JUI-F activists take to the streets in protest. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD IQBAL/EXPRESS
Activists of religious parties protested across the province and tribal areas on Friday against the publication of blasphemous caricatures in French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo which came under attack last week.
Protests were arranged across the provincial capital by activists of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) and Jamatud Dawa (JUD) following Friday prayers. The demonstrations largely remained peaceful.
JI Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief Professor Mohammad Ibrahim and other senior leaders led a protest rally from the party’s provincial headquarters Markaz Islami and marched to GT Road.
Call to action
Addressing the demonstration, Professor Ibrahim lashed out at rulers of Muslim countries across the world saying if they did not have the courage to take up the issue with France and the rest of Europe, they should resign.
He demanded that Muslim leaders tell western countries to stop offending Muslims if they want cordial relations with the Islamic world.
Professor Ibrahim called for an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit to chalk out a course of action to stop the periodic publication of such caricatures.
Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, JI Vice Ameer Maulana Asadullah and political committee head Baharullah Advocate also addressed the rally.
The protesters passed a resolution asking the federal government to sever diplomatic relations with France and to expel the French envoy to Pakistan.
Similarly, JI’s Peshawar chapter took out a protest rally from Mohabbat Khan Mosque to Chowk Yadgar. Prayer leader Maulana Tayyeb Qureshi, JI Peshawar chief Sabir Hussain Awan, General Secretary Khalid Waqas Chamkani condemned the publications of the sacrilegious cartoons, terming them an attack on Islam.
JI workers also took to the streets in Dir, Swat, Charsadda, Mansehra, Haripur, Abbottabad, Lakki Marwat and Bannu in protest.
Meanwhile, ASWJ workers protested outside Peshawar Press Club and demanded the government take up the matter with the French government. JuD also took out a protest rally from Fawara Chowk to the press club and demanded action against publication of blasphemous caricatures, while activists of JUI-F took out a rally from the party’s headquarters.
Abbottabad
Similar protests were reported from across Hazara Division. Activists of religious and political parties in Kohistan, Battagram, Mansehra, Abbottabad and Haripur took out rallies after Friday prayers. The protest leaders condemned the cartoons and the magazine, and demanded severing diplomatic ties with France until the cartoonists and publishers are tried in court for hurting sentiments of Muslims worldwide.
Similarly, Christians of Hazara Division also condemned the caricatures and expressed solidarity with Muslims. Office bearers of the Association of Churches of Hazara held a meeting and demanded severe punishment for the cartoonists and magazine’s administration.
Swabi
On the call of JUI-F Swabi chief Maulana Attaul Haq Darwesh, prayer leaders and khateebs in Swabi district condemned the blasphemous caricatures published by Charlie Hebdo during their Friday sermons. The prayer leaders criticised the international community for remaining silent on the matter and said no religion allows that prophets be disrespected.
Jamrud
A protest rally was taken out by JI in Jamrud, Khyber Agency. Demonstrators burnt the French and American flags and chanted slogans against the French government and Western countries.
The protest leaders said it was unfair to publish material against a religion in the name of freedom of expression and hurt the sentiments of its followers. The protesters urged the government to end ties with France and boycott its products.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2015.
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