Muslims in North America love Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as much as Muslims elsewhere do. But they believe, judging from the statements of their organizations, that killings and violence against the innocent - whatever the provocation - violate Islam's teachings. Such actions also aid the hate-mongers who portray Islam as barbaric in the hope of fanning hatred between Muslims and Christians and trapping them in an unending, escalating spiral of bloodshed. President Barack Obama has reiterated US respect for the religious sentiments of all people. The Al-Azhar Senior Scholars Council, while condemning the film insulting Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), has warned Muslims not to exceed Islamic limits. Ideally, Muslims should follow Islam in reacting to provocations. The West should distinguish between freedom of speech and inciting fury. As the courts have stated, freedom of expression does not allow you to shout “fire” in a movie house. In Canada it is criminal to promote hatred against an identifiable group. Still, in this age of social media, Western countries cannot prevent people such as California's Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the producer of “Innocence of Muslims”, from disseminating lies. It's for Muslims to react in a manner that wins them respect and support. The Holy Qur'an tells Muslims to repel evil by doing a good deed and turning the evildoer into a friend. The Prophet (pbuh) was maligned and tormented. His patience, compassion and nobility turned his enemies into devoted disciples. An old woman used to hurl garbage and insults at the Prophet (pbuh) on his walks. When she didn't do so for a time, the Prophet (pbuh) looked for her and found her ill with no one to care for her. He tended to her until she recovered. She then embraced Islam. Muslims react angrily when someone insults the Prophet (pbuh). But if they followed his example, they wouldn't be where they are today. Recently, Pakistani police arrested Rimshah Masih, a 14-year-old Christian girl suffering from Down Syndrome, for allegedly desecrating the Holy Qur'an. She could have faced death under the law. But an uproar erupted worldwide. The police arrested a Muslim cleric and accused him of stashing pages from the Qur'an in the girl's bag in order to force panic-stricken Christians in the neighborhood to flee. The British enacted blasphemy laws in 1860 to discourage people from insulting other people's faith. These laws have been misused in Pakistan to settle personal scores, with Muslims among the victims. There are reports of minorities being forced to convert to Islam – and of minorities, including the Shias, being killed simply for being Shia. Bombs have also exploded in mosques, markets and roads, killing and injuring innocent men, women and children of different faiths. During the break-up of Pakistan, West Pakistanis and East Pakistanis committed atrocities against each other that were as barbaric as those committed by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs against each other during India's partition in 1947. In addition, corruption, illegal amassing of wealth, misuse of power, oppression, injustices and violation of basic rights are rampant in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Nigeria and many other Muslim countries. Nor are Muslims alone in defying their faith's teachings. Buddhists are taught to respect life. But their atrocities in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Korea and China during the Japanese occupation, were hair-raising. Christianity enjoins compassion and justice. But Christian countries are among the worst violators of human rights. They enslaved people and sold them, stole the land of others and plundered their resources, imposed unjust treaties on them, obliterated most Native or Aboriginal people, fought each other for hundreds of years, inflicted two world wars on the world, manufactured the most lethal biological, chemical, nuclear and thermonuclear weapons of mass destruction, dropped nuclear bombs on two populated cities and killed millions of Jews and Roma in a Holocaust while shedding crocodile tears for freedom, democracy, human rights and the United Nations. Judaism likewise enjoins justice and compassion. But Israel violates these principles so blatantly that thoughtful Jews are appalled. Muslims, however, bear a special responsibility to follow Islam. God's word remains unchanged in the Holy Qur'an. Details of the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) are available throughout the world. Muslims are enraged when people ridicule the Prophet (pbuh). He was maligned in his life -and later also. He has been praised as well – by historian Michael Hart in his book The 100, Thomas Carlyle in his book On Heroes, Hero Worship and the Heroic in History, by George Bernard Shaw in his book The Genuine Islam and others. Muslims, however, do not have to be influenced by others. The Prophet (pbuh) is a guiding light. Muslims can show their faith by following Islamic teachings and the Prophet's (pbuh) example. If they keep flouting them, they will have only themselves to blame for their plight.
– Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian newspaperman, civil servant and refugee judge. He has received the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and the Queen's Diamond and Golden Jubilee Medals for his work as a journalist and as a Muslim leader and for promoting understanding between diverse Canadians
