Kurt Westergaard, the Danish artist in Islamic Prophet cartoon dispute said he would not appear before court in Amman, local daily the Jordan Times reported on Friday.
The 73-year-old cartoonist said, "I came to the conclusion that I will not come to Amman even if I (officially) receive the subpoena."
Westergaard said he had contacted Zakaria Sheikh, head of the local media-led campaign which filed the lawsuit against him, but Sheikh did not understand his point on the caricatures.
"I have tried to explain myself but nobody understood me. They do not understand that my problem is with terrorists not Muslims," said the cartoonist.
In response, Osama Bitar, a lawyer with the campaign, said, "By his caricature he gave the impression that Islam is a faith of violence and terrorism. All Muslims were insulted by the drawings."
Asked if he would draw the cartoon if he knew that Muslims would be provoked, the artist said, "Yes, I will do it because it is my job. Disagreement is very important and if we disagree, it does not mean that we have to sue each other and kill each other."
However, Bitar said there is a difference between healthy discussions and insults.
The controversy began after 12 cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September 2005, and deepened when the cartoons were reprinted in more countries.
This led to anger and protests across the Muslim world, some of which escalated into violence.
The cartoonist was subpoenaed by the Amman prosecutor general in early June along with several Danish journalists and editors.
Source:Xinhua
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