First there was the Danish Mohammad cartoons that set the Muslim communities around the world in an uproar, then the Iranian Holocaust cartoon contest was announced, then a graphic designer in Israel proposed a contest for Jews to lampoon themselves and now a moderate Muslim group wants a cartoon contest to promote a peaceful Mohammad.
How to Contact and Some Suggestions for Competition on “Muhammad, a Messenger of Peace”
- Cartoons and portraits should depict Muhammad as a 40+ years-old man with beard and long hair. Turban is not necessary, since he was most likely taking it off when he was under the shade or inside a building. If you are participating in drawing of his portrait, then we would prefer two copies; one with turban and the other without.
- Portraits and cartoons should primarily use English language. However, you might create other copies of your work in any language of your choice.
- All portraits should contain the phrase, “Muhammad, a messenger of Peace” in its title.
- We highly recommend artists to visit www.islamicreform.org and read the Manifesto for Islamic Reform, including its exposition.
- We recommend artists to draw TWO different portraits of MUHAMMAD, one according to the teachings of the Quran, and the other according to Hadith, Sunna and Fatwa’s of the clergymen. On the top of two columns there should be this title: “Which MUHAMMAD was God’s Prophet?” The left column should be titled “Muslim Muhammad” and the right column “Sunni or Shiite Muhammad.” The cartoons or drawings should consist of minimum two boxes. The left box should depict the positive images of Muhammad derived from the descriptive or prescriptive statements of the Quran, while the right box should depict the negative images of Muhammad derived from descriptive or prescriptive hearsay statements narrated in Hadith and Sunna sources.