CAIRO: The Minister of Religious Endowments condemned the recent publication of a caricature of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) in a Swedish newspaper, describing it as an "irresponsible and offensive action. The cartoon, created by the Swedish artist Lars Vilks, featured Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) standing beside a dog and was published in Nerikes Allehanda, a local newspaper in the southern central Swedish city of Örebro, on Aug. 18. The recent cartoon, however, is not expected to produce the same controversy caused two years ago by the 12 cartoons that were published in a Danish newspaper and also featured Prophet Mohamed (PBUH). "The Arab and the Islamic world have learned that nothing can work with those people [the West], said Sheikh Mahmoud Ashour, former deputy of Al-Azhar and member of the Islamic Research Center. However, Muslims in Sweden condemned the publishing of the cartoons and are expected to take some "serious action Ashour told Daily News Egypt. Eid, executive director for the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, told Daily News Egypt that the Islamic world's reaction to the Swedish caricature is still unclear. "The reaction depends on to what extent the Muslim world learned from its previous experience with the Danish cartoons, Eid explained. "I hope that the Muslim world will have a smarter response this time, he added. The Danish cartoons in question had sparked violent demonstrations in Muslim countries and triggered a boycott campaign against Danish products. According to Eid, the journalist behind the Swedish cartoon is seeking "to get famous and so he urges the Muslim world to ignore his cartoon so as not to give him the satisfaction. Sweden will be dealing with the issue as "an internal matter, Helina Ibn Awda, the chairwoman of the Islamic Union in Sweden, told Al Ahram. Ashour further said that "no one has the right to offend others' beliefs or religions. "In Islam we are required to believe, love and respect all other prophets, Ashour added, describing the publishing of that type of cartoon as a "racist attitude that some European countries have adopted recently.
