Egyptian media reported last month that the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) had harshly criticized a website that publishes cartoons featuring Prophet Mohamed and Jesus. According to an Ahram Online report, the MAB claimed that the images were as insulting as those published in Denmark in 2005:
Muslim Association of Britain
London, Tuesday 21 Jan 2014 One of the most influential Islamic organisations in the UK has slammed a website that publishes cartoons featuring Prophet Mohamed and Jesus. The website, Jesus and Mo, features a weekly comic strip in which the two prophets debate and joke about the central tenets of Islam and Christianity.
The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) published a statement saying that the images were ‘extremely offensive to believers’ of the two faiths and ‘potentially inflammatory,’ and urged the website’s operators to take down the comics at once.
The MAB added that the depiction of the two prophets was ‘as insulting as those published in Denmark,’ referring to the 12 editorial cartoons depicting Prophet Mohamed that were printed in a Danish newspaper in 2005, sparking widespread anger and protests.
Insisting that it respects freedom of speech and artistic expression, the MAB however questioned ‘the wisdom of any individual or organization that places at risk the dignity and values of anyone else, even if they might not hold those values.’
The site’s most-recent comic, from 15 January, shows Prophet Mohamed and Jesus in bed together, with Prophet Mohamed reading the Bible and grilling Jesus over the believability of the resurrection.
The website’s operators have refused to remove the cartoons.
The UK Islamic group also attacked British politician Maajid Naawaz for posting the cartoons to his Twitter account.
The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) had for many years been the most active organization in the U.K Muslim Brotherhood. Many of the leaders of the MAB left in 2007 to form the British Muslim Initiative (BMI). According to an Israeli think-tank report, the breakup appeared to be the result of a conflict between traditionalists in the MAB who were unhappy with the high level of involvement in U.K left-wing politics while those who who formed the BMI wished such activity to continue. Anas Al-Tikriti, the leader of the BMI, and former MAB official, is the son of Osama Al-Tikriti, one of the leaders of the Iraqi Islamic Partyrepresenting the Muslim Brotherhood in that country.
