By P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR | ARAB NEWS
JEDDAH: Muslim intellectuals must be well prepared to confront any smear campaign against Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on the Internet and in other public media, said a prominent Keralite editor.
“Although there is nothing new in most of the criticisms leveled against Islam and its Prophet, we can observe that some of them have assumed academic standard and we should deal with them in the same way, conducting necessary research,” said M. M. Akbar, chief editor of Sneha Samwadam monthly that aims to propagate the message of Islam in Kerala.
He was addressing a press conference in Jeddah.
He denounced the move by enemies to project Muslims as terrorists and extremists. “We have to face these criticisms in a rational manner instead of getting provoked and reacting emotionally,” he said and cited the example of a college professor whose hand was cut off for publishing a question paper denigrating the Prophet.
“Some non-Muslim intellectuals are thinking that we Muslims react emotionally to smear campaigns because we don’t have the knowledge to confront the critiques rationally,” Akbar said while describing his organization’s plan to hold a seven-month campaign to highlight the life and teachings of the Prophet.
He disclosed plans to organize a variety of programs in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries during the campaign period, targeting Indian expatriates from the state of Kerala.
Categories: Asia, India, Saudi Arabia