WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Talking freely is different from insulting other people and faiths, and the cartoon contest satirizing Muhammed violates the holiness of God’s greatest messingers, Islamic House of Wisdom Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi of Dearborn, Michigan told Sputnik.
“Obviously freedom of expression is different from freedom of insult and aggression against the integrity of other faith or people,” Elahi said on Monday. “The cartoon stuff is violation of sacredness of one of the greatest messengers of God.”
Elahi condemned the attack on the 200 participants at the event.
“Showing anger and reacting with force and physical address is against the law of this land and is condemned,” Elahi added.
He went on to say that even at the time of prophet Muhammad, “there were people who insulted him,” but he prayed for them and asked God to guide them.
“His followers must represent his character,” he added.
The Islamic House of Wisdom is an Islamic center, established in Dearborn Heights, Michigan in 1995, that seeks to disseminate Islamic knowledge to believers in the United States. The organization offers Islamic and Arabic classes as well as social services, according to the Islamic House of Wisdom website.
