Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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   You get drivel about aliens, abduction etc from all sorts of people, not just Christians – there are atheists, agnostics…

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   […] last time I had had occasion to write about Rowan County clerk Kim Davis, above, was three years ago…

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   Whatever is presented on the BBC, and I must admit I do not watch the TV, the fact is that…

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   “The curriculum had already drawn tensions among the county’s religious parents, with some worrying about appropriateness and arguing the material…

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   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

THE Mentor Publishing Co Ltd has admitted to “sacriledge” for including a cartoon which it “mistakenly identified” as Islam’s prophet.

According to this Nation report, among enraged Muslim parents was Mrs Amina Mohammed who asked:

Who checks the publishers? Do they have proof readers? How could this pass?

In the Grade 2 Mentor Encyclopaedia book, the publisher included the cartoon which pupils were asked to colour in.

Galgalo Gurre, another parent, said:

My child was doing her homework and as usual I was monitoring her work only to see the blasphemy. This is so wrong in so many ways. What was the intention? I had to call her school teachers who were equally astonished.

In a statement, the publisher apologised for “the grave mistake”:

It has to come to our attention that one of our books, Mentor Encyclopaedia Grade 2, has content which is sacrilegious to the Islamic faith.

In a letter to the faithful, the Director of Mentor Publishing, Josephine Wanjuki, expressed her apologies.

We had inadvertently inserted a drawing and mistakenly identified it as the image of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Kindly accept this sincere apology and we commit to ensure that such an error will never be repeated. Going forward, we undertake …immediate measures to correct and redress this unfortunate occurrence.

The publisher said it would immediately remove the “offensive drawing” from all subsequent editions and has committed to work with the Muslim Education Council.

Wanjuki said all Mentor Encyclopaedia Grade 2 books already in bookstores, wholesalers and retailers, including street vendors, would be recalled and those in their stores would not be released into the market.

All teachers, learners, school administrators, or anyone holding these books are advised to return them to our offices, Jamia Mosque Library, Al-Ameen Mosque or Muslim Education Council. We reassure the Muslim community of our commitment to work together on this matter to ensure that such mistakes are never repeated.

Note: The images used to illustrate this piece are contained in a video showing entries “Draw Mohammad” contest in 2015. The winning entry on the left was created by Bosch Fawstin, who was interviewed here after the contest in Texas was attacked by terrorists.

Hat tip: BarrieJohn

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