[Fwd: Bid to block Zapiro's Muhammad cartoon]

By Yusuf Moolla

An interdict was served late last night against the Mail & Guardian and
its editor, Nic Dawes, after it published a cartoon by Jonathan Shapiro
(Zapiro) depicting the prophet Muhammad.

Dawes said the cartoon depicted Muhammad lying on a couch speaking to
his psychiatrist: "The cartoon picks up on the Facebook group which
encouraged people to send pictures of the prophet."

He said when the first newspapers were distributed, he received a call
from attorney Yusuf Ismail, stating that further distributions should be
halted.

"At that time I could not stop further distributions, and I would not
have," said Dawes.

He said an interdict was then served and handled by Judge Mayat at the
Johannesburg High Court last night.

The Facebook page, "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day", encouraged users to
submit images of the prophet yesterday to protest against threats made
by a radical Muslim group against the creators of US TV series South
Park, for depicting Muhammad in a bear suit.

The page has attracted more than 100 000 people.

In Pakistan yesterday, the government ordered all internet service
providers to block the page.

The case against the Mail & Guardian was brought by the Jamiatul Ulama.

This article was originally published on page 3 of The Mercury on May
21, 2010