"This act incites hatred and hinders the efforts exerted in promoting the interfaith dialogue," the Observatory warns
Al-Azhar Observatory for Combatting Extremism (AOFCE) totally rejects and strongly condemns the French Charlie Hebdo's republication of the cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in its Wednesday issue.
AOFCE meanwhile warns that the French magazine's insistence on republication of these cartoons fuels the flames of hate speech, provokes the feelings of hatred among followers of religions and hinders any effort to create a healthy atmosphere where everyone, irrespective of religion and beliefs, could peacefully live. AOFCE believes this act will provoke the feelings of about two billion Muslims around the world, maintaining that such acts could hinder the efforts exerted by the most prestigious religious institutions on the interfaith dialogue climaxed by signing the Human Fraternity Document by the two most senior religious leaders in the world in Last year's February.
Meanwhile, AOFCE reiterates its strong condemnation for the criminal attack targeted Charlie Hebdo's headquarter in the early 2015, stressing that Islam totally rejects and denounces all forms of violence and calling upon the magazine to respect the beliefs and sanctities of others.
AOFCE calls upon the international community to take a firm stand against desecration of Muslim sanctities and figures, warning that adoption of a double-standard criterion and not holding the far-right extremists accountable for their crimes would only cause more hatred, extremism and terrorism.