Lars Hedegaard
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Lars Hedegaard Jensen (born 19 September 1942) is a Danish author, historian, editor, journalist and
critic of Islam Criticism of Islam can take many forms, including academic critiques, political criticism, religious criticism, and personal opinions. Subjects of criticism include Islamic beliefs, practices, and doctrines. Criticism of Islam has been present ...
. He established the
International Free Press Society The International Free Press Society (IFPS), founded in 2009, is a creation of the Danish Free Press Society. The stated purpose of IFPS "is to defend freedom of expression wherever and by whomever it is threatened". It has been described as a k ...
in 2009, an extension of the
Danish Free Press Society The Danish Free Press Society () is a Danish organisation founded in 2004 and originally led by Lars Hedegaard, that works in support of freedom of expression. It presents an annual award, the Sappho Award. The organisation has a publishing house, ...
founded in 2004, of which he served as chairman until 2014. Hedegaard was the target of an assassination attempt in 2013, after which he has lived under police protection.


Career

Hedegaard was born in
Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 64,418 (1 January 2025) and the municipality's population is 97,921 (), making it the List of cities and ...
. He received a
cand.phil. Candidate of Philosophy can refer to the US degree or status of Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil. or Ph.C.) granted to Ph.D. students who have been accepted as candidates for that degree, or (as a direct translation) to degrees or former degrees at ...
degree in history from
Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...
in 1971, and a cand.mag. in English from the
University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...
in 1973. At first a high school teacher, he later worked as an editorial publisher of
Sage Publishing Sage Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American Independent business, independent Academic publishing, academic publishing company, founded in 1965 in New York City by Sara Miller McCune and now based in the Newbury Park, California, ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in the mid-to-late 1970s. He was also one of the editors and driving forces behind the ''Fundamental historie'' series of modern history books around the same time. A self-described
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
, he was politically active as a member of the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party until 1982. He was the editor of the ''
Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...
'' publishing house in the early 1980s, and the chief editor of ''
Dagbladet Information ''Information'' (), full name: ''Dagbladet Information'' (), is a Danish newspaper published Monday through Saturday. History and profile ''Dagbladet Information'' was established and published by the Danish resistance movement in 1943 during ...
'' in the late 1980s, until he was forced to leave the left-wing newspaper after he helped expose the far-left Blekingegade Gang. He was an editor for the
Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...
throughout the 1990s, and became part of the satirical editorial column "Groft sagt" for ''
Berlingske Tidende ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, 'Berling's Times'), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' is ...
'' in 1998. He wrote for the column until he was fired from the newspaper in 2008, according to himself because he had been told to stop writing about Islam by a new editor-in-chief, which he refused to do.


Criticism of Islam

Hedegaard became known as a critic of Islam shortly after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
in 2001. He co-authored the book ''I krigens hus: Islams kolonisering af Vesten'' about Islam's "colonisation of the West" in the " house of war" with Helle Merete Brix in 2003, which has been described as a part of the "
Eurabia "Eurabia" (portmanteau of Europe and Arabia) is a far-right Islamophobic conspiracy theory that posits that globalist entities, led by French and Arab powers, aim to Islamize and Arabize Europe, thereby weakening its existing culture and u ...
narrative". He founded the
Danish Free Press Society The Danish Free Press Society () is a Danish organisation founded in 2004 and originally led by Lars Hedegaard, that works in support of freedom of expression. It presents an annual award, the Sappho Award. The organisation has a publishing house, ...
in 2004 after Danish PEN objected to admit him as a member due to his writings in ''I krigens hus'', and established the
International Free Press Society The International Free Press Society (IFPS), founded in 2009, is a creation of the Danish Free Press Society. The stated purpose of IFPS "is to defend freedom of expression wherever and by whomever it is threatened". It has been described as a k ...
in 2009, which has been described as a central networking hub for the
counter-jihad Counter-jihad (also known as the counter-jihad movement) is a self-titled Islamophobia, anti-Muslim political movement loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, demonstrators, and other activists across the Western world. Proponents are ...
movement. Hedegaard has been described as a part of the counter-jihad movement, having participated in several of the international counter-jihad conferences held since 2007. He was a member of the
Danish People's Party The Danish People's Party (DPP; , DF) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Denmark. It was formed in 1995 by former members of the Progress Party (FrP). The party saw a period of significant growth after its founding a ...
, although it was not publicly known, until resigning his membership in 2010 after he had been charged with hate speech. He joined the New Right party in 2016. In 2014 he released an animated film that he co-produced with Pakistani filmmaker
Imran Firasat Imran Firasat (born 1978) is a Pakistani Criticism of Islam, Islam-critical filmmaker. Born in a Muslim family, he Apostasy in Islam, renounced Islam and converted to Christianity. He lives in Spain, and has been described as a part of the counter- ...
entitled ''Aisha and Muhammad'', which focuses on the life of the fifty-year-old Islamic prophet
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
and his marriage to a then six-year-old
Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...
. He has also collaborated with
Lars Vilks Lars Endel Roger Vilks (20 June 1946 – 3 October 2021) was a Swedish visual artist and activist who was known for Lars Vilks Muhammad drawings controversy, the controversy surrounding his drawings of Muhammad. Many years earlier he had created ...
, known for his Muhammad drawings controversy. In 2016, Hedegaard participated in a "counterjihad" panel at the annual
Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC ) is an annual political conference attended by Conservatism in the United States, conservative Activism, activists and officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American ...
(CPAC) in the United States, sponsored by
Frank Gaffney Frank J. Gaffney Jr. (born April 5, 1953) is an American defense policy analyst and founder of the Center for Security Policy (CSP). He founded the CSP in 1988, serving as its president until 2023, and thereafter as executive chairman. In the 1 ...
and the
Center for Security Policy The Center for Security Policy (CSP) is a US far-right, anti-Muslim, Washington, D.C.–based think tank. The founder and former president of the organization is Frank J. Gaffney Jr., who now serves as the group's executive chairman. The c ...
.


Hate speech trial and acquittal

In December 2009, Hedegaard was reported to the police by Yilmaz Evcil of the
Ã…rhus Municipality Aarhus Municipality (), known as Ã…rhus Municipality () until 2011, is a '' kommune'' in the Central Denmark Region, on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 373,3 ...
integration council for comments made against Muslims. He had made critical remarks against the Islamic society, which included "they rape their own children. You hear it all the time. Girls in Muslim families are raped by their uncles, their cousins or their father". He was first acquitted in January 2011 because the statements were made in an interview with the blog ''Snaphanen'' that he claimed he did not know would be publicised publicly. Later the same year, in May, the acquittal was reversed as he was convicted of hate speech under the Article 266b, and fined 5,000 kr, even as he clarified that he did not intend to accuse all Muslims of abusing their children. He appealed the second verdict, and in April 2012, the
Supreme Court of Denmark The Supreme Court (, lit. ''Highest Court'', , ) is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom of Denmark. It is based at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen which also houses the Danish Pa ...
finally acquitted him in a 7–0 decision.


Assassination attempt

On 5 February 2013, a gunman posing as a mailman attempted to shoot Hedegaard at his home. The gunshot narrowly missed his head, and the assailant escaped after a scuffle after his gun jammed. The Danish Prime Minister
Helle Thorning-Schmidt Helle Thorning-Schmidt (; born 14 December 1966) is a Danish retired politician who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each p ...
condemned the attack and said the case was even more severe if the motive was to prevent Hedegaard from using his free speech. Danish Muslims responded by rallying to defend Hedegaard and to defend his right to free speech. The Islam Society, which had been heavily involved in the protest against the ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons and helped to publicise their opposition internationally, stated that it regretted its role during the controversy, and the Danish branch of
Minhaj-ul-Quran Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) () is a global non-governmental organization (NGO) founded by Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri in 1980 in Lahore, Pakistan. With its headquarters located in Lahore, MQI has expanded its operations to over 100 countries ...
demonstrated outside the City Hall in defence of Hedegaard and free speech. Since the attack, Hedegaard has been constantly guarded by the
Danish Security and Intelligence Service The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (DSIS; (PET)) is the national security and intelligence agency of Denmark. The agency focuses solely on national security while foreign intelligence operations are handled by the Danish Defense Intel ...
(PET), and has had to live in hiding in a rural place in Denmark on a secret address. He has said that the high rent cost of the highly secured residence offered to him by PET has ruined him financially. He went on a leave of absence as chairman of the Danish Free Press Society after the assassination attempt, and finally left the position to Katrine Winkel Holm in 2014. He wrote a book about the assassination attempt in 2015, titled ''Attentatet''. He was thereafter charged with naming the suspected shooter in his book against a court prohibition, and in 2016 sentenced to a fine of 10,000 kr. In November 2016, the US State Department issued a note, designating three persons as terror-operatives, one of whom was Basil Hassan, an external operations plotter for the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
(ISIL), who was accused of having attempted to shoot Hedegaard. Hassan was said to have been released as part of an alleged exchange for 49 hostages held by ISIL after having been arrested in Turkey in 2014, and was believed to have travelled to Syria to join ISIL after his release. The prohibition on naming Hassan by a Danish court was lifted in December 2016.


Memoirs and recognition

Hedegaard authored two volumes of memoirs in 2010 and 2011, ''Verden var så rød, mor'', about the period 1942–1980, and ''Ræven går derude, mor'', about the period 1980–2011. He received the Raoul Wallenberg Medal in 2005, and the Defender of Freedom Award and the Niels Ebbesen Medal in 2012. Also in 2012, the Danish Free Press Society published a 302-page ''
Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
'' to Hedegaard, titled ''Frem for alt frihed: festskrift til Lars Hedegaard'', with over twenty-one main contributors, both Danish and international.


Personal life

Hedegaard has been married twice. In 1969, he
converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( or ) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Thus, by convertin ...
in connection with his marriage to his first wife, Jewish-American Barbara Levin. Hedegaard has three children and one step-daughter.


Bibliography

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Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedegaard, Lars 1942 births Living people 20th-century Danish historians 20th-century Danish journalists 20th-century Danish male writers 20th-century Danish newspaper editors 20th-century Danish non-fiction writers 21st-century Danish historians 21st-century Danish journalists 21st-century Danish male writers 21st-century Danish non-fiction writers 21st-century memoirists Aarhus University alumni Berlingske people Converts to Judaism Counter-jihad activists Dagbladet Information editors Danish critics of Islam Danish editors Danish expatriates in the United States Danish free speech activists Danish male journalists Danish male non-fiction writers Danish Marxists Danish memoirists Danish satirists Danish Trotskyists Danish victims of crime Jewish communists Jewish Danish writers People acquitted of crimes People from Horsens Journalists from Los Angeles Writers from Los Angeles Politiken editors Danish shooting survivors Survivors of terrorist attacks University of Copenhagen alumni