Eye on extremism: Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad

If he were the guest editor for Charlie Hebdo, as fictitiously suggested, the Prophet would have unequivocally decried the bombing but also would have called on citizens of all faiths to make merry by working together, not by making a jest of one another’s saints.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: New York Times | Letters
By Sohail Z. Husain | November 6, 2011

As a Muslim-American belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, I condemn the firebombing in Paris last week of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly newspaper. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, it was likely a reaction to a scathing cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad that the magazine planned to publish.

In his lifetime, the Prophet strictly prohibited anyone from harming those who mocked him. Instead, he prayed for them and returned insult with kindness, so much so that some of their children actually decided to join the Prophet. If he were the guest editor for Charlie Hebdo, as fictitiously suggested, the Prophet would have unequivocally decried the bombing but also would have called on citizens of all faiths to make merry by working together, not by making a jest of one another’s saints.

Sohail Z. Husain, Pittsburgh

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