Chancellor Angela Merkel praised what she described as 'the bravery' of a Danish cartoonist who caricatured the prophet Mohammed at an award ceremony honouring his achievements for freedom of speech. Praising illustrator Kurt Westergaard, she said '(he) has had to fear for his life since the publication of the cartoons in 2005.' Merkel emphasized that media freedom is an important element of rights in Europe. 'It does not matter if we think his cartoons are tasteful or not, if we think they are necessary and helping or not'. The question, she said, was, 'Is he allowed to do this? Yes, he is.' There have been at least three attempted attacks on the 75-year-old Westergaard or his Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, since he and 11 other artists angered Muslims around the world by creating the cartoons four years ago. Muslim protesters have burned Danish and other Western embassies. Pray: that Muslim sensitivities in non-Muslim countries be more attuned and less radical to local customs and conventions. (Ps.35:4-6)