Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan, President, AIMMM 

& Navaid Hamid, Secretary, SACM

Disapprove Baptism of Islamic critic by Vatican

Dr. Zafrul Islam Khan, President, All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat and Mr. Navaid Hamid, Secretary, South Asian Council for Minorities, in a joint statement termed the high profile Vatican Baptism of Egytian-born "Islamic critic" Magdi Allam as unfortunate. They saw it as patronisation of Allam's views on Islam by the Vatican.

They said that the incident cannot be termed as a matter of personal conversion alone. The incident  provokes genuine questions about the motives behind this high-profile ceremony and the future plans of the Vatican vis-a-vis other faiths. They said that this action would create distrust and obstacles in the face of  peaceful co-existence and meaningful interfaith dialogue.

Unfortunately, they said, the incident negates Vatican's recent announcement that it sincerely wishes to engage Muslims in dialogue.

[End]

New Delhi

25 March, 2008