Safi is from Iran, where images of the Prophet are tolerated. He also reports in his book that he is wary of telling his non-Iranian friends that the image in his home is of Muhammad, because he finds they react badly to it. Cf. the discussion on pages 184–186 in the book by Carl W. Ernst ("While Muslims in other countries might find this objectionable, it seems to cause no comment in Iran."). It is a question of proportion. Safi takes the view, as an Iranian muslim, that images of Muhammad are okay. They're part of the culture he grew up in. It's a significant minority view in Islam, but far from a majority view, nor representative of how Muhammad is most commonly portrayed. N466