Ironic that two of the artists behind the infamous Mohammed cartoons would be speaking at Yale, whose publishing house that bears its name, refused to include the cartoons in a book about the cartoons. Kurt Westergaard and Lars Hedegaard will speak to Yale students on October 1, three days after the book, “The Cartoons That Shook The World” is released.
Hedegaard told The Copenhagen Post that he would talk about the background of the crisis and the situation today. He expected Westergaard to talk about his art and what he wanted to express through his drawings.
The timing of the talk was appropriate, he said.
‘The decision of Yale University Press is of course despicable and a sign of censorship and fear. It’s a sad comment of our times that a well-respected company should bow to fear of threats,’ Hedegaard said.
Hedegaard also noted that 30 September is the fourth anniversary of the original publication of the drawings and announced plans to establish an annual event promoting free speech.