Medieval Muslim artists often created paintings and illuminated manuscripts depicting Mohammed in full. Several examples are presented here. Other artists of the era drew Mohammed but left his face blank so as to technically comply with the Islamic ban on depicting the Prophet; these images are shown in the second section. (more…)

In order to sidestep the prohibition against actually depicting Mohammed, artists in Muslim societies sometimes showed him with his face blank or hidden. This way it could be claimed that they never actually drew Mohammed — only his clothes. (more…)

Medieval and Renaissance Christian and secular artists had no religious restrictions regarding depictions of Mohammed, and were free to show his face and body in their entirety. (more…)

There have been depictions of Mohammed in every era throughout history. Here are a few from periods not covered in other categories: (more…)

Many popular American and European books about Islam from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries included lithographs and line drawings depicting Mohammed. Here is a small sampling: (more…)

In the Inferno chapter of Dante’s trilogy The Divine Comedy, Mohammed is described as being one of the “Sowers of Discord,” showing his entrails to Dante and Virgil in the Eighth Circle of Hell: (more…)

Several books about Islam published in France in the last 20 years have unabashedly depicted Mohammed on their covers. None of them caused any uproar or were noticed in the Muslim world at all. (more…)

A few contemporary cartoonists have ignored any potential threats and created satirical and/or mocking cartoons about Mohammed. (Note: this page is for cartoons created before the recent controversy. For images created since January 2006, see the “Recent Responses to the Controversy” section.) (more…)

The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten created the furor over depictions of Mohammed by publishing a series of 12 drawings after a local author said he was unable to find any artist willing to depict Mohammed for his upcoming illustrated book. The publication of the images in Jyllands-Posten has been condemned around the Islamic world, and has led to the burning of embassies and a boycott of Denmark by Muslim nations. (more…)

Several artists (both professional and amateur) have created their own responses to the controversy over the Danish cartoons. Many of the artists expressed their mockery of and disdain for the Muslim world’s violent reaction with new Mohammed depictions that are intentionally direspectful and/or obscene, to make a point about freedom of speech. If you are easily offended, you might want to stop reading here. (more…)