17 September 2012 By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed Ayatollah Khomeini began the battle in 1988 when he
issued a fatwa calling for the killing of the author
of a book that not man many people had heard of until
then. However "The Satanic Verses" is still on sale
today, whilst its publisher has made millions of
dollars in sales and its author, Salman Rushdie, has
become an international star, even though prior to
this book, he had only written three novels that were
not well-known outside of Britain. Colonel Gaddafi and
others then entered the fray when it became clear that
they could use this issue to gain popularity. This was followed by a series of similar events and
clashes, such as the Danish cartoons that were
published 5 years ago, a Dutch short film, not to
mention calls to burn the Quran in Florida, and
others. However today, an anti-Islam film has managed
to represent a greater danger than at any time before.
This is because this film was reportedly produced by
an Egyptian Copt; whilst it is being seen at a time
when Egypt's sectarian scene is on the verge of
igniting. In addition to this, we are now passing
through the post-revolutionary era, namely the Arab
Spring, which the Americans have lauded, saying this
will open a better world in terms of communication
between peoples, rather than dictatorial government.
Anybody who believes that clash of civilizations,
or religions, will end in the next decade is wrong,
for this is something that will only get worse! This
is not because of an increase in the number of people
who want to insult and abuse the religion of others,
for such figures have always been present, but rather
due to the growing means of communication and
activism. For example, just a few weeks ago a documentary
about the history of Islam was broadcast which was far
worse than the cheap – in terms of production and
content – YouTube film that has sparked protests
across the region. The host of this documentary
claimed that Islam and the Quran came into existence
only 100 years after the Arabs occupied most of the
Middle East, however not many people paid attention to
this because it was not promoted on YouTube. In
addition to this, there is another American film –
made with high production values – that insults Islam,
however nobody has paid attention to this because it
is outside the radar of popular culture and political
controversy. This abuse is not just limited to Islam;
Christians, Jews and Hindus are fighting their own
battles against hostile literary and artistic
projects. The difference is that Muslims are afflicted
with the presence of armed extremist organizers – such
as Al Qaeda – that believe it is their duty to defend
Islam. Catholics protested against and indeed tried to
ban the "Da Vinci Code", which denies the divinity of
Jesus Christ. Prior to this, large controversy focused
on Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" movie,
particularly its portrayal of the Jews. These all
resulted in controversy that sparked disagreements and
tensions and hatred at a time of intellectual,
political and cultural turmoil. In comparison, nobody is paying any attention to
those who are working to confront this phenomenon by
producing films or books that defend religion and how
it in a positive light, not to mention counter
negative stereotypes that have abounded with the
spread of the culture of hatred. Dr. Naif al-Mutawa, a
Kuwaiti national, is the creator of the 99, which aims
to extol the history and culture of Islam to the youth
around the world. There are a few others who are
trying to do the same, however we have not seen any
demonstrations to thank or support them! The problem
is larger than it seems today, and this goes far
beyond anger directed at the producer of a film that
insults Islam. Discord and hatred is rising between
different religions and communities. Just two weeks
ago, we saw two guests on an Arab television show get
involved in a physical confrontation live on air over
the tensions between the Sunni and Shiite communities.
Whilst Libya is experiencing a crisis due to the
demolition of Sufi shrines, something that almost led
to the eruption of full-scale hostilities between the
Sufi community and the Salafists responsible for this.
Whilst in Morocco, semi-literate people have been keen
to announce that their country is only for followers
of the Maliki Islamic madhab, and there is no room for
followers of the Hanbali school. This demonstrates how
relations can deteriorate and sour if we do not pay
attention to this and fail to understand how this will
risk our own future. We have seen how religious
conflict led to the recent division in Sudan, whilst
it also threatens Iraq with the same. In addition to
this, northern Lebanon lives under the specter of war
and God only knows what will happen in Syria! Comments 💬 التعليقات |