Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said any affront to the holy Prophet of Islam is a red line of all Muslims. Speaking to reporters in Istanbul and on the sidelines of a meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states (PUIC) on Thursday, Larijani condemned the French magazine for caricaturing Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and insulting Muslim values and sanctities.
"Freedom of thought is meant to be (in the service of) progress, not offend the great religious figures. This (insults in the western media) is a modern form of barbarism," Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.
"Offending the holy Prophet of Islam is considered as the red line for all Muslims irrespective of their sects, and I presume this meeting demonstrated a clear and strong stance in this regard."
Referring to the spread of terrorism in the region, the lawmaker said, "We are aware that certain countries and their intelligence services are behind most of the terrorist acts in the region."
He noted that "weapons in the hands of the so-called Islamic State have not fallen from heaven. The Americans are not interested in fighting terrorism…They are playing with it."
Backing Iraq Against Terror
In a separate development and in a meeting with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri in Turkey on Wednesday, Larijani said, “Iran will always stand by the Iraqi people in fighting terrorism and supports Iraq's territorial integrity,” Press TV reported.
The speaker stressed that Iraq is now a democratic state and its problems should be resolved by its own people. Al-Jabouri said both Iran and Iraq have always condemned terrorism, and appealed for effective action to uproot the scourge.
