Jordanian Writer Shot Dead Ahead of Hearing Over Religious Cartoon Nahed Hattar killed as he arrived at Amman’s Court of Justice after being charged with insulting Islam By Suha Ma’ayeh in Amman, Jordan and Rory Jones in Tel Aviv
http://www.wsj.com/articles/jordanian-writer-shot-dead-ahead-of-hearing-over-religious-cartoon-1474818810
A prominent Jordanian Christian writer was shot dead outside an Amman courthouse on Sunday, ahead of a scheduled court hearing for posting on social media a cartoon the government charged had offended Islam.
Nahed Hattar was struck by three bullets in front of the Court of Justice, the official Petra news agency said. He was rushed to the hospital and later pronounced dead. Police had captured the assailant and seized a weapon, it said, without releasing further details as to the shooter’s identity.
Mr. Hattar, who was in his 50s, was detained last month after he shared a cartoon on his Facebook page lampooning Islamic extremists’ view of heaven. He was charged with inciting religious tensions and racism, as well as offending religion under Jordanian laws.
The post sparked controversy across the country, with many Muslims accusing him of blasphemy and defaming religion.
The cartoon posted to Facebook depicted a white-bearded God wearing a crown and asking an Islamist, who is in bed with two women, if he needs anything. The man then asks God to get him wine, and for the angel Gabriel to bring cashews.
The depiction of God in any form is forbidden in Islam. The cartoon’s author hasn’t been identified.
Mr. Hattar’s death echoed recent attacks in Europe and the U.S. against journalists and artists for depicting the Prophet Muhammad in cartoons viewed as offensive to Muslims.
In 2015, two men were killed by police in a Dallas suburb after they opened fire outside a building where an exhibit that featured cartoon drawings of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
It came six months after militants stormed the Paris offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people including some of the publication’s most famous cartoonists. Many Muslims deemed Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad provocative, or even blasphemous. CONTINUE AT SITE
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