Free Republic

Don't look now, but the United State Supreme Court features the Prophet Mohammad in a marble frieze which adorns the north wall of its courtroom: The North Frieze (designed by Adolph Weinman) depicts a procession of 18 great lawgivers: Justinian, Mohammed, Charlemagne, King John, Louis IX, Hugo Grotius, Sir William Blackstone, John Marshall and Napoleon.This is certainly a graven image of the Prophet. And it is certainly meant to encourage us to idolize Mohammad as a heroic law-giver. (It's always good to know just how many times one should beat ones wife.)But of course the perpetually offended Moslems have already...

    Lost in the furor over cartoons of the prophet Muhammad is the fact that his likeness has long been portrayed in the collections of some of the world's greatest museums and libraries without exciting alarm or comment.     While rare in the 1,400 years of Islamic art, depictions of Muhammad are found in the collections of such institutions as New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris and the Edinburgh University library.     Muhammad has been portrayed in the work of revered Muslim artists and of such Western figures as William Blake, Auguste Rodin and Salvador Dali...

  Frieze depicts Muhammad among 18 "lawgivers" on wall above Supreme Court justices' bench While Muslims engaged in violent protests worldwide over caricatures of Muhammad have insisted any image of their prophet is considered blasphemous, a prominent frieze in the U.S. Supreme Court portrays the Islamic leader wielding a sword. The stone sculptures of 18 lawgivers, from Hammurabi to John Marshall, are meant to signify the law's foundation in a stable society. Included is Moses with the Ten Commandments. The artwork, which is high above the justice's mahogany bench, was designed by sculptor Adolph A. Weinman for the building, which...

Tue Feb 7, 3:54 PM ET Close up of the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC. Amid an international outcry over cartoons of Mohammed, some American Muslim leaders have expressed concern about depictions of the prophet at US public buildings, including the Supreme Court.(AFP/File/Nicholas Kamm)Amid an international outcry over cartoons of Mohammed, some American Muslim leaders have expressed concern about depictions of the prophet at US public buildings, including the Supreme Court. At the same time they draw a sharp contrast between the cartoons, which they consider blasphemous and designed to offend, and statues or sculptures meant to honor Mohammed...