Muslims Condemn Blasphemy Charges against Christian Teen in Pakistan

Blasphemy has become a tool of harassment to a few who have nothing better to do than create chaos. We ask the people of Pakistan to seriously debate the blasphemy laws. Islam is about free will and as Muslims we need to stand against any oppression towards any human being following in the footsteps of the prophet.

Full article at: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/muslims-condemn-blasphemy-charges-against-pakistan-christian-girl_b_1815127.html

Penn Judge: Muslims Allowed to Attack People for Insulting Mohammad

The Judge did not use Sharia Law, nor was the judgment based on Sharia Law. I am amazed at the news contributor for asserting it to be Sharia Law. That is downright misleading.

One should honor free speech, but as a civilized society, we need to discuss and debate if free speech includes provoking others. At this time, the number of people who abuse freedom of speech is negligible and no one needs to be punished. However, if it becomes a daily occurence, then we need to see if one's action disturbs the peace to be held responsible.

This judgment might actually lead to more provocation. Since the judge was a Muslim he should have thought about Prophet Muhammad who had turned the other cheek when he was insulted, instead he prayed for the well being of the miscreants in more than two occasions. In this case, the Judge should have asked the intention of the guy who had donned the costume, if it was not mal-intention, he should have advised him, as prayer did not make sense to the man. But throwing the case without due deliberation is wrong. I do not agree with the Judge

Mike Ghouse, speaker, thinker and a writer

- - - - - - 

Contributor Network By Mark Whittington
http://news.yahoo.com/penn-judge-muslims-allowed-attack-people-insulting-mohammad-210000330.html|

COMMENTARY | Jonathon Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, reports on a disturbing case in which a state judge in Pennsylvania threw out an assault case involving a Muslim attacking an atheist for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

Judge Mark Martin, an Iraq war veteran and a convert to Islam, threw the case out in what appears to be an invocation of Sharia law.

The incident occurred at the Mechanicsburg, Pa., Halloween parade where Ernie Perce, an atheist activist, marched as a zombie Muhammad. Talaag Elbayomy, a Muslim, attacked Perce, and he was arrested by police.

Judge Martin threw the case out on the grounds that Elbayomy was obligated to attack Perce because of his culture and religion. Judge Martin stated that the First Amendment of the Constitution does not permit people to provoke other people. He also called Perce, the plaintiff in the case, a "doofus." In effect, Perce was the perpetrator of the assault, in Judge Martin's view, and Elbayomy the innocent. The Sharia law that the Muslim attacker followed trumped the First Amendment.

Words almost fail.

The Washington Post recently reported on an appeals court decision to maintain an injunction to stop the implementation of an amendment to the Oklahoma state constitution that bans the use of Sharia law in state courts. The excuse the court gave was that there was no documented case of Sharia law being invoked in an American court. Judge Martin would seem to have provided that example, which should provide fodder for the argument as the case goes through the federal courts.

The text of the First Amendment could not be clearer. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof-" It does not say "unless somebody, especially a Muslim, is angered." Indeed Judge Martin specifically decided to respect the establishment of a religion, in this case Islam.

That Judge Martin should be removed from the bench and severely sanctioned goes almost without saying. He clearly had no business hearing the case in the first place, since he seems to carry an emotional bias. He also needs to retake a constitutional law course. Otherwise, a real can of worms has been opened up, permitting violence against people exercising free speech.

It should be noted that another atheist, dressed as a Zombie Pope, was marching beside the Zombie Muhammad. No outraged Catholics attacked him.

Muslims condemn Blasphemy attack in Kerala

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/muslims-condemn-blasphemy-attack-in.html

Evil continues to thrive, when good people do nothing about it. Our role as Muslims is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill and work towards building social cohesion, so all the humanity can co-exist in harmony.

The Muslims in India have taken the right action and the story is appended here below.

We condemn the barbaric acts of these men without any reservation.

As Muslims we render our apology to T. J. Joseph and his family and condemn this act of arrogance.

We urge the Muslims in Enarkulam district to help find these criminals and ask them to apologize and restore the damages and pay the medical expenses of the professor.We hope they make a point to pray for goodwill in the Juma prayers.

Prophet Muhammad has taught us to pray for the goodwill of the people when one is harassed. It is our responsibility to extinguish this spark before gaining any more momentum and bring peace to the communities in the area.

Jazak Allah Khair
Mike Ghouse
http://www.worldmuslimcongress.org/

~~~~
http://beta.milligazette.com/news/3-muslim-leaders-condemn-the-attack-on-kerala-academician

Press Statements
Muslim leaders condemn the attack on Kerala academician
Press Statement: They have clearly sinned and defamed Islam by committing this crime which we condemn without reservations

The Milli Gazette
Published Online: Jul 05, 2010

New Delhi (5 July 2010): We strongly condemn yesterday's violent attack and chopping off of the hand of Mr T. J. Joseph, a lecturer in Ernakulam District of Kerala by some miscreants on the pretext of taking revenge for Joseph's act of blasphemy.

We feel that law was taking its due course against the said lecturer for his misdeed and he was already suspended from his college for a year due to his insult to the Prophet of Islam by replacing the word "madman" in a quote with that of "Muhammad" while preparing an exam paper for the students of his college.

Those who attacked Joseph forgot that the Prophet of Islam, upon whom be peace, in his own life had pardoned a Jewess who used to throw garbage on him and when she did not do so one day, the Prophet enquired about her and upon being told that she is ill, went to wish her early recovery and good health. The Prophet forgave the people of Mecca after its conquest although they had pained him, expelled him from his hometown and had waged war against him for years. We find that the attack on the Kerala lecturer is against the basic tenets of Islam and the Sunnah of the Prophet which emphasis on forgiveness. Islam explicitly forbids taking law and order into one's hands in the presence of competent authorities to deal with an issue.

We hope that law will take its due course to punish the criminals who attacked the professor. They have clearly sinned and defamed Islam by committing this crime which we condemn without reservations.

Dr. Manzoor Alam,
Secretary General, All India Milli Council

Mohammad Jafar,
Naib Ameer, Jamaat e Islami Hind & Acting President, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat

Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan
Former President, All India Muslim Majlis e Mushawarat & Editor, The Milli Gazette

Niaz Farouqui
Secretary, Jamiat Ulama e Hind

Navaid Hamid
General Secretary, Movement for Empowerment of Muslim Indians (MOEMIN) & Member, National Integration Council

Alleging blasphemy, fanatics hack lecturer's hand
Ananthakrishnan G, TNN, Jul 5, 2010, 01.43am IST


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a horrific instance of Talibanism, Muslim fanatics in Kerala on Sunday chopped off the right hand of a college lecturer, accusing him of setting a question paper with a derogatory reference to the Prophet.

Lecturer T J Joseph was returning home from church with his mother and sister around 8.30 am in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district when he was accosted by the attackers. "We had just got into our car when a van pulled up in front. Around eight people armed with swords and knives emerged and pulled out Joseph after smashing the windscreen.
They then chopped off his right hand and stabbed him in the left thigh," said Joseph's sister, Mary Stella, a nun.

"When we tried to prevent them, they attacked me and and our mother before exploding bombs and fleeing."

A police team recovered the severed hand from the compound of a house about 200m away. The 52-year-old lecturer was rushed to a private hospital where his condition is serious.

Police recovered the van in which the fanatics reached the scene. Two men, said to be activists of the Popular Front, a new incarnation of the hardline National Democratic Front, have also been taken into custody. Special police squads are searching sensitive areas in and around the town. "Personnel from this district and neighbouring places are working as a team and we'll nab the assailants soon," said IG B Sandhya.

In March this year, Islamic outfits had carried out protests against Joseph, who was a lecturer in the church-run Newman college in Thodupuzha in Idukki district over a portion in the Malayalam question paper for an internal examination for BCom students. They claimed that the question paper insulted the Prophet. The college later suspended Joseph who had set the questions and a criminal case was registered against him. The case is pending trial.

Reacting to the incident, state home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters in New Delhi that the police would probe if any communal or terrorist outfit was involved. The BJP alleged that the home department could not evade responsibility for the growth of terror outfits in Kerala. "This is a direct consequence of the soft attitude adopted by the Left and Congress towards terrorist outfits," said BJP state chief V Muraleedharan.

Muslim countries seek blasphemy ban

A good debate is warranted on the issue. I am inclined to support the freedom of speech, hoping civility would ultimately prevail. Rules should be made for the general good of the population and not to address the exceptions, as the majority of the people in every group are moderate, law abiding, easy to get along and practice live and let live way of life. However, we cannot be blind to many a laws that have been the catalyst in bringing about a positive change.

Continued at:
http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2009/11/muslim-countries-seek-blasphemy-ban.html

Mike Ghouse
~~~