Pakistan Parliament saw the event of Author Salman Rushdie being offered knighthood by Britain as ‘Islamophobia’ in British Officials. Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Ejaz-ul-Haq had told the Parliament that this action has been ‘insulting’ to Islam, and might instigate terrorism, said BBC News. Britain, on the other hand, is resolute about its decision to honor Salman Rushdie, despite all protests by Pakistan and Iran, according to Home Secretary John Reid.
Mr. Reid agreed that the issue was sensitive, but nevertheless maintained that the right to express opinions is of immense value to the society. He expressed his standpoint on this issue to an audience in New York. The protection of the right to express opinions, regarding literature, politics and society, is of foremost importance to the British society in the long run, he said.
He sighted examples of Christians being offended by Monty Python’s Life of Brian, and some Jewish people being offended by Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ. These works were perhaps a matter of concern for a certain community, but in a broader sense, they were expressions of certain social and political viewpoints.
John Reid said in a statement -
We have a right to express opinions and a tolerance of other people’s point of view, and we don’t apologize for that.
He also mentioned that the laws in Britain were very strict about promoting racial intolerance, and the concerned authorities had thought very carefully about it before taking the decision.
Sir Salman Rushdie had been honored with a knighthood on Saturday, in the Honors of the Queen’s Birthday.
Iran has strongly criticized this act, condemning it as a ‘provocative act’ to the UK Ambassador called forth in Tehran. Muslims worldwide were offended by Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses that led Iran to issue a fatwa in 1989, ordering his execution.
This insulting, suspicious and improper act by the British government is an obvious example of fighting against Islam
- said Ebrahim Rahimpour, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Director for Europe, to the state-run Irna news agency.
Pakistan had also protested in a similar way. The UK envoy in Islamabad was told that the honor bestowed on Rushdie suggested an ‘utter lack of sensitivity’ of the British Government.
Iraq, however, has a completely different attitude towards this issue. Iraqi Foreign Minister Mr. Zebari said that although he felt that the honor was ‘untimely’, his government chose not to express any ‘official’ standpoint on this matter. He also mentioned that he is anticipating the exploitation of this issue by many groups, outside its context. He added that the ultimate decision was to be of the British Government.
The British Government stated that it had not intended to insult Islam by offering a knighthood to Salman Rushdie.
Obviously, we are sorry if there are people who have taken very much to heart this honor, which is after all for a life-long body of literary work
- said Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett.
She added that Sir Salman was just another British Muslim being recognized by the British Honors System. According to her, the members of the Muslim faith in Britain are also an inherent part of the broader community.
Knighthood is an honor. It is a token of appreciation and a symbol of recognition. With all due respects to every religious faith, it might be worthwhile to give it a thought whether a person condemned by a particular community because of his opinions should be generally deprived of the right to be honored and earn appreciation.
Via : BBC
Image Credit :Modern Word
