May 22 (Bloomberg) -- A Japanese cartoon depicting a character reading the Koran while ordering the execution of the animation's hero and friends sparked protests on Islamic Web sites, Kyodo News reported today.

The scene from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, adapted from a comic strip published from 1987 to 2003, generated angry responses on more than 300 Arab and Islamic Internet forums, with many accusing Japan of insulting the Koran, Kyodo said.

The scene depicts Muslims as terrorists, Kyodo cited Sheikh Abdul Hamid Attrash, chairman of the Fatwa Committee at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, as saying. An unidentified official at Shueisha Inc., a Japanese publisher involved in the cartoon's movie version, told Kyodo the Koran's use was ``a simple mistake'' stemming from employees' inability to read Arabic.

Cartoons of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb in his turban were published in 2005 in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, prompting protests in Muslim communities worldwide and consumer boycotts of Danish products.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Biggs in Tokyo at sbiggs3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 21, 2008 20:59 EDT