Enraged By Cat Joke, Muslims Take a Number

I'm admittedly not very well-versed in Muslim comic strips. Mediawatchwatch has unearthed a recent one from Bangladesh that seems neither sidesplitting nor particularly risqué. But sure, your inner eight-year-old might get a chuckle out of it.

Muslim man to boy with cat: Boy, what’s your name?
Boy: My name is Babu.
Man: It is customary to put Mohammed in front of the name. What is your father’s name?
Boy: Mohammed Abu.
Man: What is that on your lap?
Boy: Mohammed cat.

Ten days ago, local cartoonist Arifur Rahman promptly disappeared behind bars for that one.

Inevitably,

There have been the expected street performances of marching, shouting, punching the air and brandishing banners, and a few minor conflagrations here and there with the main combustible material being newsprint — bearing the cartoon, of course. Oh, and calls for death.

According to Reporters Without Borders,

Religious leaders have called for the cartoonist to be severely punished and for Prothom Alo, one of the country’s leading dailies, to be closed. Copies of the newspaper have been burned outside one of the capital’s mosques.

If Rahman is guilty of one thing, it must be his futile attempt to provide mirth to the humorless. It's like putting lipstick on a pig*.

* [Porcine metaphor not intended to give offense to followers of any particular religion.]

Comments

[K. Dale Boley]

Muslim man to boy with cat: Hey that's pretty cool where did you get it?

Cat: I got him in Gaza. They're all over the place.