Mohammad Who?

oh dear -- on the chowk BS meter this would register a minus 7

Yasin Janjua,

Pretty much on the money... There is no question that the over-reaction has only helped the right wing in Europe which wants to limit Muslim migration to Europe. In any event there is no justification for attacking foreign missions and burning embassies when those cartoonists and newspapers represent nobody but themselves.

This reaction is symptomatic of a deeper intolerance in the Muslim world.

Re: # 2, Mantolives:
Yes, this the Yasser, I like to see.

My man Januja -- this is the prophet that I grew up with -- today`s Mohammed is an alien being of a grotesque religion -- thanks to its current followers -- million thanks for pointing it out in one of the most lucid rational balanced piece of writings that I ever read on Chowk...

a copy of your column should be a compulsory reading for the believers and the unbelivers alike......

Inquirer

And you are still the freak I`d rather not see...

Please get a life.

To the author,

You hit the nail on Mohammad`s (oops, that should read Mohammad`s followers`) head. By these groteque acts like violent protests, arson and the like his followers are in fact contributing far more to caricaturing not only His Holiness but Islam itself. All this intolerance and violence in the name of a `peaceloving` religion, could there be a worse caricature of Islam ?

It would have been wise if you re-considered presenting puppets like Hamid Karzai and King Hussain as `voice of reason`. Every Muslim, even in their own country know that people like them alongwith Husni Mubarak, Musharaf, heads of fiefdoms in UAE are proxy puppets and imposed on us through gun and they are nothing but custodians of Western interests ion our lands. In their own country each provides muscle to that class which was the product of colonialism and now the cause of fascism, corruption, lawlessness, torture, and destruction of all institutions that are necessary for the development of a nation.

Very nice article and I do agree with you on a lot of points. However, as much as I am against violence that is spreading all over the Muslim world, I am totally for the economic boycott of Danish products. This is the only way you can hurt them and make them realize that what they did was wrong. If they have the sense to come out and say sorry then it is one thing but saying that they have done nothing wrong is in bad taste. Would you have written the same thing were the cartoons about Haulocaust or the church? Would you have loved the Danish cookies as much? Yes I love the Danish cookies a lot too but are you telling me that if Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was alive he would be sitting enjoying things from non-muslims while Muslims were suffering. Talking takes very little effort as it did in your case; however thinking takes a little bit more. I urge you to sit and think and realize that you can at least try to give up eating Danish cookies for a little while. Maybe that will help in making the Danes realize that what they did was wrong. Of course the other option is to go out on streets and show one`s violent side but that will defeat the purpose.....

I think an economic boycott is a terribly stupid idea... a notch below the raging violence... but still terrible.

Another article on the same lines

http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2006/02/what_would_prop.php#more

I understand where the author is coming from and agree with him, and also hasamahmood sahib’s point, about Europe not showing the holocaust etc. However, I think that is the collective grief of Europe for what they blatantly did in their own houses, and not in someone else’s (though I don’t know why they don’t have guilt for the millions more that dies all over the world due to their actions)

At the same time I would also like to point out that in Muslim countries is it not that our newspapers are full of cartoons that are anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and anti-Hindu? Although they don’t go the whole way, and degrade their prophets (as we also believe in them) or their Gods (which we do not) in such a distasteful manner. Yet still we are so fascist, racist, and intolerant ourselves, just pick up any Urdu paper and read between the lines. However when Europe is then we get all in a huff??? Aren’t there double standards there???

Anyways below is an email that was sent to me from a friend who is part of something called Inner Circle, which I think is some sort of Islamic spiritual group. I received a Word doc with Arabic so I could read it, am not sure if you guys will be able to see the Arabic, but the English translations are there.


TIC’s response to THE CARTOON MANIA


ÎõÐö ÇáúÚóÝúæó æóÃúãõÑú ÈöÇáúÚõÑúÝö æóÃóÚúÑöÖú Úóäö ÇáúÌóÇåöáöíäó

Q-7:199 Keep to forgiveness and enjoin kindness and turn away from the ignorant.

æóÚöÈóÇÏõ ÇáÑøóÍúãóäö ÇáøóÐöíäó íóãúÔõæäó Úóáóì ÇáúÃóÑúÖö åóæúäðÇ æóÅöÐóÇ ÎóÇØóÈóåõãõ ÇáúÌóÇåöáõæäó ÞóÇáõæÇ ÓóáóÇãðÇ


Q-25:63 For, true servants of the Most Gracious are they who walk gently on earth, and who, whenever the foolish address them, reply with words of peace;


ÝóÇÕúÝóÍú Úóäúåõãú æóÞõáú ÓóáóÇãñ ÝóÓóæúÝó íóÚúáóãõæäó

Q-43:89 Yet bear thou with them, and say, “peace be upon you!”; for in time they will come to know.


æóÐóÑúäöí æóÇáúãõßóÐøöÈöíäó Ãõæáöí ÇáäøóÚúãóÉö æóãóåøöáúåõãú ÞóáöíáðÇ

Q-73:11 And leave Me to deal with those who spread lies, those who take advantage of blessings and bear thou with them for a little while.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had a neighbor who used to maliciously throw his garbage at the door step of the Prophet`s home, every morning. The Prophet would then pick it up and throw it in the disposal area along with his personal trash. One morning the Prophet didn`t see any garbage on his door step and he didn`t really care much about it until a week passed by without any garbage being put on the Prophet`s door step. So the prophet went to his neighbor and paid him a visit to check up on him. The neighbor was sick and in bed. The prophet then started taking care of his neighbor who eventually embraced Islam because of the prophet’s display of good character.

Had the prophet acted in any hostile way, it would have only driven the two neighbors even further apart. This is a classical example of how the prophet implemented the verse:

ÇÏúÚõ Åöáöì ÓóÈöíáö ÑóÈøößó ÈöÇáúÍößúãóÉö æóÇáúãóæúÚöÙóÉö ÇáúÍóÓóäóÉö æóÌóÇÏöáúåõã ÈöÇáøóÊöí åöíó ÃóÍúÓóäõ Åöäøó
ÈöÇáúãõåúÊóÏöíäó ÃóÚúáóãõ ÓóÈöíáöåö æóåõæó Úóä Öóáøó ÃóÚúáóãõ Èöãóä ÑóÈøóßó åõæó

Q-16:125 Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.


The prophet did not resolve to boycott his neighbor, neither did he retaliate with a similar act, nor did he threaten his neighbor or plant a bomb at his doorstep instead of trash. Instead he applied vision and wisdom.

Irrespective whether the provocative Danish cartoons about the Prophet published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten were provocative or intended for entertainment, it requires Muslims to respond in a prophetic style.

Having said that, the way some Muslims reacted leaves one but to question whether Muslims really understand their own prophet. These are the very same Muslims who profess to adhere to the Sunnah (practices) of the prophet.

There is a global Islamophobic presence operating to see Islam depicted as a hostile cult. With reactionary Muslims threatening to boycott and protest with anger, it certainly affirms their perception of Islam.

I’m sure the prophet would have responded with a prayer for the cartoonist, taken the sword out of the hands of the likes of his companion Umar and left the matter in the hands of God, while continuing his message of peace, love and justice.

...muslims are basically hypocrites...the same cartoons were published in ``Al Fajr`` Cairo, in October 2005 during the holy month of ramadan and no violence took place...suddenly after four months ummah wakes up to boycott and burn and kill for the said depiction...apparently the mullahs have succeeded in making a mountain out of a molehill...the hypocricy of muslims gets more obvious when they tell us that prophet`s picture is banned to avoid idol worship yet in most of the shia world be it iran, bahrain, kuwait ,syria and lebanon you can buy the pictures of not only the prophet but the entire ahl-al-bait...and in color too...

This argument that West is the instigator of Muslim backlash seems utterly bogus. Why else would men kill their own? The suicide bomber that killed 29 Shia Muslims in Pakistan suggests complete break down of rational thinking. There are brainwashed zombies ready to take their own life to avenge perceived injustices. Beats me, what have Shia Muslims done to deserve their wrath and of this magnitude.

I am veering round to the extremist view that every man of age 14+ years with a beard in Pakistan & Afghanistan should be caught and his beard shaved clean.

This is not a religious matter any longer. This whole thing has morphed into an identity politics issue.

JG...

Succinctly put.

By burning embassies, our misguided Muslim brethren have only proven that they worship Muhammad, not his message. They have elevated a self-effacing bedouin with a simple (but powerful) message into a demigod. This is a status that Mohammad never assumed in his life.

Why is blasphemy an issue for us when it wasn`t an issue for Muhammad himself?

He was insulted for being an orphan. When he married an elder woman, they called him names. When his wife (Khadija) and foster parent (Abu Talib) died due to hunger and disease, they blamed him for leading his followers to ruin. When his wives bore him no sons, they ridiculed him again. When he married poor widows, they called him a pervert. When Omar walked into his house with a sword in hand, he didn`t defend himself.

That man didn`t look to his followers for respect. He knew that respect and honour come from Allah.

Why are illiteracy, social injustice and corruption not an issue for us when it certainly was for Muhammad?

If Muhammad kept a list of `To Do` items in his mind, killing blasphemers was not in that list. He wanted to end tribalism, female infanticide, riba, superstitions and rituals, dishonesty in trade and slavery.

Why can`t our Muslim brethren protest the real issues? Why do they have to make issues out of non-issues?