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Friday, March 29, 2024

Muhammad and Freedom of Expression – by Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde

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The recent caricature of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in an American video has provoked anger across the Muslim world. Demonstrations of disapproval of the caricature continued throughout last week. The violent one recorded was in Libya where the American consulate in Benghazi was attacked and the Ambassador there killed.

Reactions of Muslim leaders and commentators throughout the Muslim world are unanimous in condemning the use of violence as tool for expression of opinion or anger in this case. So we also join them to express our disapproval on the violence that led to the killing of the Ambassador and his staff. The blasphemy was the act of an individual, not the country.

This will certainly not be the end of blasphemy against the Holy Prophet by people who have the least regard for his noble personality. It has been a recurring decimal since the advent of Islam. The Qur’an itself has predicted its tenacity to the present time and beyond:

“You (Muslims) shall certainly be tried and tested in (the loss of) your wealth and lives and you certainly receive from the People of the Book and the polytheists a lot of insults. But if you are patient and God-fearing, that will be the most determining factor (for your success).” (3:186)

There are, therefore, bound to be further expressions of anger in any such instances from the Muslim world in the future. This was not the first. The Danish and French cartoons of the Holy Prophet in the early 2000s, and before them Rushdie’s Satanic Verses in 1989, are still fresh in our minds. This will certainly not be the last, especially given that the reaction of Muslims is now predictable from the trend that emerged since the Satanic Verses. Far right and extremist groups that are interested in widening the gap between the West and the Muslims world have now in their hands an assured recipe for provoking havoc.

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Whenever such reaction occurs in the future, we pray that it will not lead to further loss of life or property. The Holy Prophet himself would not have approved the killing of a diplomat in his domain. His heart was certainly bigger than that. He has received diplomats even from hostile countries but never has he ordered the execution of any. As President Mursi of Egypt said, diplomats are guests and they deserve our utmost protection.

America on its part should see the loss of the Ambassador as an unfortunate incident and play restraint. Libya is still volatile, very unstable. Anything can happen to anybody there. Gangs still have a free hand. Personal safety measures are paramount, but especially among foreigners. Where an established, stable central government is absent, the posting of diplomatic staff need to be seriously evaluated not only on the balance of strategic interest but also on that of personal safety of the diplomats that will be posted there.

Now, beyond the condemnation of violence, one could say, after listening to several commentators in several English and Arab channels that the whole world, including the American government as clarified by its foreign affairs spokesman on BBC Arabic television channel last night, recognizes the right of Muslims to demonstrate as an expression of their anger against the blasphemy. This is an era of democracy and no opinion should be suppressed.

The point, however, is not much about the expression of opinion by Muslims only. Their anger is mainly directed at America – even among those who do not support al-Qa’ida or Sheikh Omar Abdurahman – because they perceive that it has not shown any resolve to stop the rising tide of blasphemy against the Holy Prophet, the Qur’an and Islam generally in its territory as it stood firmly behind the UN resolution against anything that disputes the Jewish narrative of the Holocaust. As an Egyptian commentator said on BBC Arabic, a way of getting round the problem is for Muslim countries to propose a UN resolution that makes blasphemy against the Prophet a crime. Would America support it or veto it?

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However, such a resolution, I suggest, should include the protection of all holy places and personalities belonging to all religions. Here, the Muslim world itself, to tell the bitter truth, has some unfinished work in its domain. We have recently witnessed the most unfortunate destructions of Muslim tombs in Somalia, Mali and Libya in the name of Monotheism. An historic idol of Buddha in Afghanistan was also destroyed under the Taliban regime in 2000. The mutual respect and tolerance of Islam for divergent beliefs and ways of worship are what made such sites and structures to survive in the Muslim world for the past 1400 years. Respect is a three dimensional: the one we have amongst ourselves, another we give to others and the third we expect from them.

Yesterday, MBC 2 showed the Da Vinci Code in which Jesus was portrayed as having a relationship, and even a child, with a female disciple of his. MBC is Saudi financed channel, if I am not mistaken. When the Satanic Verses were published, the Kuwaiti government had substantial shares in the Penguin Books that published it. I am raising these points just to plead for prudence on the part of the Muslim World.

The blasphemy of Basil is not different from that committed by the Danish and French journalists before. When the debate over the Danish cartoons broke out, I published a discourse titled In Defence of Muhammad. Though it was Eurocentric in its references, I think there is no need to rephrase the arguments again. I hereby reprint it for the benefit of my new readers. Those who have read it before may also wish to refresh their memories on its contents.

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