Letters

Cartoons insulting Muhammad (saw) republished in Tamil Nadu, India

A Letter from India, “The forces that vilify our beloved Prophet (saw) seem to be gaining an upper hand nowadays. Such fascist forces are finding a safe shelter not only under the pretext of ‘freedom of expression’ but implicitly being allowed to so by various governments. This indicates the declined state of the Muslims. Respecting the Prophet (saw) more than their lives is an inseparable part of Muslims Iman. Muslims must stand up to protect the honor of Prophet (saw) and not be passive bystanders”.

Insulting the honour of our beloved Messenger (saw) by the newspaper Dinamalar

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا بِطَانَةً مِنْ دُونِكُمْ لَا يَأْلُونَكُمْ خَبَالًا وَدُّوا مَا عَنِتُّمْ قَدْ بَدَتِ الْبَغْضَاءُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَمَا تُخْفِي صُدُورُهُمْ أَكْبَرُ قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ الْآَيَاتِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

“O you who believe! Take not as (your) Bitanah (advisors, consultants, protectors, helpers, friends) those outside your deen (Pagans, Jews, Christians, Mushriks and Hypocrites) since they will not fail to do their best to corrupt you. They desire to harm you severely. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, but what their breasts conceal is far worse. Indeed We have made plain to you the ayat (proofs, evidences, verses) if you understand.” [TMQ 3:118]

 

It is a well known fact that the western world harbours evil intentions and does not miss an opportunity to degrade Muslims and Islam. The peak of their hatred was exposed when the European magazines re-published the blasphemous cartoons of Prophet (saw) imitating the Danish daily, Jyllands-Posten. In their competition for hatred the American army flushed the noble Quran in the toilets in Afghanistan. In Netherlands Geert Wilders a degenerate parliamentarian contributed to this crusade by attacking the noble Quran by his move entitled ‘Fitna’. The western world is least ashamed of engaging in such cheap campaigns to malign Islam.

From the day of inception the cheap fascist newspaper Dinamalar of Tamil Nadu in India has not left any stone unturned to vilify and malign Islam and spread hatred towards Muslims. For the past few months the newspaper has reached peaks in this campaign towards Islam. Imitating the Danish daily, the fascist local newspaper Dinamalar (Vellore Edition) re-published the blasphemous cartoons in the blessed month of Ramadhan, on 2nd September 2008 and deeply hurt the Muslim sentiments.

Under the guise journalism, Dinamalar’s actions are clearly creating hatred and panic among people in a nation where communal tensions often lead to the destruction of property and the loss of innocent lives. There are countless examples that highlight the clear double standards of the authorities towards Muslims and those who clearly provoke violence.

A recent example of this hypocrisy can be observed in the actions taken by the police during the riot organised and conducted by Hindu outfits in Kashmir regarding the issue of land allocation to the Amarnath temple. In this riot public properties were destroyed and two policemen were brutally killed. The government did not take any action against these Hindu groups even when the rioters attacked the police men. At the same time when Muslims are conducting protests in a fully peaceful way, they are aggressively treated by the police, being imprisoned on false pretexts and are even being shot and killed in the name of searching for terrorists.

Bal thackeray, leader of Shiv Sena, earlier in a speech given to the TV channel ‘Aaj Tak’ stated Hindus should become suicide bombers and that they should carry out attacks on in Muslim localities to create panic and fear amongst Muslims. Such statements are commonly uttered by him yet he walks freely. Can the people forget when an arrest warrant imposed on him, he said with pride as, “No one can arrest me and if they do so, the whole Maharastra state will be burn”.

Under the guise of the false notion of ‘freedom of expression’ they aim to defame Islam and make it synonymous with terrorism and want to portray our beloved messenger, Muhammad (saw) as the Prophet of terror. This is part of the global ‘war on terror’ which any thinking person knows is in reality a war against Islam.

How can this cheap daily Dinamalar dare to even think of publishing such blasphemous cartoons depicting the Prophet (saw), whom the Muslims respect above their own lives? Do they believe that Muslims have become a people of no sensation or those who do not have the capacity to respond or is it that their hatred has exceeded all bounds of decency?

The forces that vilify our beloved Prophet (saw) seem to be gaining an upper hand nowadays. Such fascist forces are finding a safe shelter not only under the pretext of ‘freedom of expression’ but implicitly being allowed to so by various governments. This indicates the declined state of the Muslims. Respecting the Prophet (saw) more than their lives is an inseparable part of Muslims Iman. Muslims must stand up to protect the honor of Prophet (saw) and not be passive bystanders. Allah (swt) says:

النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَى بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ ِ
“The prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their (believers) mothers.” [TMQ 33:6]

Anas (ra) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

«لا يؤمن عبد حتى أكون أحب إليه من أهله وماله والناس أجمعين»
“None of you would be considered a believer until I become more beloved to him than his family, wealth and all the people.” [Agreed Upon]

In the past whenever such cheap acts of vilifying Islam were attempted they were critically defeated in their attempts by the powerful Islamic leadership. George Bernard Shaw, the famous British writer said in 1913 that he was stopped from writing blasphemous article about our noble Prophet (saw) by Lord Chamberlin. Chamberlin was afraid of the repercussions from the Islamic Khilafah state. Twenty years prior to the destruction of the Khilafah, a play based on the writings of Voltaire was being staged in France and Britain titled “Mohammad or Fanaticism”, deriding the character of the Prophet (saw) due to his marriage to Zainab (ra). When the Khalifah (Sultan Abdul Hamid II) was informed of the play, his ambassador to France warned the government of the serious political repercussions which would follow if it was continued. France promptly stopped the play, so the group went to England. When the same warning was issued to England, the reply was that the tickets were sold out, and banning the play would be an infringement on the freedom of its citizens. So the following edict was issued by the Sultan, saying in no unclear terms: “I will issue an edict to the Islamic Ummah declaring that Britain is attacking and insulting our Prophet. I will declare Jihad…” Upon receiving this ultimatum, the claim for freedom of speech was forgotten, and the performance quickly stopped.

Abu Hurayrah (ra) reports that Muhammad (saw) said:

((إنما الإمام جُنة يُقاتَل من ورائه ويُتقى به
“The Imam is a shield, from behind which the Muslims fight and defend themselves.” [Sahih Muslim]

It is obligatory on all the Islamic groups to set aside their differences and come together to counter the campaign against our beloved Prophet (saw) who came as a mercy to Mankind. They should in a united manner carry forward this struggle against this cheap newspaper Dinamalar. At the same time they must work for a true solution, the Islamic Khilafah state that will cut the evil tongues which spew venom against our bellowed Prophet (saw) and that will liberate humanity from the oppression of Kufr to the justice and mercy of Islam.

History bears testimony to the justice of Islam under which Muslim and non-Muslim lived in harmony for hundreds of years. The first Mughal ruler Babur left the following will to his son Humayun who came to power after his death in 1530 CE this document is available in the State Library of Bhopal, India:

“My son take note of the following: Do not harbour religious prejudice in your heart. You should dispense justice while taking note of the people’s religious sensitivities, and rites. Avoid slaughtering cows in order that you could gain a place in the heart of natives. This will take you nearer to the people. Do not demolish or damage places of worship of any faith and dispense full justice to all to ensure peace in the country. Islam can better be preached by the sword of love and affection, rather than the sword of tyranny and persecution. Avoid the differences between the Shias and Sunnis. Look at the various characteristics of your people just as characteristics of various seasons.”

It is only this system of Islam that will bring back justice and harmony for Muslims and non-Muslims again.

Your brothers in Tamil Nadu, India
Ramadhan 1429 Hijri
September 2008

News reports regarding this issue:

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/03/stories/2008090354890400.htm
http://videosfromindia.smashits.com/view/3812/police-detained-agitators-angered-by-prophet-mohammeds-cartoon