Egyptian Tycoon Receives Boycotts, Lawsuits & Threats Of Severed Tongue For Posting Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Islamic Garb

Disney's Mickey Mouse has taken center stage, yet again, in the Middle East.  But this time, rather than being a tool for teaching terrorism to kids- remember Farfour the Palestinian Mouse-  he and his gal pal Minnie created a firestorm of protest against Egyptian Telecom and media tycoon-cum-politician, Naguib Sawiris.  Sawiris has had lawsuits and boycotts launched against him for posting a cartoon of Mickey with an Islamic beard and a niqab-clad Minnie from his Twitter feed. Apparently, the cartoon had already made the rounds in an email that featured the mouse couple and the quote: "this is the future of Egypt"- which is more than likely where the country is headed, given the overreaction to the post.  It probably doesn't help that after the fall of Mubarak, Sawiris formed a political party- Free Egyptians-  determined to create a secular Egypt and is a Christian Copt, to boot. As an 'infidel', he justifiably (in the minds of the Salafis who are at the bottom of all the protests) deserves all the obligatory death threats etc. that are being leveled at him, in spite of having apologized on Twitter:

 "I apologise for any who don't take this as a joke, I just thought it was a funny picture no disrespect meant! Assef!! ". [sorry]

According to various news sources, Facebook pages materialized calling for a boycott of  Sawiris' cell phone company, with one group accruing over  60,000 followers.  Although I was unable to track it down, the "We are  joking Sawiris" group supposedly had the following posted on its page:

 "If you are really a Muslim, and you love your religion, boycott his projects. We have to cut out the tongue of any person who attacks our religion."

It's quite obvious conservative Muslims lack a sense of humour. Time and again they demonstrate a serious inability to find the grace and humour in life, which is perhaps why they so often resort to violence. If they lightened up a bit, life would be  much more pleasant- and peaceful-  for the rest of the world. But no, they  consistently choose to be offended by even the most innocuous of things. Like a veiled Minnie and bearded Mickey.

Sources: ArabTimes , TelegraphUK,
photo from The Blaze