Source: calgaryherald.com
Re: “Should a Muslim write about Jesus?” Mansoor Ladha, Opinion, Aug. 31.
Mansoor Ladha writes: “We should invite Christians to write about Prophet Muhammad and about Islamic doctrines in the same vein.”
Really? Sounds like a potential death sentence to me. And therein lies the difference between Muslims writing about Jesus and Christians writing about Muhammad… continue reading at calgaryherald.com
Original Article: Should a Muslim write about Jesus?
Calgary, Alberta-20080717 Calgary author Mansoor Ladha has written a book on the history of Ismaili Muslims in Canada. Photo by Handout/ (For RELIGION section story by Graeme Morton)
Photograph by: Handout
A fierce debate is raging in the U.S. about whether a Muslim academic can write a book on Jesus. The author, Reza Aslan, has written a book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.
A reviewer in the San Francisco Chronicle says, “‘Zealot’? A biography of Jesus could have no more provocative title. But it turns out to be the perfect one for Reza Aslan’s unearthing (or should that be un-heavening?) of ‘the Jesus before Christianity.’ As he cogently demonstrates, the real Jesus — the radical Jew who preached, agitated, and was executed for his pains — was a far more complex figure than many Christians care to acknowledge.”
Zealot was already #2 on the Amazon bestseller list; by the next morning, it was #1.
But when Aslan went to Fox News to promote his book, interviewer Lauren Green asked: “You are a Muslim. Why would you write a book about the founder of Christianity?”
I cannot honestly see the relevance of the question. If we follow Green’s line of questioning, then one should only stick to one’s religion when writing a book or even an article. Christians should never write about the Prophet Muhammad or… continue reading at calgaryherald.com
Categories: Americas, Canada, CHRISTIANITY, Islam, United States
Why not. The Holy Qur’an reveals so much about him.
I am a daily reader of many ‘mainstream’ US/European news, political (Left and Right) and cultural websites (I also read many non-western sites, too). It is my observation that there is no lack of opinion, positive and negative, on Christianity and Jesus, as well as Judaism. However, there are few, if any, commentaries or opinion pieces on Islam, its belivers or its Prophet in them that are critical in any manner. Fringe websites, yes, but that’s it. What one does find most often within ‘mainstream’ sites are factual articles, but little, or no, critical commentary. It can not be denied that western writers are fearful of writing anything that might be construed as critical for fear of being immediately labeled an “Islamophobe” (a manufactured word used to intimidate) or, worse, fearful for their physical safety. It has become a fact of life for western journalists that the topic of Islam, its believers and its Prophet must always be cast in a positive light lest they be sanctioned in one way or another. Muslims are free to criticize themselves, but non-believers do so at their peril. I speak here regarding religious and/or cultural matters only and these are, again, my observations.
Dear Robert Adams
Your observations are correct in many ways and a large responsibility lies with the Muslim extremists, but, the West is not totally innocent.
In G20, if rather than discussing which Muslim country to bomb next, if they could be debating limits of free speech and how to distinguish between free and abusive speech, we may have a healthier world.
The free speech limits should be debated on air by the best constitutional lawyers, coming from different faiths, on CNN and define limits in light of limits set for anti-semitism and holocaust denials in the West.
For example, we should be allowed to debate that if and why Jesus was born without a father and is he a human, a God, a man-God or a hybrid, but, should not be allowed to use the label for him, generally used in a derogatory way, for those born out of wedlock, in the decades passed.
Likewise, we could debate how young was the wife of the Prophet Muhammad, when she married him, but, to use a derogatory word used for criminals who abuse children secretly, for Muhammad, may peace be on him, should surely, earn the Islamophobe, who disregards cultural norms of centuries passed and the fact that there was a marriage with society’s approval, a few months or years in jail.
The penalties should be proportionate. I would not ask for greater punishment for Islamophobia than for anti-semitism.
See, if G20 sets forth enough parallels for different religions, like I have done above, the world may begin to know the distinction between decent well meaning debate and foul and slanderous language.
and, could we add: “each politician that is found to be lying will loose his job”? (wow… there will be plenty of vacancies!)