Once, there was a convert who was unhappy with what he heard from an Imam. So he went up to the Imam angrily and said:
Convert: Can you stop saying things that will hurt people?
Imam: I am sorry brother, but what did I say that might hurt anyone?
Convert: You said those things and you know it. It’s offensive! I’ve just shared a video of what you said.
Imam: I was speaking to Muslims in this small congregation but you, my brother, shared it to the world. Now everyone is offended. So was I wrong or you?
Convert: [already feeling stupid] But you said things that are offensive to others! I must expose you.
Imam: [gently putting his hand on the convert] Brother, I think you should stop being a Muslim for now.
Convert: What!!!
Imam: I read verses from the Quran and these verses have been read on the pulpit every Friday and during Eids since the time of the Prophet Muhammad till this day for over a thousand years. Muslims and non-Muslims lived peacefully even when these verses were read. Things change when you came.
And so the silly convert became even more angry by the Imam’s light-hearted comments. He reported the Imam to the authorities. The authorities checked and researched and found that what the Imam read was from the Quran. That all imams in the country read those verses and that imams all over the world do it too. So he decided to take matters in his hands and confront the imam again:
Imam: Assalamualaikum brother, you are back here again. So nice to see you.
Convert: Waalaikum Salam. I am here to tell you that I am sorry for what I did.
Imam: There is no need to apologize. We all commit errors. But I want you to do one thing for me.
Convert: Yes, I will.
Imam: Read and study the Quran daily. And learn the Sunnah as found in the books of Hadith. Follow the path of the great Imams and Ulama. Enjoin what is good, defend what is right and spread the message of peace among all mankind. Always remember and memorize the words of our beloved Prophet:
“Fear of Allah wherever you may be. Follow up an evil deed with a good one, so that the good one will wipe out the evil deed. And behave towards the people with a good behaviour.” (al-Tirmidhi)
Convert: May Allah assist me and us in this!
Imam: And may all of us enter into Islam wholeheartedly!
Two gunmen have been shot dead and a security guard injured at a contest for cartoon depictions of the prophet Muhammad in a Dallas suburb.
The gunmen were said to have driven up to the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland on Sunday afternoon where the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) had been hosting the exhibition and contest.
According to city authorities a guard at the event was shot at before the men who appeared to be driving a red truck were engaged by police.
Authorities immediately locked down the center, evacuating participants in the event and sealing off large areas.
The bomb squad was called in after reports of a possible incendiary device at the scene of the incident.
An officer dressed in Swat gear took to the stage at the Curtis Culwell Center and told attendees, including an Associated Press reporter, that a shooting had occurred. He said one officer and two suspects were shot.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the shooting was related to the event.
However a statement from the City of Garland read:
As today’s Muhammad art exhibit event at the Curtis Culwell Center was coming to an end, two males drove up to the front of the building in a car. Both males were armed and began shooting at a Garland ISD security officer. Garland police officers engaged the gunmen, who were both shot and killed.
Police suspect the vehicle may contain an incendiary device and the bomb squad is on the scene. The surrounding businesses including Academy Sports, Walmart and Sam’s are being evacuated. Event participants are also being evacuated from the Curtis Culwell Center for their safety.
The Dallas Morning News also reported that two men pulled up in a car near the event and shot at a security officer. The men were killed and their bodies were reported to be on the street near to the center.
The security officer involved who had been shot at received injuries that were not life-threatening.
The shootings were also reported by a local NBC reporter near the event.
The AFDI’s contest was attended by Geert Wilders, the Dutch far-right populist politician who gave a speech to the audience.
Wilders, 51, heads the Party for Freedom, and has been accused of inciting racial hatred after pledging in 2014 to ensure there would be “fewer Moroccans” in the Netherlands.
He later tweeted his praise for the efforts of police during the incident.
After an alert was raised at the event in Garland, about 75 attendees at the controversial event were taken to another room.
Later, a group of 48 people were escorted to a school bus. Authorities told attendees they would be taken to a nearby high school. A second group was set to be moved shortly after.
Johnny Roby of Oklahoma City, was attending the conference.
He told Associated Press he was outside the building when he heard about 20 shots that appeared to be coming from the direction of a car passing by. Roby said he then heard two single shots.
He said he heard officers yell that they had the car before he was sent inside the building.
The New York-based AFDI was hosting a contest that would award $10,000 for the best cartoon depicting the prophet Muhammad at the venue.
Such drawings are deemed insulting to many followers of Islam and have sparked violence around the world. According to mainstream Islamic tradition any physical depiction of the prophet Muhammad, even a respectful one, is considered blasphemous.
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders speaks at the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest. Photograph: Mike Stone/Reuters
In January, 12 people were killed by gunmen in an attack against the Paris office of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which had lampooned Islam and other religions and used depictions of the prophet.
Pamela Geller, the president of the AFDI, said she planned the Sunday event to make a stand for free speech in response to the outcries and violence over drawings of the prophet.
After the incident, Geller posted an angry statement on her website: “This is a war. This is war on free speech. What are we going to do? Are we going to surrender to these monsters?
“Two men with rifles and backpacks attacked police outside our event. A cop was shot; his injuries are not life-threatening, thank Gd. Please keep him in your prayers.
“The bomb squad has been called to the event site to investigate a backpack left at the event site.
“The war is here.”
Geller’s group is known for mounting a campaign against the building of an Islamic center blocks from the World Trade Center site and for buying advertising space in cities across the US criticizing Islam.
Muslims and Christians have much in common, both groups have enjoyed an amicable relationship throughout history (apart from a few unfortunate hiccups). After all, it was the then Christian ruler of Abyssinia who granted refuge to early Muslim converts who were fleeing persecution from the Polytheists of Makkah. They were advised to go there by the Prophet Muhammad himself (peace be upon him).
The following are 6 Muslim beliefs about Jesus (peace be upon him) every Christian must know.
1. One cannot be a Muslim without believing in Jesus
Muslims must believe in and respect all of the prophets in order to be counted as a believer. From Adam to Noah and from Moses to Jesus up to the final prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon them all).
Say, [O believers], “We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.” Qur’an, 2:136
Muslims also believe Jesus was born miraculously without a father to the Virgin Mary. His mother is also respected and venerated across the by Muslims and she is known to have been a pious and devout person. An entire chapter of the Qur’an is named after her.
3. He performed miracles
Muslims believe Jesus performed many miracles such as creating a bird from clay or curing the blind and leper and bringing the dead back to life.
And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], ‘Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of God . And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead – by permission of God. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers. Qur’an, 3:49
Notice how God explains that all the miracles were carried out only with the permission of God lest people start thinking he was God.
4. He is not God
Muslims believe he was one of the greatest prophets sent by God but he was not divine. Muslims do not believe he was the son of God or God incarnate, they believe he was a human being who was given the task of conveying the message to the people and to preach that there is only One God.
5. He was not crucified
Christian belief holds that Jesus was crucified but Muslims differ. Muslims believe Jesus was raised to the heavens by God and instead, one of his foes was made to look like him who was crucified instead.
And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. Qur’an 4:157
6. Jesus will return
Muslims believe Jesus will return before the final days and will establish peace and justice on Earth. As part of a longer narration, the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said:
“By the one whose hands my life is in, surely the Son of Mary will descend amongst you as a just ruler…” Sahih Al Bukhari
God’s messenger: Noah, said to have built an ark (pictured) which saved the human and animal worlds from a great flood, features in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, but depicting Allah’s messengers is banned
One of the world’s most respected Islamic institutions has issued a fatwa against a Hollywood epic about Noah’s Ark because it ‘contradicts the teachings of Islam’.
Russell Crowe’s £75million film Noah has also been banned in three Arab countries after religious leaders complained that it depicted the Biblical figure – who is also a holy messenger in the Koran.
Due to premiere later this month, the blockbuster will not show in Qatar, Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates and several other countries are expected to follow suit.
Islam forbids representing holy figures in art, instead using conceptual line patterns and lettering to adorn the walls of mosques.
A whole chapter of the Koran is devoted to Noah, who legend tells built an ark which saved himself, his family and many pairs of animals from a great flood.
He also features prominently in the Biblical book of Genesis and is revered by Christians and Jews.
Fatwa: Cairo’s al-Azhar (which includes the mosque pictured left) issued a fatwa, which is a ruling under Islamic law, saying the film starring Russell Crowe (right) as Noah was a ‘clear violation’ of their teachings. The film is due to premiere in the U.S. on March 28 and was due to air in Egypt in the near future.
The fatwa – a ruling or injunction under the laws of Islam – was made by the influential Al-Azhar institution in Egypt’s capital Cairo, a centre of Sunni Islam thought which was founded in around AD970 and includes a university and a mosque.
‘Al-Azhar… renews its objection to any act depicting the messengers and prophets of God and the companions of the Prophet (Mohammad), peace be upon him,’ it announced in a statement.
The fatwa added that the depictions ‘provoke the feelings of believers… and are forbidden in Islam and a clear violation of Islamic law’.
The film also stars Anthony Hopkins and Emma Watson and will premiere in the U.S. on March 28.
Depictions of the Prophet Mohammad in European and North American media have repeatedly sparked deadly protests in Islamic countries over the last decade, fanning cultural tensions with the West.
The worst riots were triggered after the Prophet Mohammad was depicted in a Danish newspaper in 2006. It sparked protests in the Middle East, Africa and Asia in which at least 50 people died.
A spokesman for Paramount Pictures said: ‘Censors for Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) officially confirmed this week that the film will not release in their countries.
‘The official statement they offered in confirming this news is because “it contradicts the teachings of Islam”,’ the representative said, adding the studio expected a similar ban in Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait.
Noah, whose trailer depicts Crowe wielding an axe and computer-animated geysers swamping an army of sinners hoping to board his ark, has also stoked religious controversy at home.
Stars: Russell Crowe as Noah with Jennifer Connelly, who plays his wife Naameh and won an Oscar for best supporting actress for her appearance alongside Crowe in A Beautiful Mind.
Last year angry reactions at test screenings reportedly stoked tensions between the studio and director Darren Oronofsky.
Perhaps wisely the filming took place nowhere near the Middle East, instead being carried out in New York State and in Southern Iceland.
Harry Potter star Emma Watson plays the adopted daughter of the prophet, while screen legend Anthony Hopkins stars as his sagely grandfather.
Jennifer Connelly will play Naameh, Noah’s wife. She won an Oscar for best supporting actress for her appearance alongside Crowe in A Beautiful Mind (2001).
The title role was reportedly offered to Michael Fassbender and Christian Bale – both of whom declined.
Jerry A. Johnson, president of a conservative National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) group, said last month he wanted to ‘make sure everyone who sees this impactful film knows this is an imaginative interpretation of Scripture, and not literal.’
Paramount responded by agreeing to issue a disclaimer on advertising for the film.
‘While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide,’ it reads.
The film is not the first to stoke controversy among Muslims.
Mel Gibson’s 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, showing Jesus’s crucifixion, was widely screened in the Arab World despite objections by Muslim clerics.
A 2012, an amateur Youtube video deriding the Prophet Mohammad which was produced in California stoked protests throughout the region, and may have contributed to a deadly militant raid in Libya which killed the U.S. ambassador and three other American staff.
