Religious union to protest caricatures

Friday, March 14, 2008

By Our Correspondent

The News

LAHORE

TAHAFFUZ Namoos-e-Risalat Mahaz (TNRM) on Thursday decided to step up a campaign protesting against publication of blasphemous caricatures at Denmark.

In this regard, TNRM will take out a protest rally tomorrow (Saturday) from Data Durbar to GPO Chowk. People of all walks of life will participate in the rally.

TNRM is a group of more than 20 religious parties. addressing a press conference on Thursday, TNRM Convenor Jamia Naeemia Principal Dr Sarfraz Naeemi, JUP-NS President Engr Salimullah Khan, Maulana Tahir Tabassum, Razaul Mustafa, Maulana Naeem Noori, Pir Athar Qadri, Mukhtar Rizvi, Maulana Ajmal Gillani, Shahid Gardezi, Muhammad Ali Naqshbandi, Qari Mohammad Khan Qadri, Maulana Abdul Khaliq and Maulana Ziaul Haq Naqshbandi demanded the Muslim governments to sever diplomatic ties with Denmark.

They said the Muslim countries should expel Danish ambassadors and put into effect a complete economic boycott of all the European countries involved in blasphemy till an effective international law prohibiting all kinds of blasphemy of the prophets of Abrahamic religions, be made.

They demanded the newly elected Parliament to make a strong demand, in its first formal session, from United Nations that an international law should be made to ban blasphemy of holy figures of the Abrahamic religions by warranting tough punishments for its perpetrators.

Dr Sarfraz Naeemi speaking on behalf of TNRM said that it was the foremost duty of all Muslim rulers to activate OIC for pressing the world countries for such a legislation. Naeemi cited a statement by a senior Danish government official in which he said that the response from the Muslim world to the second publication of caricatures was a mellow one, and that the West should continue publication of such things to exercise unabated freedom of expression.

Naeemi said it showed that Europeans were following a calculated move under a global conspiracy to create psychological immunity among Muslims against the blasphemy of Prophet of Islam (SAW), so that in future, Muslim could be subjected to further humiliation and subjugation.

Asked if TNRM would invite President Musharraf to participate in anti-Denmark rallies like Sudanese president who led such a rally, Dr Naeemi said, “We don’t want our rally to become ‘Napak’ (impure) by inviting such a person to it.” He said, “TNRM has invited all self respecting people of society to join the rally so as to respond the call of religious honour.”

To another question if they had invited Mian Nawaz Sharif or some other opposition leaders, Naeemi said, “(Invitation to the rally is open for all Muslims and we have not invited people with respect to their social status.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan Workers’ Foundation (PWF) on Thursday condemned the publication of blasphemous cartoon in the Danish Press. PDF urged the government to warn the countries, which could not stop publication of such cartoons in the future, so that it could not disturb the peace of the country.

The PDF also expressed a great concern over the law and order situation prevalent in the country while expressing grief over the death of several innocent people in the provincial metropolis on March 11 in the bomb blasts. The PDF also demanded of the government to round up the perpetrators of the suicide blasts so that they could be punished in a proper way.