MECC General Secretary and the International Islamic Forum for Dialogue (IIFD) President Dr. Hamed Ben Ahmad Al Rifaie issued a joint statement on January 19, 2006 condemning the Danish media for the anti Islam articles and pictures printed earlier in their newspapers.
The heads of the two organizations expressed sorrow and aversion for these devious actions and senseless violations on Muslim beliefs, a provocation that only feeds world terrorism and promotes conflict among believers of different religions, cultures and civilizations.
These acts are but ³an atrocious manner for planting the spirit of enmity and hatred among people, which contradicts the required tolerance from the followers of religions according to the heavenly books². They also contradict, they said, all efforts deployed to inculcate the culture of dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect, to which they are both committed. We ³are working together to spread the culture of love, justice, peace and safe coexistence in societies and among all people.
At the end of the statement, Mr. Saleh and Dr. Al Rifaie call upon the Danish government and related responsible institutions, to question and punish the agencies that instigated this reckless religious discord, asking them to apologize to the Muslim community and to commit themselves not to repeat such irresponsible actions.
The full text of the Joint Statement is posted on the MECC website at: www.mec-churches.org <http://www.mec-churches.org/
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/