As Muslims living in Greece, it is our responsibility to show love and respect to everyone. It is our responsibility to never take law in our hands.
Source/Credit: Athens Views
By Atta-Ul Naseer | January 14, 2015
It is sad and extremely hurtful to learn that Charlie Hebdo has once again published a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as a response to the attack on their magazine. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Greece along with the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community strongly condemned those horrific attacks and called it “An attack on Humanity”.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Greece also strongly condemns the publishing of the cartoon of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). A wise person cannot hurt the feelings and sentiments of fellow humans by dis-respecting someone that is sacred and dear to them. It is absolutely unethical and immoral for media organizations to reprint the cartoons following the inhumane attack on Charlie Hebdo. The media should understand its responsibilities and its job is not to increase division in society or to provoke hatred - but rather they should try to foster peace and love in society. If one group makes a mistake then it does not mean that the other has the right to make another mistake which can create an atmosphere of hatred.
When these cartoons were first published, the worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community condemned these and said,
“We tell the world that any kind of vulgar expression about any sacred person of any religion does not constitute freedom in any way at all. You apparently champion democracy and freedom of expression, but play with the sentiments of others; this is neither democracy nor freedom of expression. Everything has a limit and some code of conduct. Just as there are codes of conduct in all professions, there is also a code of conduct in journalism. Just as no matter what kind of government there is, it has its rules and regulations. Freedom of expression certainly does not mean that sentiments are trifled with, or are caused to be hurt. If this is the freedom that the West is proud of, then this freedom does not lead to advancement, rather it leads to decline.”
As Muslims living in Greece, it is our responsibility to show love and respect to everyone. It is our responsibility to never take law in our hands.
I call upon the Muslims of Greece to remain peaceful. Islam has never taught a Muslim to start attacking people or start taking the law in their hands against those who hurt their sentiments. It is our responsibility to inform people through our writings and logical arguments that these actions have nothing to do with freedom of speech or expression. In many European countries, denial of holocaust is illegal and punishable by fine and imprisonment then why is it difficult to make a law against disrespecting religious figures who are sacred for billions of people around the globe?
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Atta-Ul Naseer is Imam & National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Greece.
Read original post here: Perspective: Cartoons of Prophet Muhammad – A Clear Provocation
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