Hope that greeting doesn't offend you... because it seems to have offended some and they're not happy. Not happy as in death-threat not happy.
You know the Jesus & Mo cartoon strip which has been around since 2005? And you know our Jesus & Mo cards? Well Maajid Nawaz, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hampstead and Killburn, posted an innocuous 'Jesus and Mo' cartoon on his Twitter timeline and stated that he, as a Muslim, was not offended by the content.
His
tweet followed a BBC Big Questions programme in which the cartoons were
discussed and Maajid Nawaz was included as a studio guest. The cartoon
depicts Jesus and Mo saying 'Hey' and 'How ya doin'" to each other.
"On January 12th, Maajid Nawaz, Liberal Democrat PPC for Hampstead and Killburn, posted an innocuous 'Jesus and Mo' cartoon on his Twitter timeline and stated that he, as a Muslim, was not offended by the content. This followed a BBC Big Questions programme in which the cartoons were discussed and Maajid Nawaz was included as a studio guest. The cartoon depicts Jesus and Mo saying 'Hey' and 'How ya doin'" to each other.
Islamists and political opponents have now mounted a campaign against Maajid Nawaz, resulting in numerous threats to his life. We note that this, rather than being based on legitimate concerns of Muslims, is a political campaign spear-headed by a group of Islamist reactionaries with a track record of promoting extremism. They are seeeking to use Muslim communities in order to whip up hatred against a liberal and secular Muslim. We are concerned that this campaign will also be used by anti-Muslim extremists as evidence of Muslim intolerance and incompatibility with liberal values which could, in turn, fuel anti-Muslim bigotry.
We note with concern that this attempt to silence Maajid Nawaz is fuelled by Liberal Democrats party member Mohammed Shafiq. Freedom of expression is essential to the functioning of a liberal democracy, and a core value of the Liberal Democratic party. The agitation of a party member against a designated Prospective Parliamentary Candidate is antithetical to these core values."
This is clearly a matter of freedom of speech and has to be challenged. Please petition Nick Clegg and give full support to LibDem PPC Maajid Nawaz and take disciplinary action against party member Mohammed Shafiq by signing this Change.org petition organised by Chris Moos.
Watch the BBC Big Questions programme on YouTube "Should human rights always outweigh religious rights?" - skip to around the 53 minute mark for the relevant piece.
Read more at the National Secular Society
Please sign the petition