Overview:
The Muslim world has been rocked with upheaval and fiery sentiments in recent years, owing to the never ending controversy in regards to Salman Rushdie's provocative novel "The Satanic Verses" and most recently the infamous Danish Cartoon shebang.
Below is my personal viewpoint and analysis of the two episodes through the prism of the Islamic Sharia's perspective and the socio-human composite:
The Punishment for Blasphemy
-- Islamic perspective
Under the light of Islam, the Shari`ah has not prescribed any punishment for blasphemy. The Holy Quran does not assert that Muslims must murder another human being based on denigration of respect and honor for Allah (swt) or the Prophet ( Peace be upon him). Hence, this implies that there is no "worldly" punishment for blasphemy prescribed by the Shari`ah.
Nevertheless, a Muslim state, for the purpose of discouraging such uncalled for behavior, may pass a legislation, whereby a suitable punishment is implemented upon those guilty of blasphemy, which according to the stipulations of the Qur'an cannot be the death penalty, just as the legislature passes laws for protecting its citizens against defamation and other such crimes.
Furthermore, extremely strict laws should also be passed against those, who, taking the law in their own hands, take severe actions against those accused of blasphemy.
It is quite clear that if a person accused of blasphemy is killed by ordinary citizens, without being granted his basic right of defending himself in an open court of law, then those guilty of inciting and taking such actions should be brought to justice, which, in this case, could obviously be the death penalty - being the prescribed punishment for murder.
In my opinion, it is the duty of the Muslim state to pass balanced legislations, which on the one hand should strongly discourage people from making any uncalled for comments regarding the revered personalities of its citizens (whether Muslims or non-Muslims), while on the other, saves its citizens from becoming targets of hate crimes.
The Dilemma
Now the big question is; how should a true Muslim react to derogatory remarks about Islamic revered personalities?
What should be the reaction of a common man on the street to any profanity against the holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)?
Moreover, how can resentment against the desecration of the holy Qur'an be demonstrated in the Islamic way? What is the Islamic way of protest against any action that injures the feeling of the Muslims?
The answer is simple really.
As far as the teachings of the Qur'an in this connection (or the Islamic way of protest) are concerned, it is obvious that the Qur'an does not promote any such reactions, even in the worst of conditions. The Qur'an , on the other hand, teaches the Muslims to be most forgiving and asks them to control their anger even in the worst of situations. The Qur'an , thus, does not want Muslims to react recklessly to provocative and inciting conditions. It asks them to keep their cool under all circumstances.
The glorious Qur'an says:
"Nor can goodness and evil be equal. Return (evil) with what is best. Then will he, between whom and you was hatred become as he was your friend and intimate. And no one can exercise this except those, who are steadfast (in the way of God); no one except persons of the greatest good fortune"
- (Sura-Fussilat 41: 34 - 35)
These are the teachings of the Qur'an for all those situations, where a person is prone to lose his temper and act recklessly. Muslims should, therefore, try to maintain their cool under all situations and avoid letting anger take its toll upon their ability to maintain composure and patience.
If any person is disrespectful towards the Qur'an , any respected Muslim personality or even the Prophet (Peace be upon him), we are advised by the immaculate wisdom of Allah (swt) in the Holy Qur'an and the exemplary character of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) - to not denigrate the other person and lose all sense of decency - let alone grab them by the neck and pound the living daylights out of them!
Even in such inciting circumstances, a Muslim should advise such people with patience and compassion according to the following directive of the Qur'an:
"Call to the way of your Lord with (great) wisdom and solicitude and argue with them in ways that are most appropriate. (And remember that) your Lord knows best those who have strayed from His path and (also) those, who are rightly guided"
-- (Sura Al-Nahl 16: 125)
How much tolerance, really is tolerant?
Now, ofcourse as Muslims naturally sensitive to feelings in regards to our religion, It is understandable for us to ask the world why we must become dumb recipients of information and restrain from rightful expression of anger in regards to events around us just to get ourselves "Labeled" as tolerant?
Indeed, facts remain facts: Given the Geo-political circumstances today, the Muslim Ummah will not be considered "Tolerant" - for at least another half century no matter what effort we make. Such preconceived notions and unfairly branded labeling is something we must inevitably endure at this point in human history.
Therefore, many of us would ask today: If in civilized society, one has the freedom of speech to malign Islam and denigrate the character of the Prophet ) Peace be upon him), then why is our freedom of protest as Muslims blatantly conceived of as an odd / threatening phenomenon?
If we abhor something, a person or an event, why does our innate and naturally instigated expression of that feeling becomes the spiteful evil of "Intolerance" in the eyes of the world?
Hatred by others for Islam is named as "Criticism" - whereas our criticism of the western hemisphere and our retaliation in regards to their spiteful view of our religion, becomes the sinister venom of "Intolerance"?
These are some of the questions we ask ourselves as Muslims and the rest of the world as inhabitants of a mutually shared earth today.
Agreed, double standards are prevalent when it comes to Muslim freedom of speech. That's no rocket science and certainly no big secret. We all know it, we all see it and we've all experienced it one way or another.
However, there's a thing called "Practicing" Freedom of speech and "Abusing" Freedom of speech. They might fall under the same domain, but the essence to their meaning and power is completely different from one another.
For example:
What the Danish Cartoon guy did , was an "abuse" of freedom of speech. This abuse, is something that many in the west can not conceive or comprehend with because their take on the idea of "Freedom of speech" is through a completely different "prism" of outlook on the matter.
Evidently, their perspective is devoid of "understanding" and "empathy" when it comes to the Muslim world or adherence to religion and the laws of blasphemy, because of the cultural, political, social and dogmatic gap that separates the Western and Eastern hemispheres today.
However, on the flip side of things, losing sight of the "greater good" by drowning in a sea of uncontrolled emotions, is not the Muslim way - nor is it what our Prophet (Peace be upon him) lived by.
The greater good ofcourse being: The responsibility as Muslims of calling all mankind to the message of Islam in a way that is inviting, not threatening.
What we require are peaceful protests. It is beneficial for the Muslim Ummah as a whole and our progress as individuals of civil society, that we put our points across to the world in a way that is both in keeping with the light of Islam and the character of the Prophet (saws) - the best and most immaculate testament to what a true Muslim should be in the first place.
However, senselessly burning effigies, chanting death to the U.S, UK or Denmark etc, hurling stones and going completely bonkers like demonic heaving animals without any sense of humanity by dislodging oneself from all levels of "self composure", "restraint" and "respect" for surroundings - is in my view simply unacceptable in the light of Islam - no matter what way you look at it.
This does not do anyone good and most importantly does not bring the true warmth of Islam to the masses, which is why we set our ownselves up for one dimensional backlash by the world and dig ourselves a deeper hole in the process. It doesn't achieve the purpose of Islam, now does it?
Wild bestial and untamed savage like behavior under any circumstances is not what the Holy Quran asserts nor is it what propelled Islam to soaring heights in the deserts of Arabia 1400 years ago by a man who didn't know how to read or write.
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) would smile in people's faces when they insulted him, mocked him, degraded him, belittled him and disgraced him in the most horrendous and atrocious of ways in the earlier part of his Prophethood, yet he adopted patience, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, composure and restraint both verbally and physically as a true embodiment of the Holy Quran for all humanity to follow!
No?
Moreover, we must not forget the exemplary conduct that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) exhibited, when the old lady under whose window he would pass by on the way to the Mosque every day, would throw garbage over his head owing to her hatred for the message of Islam.
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) would demonstrate utmost patience, compassion and utter respect for the woman and even though his companions would angrily respond by offering to kill the woman themselves, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) would strongly urge them not to do so.
When one day the woman fell sick and the Prophet (Peace be upon him) didn't have garbage welcome him under her house's window, he inquired about her from his companions. Upon learning that the woman was ill, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) expressed his sorrow. He visited the woman by her bedside to ask about her health and this one act of compassion by him compared to the countless acts of viciousness exhibited by the woman before, captured the woman's heart and invigorated her soul with the light of truth whilst making her embrace Islam then and there.
SubhanAllah! :)
The Prophet (saws) once said:
"A true man is he who restrains himself from violence when his anger reaches its peak, than a man who knocks the other down"
Therefore - no matter what amount of suffocating biasness, double standards and clear oppression in terms of our rights of freedom of speech as Muslims goes in the current world scenario - doesn't mean we make that a pretext to become slaves of our own shortcomings and fallacies by giving in to our emotions - rather than submitting our will to the creator Allah (swt) - which is what Islam gives us the chance to do in the first place.
True Liberation is submitting oneself to the will of Allah (swt) - the creator and the sustainer of all that exists - not to the will of our own "Nafs"
True Freedom comes from surrendering our lives to the will of Allah (swt) - the lord of the heavens and the earth - not to the will of our own fallacious, imperfect and feeble existences as human beings vulnerable to "error".
Hence, True Perfection is True Submission which paves the way for True liberation and True freedom.
Let us not forget that - for we are Muslims.
Conclusion:
Therefore, as Muslims and most of all as "Human beings" who submit their will to their creator - we must not forget that our emotional reactions do not have any positive contributions to the cause of Da`wah (propagation of Islam and Islamic values). All such reactions should be avoided to the utmost.
A person who is disrespectful towards the Qur'an or the Prophet (Peace be upon him) or any other Muslim or non-Muslim personality, knows deep inside his heart that no person - not even the worst of them - deserves disrespect.
I am sure that with very little effort in terms of Da`wah, such disrespectful and ignorant people can be dissuaded from such futile actions. I am also sure that reacting brashly against any disrespectful comments hinders the way for such dissuasion.
For example, a person, who abuses my father in my presence, does so only to incite me - as part of the venting out "process" of the anger / issues he has against who I am as a man an what I stand for as a human being.
Likewise, you don't bark back to a street dog in similar fashion, because you only degrade yourself to its level and lose the upper hand as a 'being' of intellect and comprehension.
My provocative behavior would only give such a person the satisfaction of getting what he wanted. Nevertheless, my controlled and calm behavior shall not only make me the victor but also leave a lasting impact upon him, which might make him think twice before indulging unto such actions in future.
In the end, that is the real victory! The Prophet (Peace be upon him) and his resplendent character and illustrious ways, were a shining testament to such a victory on its own. A victory that brought many ignorant souls to the splendor and beauty of Islam.
Moreover, I am sure as Muslims we'll all agree that the position of the Glorious Qur'an , the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and his companions is not so vulnerable, feeble, weak and fragile that a negative remark by "someone" would undermine their sanctity.
Whether be it Salman Rushdie, the Danish cartoon geezer, some regular redneck hick Billy Joe from the south or even some Eskimo making coffee in an igloo up on the north pole - the sacredness and grace of the Holy Quran nor the immaculate character of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) - is not dependent for its "value" on the facilities of human language or emotion.
We must remember, a tolerant, respectful and compassionate human being is what a good Muslim is all about and vice versa! That is what our Prophet (saws) was and that is exactly the footsteps we should be following, instead of degrading our worth in the eyes of the creator and diminishing our image in the eyes of the world - in an effort to blindly counter our grudges through malice, impracticality and irrationality - thus succumbing to an imprisonment in the dungeons of our own fallacies.
Hence, this eventually results in the submission to our own lower-self, instead of the original deal of submitting to the creator, the sustainer, the Almighty, the all-hearing, the all-wise and the all-knowing - Allah (swt)
Afterall - The latter is what "Defines" being a Muslim in the first place - not the former.
May God Almighty guide us all onto the right path - because nobody is perfect and we all need his divine mercy and the warmth of his guidance to attain success in this world and salvation in the next.
Ameen!
- Ali Ash
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