Alternative take

Published on Thursday 14 February 2008 21:07

Dr Haroon Junaidi, From Edinburgh, on the Muhammad cartoons.

I would like to draw your attention to the issue of the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), that were republished in Denmark on Wednesday under the umbrella of freedom of speech.

Danish embassies around the globe have already been placed on high alert.

In all, 17 Danish newspapers participated in the rerun, including three of their major dailies. Muslims around the world find this deeply shocking – a foolish act with apparently no underlying objectives.

I congratulate the editors for killing the spirit of freedom of speech and instigating another wave of outrage from the Muslim world that is already in disarray.

They showed us that freedom of speech is not about the right to express your ideas; it is to insult religions, invoke hatred and propagate unrest and demolishing the foundation of co-existence.

They showed how extremism can be fuelled and reactions ignited.

For the information of readers, I would like to add that it is a part of the Muslim faith to love and have the utmost respect for their prophet and, thus, guarding this value is not only of supreme importance, but an obligatory act.

And this respect does not stand for Prophet Muhammad alone; it extends to Jesus, Moses and all the prophets.