Italy minister trial over cartoons sought

AMMAN, Jordan, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Jordan's Islamists have called for taking an Italian minister to court on charges of slandering Islam and offending the Prophet Mohammed.

The Islamic Action Front, the political front for the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, and which leads the largest opposition bloc in parliament, addressed a letter to the Italian government requesting the trial of the minister who distributed T-shirts carrying cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist with a bomb in his turban.

The party said the letter emphasized the offense made by the Italian minister against one of the most important religious symbols in the world, exposing Italy's relations with the Arab and Muslim world and fuelling hatred between peoples and civilizations.

It said party chief Hamza Mansour told the Italian ambassador in Amman that what the minister did was an unacceptable offense to a prophet revered by more than a billion believers around the world.

Minister Roberto Calderoli resigned last week following severe criticism of his decision to distribute T-shirts carrying the cartoons which were first published last September by a Danish newspaper, triggering outrage throughout the Muslim world.

Mansour was quoted as telling the Italian ambassador that the minister's resignation was not sufficient, although a positive move, and stressing the need to take Calderoli to court.