On September 30, 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten
printed 12 editorial cartoons, several of which contained caricatures of
the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. This publication sparked a controversy that
began in Denmark and spanned the globe. The cartoon publications stemmed
from an article discussing the difficulty in finding illustrators for a
book on the life of the Prophet Muhammad. According to the book's
author, cartoonists refused contract out of fear of retaliation from the
Muslim community, citing the example of the 2004 murder of Theo Van Gogh,
a Dutchman, for making the documentary Submission, a film focused
upon the position of women in Islam. In addition to the article,
nationwide debate discussed the right to freedom of speech and the
problems surrounding self-censorship. It was within this context that
Flemming Rose, the cultural editor at Jyllands-Posten, asked
Danish cartoonists to depict the Prophet Muhammad as they saw him with the
underlying purpose to raise the issue of self-censorship and fuel further
debate. The cartoons ran alongside an article on free speech and
self-censorship.