Source & Credit: Atlanta Muslim Examiner
By Qamar Ahmad | Atlanta, GA | Dec. 15, 2009
On Dec 11 2009, Reverend Franklin Graham, son of Reverend Billy Graham, in an interview with CNN host Campbell Brown made comments about Islam and Muslims. These comments are highlighted in Part 1 of this series. Following is a critique of the interview.
Reverend Franklin Graham correctly recognized that President Obama should wisely choose his words. It comes as a surprise as to why Reverend Graham was not careful in choosing his. While Rev. Graham loves people of Islam, he declares that Islam is violent and evil. One cannot abuse someone's loved ones and at the same time claim love for him or her!
The Holy Quran and The Holy Bible are unanimous in their rejection of spreading intolerance and passing judgement:
O ye who believe! let not one people deride another people, who may be better than they, nor let women deride other women, who may be better than they. And defame not your own people, nor call one another by bad names... [Quran: Chap 49, Verse 12]
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: [Luke 6: 37, KJV]
..he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.. [John 8: 7, KJV]
The higher the stature of a leader, the higher the responsibility. As he is a leader of the worldwide Evangelist movement, there are millions who look up to him and thousands who base their opinions after his. So he should know better than equating Saudi Arabian dictatorship with Islam. He should think twice before claiming that bad people want to join Islam and good people want to leave Islam. He should do his research before alleging that there is only one interpretation of Islam. It is baffling that while the interviewer kept drawing attention to these points, Rev. Graham kept on with his hate mongering. Finally, Campbell Brown switched the topic and avoided further damage.
How prophetic is the following excerpt from a book written over a hundred years ago by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, warning of the results of spreading such stigma:
At this point I must with great regret say that although ignorant Muslim clerics have instructed the ordinary public in plunder and killing by calling these actions jihad, Christian clerics have also done similar. They have, in Urdu, Pashto and other languages, produced thousands of publications, journals and flyers alleging that Islam was spread by the sword. This literature, which has been distributed by them in India, Punjab and the Frontier Region, wrongly claims that Islam is synonymous with violence. The people's penchant for violence has increased as a result of the combined testimony of the Muslim and Christian clerics. The dangerous lies of the Christian clerics create unrest and rebellion and, in my view, it is essential that our government prohibit them. Muslims will never abandon Islam due to these senseless fabrications. By repeatedly calling attention to the doctrine of jihad, these sermons will instead cause Muslims to rise from their slumber. [British Government and Jihad ]
We invite Rev. Graham to learn about Islam (www.alislam.org). There are millions of Ahmadi Muslims who try to live by the motto Love for All, Hatred for None. They categorically reject violence and militancy. They will join Rev. Graham in Jihad against brutality and violence being committed in Muslim countries.
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