New Islam caricature incident

Yesterday, on "Rose Monday" carnival processions made their way through many German cities. Their floats carried, as is the German wont, brightly-coloured papier maché figures poking fun at politicians (George W. Bush has been a regular victim) and at current affairs.

In Düsseldorf, one of the big three carnival cities, one of the floats depicted two identical mullahs carrying a pistol and a sword and wearing a belt of explosives. The only difference was that one wore a notice stating "Cliché" and the other had the word "Reality" attached.

This was considered an unacceptable provocation by the Central Council of Moslems in Germany, who immediately protested in the press.

A further prickly topic, the Pope's Regensburg lecture, was caricatured in the Mainz procession, where the Pope was portrayed driving his Popemobile into a minarett.


Apparently the organizers had "tested" the reaction of Moslems in advance and had found that many were able to laugh at the float. Nobody seemed concerned that Catholics might not appreciate the joke.