?This latest threat comes as no surprise,? Danish Justice Minister Lene Esperson said in a recent statement. ?The Danish intelligence services and the government alike are taking the threats very seriously, however this is not the first time Denmark has been threatened,? she argued. Other Danish government officials also publicly stated that Denmark would not allow themselves to be intimidated by threats and affirmed that no explicit precautions would be taken because of the warning. The Danish government has rejected recommendations to apologize for the publications , avowing their nation?s commitment to freedom of speech. Of note, Abu Yahya al-Libi expressly stated that Muslims are not seeking an apology: ?We don?t want an apology, we want to break their pride and to oppress them,? he said as he urged fellow fighters to ?send rivers of blood down their streets.?
Although the perpetrator, Abu Yahya al-Libi (also known as Mohammad Hassan) is believed to be a secondary player in al-Qaeda?s greater network, the timing and source of the threat present considerable peril. The website, on which the statement was made, Al-Sahab is generally considered to be al-Qaeda?s main production company, and as such, the association ought to be taken seriously. Further, this warning, which was made on May 11, comes just a little more than two weeks after Osama Bin Laden issued another hostile threat, calling for attacks against civilians in the countries that published and supported the caricatures of the prophet Mohammad, in particular Denmark (Terror Web Watch).
After the bombings in London and Madrid and the repeated statements that forewarned them, Denmark could anticipate being next on al-Qaeda?s hit list. The preachers of al-Qaeda are unlikely to let the opportunity that the cartoons have presented forego them, as they aim to continue to spread the message of a Western plot to destroy Islam in order to expand their reach and means to strike.