Interfaith-harmony: Qadri writes to US, UK leaders, UN chief

PAT chief says right of free speech should not be used to hurt sentiments of Muslims.

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Muhammad Tahirul Qadri has written to the US, British heads of state, the UN general-secretary and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) over the publication of blasphemous caricatures.

Qadri said that the situation threatened the concept of peaceful co-existence and could lead to a potential clash of civilisations.

“This is a case of abuse of the right of ‘freedom of expression’. The most sacred elements of Islam have been deliberately insulted. It has created great unrest among Muslims around the world. Insulting religious personalities cannot be justified as free speech,” he said.

Qadri said the purpose of the memorandum was to bring the issue into perspective and to propose realistic and practicable measures to address it. “Much of the debate that has ensued from incident has focused on the ‘right to freedom of expression’. Its defenders have been advocating the sanctity of the freedom of speech that needs to be upheld no matter what consequences. In reality, the issue is not one of curtailing the right to freedom of expression since that is not an absolute right. Rights are reciprocal and their enforcement is dependent on other fundamental rights. To insist that a right is absolute is erroneous. Every country has put its own limits on freedom of expression in the interests of society,” he said.

Qadri suggested several solutions. He said that a clear legislation needed to be passed at the UN to balance the right of freedom of speech with the rights of individuals and communities to faiths and religion and the protection of their sacred beliefs from insult. He suggested that publication or production that was blasphemous towards the founder of any religion should be declared an offense and a crime.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2015.