The Issue of Blasphemy

THE WISDOM OF AVOIDANCE punishment, any Muslim can carry it out on the offender (Volume 1, page 535). This implies that if someone travels from India or Pakistan to England and personally decides to shoot and kill Salman Rushdie, their action would be in accordance with Sharia (Islamic jurisprudence). However, the reference cited in support of this view does not substantiate this claim at all. Abdul Qadir Oudah discusses a different matter in his writing. It pertains to the scenario where two countries are at war, one being a Muslim state where both Muslims and non-Muslims reside and the other being a non-Muslim state where both Muslims and non-Muslims reside. However, the article’s writer presents Abdul Qadir Oudah’s writing in a flawed manner. He suggests that travelling to England to kill Salman Rushdie would be justified by Shariah. From an Islamic perspective, this is indeed an act of rebellion rather than of obedience to God. THE WISDOM OF AVOIDANCE The Quran commands believers to thoroughly verify the correctness of news brought by an evil-doer to avoid unintentionally harming others and later regretting their actions (Quran, 49:6). When confronted with unfavourable news, it is natural to feel provoked and seek retaliation against the other party. However, the above Quranic verse explains that impulsive reactions in such situations do not align with Islamic principles. The Islamic approach encourages