CAIRO,
February 6, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh
Yusuf Al-Qaradawi denounced on Sunday, February 5, sabotage and violent
protests by Muslims over the publication of cartoons mocking Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) by several European newspapers, saying Muslims should
vent anger prudently.
"The
sabotage done by some Muslims in some [Arab] capitals in response to the
offensive cartoons is unacceptable and should be denounced,"
Qaradawi, who heads the Dublin-based International Union of Muslim
Scholars (IUMS) told Al-Jazeera’s Shari`ah and Life program.
"We
never call on people to set fire to cars, but to express their anger in
a prudent manner to head off serious consequences," said the
prominent scholar.
"True
that Islam has been the subject of attacks recently, but Muslims should
not reciprocate."
Qaradawi
further strongly condemned the attack on a church in the Lebanese
capital Beirut by a Muslim mob.
"It
seems as if some opportunists are behind these attacks just to add fuel
to the already raging flames," he said.
Muslims
protesting against the cartoons set fire to the Danish consulate in
Beirut on Sunday and Syrian protesters did the same with the Danish and
Norwegian embassies in Damascus a day earlier.
Muslim
scholars, organizations and leaders were united Sunday in condemning the
violent attacks against the embassies.
Twelve
cartoons, first published last September by Denmark's mass-circulation Jyllands-Posten
and then reprinted by several European dailies, have caused an uproar in
the Muslim world.
Effective
Boycott
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Indonesian protesters shout slogans during a protest in front of the Denmark embassy in Jakarta. (Reuters).
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Qaradawi
said boycotting the products of European countries whose dailies had
published the blasphemous cartoons is the Muslims’ sharpest weapon.
"We
called on Muslims to boycott their products in response and pressed for
an international resolution criminalizing any insult to any
religion," he said.
A
cohort of Muslim dignitaries and organizations have called for the
enactment of an international law banning the publication of any insults
to religious symbols and values.
The
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Arab League, the
Muslim world's two main political bodies, are seeking a UN resolution,
backed by possible sanctions, to protect religions following the
publication of provocative cartoons.
On
the freedom of expression argument often used for publishing the
cartoons, Qaradawi said blasphemy "has nothing to do with freedom
of expression, which is not absolute….there are limits that should not
be stretched."
A
number of European newspapers have said press freedom was more important
than the protests and boycotts they have provoked.
Many
Arab commentators have said that defense rang hollow because, they said,
European media shield Judaism and Israel from criticism.
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