greets. so i have not written anything on the subject, but i've been reading the opinons of others (ayman's, for example) and the news and such, and i finally thought to post some thoughts here.
note, however, that this post is influenced by amr khaled's message to the world about the danish cartoons, which i highly recommend everyone (muslim or not) to read (or, if you understand arabic, to listen to or view).
so what i want to address and focus on in this post is the comics themselves (i know ayman talked a lot in his blog about the world reaction, and i agree with some of his points and disagree with others, but this is not my topic here). the mere publication of the comics is, as amr khaled said, not only something degrading to islam and muslims, but its something degrading to all of mankind - yes, that includes members of all faiths and all religions. why?
let me start by using the words of george bernard shaw, a nobel prize winner for literature in 1925 - he said:
"I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him - the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today."
this quote comes from a non muslim playwright and nobel prize winner - and its not off some "Abdullah Muslim's" webpage (you can find it on the link above, and you can also find it on wikipedia). why would a non muslim say this about the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)?
regardless of whether people are muslims and revere the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as a prophet or not, one thing remains true: no one, including his enemies, ever pointed out a fault in his character - why? because he was like no other man in his character. he showed unbelievable amounts of love and mercy to all of mankind.
the comics are a sign of pure ignorance on the side of the person who published them. does jylland-posten really know who this man he portrayed with a bomb in his turban is? he (SAW) is the first man to bring about the issue of equality - equality between everyone despite their gender, race, or economic status. it was he (SAW) who built the first hospital in Madinah at the time and made the person in charge of it a woman. it was he, (SAW), who on his deathbed, "take care of your women."
it was he, (SAW), who gave the most honorable task of the calling to prayer to Bilal, a freed abassynian slave. it was he (SAW), the man people dare attribute to terrorism, who was the first to put forth rules of war - "do not kill any women, do not kill any children, do not kill any old people, do not cut any trees." it was he (SAW) who conveyed to us the verse revealed to him in the Quran which states, "... that whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men" (5:32).
muslims love the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) more than they love themselves. if you want to get an idea of this, find any place with an arabic satellite dish and sit down and watch one of the talk shows - people call in and break down crying at the mere thought that someone could dare talk about their Prophet in that way.
no one is against freedom of speech - however, i heard someone say that there's a very thin line between hate speech and freedom of speech. and i believe this is one case in which it was obviously crossed. i am passionate about this subject because i love the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) just like all muslims do. and, in the same way as i would stand up against such comics against another prophet (Moses or Jesus (peace be upon them), for example), i would hope that people of the world stand up against this blasphemy and blatant lie as well.
so i am hoping this post actually shows up on planet arabeyes, but i think they're using a buggy version of planet software, but that's a different story.