I had thought that I was done with this subject, but I was mistaken. It is necessary that I reply token.
I also like The First Amendment. The Last time that I read an Islamic commentary on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by none other than Hazrat Sulṭan Ḥusayn Tabandah Reza Ali Shah certain reservations were expressed about Articles 18 and 19
I am sad because Ken says that he knows that he is heading for the fire. Not so fast, buddy, I wouldn't like to see you join Muhammad's Dead Poets Society which is a direct entry to the fire and which was always preceded by a freedom of speech manifesto which says, " we should be free to express our dislike or hatred or scorn of anyone, person or group. we all suffer when freedom of speech is unduly limited, and i don't see why religious figures should be exempt."
What else would Ken like to see? Does he have any other wishes?
Before he was executed, the brave Nathan Hale said, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
For now, It would seem that we are all subject to the immutable laws of nature even if some of us are more afraid of the coronavirus than we are afraid of the fire "whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers", guaranteed to consume those deserving that kind of punishment after the final event that we see is being caused by the coronavirus – in fear of which there is voluntary self-confinement and lockdowns which not so many people are defying ( because they know). For those who are still in the flesh, this applies to all categories of belief/disbelief and thinking whether it be Buddhism, Catholicism, or Judaism with a few brave exceptions such as the large crowd that attended the Rabbi's funeral at Williamsburg – and of course some of my friends who boast, " I'm not afraid of the virus !" and some of the Pentecostal and Evangelicals who say "I'm protected by the blood of Jesus!". The fact is that the virus does not discriminate and is not afraid of anyone, not even the miracle workers in the Vatican and that's why these days St. Peter's Square is bare because the fear of death is very real.
What Ken is saying could be negatively interpreted to mean he would like to see the law of blasphemy in Islam changed or abrogated so that the blasphemers should not have to live in fear, that they should be free to blaspheme, just as they are free to not practise any social distancing these critical times, but can go on shaking hands like politicians and continue giving hugs to the near and dear, in short, that blasphemy should be decriminalised.
However, there's no mortal that can change the wording in the Holy Quran, Surat Al-Ma'idah verse 33-34 which states the following
"The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter, theirs will be an awful doom; save those who repent before ye overpower them. For know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."
The question is, to what extent does "those who make war upon Allah and His messenger" include the verbal war/ attacks of those who vilify or criticize Islam or "the Seal of the Prophets"?
--i know i am heading for the fire, but, really compadre cornelius, respect is one thing, compulsion is another. it makes no sense to me to punish people for mocking others--no matter who they are. there are two caveats i have here:--if you cause real damage, it passes over to loss. for instance, i don't accept freedom of speech when the speech not only vilifies others, but results directly in damage, especially in loss of life. as for instance in the hutu nationalist attacks on tutsis in 1990-1994 that were part of the propaganda around genocide. short of that, we should be free to express our dislike or hatred or scorn of anyone, person or group. we all suffer when freedom of speech is unduly limited, and i don't see why religious figures should be exempt.--the second caveat, similar. the infamous danish cartoons of mohammed led to riots in parts of the world. again indirectly the cartoon, like the charlie hebdo ones, would have been perfectly acceptable to me, but for the inevitable cost of people's lives.
this is the heart of the matter: what you or i believe is not sacred; people have every right to laugh at or scorn or hate it. we have every right to respond in kind.but when threats of violence to shut people up, like the fatwas issued against rushdie, and consequently, soyinka, were made, those issuing the threats should have been punished.
i wish you could love and respect islam, as i also do, without having to accept the extremist legalistic position of people like the fundamentalists who can't defend themselves without threatening others. it is much much better to defend through expressing the loving side of the religion and not its ugly human violence.
and i'll add, that there is no real belief, in god or in god's prophets, that is "real" when its only defense is violence. the violence actually destroys whatever is good in the religion, and i am totally sure you can cite bell book and candle to support that point. i don't understand why you wouldn't do so.salaam aleikum;
ken
kenneth harrow
professor emeritus
dept of english
michigan state university
517 803-8839
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Cornelius Hamelberg <hamelbergcornelius4@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2020 5:29 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Mubarak Bala arrested for blasphemy!Corrected:
Gloria in Excelsis Omega-Wali,
Is it too much to ask that you respect what other people or faiths hold as sacred? Holy? That you respect Muhammad, salalllahu alaihi wa salaam the personal Beloved of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that you respect the people of Islam who say, " We are Muslims"? Of course, individually, we probably have different degrees of respect for others that God has created.
The Prophet of Islam also has a right to rest in peace.
Mallam Abba Kyari has the same right.
If you vilified the Prophet of Islam, salallahu alaihi wa salaam, if (God forbid) you said that he was suffering from "dementia" or he was "demented" or "geriatric" or "vermin", I would not only burn you at the stake. So please, NEVER do such a despicable thing, not even in the name of ignorance, or in the name of freedom of speech or freedom of theology or freedom of philosophy
Brother Chielozona Eze and Sister Gloria Emeagwali,
I notice that you are in the same choir, birds of the same feather, singing the same melody.
Well, let me tell you this, I'm not only happy, I'm overjoyed that Mubarak Bala has been arrested for repeatedly, wilfully vilifying the Prophet of Islam , salalllahu alaihi wa salaam, in this holy month of Ramadan. And he knew full well what he was doing.
I hope that they make a statutory example of him, so that other miscreants of his ilk do not follow in his footsteps on the road to perdition…
Over here in Sweden, we had one Lars Vilks who is still in hiding and under police protection.
Mind you, I do not consider Spinoza or something like this to be blasphemous - in Judaism, you may vilify Jesus, etc and blasphemy extends only to the Almighty. For example, I consider what the Encyclopaedia Judaica says about Rasulullah, salallahu alaihi wa salaam to be not only offensive but blasphemous and the contents of what's said provides more than enough proof of the offence according to the Laws of blasphemy in Islam and according to all the known schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
Even if you are in doubt about this matter, I would lovingly advise you not to go and commit the same kind of offence in Saudi Arabia, Iran or Pakistan. I doubt that Amnesty International would be able to help you.
--On Thu, 30 Apr 2020 at 21:07, Gloria Emeagwali <gloria.emeagwali@gmail.com> wrote:
Cornelius,--
One person's blasphemy is another's eulogy.
Freedom of expression is vital for all and that is why we love your commentary on such a wide range of ideas, from Judaism to Islam and beyond.
So if I say that I don't believe in Judaism, Christianity or Islam,will you, Cornelius the Wise, burn me at the stakes? Wherein lie the wisdomand humanism?
Today it is Bala, but tomorrow it may be you - burnt by The Taliban, for expressing affiliation to Judaism.
gloriaemeagwali.com
Sent from my iPhone
On Apr 30, 2020, at 12:39 PM, Cornelius Hamelberg <hamelbergcornelius4@gmail.com> wrote:
--I am so happy:
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CAC50OP_wNjBmGBiT5qBY6eb3o%2BMURH70rpB%2BBEK_vr1OgJJJzg%40mail.gmail.com.
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/9BA97976-5A41-4564-B09B-DFA3534C912E%40gmail.com.
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CAC50OP998UpQAVoMv2NPZkF2WwtWB2jtZZGZyYuZ03TWDvKC8w%40mail.gmail.com.
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/DM5PR12MB2456A3FCAD716C9889C4018CDAAB0%40DM5PR12MB2456.namprd12.prod.outlook.com.
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CAC50OP9buFYeW0eqR6Y8rNg24GNobXciQQnJQX%2B7NCUSoDQQCw%40mail.gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment