Intimidation, Fear & Mohammed
Posted on 28. Apr, 2010 by BryanAlvarez in Entertainment
“Fight in the cause of God, those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loveth not transgressors. And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out: For tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; But fight them not at the sacred Mosque unless they first fight you there; But if they fight you, Slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith. But if they cease, God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God; but if they cease, Let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression.” – Quran, Surah 2:190-193
It should be no surprise by now that to blaspheme the Islamic faith one need go no further than to show Prophet Mohammed publicly. Mohammed, Prophet of the Muslim faith, has been depicted numerous times in the past by many individuals who for one reason or another wanted to prove a point about intimidation, fear, and fundamentalism. In some cases, those that depicted Mohammed (whether good or bad) have suffered repercussions and have even been murdered by extremists. One of the more notable deaths was that of Theo Van Gogh, great grandson of famous painter Vincent Van Gogh’s brother. Murdered by Mohammed Bouyeri, an Islamic fundamentalist associated with the Hofstad Network, in Amsterdam in 2004 after Van Gogh released a 10-minute movie titled “Submission,” (which is the English translation of the word “Islam”). The movie talked of female oppression in Islamic countries.
The most recent threat has come from REVOLUTION MUSLIM, a New York based radical Islamic group, towards Matt Stone & Trey Parker, creators and writers of the infamous cartoon South Park. Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee AKA Zachary A. Chesser, a member of Revolution Muslim has stated publicly (over Twitter of course) “May Allah kill Matt Stone and Trey Parker and burn them in Hell for all eternity. They insult our prophets Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses…” He then posted a picture of Theo Van Gogh then stating “Theo Van Gogh – Have Matt Stone and Trey Parker forgotten this?”
Immediately upon this threat (or warning, depending on how you want to view it) Comedy Central, South Park’s network, censored a large portion of the episode. That is to say, they censored the portions pertaining to Mohammed. Apparently both Comedy Central and Islamic fundamentalists forgot about the Super Best Friends episode. To say the least, Parker & Stone are a bit upset about the censoring.
The Prophet Muhammed
But what it boils down to is the fact that fundamentalists have to take things in their own hands to “fight in the cause of God” (Surah 2:244 or Surah 4:74). Do these fundamentalists not understand that any depiction of Mohammed by “oppressors” (Surah 9:29) is not aimed at followers of Islam, but rather at others that do not believe in the Islamic faith? The act of this portrayal of Mohammed or any aspect of Islamic faith does not impede on the practice or prayer of any Muslim and therefore does not warrant the death of the artist. Anybody can Google search pictures of Mohammed, but you do not see fundamentalists banding against a website, so why must they band against a cartoon? Furthermore, if a fundamentalist takes it upon themselves to stop the unbelievers (Surah 47:4) it seems like they are not faithful enough in Allah to take care of his own work. If Allah is all powerful then why do these fundamentalists have to take the power into their own hands? Power corrupts the most foolish of men, and they forget the true message; a message of peace (see Surah 60:7-9).
This might be a silly question but does anyone actually take a cartoon seriously? A fundamentalist, whether Islamic, Christian, or Jewish, that takes the words of some other person, whether cartoon or real, seriously to the point that the fundamentalist has to take action has more of a problem with their own faith than with what is being depicted by an “unbeliever.” If these fundamentalists were as faithful as they claim they shouldn’t fear the idle words of a non-believer. Why would you destroy the credibility of your beautiful religion?
Islam has many beautiful aspects to it, which has resulted in beautiful artwork, poetry, architecture, and so much more. Yet, just as in any other religion, THE FUNDAMENTALIST THAT TAKES THE POWER OF GOD UNTO THEMSELVES DESTROYS THE BEAUTY OF THE RELIGION, and is missing the point entirely of having a religion. A cartoon is not preventing you from worshipping Allah. Therefore, why do you need to take the effort to threaten and murder people? It can be difficult to differentiate between political fact, social fact, and religious fact.
Fundamentalists take the aspects of their faith and manipulate it to fit their social and political beliefs, thereby neglecting the parts that made it worthwhile in the first place (See Surah 28:55).
“And the servants of Allah, most gracious, are those who walk on the Earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say “Peace!”” – Surah 25:63-
Rachel