Story of Mohammed Islam Unveiled

21 The Death of a Poetess
I996 There was a poetess who wrote a poem against Islam. Mohammed said, “Who will rid me of
Marwan’s daughter?” One of his followers heard him and on that very night he went to the
woman’s home to kill her.
M239 The assassin, a blind man, was able to do the work in the dark as the woman slept. Her babe
lay on her breast while her other children slept in the room. The stealthy assassin removed the
child and drove the knife into her with such force that he pinned her to the bed.
I996 In the morning he went to Mohammed and told him. Mohammed said, “You have helped
Allah and his apostle.” When asked about the consequences, Mohammed said, “Two goats won’t
butt their heads together over this.”
M239 Mohammed turned to the people in the mosque and said, “If you wish to see a man who has
assisted Allah and his prophet, look here.” Omar cried, “What, the blind Omeir!” “No,” said
Mohammed, “call him Omeir the Seeing.”
I996 The mother, had five sons and the assassin went to the sons and said, “I killed Bint Marwan
[The daughter of Marwan], O sons. Withstand me if you can; don’t keep me waiting.” Islam
became powerful that day and many became Muslims when they saw the power of Islam.
Author’s Comments:
Marwan’s daughter was angry that some of her tribe’s chiefs had been murdered. These murders
had been committed by Muslims with Mohammed’s approval. Her tribe was not prepared to fight
Mohammed for retribution and so she composed a poem critical of him. In a desert world with
virtually no written material available, a poem was like a newspaper article, which would be told
and passed around by word of mouth, so Mohammed soon came to hear of it.
Mohammed knew that this woman posed no threat to him. Her tribe had already made it
abundantly clear that they would not attack the Muslims, but this was not enough for Mohammed.
Like bullies and tyrants everywhere, Mohammed knew that the key to absolute control of a group
is the destruction of free speech.
When people are afraid to criticize an oppressor, the whole group dynamic changes. Silence
becomes a form of tactic approval and nobody knows who is a supporter and who is an opponent.
Defiance then becomes almost impossible as people find themselves isolated from those of similar
persuasion and individuals who do speak out are easily picked off. As this process intensifies, fear
builds and the tyrants grip on society tightens. This process is referred to as “consolidation of
power”.
The polar opposite to this situation is a society in which free speech is protected, because:
Tyranny and free speech cannot coexist in a society.
In order to protect free speech, it is not enough to protect most speech; you have to protect all
speech. Once the ruling classes have the right to restrict speech deemed unpleasant, they will
invariably restrict opposition to themselves. When this is achieved, freedom is lost forever.
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