Church recalls 'Prophet' magazsine

[Guest guest]

The Church in Wales has appealed to 500 rs to its magazine

to return their copies after it printed a cartoon satirising the

Prophet Muhammad.

An inquiry is under way into how the cartoon came to be used in the

Church's Welsh-language magazine Y Llan.

 

The Prophet's depiction is banned in Islam and similar images in

European papers sparked violent global protests.

 

The Archbishop of Wales has apologised to the Muslim Council of

Wales, which said it was an " unfortunate mistake " .

 

International protests over cartoons first published in a Danish

paper last autumn escalated after the images were republished in

Norway, France, Germany, Italy and Spain earlier this year, despite

complaints by ambassadors from Islamic countries.

 

There were protests at Danish embassies in Europe and the Middle

East, while those in Syria and Lebanon were attacked and at least

five people died in Afghanistan.

 

 

Protesters in Tehran demonstrated anger by burning the Danish flag

 

The Church in Wales printed the cartoon to illustrate an article in

the February edition of Y Llan - or Church in English - about the

shared ancestry of Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

 

The drawing - reprinted from the French magazine France Soir -

satirises the Prophet Muhammad by depicting him sitting on a heavenly

cloud with Buddha, and Christian and Jewish deities.

 

He is being told " don't complain...we've all been caricatured here " .

 

The Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan wrote to Y Llan's approximately

500 rs asking them to return their copies, which he said

would be reprinted without the cartoon.

 

Dr Morgan also personally contacted Saleem Kidwai, the Muslim Council

of Wales' general secretary, to apologise and to assure him that no

offence had been intended.

 

In a statement, the Church said it was " thoroughly investigating " how

the cartoon came to be reproduced.

 

 

An edition of the student paper was also withdrawn

 

The Bishops of the Church in Wales have already made it clear

that " they regret the publication of the cartoons depicting the

Prophet Muhammad in various European publications, and the offence

that these have caused the Muslim community " , the statement added.

 

Mr Kidwai said he regarded the latest publication as simply

an " unfortunate mistake " and said inter-faith relations were very

good in Wales and need not be jeopardised by the incident.

 

Last month, a Cardiff University student union newspaper was

withdrawn after it printed a different cartoon satirising the

Prophet.

 

Gair Rhydd - (Welsh for Free Word) - recalled 8,000 copies, suspended

its editor and issued a public apology.

 

It was thought the paper was the first UK publication to use any of

the controversial cartoons.

 

One of the images it included depicted the Prophet Muhammad carrying

a lit bomb on his head decorated with the Muslim declaration of faith

instead of a turban.