Sunday, Danish artist Kurt Westergaard died at the age of 86. Westergaard was infamous for drawing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad which sparked outrage around the Muslim world.

Westergaard passed away in his sleep after suffering from an illness for a long period.

He was behind 12 drawings published by conservative daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten under the headline “The Face of Muhammad.” One of his drawings sparked anger after it showed the Prophet wearing a turban in the shape of a bomb.

Initially, people did not notice the cartoons, however after two weeks, a demonstration against them was held in Copenhagen and then ambassadors from Muslim countries in Denmark lodged a protest.

In February 2006, the anger escalated into anti-Danish protests across the Muslim world. Some of the demonstrations became violent.

Following the protests, Danish and Norwegian embassies were attacked and dozens of people died.

This led to debate about Islamophobia and the limits of freedom of expression and religion in Denmark and beyond.

Additionally, 12 people were killed in 2005 in an attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly in Paris, which had reprinted the cartoons in 2012.

Westergaard had been working at Jyllands-Posten since the mid eighties as an illustrator.

In 2010, Danish police caught a 28-year-old man armed with a knife in Westergaard’s house, as he was planning to kill him.