Siraj urges plan to stop religious sacrilege

LAHORE: Appreciating the cancellation of the profane caricatures contest in the Netherlands, Jamaat e Islami Pakistan Ameer Senator Sirajul Haq has called upon the Muslim rulers and the OIC to work out a joint line of action to prevent such sacrilege for all the times.

Addressing a large Friday congregation at Mansoora mosque, he impressed upon Prime Minister Imran Khan to include this issue in his expected address to the UN General Assembly and strive for the enactment of a law at the international level to safeguard the sanctity of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and all the prophets and messengers of Allah and to make sacrilege a cognisable offense.

He urged the government to convene an urgent meeting of the OIC to adopt a solid plan on the issue. Sirajul Haq said that some mischievous elements often hurt the sentiments of one and a half billion Muslims in the world through caricatures of the holy Prophet (PBUH).

He said this evil practice was intolerable for the believers as it was a matter of their faith. He said that the announcement of the caricature contest had led to worldwide protests and demonstrations by the Muslims.

He said the West should not endanger the world peace because of such satanic pursuits which might lead to a major war. The JI chief said that the western world especially the US was patronising mischief makers who indulged in profanity of the holy Prophet (PBUH).

Tasleema Nasreen of Bangladesh and Salman Rushdi were leading luxurious lives due to the US patronage. He further said that the sacrilege of the noble Prophet (PBUH) could not be allowed in the name of democracy and freedom of the expression, and even the weakest Muslim was ready to lay down his life for the sanctity of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as Ghazi Ilmud Din Shaheed and Mumtaz Qadri Shaheed were the living examples of this fact.