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AROUND THE WORLD, Muslims are protesting cartoons that appeared as a publicity stunt in a Danish newspaper. To understand why there is such an uproar, and to view the cartoons, click on the picture below.
Islam and the Arts Why Muslims Riot over Cartoons By David Wood Around the world, a number of riots and protests have broken out over some cartoons posted in a private Danish newspaper. The most offensive thing about the cartoons is that they portray Muhammad as a violent man, and Islam as an intolerant religion. Amazingly, many of Muhammad’s followers, in their efforts to prove the newspaper wrong, have called for the destruction of Denmark and of any nation that allows publication of the cartoons. The irony of the situation is as great as the anger of the Muslims. They were accused of being violent and intolerant, and they responded to the accusation with violence and intolerance! As anyone familiar with the history of Islam knows, this tradition of silencing criticisms of Muhammad goes back to the time of the Prophet himself. Four examples should be sufficient to note the traditional Muslim stance on ridiculing Islam. First, when a man named Ka’b heard about the men killed by Muslims at the Battle of Badr, he composed a poem in honor of them. When Ka’b later wrote a poem against the Muslims, Muhammad called for his assassination. Ibn Ishaq, Islam’s earliest biographer of Muhammad, relates the incident: The apostle said . . . “Who will rid me of Ibnu’l-Ashraf [Ka’b]?” Muhammad bin Maslama . . . said, “I will deal with him for you, O apostle of God, I will kill him.” [Muhammad] said, “Do so if you can.” . . . The apostle said, “All that is incumbent upon you is that you should try.” [The assassin] said, “O apostle of God, we shall have to tell lies.” He answered, “Say what you like, for you are free in this matter.”[1] Muhammad’s men pretended to befriend Ka’b, in an effort to win his trust. As soon as he trusted them, they led him out for an evening walk and sliced him open. It must be kept in mind that this was for writing a poem. Second, a woman named Asma (who had five children), who was appalled at the murder of Abu Afak (a man who, like Ka’b, had been assassinated for writing poetry against the Muslims), so she wrote a poem in retaliation. Ibn Ishaq relates what followed: When the apostle heard what she had said he said, “Who will rid me of Marwan’s daughter?” Umayr bin Adiy al-Khatmi who was with him heard him, and that very night he went to her house and killed her. In the morning he came to the apostle and told him what he had done and he said, “You have helped God and His apostle, O Umayr!” When he asked if he would have to bear any evil consequences the apostle said, “Two goats won’t butt their heads about her,” so Umayr went back to his people.[2] Muhammad Husein Haykal, a modern Muslim biographer of the Prophet, adds that Asma was nursing her youngest child when the assassin entered, and that she was surrounded by four other children. Umayr had to pull the baby away from Asma’s breast in order to kill her. When Asma’s relatives saw what had been done, and the fate that awaited them, many converted to Islam.[3] Thus, the penalty for criticizing Islam extended not only to men, but to women also.[4] Third, when news of Muhammad’s victories and assassinations spread throughout the land, many people became angry at him. One such person was a blind man named Mirba bin Qayzi, who was reportedly more than a hundred years old: [The Muslims] came out in the territory of Mirba bin Qayzi who was a blind man, a disaffected person. When he perceived the approach of the apostle and his men he got up and threw dust in their faces saying, “You may be the apostle of God, but I won’t let you through my garden!” I was told that he took a handful of dust and said, “By God, Muhammad, if I could be sure that I should not hit someone else I would throw it in your face.” The people rushed on him to kill him, and the apostle said, “Do not kill him, for this blind man is blind of heart, blind of sight.” Sa’d bin Zayd . . . rushed at him before the apostle had forbidden this and hit him on the head with his bow so that he split it open.”[5] According to this passage, Muhammad tried to stop his men from killing Mirba. Nevertheless, it shows how quick the Muslims were to kill anyone who insulted Muhammad, that they were growing accustomed to doing so, and that even the elderly and disabled were not exempt from the death penalty incurred by insulting Muhammad. Fourth, after failing at one of their assassination attempts, some Muslims were returning to Muhammad when one of them, an assassin named Amr, went into a cave. He soon encountered a one-eyed shepherd driving a sheep. The one-eyed man laid beside Amr (not realizing that he was a Muslim) and began to sing: I won’t be a Muslim as long as I live, Nor heed to their religion give.[6]
Amr didn’t miss his chance to kill an infidel: I said (to myself), “You will soon know!” and as soon as the badu was asleep and snoring I got up and killed him in a more horrible way than any man has been killed. I put the end of my bow in his sound eye, then I bore down on it until I forced it out at the back of his neck.[7] Thus, even the singing of two short lines about Islam was sufficient grounds for a brutal death at the hands of Muhammad’s followers. Assessment The earliest Muslims reported the executions of many others who had insulted Muhammad and his religion, clearly demonstrating the Prophet’s method of dealing with criticism. According to the example laid down by Muhammad himself, if someone insults Islam, especially through the arts, he or she is to be murdered immediately. With this in mind it isn’t difficult to see why Salman Rushdie had to go into hiding for writing a book that was offensive to Islam, or why those who draw cartoons of Muhammad must flee for their lives. We must keep in mind, however, that not all Muslims follow the pattern laid down by Muhammad. Many Muslims, especially those who have been influenced by Christianity, live very peaceful lives and have no desire to kill anyone. We may applaud them for their willingness to live better lives than their prophet. At the same time, we should be careful to note the manner in which violent Muslims (i.e. those more rigorous in following the ways of Muhammad) deal with criticism. They understand that setting fires and calling for the destruction of France and Denmark isn’t going to convince anyone that Islam is a religion of peace. Rather, the reaction is meant to frighten and silence the opposition. Thus, when a critic says that Islam is a religion founded on violence and intolerance, the response implicit in the Muslim reaction seems to be, “You’re absolutely right, but if you tell anyone we’ll kill you.” Of course, history shows that this strategy is remarkably successful, a fact which can be seen both in the reluctance of other newspapers to publish the cartoons about Muhammad, and in the almost universal ignorance of his dark past. To read about the $1 million reward for the death of the cartoonist, click here. - For an account of Muslims killing Christians who had nothing to do with the cartoons, click here.
- For a very reasonable Muslim response from a usually unreasonable website, click here.
Notes: [1] Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah (The Life of Muhammad), A. Guillaume, tr. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980), p. 367. This account is corroborated in Sahih Al-Bukhari, Dr. Muhammad Matraji, tr. (New Delhi: Islamic Book Service, 2002), Number 3032. [2] Ibn Ishaq, p. 676. [3] Muhammad Husein Haykal, The Life of Muhammad, Ismail Raji al-Faruqi, tr. (Kuala Lumpur: American Trust Publications, 1976), p. 243. [4] Muhammad later dissuaded his followers from killing women in battle. However, the penalty for criticizing Muhammad (i.e. death) was never changed, and thus it remains until today. [5] Ibn Ishaq, pp. 372-373. [6] Ibid., p. 674. [7] Ibid., p. 674.
NOTE: This website does not condone material whose only purpose is to be offensive. Nevertheless, many people are wondering what all the fuss is about, so we present the cartoons here for the consideration of our readers.
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Answering Muslims 
