Virgin Mary in burqa is fine, but Osama as Jesus is offensive: Oz cleric

This years Blake Prize for religious art was mired in controversy after two entries, a Virgin Mary statue shrouded in a burqa and an image of Osama bin Laden morphed on a picture of Jesus Christ, raised hackles here.

Sydney, Aug 30 : This year's Blake Prize for religious art was mired in controversy after two entries, a Virgin Mary statue shrouded in a burqa and an image of Osama bin Laden morphed on a picture of Jesus Christ, raised hackles here.

But the head of Australia's Islamic Council, defended the artwork of Mary, saying it was "not at all offensive".

"So (Mary wearing a burqa) is no different to how our mothers and sisters are expected to be modest in their dressing," said Ikebal Patel, the president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.

Patel, however, expressed his disapproval of the holographic image of Osama bin Laden as Jesus Christ as an affront to Jesus.

"In Islam, we don't have any paintings or drawings depicting any of our prophets, So, I find it quite offensive, " the Sydney Morning Herald quoted the cleric, as saying.

The artworks were criticized in the Australian media, and Prime Minister John Howard described them as "gratuitously offensive".

The Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, said he was surprised by the offended reactions, and indirectly urged Howard to avoid giving comments.

"Politicians should get on with running the country. Even though they are Christian men, it's not an area they should be commenting on," Bishop Forsyth said.

He asked Christians to avoid going to the press, and said the artwork comparing Jesus to bin Laden is "somewhat critical" rather than offensive.

"It raises questions about what they have got in common and how they are different. Jesus himself said there will be many false Christs that will arise," he said.The Blake Society has defended the artworks by saying that the competition "reflected on political, religious and contemporary issues."

The Blake Prize was awarded last night to indigenous artist Shirley Purdie for her painting "Stations of the Cross".

ANI