Genpets cartoon by hajjaj

After the half-hearted retraction of the Genpets story from last week in Al-Ghad, which stopped short of a clear apology, we now have renowned Jordanian cartoonist Emad Hajjaj step in.

In Al-Ghad this morning I was delighted to see a cartoon (or rather an article actually) by Hajjaj, which fully explains the story and exposes the utter ignorance amongst religious authorities, the government and the media, which lead to reports that this is a real living toy and official ban on “importing” it into Arab markets.

The size of the journalistic mistake required the intervention of Jordan’s most famous cartoonist to fix. Now we can at least hope that thousands of misinformed readers will get the straight story.

Still, there was no editorial apology in Al-Ghad accepting responsibility.

Hajjaj’s cartoon ends with a poetic quotation from the famous Arab poet Al Mutanabbi:

“Is religion’s purpose to trim your mustaches? Oh Nation, your ignorance made you the laughing stock of other nations”

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5 responses to “Genpets fiasco: thank you Emad Hajjaj!”

  1. hussein Avatar
    hussein

    well said Hajjaj :)

  2. The Observer Avatar
    The Observer

    I loved the mutannabi quote! Did they use to face the same problem back then??!? :S

  3. Musa Avatar
    Musa

    I guess the apology is not coming Ahmad …

    Once again, another al-Ghad employee (Hajaj) blames the “Islamic council of charity work” and the government without blaming al-Ghad’s editors for their inability to use wikipedia.

    Although Hajaj’s reference to “the creativity of Arab newspapers and their renowned scientific approach” is appreciated.

    Are we being too anal for seeking an apology?

  4. Ibrahim Owais Avatar
    Ibrahim Owais

    Amazing Amazing! This guy is brilliant …

  5. Kariman Avatar
    Kariman

    It’s so depressing to think that no one involved; lawmakers! journalists, READERS seemed to have acted rationally or looked for FACTS. Hajjaj’s cartoon said it all. We need a massive injection of critical thinking skills not an apology.