Sunday, September 23, 2007

Naughty Cartoon in Bangladesh



Translation of the dialogue:

* Boy, what is your name?
- My name is Babu.
* It is customary to mention Muhammed before the name.
* What is your father's name?
- Muhammed Abu
* What's this in your lap?
- Muhammed cat


We read:

"Bangladeshi authorities Tuesday arrested a cartoonist after drawings that Muslims said insulted their religion were published in a national newspaper, police and the government said. A Home Ministry statement said Arifur Rahman's sketches - titled "Name" - that came out Monday in a weekly supplement of the Prothom Alo - "hurt the religious sentiments of the people."

Police detectives picked up Rahman from his house in the capital, Dhaka, after the home ministry ordered his arrest, Janey Alam, a police officer at Tejgaon police station said. Rahman was yet to be formally charged, Alam said, adding that he was arrested under a stringent law that allows detention without any specific charges. Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation, has no specific blasphemy laws. But offenders can be prosecuted for hurting religious or public sentiments....

Source