The call for protest was given by Hurriyat leaders
Government offices, businesses and public transport were shut down in the Valley on Friday as a mark of protest against the publication of cartoons of Prophet Muhammad by French magazine Charlie Hebdo and several other Western publications.
The call for the shutdown was given by senior Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chairman Yasin Malik.
The State administration responded to the call by beefing up security and imposing unannounced curfew at several places. The police detained Mr. Malik on Thursday night, while Mr. Geelani is under house arrest.
Senior Hurriyat leaders told The Hindu that Muslims consider any representation of Prophet Muhammad blasphemous and said freedom of expression did not give anyone the right to hurt the beliefs and sentiments of billions of people.
The shutdown was supported by young students and professionals across the Valley who too believed that the cartoons were not only an attack on their faith but also on their political identity.
“This is Western hegemony and nothing else, where only the West will choose what can be lampooned and what cannot be touched. While they can make a satire and caricaturise our Prophet, the Holocaust is considered sacred and even to touch it gets you branded anti-Semitic,” said Asif Ahmad, a student.
Government offices, businesses and public transport were shut down in the Valley on Friday as a mark of protest against the publication of cartoons of Prophet Muhammad by French magazine Charlie Hebdo and several other Western publications.
The call for the shutdown was given by senior Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chairman Yasin Malik.
The State administration responded to the call by beefing up security and imposing unannounced curfew at several places. The police detained Mr. Malik on Thursday night, while Mr. Geelani is under house arrest.
Senior Hurriyat leaders told The Hindu that Muslims consider any representation of Prophet Muhammad blasphemous and said freedom of expression did not give anyone the right to hurt the beliefs and sentiments of billions of people.
The shutdown was supported by young students and professionals across the Valley who too believed that the cartoons were not only an attack on their faith but also on their political identity.
“This is Western hegemony and nothing else, where only the West will choose what can be lampooned and what cannot be touched. While they can make a satire and caricaturise our Prophet, the Holocaust is considered sacred and even to touch it gets you branded anti-Semitic,” said Asif Ahmad, a student.
Source - The Hindu
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