The Swedish cartoon controversy is growing.
Fears grew of a new confrontation over images deemed blasphemous by Muslims as Pakistan joined Iran in protest over a sketch by a Swedish artist portraying the prophet Mohammed as a dog.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said it had summoned the Swedish charge d'affaires to condemn "in the strongest terms, the publication of an offensive and blasphemous sketch of the Holy Prophet".
The move adds to a chorus of criticism over the series of drawings, by artist Lars Vilks, one of which was published earlier this month by a regional Swedish newspaper.
The drawings show the head of a turbaned man attached to the body of a dog, in front of various settings including a football goal.
The publication, in the newspaper Nerikes Allehanda, came after several galleries had refused to display the drawings, apparently for fear of violent retaliation from offended Muslims.
The Swedish government makes a delicate balancing act between regretting hurt feelings and defending freedom of the press. We'll see what side the Swedes fall down on.
Based on descriptions of the drawings, these are far more insulting than any of the Danish cartoons. But, yes, you're allowed to insult Islam, or any other religion, in our part of the world.
PS: Here is apparently one of the Lars Vilks drawings, and here's another (along with death threats against Vilks).
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