A Ridiculous Reaction

THE STORY OF RUSHDIE The same principle of ignoring should have been applied to Rushdie’s book. The title of Salman Rushdie’s book is based on a false story that originated during the fifth year of the Hijri calendar when chapter 53 of the Quran, An-Najm (The Setting Star), was revealed to Prophet Muhammad. The fabrication of false stories is a crime that others have committed in the past, similar to Rushdie’s actions. However, the Prophet and his Companions did not impose capital punishment on those fabricators, unlike the Shia and Sunni scholars from Iran and India who demanded it for Rushdie. If the punishment for this crime were as advocated by these scholars, the Prophet and his Companions would have imposed it in Makkah. However, they did not do so, indicating that the fatwa issued by these scholars is based on personal inclination rather than the teachings of the Quran and Hadith. Salman Rushdie used the term ‘Mahound’ to refer to Prophet Muhammad in his book, which is undeniably blasphemous and highly provocative. The term combines ‘Hound,’ which refers to a dog in English, with ‘M,’ a shortened form of ‘Mine.’ This suggests Rushdie intended ‘Mahound’ to mean ‘My dog’ (God forbid). It is important to note that this blasphemous and absurd name for the Prophet is not an invention of Salman Rushdie. It originated in Europe after the Crusades (1096-1271) when European Christian nations failed to defeat them despite their two centuries of crusading against Muslims. In their efforts to malign Islam and the Prophet, the Crusaders