Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
Everybody Draw Mohammed Day was a 2010 event in support of artists threatened with violence for drawing representations of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It stemmed from a protest against censorship of the American television show South Park episode "201", led by the show's distributor Comedy Central, in response to death threats that had been made against some of those responsible for two segments broadcast in April 2010. A drawing representing Mohammed was posted on the Internet on April 20, 2010, with a message suggesting that "everybody" create a drawing depicting Mohammad on May 20 in support of free speech.
Cartoon, "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!"
Anwar al-Awlaki
"Mohammed at night" – black background with no depiction of a character, simply text at the bottom
Depiction, including Jesus and the Flying Spaghetti Monster
The permissibility of depictions of Muhammad in Islam has been a contentious issue. Oral and written descriptions of Muhammad are readily accepted by all traditions of Islam, but there is disagreement about visual depictions. The Quran does not explicitly or implicitly forbid images of Muhammad. The ahadith present an ambiguous picture, but there are a few that have explicitly prohibited Muslims from creating visual depictions of human figures. It is agreed on all sides that there is no authentic visual tradition as to the appearance of Muhammad, although there are early legends of portraits of him, and written physical descriptions whose authenticity is often accepted.
Hilye by Hâfiz Osman (1642–1698)
Hilye by Hâfiz Osman
Hilye by Hâfiz Osman
Hilye by Mehmed Tahir Efendi (d. 1848)