Swedish Pen: Fear stopped Vilks protests

Few exhibited his art. Several media chose not to publish his most controversial work for fear of attacks from the opponents of Lars Vilks.

After the accident that took his life, hundreds of his drawings are shared on Twitter.

Lars Vilk’s drawings of the Prophet Muhammad as a guide dog, the so-called Muhammad drawings, were first published by the newspaper Nerikes Allehanda 2007. Several other media chose to publish the cartoon in 2010 when when it became clear that there were plans to murder Vilks.

– Some published, and unfortunately they were also exposed to threats , says Jesper Bengtsson, chairman of Svenska Pen, which supports writers’ right to freedom of expression.

Many newspapers do not publish at all.

– He had a formal support for his right to express himself artistically, but the real support was more lukewarm, says Jesper Bengtsson.

Exposed to several attacks

Lars Vilks did not receive the support that others would have received in his situation, says Bengtsson.

– If an artist in Sweden is threatened with murder and assassinations are also carried out against him, it is clear that would normally render massive protests, and something like that did not occur in this case.

Jesper Bengtsson says that the main explanation for Lars Vilk’s art did not receive more support in Sweden was about self-censorship arising from fear of violent revenge actions.

The threat was real – on several occasions assassination attempts were made on Lars Vilks. Both the artist himself and those who chose to exhibit or publish his work were exposed to threats of violence or attacks.

– The stakes are very high when it comes to life and death. It’s about the safety of staff at the art museums and the personal safety of the editor who would publish Rondellhunden.

“Achieved its purpose in Sweden” One of the most notable attacks took place in 2015 in Copenhagen where Lars Vilks attended a meeting. A man opened fire in the crowd and several people were injured and one died. The terrorist attack got a lot of attention in Denmark, but despite that, Vilks got more chances to exhibit there.

Svenska Pen, who defends writers and journalists who are exposed to threats, has made statements to support for Vilks but chairman Jesper Bengtsson does not want to criticize the treatment that Lars Vilks received in Sweden.

– Unfortunately, it is a completely natural reaction to think about safety, and it is what those who threaten want. It can be said that those who threatened achieved their purpose in Sweden.

The drawings that have previously been published sparingly are now shared in the hundreds on the social media platform Twitter.

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Published: 04 October 2021 at 11.13

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