By Ikhwanul Kiram Mashuri
To Muslims, as been firmed in Qur’an (surrah 6 article 162), “Say, “My prayer and my worship, and my life and my death, are devoted to God, the Lord of the Worlds.”
In such context, Prophet Muhammad PBUH, Al-Qur’an, Hadits, and so on which related to aqidah (faith) were taken sacred to Muslims. Insolence to those matters were rated as disparage and harassing dignity. Muslims would willingly sacrifice anything to defend the purity of Islam.
Demonstration amongst Muslims all over the world currently must be read from such point of view. They felt insulted and abused by a movie titled “Innocence of Muslims”produced by an American. This movie portrayed Prophet Muhammad PBUH as a leader of group of bloodthirsty men and as a man who likes women.
Whereas, to Muslims, Prophet Muhammad PBUH is the Adored, the Loved One, the Great Prophet, and the Role Model. All of his deed, words, and actions are models which must be followed and emulated.
Whenever the name of Prophet Muhammad PBUH was spoken, Muslims are dutifully to repeat the words Shallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam, translated into “Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH)”. To maintain the sanctity of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, the Ulema have issued fatwa (legal pronouncement in Islam) which was forbidden by Islamic law to imagine him in picture, movie, drama, sculpture and so on.
Therefore, it was understandable if Muslims reactions were very hard. Protests against that anti-Islamic movie now have spread to no less than 18 countries, including Australia and Britain. With at least eight citizens were reportedly dead and hundred of others injured in mass demonstrations in Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, Lebanon, and Libya. Other than that, four US citizens also have become death victims in riot happened in US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, including US ambassador for Libya, J Christopher Stevens.
Target was not only US embassy, but also other European countries embassy, such as Germany, UK and Switzerland. Therefore, I was worried that the protests against anti-Islam movie were no longer as a mean of rejection for defamation against Islam, but furthermore, which was hatred against US. Even more, has evolved to hatred against Western countries in general.
The US President Barack Obama and several European leaders have stated that their governments were not responsible for the production and distribution of the movie. According to them, in Western democratic nature, citizens were free to do anything, including creating art work without any intervention of governments. What made it ironic was when such freedom has included producing pieces which insulted religion.
Such logic was clearly hard to digest because freedom was not for the freedom itself. Freedom did not mean value-less and made every person free to do anything. Freedom must comprise values. Freedom must be in partnership with responsibility. This was where the government needed to intervene, through its law enforcement, whenever there was misused of freedom. Violence against freedom which harmed other people or groups. Furthermore, if freedom then harassed human rights, such as harassment against religion’s matters of aqidah (faith).
Referred to similar previous incidents, the movie production of “Innocence of Muslims” was not a coincidence which stand on its own. It seemed to be planned. See what have been done by Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. On his twelve cartoon published on Denmark daily, Jyllands-Posten, on end of September 2005, he portrayed Prophet Muhammad PBUH as terrorist and women maniac.
Look also what has been done by Dutch politician, Geert Wilders. In movie “Fitna” released on 2008, he accused Qur’an as instigators of violence. He also compared Islam to Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
Watch as well how the US priest, Terry Jones, burned Al-Qur’an in front of Dove World Outreach Center church, Gainesville, Florida, on April 2010. Insolence against Muslim’s holy book witnessed by twenty of his followers and covered by mass media. Not to forget Qur’an burned by US army in Afghanistan several months ago.
Quite long time ago, on 1998, Indian-born-English novelist, Salman Rushdie, also published novel the Satanic Verses. He mentioned Qur’an as work of devils. What have been mentioned above only some of the examples of Western society’s insolence to Islam. Every insolence would raise massive demonstration against US, Israel, and Western in general.
I’m afraid, if these issues keep on continued, in the future it will be hard to build trans-nation and inter-religion association in peaceful and harmony manners. Hatred against Western would keep rising up. And vice versa, Islam phobia amongst Western society kept on flourish. As a matter of fact, hatred that continued to grow would lead to terrorism. Insolence against Prophet Muhammad PBUH is a terror to Muslims’ faith too, isn’t it?
Interpreting: Indira Amiranti
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