U.S Cartoonist In Hiding For 4yrs After Death Threats; On Al Qaeda Most Wanted List

Molly Noris

Molly Norris drew a cartoon four years ago that depicted the likeness of Mohammed on several items, including a tea cup, a thimble and a domino.

In 2010, Molly Norris reponded to threats against her life with humor and grace.

She received her first death threat within days.
One was a fatwa that came from radical and influential cleric Anwar al-Awlaki -- an American-born imam who lived in Yemen -- who said Norris was a "prime target" for execution for creating blasphemous cartoons.
Norris had kicked off controversy in April 2010 with a cartoon published online about an imaginary group called "Citizens Against Citizens Against Humor" that proposed an "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day."
She disappeared, at the advisement of the FBI, in the fall of that year and has been in hiding since.

"She didn't mean to skewer or offend. She just thought people should lighten up," her friend Tim Appelo said. "She was just standing up for free speech. But in a very gentle way."

At the time, Norris told a Seattle magazine that the consequences of the drawing were unintended.

"I didn't mean for my satirical poster to be taken seriously. It became kind of an excuse for people to hate or be mean-spirited. I'm not mean-spirited," Norris told City Arts Magazine.

Source: CNN