“Cartoons and Comics - A Call to Maturity and Self-Determination: Ust. Abdu Sattar
Published by Suhaib Webb February 14th, 2008 in GeneralNotes on the Cartoon Controversy
A Call To Maturity and Self-Determination
So it’s happened again. They decided to republish the cartoons. Perhaps it is because they want to re-emphasize their opinions on the character and personality of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Maybe because they wish to provoke more reactionary Muslims into random acts of violence or demonstration. Maybe…just to show the world that they can, and stand proud in the gleaming light of free speech.
Anyone with a sense of justice can see that the apathetic Western reaction to these cartoons – full of hate and vitriolic sentiment targeted against the heritage, culture, and beliefs of over a fifth of humanity, is unjust – when compared to the resistance such cartoons would be met with if they were targeted at other groups.
The Muslims wonder why our community can be insulted, and threatened with deportation, our holy cities threatened with nuclear weapons by a U.S. Presidential candidate (Tom Tancredo), and our most sacred figures reviled? But if a whisper is raised against any other community - if a comedian goes off on a racist tirade using the N-word, or an award winning actor and director makes anti-semitic comments in a state of drunkenness – the entire Western world rises to say: “We will not tolerate your intolerance. We are better than your hate.” But when Muslims are lambasted across the country on conservative radio shows, urging violence against them, deportation, whole-scale attacks against their countries and forced conversion to Christianity……we hear no civilized response against the unholy right-wing war talk. When a mosque is burned down by a white-supremacist group in Columbia, TN, it does not even make the news. When the enlightened West is met with comments which declare “The Other” as inferior…..there is a complicit silence.
Muslims need to realize three things:
1. Do not be surprised or shocked, emotionally, or intellectually, that this is happening.
“…[They] will never be pleased with you until you follow their religion. Say: Surely Allah’s guidance, that is the (true) guidance. And if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, you shall have no guardian from Allah, nor any helper.” (2:120)
When your Lord tells you that a group will NEVER be pleased with you, satisfied with you, or happy with you, until you follow their way, it behooves the Muslim to accept it as a fact. The continuous begging and pleading Muslims who yell: “Please don’t make fun of us! Please don’t ridicule us! We are people just like you! Please be impressed with our history!” is nothing short of pathetic – when you consider how sometimes the street mob goes to burn and attack their own streets in protest, as has happened in Pakistan, and a few other places in e Muslim world. A political cartoon painting Islam as violent – is given seeming credence when in reality, only a tiny speck of Muslims even think of reacting win such ways.
It is time for the Muslim to realize that the actions of a person who makes fun of the Prophet(saw), or even goes so far as to insult or ridicule God himself, is responsible for his or her own deeds. He or she will be held responsible for what they draw, say, or write on the Day of Judgment. It is not up to us to legislate against them in this world when they are living in their own countries, nor to beg powerlessly that they cease and desist their activities.
Should we defend our Prophet? Yes. Through teaching people who he was and spreading the Truth. But, It is time for us to stop being so emotionally surprised when Islamophobes insult Islam. They don’t believe in your Prophet. Or your religion. And they don’t like either of them, or you. We should grow up and deal with it. The Quran is preparing us for this reality with the verse above.
So let us be prepared.
2. If you are going to respond, respond in the manner of the Prophetic Sunnah (Tradition) which we are claiming to defend.
“And the servants of Allah . . . are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say ‘Peace’” [25:63]
Realize that the Islamophobes have the right to say or write whatever they want. They do. And no one will stop them. Your complaints will make them happier. They are not in a Muslim country. Our response should be a response fitting the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) which we claim to defend so staunchly.
When some enemies of Islam once walked by the Prophet (saw) in Madinah, they said to him, “As-Sa’mu Alaikum” (Death be upon you), trying to slyly make it sound like “Assalamu-Alaikum” (Peace be upon you). They didn’t write against him, draw against him – they spoke directly to him. He, with the calm demeanor of prophethood, simply responded – “Wa alaikum”, and upon you. He did not escalate or insult – he responded by reflecting their greeting, without mentioning anything negative himself or lowering his noble speech.
“And you [Oh Prophet] are upon the noblest of character.” (64:4)
His wife ‘Aisha, who out of her love for him, acted in a way many Muslims today do and yelled: “May the curse of Allah be upon you, and his punishment, and his…!”
The Prophet (saw) stopped her saying: “Calm down oh Aisha, calm down. There is not gentleness in anything, except that it becomes more beautiful, and there is not harshness in anything except that it makes it ugly. So be calm oh Aisha.”
This exemplifies the Prophetic response. Calmness. Tranquility. Humility. He was active in spreading the message with “wisdom and beautiful preaching” with enthusiasm, vigor and strength, but he did not let insults take over his greatness. He engaged with those around him to teach them about God, and teach them about how to live their lives to the fullest. A model citizen. A good neighbor. A fortress of justice. An honest friend. A helper of the needy. A Messenger of God. This was his response. More than that, this was his driving mission.
“Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching.” [Sûrah al-Nahl: 125]
Also, that we engage those people who do believe in God, in working acts of righteousness and benefit for humanity.
3. It is time to stop being dependent on others to present a good image of us. They have not and will never do so reliably, save a few fair-minded individuals. Self-determination in our message, our image, and our work, is the only answer.
Yet another incident, when the Makkans used to try to make fun of the Prophet by twisting his name because of its meaning being “The one deserving of praise” , and calling him Mudhammam (belittled one) – he simply smiled and said, “They are making fun of a man named Mudhammam, but I am Muhammad!”
Rather than worrying about these insults, he spent his time propagating his message. He spent his time building his community and ensuring that every man, woman, and child could hear about what he had to say and how to worship God and come close to Him. So rather than focusing on what they produce, draw, write, and say – what has each of us done to paint the proper picture of the Messenger (saw)? Robert Spencer and Daniel Pipes are making millions painting a picture of a warlord and a “Prophet of Doom”. Why are we surprised when Allah (swt) told us it would happen, and more importantly, what have we done to spread a positive image of the Prophet actively?
Perhaps we are arguing about whether or not praying behind someone who eats McDonald’s is allowed. Or whether wiping over our leather socks is permissible. Or if music with more than a duff is makrooh or haram. Or maybe our mufti “saab” teaches that I shouldn’t talk about Islam, Quran, or the Prophet without being in his presence or even read a book without his stamp of approval, turning us to intellectual zombies, far from the example of the Sahaabah and the righteous predecessors. Maybe we are busy arguing about Tariqahs, Madhabs, Manhaj, Aqeedah, and other things which we have no understanding of beyond a few pamphlets and classes in our neighborhoods, and of course, the Internet.
I remember my father teaching me that when the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258, the ‘ulama and the their students were discussing whether or not it was permissible to eat crows. Unfortunately, it seems we have not learned.
It is time for the Muslim to be a self-determined, educated, citizen of humanity and of Islam. Someone who’s character aims to mirror the Prophetic character. It is time for the sisters to put down their mascara and their foundation, and the brothers to put down the Nintendo Wii and XBOX controllers, and stand up and become men and women, and stop being boys and girls. It is time for for them to become self-determined individuals, who understand that the honor of this Deen and its Ummah, can only be given by Allah, but they must work for it. Allah says:
“God will not change the condition of a people, until they change what is within themselves.” (13:11)
It is time to stop burning flags, and start burning desires.
Stop yelling in the streets against people who are overjoyed at your anger, and whisper to Allah who will become overjoyed at your prayer.
Stop breaking, burning, and screaming.
Start building, learning, and calling.
20 Responses to ““Cartoons and Comics - A Call to Maturity and Self-Determination: Ust. Abdu Sattar”
- 1 Pingback on Feb 21st, 2008 at 2:38 pm
- 2 Pingback on Apr 6th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
I’m glad this understanding of the situation is becoming more widespread. Nice, Abdul - wanna go get dinner this weekend insha Allah?
P.S. http://workingforone.wordpress.com/2008/02/15/thanks-allah/
check out the latest post, Imam Suhaib
Asalamu alaykum,
AbdelRahman I need you to contact me.
SDW
Alhamdulillah that was inspiring. Who is Ustadh Abdul Sattar?
WOW.
I could not have said it better myself Brother. Preach on.
Its time people understand that Free Speech is a good thing. Its gets conversation going.
Afterall, the Prophet Muhammad could not have preached if he were not allowed to speak. The enemies of Islam have been trying since the begining of time to silence Islam’s TRUE message. We need to be proponents of free speech, even if that means people will have different opinions than us.
Let Allah deal with them.
ma sha Allaah. I really liked this!
Amazing mashaAllah!
Excellent advice, very inspirational.
I am deeply offended at this post and not for what you might think. You are simply reiterating the stereotype that Muslims are some kind of violent mob.
I agree with you as to the manner in which Muslims should handle these situations however what is the real percentage of Muslims engaging in the acts that you describe above? Much less than one percent I’d wager. The media is what pumps up the coverage of these extraordinary events and makes it look like the entire Muslim world is inflamed with barbarism while ignoring all the positive work and measured responses of influential Muslims around the world.
For us to say the same things about Muslims is to simply reinforce the prominent media stereotypes out there about us. Yes some Muslims overreact, but the vast majority don’t and neither your advice nor anyone else’s will convince those who do overreact not to that’s just how they are. If anything I would say that in general Muslims are too passive, they shake their heads, “see, they hate Islam” they say and go about their business for the most part.
If you want to see real hooliganism check out what happens in some cities when their favorite soccor team loses or when their concert is over too early and they are all drunk or when the lights go out. That is pure criminality but it is not associated with Western culture. Apparently the same standards dont apply to Muslims.
If anything our brand of hooliganism is superior. Heard about those rioting lawyers who protested the illegality of Musharraf’s finagling? Well, when Mr. Danger here in the US shreds the constitution the best we can do is a 30 second spot on the Crappiest Cable News (CNN) Network. Where are the lawyer? That was a small group of professionals. Not much of a mob. See, Muslims ARE too passive. If they weren’t they wouldnt have the problem they do with all those brutal dictators running around.
(Im sorry I dont know how this became a rant.)
You can find more out about Ust. Abdul here: http://abdulsattar.wordpress.com/about/
He’s from YM Chicago too
ManofFewWords,
assalamu alaikum,
I am sorry that you were offended. It was not meant to be so.
1. The post spends very few sentences (actually 2 i think) focusing on the “hooliganism” of Muslims. I may have worded them too strongly, and they have taken more weight when you read them than the rest of the article. For that, I apologize.
2. I don’t like comparing any other nation’s negative acts/hooliganism/idiocy against ours in order to say that we are in any way better. Our only standard of akhlaq is the Sunnah. Even if the whole world was barbaric, we should not be proud that we are better; we should only be proud if we can match the Sunnah to the best of our ability.
3. Part of this article is written against the shock/anger that exists even amongst those civilized Muslims who do nothing crazy, but allow this shock/anger to consume their thoughts. I’m asking us to just chill out. We are all offended by the cartoons, but they don’t care. Allah told us this was going to happen. Lets roll with the punches and figure out what we need to do to spread this message and do our job.
4. The remaining subject of the article, is that it’s time to stop spending so much time on these issues at all and spend our time focusing on the priorities of this Deen, in da’wah and in building our communities.
5. It should be remembered that the reason they republished….was because a Muslim made a death threat against the cartoonist, and they published as a show of solidarity.
6. I don’t hesitate in criticizing Muslim’s practices, even if they are a minority of Muslims, because we have a higher standard of conduct. If doesn’t apply to someone, clearly the criticism was not meant for them and there is no need to be offended.
InshAllah I may reword that burning things sentence so that it doesn’t sound so blanket statement.
jazakAllah khair and keep me in your duas akhi,
wa salaam
Abdul Sattar
Assalaamu Alaykum
1. It is the title that most incensed me. Though I did agree with the content of your article the title seems to reinforce what the media is saying about Muslims.
2. Agreed, though that was not the reason I brought it up. It was simply to expose the double standard in the media.
3. That should have been made clearer.
4. Agreed, mashallah it was good stuff.
5. Big deal. Honestly, these fools should really just be ignored. Who cares why they did it. They are just trying to rile us up and promote themselves.
6. Agreed, its a good approach, however, it appears that you are admonishing Muslims in general with your title as opposed to a very tiny minority.
May ALLAH grant you success in the Dunya and Akhira inshallah. And please keep me in your du’a as well, inshallah.
Ya shaykh,
You should really check out this article (and maybe post it? :P) entitled ‘Dreams Stifled, Egypt’s Young Turn to Islamic Fervor’: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/world/middleeast/17youth.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
Also check out the video there too.
MANSHALLAH!
May Allah swt reward you for such a beautiful reminder.May our whispers to Allah swt increase.May we get rescued from this dark shorts cuts we made for ourselves.
May Allah swt make its easy for us to see thee straight path set for us and May Allah also make it easy (I quote you )
”
the Muslim to be a self-determined, educated, citizen of humanity and of Islam. Someone who’s character aims to mirror the Prophetic character. It is time for the sisters to put down their mascara and their foundation, and the brothers to put down the Nintendo Wii and XBOX controllers, and stand up and become men and women, and stop being boys and girls. It is time for for them to become self-determined individuals, who understand that the honor of this Deen and its Ummah, can only be given by Allah, but they must work for it. Allah says:
“God will not change the condition of a people, until they change what is within themselves.” (13:1
Ameen
Bismillaah
As Salaamu ‘alaykum and peace to all,
SubhanAllaah, i was just thinking and researching these past few days on what would be the right way to respond to this issue. JazakAllaah Imam for bringing to light the incidences during the Prophet’s (pbuh) time.
Salaam
Sis Zabrina
~ Life Storyteller ~
Asalamualaikum wrt,
Much speech is evil and Islam does not encourage that evil things should be freely said.
Furthermore, no one is asking to arrest people who say things against Islam, all we are asking are that people in responsible positions (such as the Danish government) distance themselves from such hatred and calumny. By not speaking out about the evil they see, in the country they rule, they are tacitly supporting it, which means they have a hidden agenda. Isn’t it their moral responsibility to speak out against hatred and racism?
In any case, as Muslims we must repel evil with what is better, but we should do it collectively. If half the Muslims buy Danish butter cookies, and the other half don’t, it just shows how divided our hearts are. The real point is for us to stick together in these times of tribulation and combat evil as one united Ummah. Whether we succeed or not, Allah will reward us for our efforts.
And Allah knows best.
Asalamu Alakum
Excellent article. Ustadh Abdul Satar, would you agree that the article eludes to a more deeper problem, i.e. that of “Adab & Akhlaq”, which in general is one of the major problems for Muslims living in this day and age.
What I mean is that we see Muslims burning flags, and doing crazy things out of rage (in which this anger can be justified). Whilst anger is apart of being human, directing it towards a productive would be more fruithful for the Ummah
BUT would you say that we have failed to teach our fellow Muslims the metaphysics of deen and guide to them to noble virtues beyond a reactionary mode—hence does this all relate back to Tazkiyah, or Ihsaan.
More importantly, what ca we do to raise the ethics for Muslims at a higher discourse. I think if this website hosts articles / lectures in reforming Akhlaq, a practical step would be very positive in brining about change.
Wasalam
Um…I am a Christian, and it appears that I am the first non-Muslim to respond to the article above. Apparently the experience of being maligned for ones religious beliefs is not isolated to any one faith, as I can assure you that I experience ridicule and disrespect daily - through the media, at university, and among people in society at large - and I am from Canada - a supposedly Christian nation!!! The difference as it seems to me, is that this type of oppression is allowed here under the tenets of free speech. I will not claim that I have any clue what the laws actually allow in Muslim nations, but it seems that there is no room for a defective voice whatsoever. Am I correct?
It is nice to read something written by a Muslim who is rational and articulate. It is true that our media representations of Muslims here are sensational and negative. There is no other view - so all that people hear about are people rioting and killing each other on account of a cartoon or a teddy bear’s name, which does lead to stereotyped notions.
It’s not enough for Muslims to say “we didn’t do this.” The only reason these kinds of things (threats, etc) keep happening is because Muslims stand by and let others do it. They won’t speak out against it. Muslims too often see themselves as victims (do you think black Americans don’t say the same things about themselves - “the Jews won’t allow people say anything about them, but a person can be racist against a black person every day of the week,” etc.). Everyone thinks they are more persecuted than the next person. Muslims need to stop this mess and police themselves.
I am a member of no religion though deeply interested in understanding both Islam and the perspectives and discourse of its adherents. I share your view that the non Muslim world defines and debases a vast, intricate and profound religion and culture by its concentration on the wilder fringes of Islam. I also share the perspective of most Muslims that the so-called war on terror is in many of its manifestations a persecution of Muslims.
I applaud your analysis of the cartoons issue and was moved by it. However, I differ in one important respect. Both without your article and the contributions which follow it, there are far too many “theys”. The non Muslim world is treated as uniformly and aggressively hostile to you. The response to the stereotyping of Muslims is the stereotyping of non muslims.
Like you I do not want to see the criminal law being used to prevent insults to your religion. I have campaigned also for the the removal of the special protection given to Christianity by the offence of Blasphemy. That does not mean I support insults to Islam or any other religion.Discourtesy to others should normally be avoided but not banned. If I am backed into a corner on the point, I would have to defend the right to publish the cartoons.
Back to the “they”. It is the everyday experience of most Muslims that they have good friends in school, work, their communities who are not of their Faith yet are decent, moral human beings. One of my central criticisms of all religions, including Islam, is their mindset of an elect, superior group of believers separate from an inferior and doomed majority of unbelievers. Is it anti-Islamic to believe in a community of different beliefs which both tolerate and seek to understand and engage with each other? The very fact that your blog is public makes me hope that your answer is no.