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Cartoons were meant to fuel clash of civilisations: Aziz

* Muslims should have same legal safeguards as Jews: Ihsanoglu

By Shahzad Raza

ISLAMABAD: The publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in European newspapers was an attempt to promote a clash of civilisations, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Tuesday.

“It is partly based on ignorance about the true teachings of Islam and partly to demonise Islam. We cannot condone such insensitivities towards our beliefs and condemn them in the strongest voice,” he said in a speech at the 12th General Assembly of the OIC Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation.

Aziz said Islam advocated harmony, coexistence, peace and compassion. He said Islam preached for dialogue, accommodation and harmony to foster understanding and to evolve a fair and just global order. “It prohibits all manifestations of discrimination, racism and terrorism.” He said the OIC as the sole voice of the Ummah must rise to the challenge of the new dynamism of global politics to remain relevant and effective. He called for a dialogue at the UN to address the growing gap between civilisations and to remove misconceptions about Islam.

It is imperative to create a critical mass of human resource and concrete homegrown projects and programmes in the fields of science and technology, the prime minister said. “For this purpose there is a need to enhance the allocation of GDP of the OIC countries for the development of science and technology.” He said scientific and technological progress profoundly influenced economies, politics and cultures. Aziz also met with OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu on Tuesday and called for a special meeting of OIC foreign ministers to adopt a joint strategy on the cartoon issue.

In a joint press conference, Aziz said that a parliamentary delegation would soon visit Brussels to meet European leaders to convince them that the publication of the cartoons was wrong. Ihsanoglu, commenting on the imprisonment of a British historian in Austria for denying the Holocaust, said Muslims should be given the same legal safeguards as Jews against offence. “We need the same protection from European law,” he said. “We want to be assured that ... there will be no double standards,” said Ihsanoglu, referring to Austrian laws on Holocaust. He said he wanted European laws to similarly protect Muslims’ feelings. “This notion of freedom of expression ... should include our sensitive points ... if they really respect the Muslim world,” he said.

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