CHURCHES IN EUROPE CONDEMN THE CARICATURES OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD The Christian Council of Norway, The Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations and the Norwegian Church Aid condemn the publication of the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. A Statement received by MECC on 20.02.2008 Text reads: ³The caricatures that have been published in Danish newspapers and in the Norwegian newspaper Agderposten have an offending impact on the religious feelings of many Muslims. Our sympathy goes to Muslims in Norway and in the rest of the world who feel hurt or offended by these drawings. How one interprets the content and function of these caricatures depends on who the interpreter is. We think the publication of drawings that can be understood as a scorn of religious symbols is unwise and demonstrates a lack of respec t especially when it affects religious minorities. Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental human rights. Hence we recogniz e the right to print the drawings and condemn those who meet these publications with violence. On the other hand, freedom of speech entails th e right to freely declare the opposite argument if one disagrees with a statement. As representatives for the religious majority in Norway we feel a particular responsibility to speak up about what we think about insulting people of other faiths. Critique of religions can be good and necessary, and we feel that religions can benefit from relating itself to critique - both internal and external. However, we do not see that the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad constitute neither good nor constructive religious critique².
Middle East Council of Churches Office of International Ecumenical Relations P.O. Box 5376, Beirut, Lebanon
Guirgis Ibrahim Saleh, General Secretary
mecc@cyberia.net.lb or guirgissaleh@cyberia.net.lb
+961-1-353-938 http://www.mec-churches.org/