Egypt's Al-Azhar University, a leading institution of Islamic theologians, on Wednesday, condemned the republication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd September, 2020) Egypt's Al-Azhar University, a leading institution of Islamic theologians, on Wednesday, condemned the republication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
The weekly magazine reprinted the controversial images to coincide with the beginning of a trial of suspects involved in the 2015 terrorist attacks on its offices in Paris. The attack, which left 12 people dead and others 11 injured, was motivated by the magazine's publication of these very images.
Al-Azhar's office for counteracting extremism expressed its "complete rejection and strong disapproval" for the republication of the caricatures.
"Re-publishing these offensive cartoons entrenches hate speech... and is an unjustified provocation of the feelings of nearly 2 billion Muslims around the world," the university said in a statement published on its Facebook page.
The statement went on to reiterate al-Azhar's position of the "strong condemnation" of the attacks against the newspaper's employees, saying that islam rejects all forms of violence.
The theological institution also urged the international community to allot equal outrage to far-right crimes against Islam's sacred symbols.
"Al-Azhar calls on the international community to take a firm stance against encroaching on Muslims' sanctities and symbols... the policy of double standards and turning a blind eye to the crimes of the extreme right will only yield more hatred, extremism and terrorism," the statement read.
Fourteen people who are accused of having assisted the jihadist gunmen by providing weapons and organizational aid will be tried until November 10. Three of the defenders Hayat Boumeddiene and the Belhoucine brothers, who are believed to have fled to territories controlled by the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) before the terror acts will be tried in absentia.
