Lars Vilks Muhammad drawings controversy

The Lars Vilks Muhammad drawings controversy erupted in July 2007 with a series of drawings by Swedish artist Lars Vilks that portrayed the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a roundabout dog (a form of street installation in Sweden). Multiple art galleries in Sweden declined to show the drawings, citing legitimate security concerns and fear of violence. The controversy escalated after the Örebro-based regional newspaper Nerikes Allehanda featured one of the drawings on 18 August as part of an editorial on self-censorship and freedom of religion.

While several other leading Swedish newspapers had previously published the drawings, this particular publication triggered widespread protests from Muslims in Sweden as well as strong diplomatic condemnations from several foreign governments including Islamic State of Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Jordan, as well as by the inter-governmental Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The controversy unfolded about a year and a half after the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy in Denmark in early 2006.