Qur’aan Burning, an appeal to Muslims

Imam Zia Sheikh & Mike Ghouse
http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2010/09/quraan-burning-appeal-to-muslims.html

We appeal to Muslims around the world to consider the model of peace Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had offered; pray for the well being of any one who wants to burn the Qur’aan.

That is what Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did when the miscreants pelted rocks at him, instead of getting even with them, he asked his associates to join him and pray for their well being. Even Angel Gabriel offered help to punish them, the prophet said no to him as well and instead, asked them to join him in praying for the goodwill of those who hurt him. The Prophet believed that there is goodness in every human soul and we have to appeal to it. He chose the non-violent way of goodwill nurturing.

Most Muslims will follow the beautiful example of the prophet, just as most Christians would follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and not burn the Quraan. Most people know that Qur’aan shares the stories of about 25 prophets including Adam, Abraham, Solomon, David, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and most importantly Jesus Christ. There is a full chapter on Mary, the mother of Jesus.

There will be fringe elements among Muslims who will mirror the fringe elements among others including the ones acting in the name of Christianity or other religion.

What is God going to do about it if someone burns the Quran?

God is not going to do a thing, he has blessed us with free will and encourages and guides us to do good and holds us responsible when we fail. (Quran 14:4)

Quraan is a book of guidance for those who chose to be guided. Indeed, Qur'aan starts with the word "God of Universe" Al-Fatiha (The Opening) 1:2 “All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds” and ends with addressing humanity as a whole again, An-Nas (The Mankind) 114:1 SAY: "I seek refuge with the Sustainer of men.”

God knows every thing we do, and no one will go scot free, every one of us has to account to ourselves in our solitude and again on the day of reckoning.

We urge Muslim to place their trust in God, Quraan, 14:12 “and how could we not place our trust in God, seeing that it is he who has shown us the path which we are to follow? Hence, we shall certainly bear with patience whatever hurt you may do us: for, all who have trust [in His existence] must place their trust in God."

Let them choose to be misguided if they so choose, however, we request them to read the right translations and understand the verses in their right context. We will be happy to sit with them and clarify any thing they may have possibly misunderstood.

Appeal

Our reaction could entrench bigotry or help people respond kindly to kindness, we appeal Muslims to choose the peace model of the Prophet.

Please be aware that there are at least two deliberate mistranslations of Quraan while there are 18 that are true translations. One of the translations was done by the Monastery of Abbey in 1142 to appease the Kings who used Christianity for their own political ends and the other one was done by a Muslim in 1922 to possibly prejudice Muslims against Christians and Jews for the very same reasons. The simple test for the rightful translations is that God loves his creation and simply cannot express anything but love, if we read the text otherwise, we have to read several passages to get it right, as Karen Armstrong writes, keep reading until you get it right.

What does it take to build orderly societies? What does it take for you, me and others to feel safe and live in peace? We have to remove the fears and bring peace to every citizen.

Qur'an, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:13: "O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Allah Knows and is Aware."

It is our duty to keep law and order and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen. As individuals or nations, we cannot be safe if the people/nations around us aren’t, it is in our interest to seek peace for all of us.

Together, we have a monumental task to repair the World, and we will do our part in working towards a World of co-existence. We are committed, and now help us God. Amen.

Muslims coming together for common good

We are in the process of getting endorsements from different Muslim communities before going online at http://www.worldmuslimcongress.com/

This appeal is authored by Imam Zia ul-Haque Sheikh and Mike Ghouse. If you wish to have them speak at your school, office or Church, please call them.

Imam Zia Shaikh is the resident scholar of the Islamic Center of Irving, Texas and a Hafiz-e- Quraan and has extensive talks on Quraan at www.imamzia.com

Mike Ghouse is a speaker on Islam and Pluralism offering pluralistic solutions to the media and the public on the issues of the day, his work is expressed in 22 blogs and 3 websites listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/