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Prophet's pic in book raises Muslim ire
Weeks after the Danish cartoons of Prophet Mohammed receded from newspaper headlines, the Muslim quarter of Hyderabad has been set aflutter with the discovery of a Class IV text-book that bears a sketch of the founder of Islam.The sketch, Acknowledging that the tone of the chapter is not injurious to Islam, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) said the episode breaches an important precept of Islam, that the Prophet never be depicted pictorially. The party demanded that the government immediately withdraw the book from all schools and arrest the writer of the lesson and the publisher of the book. The lesson narrates a parable in which Prophet Mohammed is shown as someone who showered kindness even on His rivals. MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi sees in this episode a conspiracy to hurt Muslims. "An international agency has been working to provoke and disturb Muslims. After the caricature of the Prophet in Danish newspapers rocked the entire world, how come the writer and publisher of this book did not realise the implications? We want the publisher and the author arrested immediately and an apology tendered to Muslims," Owaisi demanded. After the issue became public, Arkbird Publications withdrew the books, not just in Hyderabad, but also from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu where they had been desptached. Its director for AP, K B Prasad said, "Our intention was not to hurt but to tell a good story to children. All the remaining books will be destroyed.'' Posted by: ryuge 2006-06-20 |
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