ROME,
March 13, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The head of
the Islamic cultural institute in Rome lauded on Monday, March 13, the
stance of the Jewish community on the publication of cartoons
lampooning Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).
"I
want to thank the Jewish community for the solidarity they showed
towards Muslims when, recently, the Prophet Muhammad was ridiculed and
insulted with offensive cartoons that were simply not funny,"
Abdellah Redouane said after talks with Rome's chief rabbi Riccardo Di
Segni, reported Reuters.
Segni
paid a landmark visit to Rome's main mosque, one of the largest in
Europe, Monday for talks with Muslim leaders after the recent cartoon
row.
Twelve
cartoons, including one showing the Prophet with a bomb-shaped turban,
were first published by Danish daily Jyllands-Posten in
September and reprinted by European newspapers, including in Italy, on
claims of freedom of expression.
The
drawings, considered blasphemous under Islam, have triggered massive
and sometimes violent demonstrations across the Muslim world.
Reforms
Minister Roberto Calderoli was forced to resign after sporting
T-shirts displaying the caricatures.
Segni
condemned the minister's move, expressing "solidarity with the
Muslim world" over the drawings.
Example
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Segni
made a landmark visit to Rome's main mosque for talks with Muslim
leaders. (Reuters)
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Redouane
said the cartoon controversy was an example of how Jews and Muslims
could work together.
Segni,
on his part, said both Muslim and Jews should join hands to help
establish peace.
"We
must contribute to creating the conditions for peace," he said in
an address to Muslim leaders.
"We
have a duty to promote dialogue and this is what we are trying to
do."
Segni's
visit came less than two weeks after Roman Catholic and Jewish leaders
met at the Vatican and agreed to widen their dialogue to involve
Muslims in the wake of the cartoon controversy.
There
are some 1.5 million Muslims in Italy, the country's fastest-growing
immigrant population.
Islam
is the least represented of the monotheistic faiths in Rome’s
corridors of power.
Unlike
Judaism, Buddhism and some Protestant denominations, Islam is not
officially recognized by the state.
