The blasphemous content against Holy Prophet (PBUH) is not freedom of speech. These days any Facebook post or a WhatsApp group will be full of advisory to the viewers; not to buy products from a certain company or a country of origin; citing purely religious reasons to do that. Credit for campaigns invariably goes to two factors which have developed over a period of decades and has now been unleashed the world over and our country Pakistan no “noble “exception.
There are whispering reports the corporate world where alarmed businesses even contemplate winding up or scaling down operations before things are simply unmanageable to control. The current standoff created by Holland based caricature issue now again threatens to rock the otherwise peaceful boat of business operations between an “advanced” west and a skeptical yet consumer oriented “east”.
Infact it all started with Salman Rushdie blasphemous novel about the greatest personalities of Islam. The stance taken by the Muslim masses and the one taken against that by the British government infact set the pace for things to come in the following decades. While the developed west conveniently set its preferred benchmarks around its political and religious world view; it took it as a right to abuse verbally the other worldviews and personalities under the garb of so called “freedom of expression”.
As things stand; it is difficult for a westerner to say anything negative about the Holocaust or even question it. Yet it is open for all game for any abusive content about the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The catch 22 situation in which the Muslims find themselves has been best illustrated in few verses by the national poet Iqbal: Jurm Zaeefi ki sazaa hai Marg Mafajat.
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Our decades of consumerism, refusal to equip ourselves with technology and education has put us in a situation where we are ready to react as a wounded civilization; yet are short of guts to call it a day with respect to our relationship with the west or United Kingdom, EU or the United States for that matter. We are a Muslim body of nation cannot confront China where names containing our beloved Prophet (PBUH) name are banned and the Muslims there cannot keep fast during the Holy month of Ramadan.
The developing scenario warrants a well thought out action plan to implement rather than emotional hiccups. It would not be out of context to point out that the first Islamic coin during the later Umayyads was the outcome of such standoff between the Muslim empire and Byzentinian one; which prompted the government in Damascus to issue currency coins. We need to come of age, if we feel we are honorable believers (Muslims).
