Saudi history textbook withdrawn over image of Yoda with King

The Saudi government is scrambling to withdraw a history textbook that accidentally included a doctored photograph of Star Wars character Yoda sitting next to King Faisal as he signed the United Nations charter.

According to The Telegraph, the picture was meant to be included in a section about the king's rule, but the book's editors mistakenly used an incorrect picture.

Saudi Arabia's education minister said: "The Ministry of Education regrets the inadvertent error. The ministry has began printing a corrected copy of the decision and withdrawing the previous versions, and has formed a legal committee to determine the source of the error and to take appropriate action."

The doctored photograph is the work of a Saudi artist named Abdullah Al-Sehri. "I am the one who designed it, but I am not the one who put it in the book," he told The New York Times.

The image was part of a series in which Mr. Shehri, who is 26 and goes by the nickname Shaweesh, mixes pop culture icons into historic photographs. He said he got the idea while looking through photo archives from the Middle East

Al Shehri said he paired up the King and the Star Wars character because both were known for their intelligence.

"He was wise and was always strong in his speeches," Al Shehri said of the king. "So I found that Yoda was the closest character to the king."

"I meant no offense to the king at all," he added.