COPENHAGEN — The Danish editor who first published 12 cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that sparked outrage across the Muslim world said on Thursday he would shortly republish the drawings in a new book.
The book, written by Jyllands-Posten cultural editor Flemming Rose and titled "The Tyranny of Silence," is set to hit bookstores on September 30 -- five years to the day after the cartoons first appeared in the paper, annoying angry and, in some cases, deadly global protests against Denmark.
The author insisted in an interview with Jylland-Posten competitor Politiken that he was not trying to be provocative, stressing that he simply wanted to "tell the story of the 12 drawings and put them into a context of (other) pictures considered offensive."
"I am sure that a lot of people don't know what I think of these drawings. My concerted wish is to explain myself. I have nothing but words to do so, but once people have read the book ... maybe they will be able to see the broader context," he said.
"Words should be answered with words," he said, explaining why it had been so important for him to write the book.
"That's all we have in a democracy, and if we give that up we will be locked in a tyranny of silence."
Rose, who has received several death threats since 2005, said he wanted to launch "a broad European debate ... about how we should live in the 21st century. The cartoon crisis shows what we can expect in the 21st century."
"We will see more and more of these kinds of cases," he said.
Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who drew the most contentious drawing, featuring Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a lit fuse, will also publish a new book in the coming months containing his cartoon, Politiken reported.
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