This is in response to great summary and eloquent views of Zulfi on “The Cartoon Controversy”.
While we have full faith that there is Hikmah (wisdom) of God behind everything that takes place; we can only guess what that Hikmah may be (for the sole purpose of reminding ourselves of His signs).
First and the most obvious outcome is actually an opportunity for us Muslims to educate the non Muslims on Islam (which is our responsibility that we have been avoiding throughout). There is hardly a sober non-believer in the western world who as a result of this controversy has not been exposed to the Prophet (pbuh) (who is also their prophet whether they accept it or not) and who he really was. There is not a newspaper in North America and Europe that can avoid publishing at least an article or a letter highlighting aspects of prophet’s (pbuh) life and message. It is a unique Da’wa opportunity for us. Those of us living in smaller towns should make sure that at least one or two persons send a letter in the local paper which is more than likely to get published. We have already seen a spike of conversion to Islam following the 9/11 incidence.       It seems to me that anti-islamic forces are doing a better job of spreading this religion in the west than Muslims themselves.I couldn’t agree with Zulfi more that it is a “calculated, intentional and decidedly tasteless” assault on Islam in the guise of “freedom of speech”. It should also serve as an eye opener to the progressive Muslims striving to culturally assimilate into the west, providing opportunity to rethink their strategy (another possible Hikmah… Wallah-ho-Alam!).
As the stark realities of freedom of speech doctrine are exposed we are once again reminded of the serious imperfections of man-made principles over Divine instructions. The fact is that they have destroyed their religions and they would like to see us do the same (hence the immense support of people for writers like Salman Rushdie and Irshad Manji). They have transferred the absolute power to themselves through thousands of years of innovations. This is the intellectualized version of 21st century Pharaoh. The incidence highlights the importance of our psychological separation from the non-believers even if we are physically living together.
Regarding our response to these incidences, I would like to think that Abdul Muttalib vs. Abraha argument applies here but I am not too sure – knowing that we have been instructed to love the prophet more than ourselves (it is part of Iman).
