Assyrian MP in Iran Condemns Dutch Politician's Muhammad Cartoon Contest

Tehran -- Representative of the Iranian Assyrians at the Parliament on Monday strongly condemned a Dutch politician for publishing a blasphemous cartoon of Islam's Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

"The immoral and derogatory act of Greet Wilders was nothing but fanaticism and stupidity," Yonathan Betkolia said in his statement.

Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders announced on Sunday what he called the winner of a contest for caricatures of Islam's Prophet, more than a year after he shelved a similar event . The drawing Wilders called the "winner" was a dark image of a bearded man with a wrinkled brow wearing a black turban and black shirt. "Freedom of speech must prevail over violence and Islamic fatwas," said Wilders, who heads the largest opposition party in the Dutch parliament. In August last year, Wilders canceled a similar contest after Dutch police arrested a 26-year-old man who had threatened to kill him over his anti-Islam stance.

Wilder's previous plan to hold the cartoon contest prompted huge demonstrations in some Muslim-majority countries.

Images of the Prophet are traditionally forbidden in Islam, and many Muslims regard caricatures as highly offensive.