As a Muslim I would never make fun of a Prophet of God, and when someone makes fun of any religious personality, it offends me. I feel that those feelings should be protected as well.
Source/Credit: Ahmadiyya Times
By Saadia Mahdi | January 9, 2014
As the world recovers from the most recent Terrorist attack, at the Offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris France, I as a Muslim am once again hurt that someone claiming to be a Muslim, has gone to such a horrific extent in the so-called name of my religion. The word Islam literally means ‘peace’ and ‘submission to the will of God’. If these self-proclaimed defenders of Islam, understood that one single word, they would understand that God does not need us to defend Him, or His prophet, or any religion. As a Muslim, if something offends us, upsets us, we are taught to supplicate to God and ask him for the patience and steadfastness to bear it, not take up arms to deal with it ourselves.
There are two main issues that I would like to talk about under this topic. First of all, the actions of those cowardly men do not in any way, shape, or form represent the teachings or commandments of Islam, or the Holy Qur’an. Islam advocates peace, brotherhood, religious harmony and the upholding of human rights. The Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (peace be upon him) respected people of all faiths, and gave them equal status in his Islamic State. His farewell sermon reads like a Charter for Human Rights and Freedoms, professing equality in all races, religions and creeds. He invited Jews and Christians to pray in his mosque and offered them protection from any harm. Once a funeral procession was passing by and he stood up out of respect. He was told by his companions that the deceased was a Jew, he responded by saying “Was he not a human?”
Apart from his treatment of followers of other faiths, he himself practiced patience in the face of severe persecution. When he and his companions were being tortured he did not even reply with one word of retaliation. The early Muslims along with the Prophet, faced every type of persecution possible, so much so that many of them gave their life due to the hardships placed on them by their opponents. Not a word was uttered in their own defense. After years of this had passed, permission to fight back was granted by God, only to defend themselves against attacks. As Muslims were being invaded and killed by the opponent armies, God allowed Muhammad (peace be upon him) to fight a war of self defense, to protect his followers and the religion. The Qur’an even outlined in great detail of how no women, children or elderly should be hurt in the process, how no tree or wildlife should be destroyed, and how every house of worship, namely “Synagogues”, “Churches” as well as “Mosques” should be protected. So where are all these self-proclaimed Jihadists getting their teachings? Certainly not in the Life and Example of the Prophet, and certainly not in the words of the Qur’an. Their own political agendas are fuelling their hate-filled campaigns and allowing them to carry out these heinous acts in the name of Islam. The Pen is certainly mightier than the sword and today, I vow to not only spread to my fellow Westerners that Islam is a peaceful religion, but also to those misguided Muslims who don’t even know the truth about their own religion.
The second point that I wanted to point out is regarding freedom of speech. Muslim American @FaheemYounus tweeted out:
New media rules #CharlieHebdo: Make a racist/sexist/anti-semitic joke and its #BadJudgement Mock #ProphetMuhammad and its #FreeSpeech
— Muslimerican (@FaheemYounus) January 8, 2015
This really got me thinking. Why is the umbrella of free speech opened and closed depending on the topic? If we truly felt that everyone has a right to say anything, and they have the freedom to do so, then racist, sexist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic jokes and opinions would be allowed everywhere and on any forum. But they are not. Why? Because they offend the people they are targeting. So if satirical cartoons about a revered and respected personality, offend his followers, why are they okay? Why is this suddenly a matter of free speech? I must make it clear here again, I categorically reject any form of violence and hatred, I do not condone the murders, the bombings, and the riots that have occurred in response to cartoons of the Prophet. But I am just saying, that if it is offensive to me as a Muslim that my beloved Prophet is mocked at, then shouldn't my feelings be worth protecting and not trampled upon? In Islam, all Prophets are regarded with a very high level of respect and reverence. As a Muslim I would never make fun of a Prophet of God, and when someone makes fun of any religious personality, it offends me. I feel that those feelings should be protected as well.
That being said, I offer my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the victims of the Charlie Hebdo tragedy. There are no words to describe how wrong this cowardly act was. If I could go back I wish that those who were offended by the contents of the Charlie Hebdo magazine, would have written a letter to the Editor trying to explain to them why their magazine was offending them. Or, simply chose not to read the magazine. But what they did, and why they did it, are both things that will haunt us for a long, long time.
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