mediawatchwatch.org.uk

Frustrated by the enormous number of groups in existence claiming to represent the views of the majority of Muslims, a bunch of UK imams decided to set up the Muslim Action Committee with the aim of representing the views of the majority of Muslims.

Their particular concern is the Mo-toons. They insist that the MAC are not looking for special treatment. All they want is for Islam to be the only religion in the world to be exempt from satire, and for the prophet Mohammed to be the only figure in history to be protected from caricature – or indeed any form of pictorial representation. This, you see, is just a matter of “civility”.

Three “Prominent Signaturies” (sic) have signed up to their fairly innocent looking Proclamation, which basically says, in pseudo-academic language, “be nice to each other”. Phyllis Starkey (MP, Lab), Paul Rown (sic, actually Rowan – MP, LDem), and Lord Ralph Lucas obviously couldn’t see anything wrong with that. It remains to be seen whether or not the MAC will now claim that they have the support of these signatories for their other demands, which include amendments to the Press Complaint Commission Code of Practice, the handing over of copyright of the Danish cartoons to unspecified “Muslims”, and a saying of Mohammed to be printed in Jyllands Posten every week for a year in penance for their crime.

Given their toonophobia and fear of satire, many suspect that the letters MAC actually stand for Muslims Against Comedy. This suspicion is confirmed by a quick Google search for that phrase. The number 1 site returned is indeed GlobalCivility.com – their official website, which has the appearance of having been designed by one of the imam’s nephews who is “good with computers”.

They do seem to take themselves very seriously, don’t they?