A well-known and oft-quoted Quranic verse reads:
Revile not those unto whom they pray beside Allah lest they revile Allah through ignorance. (6:108)
This verse defines, comprehensively though very succinctly, tolerance as well as its rationale. Everyone is free to profess, practise and preach any faith that he likes as long as he respects the right of others to do the same. Disrespecting and reviling the faith of others will convert the world into a battleground. Freedom of expression and action is undoubtedly the birth right of every human being but freedom ceases to be freedom when it is unlicensed. No one can be given the right to hold a sword in hand and behead people in the name of freedom of action. Wounds inflicted by words – spoken or written or expressed through an electronic device – are severer and more lethal than those inflicted by weapons. No one has therefore the right to injure the sentiments of others in the name of freedom of expression. It is a pity that Islam and its followers are frequently subjected to this kind of sadistic torture by individuals and agencies generally hailing from the West. For centuries the holy Prophet, the central tenet of whose teachings is belief in and respect for all the prophets, has been scoffed at with impunity. The malicious exercise has continued even in an era which takes pride in enlightenment and civilization. Outbursts of anger from Muslims are therefore quite natural. The Prophet is dearer to us than everything including our own selves and this is the soul of our faith. Our love for him, however, should make us pause and think of how he himself would have reacted to a situation like this. In exchange for the foulest abuse and invective, he showered sincere and affectionate prayers on the worst of his enemies. Therefore even as our hearts bleed, even as we express our heartfelt anguish, we should refrain from anything that is not in accord with the excellent pattern of behavior (uswah al-hasanah) which he has set for us.
We should also take comfort from the incontrovertible fact that Almighty Allah has always contrived to convert the malice and mudslinging of the Prophet’s revilers into the elevation of his glory (raf‘a al-dhikr). This has been the story from Abu Lahab through medieval Christendom’s foul myth-making to the contemporary detractors of the Prophet (SAW).    

Lastupdate on : Thu, 20 Sep 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 21 Sep 2012 00:00:00 IST