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Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Violence hurts Muslims’ case
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now it was the pope’s turn to stir the things up.
Last week, Pope Benedict XVI cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad as “evil and inhuman.” The pope also referred to spreading Islam “by the sword.”
Whenever someone with or without authority says and does things considered “insensitive” or “unacceptable” by the guardians of Islam, the militant minority among the Muslims doesn’t miss the chance to show its violent side.
This, in turn, reinforces the very image Muslims are protesting.
The imam of our mosque last Friday devoted his entire sermon to criticizing and contradicting the pope, and rightly so. He talked about how wrong the West is to claim that it was the “sword” that helped spread Islam.
As reported by even the Western media, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. Nowhere is it mentioned in the media that any “sword” is being used to spread Islam.
Muslim clerics and politicians in many parts of the world exploit the sentiments of the illiterate and ill-informed whenever someone insults Islam and Prophet Muhammad.
There were people who did and said so many things to Prophet Muhammad to which he responded with even more kindness, not his sword.
He used to pass by a house on his way from the mosque to his home. From the roof of that house, a lady would every day unload garbage, among other things, over his head. He would never curse or admonish her but would keep walking and wish her well.
One day as he was on his way home, nothing happened. Muhammad stopped and knocked at her door to inquire about the lady. He was told that she was sick. Muhammad went in to check on her to see if he could help. He prayed for her recovery.
It is important for Muslims today and their leaders to condemn these recent hooligans for their violent behavior as they also condemn those who unjustly and unfairly attack Islam.
They must also condemn the terrorists, especially the ones in Iraq, who are doing more harm than good to Islam.
Who needs Pope Benedict to hurt the image of Islam when we have the Zarqawis of the world around?
Mohammad Zaheer is a retired professor of economics living in Lawrenceville.
