Metropolitan Museum pulls Mohammed images

NEW YORK, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York said several images of the Prophet Mohammed were removed from a collection and are "under review."

The New York Post said Sunday the removal of the images from the museum's Islamic collection comes after a number of conservative Muslims opposed the inclusion of the Mohammed images based on their religious beliefs.

The critics reportedly wanted the images removed because images of the Prophet Mohammed are not acceptable in their religion.

A source with inside knowledge of the museum told the Post the Metropolitan's decision to pull the controversial images reflects the museum's apparent policy to avoid criticism.

"This is typical of the Met -- trying to avoid any controversy," claimed the source, whose identity was not released.

Metropolitan spokeswoman Egle Zygas insisted the removed images simply were not appropriate for the installation's theme.

"We have a very small space at the moment in which to display the whole sweep of Islamic art," Zygas told the Post. "They didn't fit the theme of the current installation."