You had suspicion of veneration of anything other than God. That included the Prophet. The situation is different with sculpture or any other kind of three-dimensional representation, notes Goddard, where the prohibition has always been clearer. For some Muslims, says Siddiqui, the aversion to pictures has even extended to a refusal to have pictures of any live being - human or animal - in their homes. The prohibition against depiction didn't stretch everywhere though - many Shia Muslims appear to have a slightly different view.
Contemporary pictures of Muhammad are still available in some parts of the Muslim world, according to Hassan Yousefi Eshkavari, a former Iranian cleric, now based in Germany. He told the BBC that today, images of Muhammad hang in many Iranian homes: "From a religious point of view there is no prohibition on these pictures. These images exist in shops as well as houses. They aren't seen as insulting, either from a religious or cultural viewpoint. It's an argument that many Muslims would not accept.
He is not convinced by the argument that if there are medieval depictions of Muhammad that suggests there is no absolute prohibition. Twitter: JohnMcM1. Image source, Getty Images. This article contains a historical image of the Prophet Muhammad. Image from a 16th Century Iranian manuscript showing the ascension to Heaven. Search Search. Home United States U. Africa 54 - November 11, VOA Africa Listen live. VOA Newscasts Latest program. VOA Newscasts. Previous Next. Vilks died, along with two police officers, when their car collided with a lorry.
The Swedish police say there is nothing to suggest that anyone else was involved. There were widespread protests across the Muslim world in after the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, published 12 cartoons showing Muhammad, with an editorial criticising self-censorship. Many Muslims found the cartoons insulting and an expression of what they saw as a growing European hostility towards - and fear of - Muslims.
The portrayal of the Prophet and Muslims in general as terrorists was seen as particularly offensive. In , Charlie Hebdo's office in Paris was firebombed after it temporarily renamed itself "Charia Hebdo" - a play on "Sharia", or Islamic law - for an issue and invited the Prophet Muhammad to be "editor in chief". The next year, the satirical magazine published an issue featuring several cartoons that appeared to depict Muhammad naked, amid a global uproar over the release of an anti-Islam film.
In , Islamist extremists attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people - after it published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
In , Samuel Paty, a teacher in Paris, was beheaded after using cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a lesson about freedom of speech. In March, there were protests outside a school in Batley, West Yorkshire, over the use by a teacher of an image depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
The school apologised and the teacher was suspended. There are no specific national rules in the UK about using images of the Prophet Muhammad. Guidance in England from the Department for Education says religious education should provoke questions about beliefs, and also teach pupils to "develop respect for… people with different faiths and beliefs".
Religious education syllabuses are often influenced by local bodies which advise on whether they are suitable for the particular area.
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