Murder in the Name of Allah — Page 117
Islamic Terrorism. Amongst Palestinians, for instance, there are many who have pledged themselves to terrorism against Israel, but happen to be Christian by faith. . For convenience or through lack of knowledge they are all dubbed by the. Western media as Islamic terrorists. In Lebanon, there have been Muslim terrorists and Christian terrorists, and also Israeli agents and soldiers involved at one time or another in terrorist activities which appal human sensitivities. But you will not hear of Jewish or Christian terrorism in relation to what is happening in Lebanon. All acts of violence are put together and wrapped up in the package of 'Islamic terrorism'. . As far as Salman Rushdie is concerned, no sane person with any real knowledge of the Holy Quran can agree with Imam Khomeini that his death sentence is based on any Islamic injunction. There is no such punishment for blasphemy in the Holy Quran or in the Traditions of the Holy Prophet of Islam. Blasphemy against God is mentioned in the Holy Quran in the following words:. And abuse not those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they, out of spite abuse Allah in their ignorance. (Ch. 6:109). No authorisation has been granted to any man to inflict any punishment for blasphemy against God. . Blasphemy was committed by Jews against Mary, the mother of. Christas. It has been mentioned in the Holy Quran, where it says:. And for their disbelief and for their uttering against Mary a grievous calumny. (Ch. 4:151). Again no punishment other than by God Himself is prescribed. It is both tragic and deplorable that Imam Khomeini has thus inadvertently maligned Islam rather than defending it, and has caused immense damage to the image of Islam in the free world. . The Imam of the Grand Mosque of Azhar, in Cairo, has already discredited Imam Khomeini's edict, and I am certain that there are also many Shia Muslims who would disagree with Imam Khomeini in this instance. . Despite all this, it would be unjust if one were to ignore the real issue. I feel it is unfair, as some politicians and scholars have done, to condemn Khomeini only rather than Salman Rushdie, who has produced a book whose extreme language is deliberately offensive to the many millions of Muslims throughout the world. Nor is this all. . The book has helped to undermine peace between Muslims and. Christians and, if one can judge from the comments in some letters to national newspapers, to have unleashed the forces of racial 117