Dubai:
An English-language magazine by Al-Qaida, in its first issue, ran an article it said was penned by US-born Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki calling for the execution of anyone who defames the Prophet Mohammed.
"The proper solution to this growing campaign of defamation" of the Prophet is "the execution of those involved," reads the article in Web magazine "Inspire," in a text provided by the US monitoring service SITE on Sunday.
The article singles out Seattle-based cartoonist Molly Norris, who satirically proposed to make May 20 an "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day," although Islam bans the depiction of any prophet as blasphemous.
"A cartoonist out of Seattle, Washington, named Molly Norris started the 'Everyone Draw Mohammed Day,'" the article attributed to the radical Yemeni cleric says.
"She should be taken as a prime target of assassination, along with others who participated in her campaign."
"The large number of participants makes it easier for us because there are many targets to choose from," reads the article in Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's magazine.
The killings should not, however, be limited to "Draw Mohammed" participants, the article says.
"Because (participants) are practising a 'right' that is defended by the law, they have the backing of the entire Western political system. This would make... attacking any Western target legal from an Islamic viewpoint."
Awlaki, now based in Yemen, rose to prominence last year after it emerged he had communicated by email with Major Nidal Hasan, a US army psychiatrist accused of opening fire on colleagues at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13.
The imam has also been linked to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian student accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound flight with explosives in his underwear on December 25.
A US official said in April that President Barack Obama's administration had authorised the targeted killing of Awlaki, after American intelligence agencies concluded the cleric was directly involved in anti-US plots.