British comedian dressed as Gadhafi attacked

[August 22, 2011]  EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) -- A British comedian says he was attacked with a bottle at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival while dressed as Moammar Gadhafi.

Jeff Mirza was handing out flyers on the street for his show, dressed as the embattled Libyan leader, when a man approached and asked for a cigarette. Mirza said he shook his head and the man walked on, but when Mirza turned around he was hit on the back of the head with a bottle. He was not seriously hurt.

Mirza is at the annual festival with his show "Jihad: Heresy or Hearsay."

The comedian said Sunday that most festivalgoers had been welcoming. He said "most people at the Fringe get the joke of me being dressed up as a washed up dictator trying to sell the show."

Police say they do not believe the Aug. 14 attack was racially motivated.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.