What is blasphemy? Is ripping off the cover of the Qur'an blasphemy? Perhaps that's not blasphemous enough. What if I urinate on the Qur'an too? Now before a lot of you start rioting in the streets and go looking for some poor innocent infidel to beat up or kill, which, by the way, is against the laws given to you by Allah, you might want to read this all the way to the end.
Technically, this article is blasphemous as I do find fault with the belief or practice which the Muslim community has adopted. I look out at the world today and I see the accusation of blasphemy being used falsely in order to rid oneself of an enemy, gain property that belongs to someone else, or hiding one's own blasphemous act by accusing another falsely. Just recently in the news, a young woman was accused of burning a Qur'an falsely by men who were selling pagan totems in an Islamic shrine. They stirred up the people with false evidence, and the misplaced passions of the mob drove them to kill this young woman in a very horrific manner; the girl's only true crime was defending the honor of Islam. Trust me when I say, that those of the mob who killed this young woman and those that stood by and watched as she was killed have earned a special place in Hell reserved for them by Allah himself. I tell you now, that girl is a true martyr in Islam and she has a special place in Heaven beside the other true martyrs of Islam. But, what was more blasphemous the supposed burning of a Qur'an or the selling of idols inside an Islamic shrine?
Today, petty acts of blasphemy by ignorant unbelievers invoke the anger of many in Islam, and justly so. But, what is behind such heinous acts that are more symbolic of the true ignorance of these unbelievers than actual acts of blasphemy? Why would these ignorant fools symbolically desecrate the words of Allah? Why do they seek to degrade the character and the memory of the Prophet? While these unbelievers seek to vilify the name of Islam, there are others that are intentionally dragging the name of Islam through the mud in the name of Allah and his messenger. Which is worse, ignorantly committing acts of blasphemy or intentionally committing acts of blasphemy?
The Daesh, otherwise known as the Islamic State, and groups like them in committed such horrific acts have caused the entire world to recoil in horror. These atrocious acts have caused the unbelievers to look at Islam through filtered lens of ignorance. With each horrendous act by the Daesh the name of Islam sinks a little deeper into the mud. The Daesh spit in the face of Allah and his messenger while claiming to be Muslims doing the work of Allah and his messenger. The Daesh aren't Muslims, they don't belong even using the name of Islam and that all of Islam has not descended upon them to wipe their blasphemous existence from the face of the planet just boggles my mind. Let an unbeliever commit an act of blasphemy (by burning a Qur'an) in retaliation for the Daesh’s heinous acts and there is rioting in the streets in a number of countries. By these same acts the Daesh spit upon Allah and his messenger and cause the world to find fault with Islam, Allah, and his messenger. The Daesh stand condemned by Imams and clerics around the world, both Shiite and Sunni, but that has not stopped their blasphemy from spreading. As with any Muslim, they claim to be following the example of the Prophet. But, from what little I know of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him and all the prophets), this is a boldface lie; a lie that the children in Islam are starting to believe.
Mohammed was a man who return good for evil, who went out and routinely bought slaves just to free them. Just how many of the Prophet’s companions were once his enemies? One of my favorite stories was about a warlord, and I forget his name, who was captured after the defeated of his army by the Prophet. Mohammed imprisoned the warlord and no doubt that warlord was expecting a horrendous death at the hands of his captor. But, what did the Prophet do, he stopped by the prison every day and inquired about the warlord’s welfare. "Hi, how are you, how's the food, getting enough to eat, you sleeping well, do you need an extra blanket or something?" the Prophet would ask such questions of him, and he did this for days, weeks, months and then one day he just let the warlord go. So blown away by the Prophet's kindness and consideration the warlord converted to Islam on the spot.
I challenge anyone in Islam to find me one example of the Prophet forcing anyone to convert to Islam through the threat of violence against an individual or against the individual's family. I'll even extend that to find me an example of the Prophet forcing anyone to do anything against their will. That simply wasn't the nature of the Prophet. Don't misunderstand me here, the Prophet had people killed from time to time, but it wasn't because he was trying to gain their compliance. To pray five times a day is well and good, but would the Prophet have beheaded a child for missing his prayers as the Daesh just did? The most beloved prayer to the Prophet was the one that was done regularly (throughout the life) even if it were little quite moment (Found in: Fasting, Hadith no: 191). The Qur'an doesn't say pray five times a day, it says practice regular prayer. To think that Mohammed would do anything more than lecture the child on the reasons and virtues of prayer in one's life is to insult the memory of a kind and generous man, and that is blasphemy.
The Prophet spent his life freeing slaves. The Qur'an says to practice regular charity by giving of your abundance to the poor and for the ransom of slaves. If every Muslim in the world would do this, would there even be slavery in the world today? Yet, the Daesh have enslaved many in the name of Islam and the Prophet and do so as the will of Allah, they say. What planet are the Daesh from that they would think that the Prophet would condone such actions?
As one looks at the life of the Prophet Mohammed one cannot help but notice his treatment of his wives. In an age of ignorance the Prophet offer the gift of education to all his wives and in response they became some of the best educated women around. At least three of them could quote the Qur'an from memory. And then, we come to his most controversial wife, Aisha. In a modern context, she would have held two masters degrees, one in religious studies and the other in pharmacology. She wasn't just a well-educated woman; she was probably one of the best educated people on the planet at the time. Fourteen hundred years ahead of her time, Aisha shaped much of what Islam is today. And then we contrast this with the Taliban blowing up girls' schools with the girls in them. The Islamic State, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other groups like them are all Daesh; they don't follow the example of the Prophet, not by a long shot. They all spit on the Prophet's name while claiming to be his followers.
If I could go back into time and meet three people, those people would be Jesus, the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon them both), and Aisha. The story of Mohammed and Aisha is a beautiful love story for those who have the wit to see it. That the Prophet died in her arms speaks volumes about the love they shared. She saw a part of the Prophet's life that his followers never saw, and I could spend days listening to her tell stories about the Prophet from her unique perspective.
The Daesh have caused the name of Islam to become a derision in the world today. They drag the name of Islam through the mud and spit in the face of Allah and his messenger with and by their actions. That Allah, by His will, would have to use the armies of the infidels to reclaim His honor and the honor of His messenger shows how great the blasphemies of the Daesh have become. What is the blasphemy of some ignorant unbeliever compared to the blasphemy that is the Daesh? In truth, the root cause of the acts of blasphemy of ignorant unbelievers is the heinous acts of the Daesh and their blasphemous way of life.
Just where is the true righteous indignation of Islam hiding? Many Muslims become angry at some unbeliever drawing an obscene cartoon of the Prophet but fail to address the cause as to why the cartoon was drawn in the first place. The Daesh, in calling themselves the Islamic State, committing horrendous heinous vile acts that would shock the sensibilities of any normal person, believer and unbeliever alike, call into question the morality and honor of the very core of Islam, Allah, and His messenger. The world looks at the villainy of the Daesh, and they ask themselves if this is the true face of Islam? I would answer, no, but unlike the rest of the world I see the true heart of Islam. But, the world sees Islam through the colored filter of the dark heart of the Daesh. Is it really any wonder why the unbelievers would question the honor of the Prophet Mohammad and all of Islam as well? I ask again, where is the true righteous indignation of Islam? Under what stone is it hiding? The burning of a Qur'an is nothing compared to the blasphemy of the Daesh who have sullied the reputation and honor of the Prophet intentionally before the eyes of the unbelieving world while claiming to be of Islam. Oh, Children of Islam, rise up and wipe the Daesh and their blasphemous way of life from the face of the planet. Restore the honor of the Prophet and Islam before it is too late.
And, just for general information, no Qur'an was desecrated in the writing of this article. My first Qur'an I pretty much read it to death; a problem every Muslim should have. It was poorly bound, which was a disappointment to me, and during one of my many moves between apartments the book just fell apart on its own taking with it the key to all my notes. I asked someone online where to get another one and he was kind enough to send me another copy of the Qur'an. I found the book so beautiful and well bound I could not bring myself to write in it, so I marked my favorite scripture (2:177} with the little cloth strip that came with the book and went out and bought myself a paperback version I could write notes in again.
I am on my third time reading through the Qur'an, part of my studies of all the prophets that Allah has sent into the world as His messengers. I truly do not pick or put one prophet above the other. While one might call me a Christian because I believe in Jesus the Christ; Jesus was not God, the Father of us all. He was but the only begotten, a direct creation of Allah, a messenger who brought us Allah's Gospel. There is only one God and Mohammed was but one of many messengers. While I have a number of issues with what Islam has become over time. My faith in Allah and His messenger and the message he was given is unshakable.
Oh Islam, when will you rise up against the Daesh who have cause the world to question the honor of the beloved Prophet?
Posted by: Bro. Jerome
