The imagery included by Indonesian Muslim Ardian Syaf, a freelance contributor to Marvel, was called "bigoted" and he was accused of "spreading hatred" by social media users. Some even saw anti-Semitic sentiment in his artwork.
The first issue of Marvel's latest X-Men Gold series was released in early April. The entertainment giant has since said it will take the offending references out of subsequent print editions, as well as take disciplinary action.
The artist has also spoken to Indonesian media following the controversy, saying while he was expressing a political view, he was not trying to spread hate.
The imagery included by Indonesian Muslim Ardian Syaf, a freelance contributor to Marvel, was called "bigoted" and he was accused of "spreading hatred" by social media users. Some even saw anti-Semitic sentiment in his artwork.
The first issue of Marvel's latest X-Men Gold series was released in early April. The entertainment giant has since said it will take the offending references out of subsequent print editions, as well as take disciplinary action.
The artist has also spoken to Indonesian media following the controversy, saying while he was expressing a political view, he was not trying to spread hate.
The reason this is controversial is because it is widely seen as a reference to the case against the governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, widely known as Ahok.
Mr Purnama - a Christian of Chinese descent - is currently on trial for blasphemy.
He angered many hard-line Muslims after he referenced the passage while campaigning last year. The prosecution says he insulted Islam. Mr Purnama insists his comments were aimed at politicians "incorrectly" using the Koranic verse to make a case against his re-election.
If convicted, he faces a maximum five-year jail sentence.
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