Pakistan magazine fatwa raises concerns

WASHINGTON, June 19 (UPI) -- A fatwa issued against staff at a Pakistani fashion magazine is raising concerns about freedom of speech in the country.

Cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz's open declaration of hatred against Zubair Kasuri, editor of Octane, and a number of staff members at the English-language magazine warrants intervention by the Pakistani government, according to Reporters Without Borders.

In its latest edition the magazine published an advertisement depicting a scantily clad Adam and Eve holding an apple. Clerics at Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, have argued that the photo was blasphemous against the prophet Adam, and its chief cleric, Maulana Abdul Aziz, stated that "those responsible for the magazine are liable to death."

The mosque, which is believed to have about 5,000 followers, has come under government scrutiny recently amid growing radicalism, but no concrete steps have yet been taken to weaken the clerics' influence.

Reporters Without Borders acknowledged that the photo may have been offensive to some but argued that "there is no possible justification for such radical steps to express disapproval of certain media practices."