Danish Cartoon Controversy: Islam vs. Denmark

Summary: The Danish cartoon controversy occurred when the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 political cartoons relating to Islam which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad in various ways. The Islamic religion forbids anyone to draw a picture of Muhammad, and so the publication of the cartoons sparked an enormous controversy, leading to riots in various Muslim countries.

The most inflammatory of the 12 cartoons was one that showed Muhammad wearing a turban than was actually a bomb. This was drawn by Kurt Westergaard, who has since had numerous death threats against him and attempts to murder him. Westergaard requires constant police protection against possible attackers.

Around the same time as the controversy, Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was shot while on his bicycle. He had previously made a movie criticizing the way that Islam treats women.

For more information, you can see the wikipedia article about the controversy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy