Condemning the Condemnation

Under no circumstances does Islam tolerate a personal attack upon the Prophet . No Muslim can forgive the offender for such an attack, since such an attack is not against them. The Prophet in his life forgave the people who abused him, however, he had the right to do so, since the attacks were upon him personally. We have no right to forgive that person. Just as I have no right to forgive a person who has committed a wrong against you, no matter how merciful you might be. In fact, the better your character, the more offense I should take on a person who attacks you.

The Prophet of course demonstrated the absolute perfection of human character. Allah says about him, "Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct)" (Quran 33:21) Addressing the Prophet Allah says that He has "raised high the esteem (in which) thou (art held)" (Quran 94:4) Therefore, we have a moral obligation to object to anyone attempting to abuse the honor of our Holy Prophet .

Traditional Islamic civilization had been extremely tolerant of other faiths. Princeton University professor emeritus Bernard Lewis writes, "They were able to pass an even severer test by tolerating divergent forms of their own." Unbelievers and deviants were only punished when "the offence became public and scandalous."¹ However, even in Islamic Spain, arguably, the most liberal of the Muslim territories insults against the Prophet were not tolerated. Yale professor Menacol writes, "although Islam was elastic in matters of doctrine, particularly when it had to do with Christians, they had zero-tolerance for disparagement of their Prophet." In 855, a radical group of Christians openly sought martyrdom as a symbol of their defiance to Muslim rule. These "would-be martyrs thus knew for certainty that they were forcing the hands of the authorities of the city by expressly choosing to vilify Muhammad." ² Their virulent public attacks continued until it led to their desired end, execution.

The personality of Muhammad forms the very core of Muslim identity. Muslims believe in everything he said, follow his every word, emulate his every behavior and attempt to model their lives according to his blessed life. Without Muhammad there is no Islam as we know it. Insulting the Prophet would be like insulting someone very close to your heart, perhaps a mother or a daughter. The Quran teaches that the "Prophet is closer to the believer than their own selves" (Quran 33:6). The Prophet himself said, "That is, none of you is Momin (believer) unless I am dearer to him than his parents, his children and all other persons." (Sahih Bukhari). Allah states, "I have sent you as a blessing for the whole Universe" (Quran 21:107). The Prophet is a particular mercy to the believers, "Allah did confer a great favor on the believers when He sent among them an Apostle from among themselves." (Quran 33:56) Therefore, Muslims deeply love their Prophet . Getting upset when someone insults someone you love is a natural human reaction. It is not an academic issue regarding freedom of speech, it's a personal issue. Furthermore, this is not an issue on which Muslims disagree, all Muslims schools of thought agree on this. There is zero-tolerance for denigration of the holy Prophet .

Muhammad Iqbal, the famous early 20th century Muslim philosopher, in a poem entitled Satan's advice to the enemies of Islam, writes,

wo faqa kash kay mout say derta nahin zara Rooh-e-Muhammad uss kay badan say nikal dou

If people can make us compromise on our Prophet , then what else is left? If it is okay for his blessed person to be the subject of mockery in the name of "modern" values, then the West has truly won over the Muslims. It truly represents Muslims admitting complete defeat, and bowing in complete submission to the West.

If the abuse of the beloved of Allah, and the beloved of all Muslims (peace be upon him) can be tolerated, do we really have any other honor to defend?

Therefore, I respectfully argue that, Muslims intellectuals should be careful before jumping on the bandwagon the West would like us to jump on and condemning the condemnation of these cartoons.

Notes:

1. Lewis, Bernard. What Went Wrong? (p. 114). New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. 2. Menecol, Maria Rosa. The Ornament of the World. (p. 70). New York: Back Bay Books, 2002.

Dr. Macksood A. Aftab, Masters of Liberal Arts (Candidate, Harvard University), Clinical Associate in Diagnostic Radiology (Tufts University School of Medicine).