PRACTICAL WISDOM
Abdullah bin Ubayy of Madinah was known as a hypocritical Muslim who harboured intense hostility towards the Prophet of Islam. He would make baseless and abusive remarks against the Prophet and level accusations against his wives. Even the Quran identifies him as the leader of the hypocrites (24:11).
Upon witnessing Abdullah bin Ubayy’s criminal acts, Umar Farooq sought permission from the Prophet to kill this hypocrite. However, the Prophet responded by saying, “If I do that, people will say that Muhammad killed his Companions.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 4905)
Undoubtedly, abusing the Prophet and engaging in character assassination of his wives are serious crimes. However, this tradition of the Prophet teaches us that there is something even more significant from an Islamic perspective: protecting the image of Islam. Therefore, it is crucial to refrain from actions that may allow people to distort the image of Islam. The primary focus of Islam is to call people to God. Thus, the goal of conveying the divine message should always take precedence, while other matters should be considered secondary.
Considering the primary focus of Islam, let us evaluate the strong reaction of contemporary Muslims toward Salman Rushdie’s book. It was inevitable that if there were demands for his assassination or if a ‘fatwa’ was issued against him, the international press and non-Muslim journalism would seize the opportunity to distort the image of Islam on a large scale.
In ancient times, the impact of defaming Islam by individuals like Abdullah bin Ubayy would have been limited to Madinah or perhaps the whole of Arabia. However, in the case of Salman Rushdie, there was a grave concern that issuing a ‘fatwa’ for his killing would trigger a global campaign to defame Islam, which indeed did occur.
This crucial aspect seems to have been overlooked by present-day Muslim leaders and those who follow them. In this matter, Muslims have followed their desires rather than adhering to the Sunnah of the Prophet. It is not easy to find a more extreme example in history of violating the Prophetic Sunnah in the name of the Prophet.
The TIME Magazine (March 20, 1989) published a letter from Abdul Hussein Majid Kafai of Ottawa, Canada, in which he referred to Salman Rushdie’s book as reprehensible. Kafai expressed the view that it is better to let Rushdie live and be condemned by fanatical Muslims rather than have him killed and, as a result, the entire Muslim world be cursed. The author of the text agrees with this comment by Abdul Hussein Majid Kafai.
The Prophet of Islam holds the highest position of honour and glory, known as Mahmood, in this world and the Hereafter. (Quran, 17:79) His elevated personality remains untarnished by the writings of someone like Rushdie, even to the slightest degree.
However, the Muslim community created a stir by issuing a fatwa against Rushdie, providing the opponents of Islam with an opportunity to defame the religion. People began associating Islam with bloodshed and violence, portraying it as a bloodthirsty religion. From this perspective, the violent campaigns launched against Salman Rushdie did not bring any benefit to Muslims but instead resulted in losing a crucial aspect of Islam: the opportunity to invite people to embrace the message of God.
In ancient Arabia, the disbelievers and Muslims had access to the same form of ‘media.’ However, the modern world operates quite differently. We now live in an era of global journalism, where Muslims do not have a single newspaper or magazine that reaches all nations worldwide. On the other hand, those opposing Islam and Muslims have extensive control over global journalism, with their publications reaching millions of readers worldwide.
This is a significant concern. The Muslim perspective often finds representation only in local or community press, while anti-Islam and anti-Muslim propaganda quickly finds its place in international newspapers and magazines as well as digital and social media. Their reports and articles swiftly circulate throughout the world.
In such a situation, it becomes the responsibility of Muslims to refrain from creating unnecessary uproar over sensitive issues. This is because, given the current scenario, such uproar will not bring any benefits to Muslims. Instead, non- Muslim international journalism will seize the opportunity to tarnish their image and discredit them on a global scale. Muslims may find themselves helplessly witnessing their own disgrace, as well as that of Islam, without the ability to undo the damage caused by the international media.
