mediawatchwatch.org.uk

Wordpress.com has suspended the account of an Indonesian blogger for publishing cartoons of Muhammed which the Indonesian government deemed “very inappropriate”.

lapotuak.wordpress.com displayed two strip series featuring stories about Muhammed’s sexual adventures, as described in the Koran and haditha. The first, “Mohammed and Zainab“, tells the tale of how Mo had sex with his stepdaughter-in-law. He had misgivings at first, but fortunately Allah revealed to him that it was perfectly ok, much to the chagrin of his child-bride Aisha. The second “Mohammed and Hafsa” rather more graphically depicts Mo’s dalliance with a maid-servant. He gets caught by one of his wives, and is repentant at first – but then he gets another “revelation” telling him not to worry so much.

It’s all very amusing, and quite well drawn. And, contrary to the claims of Wordpress.com, it does not contravene any of its Terms of Service, being neither libelous nor defamatory. Indeed, the stories appear to be lifted wholesale from Islamic holy texts, so the objections are no doubt to do with the actual depiction of Mo and a reluctance to have his sexual shenanigans publicised.

The ex-Muslim website Faith Freedom is hosting the cartoons (linked in the titles above). They have had their Indonesian forums shut down as a result.

This episode is particularly disappointing because Wordpress.com itself was a victim of censorship last year, when the entire operation was banned in Turkey due to the efforts of the comical Bond-villain creationist Adnan Oktar (aka Ha-Ha-Harun Yayha-ha-ha). Wordpress supremo Matt Mullenweg said at the time he was

confused and indignant about this wholesale censorship.

Yes, Matt. That’s probably exactly how “Lapo Tuak” feels right now.

There are video versions of the toons up on LiveLeak:

Mohammed and Hafsa

Mohammed and Zainab