Ahmed Abu Laban, 60; Muslim imam, figure in uproar over cartoons
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Ahmed Abu Laban, 60, Denmark’s most prominent Muslim leader and a central figure in last year’s uproar over cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, died Thursday at Hvidovre Hospital in Copenhagen after battling lung cancer, said Kasem Ahmad, a spokesman for the Islamic Faith Community.
Denmark’s leading imam, Abu Laban was thrust into the international spotlight during the cartoon crisis when he accused Denmark of being disrespectful of Islam and Muslim immigrants.
He angered many Danes by seeking support in his fight against the cartoons from Islamic leaders in the Muslim world.
Many Danes blamed him for stirring up anger that triggered massive and sometimes violent protests against the cartoons in Muslim countries in January and February of 2006.
The Jyllands-Posten newspaper apologized for offending Muslims but cited free speech issues in publishing images depicting Muhammad, which Islamic tradition forbids.
A Palestinian by birth, Abu Laban grew up in Egypt, where he was educated as an engineer.
He worked in the oil industry in the Persian Gulf and in Nigeria before immigrating to Denmark in the mid-1980s, according to the Islamic Faith Community.
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