Mohammed Image Archive5

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Mohammed Image Archive

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Dante's Inferno

In the Inferno section of Dante's trilogy The Divine Comedy, Mohammed is described as beingone of the "Sowers of Discord," showing his entrails to Dante and Virgil in the Eighth Circle ofHell:

Inferno XXVIII, 19-42.

The poets are in the ninthchasm of the eighth circle, that of the Sowers ofDiscord, whose punishment is to be mutilated.Mahomet shows his entrails to Dante and Virgilwhile on the left stands his son Ali, his head cleftfrom chin to forelock.

Several famous (and not-so-famous) artists have created their own illustrations of this scene.In each drawing, Mohammed is the one with his torso slit open.

This medieval drawing of Mohammed (on the right) showing his entrails to Dante and Virgil (onthe left) is from one of the earliest surviving illustrated manuscripts of the Inferno, dating fromthe third quarter of the fourteenth century (1350-1375), and currently held in the Bodleian

Library in Oxford, England. The artist is unknown; the manuscript is known as "MS. Holkhammisc. 48," part of the Holkham manuscripts collection.


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(Hat tip: Raafat.)

This image shows the full folio page from which the detail above was taken.


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Gustave Dor's version of the scene is probably the most well-known. The image is anillustration taken from an 1885 French edition of Dante's Divine Comedy. The originalengraving is in the Bibliotheque des Arts Decoratifs, Paris.


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Detail of Gustave Dor's Mohammed, from the picture above.

William Blake's rendition of the "Sowers of Discord"; Mohammed is the bearded figure pullingopen his torso. Watercolor; drawn 1824-7. The original is housed in the National Gallery ofVictoria, Australia.


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In 1481, Botticelli created some illustrations for the earliest printed edition of the Inferno.Thisexpansive scene shows all the "Sowers of Discord." Mohammed is the one near the uppercenter-left with his entrails hanging out.

The detail from the picture above shows Mohammed with his torso split open and his

intestines trailing behind him, while to his left is Ali with his head cut in half.


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A sketch of Mohammed split open, by Auguste Rodin.

Salvador Dal created a surrealistic version of Mohammed's torment.


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Contemporary Spanish artist Miquel Barcel illustrated a 2003 Spanish edition of the Infernowhich featured this painting of Mohammed with his entrails exposed.(Hat tip: Andrs M.)


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The 1911 Italian silent film L'Inferno contained a dramatization of the scene; Mohammed ishere on the right with his entrails hanging out.(Hat tip: Peter R.)


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Political correctness has progressed so far that in March, 2006 when the Italian magazine StudiCattolici published this very mild version of the scene -- that doesn't even depict Mohammed-- the editor was compelled to issue an apologetic explanation, and the conservative Catholicgroup Opus Dei (which is connected to the magazine) issued a statement distancing

themselves from the cartoon. The word balloons are translated as:Dante (wearing the cap, on the cliff edge): "Isn't that guy divided in half from head to buttMohammed?"Virgil (on the far right): "Yes, he is divided because he brought division to society!While the other one there with his trousers down is Italian politics concerning Islam."Extensive coverage can be found at Michelle Malkin, Atlas Shrugs, Washington Times,TheTelegraph, and Associated Press.(Hat tip: Killgore Trout.)

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Other Archive Sections:

Islamic Depictions of Mohammed in FullIslamic Depictions of Mohammed with Face HiddenEuropean Medieval and Renaissance ImagesMiscellaneous Mohammed ImagesDante's InfernoBook IllustrationsBook CoversSatirical Modern CartoonsTheJyllands-Posten CartoonsRecent Responses to the Controversy

Extreme MohammedEmail Responses from Readers


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