Kenyan publisher recalls school book depicting Prophet Muhammad

A Kenyan publishing company has withdrawn a primary school book that featured a drawing of the Prophet Muhammad, following uproar by Muslim leaders and parents.

Muslim pupils at a school in Mombasa, Kenya. AFP - ANDREW KASUKU

Under Islam, depictions of the Prophet are a seen as blasphemous as the religion forbids visual representations of both the Prophet and Allah, or God.

Students were reportedly asked to colour in the illustration, which appeared in a book on Islamic studies.

SUBHANNAALLAH...
Mentor Publishing KE ltd have come up with encyclopedia where they ask CBC kids to color a photo, purported to be Our Holly Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H). This is big insult to the Muslim ummah @SUPKEM1 @BillowKerrow @JamaludinSheikh @KICDKenya @EduMinKenya pic.twitter.com/f6cJNxyv4Z

— Prins Adan (@PrinsAdan) October 7, 2023

Apology

The Mentor Publishing Company said in a letter to the Muslim community that it had been made aware that the content in one of its books, Mentor Encyclopaedia Grade 2, was "sacrilegious”.

“We sincerely and wholeheartedly apologise for the error concerning our Grade 1 Mentor Encyclopedia books, where we inadvertently inserted a drawing and mistakenly identified it as the image of Prophet Muhammad,” director Josephine Wanjuki said.

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Mentor added that it would delete the drawing from all subsequent editions of the book, while anyone in possession of a copy was advised to return it to the publisher.

Islam is the second largest faith in Kenya, representing around 11 percent of the population.

The issue of depicting Prophet Muhammad has also inflamed tensions in Europe.

French school teacher Samuel Paty was was beheaded after using cartoons of the Prophet during a lesson about freedom of speech.