Without courage, freedom is impossible

Flemming Rose is among Islamic terrorism’s “Most Wanted Men.” In 2005, the Danish newspaper editor published cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad. Since then, peace has not been upon him. Because of unceasing death threats, he lives under constant police guard. For Die Weltwoche Rose examines freedom of expression in the new woke era. And he warns that the jihad against free expression is spreading.

Fifteen years ago I was a the center of a global debate about free speech and the right to publish satirical cartoons of religious figures and symbols. In the fall of 2005, as the culture editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten I commissioned drawings of the Muslim prophet Muhammad from members of Denmark’s Cartoonist Association. This was part of a debate about self-censorship in Denmark and Western Europe when it came to the treatment of Islam in books, museums, media, theaters and so forth. My initiative was triggered by the publication of a children’s book about the life of the Muhammad. Several illustrators had declined an invitation to make drawings for the book due ...