How should Muslims react to such continous fierce campaigns throughout the
world? How can Muslims take both official and non-official actions to put a
quick end to the current media campaign against the Prophet (peace and blessings
be upon him)?

You may be an atheist or an agnostic or you may belong to any of the religious
denominations that exist in the world today. You may have been a Communist or a
believer in democracy and freedom. No matter what you are, and no matter what
your religious and political beliefs, personal and social habits happen to be—
YOU STILL MUST KNOW THIS MAN!
Muhammad was forty years old, and it was the fifth consecutive year since his
annual retreats, when one night towards the end of the month of Ramadan, an
angel came to visit him, and announced that God had chosen him as His messenger
to all mankind.



"My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential
persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was
the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and
secular level."
Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY,
New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc., 1978, p. 33.








"Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer
of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial
empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad. As regards all standards
by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man
greater than he?"Lamartine, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp.
276-277.
Prophet Muhammad was born in Makkah, present-day Saudi Arabia around 570 C.E.
He is the model for humanity of all walks of life to follow until the Last Hour.
God sent him as a mercy for the worlds.


What Would Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Do?By Ibrahim Hooper


[Ibrahim Hooper is National Communications Director for the Washington-based
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil
liberties group. He may be contacted at: ihooper@... ]

“You do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with
forgiveness and kindness.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

That description of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad is a summary of how he reacted to
personal attacks and abuse.

Islamic traditions include a number of instances of the prophet having the
opportunity to strike back at those who attacked him, but refraining from doing
so.

These traditions are particularly important as we witness outrage in the Islamic
world over cartoons, initially published in a Danish newspaper, that were viewed
as intentional attacks on the prophet.

Peaceful and not-so-peaceful protests have occurred from Gaza to Indonesia.
Boycotts have targeted companies based in Denmark and in other nations that
reprinted the offensive caricatures.

We all, Muslims and people of other faiths, seem to be locked into a downward
spiral of mutual mistrust and hostility based on self-perpetuating stereotypes.

As Muslims, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves, “What would the
Prophet Muhammad do?”

Muslims are taught the tradition of the woman who would regularly throw trash on
the prophet as he walked down a particular path. The prophet never responded in
kind to the woman’s abuse. Instead, when she one day failed to attack him, he
went to her home to inquire about her condition.

In another tradition, the prophet was offered the opportunity to have God punish
the people of a town near Mecca who refused the message of Islam and attacked
him with stones. Again, the prophet did not choose to respond in kind to the
abuse.

A companion of the prophet noted his forgiving disposition. He said: “I served
the prophet for ten years, and he never said ‘uf’ (a word indicating impatience)
to me and never blamed me by saying, ‘Why did you do so or why didn't you do
so?’” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

Even when the prophet was in a position of power, he chose the path of kindness
and reconciliation.

When he returned to Mecca after years of exile and personal attacks, he did not
take revenge on the people of the city, but instead offered a general amnesty.

In the Quran, Islam’s revealed text, God states: “When (the righteous) hear vain
talk, they withdraw from it saying: ‘Our deeds are for us and yours for you;
peace be on to you. We do not desire the way of the ignorant’. . .O Prophet
(Muhammad), you cannot give guidance to whom you wish, it is God Who gives
guidance to whom He pleases, and He is quite aware of those who are guided.”
(28:55-56)

The Quran also says: “Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and
beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most
gracious: for thy Lord knows best who have strayed from His Path and who receive
guidance.” (16:125)

Another verse tells the prophet to “show forgiveness, speak for justice and
avoid the ignorant.” (7:199)

These are the examples that Muslims should follow as they express justifiable
concern at the publication of the cartoons.

This unfortunate episode can be used as a learning opportunity for people of all
faiths who sincerely wish to know more about Islam and Muslims. It can also be
viewed as a “teaching moment” for Muslims who want to exemplify the prophet’s
teachings through the example of their good character and dignified behavior in
the face of provocation and abuse.

As the Quran states: “It may well be that God will bring about love (and
friendship) between you and those with whom you are now at odds.” (60:7)
Taken from: www.cair-net.org
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His
Messenger.
Thanks for your question, and we implore Allah earnestly to rescue the Muslim
Ummah from all sources of evil encroaching Islam and Muslims everywhere.
The fierce media campaign against the Prophet is actually a single incident in a
series of measures that have been practiced on a wide scale by some people in
the West whose influential positions cause their voices to become heard in the
world media. It is not actually a common case in the European context, as such
campaigns are backed by some members, not the whole European family.
The role of all Muslims worldwide is to take all legal and constitutional
channels to champion their rights and repel the aggression done against the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), using all peaceful means to
disseminate the true teachings of Islam. Muslims should seize this incident to
shed more light on the great nature and enlightenment of the Prophet Muhammad in
an attempt to educate those who ignore many aspects of his great character and
how he can be a model to follow in today's world.



Responding to the question, Sheikh Hussain Halawa, secretary general of the
European Council for Fatwa and Research, and imam of the Islamic Cultural Center
of Ireland, states the following: First of all, I would like to stress that
the caricatures, which have caused anger across the Muslim world since they were
published in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten last September and were reprinted in many
European capitals, are one of the single measures within a systematic media
campaign that aims at tarnishing the image of Islam. This media campaign is led
by the people whose keen interest is to deteriorate the relations between
Muslims and people of other religions. That is why we see them, from time to
time, publishing provocative statements, books, laws, and lately cartoons that
are no more than an extra measure within a larger context.
In addition, the above systematic trend is not fully adopted by all people in
the West, but it is only led by SOME people who have much influence on
international media, and hence their voices are widely heard.
In this context, Muslims should try their best to —
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;
tab-stops: list .5in">Declare before the whole world their complete condemnation
of and dissatisfaction with what is happening against the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) <LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; mso-list:
l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">Stage peaceful demonstrations and protests
here and there in order to pressurize the public opinion in order for such media
campaign to stop what it is doing <LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM:
12pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">Make use of such events to
present the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as a role model
in the modern world, as there is no doubt that the West and those who are
attacking the Prophet know nothing about him. <LI class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list
.5in">Avoid hurling insults against the people of other religions as a
result of publishing those provocative cartoons against the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him). There is a direct prohibition to this retaliatory
behavior, as Allah Almighty says: [Revile not those unto whom they pray beside
Allah lest they wrongfully revile Allah through ignorance. Thus unto every
nation have We made their deed seem fair. Then unto their Lord is their return,
and He will tell them what they used to do] (Al-An`am 6:108).
Boycott the products of the countries that have published those provocative
cartoons or that are still publishing them, as the boycott is a universal weapon
that is by Muslims and non-Muslims as well.
In addition to the above, I call upon all mosque imams, especially those living
in the West, to start shedding more light on the great aspects of the Prophet's
personality and his rich morals that today's world is in need of. With this,
imams will be educating their respective communities about the great personality
of the Prophet Muhammad and they will be forwarding an indirect message to those
who are ignorantly attacking him to derive lessons from his life and character.
One last message to those who chant about democracy and freedom of expression.
Why do they say that Muslims have no right to condemn the publishing of those
cartoons, claiming that Muslims are against democracy and the freedom of
expression, while they fight tooth and nail against those who even talk
negatively about the Holocaust? Why do they put them on trial? Why does freedom
of expression appear in their dictionary here and disappears only when the
Prophet of Islam is attacked? And why do they deny Muslims the right to freedom
of expression? This is really against the very basic norms of human rights,
which call for respecting man's religion, creed, and keeping his religious
affiliations untouched.
I urge all concerned Muslim authorities in the West and the Muslim World to
raise the issue before the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) as well as other influential organizations to take the
necessary measures in this regard, as the issue is very serious.



Moreover, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, A Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the
Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, adds:

It is unfortunate that some elements with vested interests in the modern Western
societies are driven by Islamophobia. They are stirring up hatred against Islam
and Muslims in every possible way. It has now become a fashion with others as
well. In this context, Muslims must think deeply before acting emotionally and
erratically. For overreacting to such campaigns will only make things worse.
Overreacting includes using other than the lawful, peaceful means. Resorting to
violence should never be an option. Let me list a few steps we can take:

1. The best way to deal with the situation is to resort to peaceful ways of
protest.

2. We should use all legal channels to stop this campaign of hatred against
Islam and Muslims. For Muslims, every prophet is worthy of utmost respect, and
the Prophet Muhammad, being the final one, is dearer to Muslims than their own
parents, children, and all people.

3. It is the duty of those Muslims who are legal experts to do everything
possible to bring the perpetrators of hatred to justice so that they are forced
to pay dearly for the harm they are doing.

4. Muslims should use this opportunity to take the message of mercy as conveyed
by the beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to everyone who is
desirous of knowing the truth about the Prophet. An excellent book that I
recommend to every Muslim is the Messenger of God Muhammad by Fethullah Gulen.
It should be read by every Muslim and given to those who wish to know the truth
about the message of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

5. As all Muslims should consider themselves an ambassador of Islam, it behooves
them to educate themselves in their religion.

6. Finally, I advise all Muslims not to react emotionally, but to follow the
decisions of the responsible leadership in their own country. We must always be
disciplined, peaceful, and organized in our approaches to such crucial issues.

May Allah grant us true love of Allah and His Messenger, and may He grant us the
grace to be gathered under his noble banner on the Day of Resurrection.
Ameen.(ref;ISLAMONLINE>NET)

You can also read:

When Muhammad Is Insulted by Non-Muslims
Muhammad (PBUH): An Exalted Example of Character
Muhammad & Jesus: Common Ground
Pictural Images of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Anti-Prophet Cartoons: IUMS Statement
Muhammad: The Man & the Message (Special Page)
Ithink all of you have heard about the cartoons that have caused anger across
the Muslim world since they were published in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten last
September, and were reprinted in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and
Spain, among other European countries. As a reactionary measure, Muslims began
to boycott Danish products but the fierce campaign against the Prophet increased
as if some European countries are making a counterattack against the reactions
of Muslims and the boycott, which has caused the loss of millions of euros to
DenmarkAllah Almighty knows best.(islamonline)
Last but not least appeal to whole world is PLesae Dont test our patience;
strength or faith with such cowardly acts- Our peaceful protest sometimes should
not be taken as our weakness;" Batil sey Dabney waley aey aaasmaan nahin hum sou
baaar kar chuka hai imtihan hamara."
DR Fiaz Maqbool Fazili in Holy city of Medinah Munawarah (Kashmir religous and
research council)
(PLEASE SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF OUR PROPHET Peace be upon HIM)by sending thsi
email and portraying HIs (PBUH)character


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