“We have avenged the Prophet Mohammad," the gunmen shouted after killing 12 at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo. The publication is known for lampooning theProphet, peace and blessings be upon him.*
Well.The Prophet banned revenge as he built his peace sanctuary in seventh-century Madinah, establishing instead the rule of law.
Peace was his goal, which he achieved by developing alliances between Muslims and Madinah's non-Muslim Arabs, Jews, and Christians.
When war was imposed upon him, which he hated, the battles to defend his peace sanctuary lasted a total of six days and the number of dead from both sides was less than 300. Even then, he personally did not kill anyone.
Violent extremists who accuse others of disrespect, then consider this a license to kill have nothing to do with the Islam taught by the Prophet they claim to be avenging. They have nothing to do with the message of forgiveness and mercy which God revealed to the Prophet; nothing to do with the law and order the Prophet established and upheld, which led to him being considered one of the world’s greatest lawgivers by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Muslim love for Prophet Muhammad is unquestionable. We love him more than we love ourselves. God’s peace and blessings be upon him. It hurts us when any one insults our Prophet.
It is, however, the ignorant, who do not know the loving path of mercy and forgiveness taught by the Prophet; they are turning into violent extremists like ISIS and Boko Haram and committing crimes in his name.
This is not love. This is hate.
The Prophet would be horrified at what is being done in his name to avenge disrespect to his honor.
The pagans of Mecca tortured the Prophet and his followers. He did not retaliate.He preferred to move away, first encouraging migration to Abyssinia, which was ruled by what he described as a “just king”, who was a Christian, Najashi or Negus.
When some tribes agreed, he established the peace sanctuary of Madinah via constitution and consensus. He built a society that promoted inclusiveness, freedom, rule of law,and peace.
Respect for other faiths was a key element of Madinan society. Muslims are asked to believe in all the books revealed by God, as well as all His Prophets andMessengers. We are also ordered to never insult the cherished beliefs of others, for humor or in anger. This is why even today, throughout the Muslim world, you will not find media being disrespectful of other religions in articles, reports, or cartoons.
Muslims in France, America, and around the world are sick of terrorists perpetuating violence that is a violation of their faith. We are against war and hate. We are also tired of the abuse of freedom of speech to spew hatred, insults, fear,and misunderstanding.
War, terrorism, and Islamophobia are a nexus, connected to each other. They feed off each other, perpetuating violence and fear. We Muslims condemn terrorism,war, as well as hate. We must strive against them all.
*In their hateful campaign the terrorists targeted a Jewish grocery store killing 4 Jews. Two Muslims including a police officer, were also killed.
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