Pro-Salman Rushdi
Pre-condition of fairness in writing to establish truth and to achieve justice is the authenticity and accuracy uphold by the authors. This is why that intellectual corruption should not go unpunished. Considering the unfair treatment of the Prophet Muhammed (saw) and Islamic history and culture by Salman Rushdie, one wonders how to evaluate and place such intellectual dishonesty and all out war against Islam and Muslims. It is true that the assault against Islam could not do much harm to the rich civilizational legacy Muslims have created in the annals of history. However, for many average people in the streets their writings have proved to be misleading, confusing, and very often a sheer provocation with an aim to insult Muslims in particular and religious people in general. In most Muslim countries a (vast) limited majority of people have been engaging in and challenging to a good number of sacrosanct principles of their religion, culture, and heritage.
Many consider that as just a reaction to the prolonged European colonial domination and exploitation. However, this is not as simple as one can observe from the surface of the ongoing deadly conflicts between the Muslim World and the West. Only a bunch of illiterate and arrogant people may ignore the unfathomable barbarity of European colonialism that had hurt all healthy religious tenets and doctrines at their very foundation, which may have also been guarded so dearly by Muslim masses at large and honest patriots in particular.To this, the attack on Islamic faith and Muslim culture by Salman Rushdie is just one of those latest glaring examples how could the former European colonialists still continuing their orchestrated conspires of depicting and demonizing Muslims in the public eyes at all levels of international politics and diplomacy. This is a conflict between arrogant anti-Islamic forces and legitimate public interests of the Muslim ummah.
The Orientalisim of an author like Edward Said (1978) had given a lot of proves to demonstrate how deadly wrong they were/are in depicting Islam and Muslims as barbaric religion and people respectively. Of course, in terms of historical and cultural backgrounds of many Muslim nations one can probably imitate Said’s claim that there are different types of Islam and politely re-suggest that there is no harm in studying those varieties of so-called Islamism to enrich the depth of knowledge on Islamic phenomena and Muslim cultural heritage. Intellectual and political discourse may be helpful to bring people of different religions and cultures together to be engaged in creative and constructive activities. Unlike Said’s, bias and polemic works to serve special or vested interests are always destructive in nature, and Muslims are advised to avoid those kinds of negative activities. Here, only certain Westerns can greatly benefited by numerous examples set by many legendary figures during the fourteen hundred years of Islamic history!
Al Ahram (23-29 March 2006) academic neutrality responds to such anti-Islamic Danish attacks 's, Dabashi H.* debates writing:
There is not a single so-called "Muslim country" the inhabitants of which are not actively engaging and challenging the most sacrosanct principles of their faith. Just in their modern history, and over the last two hundred years, Muslims themselves have turned their collective faith upside down questioning the most definitive aspects of their faith. In facing and opposing the unfathomable barbarity of European colonialism, Muslims have left not a single stone unturned in their own religious doctrines and dogmas -- they did not and have no need to wait for a band of illiterate opportunists to tell them what is wrong with their faith and what they need to do. Nothing of that noble and continued history -- of a people launched against themselves -- is now a matter of global public knowledge, and yet the premise of everything said and conceived of Islam is precisely what illiterate prognosticators like Salman Rushdie and Co have deigned to tell their European and American clientele.
The above bolded extract is straight forward to the point at hand. This school of people pounced upon the high principle(s) when others play other roles on Abu grab's stage! Probably, these are propagated by their Other whose dogma is definitely innocent of their Other face and deeds. Being completely satisfied, with the degree of sharpness in the pencil of Dabashi, it seems that he has put his finger on the wound. Unlike his, one can tackle how pure neutrality can be. On the authority of Abu Muhammad Al-Hasan said:
I memorized from the messenger of Allah (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): "Leave that which makes you doubt for that which doesn't make you doubt." (It is related by At-Tirmadi)
By nature, humans are not enemies and are not always the passionate ones; humans are not looming in some every day and night dreams; humans are not inanimate and are not your Other. Instead, this being is the only conquered among others on the earth. Why? Is it a renewed theory to have no logic for a cultural war? This is axiomatically called a bottom up understanding; it can no longer yield peace, instead it will only provoke their manufactured Other to react and defend when healthy Muslims are maintaining honesty for emancipations to all. for such, who claimed their being considerate, understood how possible they can explain that day after day 'Islam' survives the centuries and more to explain the deciphering of existence and creation systematically, it would be a solution for all unlimited suffers. In relation to Muslim and Al-Bukhari, they say that Muhammad (saw) said: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself."
In Islam, followers believe in all messengers and this is one basic part in Islam. As Jesus is the messenger of Allah who is sent to all humanity to restore peace, not to tilt the balance, and to teach heavenly lessons. He is said to have been carrying a cross in some part of Asia in what is so-called the Middle East, to some Orientalists; he is said to have been the son of God. Peace be upon him. The point is that his memory is beyond dispute and nonnegotiable to the Muslim world ever since. When mentioned, Muslims repeat knowingly all words of respect. As said earlier, arguments have regretfully started in the West to degrade Prophet Mohammed (saw). An endorsement to award the suspicious man, who satisfies the sense of being the Other to some of his sponsors, has had been being proved as an intellectual honour via a B. Knight!
Just like in Old Testament, Preachers say that in order to be true Christian one should spread the word(s) of God … Some New Testament mediators, in print, say: 'Jesus is the Lamb of God'; Jesus is the Seal of God', which are explanatory and perceptible as many others which are acceptable translations, but what is implausible is the extension in some of the limit of some said saying which may be considered as a cardinal sin as it bridges any over/under translation or connotation as in the saying 'He is the [Pig] of God' verifying that every word has a connoted spirit that belongs to Him! Ouch! When dictionaries are resorted, 'Pig' as a word is defined an old lag that has crossed the Atlantic Ocean (and everywhere) and headed west in the 17th century or so as said. It has arrived to Hollywood and got in daily use to the movies of all producers. In the underworld language, it is used to label those who hike streets in gangs.
In a solitary whispering tone, a shepherd leaning over his pigsty (as quoted in Hudson, 1984) directs his talk to his animals saying I believe them more when they say [you] -pointing at his pigs- are such dirty animals! In the language, policemen is a word which synonyms with 'caps' - on the other shore of the Atlantic, and caps can also postulate 'pigs'. One big question mark needs an answer is how come that such encoders are enabling themselves to such limited civilization? Namely, when strollers see policemen they say 'here comes the 'caps'! These strollers hate the sight of the police. It means those whose caps are on, but also can speculate other underlining meaning(s) as well. None of interpretations would and will be accepted.
What priorities to such merits have been considered? To let doors to be opened this wide to such disturbance can only bring curse and distortion more and more than expected. Humanity will prevail to always teach lessons that some may have forgotten. Reading history correctly, neither yours nor your Other's has never had been being a success! Days proved and still prove that all leading authorities figured on the flipped sides of any coin may not valid, in a time, anymore to be a token-realization. Rather, their responsibility is enormous. This is no cross-word puzzle but rather words are written as the only left and last spa for the promotion of the high principles.
Bibliography
- Al Ahram (23-29 March 2006) academic neutrality responds to such anti-Islamic Danish attacks 's, Dabashi H.* debates.
- Hudson, R. (1984) 'Invitation to Linguistics', Oxford: T. J. Press Ltd. Padstow.
- Oxford Collocations (2003) ‘dictionary for students of English’, Oxford:Oxford University press.
- Said, E. (1978) ‘Orientalism’, New York: Pantheon Books.
Websites
Edward Said “There Are Many Islams”
Islamic quotations,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukhari Here is the final form of the article I present to Tagee today as I have sent it to my AIU (29/8/2009
الأربعاء ديسمبر 30, 2009 8:25 am