LAHORE – Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the religious sentiments and feelings of Muslims have been badly hurt by the sacrilegious movie produced in the United States, and the Punjab government deeply resents it.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the chief minister said the profane movie was highly provocative, extremely deplorable and heart-rending, and deserved maximum condemnation. “No religion, society or philosophy allows such freedom of expression that is against the larger interest of humanity, and completely violates the norms of equity and justice,” he stressed.
Shahbaz said the act of making the movie, which has hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims, was highly deplorable and the resulting protest by Muslims world over was a natural reaction since no compromise could be made on religious fundamentals at any cost.
The chief minister stated every Muslim was ready to sacrifice his life for the honour of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and the whole Islamic world was strongly protesting the profane movie. He stressed that we should vigorously protest against the blasphemous movie and the Muslim world should raise its voice against it with full force.
Shahbaz said Islam was an eternal religion that taught the message of peace, forbearance and tolerance. “Thus while registering our protest, we should remain peaceful; and not damage public and private property. Instead, we should vigorously lodge our protest while maintaining restraint and discipline, to give a clear message to the world that Muslims are followers of a peaceful religion,” the chief minister added.