Both the vice chancellor of the University of Cape Town and its Rag chairperson have apologised for what has been labelled a "blasphemous" attack on Christianity in the rag magazine Sax Appeal.
"We believe that, in our honest intention to raise funds for the needy, we overstepped the mark," Rag Chairperson Cameron Arendse said in a statement issued by the university on Friday afternoon.
He said it had become clear that many people of the Christian faith had been hurt and insulted by the magazine, which has a tradition of toilet humour.
"UCT Rag unreservedly apologises to everyone who has been offended in this way," Arendse said.
Among the material that has offended Christians is a piece titled "top ten atheist retorts to fundamentalist Christians".
Among the "retorts" is: "Jesus died to save us from our sins" - "I bet he feels like a tool now."
In one picture a man with a megaphone shouts to passing people "I love God", while the caption above him reads: "F**k off to heaven and leave the rest of us alone".
In another picture, a women lifts her leg saying: "pervert" while the caption says: "God sees everything".
Prominent Cape Town Christian leader Errol Naidoo on Thursday sent out a mass email asking Christians to protest what he described as an "outrageous" attack on their faith.
"If UCT attempted this despicable attack against any other faith group there would have been a major outcry by now and perhaps even violence," he said in the email.
Naidoo also took issue with a full page of Zapiro cartoons which he said "mock the Levitical injunction against homosexuality".
In a statement issued along with Arerndse's on Friday, UCT vice chancellor Max Price said the Sax Appeal issue had "rightly" caused an outcry.
"Many of us regardless of religious affiliation have been offended by aspects in the publication and for those let me add my apology," he said.
He had asked that the Sax Appeal editorial team meet with UCT management as soon as possible.
"We will revisit the role of the editorial advisory board that should work with students to advise on the publication's content," he said.
Earlier on Friday, the Christian Democratic Alliance said it would ask the SA Human Rights Commission to look into the contents of Sax Appeal.
The CDA realised the matter should be taken to the Commission for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Language Communities.
"But according to our information this commission is dysfunctional at the moment, and according to information obtained from the media, ha not found in the favour of Christian complainants in a single case."
Pick 'n Pay, long-time sponsor of the magazine, has withdrawn copies of the magazine from its shelves following protests. -Sapa