Round and round it goes

The Islamists threaten bloody murder over improper depictions of the Prophet. A Muslim artist is accused of painting improper depictions of Hindu divinities:

The New York office of the art auction house, Christie's, has rejected demands to withdraw the work of controversial Indian artist, MF Husain.

In a letter sent to Christie's, the Indian American Intellectual Forum threatened to hold demonstrations unless the auction is dropped.

Mr Husain is one of India's best known artists.

In 2006 he publicly apologised for a painting in which he depicted the country as a nude goddess.

He promised to withdraw the controversial painting from a charity auction after Hindu nationalist groups accused him of hurting their religious sentiments.

They have accused him of painting Hindu gods and goddesses in a ''derogatory and vulgar'' form.

Despite the protests, the painting at Christie's sold:

A painting by one of India's best-known artists, Maqbool Fida Husain, has sold for a record $1.6m at an auction in the American city of New York.

The art work, titled "Ganga-Yamuna", was sold by auction house Christie's. It was painted in 1971.

Posted by David on March 21, 2008 8:25 PM