FaithWorld

(A Muslim protester raises a fist as he shouts slogans in front of a banner during a demonstration against Swedish artist Lars Vilks, whose sketch had shown the Prophet Mohammad with the body of a dog, outside the Swedish embassy in Kuala Lumpur March 26, 2010. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad)

Four men, charged with plotting to storm the offices of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten to protest against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad went on trial on Friday. Here is a timeline of what has happened since the newspaper became the first to publish the images that provoked Muslim protests around the globe.

Sept. 30, 2005 – Jyllands-Posten publishes the 12 cartoons by various artists, most of which depict the Prophet Mohammad. The cartoons trigger protests by Danish Muslims, but initially attract little attention elsewhere.

– In the following weeks, dozens of papers in Europe and elsewhere, including Norway’s Magazinet, reprint the cartoons.

Jan. 30, 2006 – Jyllands-Posten issues an apology.

Feb. 4 – Thousands of protesters set fire to the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus. The Danish and Norwegian embassies in Beirut are attacked the next day. Lebanese interior minister Hassan al-Sabaa resigns.

(Students belonging to Islami Jamiat-e-Talba group chant slogans against the republication of cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in Danish newspapers during a protest near the Danish Embassy in Islamabad March 13, 2008. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood)

Four men went on trial in Denmark on Friday accused of plotting a “Mumbai-style” attack on the offices of a Danish newspaper whose publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in 2005 outraged many Muslims.

The three Swedish citizens and one Tunisian pleaded not guilty to charges of terrorism and three of the four pleaded not guilty to illegal possession of weapons. Prosecutors have said they could face life sentences if found guilty.