Mixed media on wood
56cm X 122cm (22″ X 48″)

I am a Muslim, and Muslims do not burn the Quran!

On March 19, 2015, Farkhunda Malikzada was dragged from the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque in Kabul Afghanistan where she was beaten with sticks and pummeled with stones, stomped, kicked, thrown from a roof and run over by a car. With cries of “burn the witch” her broken body was set on fire and thrown onto the banks of the Kabul river.

The western press reported that she was mentally ill, which was untrue, a lie perpetuated by her father to avoid further violence on the family. Farkhunda had just finished her degree in religious studies and had accepted a teaching position at the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque. When she chastised a Mullah for selling charms to widows and the poor he loudly accused her of burning the Quran. She responded, “I am a Muslim, and Muslims do not burn the Quran!”

The title of the painting occurred to me when I first viewed the video of Farkhunda’s death on CNN. First, an actor posing as an affluent westerner drives a luxury automobile, the “Drink Coca-Cola” moment. Next, Farkhunda is beaten and burned to the horrified commentary of anchors and correspondents. Finally, to make sure I have not forgotten my role as a consumer, the same actor drives the same luxury automobile.