Not the same Muhammad
Dec 20, 2007
By Sardar Anees Ahmad

Imprisonment, 40 lashes, and a fine — all for naming a teddy bear Muhammad. Extremists always lean on “Islam” to justify their actions. But does Islam condone this behavior?

Well, the Quran condemns blasphemy on ethical grounds five times, but forbids man from punishing the blasphemer. In fact, the Quran instructs man to quietly disassociate from blasphemers until they change their behavior.

If not the Quran, Prophet Muhammad must have encouraged it. The same Muhammad who forbade Muslims from answering the vile insults of the Meccans? The same Muhammad who forgave Abdullah Ubay Bin Saluf’s blasphemy and led his funeral prayer? The same Muhammad who forgave a woman who attempted to assassinate him by feeding him poisoned meat? The same Muhammad who forbade anyone from harming a Bedouin who passed water in the mosque? The same Muhammad who then later cleaned the urine with his own hands? The same Muhammad who forgave Meccans who dumped the entrails of a camel on his back while he was prostrating before God? This is the man who encouraged the punishment of naming a teddy bear after him out of love?

So where are these extremists getting these ideas from? Certainly not from the Holy Quran or Muhammad.