Dispute about images of Mohammed at Wikipedia

The iconoclasts are once again taking the foreground at the free online Wikipedia encyclopaedia. In an online petition, more than 90,000 Muslims demand that images of the Prophet Mohammed be deleted. The Wikipedia community refuses to do so.

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The bone of contention is a miniature from the 15th century showing the face of the Prophet Mohammed. The petition states, "In Islam picture of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and other Humans are not allowed." Although most images do not show the face of the Prophet, the petition states that the mere representation of him is an affront to Muslims. While those who signed the main petition have only issued urgent appeals, some individual hotheads on other websites have not shied away from threats of violence.

In a dedicated FAQ, the staff of Wikipedia say why they are going to keep the image online: while "Wikipedia recognizes that there are cultural traditions among some Muslim groups that prohibit depictions of Muhammad and other prophets and that some Muslims are offended when those traditions are violated.", the tradition is nonetheless not a ban that applies for all Muslims. In particular, Wikipedia points out that the Shia are less strict on this issue. "Wikipedia is a project for the establishment of an encyclopaedia, not a venue for a debate between Muslims" Mathias Schindler from Wikimedia explained in a conversation with heise online.

Unlike the earlier dispute about Danish caricatures of Mohammed, the debate at Wikipedia does not concern insulting representations of the Prophet, but merely medieval depictions of the founder of Islam. Islamic tradition prohibits representations of the Prophet for the purposes of idolatry. However, some interpretations of traditions go so far as to reject all images of living beings. The images at Wikipedia are medieval works by Muslim artists created long after the Prophet died. The online encyclopaedia explains the concerns about depictions of Mohammed in detail in several places. (Torsten Kleinz) /

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