Officials Reject Metro Ad with Cartoon Image of Mohammed

By DEB BELT (Patch Staff)

Metro officials voted unanimously Thursday to ban all issue-based advertising after a group that hosted a cartoon contest of the Muslim prophet Mohammed – which was seen as the catalyst for a Texas shooting earlier this month – applied to run an ad.

The ad for Metro stations and buses would show the winning cartoon from the Texas contest. Stations in Bethesda, Rockville, and Washington, D.C., were the proposed sites of the ad.

SEE ALSO: Metro Ad with Cartoon Image of Mohammed Proposed

Washington Metro Transit Authority officials told WTOP the American Freedom Defense Initiativesubmitted the controversial advertisement. The group held the Texas contest that led two Muslim extremists to shoot at the Garland, Texas, gathering, wounding a security guard, on May 3.

The two gunmen -- Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi– were shot and killed by police, according to CNN. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack and warned that more attacks are in the offing.

“Freedom of speech is under violent assault,”American Freedom Defense Initiative President Pamela Geller told WTOP. “We have to stand up against violent intimidation.”

The group’s proposed ad would be posted at the Foggy Bottom, Capitol South, Bethesda, L’Enfant Plaza and Shady Grove Metro stations, as well as on buses.

For many Muslims, any depiction of the Prophet Mohammed is considered sacrilege. Islamic extremists who objected to French magazine Charlie Hebdo’s portrayals of Mohammed were blamed for a January massacre at the Paris office and supermarket that killed 17 people, according to the BBC.

Metro officials decided to prohibit all advocacy ads, including campaign ads, through the end of the year, The Washington Post reports. When New York’s transit system banned ads from Geller’s group it lost in federal court; that city’s MTA then maneuvered around the ruling by dropping all advocacy advertisements.

Most of the Patch commenters on the topic urged the transit board to reject the ad.

Arnie Kappeler wrote, “This isn’t so much about freedom of speech as it is about being a jerk. Is there ANY positive purpose to this “advertisment”, other than to thumb your nose at someone’s belief system that isn’t your own?”

And kraud klink said, “Are they NUTS????? What an insane idea - like inciting people to riot, burn and loot, not necessarily in that order. let’s tick off ISIS even more - brilliant!!!”