Certainly not burn
embassies, because he held sacred the lives and property of
foreign emissaries that visited him. When he was ridiculed and
persecuted for calling people to the worship of one God, the God
of Abraham, he never lost sight of his mission and worked
tirelessly to convey the Divine message that was entrusted to
him by God, the message of peace, of equality, of justice: the
message of Islam.
Today as he is
insulted by the ignorant in cartoons and attacked by people who
want to spread hatred and cause trouble in the world, it is the
duty of the Muslims to educate people about this great man and
his message to humanity. Violence does not befit his followers
as it contradicts his message, and is never the answer. This
incident should encourage people to learn about the most revered
and influential man in history from such authentic biographies
as Muhammad his life based on the earliest sources by
Martin Lings.
As for freedom of
speech, like everything valuable it should be protected,
especially from abuse, such as the publishing of these cartoons
about the prophet Muhammad. Such abuse of freedom of speech
serves only to sow discord among people and nations, and maybe
that is the intent! Certain sensitivities and beliefs of others
must be respected. This is normal human decency and obligation.
Transgressing these bounds is not only distasteful and
disrespectful, but outright malicious. I condemn this act very
strongly, just as I would condemn any insinuation against the
noble character of the mother of Jesus or her virginity. Such
actions should not be tolerated just as we would not tolerate
the caricatures and ridiculing of the Holocaust victims. The
least we can do, even if we don’t understand the beliefs of
others, is to be respectful of each other, so we can all get
along peacefully as one human family, the children of Adam, the
children of Abraham.
The Islamic
Society of Western Massachusetts invites everyone to contact us
for free literature on the prophet Muhammad, and to visit our
website at
www.Masjidma.com
Mohammad Ali
Hazratji, MD
President, Islamic
Society of Western Massachusetts.
413-788-7546
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