Another Mo-toon
From The Guardian, via Bartholomew, who report that an Italian magazine close to Catholic group Opus Dei (mentioned in the previous post on MWW) have published an image depicting Muhammad in hell. The cartoon follows.
The Guardian article says:
The drawing in Studi cattolici takes its inspiration from Dante’s Divine Comedy, in which the 14th-century poet imagines being guided through hell by the Latin poet Virgil, and sees the prophet cut in two as his punishment for spreading division. In the cartoon, Virgil points out another figure to Dante, saying: “And that one there with his pants down, that’s Italian policy towards Islam.” The caption uses a play on words to suggest Italy has chickened out in its attitude to Muslims.
An Opus Dei spokesman seems to be denying all knowledge of the cartoon. From the Guardian again:
An Opus Dei spokesman said the magazine was not an official publication of the conservative Roman Catholic fellowship, and the edition had not been checked in advance. The spokesman said Opus Dei’s founder, St JosemarÃa Escrivá de Balaguer (1902-75) “would have given up his life for the sake of respecting other people’s religious freedom”.
As you can see from the cartoon, it doesn’t actually feature Muhammad at all……
[…] Update: And hot on the heels of Opus Dei’s call for their relgious beliefs not to be offended, an Italian magazine close to the group has just published a cartoon depicting Muhammed in hell. What lovely and consistent people these religious types are. (hat tip: MediaWatchWatch) Posted by Paul in USA (April 18, 2006 at 7:56 pm) […]
How do we know it doesn’t feature Mo? He could look like Tony Bliar or Saddam Hussy for all I know!
The sad thing is, it’s even less funny than the Danish cartoons. Maybe that’s inevitable when you’ve got one repressive, censorious supernaturalism desperately trying to score points off another…?