German cartoonist threatened for cartoon on Iranian soccer

German cartoonist Klaus Stuttmann has been receiving death threats after a cartoon of his ran in Germany about the German military being used for security to safeguard the World Cup. In the drawing, the soccer team with the explosives strapped to their chest is labelled “Iran.” This cartoon had nothing to do with the Mohammad caricatures.

You can see the cartoon here. The caption supposedly says, “That’s why it’s absolutely necessary to have the army around.”

The Tagesspiegel, a Berlin-based newspaper, published a cartoon Friday by caricaturist Klaus Stuttmann that depicted four heavily armed Bundeswehr soldiers facing four Iranian soccer players equipped with explosive belts.

The drawing was meant to criticize German politicians favoring the deployment to safeguard the month-long tournament. Stuttmann employed irony to show that it was not necessary to deploy armed troops, as there are no soccer players that would commit terrorist acts.

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