Danish library to house controversial Prophet cartoons

London, Jan 31 (UNI) Denmark national library plans to archive the 12 caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed that sparked violent protests throughout the Islamic world two years ago.

The Museum of Danish Cartoon Art in Copenhagen founded in the 17th century by King Frederik III and home to many historic treasures has declared the drawings to be of historic value and is trying to acquire them for ''preservation purposes''.

''The caricatures have become a part of Danish history,'' the Guardian quoted library spokesperson Jytte Kjaergaard as saying.

Despite objections from some Muslim leaders, the library in the Danish capital would preserve the cartoons for research purposes but they would not be made available to the public for at least 10 years, he said.

''We have generally agreed that we want a museum to have the works, but everyone still has to take a final decision for himself,'' Claus Seidel of a Danish cartoonists association said.

Negotiations with the artists behind the 12 cartoons are said to be at an advanced stage. Several have agreed to donate the works for nothing but the museum may have to buy some of them. One has already been sold to a private buyer.

The Danish Muslim Society, which headed the original campaign against the cartoons, called the library's decision a ''provocation'' but refused holding any demonstrations saying, ''We will ignore all provocations in future.'' The 12 cartoons were first published by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on September 30, 2005, and reprinted by a series of Western newspapers early the following year. Mass protests erupted in Muslim countries where the cartoons were widely seen as insulting. One of them showed tahe Prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a lit fuse.

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