Iraqi Parliament Condemns Magazine Over Cartoon Showing Female Suicide Bomber Depicted as the Statue of Liberty, an "Insult to Muslim Women"....

Shouldn't we be the ones who are offended?....

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi magazine cartoon depicting a female suicide bomber in a pose like the Statue of Liberty, arm raised with a lit bomb fuse instead of a torch in her hand, has angered lawmakers who voted to sue the publication for allegedly damaging the image of Muslim women.

The editors of al-Isbouiyah, or Weekly, say the cartoon is meant to condemn al-Qaida in Iraq and should be protected under freedom of expression laws enshrined in the Iraqi Constitution.

The controversy erupted on Sunday when Parliament declared the cartoon an insult to Muslims, especially women, and voted to sue the magazine for defamation, a crime that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.

The cartoon shows a woman standing on a pedestal in the Islamic burqa gown that covers her from head to toe, a bomb in one hand and a fuse in the other. A caption on the bomb says in Arabic: "Terrorism and female suicide bombers."

Next to the burqa-clad woman, whose eyes are visible above a veil, is an image of the Statue of Liberty, arm raised with her torch in right hand. A caption on the tablet in her left hand reads: "Democracy and Liberty."

ZIP

Comments

[Deez]

I don't know--sounds pertinent enough for me. On one hand you have the Muslim idea of female independence and freedom of expression ("trapped" in a burqa, only free to do one thing other than make babies for your society--detonate yourself) and on the other hand you have the American symbol of Western freedom.

[Bob]

Hey ZIP,

Is this really the "Joke of the Day"?

[pulsar182]

hmmm, come to think of it...all the women suicide bombers to date have been wearing Burkas....

[Airedale]

with that, they adjourned for a month to hit the reelection circuits