In the name of God
Statement by a Group of
Iranian Cultural, Educational and Political Activists in Protest to the Offensive
Propaganda against the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)
February 15,
2006
In recent days, and in alignment with
the events following the September-11 attack, we witnessed that some European
press have insulted the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Affront on the sanctities of the followers of
other religions and on the prophets of God is in no way attuned to the notion
of loving freedom, and is against the ethics and principles of Human Rights and
freedom of expression. The publication
of the offensive drawings of the prophet of Islam (PBUH) in the Danish
newspaper, and its reappearance in other European media in the name of defending
the freedom of the press, are an affront on the beliefs of over one and a half
billion Muslims throughout the globe.
Such actions, more than being in accord with the expansion of the
freedom of expression, are more in line with curtailing it and are in contrast
to the declared principles of human rights, which include respect for
fellow-humans' beliefs. Any insult to
the prophet of Islam or the sanctities of other religions is another step in
the direction of terror and darkness, which further shuts the door to dialogue
and understanding. Today, more than
pouring fuel on the fire of vengeance and hatred, we need to appeal for peace
and dialogue among religions and civilizations.
The world does not need clash of civilizations and cultures.
We, the undersigning, are of the
opinion that the behavior of those European media in such cases has no bearing
on the freedom of thought and expression, and is an act of insult and blame
rooted in the contemporary developments in the Muslim world. In recent years, and along with the rise of
Islam, some Western countries have displayed apprehension toward the
trend. The victory of Hamas in
For years, Orientalist
academics have been analyzing and critiquing Islamic thoughts and canons in
university environments, and Muslim scholars have been presenting their ideas
and responses. However, the recent
incitements appear to be entirely motivated by politics and are aimed to
provoke vindictive reactions. Some deliberately
have attempted to take advantage of the predictable behavior and reaction of
some fanatic, violent Muslims to prepare the ground for and justify a
confrontation between Islam and the West.
Yet the era of clash of civilizations and cultures is passé. Our present world, more than ever, is in need
of dialogue amongst civilizations and cultures.
Those, who are afraid of thoughtful, peaceful dialogues among religions
in the contemporary world, are attempting to hinder this progressing process
through such plots.
Accordingly,
it is incumbent upon all Muslims, freedom lovers, and defenders of human rights
all over the world to react appropriately and wisely in order to prevent any
further deepening of the feeling of vengeance and hatred, and to undercut the
environment for the growth of extremism.
Those who speak on behalf of religions should also separate their rank
from that of the provocateurs and fanatic fundamentalists, and should not make
statements that would provide others with the pretext to
offend religious sanctities.
Aramnejad, Fatemeh; Azadi, Mohammad; Aghaii, Masood; Aghaii, Samer; Asefi, Hamid; Ahmadian,
Amin; Adinehvand, Ahmad; Asadnejad,
Behrooz; Aminizadeh, Mehdi; Ansarirad, Hossein; Iranshahi, Hamed; Ansari, Elnaz; Abouzari, Abbas; Ehtezazi, Hadi; Ahmadi, Hassan;
Ahmadi, Mohsen; Ahmadi, Nemat; Akhlaghi, Mostafa; Ashraf Soltani, Ali; Ashfagh, Morteza; Eftekhar Ardabili, Hassan; Eghtedari, Jalal; Akbarzadegan, Alireza; Akrami, Ali; Amir
Ahmadi, Mahmood; Ansari, Hojjat; ; Aabedi, Homa; Abbaszadegan,
Seyyed Jafar; Abedini, Arezoo; Arabzadeh, Hassan; Otoofat, Ruin; Ataiikia, Behzad; Alaaii, Javad; Alaaii, Bagher; Alavi, Ali; Alavitabar, Ali Reza; Alavi,
Mohammad Bagher; Alijani,
Reza; Alizadeh Naeini,
Ali; Bagheri, Mehdi; Bayg Nazari, Majid;
Biglari, Seddigheh; Bayglari, Zahra; Bazargani, Kamal al-din; Bakhtiarnejad,
Parvin; Badizadegan,
Akbar; Borhani, Rahmatollah; Bazargan, Abolfazl; Bazargan, Abdolali; Bazargan, Fereshteh; Bazargan, Mohammad
Navid; Bastehnegar,
Mohammad; Bani Asadi,
Mohammad Hossein; Behzadi,
Mohammad; Behzadi, Mohammad; Beheshti,
Hamid; Behroozi, Mohammad; Bitaraf, Safa; Batooli, Mokhtar; Bagherzadeh, Eiraj; Dadkhah, Mohammad Ali; Dadfar,
Mohammad; Dadmehr, Rasool; Daneshian, Mohammad Mehdi; Dordkeshan, Mahmood, Doroodi, Said; Delasaii, Mahmood; Dehghan Nejad, Abbas; Davvani,
Masib; Davoudi Mohajer, Fariba; Dinavi, Ebrahim; Elhami, Abdolmajid; Emadi,
Mohammad Jafar; Emrani, Mahmood; Fazel Meybodi, Mohammad Taghi; Fathi, Mojtaba; Farasatkhah, Maghsood;
Fakhrzadeh, Mehdi; Farzadi, Ghaffar; Farid Alam, Hassan;
Gharavi, Ali Asghar; Gharavi, Ali Reza; Gharavi, Majed; Gharavi, Masih; Ghaffarzadeh, Said; Ghofrani, Ali; Ghani, Mehdi; Ghabel, Ahmad; Ghabel, Hadi; Ghashghaii, Khosrow; Ghashghaii, Mahroo; Gholizadeh, Rahmangholi; Ghandizadeh, Abdolmajid; Ghahhari, Nezamadin; Ghaem Al Sabahi, Abbas; Ghomizadeh, Abdolhossein; Ghahrmani, Mostafa; Ghiasi, Hojjatollah; Golafza, Bijan; Golfeshan, Majid; Govaraii, Fatemeh; Habibi, Majid; Haji, Reza; Hafezi, Bahman; Haghighatjoo, Fatemeh;
Hajjarian, Said; Hejazi,
Taha; Hariri, Hossein; Hesami, Hamid; Haghpanah, Behzad; Hekmat, Ali;
Hakimi, Abolfazl;
Hakimi, Abdolkarim; Hakimi, Majid; Hamsi, Mohammad Reza; Hadisi, Hamid; Hadizadeh Yazdi, Hadi; Hashemi, Nasser; Hodavand, Hamid; Hendi, Ali Reza; Houshmand, Ehsan; Jaberi, Majid; Jafari, Kourosh; Jalaiipour, Hamidreza;
Jangi, Abbas; Jahani, Mojtaba; Kargosha, Rahman; Karshenas, Asadollah; Kazemian, Morteza; Kadivar, Mohsen; Kadivar, Manoochehr; Kordpour, Khosrow; Kordpour, Masood; Karami, Ali; Kasmaii, Hassan; Kahalzadeh, Hadi; Komeilian, Nasser; Kahzadi, Ruin; Kowsari, Yaghoob; Kiani, Behnaz; Khaef, Jafar; Khodadadi, Ebrahim; Khorram, Amir; Jamali, Ali; Khoshsirat Salimi, Ebrahim; Khosh Mohammadi, Esmaiil; Kheir Andish, Hooshang;
Ladoni, Masood; Loghmanian, Hossein;
Mandegari, Sajjad; Mojahed, Hossein; Momeni, Ali; Momeni, Mahmood; Mottaghi, Mohammad Taghi; Mohagheghi, Mohsen; Mohammadi, Narges; Mohammadi, Javad; Mohammadi Ardahali, Mohammad; Mahmoodi,
Seyyed Ali; Modarresi,
Farid; Madani, Hossein; Madani, Said; Madani, Ali; Madihi, Mashallah;Marjaei,Farid; Mortazi
Langeroodi, Marzieh; Meskin, Mostafa;
Masmouii, Reza; Mesbah, Ziae; Mostafavi, Leila; Mostafavi, Mostafa; Moslehi, Abbas; Mozaffar, Mohammad Javad;
Motamedi Mehr, Mehdi; Masoumi, Ahmad; Moeinfar, Asghar, Mofidi, Badrassadat; Moghaddam, Morteza; Moghimi, Ali; Mellati, Fahimeh; Maleki, Majid; Montazeri, Ahmad;
Montazeri, Said; Mansourian,
Khosrow; Mehrgan, Kayvan; Mousavi Sa'adatlou, Seyyed Reza; Mousavi Khoeiniha, Seyyed Ali Akbar; Molaii, Yousef;
Momeni, Ali; Momeni,
Mohammad; Mirkhani, Amir;
Mirzadeh, Vahid; Mirzabaygi, Salar; Mirzaii, Allahkaram; Nasser Givehchi, Fereshteh; Naraghi, Hassan; Naeimpour, Mahmood; Najafi, Ali Akbar; Nekurouh, Mahmood; Nekufar, Amir; Nekufar, Mohammad Taghi; Nouhi, Seyyed Hamid;
Nourbakhsh, Fakhrossadat; Nourbakhsh, Manouchehr; Nouri, Kasra; Noparast,
Noushin; Pedram, Masood; Pour Azhari, Abbas; Pour Azizi, Said; Pooyan, Reza; Pishbin, Mahmood; Peyman, Habibollah; Peyman, Majid; Rabbani, Mohammad Sadegh; Rahmani, Taghi; Rajaiian, Mohammad Javad; Rajaii, Alireza; Rashidpour, Yoones; Rezaii, Ahad; Rezaii, Asghar; Rezaii, Biouk; Rezakhani, Bahman; Razavi Faghih, Said; Rafi'ei, Hossein; Rahnama, Mehdi; Raeis Toosi, Reza; Sarikhani, Ali
Reza; Saei, Ahmad; Sotoodeh,
Nasrin; Sahabi, Ezzatollah; Sahabi, Fereydoon; Sahabi, Haleh; Saharkhiz, Eisa; Sarchami, Mohammad; Salamati, Ahmad; Soltani, Nasser Fakhr; Soltani, Ali Ashraf; Soltanieh, Morteza; Seyyedzadeh, Seyyed Reza; Sinaki, Haleh; Siasi Rad,
Ali; Seyyednejad, Mohammad Ali; Shad Del, Mahmood Basir; Shakeri, Ebrahim; Shamekhi, Taghi; Shamloo, Ali; Shanehchi,
Mohammad; Shah Hosseini, Hossein;
Shojaeian, Solat; Sharif, Mohammad; Shambouri,
Allahverdi; Shamsolvaezin,
Mashallah; Shahamatdar,
Ahmad; Saber, Firoozeh; Saber, Hoda;
Salehabadi, Ali; Sabbaghian,
Hashem; Sadre
Haj Seyyed Javadi, Ahmad; Sadr, Reza;
Sedghipour, Ali; Sarraf, Mehdi; Safari, Reza; Salavati,
Fazlollah; Salavaatinejad,
Eiman; Samimi, Keyvan; Tajzadeh, Seyyed Mostafa; Tajik, Abdolreza; Tajik, Fathollah; Tajedini, Abbas; Tanha, Mostafa; Tehrani, Reza; Tavassoli,
Gholamabbas; Tavassoli,
Mohammad; Tavassoli, Sara; Tavassoli,
Mohammad Reza; Tavakkol, Khaled;
Tavakkol, Mohammad; Tavallaii,
Majid; Taleghani,
Azam; Taleghani, Hesam; Taleghani, Tahereh; Taleghani, Narges; Taheri, Akbar; Taheri, Behzad; Taheri, Mohammad; Tayerani, Amir; Vaali, Akbar; Varpaii,
Rasoul; Vali Beig, Bagher; Vesal,
Abdolrasul; Yaavari, Rahim; Yahyaii, Ali Farid; Yazdanipour, Hanif; Yeganegi, Mahmood, Yazdi, Kazem; Yazdi, Ebrahim; Yousefi
Eshkevari, Hassan; Zakeri, Torab; Zerehsaz, Jamal; Zamani, Mohammad
Ebrahim; Zandinia, Parviz; Zarghami, Ali Ashraf; Zarghami, Freydoon Zeidabadi,
Ahmad; Zeidabadi, Hassan;
Zohdi, Mohammad Reza.