Some will be bewildered that the act of showing some cartoons to a bunch of schoolkids has escalated to the extent where the headteacher has had to issue a sincere, grovelling apology, the school has been forced to shut and the RE teacher in question now has to have police protection.
Growing groups of enraged parents protest about blasphemy outside the school, calling for the teacher to be sacked - not merely suspended - and the flames are being fanned on social media with people telling of their immense ‘hurt’ and revealing the RE teacher’s name and address.
To non-Muslims it must seem such an anathema. There are those who are genuinely bemused and don’t understand how such a ‘depiction’ of the Prophet can provoke such a reaction.
“Everyone is allowed to mock Christians. What about those disrespectful images of the Queen that were in the Charlie Hebdo magazine recently? No-one took to the streets then.”
Then there are those who feel justified in calling all Muslims ‘savages’.
What is your view? Have your say in the comment section
“Here we go again, the so-called ‘Religion of Peace’. Why weren’t they out protesting when Muslims were committing unIslamic acts such as grooming? Double standards.”
They say that if we cannot abide by the laws of the west such as freedom of speech then we should go live in Islamic countries.
The fact is that the pictures are obscene and if they were about any one of us we would feel totally justified in being upset and thinking about taking legal action over them.
In this case, when they are about the single most revered figure in the whole faith of Islam then no wonder that Muslims feel so violated.
I live in Bradford where we had the infamous Salman Rushdie affair 33 years ago and Muslims took to the streets in protest about the way the Prophet was portrayed.
Even those who were fairly laidback when it came to practising the faith suddenly became more devout. It was like an attack on their very existence.
There was even a book published by a Muslim scholar at the time with the title along the lines of: “Say what you want about God but leave the Prophet alone.” Which illustrates how revered the Prophet is.
I understand the concept of free speech but we have ALL seen this deplorable cartoons, we have all read the headlines and seen how blood has been shed over them. Was it really necessary to show them again?
Certainly Muslims feel aggrieved about a number of issues whether it’s the fact that we suffer discrimination and all sorts of economic, educational and health disparities.
Muslims living in densely populated urban areas have a life expectancy roughly ten years shorter than the average population. People from BAME communities, especially Muslims, suffered disproportionately in the Covid crisis.
But there is a difference between feeling hurt and then using that to justify violence.
The imam who spoke outside the school seemed measured and called for an investigation but anyone who thinks that death threats are justified is the antithesis of what it means to be Muslim.
Unfortunately, any dispute like this quickly escalates and gets hijacked by hotheads and trouble-makers.
We forget the example that the Prophet himself set. It was said there was an old woman who would throw rubbish and litter over him when he passed.
He never retaliated but, one day, she wasn’t there, so he went to find out where she was. It turned out she was ill and she was so taken aback by the Prophet’s kindness and consideration even though she had been vile, that she converted to Islam.
The school has issued an apology, the parents have made their voices heard. Now, with the holy month of Ramadan approaching, there are more important things to be focusing on.
The only drawing there should be is a line under this whole episode.
