We have an extra Jesus and Mo cartoon this week, with this caption:

A Friday Flashback, in light of Portugal’s pending burka ban.

This is from the Guardian on October 17:

Portugal’s parliament has approved a bill banning face veils worn for “gender or religious” reasons in public, in a move seen as targeting Muslim women who wear face coverings.

The measure was proposed by the far-right Chega party and would prohibit coverings such as burqas (a full-body garment that covers a woman from head to foot) and niqabs (the full-face Islamic veil with space around the eyes) from being worn in most public places. Face veils would still be allowed in airplanes, diplomatic premises and places of worship.

The bill stipulates fines for those wearing face veils in public ranging between 200 euros and 4,000 euros (£175 and £3,475).

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa still has to approve the bill. He could veto it or send it to the constitutional court for review.

Jesus and Mo seem to agree, but for different reasons!  What do you think about the ban?

The latest Jesus and Mo strip, called “dire,” comes with the caption, “It really isn’t. Here’s an article about the Riyadh Comedy Fest.”

An excerpt from the BBC article about the comedy gala in Saudi Arabia:

“There were sex jokes, and wife jokes. It’s really unusual to see this kind of comedy here in Saudi Arabia.”

That’s how one ex-pat summed up the performances she’s seen, at the first ever Riyadh Comedy Festival.

“The response was amazing, I’ve never seen such enthusiasm,” she said, after sets by American stars Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr.

The woman – whom we’re calling Sara – said the comedians avoided discussing Saudi Arabia’s controversial human rights record. But that didn’t particularly bother her.

“People here don’t care about those topics,” she said. “If they did, they wouldn’t live here.”

Outside Saudi Arabia, there are very different perspectives.

Famous comedians such as Jimmy Carr, Jack Whitehall, Kevin Hart, Russell Peters and Omid Djalili have been intensely criticised by fellow artists for agreeing to perform at the festival. Others say they turned down invitations.

On Friday, one of the few female comedians on the bill, lesbian stand-up Jessica Kirson, apologised for taking part in the event, telling The Hollywood Reporter she would be donating her fee to a human rights organisation.

But some argued it’s a more nuanced picture. While human rights groups have a host of concerns about Saudi Arabia, the country has attempted to transform its image in recent years.

Yes, there’s a double entendre there, but I believe the artist is quite serious. It’s telling that “ex-pat Sara” won’t let them use her real name in her comment, which seems innocuous.

In the latest Jesus and Mo strip, called “event,” Mo clearly doesn’t like women in sports, especially if they are past puberty.  The cartoon came with the caption below, showing that the cartoon is based on something ripped from the news:

Maybe it was a progressive mosque? Like here.

Click on headline to read about the “progressive” mosque. :

The latest cartoon from Jesus and Mo, called “curse“, is not only clever, but also a good tactic to use when you’re making identity-based arguments. Simply replace one ethnicity with another and see whether what seems right and moral suddenly becomes immoral. I needn’t give examples.  But Mo is now reporting Jesus to the cops!

Today’s Jesus and Mo strip, called “shirt” is early; a note from the artist says this:

Back from hols! Today’s is a day early, due to the fact that it is International Blasphemy Day. Comic based on this story: https://ex-muslims.international/freebetty/

Mo is deeply offended at the accusation that Allah is a lesbian (she could be if she existed!), and so strikes back by insulting what he thinks is the atheist “god”: Darwin.  But we know that Darwin was a biological male (he and his wife had ten kids), so Mo is misguided.

The artist is still on hols, so he presents a strip from 11 years ago: “deeds”. This time it’s Jesus who is a hypocrite (usually it’s Mo).  And I don’t know the study to which Jesus refers.

Today’s Jesus and Mo post, called “hijab2”, is an old one, as the author is on hols.  But it’s a good one, and especially appropriate on the third anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, whom you surely remember. (She was beaten to death by Iran’s “morality police” for wearing her hijab improperly.)

Mahsa Amini before and after her beating (she probably died of a brain hemorrhage after being struck on the head). She was 22.