Jacques Marrot

Jacques Marrot (incorrectly identified by AP as Jacques Barrot), the French auto mechanic whose picture was the source of the fake Mohammed photo, was interviewed by Ekstra Bladet. In an earlier post I had lifted quotes from this interview, below is the complete translation. Also included are quotes from Bob Edme of AP:

Pig Picture Totally Bogus

IMAMS REVEALED: The pig snout has nothing to do with the prophet - it’s from a French pig squealing competition.

By Thea Pedersen and Morten Bruun - 14:29 - 8th February 2006

Look carefully at these two pictures. They represent a man with a pig snout and are remarkably identical - even though the one blurred and the other one is sharp as a razor.

For almost a month, leading Danish Muslims have told the entire world that the blurred picture is a crude caricature of the prophet Mohammed.

Today Ekstra Bladet can reveal that it in fact depicts the French motor mechanic Jacques Marrot and definitely is neither caricature nor satire. It is purely fun and clown-acting.

DOESN’T WANT TO BE USED FOR PROPAGANDA

The picture was taken by the AP photographer, Bob Edme, when Marrot August 15th last year ran for the annual French championships in pig squealing in the southern French city, Trie-sur-Baise.

Since December this picture has circulated among imams in Egypt and Lebanon, as a testament to how badly Muslims are treated in Denmark. And this has shocked both Jacques Marrot and Bob Edme to learn, when Ekstra Bladet contacted them yesterday:

“But this picture is taken together with my family on a festive and humorous occasion. If what you tell me is true, I don’t want to hear about it. I won’t allow, this picture being used for any kind of propaganda. No matter whether it’s for or against Islam. That picture has nothing to do with Mohammed”, said the unsuspecting family-father, Jacques Marrot, from his home during lunch-break.

CONSIDERS LEGAL ACTION

Marrot doesn’t like Danish Muslims having used his picture along with images of Mohammed as a pedophile and of a Muslim being anally raped by a dog. Now he would like to see all the pictures and know the precise context:

“If the purpose in showing [this picture] has been to have fun - then it’s all right. But if the picture has been used as some sort of propaganda, then I’ll let some lawyers look at the case. If the picture had been displayed in France, it could have had some altogether different consequences for me” says the auto mechanic, who’s neither a Muslim nor practicing Catholic, but innocently and unknowingly has been entwined in a worldwide crisis.

WANTS EVIDENCE FOR THE CASE

Photographer Bob Edme is just as startled:

“Right now I’m neither sore nor shocked, but very surprised. I can hardly recall that picture, but it sounds totally bizarre. Moreover it’s illegal since the picture has nothing whatsoever to do with the Mohammed-case”, was Bob Edme’s immediate commentary before he referred us to the leader of Associated Press in Paris, Laurent Rebours.

He didn’t know about the breach of copyright either, and now he wants an overview over the global use of the picture before he reacts. “I don’t want to make a statement about ‘if’s’, but naturally this may have consequences” said Rebours somewhat frustrated to Ekstra Bladet.

Incidentally it was the first time that Jacques Marrot participated in the pig-squealing contest. He only became number three and thus missed the first price: A roasted suckling pig.

[1st picture] The real one …’Pourcailhade’ is the name of a yearly recurring pig festival, which has taken place since 1980 in the south-French city Trie-sur-Baise: Here French farmers are jousting in pig sounds; a happening that has nothing to do with neither Islam, Mohammed nor Jyllands-Posten’s prophet caricatures. (Photo: Bob Edme/AP)

[2nd picture] …and the false one. A blurred version of the pig festival picture is the imam’s ‘documentation’ for a self-invented offence of the prophet Mohamed.

Much thanks to Ateist for this complete translation.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 12th, 2006 at 11:55 pm and is filed under Islamic Cartoons, Fake Mohammed Photo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.