Reuters:

Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who sparked anger in the Muslim world with his caricatures of the prophet Mohammed, arrives for a news conference before the awarding ceremony of the M100 media prize 2010 in Potsdam, September 8, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Johannes Eisele/Pool

By Stephen Brown and Knut Engelmann

BERLIN | Wed Sep 8, 2010 3:39pm EDT

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel risked angering Muslims by speaking at an awards ceremony on Wednesday for a Dane whose cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed provoked sometimes violent protests by Muslims five years ago.

The 75-year-old cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, whose drawings of Mohammed that offended Muslims worldwide first appeared in Danish paper Jyllands-Posten in 2005, was due to receive a prize Wednesday evening at a conference on freedom of the press.

At a time of fierce debate in Germany over disparaging remarks about Muslim immigrants made by a central bank member, some Muslims criticized the center-right chancellor and the media said she was taking a risk by honoring a man whom many Muslims believe insulted their faith.

Aiman Mazyek of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany said in a statement: “Merkel is honoring the cartoonist who in our view trampled on our Prophet and trampled on all Muslims.”

“By having her photo taken next to Kurt Westergaard, Merkel is taking a huge risk,” wrote the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung before the ceremony.

“It will probably be the most explosive appointment of her chancellorship so far.”