Jordanian website investigated for satirical Jesus cartoon

Jordan

Published: 2018-12-08 16:42

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 11:00


A painting of The Last Supper. (ThoughtCo)
A painting of The Last Supper. (ThoughtCo)

A cartoon depicting Turkish chef “Salt Bae” - real name Nusret Gökçe - sprinkling salt on the food at Jesus’ Last Supper was met with uproar on social media.

The cartoon was posted on a Jordanian news website on Saturday, December 8, but was taken down after dozens of Jordanians were deeply offended by the “insulting” image.

Infuriated social media users told the website that the religiously-insensitive drawing would cause strife between Muslims and Christians in the Kingdom.

A statement released by the Latin Patriarchate Schools called on the Ministry of Education to condemn the cartoon and urged them to take legal action against the website that published it.

They said that “the cartoon works to deepen the spirit of hatred amongst people.”

In a statement addressed to its critics, the website said that the cartoon was “mistakenly published by one of our editors.”

The Attorney General of Amman has ordered an investigation into the “cartoon ridiculing Jesus.” The Cybercrime Unit at the Public Security Directorate (PSD) has now opened an investigation into the matter.

This incident reminded many of the assassination of writer and political activist Nahed Hattar.

In 2016, the 56-year-old Jordanian Arab Christian journalist was assassinated by an Islamist outside the Palace of Justice in the capital Amman, where he was about to defend himself against Jordanian government charges of “incitement.”

Hattar had been on trial for blasphemy after sharing a cartoon on Facebook titled “God of Daesh,” that was deemed too offensive to Islam by many Jordanians.

At the time, the writer explained that the cartoon was making fun of "terrorists and how they imagine God and heaven, and does not insult God in anyway."