Jewel of Medina

A novel about the Muslim Prophet Mohammed and his child bride Aisha, by American novelist Sherry Jones, has been released in Britain this month. The book is a fictional account of Mohammed's relationship with Aisha, his child bride. The story follows her life from the age of six to the prophet's death.

Last month, Random House, the United States publisher, decided to cancel publication of the book “The Jewel of Medina” as it feared the book could incite violence. This was after the book was quickly withdrawn from bookshops, in Serbia, after protests from the local Muslim community.

The British Gibson Square publishing house said it was imperative that “The Jewel of Medina” be available to the public and has published the book in the U.K. This resulted in an arson attack on the office of Gibson Square Publishing by three Muslim men.

Speaking on the subject of offending Muslims, the author said, "Anyone who reads the book will see that it honours the prophet and his favourite wife." This book, which has been described as a wonderful and inspiring love story, has evoked feelings reminiscent of the reaction to the Mohammad cartoons a couple of years ago.

Why is this? Is Islam such a week faith that words by a non-Muslim can strike right through the shield of their faith and actually hurt them?

Personally I respect believing Muslims, those who really follow their Faith. Yusuf Islam for example. I understand and empathise with Muslims who feel offended by statements made by non-Muslims in Europe and the United States. As a fundamentalist Christian, or a Christian holding to the fundamentals of the Christian Faith, I am deeply offended by statements made daily in the media and on television programs, such as “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report.”

Similarly I know I would feel offended by the film “Religulous” directed by Bill Maher. That is why I will not go to see it. I expect a large part of the film will be legitimate criticism of cult like behaviour by religious hypocrites, but seeing the filmmakers mock hypocrites and lumping them together with people with real Faith would sadden me. I feel sorry for Bill Maher, that he is unable to comprehend the difference between religious traditions and Faith.

The response from a spiritually mature person, who has his or her identity firmly in his or her Faith, should be to have pity on the poor ignorant humanistic souls, and pray for them. They are so far away from God, they have no concept of a relationship with God. To expect them to understand Faith is absurd.

Jon Stewart, who hosts the “Daily Show,” needs prayer badly. The poor man does not understand his own faith, Judaism. He lives in New York so it should not be too difficult to find some good Chassidic courses. Once he has grasped the fundamentals of Chabad Chassidism, with that newfound insight into reality, he might then look into the New Testament. There he could then see that Chabad Chassidism is soooo close to Christ, who is after all the long awaited Messiah and the one and only true Tzadik in the history of Judaism. After that long journey he might be ripe for accepting Christ as his Saviour. Jon Stewart accepting Allah is another issue.

If Muslims believe in their faith, have confidence in their faith and believe their own personal faith is strong, why not challenge Christians and Jews to pray for the blasphemers' souls. Have a prayer challenge like Elijah on Mt Carmel. Reference is 1 Kings Chapter 18, and for our Jewish friends M'lakhim Chapter 18. Then we maybe will see Jon Stewart hosting the “Daily Religious Hour,” or something similar.

Jesus, on the cross, looked at the people who had been baying for their Messiah's blood and said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

Has Islam Lost Faith in Itself?

After posting the last blog post, a thought struck me. Islamic states appear paranoid about their religion. Muslims do not seem to have faith in their faith.

Christianity has been through its dark days. Those were the times when the Church was a secular power and not following Christ. By definition a Christian must be a follower of Christ, otherwise the person is something else, an Arminianist, Calvinist, Lutheran, Wesleyan or follower of some other man’s interpretations. Those dark times were marked by a spiritually weak Church, and in fear banned the reading or possession of the Bible.

It appears Islam is in such a dark period, if their paranoia is anything to go by.

The mandatory death penalty in Iran, for a Muslim turning to any other faith seems quite out of proportion to the “threat” Christianity poses for Shiite Islam in Iran.

Other countries in the region show a similar paranoia. Not only Bahá'í, Christians and Jews are thrown into jail in the region. In Pakistan, a country President Bush counts as a friendly country, they have laws even against Muslim denominations. Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan who believe that their 19th century founder was a prophet have been, by law, declared non-Muslims for the last 34 years. Ahmadis who even name their sons Muhammad face imprisonment for blasphemy.

For the record, a list of the countries considered worst cases for not abiding with freedom of religion:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Belarus, Burma, China, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Iran, Indonesia, Jordan, Kosovo, Laos, Maldives, Mali, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

It appears, except for Myanmar (Burma), which is a special case, and India with Hindu extremists attacking Christians, Dalits and Muslims, all with equal vengeance, these countries fall into two groups. Communist (or that way inclined) and predominantly Muslim.

The best Muslim countries in this regard are Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey. All show official religious intollerance.

Now is this a coincidence, or is Islam at heart insecure and violent?

Is Islam a faithless faith? A faith without faith in itself?