Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has sharply criticised the publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad in Western newspapers on Saturday 4 February 2006.
Abdullah, who chairs the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference, said the "deplorable act was a blatant disregard of Islamic sensitivities over the use of such images, which were particularly insulting to and forbidden by Islam."
Oleh/By: DATO' SERI ABDULLAH BIN HAJI AHMAD BADAWI
Tempat/Venue: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA, PUTRAJAYA
Tarikh/Date: 04/02/2006
Tajuk/Title: THE PUBLICATION OF CARICATURES OF PROPHET MOHAMMED BY CERTAIN NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALS IN EUROPE - [04/02/2006]
STATEMENT BY
THE HONOURABLE DATO SERI ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI
PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA
ON THE PUBLICATION OF
CARICATURES OF PROPHET MOHAMMED
BY CERTAIN NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALS IN EUROPE
Malaysia wishes to express its deepest regret over a defamatory caricature of Prophet Mohammed which was first published by a Danish newspaper. This deplorable act is a blatant disregard for Islamic sensitivities over the use of such images which are particularly insulting and forbidden by Islam.
It is even more regrettable that newspapers and journals in some other countries such as Norway, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain had seen fit to reproduce the offending caricatures despite worldwide protests against the publication of those images. This is a deliberate act of provocation. They should cease and desist from doing so.
I would however call upon the people of Malaysia to remain calm and rational. Let the perpetrators of the insult see the gravity of their own mistakes which only they themselves can and should correct.
Office of the Prime Minister of Malaysia
PUTRAJAYA
4 February 2006
The Vatican deplored the violence but said certain provocative forms of criticism were unacceptable. "The right to freedom of thought and expression cannot entail the right to offend the religious sentiment of believers," the Vatican said in its first statement on the controversy.
When contacted, National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) secretary-general Reverend Wong Kim Kong said that he supported the Malaysian Prime Minister's expression of regret over the incident.
"While others may regard the caricatures as trivial, for Muslims, to depict their prophet as such is abomination. It is only right for people to be more sensitive to the religion of others."
Likewise, the Malaysian Consultative Council deputy president K. Pardip said: "No one should have the right to ridicule the religion and beliefs of others."
The OIC secretary general exerts intensive efforts in the fall out of the escalating developments following the publication of the insulting caricatures of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
In the wake of the recent developments with regard to the disturbing incident of republishing by some European media organs of insulting caricatures of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) following their first publication by the Danish daily Jyllands Posten, the General Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic Conference has been conducting intensive efforts with a view to curbing the dangerous escalation which is being witnessed recently and to coming up with consensus at the international level which will help prevent the reoccurrence of similar incidents.
In the framework of this intensive efforts, the OIC Secretary General Professor Ihsanoglu held telephone contacts yesterday (4 February) with H.R.H Prince Saud Al Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and H.E. Mr. Abu Bakr Al Qurbi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Yemen, to exchange views on the developments as well as regarding the calls to have an extraordinary session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers to discuss the matter. On the same subject, Prof. Ihsanoglu has received a call today from H.E. Mr. Mohammed Abdel Rahman Shalgam, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Libya.
Prof. Ihsanoglu also received last night a telephone call from the UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan who said he shared the distress of the Muslims who felt that the caricatures offended their religion and that although he respected the right of freedom of speech, freedom of speech should entail responsibility and judgment. UN Secretary General also voiced his concerns with the developments and offered his assistance in finding a peaceful way out without inflaming the already difficult situation. The two Secretaries General then exchanged views on what can be done in the UN framework to develop an international code of conduct and further the already existing efforts.
As it would be remembered, Prof. Ihsanoglu had also received a telephone call in the evening of 2 February from Mr. Javier Solana, the European Union's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy. In the lengthy telephone conversation, they had exchanged views regarding the recent developments and had agreed to continue their consultations and cooperation on this issue with a long term perspective.
On the other hand, the OIC Secretary General received yesterday at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah some of the EU Ambassadors accredited to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During the meetings in which views on the recent developments were exchanged, the OIC Secretary General shared with the Ambassadors his assessments on the matter.
In addition to these contacts, the OIC Secretary General called this morning (5 February) H.E. Mr. Farook Shara, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria to exchange views on the developments as well as to inquire about the incidents occurred in Damascus yesterday during which some demonstrators perpetrated attacks against the Danish and Norwegian Embassies. Minister Shara informed the Secretary General that the Syrian authorities have initiated an investigation on these unfortunate incidents.
Taking this opportunity the Secretary General expresses his disapproval over these regrettable and deplorable incidents and reemphasizes that overreactions surpassing the limits of peaceful democratic acts for which he has been calling in his recent statements, are dangerous and detrimental to the efforts to defend the legitimate case of the Muslim World and portray the true image of Islam and Muslims in the international arena.
Organisation of the Islamic Conference
Jeddah, 5 February 2006
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