Jordanian Editor Sacked Over Cartoons

The editor of a Jordanian weekly paper that printed some of the controversial Danish cartoons has been sacked.

Shihan yesterday published three of the 12 drawings, including one showing Muhammad wearing a turban with a bomb about to explode.

The editor, Jihad al-Momani, said he wanted to illustrate the extent of the insult made against Islam and Muslims in the Danish cartoons.

But within hours of the newspaper hitting the newsstands, the Shihan publisher, Arab Printers Company, dismissed Mr al-Momani and withdrew copies from newsagents across the country.

Arab Printers Company also promised to take action against those involved.

Mr al-Momani today apologized for his decision in a public letter and said he did not mean to cause offence by reprinting the cartoons.

"I ask God to forgive me and I announce to everyone my deep regret for the gross mistake I have committed in Shihan without intention, which I fell into in my enthusiasm to defend our religion and the life of the prophet," he said.

Media owners and editors in the Muslim country said Shihan’s decision was being used by a hostile western media to show that the fuss over the cartoons was overblown, as Arab papers were themselves reprinting them.