Other articles in this issue

What happened to music?

Sanlam and NBC rock Katutura

Challenges for the Peer Review Mechanism

Agra's excellent financial results

The Pope versus the Holy Prophet of Islam

Earliest evidence of human habitation in Windhoek

Weaknesses of African States

Samora Machel: Who was behind his demise?

R.I.P - John "Culture" Hill

Janjaweed Attacks

The Destiny of an African Wife

 

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The Pope versus Holy Prophet of Islam

pope benedict XVII will start this piece by quoting Pope Benedict the 16th, from his politically motivated lecture he gave on the 12 September 2006, at the University of Regensburg in Germany. The Pope had previously served as a Professor of Theology at the same University. The lecture was titled “Faith, Reason and the University – Memories and Reflections”. To be reasonable and fair to the ‘pontiff ’, I made it a point to read and carefully psycho-analyse his whole lecture, both as a Muslim and a professionally trained psychologist.

The Pope quoted a personal view held by a Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologous, a dogmatic quote that was apparently made in a dialogue with an un-named and un-quoted learned Persian Muslim, I suppose. The closeminded quote which was reportedly made in 1391 reads as follows:

“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached”.

You see, I am hereby alleging that the Pope consciously and deliberately did not give the answer of the un-named learned Persian scholar, because he firmly believes that the answer to the question is in the questionable quote.

This is partly the reason why the whole Muslim and reasonable world was incensed by that glaring omission. Why? Because the Pope decided to ‘lecture’ as a political head of the Vatican, under the guise of a former learned professor of theology, hence the presumed political motivation and the gut reaction from the Muslim world, some of it, was clearly wrong.

This is what many people have conveniently missed when they accuse Muslims of overreaction; the Pope called it a ‘misunderstanding’ of his quoting, for which he said he was sorry for causing, hence the papal decision to essentially stand by the quote of the Emperor. I am aware that since Muslims strongly reacted - he reckoned - he will have to slightly distance himself from the quote, just ‘to pacify’ the Muslim world, I gathered. This Pope is quite smart.

In his efforts to pacify the Muslims, he offered a couple of half-hearted ‘sorry-s’ and then later invited some Muslims leaders to the Vatican for a ‘dialogue’. Some of those who went there came complaining that the Pope mostly talked to himself in their presence, since they were his guests at any rate, this is what is called a monologue.

This Pope does not give an impression of a man capable of holding a rational dialogue. I have my doubts. Back to the quote, the quote contains three words that directly challenge Islam and Muslims - going to the very heart of what Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought to the world. The quote makes the following charges about the Prophet Muhammad (p) that:

1. He did not bring anything “new”?

2. And if things were new, they could only be “evil and inhuman”, such as holy war, forced conversion, Unseen God and irrationality, in the spread of Islam? Those are serious charges! You see, this is where the Pope really made life difficult for the world to dialogue, by allowing himself to be unfair and unjust in his assessment of the history of Islam and the life ideology of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

However, what is not new is that - these are ancient charges and were made against all Prophets and Messengers of God, at the beginning of their prophetic missions. This had happened to all the big five such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and of course, Muhammad (May the peace and blessings of God be upon them all).

In the past, they were mostly made by people who were ignorantly and arrogantly opposed to the Will of God, in all its forms. People who had something or a lot to lose by acknowledging the Supremacy of God in all human affairs and thus the corollary requirement to totally submit ‘their whims and fancies’ to His Will, voluntarily.

The biggest advantage for the Muslims, in terms of raising to the papal challenge, is that Islam still has the Holy Book 100% preserved in the original language of its Revelation. The Book is also translated in various languages of the world, i.e. the Book is universally available for study and critical scrutiny.

Answers to false charges and half-truths made against God, His Prophet and His Way are revealed and documented in the Holy Quran. Any sincere reader and objective researcher of the Holy Quran will discover a lot of old and new truths, commands to righteous conduct, perfect ethics and a balanced view of human nature. I am almost sure that the Pope and his fans may not agree, but God and His Prophets are never in the business of seeking for popularity contests. God always expects His Prophets to deliver the Truth as it is and always be, without fear or favour.

For example, the Prophet Muhammad (p) explicated the concept of fulfilling God’s rights before humans can expects to get their full human rights fulfilled. The right of God is His exclusive prerogative to Infallibility and Worship. That is - none can claim infallibility except God. This is a very good teaching of Prophet Muhammad (p). I challenge anyone to find it old, evil or repugnant to human reason. All humans are fallible.

The Prophet Muhammad explicitly prohibited Muslims to force anyone to become a Muslim. Islamic law does not accept forced conversion as sincere and lawful. Islam only allows the use of non-peaceful means in response to naked military aggression, in defence of peace and justice and in the struggle against corruption on earth. God gave these rights to the Prophet and his followers because Islam was meant to eventually become the universal way of life: completed and perfected (Quran 5:3).

The historical questions then become, did the Prophet Muhammad use military means in the defence of Islam and Muslims? The answer is: Yes. Did the Prophet Muhammad use military means as a primary method of spreading Islam?

The answer is: No. Let me explain, what happened was that the Prophet Muhammad was commanded by God to, first of all, peacefully invite the whole world to the Oneness of God and His Way of doing things and as the Head of the Islamic State and the Commander in Chief, to be ever ready to use military means as a last resort to enforce the Laws of God. This is even the legal rights of heads of secular states and governments. Why do secular states and governments have armies and military establishments, including the use weapons of mass destruction? This the Pope did not address in his lecture, at all? Mind you, this includes ‘Christian majority’ states, though they were not supposed to have standing armies in the first place, if the principle of turning the other cheek were applicable to real life situations!

The point is: Islam is meant only to open hearts, minds and nations to the peace of God, inviting them to the worship of the one true God. What about the charges of ‘Islamic’ terrorism and ‘Muslim’ violence? This is largely dirty politics and empty rhetoric by the hostile detractors of Islam. Truth be spoken: Terrorism and violence are not religions or religious in and of themselves, they are simply military tactics and violent means that people with no religion, with false religion and sometimes, even by people with a true ‘religion’ use, to achieve their political goals and aspirations. Sometimes, it is justified but sometimes it is just not justifiable.

However, what is mind-boggling is that even a born again Christian President - does it - only that he claims that he does it to protect his sacred civilisation and to spread secular democracy, freedom and human rights, most especially in some selected Muslim countries.

Does the Pope condone this type of forced conversion? The Quran says that: There is no compulsion to be used in religious conversion. Forced religious conversion is always invalid, whether done through economic or military means. The Quran states the rationale: Truth is crystal clear from all falsehood. Muslims believe that their duty is only to convey the Islamic Message. God guides whom He wills. I personally embraced the fastest growing Way of Life in the world today, purely for its rationality. No Muslim army was involved in my reversion to Islam!

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