The Chairman of the National Book Council Mark Camilleri has called for Malta’s Imam Mohammad Elsadi to be deported from the country “for inciting violence and putting the lives of authors and artists at risk.”
Camilleri was reacting to a statement published by Imam Elsadi where he condemned the murder of Samuel Paty – a French teacher beheaded by one of his Islamic students over cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad – but called for religious vilification to be criminalised and prohibited.
He said that those who keep insisting on; publishing, distributing and displaying the infamous cartoons of Prophet Muhammad on the public buildings in a provocative open way against the Muslim sentiments are playing into the hands of the Muslim extremists and the extreme right groups. “They are directly responsible for any unfortunate consequences”, he said.
In a scathing post on his social media account, Camilleri said that “the Imam in Malta is inciting violence and putting the lives of authors and illustrators at risk by implying that satirical depictions of Muhammad will directly lead to violence.”
“This is the same argument rapists make about women who show their skin - "she asked for it"”, Camilleri said.
“Well, we are not asking for it. What we are asking for is that you stop killing us, but you seem to want to impose on us conditions based on the fear and terror you are promoting by explicitly arguing that our art and writing is provocative”, he added.
Addressing the Imam, he said that the state should prioritise writers and artists over “crazy ideologues like yourself.”
“In fact, you should be deported for inciting violence and putting the lives of authors and artists at risk”, he said.
“If you want to live in a country where satirical depictions of Muhammad are illegal you are welcome to board an Air Malta flight and fly to Saudi Arabia”, he concluded.