Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom & no such thing as publick liberty without freedom of speech, Benjamin Franklin, 1722. For TMT collection on Free Speech, click here
Huffington Post:
By Amaar Ahmad, Virgina Tech PhD Alum
In their criminal assault against Charlie Hebdo, Muslim extremists succeeded in the one thing they were trying to prevent: the publication of more cartoons of Prophet Muhammad and more attention given to these cartoons than ever before. The Paris tragedy is a reminder of the dangerous result of detaching faith from morality. A morality that was established by the very man these attackers claimed to be avenging.
If Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons were drawn in Prophet Muhammad’s time, they would hardly have been deemed worthy of recording in history. These depictions would dim in comparison to the torrent of insults, mockery and derision that the Prophet had to face nearly on a daily basis. It is hard to imagine any man facing 23 years of such abuse without succumbing to violence, but such was the true and gentle nature of Muhammad.
Lest you think I am making these claims based on fanciful thinking I would like to share a few examples from recorded Islamic history of how he dealt with those that were verbally or even physically abusive towards him.
Categories: Americas, Blasphemy, Free speach, Free Speech, Freedom, Religion