When the Danish newspapers drew the caricatures of the Prophet (PBUH), I was of the opinion that Muslims are blowing this way out of proportion. It should have been protested and condemned but burning your own infrastructure and in the process clashing with the police that’s as offended on the same issue is as stupid as it can get. These recent utterances from pope however is a serious matter and it should be dealt with courage, reason and authority. A civil more appropriate action for all the countries where Muslims are in majority would be to call the ambassador of Vatican in the foreign ministry office and protest in the strongest of terms. If we had anything but puppets of the west in the positions of authority in Islamic countries then we could have hoped for a strong response on a state-level. However since most of the Muslim rulers are either tin-pot dictators or futile kings, the onus falls on the intellectuals and academicians in Muslim societies to counter this offensive filth with an apt response. 

Let’s assume for the sake of argument that Islam has been spread with sword. Isn’t it ironic that a man who was affiliated with the Nazi movement would actually have a problem with violence? I am sure that Brother Benedict has had a change of heart since hating Jews is no longer the “In” thing to do. But he’s staying true to the basic principle, if not Jews then he’ll settle with Muslims, as long as there is someone to hate. I am hoping that these odious views about the Prophet (PBUH) and Islam are not the line of the church at large and merely bigotry on part of an individual, who just happens to be the Head of the Church of about billion people. It is rather unfortunate to say the least. I have been saying all along they should have selected that African guy, he seemed so harmless. I find it quite amusing that with all the problems that the roman-catholic church is facing from declining membership to conversion to Islam and most of all their priest falling in ever-lasting love with 12 year old alter boys, Brother Benedict felt that this was the right time to criticize a Prophet (PBUH) who is revered by billion and a half people. Not only that, a great number of non-Muslim intellectuals time and again have commented on his dynamic personality and the positive affect he has had on the world. Just to list a few:

 

1. Encyclopedia Britannica confirms:

(Regarding Muhammad) ". . . a mass of detail in the early sources shows that he was an honest and upright man who had gained the respect and loyalty of others who were likewise honest and upright men."

(Vol. 12)

 

2. "The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History."

"My choice of Muhammyad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level."

Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MSOT INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc. 1978, page 33.

New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc. 1978, page 33.

 

3. While we are reviewing statements from famous non-Muslims about Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, consider this:

"Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad.

As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?"

Lamartine, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp. 276-277.

, Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp. 276-277.

 

4. And then we read what George Bernard Shaw, a famous writer and Intellectual says:

"He must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness."

(The Genuine Islam, Singapore, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936)

( Singapore, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936)

 

5. Then we found that K. S. Ramakrishna Rao, an Indian (Hindu) professor of Philosophy, in his booklet "Muhammad the Prophet of Islam" calls him the "perfect model for human life." Professor Ramakrishna Rao explains his point by saying:

"The personality of Muhammad, it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it. Only a glimpse of it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes. There is Muhammad the Prophet. There is Muhammad the Warrior; Muhammad the Businessman; Muhammad the Statesman; Muhammad the Orator; Muhammad the Reformer; Muhammad the Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad the Emancipator of Women; Muhammad the Judge; Muhammad the Saint.All in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is alike a hero."

 

6. What should we think about our prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, when someone with the worldly status such as Mahatma Gandhi, speaking on the character of Muhammad, peace be upon him, says in 'YOUNG INDIA':

"I wanted to know the best of one who holds today undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind... I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life.

It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These, and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle.

When I closed the 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life."

of the Prophet's biography

 

7. English author Thomas Carlyle reveals in his work, 'Heroes and Hero Worship', how amazed he was and remarks his astonishment at:

 

"How one man single handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades."

8. And Diwan Chand Sharma makes touching and emotional statements about prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in his book, "The Prophets of the East":

"Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him"

(D.C. Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta, 1935, pp. 12)

D.C. Sharma, Calcutta, 1935, pp. 12

9. Speaking on the aspect of equality before God in Islam, the famous poetess of India, Sarojini Naidu says:

"It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim:

'God Alone is Great'... I have been struck over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother."

(S. Naidu, Ideals of Islam, vide Speeches & Writings, Madras, 1918, p. 169)

S. Naidu, , Madras, 1918, p. 169

10. In the words of Professor Hurgronje:

"the fact is that no nation of the world can show a parallel to what Islam has done towards the realization of the idea of the League of Nations."

11. Edward Gibbon and Simon Ockley, makes his commentary on the "shahadah" or profession of faith in Islam for the Muslims and he writes in "History of the Saracen Empires":

"I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, AND MAHOMET, AN APOSTLE OF GOD' is the simple and invariable profession of Islam.

The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honor of the Prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtues; and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion."

(History of the Saracen Empires, London, 1870, p. 54)

London, 1870, p. 54

12. Wolfgang Goethe, perhaps the greatest European poet ever, has written statements to clarify who he was and who he wasn't as regards the Quran and its teachings, and he says about Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him:

"He is a prophet and not a poet and therefore his Koran is to be seen as Divine Law and not as a book of a human being, made for education or entertainment."(Noten und Abhandlungen zum Weststlichen Dvan, WA I, 7, 32).

(These 12 examples were borrowed from islamnewsroom.com)

Some might say, for every one individual that has appreciated Muhammad (PBUH) and his legacy on the world, they can bring 5 who have lambasted the Prophet (PBUH). There is one diabolical difference between the two groups however, the latter are morons. Easier for me to say, you complain? Well let’s analyze that, shall we?

 

On one hand you have Mahatma Gandhi, on the other you have Jimmy Swagat an evangelical priest who was caught in a run-down motel with a prostitute, come on people it can’t get any easier than this can it? On the side of faithful we have George Bernard Shaw, no need for his introduction obviously, in the red corner we have Rush “the Fatty” Limbaugh recently busted for drug abuse. I mean do I need to go on here or as the brothers say, are you kind of feelin’ me?

 

Anyone with an ounce of civility adheres to the basic principle of respect for all prophets (Peace be upon them). This pope has surely crossed that line. It’s rather a shame because he’s sitting on a pulpit where previously sat a man commonly known as Pope John Paul II. For all his weaknesses he was a gentle man. A man who was a unifier, a voice of sincere humanity and peace in the time when the entire world was burning with hate and animosity. The innocence and surprise that Brother Benedict is expressing is rather amusing. What was he expecting? Maybe a bouquet of flowers from Muslims for disrespecting their prophet (PBUH) and their religion is in the mail.

 

I have said it before, I’ll say it again. 20,000 Americans are converting to Islam every year according to Christian Science Monitor, can someone please tell me whose bionic-sword is behind this phenomenon, and if you don’t have an intelligent answer for it, which you don’t, then rather than acting stupid and making a fool of yourself in the process, an apt response at this “Injustice” would be to just SHUT UP.