B'desh suspends magazine over controversial cartoon

By Azad Majumder

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladeshi police broke up a protest march by hundreds of Muslims after Friday prayers over the publication of a cartoon which they say offended their religion.

Bangladesh suspended publication of Alpin, a weekly satire magazine of leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo, and its publishers apologised and appealed for forgiveness.

A cartoon in which a small boy referred to his cat as "Mohammad cat" provoked the outrage. The protesters said it was a deliberate attempt by the cartoonist to ridicule Islam's Prophet Mohammad.

Prophet Mohammad is highly revered by Muslims, and the protesters objected to the use of his name for a cat.

Police used batons to disperse the protesters, who set off on their march from the capital's Baitul Mokarram mosque after noon prayers.

Defying emergency rules which ban such protests, they burned copies of the Prothom Alo newspaper and chanted demands that its editor and publishers be arrested.

The march stopped half way to the Prothom Alo office, at Dhaka's Karwanbazar area, witnesses said.

Moulana Obaidul Haque, Khatib (head preacher) of Dhaka's Baitul Mokarram mosque, has urged Muslims to accept the apology and not pursue the issue further.