9/11 Coloring Book Draws Criticism

A 9/11 coloring book is drawing criticism for its portrayal of Muslims and Islam and the nature of some graphics.

We Shall Never Forget 9/11: The Kids' Book of Freedom is being sold by Really Big Coloring Books, Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri.

The coloring book is being marketed as a tool to help parents teach their children about the circumstances and aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, including the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The coloring book has been met with criticism from Muslim groups.

Cyrus McGoldrick is the civil rights manager at the New York chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

It definitely fans the flames of conflict here, McGoldrick told the IB Times.

He said that in the process of remembering, commemorating and reflecting upon 9/11, this coloring book is doing a disservice to the many people who died on 9/11 and the many people who have died since.

Many of the first responders and victims, he said, were Muslim, and he believes this coloring book does a disservice to them as well.

The coloring book's publisher, Wayne Bell, defended the book.

The intent of the book is to educate, Bell told ABC News. And that's what it does.

The coloring book is rated PG. The company said its first print is sold out and that more books are being printed.

Some of the pages were posted on the company's Web site.

One page shows a male at Ground Zero with his head in his hands. He is in front of a wall filled with photos of victims.

Another page features an anchorperson talking about bin Laden.

These attacks will change the way America deals with and views the Islamic and Muslim people around the world, it says on the page.

Another page shows a U.S. soldier poised with a gun. He has just fired a bullet, which can be seen, and it is about to hit a surprised-looking bin Laden, who is holding a woman in front of him. The woman is dressed in hijab and a short veil covers her face, leaving her eyes exposed.

In Bin Laden's house in Pakistan, Osama used his wives and children as shields as he tried to escape and get away from the American Military, the text on this page reads. But the coward Bin Laden could not escape. He was killed hiding behind the dress tail of a young woman.

The same page also says that bin Laden's body was wrapped in a white blanket and thrown overboard.

Throwing his body into the sea showed him more respect than he showed to the people who died on 9/11, the book says.

Aisha Sultan, 37, is a journalist and a mother of two young children, an 8-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son. She has written about parenting topics and disapproves of the coloring book, both for its graphics and its portrayal of Muslims.

As a parent I'm really sad and as a parent of Muslim children it made me even sadder, Sultan said, adding that she does not feel this book would be age appropriate for the coloring book crowd.

She disapproved of the depiction of the bullet, as children are already flooded enough with graphic images.

When we have control, I think it's in their best interest that we use better judgment, she said.

We should not shield our children from the truth, Sultan said. They are often able to handle more than we give them credit to, but we have to think about what's the most age appropriate way and how much they need to know at that age.