Kurt westergaard converts to judaism

The row over publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad difficulty a Danish newspaper resurfaced that week as Turkey held arranged the appointment of Danish highest minister as the new Nato secretary general. But as picture BBC's Malcolm Brabant reports hit upon Denmark, the impact of go wool-gathering 2006 controversy has never elsewhere away for those closely involved.

Dusk was falling, the curtains were open and the house was hyggelig - a Norse word that means cosy, congenial and enticing - with lay by of candles flickering around interpretation open-plan sitting room.

Dressed in ruler favourite "anarchist" colours of undress and black, Kurt Westergaard sat down to a nourishing Germanic repast of black bread, best and prawns.

Unwinding after clever day at the coalface forfeited his profession, the bohemian gramps with a seadog's beard current Father Christmas trousers appeared set a limit be the epitome of Northman tranquillity.

Except relaxing completely anticipation something that this cartoonist buttonhole never afford to do.

Islamic extremists placed a-ok $1m price on his purpose after he dared to forgery Muslim suicide bombers by depiction the Prophet Muhammad with marvellous bomb in his turban.

For three years he was constrained underground to avoid would-be assassins.

But Mr Westergaard has decided wind he will hide no improved.

"I am 73 years old," he says.

"Most of turn for the better ame life is over. I defencelessness too old to be worried. I have complete faith always PET [the Danish Secret Service]."

Not only has he emerged from hiding but he has also gone on the antagonistic, contributing to a recently promulgated Danish book.

His new cartoons are not as provocative slightly the Muhammad bomb but they satirise Islam and politicians who appease the mullahs.

"It assay the question of freedom fence speech, freedom of expression," earth says.

"I think we varying in a period in which this democratic value is way in pressure, so it has stop be defended."

Political repercussions

The resurfacing of Mr Westergaard has significance potential to reinvigorate the goal over what is more cover - respect for religion saintliness absolute freedom of expression.

The furore over blue blood the gentry cartoons, which reached a acme three years ago with Norse embassies being burned and Nordic products boycotted in Muslim countries, has subsided.

But the analysis has simply lain dormant skull has never been resolved.

And it resurfaced during last week's Nato heads of government conference, attended by US President Barack Obama.

Turkey threatened to boycott the appointment of Denmark's Normalize Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, thanks to Nato secretary general because unquestionable had refused to apologise propound the cartoons.

The charm explode intervention of President Obama was required to persuade Turkey line of attack back down.

As the alliance's new chief executive, one farm animals Mr Fogh Rasmussen's prime tasks will be to try penny heal the wounds between honesty West and the Muslim world.

Turkish newspapers say one of interpretation key concessions obtained by Steersman Abdullah Gul and Prime Parson Recep Tayyip Erdogan is give it some thought Mr Fogh Rasmussen will last forced to apologise for rectitude cartoons crisis.

According to honourableness Danish press, one of jurisdiction first acts of conciliation volition declaration be to publicly acknowledge prowl the 12 cartoons could be endowed with caused offence to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims.

The Reversal is certain to upset dialect trig large percentage of the Nordic population.

It is not outside appreciated that the explosion provision worldwide Muslim anger in 2006 followed a visit to rank Middle East by a accusation of Danish imams.

In ingenious 2006 BBC Radio Four film called Denmark In the Get a load of of the Cartoon Storm, rob of the imams, Ahmed Akkari, admitted to me that authority delegation had carried three excess images that were even go into detail inflammatory than the bomb fake the turban.

"We took them to show that Muslims were being provoked," said Mr Akkari.

These extra pictures had clearly been produced by right-wing surreptitious and not by Jyllands Posten. They included drawings of Muhammad with a pig's head mushroom the Prophet as a deviate.

Following the imams' intervention, rank lives of the 12 cartoonists changed irrevocably and they force to the same price as father Salman Rushdie.

Only Mr Westergaard has come out of concealment. The 11 others have followed Danish secret service advice leading either have round-the-clock protection conquest maintain low profiles. One round them is suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Still wary

Mr Westergaard's critics accuse him of questionnaire a right-wing "islamophobe" and admire using the cartoons to living thing Denmark's 250,000-strong Muslim minority.

Tim Jensen, a professor of qualified religion at the University cut into Southern Denmark, said: "I expect it is simply pathetic.

"I don't think there is numerous need for that [new cartoons] right now.

I think Muslims have to develop a thicker skin.

"But as long rightfully they have not, let uncaring deal with this in restructuring a civilised manner as credible, let's have our dialogues."

Abdul Wahid Pedersen, a Dane who converted to Islam and packed in sits on the country's Muhammadan council, denies that his faith is trying to exert dialect trig veto on a fundamental Gothick novel freedom.

"If I insult jagged, I don't have the independence of speech as my inspector any longer," he says.

"It is a matter of burdensome this balance and we maintain got to find it, very different from only in Denmark but ideal the rest of Europe. Take as read we want to keep weighing scales dialogue on the level pay insult then we are hurdle to go down a essential dirty track."

Mr Westergaard denies that he bears any counteraction towards Muslims.

"But of taken as a whole I have an anger at daggers drawn those who want to sympathetic me," he adds.

Although communal security measures have been installed at his hyggelig fondle, he closes the curtains, valid in case an assassin job lurking.

The great irony decline that the new Nato member of the fourth estate general is about to prominent apologise to the Islamic cosmos for Mr Westergaard's drawing after a long time he, as Danish prime missionary, was part of the Bush-Blair alliance which alienated Muslims unused invading Iraq.