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Dear
All We at the
ISB open e-group have been alarmed by the recent developments in the Danish
Cartoon Crisis. Whilst we regret that the cartoons were ever done in the first
place, we firmly believe that protesters must confine themselves to the letter
of the law. We urge Muslims to remember the example of the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) himself, who famously cared for a lady whose
habit was to throw rubbish on him whenever he passed her way!
One
question that many non-Muslims are wondering is what is all the fuss is
about - they are 'only cartoons'. Aside from the Islamic teachings that forbid
visual depictions of prophets and the libellous depiction of one of the greatest
men in history, it can be summed up in one phrase: "Love of the Prophet". This
is an almost inexplicable love which all Muslims share. To give you an idea, one
of Prophet Muhammad's (peace and blessings be upon him) companions was
being tormented by his captors about exchanging his life for that of the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He replied that he would rather be
executed than contemplate a thorn in the Prophet's (peace and blessings be
upon him) foot! A good
explanation of the Muslim p osition can be seen from this comment piece in the
Guardian recently by the editor of EMEL magazine, Sarah Joseph.
The freedom that
hurts us
Printing cartoons of Muhammad creates fear and insecurity in Muslims across Europe Sarah Joseph Friday February 3, 2006 The Guardian The
battle is set, of religious extremism versus freedom of speech. These are the
lines drawn, o r so we are told, in the escalating tensions worldwide
surrounding the printing of images of Muhammad in Denmark and elsewhere in
Europe.
Although
the media is only now picking up on this story, my inbox has been receiving
messages about these cartoons for weeks. The messages range from high-pitched to
very thoughtful, but not one of them says, "Yeah, whatever ... "
There's
no apathy surrounding this issue. This is because of the love felt for the
prophet and religious norms in Islam. But also because it feeds into profound
feelings of disempowerment, fear and insecurity among Muslims that Europe would
do well to understand. In Britain, we should realise that Muslims here will be
angry if the pictures are gratuitously published in British papers - not just
because of the insults to Muhammad, but beca use it makes them feel
disempowered. Protesting is the only way to regain some self-respect.
First,
the easy part. Any depiction of Muhammad, however temperate, is not allowed.
There are but a few images of him in Muslim history, and even these are shown
with his face veiled. This applies not only to images of Muhammad: no prophet is
to be depicted. There are no images of God in Islam either.
So there
is hurt and anger, and the messages I receive reflect that. In response, they
suggest different approaches. One is through lobbying: distributing the phone
numbers of the newspaper Jyllands-Posten, the Danish ambassador, Denmark's
parliament and everything else Danish, and urging Muslims to make their feelings
known. We also have the boycott approach - "the only language the west
understands" - listing every Danish product that one can buy. I also get
messages from the great optimists, suggesting we use the controversy to explain
the real nature of Muhammad, who returned insults with kindness. Indeed, Muslims
would do well to remember that.
I have
also been receiving other messages. These are the most worrying, and the ones of
which Europe must take note. These are the messages of resignation. The messages
that discuss exit strategies. The messages that question the very future of
Muslims in Europe.
Why such
hand-wringing over a few cartoons? The key is in the images themselves: Muhammad
with turbaned bomb, Muhammad declaring that paradise had run out of virgins for
suicide bombers, Muhammad with sword and veiled women. Muhammad in every
Orientalist caricature. Muhammad as a symbol for Islam and Muslims. These are
the stereotypes that, as Muslims, we face daily. The looks on the tube, the
suspicion, the eyes on the bags we carry. There is no denying the feeling of
being pushed against a wall, of drowning in the stereotypes that abound. This is
no way to live, and it is certainly no springboard for making a major
contribution to the society you live in. The
messages to my inbox of resignation, of fear, come with good reason. Some
countries that have reprinted the images - Spain, France, Italy and Germany -
have a nasty history of fascism. Just last week we had Holocaust memorial day.
The Holocaust did not occur overnight. It took time to establish a people as
subhuman, and cartoons played their part. Does Europe not remember its past and
the Nazi propaganda of Der St�rmer?
< SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:
12pt">Now the great shape-shifter of fascism seems to have taken on the
clothes of "freedom of speech". If these cartoons were designed to provoke
Muslim fundamentalists, maybe they have done more to reveal the prejudices of
Europe. Europe has a history of turning on its minorities. Will that be its
future too?
� Sarah Joseph is
editor of emel magazine
*************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest".
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