AN EFFIGY of a fast food icon on a crucifix in Alexandra Palace has sparked outrage among Christians this week.Teenage protesters allegedly pinned the exhibition organiser to a wall as they demanded the removal of a figure of Ronald McDonald hanging from a cross on an island in The Lake on Saturday.
Trefor Jones, Baptist minister of Campsbourne Baptist Church, said: "I haven't seen it yet but these kinds of things never impress me. In this country people get away with all sorts of ridicule of the Christian faith."
Tony Peakall, organiser of the Tidy Art exhibition, which runs until Sunday, June 22, revealed how he was attacked by around 10 girls.
They reportedly grabbed him and shouted at him to take it down.
He said: "When I tried to explain about the piece they said if it was a Muslim symbol we wouldn't do it because we would get bombed.
"It was scary. They threatened me saying I would be lucky if something doesn't happen to me. We have no plans to remove it."
Janitzio Moreno, 47, of Great North Road, Highgate, who created the life-size dummy clad in the familiar yellow outfit and curly ginger wig, was shocked at the reaction.
He said: "I'm not apologising for it. If there are reactions then it tells us more about the society we live in. I think a lot of evils in the world are a direct result of religious fanaticism, and this is another little example."
Reaction to the controversial piece from people at The Lake was mixed.
One woman called it an "attack on McDonald's capitalising on selling people unhealthy food" and not Christians.
While John Sharp, 43, of Terront Road, South Tottenham, said: "Religion is important to people and they have the right to protest. Faith is more important than art."
Brendan Munro, a minister of Pray Haringey, said: "There is no call for pinning someone against the wall. There are bigger things to worry about.
"We should always be able to have serious and honest debate about things without getting het up."
The Bishop of Edmonton, The Right Reverend Peter Wheatley, declined to comment.
Among the other pieces surrounding the lake is a chicken made out of Tesco carrier bags and a mannequin with a dress made from feathers.
A spokesman for McDonald's said: "It seems inappropriate to place an image of Ronald McDonald on any religious artefact.
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