TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

to sedulously refrain from indulging in such acts as may provoke people to retaliate by abusing Islam and the Prophet. The Quran makes it clear that this responsibility devolves upon the believers, rather than on others. So others should not be held responsible and demands should not be made for them to be punished. Looked at from this angle, the stance of present-day Muslims goes totally against the teachings of the Quran. Whenever anyone—in their judgment—commits an act of ‘abuse of the Prophet’, in speech or in writing, they instantly get provoked and their response is to start leading processions through the streets, which often turn violent, and then they demand that all those who insult the Prophet be beheaded. Muslims generally advocate the theory that freedom of expression is good, but that no one has the right to hurt the religious sentiments of others. This theory is quite illogical. Freedom is not a self-acquired right. It is God, who, because of His scheme of putting man to the test, has given man total freedom. Then the modern secular concept of freedom is that everyone is free provided he does not inflict physical harm upon others. In such a situation, the above kind of demand is tantamount to abolishing two things: firstly, to abolishing the divine scheme, and secondly, to abolishing the modern secular norm. Neither goal is achievable. So the hue and cry against the so-called abuse of the Prophet is simply untenable. By doing so, Muslims can make themselves permanently negative but they cannot change the system of the world. There is a relevant Hadith in which the Prophet of Islam said, 'A good Muslim is one who refrains from indulging in a practice that is not going to yield any positive result'. This Hadith applies aptly to the present situation of Muslims. They have been raising a hue and cry for a very long time against blasphemy, but it has been in vain. Muslims must know that they are not in a position to change the world, so they must change themselves. There will be two instant advantages of adopting this policy: they will save themselves from becoming a victim of negative sentiments and will be able to devote their energies in constructive work. o Muslims generally advocate the theory that freedom of expression is good, but that no one has the right to hurt religious sentiments of others. This theory is quite illogical. Freedom is not a self-acquired right. It is God, who has given man total freedom.