Saudi Sheik Says: Death To Mickey Mouse!
In a stunning volley against American iconography and small, defenseless animals, a Muslim cleric has placed a fatwa on Disney's mascot and his fellow mice.
As Newsarama poster GOGOLGANTZ put it, "The guy playing Mickey over at Disneyland must be $h!tt!ng bricks."
The London Telegraph reports that a leading Saudi Arabian cleric has declared Mickey Mouse to be an "agent of Satan" and has put a fatwa (death sentence) on his fictional head.
Sheik Muhammad Munajid, a former diplomat at the Saudi embassy in Washington DC, claimed that mice are among "Satan's soldiers," making whatever they touch impure, but that depictions of them in cartoons have taught children that they actually are loveable. The cleric said that under Sharia (Islamic law), household mice and their cartoon counterparts must be killed.
"This guy has really got his priorities all wrong," wrote AGENTGRAVES on Newsarama's Comments board. "Donald Duck's been brazenly strutting around, naked from the waist down, for years! If any animated, anthropomorphic creature deserves a fatwa placed upon him, it's THAT little pervert!"
This is not the first time Mickey Mouse has come into conflict with the Muslim world. A few years ago, the Palestinian political group Hamas created a TV show hosted by an unauthorized duplicate of the character, named Farfour (right), who preached violence and death to his audience of Palestinian children. Farfour was "murdered" on air in 2007 by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfour's property.
"Farfour was martyred while defending his land," said Sara, a teen co-star.
In an exclusive (imaginary) interview on September 18 in Los Angeles, QELQOTH spoke with Mickey Mouse, who "remained vibrant in character, indifferent towards threats made against him.
"So you’re not afraid of being captured by Al Qaeda?" asked Qelqoth. "They’re vicious mercenaries of Allah, you know. Aren’t you scared of these awful people?"
Mickey replied, "En garde!"
[Thanks to STEVE FRITZ for the report.]