At the heart of Muslim outrage over the Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammed has been the generally unchallenged contention that any visual depiction of the prophet is banned under Islamic law. But the ban may not be as clear-cut as many seem to think. “Although rare in the 1,400 years of Islamic art, visual representations of Muhammad were acceptable in certain periods. Today, his likenesses grace collections around the world,” and religious scholars say that “there is nothing in the Quran that forbids imagery.”