The Slatest

Palestine’s Abbas, Fresh Off Charlie Hebdo March, Orders Investigation Into Mohammed Cartoon

Abbas, right, with French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Pascal Le Segretain/AFP/Getty

On Jan. 11, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas marched with French President François Hollande at a massive Paris unity rally held (in part) to memorialize the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists who were murdered for drawing Mohammed. Now Abbas has reportedly described a Palestinian cartoon that some believe depicts Mohammed as a “terrible mistake” and ordered an investigation into its origin. From Reuters via the Guardian:

A drawing in the West Bank-based newspaper al-Hayat al-Jadidah on Sunday showed a robed man standing astride Earth and reaching into a heart-shaped pouch to sow seeds of love around the world. The caption reads: “Our Prophet Muhammad”.

Artist Mohammed Saba’aneh, a Muslim, said he meant no harm. The figure was not Muhammad but “a symbol of humanity enlightened by what the Prophet Muhammad brought”, he wrote on Facebook.

Abbas, according to official Palestinian news agency WaFa, said that the image’s publication demands “deterrent action.” Al-Hayat al-Jadidah has apologized for the cartoon and reiterated that it was not meant to show Mohammed but “to defend religions and to spread love and peace.”