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ماھنامۀ روشنگر . . .٣٧ 11 Rowshangar Publication Vol.4, Issue. 37, June 2010 ٢٠١٠سال چھارمشمارهژوئنThe Truth About Muhammad and Freedom of SpeechJosh ShahryarJournalist and Human Rights ActivistMay 21From Huffington PostIn my years as a journalist andcommentator on Islam, terrorism, theMiddle East, and human rights, I haveread tons of news and opinion. Gothrough the material that is churned outas news and opinion daily for a fewyears and you'll see how many lunaticsare out there using freedom of speechto spew garbage all over the place. I'veseen dozens of articles that not onlydefy logic and insult your intelligencebut that are also factually incorrect inan in-your-face kind of way. But nothingcompares to what is written thesedays in defense of Islam and the crueltyof Muslims.One such opinion piece caught my attentionexactly an hour after the May20 "Everybody Draw MohammedDay" protest ended. (For those who areunaware of this, this was a protest duringwhich people drew cartoons ofMuhammad and posted them on theirblogs or social networking websites ofchoice in protest of extremist Muslimswho threaten to abolish freedom ofspeech. Thousands of people participated.)Nihad Awad, the Executive Director ofthe Council on American-Islamic Relations,has penned this piece criticizingEverybody Draw Mohammed Day. Togive you some context, the EDMDprotest was in response to ComedyCentral censoring an episode of SouthPark last month that depicted Muhammad,the prophet of Islam. The SouthPark controversy, however, has deeperroots that I will explain in a minute. Tosay that Mr. Awad's piece insults yourintelligence is rather mild. Mr. Awaduses faulty logic and then outright liesto defend his positions.To begin with, Mr. Awad throwsaround rhetoric without understandingthe issue:I will be the first to defend anyone'sright to express their opinion, no matterhow offensive it may be to me. Ournation has prospered because Americansvalue and respect diversity. Butfreedom of expression does not createan obligation to offend or to show disrespectto the religious beliefs or reveredfigures of others.Mr. Awad forgets that the FirstAmendment of the US Constitution,which also allows for freedom of religion,does not specify 'obligation' at allwhen it grants US citizens the right tofreedom of speech. It simply protectsspeech. Mr. Awad insinuates that freedomof speech is OK as long as no oneuses it against Islam. Should we allrevere Islam's sacred icons becauseMuslims want us to?Why is it OK for Muslims to preachagainst Christianity or any other religion?Is it not insulting to tell a Christianthat his or her God is a mere man,or to tell a Hindu that Shiva is just apuppet made out of stone? Some Muslimsare perfectly fine with coming tothe West and preaching their religion --using the First Amendment -- yet whensomeone mocks one of their icons --using the First Amendment -- they'vecrossed a line?Then, Mr. Awad completely ignoresthe cause of this conflict, the Danishcartoonists who are afraid of beingkilled by Muslim extremists, and insteadbrings up the issue of Muhammadappearing on South Park: "In reactionto the recent controversy over adepiction of Islam's Prophet Muhammadin an episode of Comedy Central's'South Park,' a Seattle cartoonist apparentlydeclared May 20th to be'Everybody Draw Muhammad Day.'"South Park's attempts to portray Muhammadbegan only after Danishnewspaper Jyllands-Posten publishedcartoons of Muhammad in 2005. Sincethen, Muslim extremists have mounteda manhunt against the Danish cartoonistswho five years ago dared to drawIslam's prophet Muhammad in a not-so-kind light.Mr. Awad then explains that the Seattlecartoonist has since disavowed herprotest, and also that the creator of aFacebook group promoting the protestwas dismayed at some of the responses.He adds: "So how shouldMuslims and other Americans react tothis latest attempt by hate-mongers toexploit the precious right of freespeech and turn May 20 into a celebrationof degradation and xenophobia?"Hate-mongers? Islamophobes? Andyes, xenophobia. Mr. Awad needs tofollow the news and understand whythis entire controversy began. If hesays it is the work of Islamophobes orxenophobes, he should also explainhow Muslims are out trying to killDanish cartoonists, the courageousartists who defied fear and did whatwas right to prove that Islam is notexempt -- yes, not exempt -- from ridicule.And if he has not understood thisclearly, then he should learn that eventhe most sacred object in America, theAmerican flag that stands for freedomand individual rights, can be burned inprotest.If this was all, I would have forgivenMr. Awad and left it at this, but hegoes a step further and unabashedlylies about Muhammad's character andthe teachings of Islam in order to belittlethe EDMD protesters:Next, one must examine how theProphet Muhammad himself reacted topersonal insults.Islamic traditions include a number ofinstances in which the Prophet had theopportunity to retaliate against thosewho abused him, but refrained fromdoing so. He said, "You do not do evilto those who do evil to you, but youdeal with them with forgiveness andkindness."Even when the prophet was in a positionof power, he chose the path ofkindness and mercy. When he returnedto Mecca after years of exile and personalattacks, he did not take revengeon the people who had reviled him andabused and tortured his followers, butinstead offered a general amnesty.In the Quran, Islam's revealed text,God states: "Invite (all) to the way ofyour Lord with wisdom and beautifulpreaching, and argue with them inways that are best and most gracious:for your Lord knows best who havestrayed from His Path and who receiveguidance." (16:125)Another verse tells the prophet to"show forgiveness, speak for justiceand avoid the ignorant." (7:199)This is the guidance Muslims shouldfollow as they express concern aboutan insulting depiction of the ProphetMuhammad, or of any other prophet ofGod.Have you ever felt embarrassed uponseeing something embarrassing onTV? I felt like that when I read thelines above. Muhammad is completelydifferent from the man whom Mr.Awad glorifies. He is not alone. EveryMuslim preacher will tell you that Muhammadwas a peaceful man and thathe believed in freedom of speech. History,however, tells us differently.Take the examples of Al-Nadr bin al-Harith and Uqba bin Abu Muayt, capturedin the first battle between Muslimsand the people of Mecca at al-Badr. They were both beheaded by theorder of the prophet. Uqba begged forhis life and pleaded by reminding Muhammadthat he had very young children,saying, "O Mohammad, whowill look after my children?" Thepeace-loving prophet replied, "Hell!"Muhammad's defenders might arguethat these men were fair game becausethey had come to war with Muslims.Then what about Asma bint Marwan,a poetess from Medina who wroteverses denouncing Muhammad? Hesent a man to kill her. Asma had severalchildren, the youngest of whomwas sleeping on her chest when Muhammad'shit-man entered the house.He quietly removed the child from themother's chest, then murdered her incold blood. Her story is recounted byMuslim historians time and timeagain.There are several other poets whowere killed by Muslims during Muhammad'sreign after he ordered theirexecution, specifically for writing insultingpoems or verses. These includeAbu Afak, Ka'ab ibn Ashraf and IbnSunayna. These men and women diedbecause they had insulted Muhammadand Islam. I'm not sure why the hippieprophet didn't take into account freedomof speech when he ordered theirexecutions.Finally, Mr. Awad decries Muslimextremists: "The mainstream AmericanMuslim community, including myown organization, has also stronglyrepudiated the few members of an extremistfringe group who appeared tothreaten the creators of 'South Park.'"Reading the history of how Muhammaddealt with offenders and insulters,it becomes clear that these so-called