FROM MAULANA’S DESK

laws. This is why this law is in itself controversial: it has no authentic basis in the religion of Islam. The making of law in Islam is solely the right of God and His Prophet, and not of any jurist. The second point here is that the remark given by Jakarta’s Christian Governor was certainly not on a verse from the Quran, rather it was on a self styled interpretation of that verse by some Muslims. For this reason, the matter cannot be called a case of blasphemy, but rather it is a case of difference of opinion. According to Islam, difference of opinion is a right of every human being. One’s difference of opinion can be addressed only through reason and logical argumentation: it is definitely not a matter of punishment. Difference of opinion marks every phase in the history of Islam. In Muslim literary history, there have been numerous instances of differences between scholars with regard to the interpretation of the Quran or Hadith. Difference was never made a matter of punishing the person who expressed his opinion, rather it was always a matter of discussion between the parties involved. This is why if some Muslims of Indonesia had differences with the opinion of the above Christian Governor, they should have presented their argument explaining why they differed with him. No court or judge has the right to issue a verdict declaring the person who has expressed difference as a criminal liable for punishment. It is with reference to such cases that the British author and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has said in his book, The God Delusion that Islam believes in the concept of thought crime. However, this is a completely unfounded assertion. There may be some Muslims who hold beliefs and ideas to be punishable, but there is no such injunction in the Quran or Hadith that enjoins Muslims to punish people simply for the opinions they express. During the life of the Prophet, there were some opponents who would often pass negative remarks about the Prophet and his mission. But the Quran never laid it down that Muslims should punish such persons. Instead one of the Muslims of the time, Hassan ibn Thabit, was given permission by the Prophet to respond in a literary method to the opponents. This shows that in Islam words are responded to by words, and not by sword. Those Muslims who are involved in the above case are themselves engaged in distorting the image of Islam. o Maulana Wahiduddin Khan editor@thespiritofislam.org