[qp0yfHOf]

COPENHAGEN — Police foiled an attempt to kill an artist who drew a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad that sparked outrage in the Muslim world, the head of Denmark's intelligence service said Saturday.

Jakob Scharf, who heads the PET intelligence service, said a 28-year-old Somalia man was armed with an ax and a knife when he attempted to enter Kurt Westergaard's home in Aarhus shortly after 10 p.m. on Friday.

The attack on the artist, whose rendering was among 12 that led to the torching of Danish diplomatic offices in predominantly Muslim countries in 2006, was "terror related," Scharf said in a statement.

"The arrested man has according to PET's information close relations to the Somali terrorist group, al-Shabaab, and al-Qaida leaders in eastern Africa," he said.

Scharf said without elaborating that the man is suspected of having been involved in terror related activities during a stay in east Africa. He had been under PET's surveillance but not in connection with Westergaard, he said

Police shot the Somali man in a knee and a hand, authorities said. Preben Nielsen of the police in Aarhus said the suspect was seriously injured but his life was not in danger.

The man, who had a staying permit in Denmark, was to be charged Saturday with attempted murder for trying to kill Westergaard and a police officer, Scharf said. His name was not released in line with Danish privacy rules.

It was unclear whether the suspect managed to actually get inside the home of the 75-year-old cartoonist in Denmark's second largest city, 124 miles northwest of Copenhagen.

Westergaard, who had his 5-year-old granddaughter on a sleepover, called police and sought shelter in a specially made safe room in the house, Nielsen said. Police arrived two minutes later and tried to arrest the assailant, who wielded an ax at a police officer. The officer then shot the man.

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[kasandrasikl]

And people wonder why I'm an atheist.

[pipojambo]

And people wonder why I'm an atheist.

oddly enough, I watching part of a documentary on Hitler's bodyguard and I'm reminded that anti-regligion* doesn't hold guarantees either.

*assuming anti-religion is synonymous with atheism, perhaps not.


In all humorousness, I'm waiting for some Christian wingnuts to go after Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

[kasandrasikl]

assuming anti-religion is synonymous with atheism, perhaps not. No, not at all.

I take a Friedrich der Große approach to religion. I think it's all nonsense, but I support free religion for all.

[betraaaus]

What scaring me is that Al-Qaida is getting young men from Africa to do their dirty work...


And that is around a couple of thousand young men deep vs the maybe the few hundred they had in the middle east...


Not good for anyone.

[Haibundadam]

[Caunnysup]

I think it's all nonsense, but I support free religion for all.

But apparently no free religion for the Tibetans?--There, you'd rather side with Communists instead of the former serfs...who'd rather willingly live under Buddhist theocracy any day instead of being overrun by outsiders and threaten their very lifestyle, their religion, etc.?

[Caunnysup]

It's not the number of people enrolled and armed by Al Qaida... AQ really isn't such an organized force anyway as much as it is a motivation force, and their motivation comes from a throughly militant reading of their holy books. Thus the problem is not the fundamentalists (there are those types in every religion), the problem is there is no counterveiling force within Islam, something that moderates such views or provides a liberal version of things. There is no reformation in Islam...and that's what ends up hurting everyone else.

[kasandrasikl]

But apparently no free religion for the Tibetans?--There, you'd rather side with Communists instead of the former serfs...who'd rather willingly live under Buddhist theocracy any day instead of being overrun by outsiders and threaten their very lifestyle, their religion, etc.?

I believe I've mentioned before that there is a lesser of two evils scenario there.

If it was up to me, they'd have a full, autonomous, secular republic, and the dalai lama would have a first class trip on the top of the Ares V for being a feudal lord in the 20th century.

[qp0yfHOf]

What scaring me is that Al-Qaida is getting young men from Africa to do their dirty work...


And that is around a couple of thousand young men deep vs the maybe the few hundred they had in the middle east...


Not good for anyone.

Yes but dont forget we are not allowed to profile people...