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12 Mar, 2015 12:37

Mohammed gay sex cartoon allegedly tweeted to cleric by Rangers football rep

Mohammed gay sex cartoon allegedly tweeted to cleric by Rangers football rep

A newly-appointed director at Glasgow’s Rangers Football Club is suspected of sending a sexually-explicit image of the Prophet Mohammed to a radical Islamic preacher in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

Chris Graham, who holds the position of Rangers Supporters Trust spokesman, is being investigated by the club over the allegation.

He began courting controversy a mere 24 hours after taking up the position of non-executive director at Rangers’ Ibrox stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.

The investigation was sparked after it emerged Graham tweeted an offensive cartoon to controversial Islamic cleric Anjem Choudary.

Rangers investigating claims new director, Chris Graham, tweeted a sexually explicit image of the prophet Mohammed... http://t.co/7Kh12W6jg9

— Rangers FC News (@RangersFCPress) March 11, 2015

The image is believed to have depicted the Prophet Mohammed embroiled in a homosexual act with Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks.

The image was sent in response to Choudary’s online appraisal of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris on January 7, in which 12 staff members were gunned down at the offices of the French satirical magazine.

Choudary’s tweet, posted shortly after the massacre, read “Freedom of expression does not extend to insulting the prophets of Allah, whatever your views on the events in Paris today!”

Graham is believed to have retorted by tweeting the sexually-explicit drawing of the prophet accompanied by the message: “You probably won’t like this one...then.”

Such a classy club http://t.co/N3EBeRaIc2

— Martin Belam (@MartinBelam) March 11, 2015

The Rangers non-executive director’s Twitter account is no longer open to public viewing.

Graham, 38, is known by the club’s fans for running the Rangers Standard website as a well as representing the Rangers Supporters Trust.

A spokesman for Rangers FC said on Wednesday the club was unaware of the allegations against Graham. He stressed, however, the matter will be examined.

In January, Choudary came under fire for controversial remarks regarding the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris.

He wrote a letter published by US news outlet USA Today claiming that Muslims “did not believe in the concept of freedom of expression.”

READ MORE: ‘Act of war’: New Charlie Hebdo edition triggers Muslims’ anger, threats

The London-based Islamist preacher suggested further that the Sharia (Islamic law) was more important than the legal systems of liberal democracies.

The following week, a record 3 million copies of Charlie Hebdo appeared on French newsstands featuring new caricatures, triggering outrage among Muslims across the world.

Choudary decried the new edition as an “act of war” and a “blatant provocation.”

While he attracts a small following of hardline Muslims associating themselves with the ‘Salafist’ school of thought, Choudary is not considered a mainstream preacher among the majority of British Muslims.

Last year, he expressed his support for the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and supported Muslims traveling to Syria and Iraq to fight. One of his loyal followers, Abu Rumaysah, left the UK while on police bail to join the militia group.

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