Criminal Complaint against Saudi Daily over al-Rahi Caricature
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
A lawyer filed a criminal complaint against the Saudi al-Watan newspaper on Wednesday for publishing a caricature criticizing Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's visit to Syria.
Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said attorney Wadih Aql filed the complaint with the general prosecutor’s office against the newspaper's publisher, its editor-in-chief and the caricaturist, Jihad Awrati.
Aql accused them of slandering the patriarch and inciting strife and racism, VDL said.
The caricature replaced al-Rahi's mitre with a rocket and highlighted the common letters between the patriarch and the Syrian president's names in Arabic.
The depiction was met with anger and criticism on social media websites.
Al-Rahi visited Damascus over the weekend.
13 February 2013, 11:58
00
Knowing the level of Saudi democracy, one can wonder why Saudi's "tolerant" regime is orchestrating this attack now...still too many Christians in the region ???
13 February 2013, 12:04
53
quick lets go behead people that dont follow our religion.....ALLAH AKBAR......TAKBIR ...
Long LIve The Syrian Civil War!
May the Civil War in Saudi Start!
13 February 2013, 12:07
211
Hallo, I don't understand what's wrong with people... It's a caricature for God's sake, it isn't a defamatory press release with lies. It's a drawing!
This proves that X isn't any better than Y and Z in terms of tolerance. it's sad!
13 February 2013, 12:40
93
Bleaze, if we draw a caricature of anything Islamic u know something's gonna burn down.. Perhaps a KFC franchise ?.. Tolerance al., al tolerance .. Eh tolerance
13 February 2013, 15:17
16
I am sorry to disappoint you, I live near the Danish border and saw all the action back then. But how can you compare apples with pears?
13 February 2013, 18:47
13
FT, "He who lives in a house of glass shouldn't throw stones at others".
U are showing the world that you are as ignorant, as totalitarian and as stupid as those other thugs who attacked ashrafieh on that day. Period.
13 February 2013, 12:20
00
sad, that a paper in a country that is ULTRA sensitive to any referral to Muslim figures in the world press, derides a very respectable and holy man of the cloth! Let SAudi start by allowing the hundreds of thousands of Christians living in saudi practice their faith!
13 February 2013, 13:06
35
Buenos dias everyone !
Lovely news today, Lebanon is not evolving... We're not any different than these Egyptians, Saudis issuing decrees.
Good day everyone!
13 February 2013, 13:49
12
The Arabs need grow up and take constructive criticism without blowing a fuse. This is one of the foundations of accountability that is essential against corruption.
13 February 2013, 14:16
12
So what, Al Rahi is not only a religious figure, by commenting on events and positioning himself with one side in the Syrian conflict he become like any politician subject to criticism.
We hope that all sects and religions do accept that their religious leaders are not infaliable and that they could be freely criticized and praised or villified .
13 February 2013, 14:18
23
Those of you who compare this cartoon of rai to that of the prophet (pbuh)... whats wrong with you? Rai is not a prophet. Had this cartoon been about christ (pbuh) then you could compare it to those cartoons of the prophet muhammad (pbuh). Saudi who is hypocrite make fun of all their opponents, especially the muslim ones!! Muslim sheikhs and religious leaders have been mocked a lot among muslims in cartoons, jokes and otherwise. Religious clergys whether muslim or christian ARE NOT PROPHETS. So mocking rai is not the same as mocking christians or christ (pbuh) as was the case of the danish cartoons etc. Saudi arabia is a joke created by christian colonialists in case you forgot it so dont turn this in to a religious attack when it was a political one.
13 February 2013, 16:05
00
Mohammad for us is not a prophet either .... he is no one but an ordinary man
13 February 2013, 19:31
11
Flamethrower, My current mufti? I dont have one and i am not responsible for the actions of every muslim just as i dont hold you responsible for the actions of every christian. Your kind of mentality is the reason to why civil war happen. By the way, i am fully against this stupid cartoon so dont twist my words. You reveal your true colours when you post filth like this. Go ahead and chuckle as much as you want. You clearly have massive hate for muslims despite all your denial.
13 February 2013, 19:32
11
Flamethrower, My current mufti? I dont have one and i am not responsible for the actions of every muslim just as i dont hold you responsible for the actions of every christian. Your kind of mentality is the reason to why civil war happen. By the way, i am fully against this stupid cartoon so dont twist my words. You reveal your true colours when you post filth like this. Go ahead and chuckle as much as you want. You clearly have massive hate for muslims despite all your denial.
13 February 2013, 19:35
11
Ouwette, i agree, such insults should be ignored however the point i was making is that the sole purpose of the cartoons of the prophet (pbuh) was to insult him and the muslims for religious reasons and as such it cant be compared to a cartoon created by those who constantly insult and trash political opponents whether they are muslim, christian, shyoukh, priests or anything else.
13 February 2013, 14:22
32
The Saudi regime along with Qatar will drown in their own pool of blood for criticising our Maronite Leader. They are evil doers in our civilised world and contribute only towards evil in the world. They have deprived the Lebanese since 1990 and continue to terrorise and kill it's people and cause division by deploying their media black rooms and Lebanese stooges in Parliament to create conflict and tension. They will fail and that's a guarantee. They will do their best to deprive the Christians of their rights again in this years elections but you will no longer buy our vote!
13 February 2013, 14:31
02
what is the big deal, make a counter caricature,it dosnt need a lot of imagination to make caricature about the wahabies..as long as it is a drawing,its ok,lets enjoy.but plse dont caricature farsis or hassoun it will flow to the street.wooooooooooo brrrrrrrrrr they have arms....
13 February 2013, 14:37
12
remember y'all when LBC made a comedy sketch about Nousrala what happened? Hizb supporters went on a rampage, LBC withdrew the comedy and no one now dares make fun of Nousrala...ALL clergy are not are saints and prophets ...open your eyes people...we should be able to criticize and make fun of all of them...
13 February 2013, 17:36
12
that is true to a point, but the religious authorities are the ones to blame. they try to instigate strife when they can to 'unite' their flock, and since many in the muslim world are from poor uneducated countries like Pakistan, Indonesia, Yemen, and Egypt, the clergy there have an added advantage that they are the ones people turn to for both education and religion, and the two are intertwined.
the same thing happened in Christianity which caused such things as the Spanish Inquisition, crusades, colonialism, and the slave trade.
Words to everyone: lighten the f$%^ up. Not everything should be treated as a personal insult--roll with the punches and counterpunch once in while
13 February 2013, 15:29
11
i hope that rocket they drew on his head gets sent down from the heavens tonight and kills a few thousand Syrians or some scummy ARAB country..
Long Live The Syrian Civil War!
May The Civil War in Saudi Start!
13 February 2013, 15:47
00
Why make a fuss out of a caricature? are we salafists, jihadists or ultra orthodox jews? if we are not capable of digesting a cartoon ,that some may not approve, we do not deserve the right to be reffered to as citizens.
13 February 2013, 15:52
00
this shows how fanatic these wahabies are , and their servents in lebanon must think the same
+ oua nabka + ghass min el kbir fioun
13 February 2013, 17:01
12
Freedom also means that people are free to be idiotic, distasteful and outright scumbags when it comes to freedom of expression. (Applies to this and previous cartoons and movies insulting religious figures) This is the price you pay for freedom. You are either free or you’re not. It is not our job to judge people on their actions as long as it does not involve bodily harm, theft of property, etc. That is between them and God on judgment day.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"` Evelyn Beatrice Hall
I know I have used this once in the past but it truly fits here.
13 February 2013, 17:19
00
Have u noticed guys that the caricaturist made Al Rahi cover the cross with his right hand since it is illegal to show a cross in Saudia ....very open minded society indeed!!!!
13 February 2013, 18:34
02
Very True! People definitely need to practice what they preach or be labeled as hypocrites. I just don’t believe there should be riots, murder, or jail time for someone publishing a distasteful cartoon. It’s an absurd reaction in this day and age. What century are we in?
13 February 2013, 19:51
11
Saudi arabia is a joke and nobody gets more slammed by them than MUSLIMS who disagree with their hypocrisy. Dont blame islam for this papers hypocrisy otherwise you are like the ignorants who blamed denmark for the cartoons made by one danish man. People need to grow up seriously. And this is coming from someone who 100% condemns this cartoon. All i am asking is do not turn this in to a religious issue bcuz we muslims are the target of most of saudias cartoons, politics and policy. Clearly its not about religion.
13 February 2013, 20:07
02
who said anything about Islam? as a matter of fact, you are the first to mention Islam.
13 February 2013, 23:31
11
Saudi Arabia is filth. They release Wahabi Sheiksh who torture and rape their daughter, because anything less would violate their religion. This disgusting Wahabi cult is total filth, look at how they treat their own people.. let alone the others. They should be wiped off the face of the earth, most satanic society in all mankind. A bunch of child marrying, head chopping savages.
13 February 2013, 23:35
22
tell us about your childhood, you seem to have suffered a lot to be so racist and frustratred....
14 February 2013, 00:58
02
human stupidity is always fun to watch... people getting so angry after caricatures. no sense of humor whatsoever proving how frustrated they can be in life...
real childish reaction while thinking that by getting outraged they are showing their manhood! the only thing they show is their lack of intelligence. ignorance and stupidity has no boundaries...
i bet Jesus and Mohammed are laughing at them!
14 February 2013, 07:15
00
نسيتوا عندما أسيء إلى رسولنا صلى الله عليه وسلم قلتوا انها حريه شخصيه
هذه الحريه الحريه الشخصيه التي تطالبون مننا ان نسكت عنها ^_^
14 February 2013, 09:28
00
That'a a good one waha! The bloody priest deserves it! He's worse than that!
A outraged christian!
