Mohammedans and Islamophobes

Muhammad pulling his chest open in William Blake's illustration of Dante's Inferno

When I was in school I learned that Muslims took great offence at being referred to as “Mohammedans.” They took offence because they do not worship Mohammed, they worship Allah. Mohammed was the prophet of Allah, the One God. The killings and attempted killings of cartoonists who depicted Mohammed make me wonder if that attitude has changed, or if there is something else going on. As I understand it, those who want to kill cartoonists for drawing disrespectful images of Mohammed wish to prevent or punish blasphemy.

Pamela Geller and her organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative, made it clear that some Muslims are willing to kill and die to defend the honor of their prophet. I am struggling to understand this, because I have read arguments by Muslims against Christianity to the effect that Christians worship a man instead of God. They say that Christians worship Jesus as an idol. If a Muslim is willing to kill and die because he considers offensive cartoons blasphemous, then they also worship a man instead of God.They have turned Mohammed from a prophet to an idol, just as they say that Christians have turned Jesus of Nazareth into an idol.

I suspect that the young men who lost their lives in Texas, as well as the men who carried out the Charlie Hebdo attacks, were manipulated by leaders who cynically use religion to advance a political agenda. Religions have a long history of being abused for political or financial gain. I suspect that the men who died in Garland knew little more about Islam than the people we label as “Islamophobes.” One thing that leads me to believe this is a quote by the Prophet Mohammed that I heard on the network news shortly after 9/11: “The most excellent jihad (struggle) is that for the conquest of self.” This sounds like a cousin of something Jesus said: “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” Matthew 7:5, (KJV) Another thing that leads me to this conclusion is conversations I have had with Muslims. They seemed like decent and reasonable people to me.

I have two requests:

Mohammedans - Please ask yourselves if you really want to prevent or punish blasphemy. The Jews of ancient Judea accused Jesus of blasphemy, which only helped to empower Christianity as a religion. Yes, the Christian church has a history just as bloody as Islam. This is why so many people now call themselves atheists.

Islamophobes - I don’t want to live under Sharia law either. My disagreement with you is over methodology more than philosophy or ideology. The two men who died in Garland thought they were going to Glory. They will probably inspire others to do the same. The cartoon contest helped to bring to light how determined some Muslims are to squelch freedom of expression, but it will lead to more violence and make some Muslims more determined to impose Sharia law upon us. Please consider some advice from the Old Testament: “ If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.” Proverbs, 25: 21-22, (KJV) Jesus of Nazareth demonstrated that this can actually work.

The Islamicists in our country may not need bread and water, but they need help to overcome brainwashing. Only kindness can do that.