Draw Muhammad Day!

Today is Everyone Draw Muhammad Day, the clumsily named response to the flap over South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker putting Muhammad in one of their episodes. Silly animators, animating stuff. What were they thinking?

Of course, all of this ultimately goes back to the Danish newspaper’s editorial cartoons, published in 2005, which caused a flurry of death threats, burning embassies and endless pissed-off Muslim rhetoric.

So for my own part, here is my drawing of Muhammad:

Yep, that’s him. Big Mo! In this image, he’s riding the Al Baraq, a mythical creature with the body of a donkey, long legs, the head of a human and the tail of a peacock. It also has “wings on its thighs” which help it to fly and run faster. I based my illustration on a Persian 15th century manuscipt entitled Miraj Nama. It tells the story of Muhammad’s “Night Journey” in which he visited the Seven Heavens and got to see the houris — the virgins who await martyrs and prophets — just lying around waiting for the next suicide bomber to arrive.

Here’s the original I was working from:

I made him look a little happier and jolly. Religious leaders always look so dour. I also added some details to the Baraq that I found in other references, namely the wings and the peacock tail. The anime girl head was inspired by the Asian look of the original. It reminded me of Jackie Chan, for some reason. If I ever got to ride a magical, long-legged donkey-bird, I’d hope that he had the head of Jackie Chan. That would rock!

Personally, I’d like to see this expanded into some kind of “Draw Taboo Subjects Day” or “Freedom Of Illustration Day.” Why should Muhammad have all the fun? After all, Jews and Christians share an Old Testament which clearly prohibits “graven images.”

Oh, I wonder if Scientologists would start burning embassies if I drew pictures of L. Ron Hubbard?

As-Salamu Àlaykum!

See more examples at The Friendly Atheist.

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