LONDON: A controversial advertisement showing Pope Benedict XVI kissing Egypt's al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb has been pulled by clothing retailer Benetton on Wednesday after the Vatican threatened to take the company to court over the image. According to Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi, the campaign was “totally unacceptable” and was full of “grave disrespect.” The image was immediately withdrawn from use after the Vatican complaint and threats. In Egypt, al-Azhar told Bikyamasr.com that they had no comment on the matter, saying “we usually do not get involved in such dealings.” But a local cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Abdallah, in Cairo, said that such use “is to create controversy. I was in advertising before finding God and I understand what they were doing with the attempt, but they should have known better than to use religious figures in such a way.” The former American University in Cairo (AUC) graduate and marketing executive turned cleric told Bikyamasr.com that “for a clothing company to create this kind of tension will only do good things for their business. The Vatican should have just let it go and not worried themselves with such ordeal.” But the Vatican said the campaign was part hatred and was illegally using the Pope's likeness without permission. Benetton fought back in an attempt to argue the campaign was actually attempting to fight against hatred and intolerance. “We reiterate that the meaning of this campaign is exclusively to combat the culture of hatred in all its forms,” a Benetton Group spokesman said in an official statement. “We are therefore sorry that the use of the image of the pope and the imam has so offended the sentiments of the faithful. In corroboration of our intentions, we have decided, with immediate effect, to withdraw this image from every publication.” The Italian company's “UNHATE” campaign is intended to promote a new foundation dedicated to “the creation of a new culture of tolerance … building on Benetton's underpinning values.” ** Bikyamasr.com staff contributed to this report in Cairo. BM
