A Follow Up On The Derogatory Depiction Of God’s Messenger In European Newspapers By Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin

“The Ahlus Sunnah Foundation of Canada" categorically condemns and rejects the degrading depictions of the exalted Prophet Muhammad, (peace be upon him) in French and German newspapers and encourages all law abiding, freedom loving, liberal, open minded and non bigoted individuals: both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to write to the editorials of both of theses newspapers and condemn their sectarian decision to insult the figure head of one of the world’s largest monotheistic faiths and also condemn their negative depiction of all holy religious and heavenly persons and lobby them to keep such offensive depictions of any religious and or sentimental kind to the privacy of their own homes and not portray them in the public sphere in order to insight, offend and hurt the beliefs, sentiments and emotions of the mass.”

- ASFC Board The Reaction: European Newspapers Condemned
This was the official press release of a moderate Muslim organization, the ASFC, an organization which is working diligently to curb the spread of religious ideological extremism among young and educated Muslims in Canada and throughout the world. It is seemingly rather harsh and yet, quite acceptable to even such an organization which is participating in the war on terror through its own efforts and means. The publishing of the demeaning caricatures of the Prophet Muhammd by the Danish newspapers, republished in various newspapers across Europe, is clearly counter productive in the dialogue of civilizations, the war on terror and the efforts of the West to bridge the gap between us and the East in order to defeat terrorism and Islamic extremism throughout the world. Regardless of their self proclaimed ‘right to blasphemy’ these insensitive European newspapers are clearly not encouraging healthy democratic debate within the mass nor creating a love for the freedoms guaranteed to individuals in the democratic and free West which the Muslim world is now expected to emulate. The negative depiction of a religious holy figure, held in esteem by billions of men and women throughout the world, millions of whom live in the West as well, should not be tolerated, accepted, or condoned by Canadians nor other freedom loving citizens of the world and deserves to be condemned. According to the renowned American non-Muslim sociologist Michael Hart the Prophet Muhammad was arguably the single most influential person in human history. According to Mahatma Gandhi, the Prophet Muhammad’s life itself is proof of his exemplary clemency, generosity, mercy, bravery and kindness. To depict the Prophet in such derogatory caricatures clearly does not befit the liberal media nor does not condemning it befit an open, secular and civilized democratic society. This being said the ASFC condemned the actions of the French and German newspapers who claimed the ‘right to blasphemy’ through such false, offensive and hurtful depictions of a Prophet and kind man who is respected by both Muslim and non Muslim alike.