TELEFAX MESSAGE of 19/10 – 2002
To: Dr. Paolo Mieli
From: Giuseppe Eid.
OBJECT: Islamic Center defends the figure of Jesus.
The weekly Rose el Youssef of 11 October 2002, p. 82, reports on a fatwa issued by the British Islamic Court in defense of the figure of Jesus the prophet for Muslims, considering blasphemous the recitation “the body of Jesus” by the American author McNeill.
The fatwa is similar to that issued against Salman Rushdie with the difference that they ask for the killing not to be carried out because he will be subject to referral to the Islamic courts if he passes through an Islamic country that will take charge of imprisoning and hanging him.
In connection with her speech to present Antonio Socci’s book and the brief conversation I had with you at the end, this fatwa raises some alarming considerations about the trend of Islamic centers:
- Do Christians really need Jews, Muslims and….. to be defended in their faith?
- To be executive in Islamic countries will it not have to be confirmed by a local ecclesiastical tribunal? And if it were, would it not become a blackmail weapon against freedom of thought in the West where some Islamic centers find refuge?
- The same weapon could be used against anyone who criticizes Islam and gag those who denounce the racism inherent in the Koran or rather in its application in the Islamic world.
- Knowing the well-known source of funding for Islamic centres in the West, such intrusion could become a lever of interference in the affairs of host countries.
- Those responsible for the fate of our legal system and the application of laws in our country should think of all those important questions.
Your feedback would be very welcome and I would grateful if you decided to forward this letter to those you think might be of interest.
Best regards,
Giuseppe Samir Eid
Free web translation from the original in Italian
The published articles intend to provide the tools for a social inclusion of the migratory flow, shed light on human rights and the condition of life of Christians in the Islamic world from which the author come from. Knowledge of the other, of cultural and religious differences are primary ingredients to create peace in the hearts of men everywhere, a prerequisite for a peaceful coexistence and convinced citizenship in the territory.