Entertainment News
2007-07-28
Gay artist burns
antique $60,000 Koran
Charles Merrill,
the out Palm Springs artist who recently gained
notoriety for editing the Bible with a black marker and a
Charles Merrill,
the out Palm Springs artist who recently gained
notoriety for editing the Bible with a black marker and a
pair of scissors, recently made a statement against
Muslim homophobia by burning an antique Koran valued
at $60,000. "The purpose of editing and burning
Abrahamic Holy Books is to eliminate homophobic hate,"
Merrill stated in a press release posted online. "Both
ancient books are terrorist manuals."
He inherited the
book from his late wife, Evangeline Johnson
Merrill—daughter of the founder of international
pharmaceutical conglomerate Johnson &
Johnson—who was given the valuable text by the
king of Jordon during a United Nations peacekeeping mission.
"Airplanes are
flown into buildings because of words, and hate crimes
against gays," Merrill said in the press release.
Merrill, cousin
to the cofounder of Merrill Lynch, has become
famous—and at times infamous—through his
art, which incorporates the themes of LGBT activism
and homophobia. (The Advocate)
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