In yet another deliberate attempt to provoke Muslim anger and anguish, this time in Holland, a notorious Islamophobe politician, Geert Wilders, had organised a caricatures competition depicting the Prophet of Islam (Peace Be Upon Him). Emphasizing the sensitivity of the issue, the Senate of Pakistan adopted a unanimous resolution the other day, saying "the proposed competition is tantamount to inciting hatred, racial prejudice, unrest, conflict and insecurity in the world that has already seen much blood, racism, extremism, intolerance and Islamophobia, and badly needs peace, interfaith harmony, mutual respect and tolerance." Unfortunately, even though such previous incitements have led to widespread protests all over the Muslim world, and in certain cases, even violent reaction, some in the Western countries still insist on hurting the Muslims by insulting their Holy Prophet (PBUH) in the name of freedom of expression.
In the present instance, too, Holland hides behind the same excuse. When contacted by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to convey the prevailing sentiments in Pakistan as well as the wider Muslim word, his Dutch counterpart said his government considered the issue as a matter of freedom of expression, and hence would do nothing. Wilders has backed off for the moment and called off the contest citing danger of violence against "innocent" people. While our foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi claimed the cancellation a great moral victory for the Muslim ummah, Wilders has warned against claiming victory so soon as he is obviously planning yet another scheme to hurt the sentiments of the Muslims. The planned dharna by the TLYRA in Islamabad would not be necessary now.
Indeed, in secular Western societies, free speech, including the freedom to mock religion, is regarded as an inviolable right. But satirizing other people's faith and holy personalities is not the same as questioning religious beliefs from within any faith. It must be unacceptable for being reflective of religio- racial intolerance and hatred. As a matter of fact, there are limits in Western countries as well to what people can say, for instance, offensive remarks that fall within the definition of racial hatred or can lead to violence. And in several European countries, Holocaust denial is punishable with jail sentence.
Things being what they are, protest demonstrations or efforts by individual governments to stop repeated blasphemous provocations, are not going to have the desired effect. As Prime Minister Imran Khan explained in his Senate speech, majority of the people in Western countries do not understand the deep pain the sacrilegious portrayal of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) causes to Muslims everywhere. He rightly termed that a collective failure of the Muslim world. It is about time governments took a strong stand on the issue, and made it plain that freedom of expression must not become a licence to insult other people's faith. Pakistan and Turkey have decided to raise the issue at the upcoming UN General Assembly session. More importantly, Foreign Minister Qureshi has emphasized the need for all Muslim countries to speak with one voice. Towards that end, he has urged the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to summon an urgent meeting so as to act in a unified manner against the planned blasphemous event. Only a proactive policy by all OIC members can help put an end to the wickedness that is aimed at disparaging the faith of 1.6 billion followers of Islam.
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