In 2006, the publication of several caricatures of Mohammed in Danish publication Jyllands-Posten led to deadly riots across the Muslim world -- and sparked a larger debate about self-censorship by newspapers. Last month, Danish authorities arrested three people in an alleged plot to kill cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who drew one of the original Mohammed cartoons. After this, liberal and conservative newspapers alike in Denmark rallied together and reprinted the cartoons in a show of free-speech solidarity. And today, in a statement presented by al-Qaida media wing As-Sahab, Osama bin Laden has warned Europe of "severe" retribution for insulting the prophet.

From the Associated Press:

"'The response will be what you see and not what you hear and let our mothers bereave us if we do not make victorious our messenger of God,' said a voice believed to be bin Laden's, without specifying what action would be taken.

The five-minute message, bin Laden's first this year, ... came as the Muslim world marks the Prophet Muhammad's birthday Thursday and amid the reigniting of a two-year-old controversy over some Danish cartoons deemed by Muslims to be insulting. Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry.

Bin Laden described the drawings as taking place in the framework of a 'new Crusade' against Islam, in which he said the pope has played a 'large and lengthy role.'"

But here's the clincher: As-Sahab might be airing reruns:

"Ben Venzke, the head of IntelCenter, a U.S. group that monitors militant messages, called Wednesday's message a 'clear threat against EU member countries and an indicator of a possible upcoming significant attack.'

...'You went overboard in your unbelief and freed yourselves of the etiquettes of dispute and fighting and went to the extent of publishing these insulting drawings,' he said, according to a transcript released by the SITE Institute, another U.S. group that monitors terror messages. 'This is the greater and more serious tragedy, and reckoning for it will be more severe.'

Adam Raisman, senior analyst at the SITE Institute, said that the message's release coincides with an increased buzz in online jihadi forums calling for revenge against Europe over the cartoons.

But Raisman noted that bin Laden's message did not specifically mention the republishing of the cartoons, only the publishing, and it did not give any other time landmarks to prove it had been recorded since then.

Raisman also noted bin Laden's silence on Wednesday's fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq."

BACKGROUND: Newspaper threatened for making Mohammed references