THE Sept. 11 attacks in the United States have indirectly led to some aspects of Islam becoming known in the West. Westerners, particularly Americans, suddenly wanted to know more about the religion professed by the alleged hijackers. Copies of the Holy Qur’an and other books on Islam were sold in record numbers. Despite the hate campaign against Islam, large numbers of people in the West have embraced Islam. At the same time, members of the Muslim community have been the target of frequent attacks by extremists in the West. Several Arabs and Muslims are still jailed without valid reasons. Just two weeks ago, 20 Saudis were arrested.
The US media continue to stoke the public’s anti-Islamic sentiments. An American journalist went so far as to suggest nuclear strikes on Makkah in revenge for the Sept. 11 attacks. There have also been suggestions to wipe the holy city from the map using advanced weapons. Others want to destroy the holy city, particularly the black stone, but without harming the people who live there — as the Taleban destroyed the statues of Buddha without harming the people. A newspaper described in a drawing how the Kaaba can be struck by a plane in the same manner as the World Trade Center. The Internet arguably provided the most penetrating medium for carrying out such attacks.
Surprisingly, I hear no voices of protest from religious or official circles in the Muslim world against these blatant attacks on Islam. The hate campaigners also disgrace Islam by equalizing universally respected Islamic symbols with the worldly WTC buildings.
Western attacks overstepped the boundaries of propriety when they began to attack Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. No Muslim can tolerate any attack on the Prophet, pbuh. One newspaper recently published derogatory remarks about the Prophet, pbuh, by alleging that he had broken the treaty of Hudaibiyah signed between Muslims and non-Muslims in Makkah. The paper also published a reader’s letter on its website demanding the US government warn Muslims by destroying Makkah and the black stone and so pre-empt any future terrorist attack on the United States.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) appealed to Muslims, Arabs and conscientious people all over the world to join in a campaign to force the extremist paper to apologize for its attacks on the religion.
We apologize, the Messenger of God, for the baseless charges against you by the ignorant.
In fact, I also saw on the Internet a picture of the Prophet, pbuh, on the cover of a book published in India. We have no excuse for remaining silent when prophets and religions are desecrated. The book also carried a drawing with an inverted calligraphic inscription of the name of the Prophet, pbuh, calling it his seal. I demand official and religious agencies in Muslim countries to protest to the publisher and make him withdraw all copies of the book from the market immediately and not to reprint it. If it is reprinted, it should only be after deleting things pertaining to the Prophet, pbuh. The publisher should also write immediate apologies for injuring Muslim sentiments in the media and on the Internet with an undertaking that such acts will not be repeated. If the publisher refuses to comply with these demands, we should protest officially to the Indian government. If we keep quiet about such matters, attacks against Islam based on falsification will undoubtedly increase. If we allow anyone with impunity to cast aspersions on the Prophet, pbuh, how can we plead for his intercession on our behalf on the Day of Judgment? We should not allow the enemies of Islam to tarnish his holy image by allowing them to draw his picture as their whims dictate. By this act the enemies of Islam have transgressed all limits of decency and respect for the sentiments of Muslims.
It is also distressing to learn that an Arab writer, Khalil Abdul Karim, wrote three books advancing various false claims against Islam. In the first one, Abdul Karim argues that the Holy Qur’an is the product of the imagination of the Prophet, pbuh, and not sent down by Almighty God. In the second, he makes a weak attempt to establish that the Prophet’s first wife Khadija, the peace of God be upon her, and her cousin played major roles in "fabricating" the new religion. The third is a collection of lies about the early Muslim community.
Though the books were officially withdrawn from Egyptian markets following the objection of scholars from Al-Azhar University, they are still sold secretly. And in Syria and Lebanon, they are still sold openly. I wonder why the author, who died recently, and the publisher, who was a party to the sacrilege, were not prosecuted. Why were the sales of such books permitted? Forgive us, Prophet, pbuh, for the enormity of the lies our enemies are fabricating against you. Our apologies, Prophet, pbuh, in whom is found all human perfection. God, do not punish us for what fools among us do.
