By Brahime Koulila
By Brahime Koulila
Morocco World News
Kenitra, September 17, 2012
Since the 9/11 attacks, Islam and Muslims have become targets for extremists and the enemies of Islam from all over the world. Some of these enemies really attack Islam, Muslims and, above all, Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) on purpose as they have certain ideologies against Muslims, while others only do it out of ignorance or imitation.
Most of the attacks (movies, articles or caricatures) have turned Muslims mad and made them take to the streets, protesting against humiliating Islam or insulting Prophet Mohamed (pbuh). However, the way some people express their love for the prophet or their attachment to Islam shows that Muslims often get easily provoked and that they often overreact to provocation. Indeed, we must love our prophet and defend our religious identity, yet we should do it in a civilized way. We should not resort to violence or terrorism to react against, for instance, an amateur movie like “The Innocence of Muslims,” which has made thousands of Muslims crazy.
A provocative work made by a foolish man should not upset the Arab world. Clearly, when a person, institution, community or whatever offends Muslims and their sacred symbols, we must condemn the offence and express our anger; however, do we have to kill people, as what happened in Benghazi, Libya, where the American ambassador was killed along with three other staff members? Should we take to the streets to give free reign to our fury and anger, destroying our cities and public assets? Should we sow terror among us, like in Egypt, to tell the world we love our prophet? No, this is the worst approach to deal with such provocation as the movie about our great Prophet Mohamed (pbuh). Whose assets are being damaged, the one who made the movie or the Muslims fighting against the forces of security? To illustrate, Egypt has been witnessing some barbaric protests, which can only perturb this country, which really needs a moment of peace and tranquility more than ever.
We are telling the world that we are rather fragile. What is happening in some Arab countries, such as Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Tunisia can only show that an individual act perpetrated by a good-for-nothing somewhere in the USA can spoil our life. It can only show how susceptible Muslims are: any person could manipulate and push us backward with the least effort. When I saw the reactions of some Muslims, I realized that a handful of extremists or fools can make us crazy within a few weeks, only by producing a series of movies, documentaries or whatever to provoke us and make us kill one another. I wonder if our love for Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) should make us fight against the forces of security, burn our brothers’ cars and make life stop. Doubtless, our prophet (pbuh) would not approve of such behaviors, for his message was basically spreading peace and serenity on earth.
We seem to have fallen in the trap. Whenever a caricature or a movie is made to insult our prophet, we overreact and become like machines that only need a trigger to work. Could not those people humiliating Islam and Muslims do it only to perturb us? Do not we corroborate, through our behavior, the doctrine that says the Arabs and Muslims are warmongers and that violence is our only language? Yes, we do to some extent. In this respect, I do not approve of killing the American ambassador and his collaborators at all. Such an act could plunge the Arabs into a new “war against terrorism.” Also, it is worth mentioning that in Islam there are some rules with regard to war that anyone has to observe. Killing an innocent/civilian person will serve us in nothing, but tarnishing our image more.
Peaceful demonstrations and artistic works are much better than violence. We have the right to take to the streets and demonstrate peacefully; we have the right to ask our rulers to intervene in diplomatic ways. We should address the United Nations and express our anger about the movie insulting our prophet. We could also make movies, write articles, hold meetings or give lectures to tell the world who our prophet is. Incidentally, Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) is great, and writing books or making movies to belittle him will benefit the enemies of Islam in nothing, for he is the messenger of Allah, who created him to be the best man ever and to be a man of peace, not war.
Actually, the Arab world is already miring in all kinds of economic, social and political problems, and, again, anarchy and chaos cannot, in any way, contribute to its development. If we keep gulping such bates as “the Innocence of Muslims” all the time, we will not go forward. I am not asking people to stay passive before foreign attacks against Islam or hug anyone humiliating our prophet (pbuh); we should always defend our identity. Caricatures, movies and books are tools used in cold wars, so to speak, which means we should retort in the same way– beside diplomatic channels.
The youth enraged because of the movie should calm down. They should remember that their countries need their arms in making a bright future, not in creating anarchy or opening the door for foreign powers to intervene or say, “This is terrorism, and we must eradicate it!” When will we realize that only through science can the Arabs make it and assert themselves? It is science, not zealotry, which has enabled the West to dominate the world.
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