The
article
discusses the application of the Egyptian law which criminalizes insulting religions. According to
the author of the article
[Reviewer: No name mentioned], the adoption of legislations to protect the
sanctity of religions, while allowing a
responsible freedom of expression, is absolutely crucial at this
moment in time.
Commenting on the controversial
supplement attacking the Prophet’s companions
and wife, ‘Ā’ishah, published by al-Ghad
newspaper a few weeks ago, the
author says that under article 98 of the penal code, the "contempt for religion" charge is
punishable with
imprisonment anywhere from six months to five years.
The author says that for the past few years the
law has only been applied in a few cases. The article cites the ruling against ‘Abd al-
Sabūr al-
Kāshif, an employee at an institute affiliated with the Azhar, who was
sentenced to one year in prison, as a
case in point. In February 2002, an engineer, Sharīf
Farahāt, received the severest punishment on charges of
distorting a number of
Qur’ānic verses and violating public morals. Farahāt was one of 52 men
arrested
on suspicion that they had consentingly engaged in homosexual behavior.
When asked for his opinion on the
issue, the former Egyptian Muftī¸ Shaykh Nasr Farīd Wāsil, said that
insulting the
prophet’s companions offends public morality, adding that defending religious symbols is
fard ‘Ayn,
and not "fard kifāyah" [Reviewer: The word kifāyah
literary means ’collective.’ It is a duty
which is imposed on the whole community of believers.
The classic example of Farḍ kifāyah is the jihād:
the individual is not required to
perform it as long as a sufficient number of community members fulfill it].
Speaking
of his friends,
the Prophet Muhammad said, "Do not curse my Companions! Do not curse my Companions! I swear by Him in Whose
Hand my life is, that even if one among you had as much gold as Mount Uhud and spent it in the way of
Allāh,
this would not be equal in reward to a handful spent by them or even to its half." In
another hadīth, the
prophet said, "No one loves them [Reviewer: his companions] except a
Muslim, and no one hates them except a hypocrite, and
whoever loves them, Allāh loves them,
and whoever hates them, Allāh hates
them."
Shaykh Jamāl Qutb, the former
head of the Azhar’s Fatwá Committee, indicates that
it is religiously unacceptable for
Muslims to curse time and non-human beings, including plants and animals. The prophet
said, "Do not curse
time, for verily, time is Allāh." Therefore, Muslims should observe the standards of
decency
and practice good manners and polite behavior toward all people.
"…and speak kindly to mankind." [Chapter of
‘al-Baqarah’ (the Cow) 2: 83, ‘The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’ān,’ by Muhammad
Marmaduke Pickthall].
"Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and reason with them
in the better way." [Chapter of ‘al-
Nahl’ (the Bees) 16: 125]. Shaykh Qutb says that, as explained
in the above-mentioned verses, Muslims are ordered by
God to behave well towards humans, animals, plants
and inanimate objects.
Dr. Muhammad Ra’fat
‘Uthmān, a professor of Fiqh
and Sharī‘ah at the Azhar University, says
that insulting the prophet’s
companions without exception is an act of Kufr, [Reviewer: apostasy] because God paid
tribute to them in
the Qur’ānic verse, "Allāh taking pleasure in them and they in Him."
[Chapter of ‘al-Mā’idah’ (the Table) 5: 119]
