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CounterPunch
October
8, 2002
Rev. Jerry Falwell's
Slurs
Here We Go Again
by
HESHAM A. HASSABALLA
Here we go again. Baptist Minister Jerry Falwell,
during an interview conducted by CBS's "60 Minutes"
on October 6, told journalist Bob Simon he thought the Prophet
Muhammad was "a terrorist." Naturally, this has caused
an angry uproar in the American Muslim community. My question
is, why are Muslims so bent out of shape over this?
This is not the first time conservative
Christian leaders have attacked Islam and its Prophet. The Rev.
Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son and successor, called Islam
a "very evil and wicked religion." Christian Coalition
founder and television evangelist Pat Robertson called the prophet
Muhammad "an absolute wild-eyed fanatic . . . a robber and
brigand . . . a killer." Jerry Vines, past President of
the Southern Baptist Convention, also put his voice in the fray
when he called the Prophet a "demon-possessed pedophile."
Further, this is not the first time the
Prophet Muhammad has been slandered. During his lifetime, he
was smeared as "demon-possessed," or as a "sorcerer,"
or as "crazy," or as a "soothsayer" by his
enemies. During his ministry in Mecca, the Prophet would be slandered
every time he prayed at the Ka'abah, Islam's holy shrine. Yet,
this did not deter him. He frequently took it in stride and never
let it bother him.
What's more, this is not the first time
Prophets have been slandered and attacked by their opponents.
Jesus was frequently stoned, as was recorded in the New Testament.
Jesus, in fact, twice said, "A prophet is not without honor
except in his own country" (Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4). In
the Qur'an, Noah was slandered as a "man possessed and was
driven out [by his people]" (54:9), and Moses was condemned
by Pharoah as a "sorcerer" (17:101). So, the slander
of Prophets in general, and Prophet Muhammad in particular, is
nothing new.
And yet, it still hurts. Why? Because
the "terrorist" Rev. Falwell claims is Prophet Muhammad
is not the Prophet we know as Muslims. The Prophet we know is
kind and gentle. Whenever he passed by small children, he would
greet them with kisses and kind words. The Prophet we know told
us, "The best of you are the ones who treat their wives
the best." Our Prophet abhorred violence, and he always
searched for peaceful ends to conflict. Our Prophet forgave his
enemies despite their relentless and violent opposition to him.
Our Prophet forgave his companions after they directly disobyed
his order during a military battle, in which the Prophet himself
was badly wounded. The Muhammad that these conservative Christian
leaders are talking about must be some other person; it is not
the Prophet 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide honor, revere, and
ask God to send blessing down upon each and every day.
I am not asking Rev. Falwell (or Robertson
or Graham or Vines) to love or even like the Prophet Muhammad.
They are entitled to their opinions. What I, and the millions
of other American Muslims, ask is respect for our Prophet. No
Prophet or religious figure should be slandered in the way the
Prophet Muhammad has been publicly maligned. Comments such as
that of Rev. Falwell only serve to divide us as a people. Furthermore,
it is unbecoming of a Christian because the Qur'an told me, "And
nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those
who say, 'We are Christians'". In this day and age, division
and discord are two things America can do without.
Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago physician and columnist for Beliefnet.com and the
Independent Writers Syndicate. He is contributing author to the
forthcoming Rodale book, Taking
Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith, due
to be released in November.
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2002
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