Spanish political satire magazine El Jueves has published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad on its cover, soon after violent protests rocked the Muslim world over a U.S. film and French caricatures deemed insulting to Islam.

El Jueves’ latest edition, which hit Spanish newsstands on Wednesday, shows several Muslims in a police lineup under the title “But…does anyone know what Mohammad looks like?”

Any depiction of the prophet is considered blasphemous by Muslims but the issue has also caused a debate in the West about censorship and freedom of speech.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

El Jueves up under the title “But…does anyone know what Mohammad looks like?”

The magazine declined to comment to Reuters on Thursday on the motives for the publication.

But in comments to the Huffington Post, editor Mayte Quilez said it was a decision to take a humorous position on a contentious issue.

“If you can’t depict Mohammad, how do you know it is him in the cartoons?” she asked.

Last week, French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad soon after protests against a film made in the United States provoked a torrent of anti-American unrest in Egypt, Libya and other countries.

The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in one of the first protests, on Sept. 11, and 15 people were killed in protests in Pakistan last Friday.

The Spanish Embassy on Wednesday sent a message to its citizens in Egypt asking for caution in the event of any backlash from the El Jueves cartoon but has not said whether it will step up security in other Arab countries.

“We’re still analysing what steps to take,” a foreign ministry source said.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount