Church of Wales in 'showing cartoons' SHOCK

cymrococh · March 21, 2006

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4827294.stm

Church recalls 'Prophet' magazine

The Church in Wales has appealed to 500 subscribers to its magazine to return their copies after it printed a cartoon satirising the Prophet Muhammad.

The editor has resigned after the cartoon was published in the Church's Welsh-language magazine Y Llan.

Some see the cartoons as an attack on Islam. There have been violent protests after they appeared in European papers.

The Archbishop of Wales apologised to the Muslim Council of Wales, which accepted the "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 - which was 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 subscribers 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.

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.

Stevie H · March 21, 2006

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