Saudi body seeks penalty

Riyadh: The Saudi Society for Human Rights has launched a major initiative to mobilise international opinion in favour of making blasphemy in the name of freedom of expression a punishable offence.

Dr Bandar Hujar, president of the Society, said the Society is in touch with major human rights societies and centres in Europe with the objective of convincing them the need to form a collective opinion on making mockery of religious symbols and prophets an offence, as well as to incorporate it in the International Human Rights Charter.

"The Society has plans to organise a major dialogue seminar in Riyadh in future. The first invitation for taking part in the event has been extended to the Danish Centre for Human Rights," he said.

Dr Hujar recalled that the Centre had recently denounced publishing of sacrilegious cartoons, saying it is nothing to do with the freedom of expression.

"We demand the international human rights societies get the hostile campaign aimed at tarnishing the image of prophets and religious symbols excluded from the purview of freedom of expression," he said.

Dr Hujar revealed that he had made contacts with the officials of the Danish Centre for Human Rights and conveyed the strong resentment of Muslims over the publication of cartoons that defiled Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by Danish daily Jyllands-Posten.

The Danish centre had issued a statement in which it denounced the newspaper's insult of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the Muslims.

"Freedom of expression is part and parcel of every democratic society. But that does not imply offending any religious group in the society. There should not be any move to create split and friction among majority and minority communities," an official of the centre said.

The successful campaign for boycott of Danish and Norwegian products in the Saudi market entered its third week. The campaign has resulted in complete pulling out of Danish and Norwegian products from the shelves of supermarkets.