Burning down our own country and killing innocent fellow countrymen just do not make any sense as it is more of an amusement for those who are not Muslims and live around the world, observing the strange approach we are taking to make our voice heard in the world.

Protest is our right and forcing international organisations like the UN to pay heed to the issue is what counts. Take the example of Saudi Arabia, which many of our religious leaders refer to in many cases: the government simply made its voice count while almost negligible street violent protests were seen.

By destroying our own national assets and forcing business to shut down, we just give the non-believers of Islam a reason to pick on us.

AKBAR ALI KHALIQDINA      Karachi

Towards war of religions

PAKISTAN should convince the OIC to immediately demand the calling of a meeting of the UN Security Council to decide on an international law and make it illegal to hurt the religious faith of the followers of any religion in the world.

This proposed law should make it illegal for all possible means of communications, viz., film, electronic and print media, to broadcast, webcast or print any material which causes acrimony for any religious belief.

It is hoped that saner elements in the East and the West will immediately sit together to resolve this inflammable situation.

S. NAYYARUDDIN AHMAD     Lahore

Silence of Taliban

SINCE 1996 the Taliban have been portrayed as hard-line Islamists, always determined to act according to the injunctions of Islam, to keep society free from all moral ills. They claim to strive for Muslims renaissance and check encumbrances made on religion.

Unfortunately, when the most respected personality that is our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is attacked by western sycophant toadies, these pseudo-torch-bearers of Islam become numb and dumb.

Their meaningful silence shows their agenda and casts shadows of doubt about their sincerity towards injunctions of Islam.

IFTIKHAR MIRZA     Islamabad

A provoking act

THE release of blasphemous video has not only caused overwhelming anguish, but also generated protests on a large scale. The US ambassador to Libya has been killed, infuriating Washington to send its warships to the Gulf.

The Pakistan parliament, president and the prime minister have condemned it. The entire Christian community has denounced it. People have boycotted YouTube.

Still, the chance of similar incidents recurring in the future remains. And this is not the first time. Starting from Salman Rushdi’s blasphemous book, there have been a number of incidents where there had been disparaging attacks on Islam.

On the contrary, Muslims have never desecrated the Bible or any of the holy books — a real manifestation of absolute tolerance and Islamic teachings towards other religions. The anguish of Muslims is growing fast and public sentiment exasperating.

It does not take much time for a public uproar to turn into violence. There is a need to address the matter with unanimity at international forum. The OIC is the only choice. It is obligatory on its part to remain assertive at least on matters of great sensitivity.

The US, Europe and intelligentsia need to realise that Muslims, who have never shown disrespect for any religion, even in extreme situations, are more tolerant than the one who claim to be the most civilised nations. Therefore, the more tolerant should be treated as more honourable. If peace is an ultimate goal of the global community, then such occurrences have to be stopped.

NAJEEB AHMED                        Rawalpindi

Muslim response

MUSLIMS all over the world have very rightly shown their reaction on the blasphemous movie. It’s time international agencies, such as the UN, took the lead in developing international law to act against such culprits.

Also, it is time Muslims channelled their energies and resources in a manner that is effective enough to counter the negative image that is being portrayed. We have witnessed blasphemous cases in the past as well, what more could we do than just protest and pelt stones.

Why have we Muslims all over the world not come up with a new movie of recent times at an international level that could portray the positive image of Islam and counter the negative propaganda among people in general.

Movies like ‘The Message’ and ‘Omar Khayyam’ have made their impact. Islamic history is full of heroes but unfortunately we Muslims have been bogged down with our personal rifts.

NAME WITHHELD ON REQUEST      Karachi