Cartoon Jihad, Part Deux
Tue, Feb 14, 2006 at 8:53:35 am
Oh brother. Here we go again. Anger in Iran over German football cartoon.
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TEHRAN - The general secretary of the Iranian press association called Sunday for action over a football cartoon printed in a German newspaper showing the Iranian national team standing in a World Cup stadium with bomb belts strapped to their jerseys.
Manuchehr Sandi called the cartoon, which was printed in the Friday edition of Berlin’s Tagesspiegel, a “dirty joke” and in an interview with the ISNA news agency demanded the German Embassy in Tehran give an “appropriate reaction” to it.
The cartoon also depicts German soldiers standing in the stadium with a caption saying “Why at the World Cup of all places does the German army have to be on duty?”
The newspaper said it regretted the reactions from Iran.
Earlier Sunday, the Iranian newspaper 90 published the cartoon, calling it “shameless” and demanded the Iranian football federation to lodge an official protest.
“It is now clear that the Germans are under the influence of the Zionists (Israel) and have lowered themselves to become their scarecrows,” wrote 90.