Egyptian telecom mogal Naguib Sawiris has apologized for reposting images of Mickey and Minnie Mouse wearing Muslim attire through his Twitter account. Many Egyptians found the images offencive to their religion (Sawiris is Coptic Christian) and have called for a boycott of his business.
The tweeted images showed Mickey Mouse wearing a traditional Islamic robe with a full beard, while Minnie Mouse is wearing a niqab – a full-body veil – with just her eyes showing.
She is identifiable by her large ears and trademark pink hair ribbon.
The cartoons were already widely circulating online, but when Mr Sawiris re-posted them last week, he received an immediate angry reaction from people who said they were offended.
I thought a “bearded Mickey Mouse” was slang for something.