Muslim Action Committee

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The Muslim Action Committee is a United Kingdom based umbrella organisation specifically set up in February 2006 to respond to the Muhammad cartoons published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

The Muslim Action Committee includes over 400 Sunni Muslim religious scholars as well as Islamic organisations representing all schools of thought in the Muslim community of Britain. The Muslim Action Committee spokesman Shaykh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi has asked for a tightening of the Press Complaints Code as well as a change in the Race Relations Law. On 17 February 2006, a "campaign for global civility", focusing on preventing disrespect against Muhammad and Islam, and fighting Islamophobia, was launched, along with a document, a "Proclamation of global civility". The proclamation does not refer explicitly to Islam or to the Muhammad cartoons. The group organised a public demonstration held on Saturday 18 February 2006, attended by 15,000 people (according to the BBC) (whereas the MAC themselves held it to be 50,000 which was upheld by Islam Channel). The MAC also successfully campaigned against the March for Free Expression encouraging its supporters to bring placards and t-shirts with the Jyllands-Posten Cartoons to their demonstration. The MAC also started a letter writing campaign to prevent a public display of the Cartoons at New York University which was also successful.

Recently MAC's Religious Scholars were called upon by Islam Channel to view the animated feature film: Muhammad: the Last Prophet and to give a legal opinion on it according to the Sharia. Shaykh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi gave a Fatwa endorsing the film. Most recently Shaykh Tauqir Ishaq appeared on a "Muslim Question Time" hosted by Islam Channel which also featured representatives from Muslim Council of Britain, Muslim Association of Britain and Hizb ut-Tahrir.