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"What I said was not a fatwa to kill Mickey Mouse nor would any reasonable minded person say such a thing," sheikh Munajid said. |
CAIRO — A Saudi scholar has refuted media propaganda that he had issued a death fatwa against Mickey Mouse, the famous cartoon character, blaming the fuss on misleading media outlets.
"Of course I have known for more than 40 years now - as every one does - that Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character," Sheikh Mohammed Salah Al-Munajid said in a video he posted on YouTube.
"Thus, what I said was not a fatwa to kill Mickey Mouse nor would any reasonable minded person say such a thing."
In the video, titled "Response to media propaganda about killing Mickey Mouse", Munajid refuted media reports that he had ordered the killing of Mickey in a weekly program he presents on an Arab television network.
A video clip from last month's program was posted on the video-sharing website and circulated among Western media.
Munajid, a prominent lecturer and author, affirmed that the discussion in the program was about the treatment of animals.
"What was mentioned in the video clip was one of the rulings in dealing with harmful animals, such as rodents and scorpions under a broader discussion of the effect of media and characters on the family and children," he explained.
"So, the real issue discussed was harmful rodents and mice, not Mickey."
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Sheikh Munajid said he was stunned by the fuss the false propaganda on his TV comments generated in the West.
"I find the response it generated surprising and almost amusing due to the way it was presented and ridiculed, as if Mickey Mouse is a living creature," he said in English in the nearly 5-minute clip.
Several Western media outlets had quoted Munajid as saying that the carton character was "an agent of Satan and is steered by him."
The news of his alleged Mickey Mouse death fatwa made headlines in many newspapers around the world.
It also became an issue for debate among TV commentators in many leading American networks like ABC and Fox News.
In the NBC's long-running American Late-Night Show, host Jay Leno mocked and derided what he called an Islamic ruling against Mickey Mouse.
Munajid blamed such controversies on cultural misunderstandings and misinformation.
"People who honestly search for the truth will utilize authentic sources," he stressed.
"Our advice to people and media outlets who rely on translations is to ensure they are using objective sources and ovoid translations that are misleading at best."
Watch Munajid's Response
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