My Friend Comments on an article by Robert Fisk

Dear Mr. Fisk:

I had the pleasure of receiving, through my e-mail, the circulated text of your excellent article of 4th instant titled "Don't be fooled, this isn't an issue about Islam versus secularism". Needless to say, the article is very fair and rational. While one cannot argue your statement about the Koran not forbidding images of the Prophet, the Koran also did not forbid riding on a dart train or a jet plane!! What is certain, however, is that the Koran strictly forbids angry reactions; particularly to insults and obscenities, of the kind the condemned cartoon generated. One can readily appreciate the reason why the Koran forbids this, for anger must come to show its ugly face; with a big bang of Bigotry and not a drop of Faith. If, for the sake of argument, a kind of punishment for the offence were due; it should only be imposed on the offender (the Editor or the Publisher in this case); but never ever will the Koran allow extending the punishment to the well-established Trade and Diplomatic Links; let alone the Danish Government and the Danish Nation.

To look at the affair in perspective, it will amount only to a matter of artistic imagination, public sense and public taste. In this context, the condemned cartoons should offend the good Danes the most; which strictly means that the Muslim masses are completely out of this entirely internal affair. This is particularly true; since Muslims know, or should know, that the attack on Islam and the Prophet had never ceased; ever since the advent of the Faith, and will never cease. On many occasions the Prophet Himself had been abused, both verbally and physically; which He had spontaneously ignored, or graciously and charitably forgone and forgiven. The Koran, also on many occasions, had commanded Muslims to do the same in the face of even the severest provocations; and in all events angry reactions are not permissible, nor are they in any way admissible, In Islam. Going as far as proudly declaring, in public posters and banners allover the place, the readiness to die (or kill!!) for the sake of the Prophet; is really absurd. What would honour and please the Prophet the most is for Muslims to live, as he did, for Islam; peaceably, gracefully, graciously, selflessly and honourably.

There is, however, a particularly important and useful lesson for the Muslim masses to heed; to absolutely trust the Koran as the best guide to a sensible and dignified living. When God preserved the text of the Koran and kept the whole contents completely intact, He had simultaneously protected the image of the Prophet from the slightest abuse. This is supported by the fact that God had sent Him with the Message of Islam in a land whose people were renowned for their immense adoration of the "Word", which they glorified and for which they held annual competitions and festivals. Learning the Koran by heart was, therefore, for them; not only a great pleasure, but also a most easy task to undertake. Had the Prophet's Society been blessed with the same gifts and exceptional genius in fine art, as those Ancient Egyptians; they would have produced a great abundance of the Prophet's images (in statues, steles, plaques and mural paintings). Images of the great Pharaohs bearing their exact likings, from as far as 3600 years before the time of the Prophet, are now reproduced in newspapers, books, posters and magazines. Their pictures, along with millions upon millions of those of World leaders and other great symbolic figures of known and famous faces, find their ways every day; to garbage cans and rubbish dumps. The face of the Prophet remains, forever; infinitely far beyond that reach; even if He were depicted in cartoons as an archangel or a Greek god, instead.

On the other hand, you were extremely kind to Muslims at large when you thought that they take their religion seriously. In fact, only exceptionally few do, and most signs of true adherence are false indications. There is a famous observation recorded in a testimony made by the renowned Muslim Imam Sheikh Mohamed Abdu, over a century ago; upon his return from Paris. He said: "When in Paris I witnessed Islam without Muslims, but here in Egypt I witness Muslims without Islam". This is most inspiring; since it explains how Islam will never be in any danger, because it is constantly found in all forms of highly refined human decency and human dignity [i.e. Islam stays with or without Muslims]. The credible Testimony accredited to the Grand Sheikh and wise Imam also implies that if Muslims really appreciated and valued the significance of their chosen Faith; that cartoon affair would never have happened, and Muslims would suffer far less animosities.

Contrary to the projection of Islam imposed by complacent Muslims, the Faith constitutes no danger; for Islam by definition is the Mission of "Mercy and compassion to all Mankind", a mission of Reason and Justice. These are the True "Fundamentals" of Islam that make a label like "Islamic Fundamentalists" a misnomer, and a term like "Islamic extremists" self-contradictory. It is, therefore, the complacent Muslims who pose a grave danger to themselves and to the Muslim communities everywhere. Complacency among Muslims shows itself in many forms; extremist ideologies are perhaps the least damaging of all, because their dangers are far more limited and can be contained. The gravest and most extensive dangers come from two sources of "Mass Moral and Cultural Destruction". One deadly source is attributed to the degrading and demeaning Media glorifying debauchery and loose ethics. The other source strangely comes, in Egypt anyhow, from what one may call "The Slum Mosques"; though they may be found even in exclusive areas maintaining the same mentality. The two sources constitute a "state of truly chaotic chaos versus Islam; the most disciplined, exact and correct of all life norms".

The Slum Mosques may be classified as those "Houses of Hypocrisy" alluded to in the Koran and they can never, by any stretch of imagination, relate to the message of Islam "Mercy, Reason and Justice"; and the Western Hypocrisy you describe in your article is very little and very benign in comparison. The message of Islam is an exceptionally quiet, calm, composed, pleasant, serene and captivating call. At the same time the message of the "Slum Mosques" is, on the contrary, everything but that; extremely noisy, extremely aggressive, extremely offensive and extremely revolting. Yet the perpetrators do not feel it; evidently for lack of feeling, and the Governments will do nothing about it; evidently for hopeless lack of concern and helpless lack of vision.

In conclusion and in the same spirit of your inspired title, it may be appropriate to assert that: "This isn't a reaction, for Islam and the Prophet, by religious adherents". Furthermore, the whole cartoon affair (with its consequences) reminds one of the old saying: "Ask a silly question, you get a silly answer"; which in this situation translates into: "Publish a silly cartoon, you get a more silly reaction"!!

Yours sincerely,
Prof. F A E