Israeli media denounced for insulting the Prophet

Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Arab News

RIYADH: GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah yesterday denounced the derogatory remarks made about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in an Israeli television program. “These ugly remarks made against the Prophet is part of a malicious campaign against Muslims launched by the Jewish state,” he said in a statement on the sidelines of a GCC foreign ministers’ meeting.

Al-Attiyah accused Israeli Channel 10 of organizing a blasphemous campaign against Islam and Christianity, saying that “this outrageous act is nothing but part of a series of ferocious attacks made by the state-sponsored Israeli media on the Islamic value system, teachings and sanctities.”

The GCC ministers met under the chairmanship of Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah of Oman and discussed a range of regional and international issues, including Palestine, Lebanon, Somalia, Darfur, Iran and Iraq. The peaceful use of nuclear technology was also addressed.

The GCC ministers, however, reiterated their demand to make the Middle East a nuclear arms-free zone. All the six foreign ministers attended the 110th ministerial session at the GCC General Secretariat. Prince Saud Al-Faisal led the Kingdom’s delegation to the session.

Referring to the Israeli television, which carried a clip of Israel’s version of the reality show “Survivor” in which a contestant insults the Prophet, the GCC chief called on the international community and the United Nations to take immediate measures to stop the defamation of prophets and religions. The clip’s broadcast comes days after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued a public apology for two segments that aired on Israeli Channel 10, in which Christianity was also mocked.

Referring to the need to exert more efforts to bring the Middle East peace process back on tracks, the GCC foreign ministers called on all parties to revitalize it in a way that will serve the interests of the Palestinian people and eventually help set up their independent state.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Omani Minister Abdullah welcomed the call of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for greater unity and solidarity at the Arab economic summit in Kuwait recently.

The ministers also praised “the efforts of the Bahraini leadership, which played a major role in defusing a crisis with Iran” following a spate of verbal attacks in which Ali Akbar Nateq Nuri, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, claimed Bahrain had been Iran’s “14th province”. The remark was an affront to Bahrain’s sovereignty.

The ministers also praised the efforts made by Qatar in establishing peace in Darfur. The ministers said in a statement that they share a common vision that will contribute to helping the Arab action that seeks to ensure peace in Palestine and elsewhere.