The French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo’s decision to reproduce the offensive cartoons of the Prophet (pbuh) has once again evo...
The French satirical
magazine, Charlie Hebdo’s decision to reproduce the offensive cartoons of the
Prophet (pbuh) has once again evoked strong reaction from Muslims worldwide.
The blasphemous caricatures hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims across
the world.
We condemned the
publication of the offensive cartoons and
call it a criminal act. The publication reinforces hate speech and will
whip up the feelings of believers. The efforts of French authorities,
especially President Macron, to explain this within the context of the freedom
of expression, are unacceptable.
The cartoon
republishing is a deliberate intimidation and an uncivilized action. It wants
to create rifts between religious communities under the name of what is seen as
freedom according to the law of France. The publication seems to be part of a
hate campaign attacking the sanctity of religions, particularly Islam, and the
move was equivalent to declaring a showdown with Muslims. We register our
unequivocal objection to the French law that does not prohibit such attacks on
religions.
Freedom of expression
does not give you the licence to harm the sentiments of others. It is not
possible to justify this insult and disrespect toward Muslims by freedom of
press, art or expression.
While the French in
general and Charlie Hebdo in particular proclaim their absolute right to
freedom of expression, this is simply not true. Take the case of Sine, the
long-time cartoonist and satirical writer for Charlie Hebdo who was fired for
writing that then French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s son will “go far in
life." He wrote that Jean, a law student, was considering converting to
Judaism (an unproven allegation) before marrying Jessica Sebaoun-Darty, the
heiress of a wealthy Jewish family that owned an electronics chain. Then-editor
Philippe Val fired Sine despite his decades-long association with the magazine.
Also hours after the
French leader defended Charlie Hebdo’s right to publish offensive cartoons of
the Prophet Muhammad, he launched an angry tirade against a journalist who
published an unflattering story. The meltdown over the report stood in stark
contrast to comments made by the French president just hours earlier. Hence
freedom of expression is no license to disparaging Islam.
Then, the question
arises, why do Western publications and politicians so readily indulge in
Islamophobic rhetoric and insult the revered personalities of Islam? It is all
a question of power. The West feels it has the power and it considers Muslims
to be weak and, therefore, can insult and humiliate them. The solution to this
persistent problem is for Muslims to get united to confront their enemies.
SIGNED
IBRAHIM MUSA
PRESIDENT MEDIA FORUM
ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA
SKYPE: ibrahim.musa42
08/09/2020.
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