Shia Muslims stage rallies to protest against blasphemous caricatures

Shia Muslims staged rallies in every nook and cranny after Friday prayers to register protest against the blasphemous caricatures in the French and other Western Media.

Almost all Shia organisations mainly MWM and ISO called for Friday protest against the blasphemers. Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Jafari, secretary general of the MWM appealed to all to register protest across Pakistan.

The MWM and the ISO’s officials declared the blasphemy an advertent attempt aimed at sacrilege of Islamic sanctities and thus a Western war on Islam and Muslims.

MWM Karachi’s main rally was staged outside Khoja Isna Ashari Mosque in Kharadar Karachi where the protestors raised slogans condemning the blasphemers and demanded capital punishment to all and apologies from the Western governments.

Amid the slogans of Labbaik Ya Rasoolullah (PBUH) that means yes to Prophet of God, MWM officials namely Maulana Ali Anwar, Mubashir Hassan, Ali Hussain Naqvi, Nasir Hussaini, and Maulana Ahsan Danish spoke.

In federal capital Islamabad, the protest was staged in G-6/2 that was led by MWM leader Allama Asghar Askari and Allama Ali Sher Ansari.

In Lahore, the protest was registered at the Mosque Sahib-u-Zaman, Haider road. of MWM Punjab Leader Allama Hassan Raza Hamadani led the rally. In Quetta, Allama Hashim Mousavi and MPA Agha Sayyed Raza led the rally that was held on Alamdar road. In Gilgit, protest was led by Allama Sheikh Nayyar Mustafavi and in Baltistan, the protest rally was led by Allama Agha Ali Rizvi.

Similar protests were staged outside of almost all Shia mosques where Friday prayers are held in all over Pakistan. Shia Friday prayer leaders also highlighted the issue and appealed to all the Shiites to leave no stone unturned to defend the sanctity of sacred and infallible Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH), last apostle and Prophet of God.

MWM officials and supporters were of the view that French Weekly Charlie Hebdo and all those who repeatedly published or broadcast those blasphemous caricatures didn’t deserve mercy. They said that Western governments should clarify their positions why they allowed the sacrilege of Islamic sanctities? They asked if the U.S.-led West or the EU were not involved in the blasphemy, then they should take legal action by banning all such publications, channels and websites who perpetrated blasphemy.

Shia Muslims warned the Muslim governments around the world to make it clear to by their actions to the U.S.-led West that they perpetrated an unpardonable heinous crime and they have conveyed their message that they want enmity and clash with Islam. They said that Islamic world would never consider the blasphemers as friends or allies of Islam. They urged the West to stand against the blasphemers and isolate them and adopt punitive measures against them otherwise Islamic world would boycott them diplomatically, politically, economically and strategically.

It is relevant to add here that Shia Ulema Council’s pages were silent albeit Allama Sajid Naqvi’s official facebook page had a post containing his statement that was aimed at condemning the blasphemous caricatures. Shia Muslims responded to the call of Allama Nasir Abbas Jafari of the MWM by largely attending the anti-blasphemy protest.