Presided by the Grand Imam, MCE decides to establish a committee of international legal experts to sue Charlie Hebdo over offensive cartoon depictions of the merciful Prophet.
Today, Monday, His Eminence, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, chaired the meeting of the Muslim Council of Elders (MCE), via video conferencing. During the meeting, the MCE strongly denounced the systematic campaign to malign the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) and slight Islamic sanctities under the slogan "freedom of expression." It also strongly condemned the killing of the French teacher, as well as the stabbing and the attempted murder of two Muslim women near the Eiffel Tower, stressing that all these incidents are repugnant terrorism, regardless of who committed them and whatever their motives might be. Likewise, the MCE strictly denounced the claiming freedom of speech as a pretext to offend the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (pbuh), and insult Islamic sanctities, stressing that the freedom of expression must fall within a framework of social responsibility that preserves the rights of others, not allowing religion-mongering in the markets of politics and electoral propaganda. The MCE renewed its call for Muslim citizens in the West to adhere to the values of coexistence, peace, and citizenship with all social components in their countries, and positive integration into those societies in a manner that enhances their contributions to construction and development while sustaining their constants, and religious and cultural peculiarities. In this sense, MCE confirmed, those Muslims should not be tempted by the provocations of the right-wing rhetoric that aims to distort Islam, consolidate the idea of linking it to terrorism and isolationism, and promote hostility against Muslims. The MCE also calls on Muslims to confront hate speech by calling for the enactment of international legislation that criminalizes incitement to hatred, discrimination, and hostility to Islam. It also calls on the elders and intellectuals in the West to confront the systematic campaign against Islam, fomenting hostility against it and throwing it into the arenas of electoral and political conflicts, and to create a healthy environment for coexistence and human fraternity.