Danish paper refused to print Christ cartoons

JYLLANDS-POSTEN, the Danish newspaper that first published the cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that have caused fury throughout the Islamic world, refused to run drawings lampooning Jesus Christ, it emerged yesterday.

The Danish daily turned down the cartoons three years ago, on the grounds that they could be offensive and were not funny.

In April 2003, Danish illustrator Christoffer Zieler submitted a series of unsolicited cartoons dealing with the resurrection of Christ to Jyllands-Posten.