A Ridiculous Reaction

resorted to various tactics, including distorting the name of the Prophet. However, in the past 700 years, no one has ever been punished with death for coining such a name, nor has any fatwa been issued for such an offence. Furthermore, the basis of Salman Rushdie’s book was a fabricated story that emerged in Makkah in the 5th year after Hijra (AH). However, the Prophet Muhammad did not impose a death penalty on the fabricators of this story. Abdullah bin Ubayy of Madinah was the first person to spread fabrications similar to those used by Salman Rushdie against the wives of the Prophet. However, despite people’s insistence, the Prophet of Islam prohibited his killing. In his “Divine Comedy,” Dante of Italy (1265-1321) referred to Prophet Muhammad as the Prophet in Hell.* Sultan Usman Ghazi (1258-1324), the founder of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey, was a contemporary of Dante. However, he did not issue a decree offering a reward for anyone who would behead Dante. Shakespeare (1564-1616) portrayed the Prophet of Islam as a ‘false prophet’ in one of his plays. Shah Jahan (1592-1666) was a contemporary of Shakespeare, but Indian religious scholars did not advise Shah Jahan to send armed men to England to kill Shakespeare. The reason behind this restraint was not the insensitivity of believers or the past kings; instead, they considered such provocations meaningless. They understood that if a dog * Based on the principle of “Naql e kufr, kufr na bashad,” quoting disbelief for clarification or illustration does not equate to disbelief.