Over a hundred prominent Indians from diverse backgrounds, including actor Naseeruddin Shah, lyricist Javed Akhtar, lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan and writer-activist Tushar Gandhi, on Saturday unequivocally condemned the recent killings in France in the name of religion.
They also slammed the outrageous statements by some Muslim religious and political leaders "rationalising" murders.
The 130 signatories to the statement also included actors Shabana Azmi, Swara Bhasker, Zeeshan Ayyub, writer-director Feroz Abbas Khan, director Kabir Khan, screen writer Anjum Rajabali, documentary film-maker Anand Patwardhan, retired IPS officer Julio F Ribeiro and industrialist Abdul Aziz Lokhandwala.
They "unequivocally and unconditionally" condemned the recent killings in France by "two fanatics in the name of faith".
"We are deeply disturbed by the convoluted logic of some self-appointed guardians of Indian Muslims in rationalising cold-blooded murder and deplore the outrageous remarks of some heads of state," the statement said.
It has become the order of the day for all religious groups to indulge in "whataboutery" whenever such heinous crimes are committed by those belonging to their flock, the signatories to the statement said.
Rationalising crimes by comparing them to similar crimes committed by others is an irrational and absurd argument as two wrongs don't make a right, the statement said.
"We reject any ifs and buts in the justification of heinous crimes in the name of religion, any religion. No god, gods, goddesses, prophets or saints may be invoked to justify the killing and/or terrorising of fellow human beings," it said.
"We stand in solidarity with the 'French Council for the Muslim Faith' for strongly condemning the attacks and issuing an appeal calling on all Muslims in France to 'cancel all celebrations of the birthday of the Prophet as a sign of mourning and solidarity with the victims and their loved ones'," the statement said.
The signatories also include writer-producer Danish Jawed, theatre personality Mallika Sarabhai, National Alliance of People's Movements' Medha Patkar and retired JNU professor Mridula Mukherjee.
Three people died in a knife attack at a church in Nice on Thursday which was described by French President Emmanuel Macron as an "Islamist terrorist attack".
A few weeks ago an assailant decapitated a French middle school teacher who showed caricatures of Prophet Muhammed for a class on free speech.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan have slammed French President Macron for his remarks on the caricatures controversy.
1. Abdul Aziz Lokhandwala, Industrialist, Mumbai
2. Abhilasha Kumari, Researcher
3. Ahmad Rashid Sherwani, Hyderabad
4. AJ Jawad, Advocate, mediator, Chennai
5. Akbar Shaikh, Social activist, Sholapur
6. Amar Jesani, Medico Friends Circle, Mumbai
7. Amir Rizvi, Designer, Mumbai
8. Anand Patwardhan, Documentary film maker, Mumbai
9. Anil Dharker, Editor, columnist, writer, Mumbai
10. Anil Hebbar, Social Entrepreneur, Mumbai
11. Anil K Singh, Insaaf, Delhi
12. Anjum Rajabali, Screenwriter, Social Activist, Mumbai
13. Anurag Chaturvedi, journalist, Delhi
14. Anvar Rajan, Social activist, Pune
15. Anwar Hussain, Corporate executive, Mumbai
16. Arshad Alam, Columnist, educationist, Delhi
17. Askari Zaidi, Corporate Communications, Delhi
18. Bilal Khan, Social Activist, Mumbai
19. Bharti Sharma, Mumbai
20. Cedric Prakash, Priest, Ahmedabad
21. Prof Chaman Lal, Rtd Prof JNU, Delhi
22. Charul Joshi, Political activist, Mumbai
23. Chayanika Shah, Queer Feminist Researcher, Mumbai
24. Chhaya Datar, retd professor, feminist activist, Mumbai
25. Danish Javed, Lyricist, writer, producer, Mumbai
26. Dilip D’Souza, Writer, Mumbai
27. Dilip Simeon, Historian, Delhi
28. Dolphy D’Souza, Police Reforms Watch, Mumbai
29. Fahad Ahmad, PhD Scholar, TISS, Mumbai
30. Naseeruddin Shah , Writer-director, Mumbai
31. Feroze Mithiborwala, President, Bharat Bachao Andolan, Mumbai
32. Gauhar Raza, Anhad, Delhi
33. Ghulam Mohiuddin, Physician, PIO, New York
34. Guddi, S.L., Yusuf Meherali Centre, Mumbai
35. Hasan Ibrahim Pasha, Writer, Allahabad
36. Hasan Kamaal, Editor, columnist, poet, Mumbai
37. Hasina Khan, Bebaak Collective, Mumbai
38. Henri Tiphagne, Advocate and human rights defender, Chennai
39. Hussain Haidri, Lyricist, Mumbai
40. Hussain Indorewala, Academic, Mumbai
41. Jamsheed Rizwani, Sete, France
42. Jatin Desai, Journalist, social activist, Mumbai
43. Javed Akhtar, Poet, films, former MP, Mumbai
44. Javed Anand, Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD), Mumbai
45. John Dayal, Writer, activist, Delhi
46. Joycia Thorat, Ecumenical Activist
47. J.S. Bandukwala, Social Activist, Vadodara
48. Julio F Ribeiro, IPS (retired), Mumbai
49. Jyoti Punwani, Journalist, Mumbai
50. Kabir Khan, Director, Mumbai
51. Kamayani Bali Mahabal
52. Dr K L Sharma, University of Rajasthan
53. Kasim Sait, Businessman, Chennai
54. Kavita Srivastava, Civil liberties & human rights activist, Jaipur
55. Kirtika Singh, Advocate, Allahabad High Court
56. Kishore Jagtap, Dalit activist, Mumbai
57. Krishnakant Chauhan, Environmentalist and Activist
58. Krishnaswamy Kumar, Rtd Prof, Coimbatore
59. Lara Jesani, Advocate, Bombay High Court, Mumbai
60. Mallika Sarabhai, Theatre personality, Ahmedadad
61. Masooma Ranalvi, Co-Founder, India Lead|WeSpeakOut, Delhi
62. Medha Patkar, National Alliance of People’s Movements
63. Mihir Desai, Senior advocate, Bombay High Court
64. Mohammed Arif, Social activist, Varanasi
65. Mohammed Imran, Delhi/New York
66. Dr Mridula Mukherjee, Rtd Prof JNU, Delhi
67. Mukta Srivastav, Social Activist, Thane
68. Muniza Khan, Social activist, Varanasi
69. Mushfiq Khan, Film maker, Mumbai
70. Nandan Maluste, Finance, Mumbai
71. Nandita Bhawnani, Writer, Mumbai
72. Nandita Shah, Feminist activist, Mumbai
73. Naseeruddin Shah, Actor, Mumbai
74. Nasreen Fazalbhoy, Professor (retired), Mumbai
75. Niraja Jayal, JNU, Delhi
76. Noorhehan Safia Niyaz, Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, Mumbai
77. Pramod Mujumdar, Social Activist, Mumbai
78. Prashant Bhushan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court, Delhi
79. Qaisar Sultana, Home-maker, Allahabad
80. Dr Ram Puniyani, Author, social activist, Mumbai
81. Dr Ramesh Dixit, Rtd Prof Lucknow University, Lucknow
82. Rohit Prajapati, Environmentalist and human rights defender, Vadodara
83. Sachidanand Sinha, JNU, Delhi
84. Salim Sabuwala, Social activist, Mumbai
85. Sandeep Pandey, Academic, social activist, Lucknow
86. Sandhya Gokhale, Feminist activist, Mumbai
87. Prof. Sanjay MG, National Convenor, National Alliance of People’s Movements, Thane
88. Dr Satya Mohanty, former Secretary, Govt of India
89. Shabana Azmi, Actor, former MP, Mumbai
90. Prof. Shafaat Khan, Marathi Playwright
91. Shameela Zaidi, HR Manager, Mumbai
92. Shikha Sen, Documentary editor
93. Dr Saif Mahmood, Advocate, Supreme Court, Delhi
94. Sajal Mittra, Rtd IAS
95. Selvyn Jussy, University of Calcutta, Kolkata
96. Shama Zaidi, Writer, documentary film maker, Mumbai
97. Shabnam Hashmi, Anhad, Delhi
98. Dr Shahnawaz, Physician, Sultanpur
99. Sitaram Prasad Singh, Theatre artist
100. S N Sahu, former OSD to President of India
101. Simantini Dhuru, Educationist, Mumbai
102. Sohail Hashmi, Writer, film maker, Delhi
103. Subhash Gatade, New Socialist Initiative, Delhi
104. Sucheta Mahajan, Professor JNU, Delhi
105. Sujata Gotaskar, Feminist activist and researcher, Mumbai
106. Sukla Sen, Peace Activist, Mumbai
107. Sumedh Jadhav, President, Republican Panther, Mumbai
108. Suresh Sawant, President, Samvidhan Sanvardhan Samiti
109. Sultan Shahin, Editor, New Age Islam, Delhi
110. Dr Sunilam, Leader farmers & workers movement, Indore
111. Dr Suresh Khairnar, Social Activist, Nagpur
112. Swara Bhaskar, Actor, Mumbai
113. Swatija M. Paranjape, Feminist activist, Mumbai
114. Prof. Tahir Mahmood, Legal luminary, Delhi
115. Dr Tarannum Siddiqui, Jamia Millia Islamia, Dehi
116. Teesta Setalvad, Citizens for Justice and Peace, Mumbai
117. T.K. Arun, Consulting editor, The Economic Times
118. Tushar Gandhi, Writer, activist, Mumbai
119. Ujjwala Mhatre, Mumbai
120. Prof Vasanthi Raman, Delhi
121. Veena Gowda, Advocate, Mumbai
122. Vibhuti Narain Rai, IPS (retired), Noida
123. Vimla Chand, Consumer advocate
124. Vijay Krishna Acharya, Director, Mumbai
125. Vishwas Utagi, Economist & Trade Union Leader, Mumbai
126. Yoginder Yadav, Political Activist, Academic, Delhi
127. Dr. Zaheer Ahmed Sayeed, Neuro-surgeon, Chennai
128. Zaman Habib, TV writer-producer, Mumbai
129. Zeenat Lakhani, Screenwriter, Mumbai
130. Zeeshan Ayub, Actor, Mumbai
(With inputs from PTI)
