Returning from one of the expeditions Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said to the companions,
“We are returning from the lesser war to the greater war, to the greater battle.”
And they said,
“Messenger of God, we are battle-weary. How can we go to a greater battle?”
He said,
“That is the battle of the self, the battle of the ego.”
The Prophet was talking about self-control and self restraint .. Self-restraint is a virtue the sum total of which is forgiveness, patience, abstention from injury, truth, sweetness of speech, benevolence and freedom from malice.
Indeed by his words and deeds The Prophet ( peace be upon him) emphasized this virtue of self-control and self-restraint. All prophets of God were ridiculed and all showed exceptional self-control and restraint. Unlike Christians and Jews the Muslims of today are more sensitive to blasphemy against The Prophet than blasphemy against anything else—even God and cry themselves hoarse in demanding death for the blasphemer who dares to insult The Prophet (peace be upon him) . The teaching and example of The Prophet (peace be upon him) not withstanding.
The Holy Quran says
“And God does not like disorder” (2:206) .
Any act by man ,word or deed, that promotes disorder, chaos and incites violence and is liable to cause a law and order situation should not be tolerated.
Freedom of speech and expression is vital and necessary for the progress and development of a society. Islam champions this cause. Freedom of speech and expression is a right that needs to be exercised responsibly . Hate, slander and vulgar speech and expressions do not promote anything good but cause pain and hurt and should be curbed. What about blasphemy laws? Blasphemy is mentioned in the Holy Quran five times. The Quran condemns it on moral and ethical grounds. It does not advocate the punishment of blasphemy in this world nor vests such authority in anyone.
The anti-Muslim films and speech is a bait that some Muslims swallow resulting in their misguided reactions. It is a ruse used by the minority extremists to avenge the injustice they perceive being perpetrated by the USA and the West.
Only a minority of Muslims are thin-skinned, violence prone, misguided and therefore are being misused. It is up to us to fight these forces of evil. We Americans, Muslims and non-Muslims alike should take the lead and gain their trust by adhering to the truth and upholding justice and reject extremism. The Holy Qur’an states that even if you have to testify against yourself or your parents or your most loved ones, then you must do so in order to uphold justice and to uphold the truth.
Powerful and rich countries should not be allowed to usurp the rights of the poor and weaker countries, in an effort to preserve their own rights, and nor should they deal with the poorer nations in an unjust fashion. On the other hand, the poor and weaker nations should not seek to inflict harm on the powerful or wealthy nations, whenever the opportunity arises. Instead, both sides should endeavor to fully abide by the principles of justice as this is a matter of crucial importance in maintaining peaceful relations between countries and peoples.
Frustration and injustice play major roles in violent behaviour. Frustration has turned the impoverished of developing countries against both their own leaders and against Western powers. Extremist groups take advantage of these frustrations and usher people into supporting their hate filled ideology.
In fact, nothing justifies the violence or the murder of even a single person. Yet, the ultimate result of this frustration and injustice is that the peace of the world has been shaken. Islam draws our attention to the means for peace. Adhere to the truth and uphold absolute justice. Exercising our freedom and liberty in a just manner. Peace is fragile. Absolute Justice and peace are inseparable, and attempts to establish one without the other only ensures that hate and violence we are seeing today continues.