Cartoons were 'an attack on our prophet'

Irish Muslims have been "extremely offended" by cartoons in European newspapers depicting the Prophet Muhammad with bombs, the leaders of the Islamic faith in Ireland have said.

The three leaders said the cartoons "give a platform to terrorism" and they called on European governments "by all possible legal means to confront . . . vicious attacks on Muslim beliefs".

At a joint press conference in Dublin yesterday, Dr Nooh Al Kaddo, executive director of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland, Sheikh Hussein Halawa, Imam of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland and Sheikh Yayha Al Hussein, Imam of the Islamic Foundation of Ireland, said the cartoons were "an attack on our prophet, an attack on our faith".

"All of us gathered here today, personally and on behalf of Muslims throughout Ireland, like the 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide, have been extremely offended by the cartoons" which "violated the most special aspect of man's life, and his freedom of belief".

Though they respected the principle of freedom of expression as "a towering feature of western civilisation" they said such freedom could not be open-ended. "It cannot be used to create division in society."

Before the press conference, Sheikh Halawa, Imam of the Clonskeagh mosque, gave an impassioned sermon at Friday prayers, at which he said Muslims "believe in freedom of expression". But the cartoons were a "clear transgression on the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world".

"Your freedom ends where another starts," he said. Where freedom of expression was not used responsibly, he said, it "break the bridges between people. There are ways of making dialogue. We encourage dialogue, but such cartoons shake the foundations on which dialogue can be made".

The cartoons and the controversy had "served us", he told his fellow Muslims. "It has helped to wake up all the Muslims in the world to unite and confront something that is a clear transgression on our faith." He praised the Middle East boycotts of Danish produce. "The Muslims need to read Muhammad's biography and talk to the West and say 'This is what Muhammad's teaching is'."

Among those at prayer were Dublin woman Patricia Fitzpatrick who has been Muslim for 22 years. She said: "We are hurt that they think they can just publish pictures like that an get away with it - the arrogance and the ignorance."

Hassam Hashem said he gathered from radio that Irish people could not understand the insult Muslims felt. "If you people have nothing sacred anymore, if you have nothing left and think you can insult something so sacred to a people, well good luck to you. We don't want to talk to you."

The principal of the Muslim national school in Clonskeagh, Muhammad D'jimani, said Muslims felt they were the last group in western society that was "fair game to insult".