Welsh Anglican Church issues apology over Prophet Mohammed cartoon
Regional-UK, Religion, 3/22/2006

The Anglican Church in Wales has apologized to Muslims after a cartoon satirizing prophet Mohammed was printed in its Welsh-language magazine.

The Church in Wales issued an immediate recall of all copies of the latest edition of Y Llan - meaning Church - following the reproduction of the cartoon.

The drawing, reprinted from the French magazine France Soir, criticizes the Prophet Mohammed by depicting him sitting on a heavenly cloud with Buddha and Christian and Muslim deities.

He is being told "Don't complain... we've all been caricatured here."

The cartoon was used to illustrate an article about the shared ancestry of Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

The spokesman for the Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan, said: "The Church in Wales is thoroughly investigating how this cartoon came to be reproduced. The church said "The Church in Wales is thoroughly investigating how this cartoon came to be reproduced in Y Llan. Despite the publication's small circulation, we are concerned about the possibility of causing any offence to the Muslim community in Wales - with whom the Church in Wales has an excellent relationship - as a result of the reproduction of this cartoon.

"The Bishop of St Davids, Rt Rev Carl Cooper - the bishop who has oversight of the Church in Wales' communication activity - is conducting the investigation.

"However, the Church in Wales has decided that in the meantime, the best response to this situation was to immediately recall the 400 or so copies of the present edition of Y Llan and a letter from the Archbishop was sent to all the publication's subscribers last week requesting that they return their copies. The Archbishop has also been in touch with the leaders of the Muslim community in Wales to proffer an apology for any offense caused.

"The Bishops of the Church in Wales have already made it clear that they regret the publication of the cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed in various European publications, and the offence that these have caused the Muslim community."

The church noted that "The Muslim community has accepted the apology in the spirit it was given and value the Archbishop's tremendous work and initiatives in bringing the Muslim and Christian communities together. Saleem Kidwai, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Wales, which represents the majority of the Muslims in Wales said 'We value Archbishop's magnanimity and his concern for our feelings. The Archbishop phoned me as soon as it was brought to his notice. We in Wales are very proud to have such good relations with all faith communities, particularly the Christian and the Jewish communities. Everybody knows the strength of our feelings toward these cartoons, and I am glad the churches respect our beliefs and we should all respect, appreciate and value each other beliefs.'"

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