problem very concisely with your question.
That is why he is a great artist not because he draws well but because of how he made the point and everyone trying to kill him just prooves it to be true.
lack of criticism for religions was what gave us all the bad moments in human history where religion held supreme power.
We cant let that happen again and within that vilks has done human race a great favour, now its up to "us" to protect him as it is everyones interest to be able to speak freely and criticize without being persecuted.
also threatning to kill people isnt free speech.
Come up with something original Vilks.
Shame on all the newspapers all over the world that carried the stories of the Mo-toons but were too afraid of the Muslims to publish them. When is the West going to stop grovelling every time the Muslims throw a tantrum?
Yes, it's Islam we're talking about - let's not shy for the issue.