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Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Calgary’s Mount Royal University, said the first time he saw the photo he thought the target was racist because he assumed it portrayed a generic Muslim terrorist. After learning it was bin Laden, he changed his mind, calling it “harmless fun.”

“I mean, come on, if you can’t picture shooting Osama, who can you?” Bratt said in an email.

But Souheil Merhi, chairman of the Muslim Council of Calgary, said the photo is offensive and promotes hatred, portraying Muslims as terrorists — “as people who should be shot or belittled.”

“As leaders, they should promote tolerance and show the real image of Canada, a peaceful place where people come to enjoy freedom of speech and religion, and not being judged because of somebody else’s actions,” Merhi said.

Anders said he doesn’t remember seeing the bin Laden target when he was at the shooting range. He said there were more than a dozen different targets and that he fired at two of them, one depicting a clown and another portraying a nondescript male zombie.

The MP said it’s not unusual for firing ranges to use lifelike targets, rather than a typical bull’s eye.

When pressed to recall the bin Laden target, which was plainly visible behind him in the photo, Anders said, “I’m sure it was there if you say it was there but, you know, there were a lot of them.”

When reached a second time to respond to Merhi’s claims, Anders declined to comment and hung up his phone.