Over 1,000 Danish websites hacked over cartoon row

Meanwhile, on Friday prominent Muslim scholar Dr Yusuf Al Qaradawi called to boycott Danish goods and peacefully protest against the recent republication of cartoons ridiculing Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in 17 Danish newspapers. However, businesses do not expect the issue to snowball as it did in 2006 when the cartoon row first came to light.

The hacker, calling himself United Arab Hackers and reportedly from Saudi Arabia, inundated online forums with exploits and links to infiltrated Danish sites. It seems the hits were indiscriminate – common factor being “.dk” at the end of the URL, which means the website is based in Denmark.

Many of these sites appear to be small and local. The websites of international companies based in Denmark, such as dairy producer Lurpak and Carlsberg, were not affected.

The hacker claimed in his communiqué that he will continue to attack all Danish-related websites and promise to “forcefully respond to all those who insult Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)”.

He concluded by claiming these are “some of the accomplishments the champions achieved”.

Meanwhile, Dr Qaradawi said the Islamic world should not remain silent and should use political means to protest, but not necessarily through demonstrations.

He suggested Muslims should express their protest through various media such as art, films and theatre.