LUCKNOW, Feb 20: An Islamic court in India on Monday issued a fatwa condemning to death the 12 artists who drew the controversial cartoons. The decree was issued in Lucknow on behalf of the Idara-i-Sharia Darul Kaza by its religious head.

“Death is the only penalty for the cartoonists who had drawn sacrilegious cartoons of the Holy Prophet (pbuh),” Maulana Mufti Abul Irfan, the religious head of the court, said.

The court’s ruling is binding on Muslims, but can be challenged under Indian law.

Maulana Irfan said it was clearly written in the Holy Quran that anyone who insulted the Holy Prophet (pbuh) deserved to be punished.

He said the fatwa was applicable wherever Muslims live. —AFP