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JOHANNESBURG A South African newspaper on Friday published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad on a therapists couch, angering Muslims and raising fears of protests during next months World Cup.
The weekly Mail & Guardian ran the cartoon after the South African Council of Muslim Theologians failed in a midnight bid to get a court order stopping publication, the newspaper said on its website.
The image, drawn by renowned cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, depicts the prophet on a therapists couch lamenting, “Other prophets have followers with a sense of humour!”
“I consider the newspaper court victory a triumph of freedom of speech. The cartoon was an assertion of freedom of speech, which we enjoy in this country,” said Shapiro, who works under the name Zapiro.
“I was hoping this time around a cartoon like this could get into the paper without any kind of protests,” he told AFP.
The newspaper said the Council of Muslim Theologians had raised the spectre of a violent backlash during the World Cup, which kicks off June 11, in arguments before the court requesting an injunction against the cartoon.
The paper said it received a flood of angry calls Friday, including death threats against Zapiro.
“Youve got to watch your back and This will cost him his life were some of the remarks made,” the paper said.
It said the image was a response to the controversy surrounding an “Everybody Draw Mohammad Day” campaign on Facebook, which called on political cartoonists and others to break the Muslim taboo on images of the prophet.
Shapiro said he did not expect his cartoon to spark protests and anger among the Muslim community.
“Everybody has a right to protest, it would not be the first time that my work has caused some discomfort,” he said.
Zapiros controversial work includes a 2008 carton that showed President Jacob Zuma unzipping his pants to rape a blindfolded Lady Justice.
The figure is held down by Zuma allies, with one saying, “Go for it, boss!”—AFP
