Palestinian President Orders Investigation Into Prophet Muhammad Cartoon

Reportedly, Mahmoud Abbas called for an inquiry into a newspaper cartoon that allegedly depicted Prophet Muhammad. In his turn, the author claims the cartoon does not portray the Prophet.

MOSCOW, February 3 (Sputnik) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for an investigation into a cartoon in the Palestinian Authority official newspaper al-Hayat al-Jadidah depicting Prophet Muhammad, Sky News reported Tuesday.

According to the news outlet, on Sunday the paper published an image of a robed man with his hand reaching into a pouch to sow "seeds of love" around the globe, with the caption saying, "Our Prophet Muhammad."

Mohammad Sabaaneh, the author of the image, wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday, that he did not intend to portray the prophet, which is forbidden in Islam.

"The drawing does not refer to Prophet Muhammad," Sabaaneh said, adding that his goal was to defend Islam in light of the attempts to distort it through cartoons.

In early January, the Paris headquarters of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, known for publishing satirical cartoons depicting political and religious figures, including Prophet Muhammad, was attacked by Islamic extremists, who killed 12 people. Following the massacre, many world media organizations published cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in solidarity with the murdered journalists.