Suad Saleh, an Egyptian Muslim scholar who hosts a TV show on fatwas, or religious edicts, has pushed back against the fatwa from a Saudi cleric who declared that “Mickey Mouse should be killed." 

Saleh told the Egyptian Gazette that “…it is illogical to deal with a cartoon character as a live mouse and kill it.” 

The original fatwa was from Sheikh Mohamed al-Munajid, a former Saudi diplomat to the U.S., who in a discussion on Saudi television said that mice, which are impure according to Islamic law, are made more attractive by cartoon characters such as Tom and Jerry and Mickey Mouse.  “Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character,” he said, “even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases.”

Saleh said that the ruling “tarnishes Islam’s image,” and that “An edict should be based on knowledge, logic, and reason.”