Dutch unmoved over Muslim protests

THOUSANDS of people held rallies in Karachi on Saturday to condemn an anti-Quran film made by a Dutch parliamentarian. The participants of the rallies chanted slogans against the Dutch lawmaker and the Danish Government for the republication of blasphemous caricatures in Danish newspapers.

Similar protests had been held in other parts of the country since the March release of the controversial film. Only recently, the new National Assembly of Pakistan and the upper house passed unanimous resolutions condemning these provocative acts and demanding of the Dutch and Danish Governments to take action against perpetrators of the crime under local laws. However, it seems that the two Governments are unmoved and they do not bother about the injured sentiments of about 1.5 billion Muslims of the world. For the Western ‘free for all’ society the freedom of expression is more important than the sensitivities of others but the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is dearer to every Muslim than his parents and children. This is the fundamental difference which the Western countries fail to understand. In fact, in this age of knowledge and interaction, the Western world cannot claim to be oblivious of the beliefs and sensitivities of Muslims but it appears that they are deliberately offending them as part of the sinister campaign to malign and humiliate Muslims.