Press Release
The Art of Mockery Exposes the West's Degraded Mock Culture

On the night towards Monday, the media reported that Lars Vilks died in a traffic accident together with two police officers who were protecting him. In the wake of Vilks' death, several Swedish politicians and party leaders have commented on the event, praised Lars Vilks, praised his so-called art, and launched harsh attacks against Islam and Muslims behind the pretext of radical Islamism. Voices have been raised that "Islamism" has won, that freedom of speech is threatened and with direct and indirect calls to continue the mockery of Islam and its symbols, such as the call by the perverted politician to raise a statue of the roundabout dog.

No Muslim can ever accept mockery towards the Prophet Muhammad (saw) since the prophet is Allah’s chosen one and messenger whose life itself is a part of Islam. The Muslims' zero tolerance on the issue was clearly shown when France last declared war on Islam and the Messenger (saw). The zealous attempts of Western and Swedish politicians to call anyone who rejects mockery of the Prophet Mohammad (saw) "radical Islamists" are only cheap tricks to make Muslims tolerate mockery of the Prophet (saw). Needless to say, Muslims will never come to terms with their prophet and honor getting ridiculed, nor would any rational and sensible person. A civilized society that wants to give its inhabitants a dignified life does not allow ridicule between people. A society must guarantee the safety and security of all people regardless of ethnicity, religion, or background; however, we do not expect the Western world to understand whose societies are permeated by racism, xenophobia, polarization, and segregation. Opinion-formers, politicians, journalists, and the media call Lars Vilks' disgusting images "art". Only people who lack morality and decency consider mockery to be art and call for more tension in an already strained society. This is not about freedom of speech; it is about the freedom to insult.

The West believes that Muslims must tolerate mockery of their dearest Prophet (saw) because the absolute nature of freedom of speech requires it. But freedom of speech is a political tool used selectively to crack down on Muslims, mock and desecrate Islamic symbols and sanctities. Freedom of speech is not absolute anywhere in the world. A man was arrested in the UK for a Facebook comment during 2012, in France it is forbidden to mock the police; in Germany it is forbidden to deny the Holocaust; Denmark has a law that prohibits the use of municipal premises to express non-democratic ideas as well as an imam-law that forbids imams to express certain Islamic views. Even here in Sweden, Hizb ut Tahrir / Sweden was prevented from using municipal premises to express its views on Muslim voter turnout, and just a few days ago, the Court of Appeal's ruling acquitted the former chairman of the Gothenburg municipal board, Ann-Sofie Hermansson, of slander with reference to the very freedom of speech, whilst her comments restricted the freedom of speech of sisters Fatima Doubakils and Maimuna Abdullahis. Freedom of speech suddenly becomes unrestricted when it comes to mocking Islam. The same West that broadcasts the freedom of speech in their home turf supports in the Islamic world dictatorships that persecutes and imprisons people due to their regime-critical views. It is a cynical hypocrisy of the worst kind.

The weakness and imminent fall of the Western world are exposed when politicians undermine their own values in order to pick on Islam. This proves that Western values are a bluff used when interest demands it. Western populations have also begun to realize this bluff and confidence in their politicians and systems has weakened. The world needs an alternative, a system that gives people respect and dignity regardless of background, ethnicity or belief and guarantees all people a secure existence without incitement, polarization, and compulsion to renounce their values. Only the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) can guarantee the world that, where people with different backgrounds lived side by side with respect among themselves as history has previously shown.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Sweden