Backers see justice finally being served over cartoons they say defamed Mohammad; critics see show trial aimed at winning favor with Islamists.

Talkbacks (5)   AMMAN, Jordan – Almost six years after a series of cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Mohammad were published by a Danish newspaper, a Jordanian court is taking upon itself to try in absentia cartoonist Kurt Westergaard and 19 other journalists and editors.

In a trial scheduled to get underway, they are charged with publishing offensive material against the Prophet. Attorney Usama Beitar says the trial in a Jordanian court represents “a civilized answer” to what he called a smear campaign by Western journalists and politicians against Islam. Read more