Art attack! Bin Laden as Christ, Mary in burqa

New Delhi: Imagine Osama bin Laden in a pose resembling Jesus Christ or a statue of the Virgin Mary covered in a burqa.

An exhibition of religious art by Sydney's National Art School has incensed some people. But the exhibitors have defended their unusual display.

They say the aim of the show was to encourage discussion about spirituality in society - the goal of artists all over the world.

"Bearded Orientals: Making the Empire Cross" by Priscilla Bracks is a "double vision" print that depicts both Jesus and bin Laden.

Luke Sullivan's The Fourth Secret of Fatima is a statue of Mary, her head and torso obscured by a blue burqa like the one Afghan women had to wear under the militant Taliban.

The artworks were among more than 500 entries in the Blake Prize for Religious Art, and have been included in an exhibition at the National Art School in Sydney.

"The choice of such artwork is gratuitously offensive to the religious beliefs of many Australians," Australian Prime Minister John Howard told Thursday's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Opposition Labor leader Kevin Rudd also criticised the artwork. "I accept you know people can have artistic freedom, but I find this painting off, off in the extreme. I understand how people would be offended by it," he said.

Australia's 20 million population is overwhelmingly Christian and the print was condemned by the Australian Christian Lobby.

"It's really unfortunate people take liberties with the Christian faith they wouldn't take with other religions," Lobby spokeswoman Glynis Quinlan told reporters.

(With Reuters inputs)