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The Daily Telegraph columnist Charles Moore was criticised by Muslim organisations yesterday for an article which began by asking if the prophet Muhammad was a paedophile.
He went on to argue that people were entitled to pose the question, because of the story that Muhammad married one of his wives, Aisha, when she was nine.
He said such a right would be lost under plans to introduce laws banning incitement to religious hatred.
The Muslim Association of Britain called for his sacking and said the paper should have known better, in the light of the Salman Rushdie affair.
Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said Mr Moore’s opening line was “breathtakingly provocative”. It was “shocking to see the name of the prophet appearing in conjunction with the world paedophile”.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission called for the Telegraph to be boycotted.
Mr Moore, a former editor of the paper, was unrepentant last night, saying the strong reaction showed that a law banning incitement to racial hatred would contribute to the “suppression of free speech”.
He said the MAB’s reaction was a “form of threat”. ,"He went on to say that the “push for a religious hatred law here is an attempt to advance the legal privilege that Muslims claim for Islam”.
The MAB said the article was full of “skewed interpretations and poisonous lies” and interpreted it as a “clear incitement to religious hatred and division”. …
guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1373009,00.html
He went on to argue that people were entitled to pose the question, because of the story that Muhammad married one of his wives, Aisha, when she was nine.
He said such a right would be lost under plans to introduce laws banning incitement to religious hatred.
The Muslim Association of Britain called for his sacking and said the paper should have known better, in the light of the Salman Rushdie affair.
Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said Mr Moore’s opening line was “breathtakingly provocative”. It was “shocking to see the name of the prophet appearing in conjunction with the world paedophile”.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission called for the Telegraph to be boycotted.
Mr Moore, a former editor of the paper, was unrepentant last night, saying the strong reaction showed that a law banning incitement to racial hatred would contribute to the “suppression of free speech”.
He said the MAB’s reaction was a “form of threat”. ,"He went on to say that the “push for a religious hatred law here is an attempt to advance the legal privilege that Muslims claim for Islam”.
The MAB said the article was full of “skewed interpretations and poisonous lies” and interpreted it as a “clear incitement to religious hatred and division”. …
guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1373009,00.html
