They have refused to kow-tow to those Muslims who demand that the most stringent interpretation of Islamic law regarding depictions of Muhammad be followed.

An article about the Prophet Muhammad in the English-language Wikipedia has become the subject of an online protest in the last few weeks because of its representations of Muhammad, taken from medieval manuscripts.
In addition to numerous e-mail messages sent to Wikipedia.org, an online petition cites a prohibition in Islam on images of people.

The petition has more than 80,000 “signatures,” though many who submitted them to ThePetitionSite.com, remained anonymous.

“We have been noticing a lot more similar sounding, similar looking e-mails beginning mid-January,” said Jay Walsh, a spokesman for the Wikimedia Foundation in San Francisco, which administers the various online encyclopedias in more than 250 languages.

A Frequently Asked Questions page explains the site’s polite but firm refusal to remove the images: “Since Wikipedia is an encyclopedia with the goal of representing all topics from a neutral point of view, Wikipedia is not censored for the benefit of any particular group.”

The notes left on the petition site come from all over the world. “It’s totally unacceptable to print the Prophet’s picture,” Saadia Bukhari from Pakistan wrote in a message. “It shows insensitivity towards Muslim feelings and should be removed immediately.”

First let me offer a couple words back to Saadia Bukhari and other Muslims demanding that non-Muslims follow their rules -- لدغة لي.

Second, to I offer offer possible a compromise – instead of using a picture of a veiled Muhammad from a Muslim source, they should use an unveiled picture of Muhammad from other Islamic sources. But if that is unacceptable to those insisting upon dhimmitude by Wikipedia and the rest of us, II hereby grant permission for Wikipedia to freely make use of this picture I photoshopped last year.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Right Pundits, Rosemary's Thoughts, A Newt One- Shared News!, Right Truth, Big Dog's Weblog, Adeline and Hazel, Allie is Wired, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Celebrity Smack, Dumb Ox Daily News, A Newt One, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 01:41 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 376 words, total size 4 kb.