Do not even start to tell me this has nothing to do with Islam:
- Angry mobs stabbed and set fire to bystanders Thursday in rioting that erupted after a newspaper suggested Islam's founding prophet would have approved of the Miss World beauty pageant. At least 50 people were killed and 200 injured.
....Street demonstrations began Wednesday with the burning of an office of ThisDay newspaper in Kaduna after it published an article questioning Muslim groups that have condemned the Miss World pageant, to be held Dec. 7 in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
Muslim groups say the pageant promotes sexual promiscuity and indecency.
"What would (the prophet) Muhammad think? In all honesty, he would probably have chosen a wife from among them (the contestants)," Isioma Daniel wrote in Saturday's article.
The newspaper ran a brief front-page apology on Monday, followed by a more lengthy retraction on Thursday, saying the offending passage had run by mistake.
In Thursday's rioting, more than 50 people were stabbed, bludgeoned or burned to death and 200 were seriously injured, Ijewere told The Associated Press.
At least four churches were destroyed, he said. [AP]
A religion of peace and tolerance, burning churches, rioting, indescriminate killing of bystanders, mob-rule bloodlust - why again? Because a newspaper ran a column saying Muhammad would have dug the Miss World contestants.
Then out of abject fear after one of their offices was burned - letters to the editor didn't suffice here, free expression required the torching of the paper - the paper offered this sniveling, obsequious self-flagellating retraction and apology:
- An Apology to All Muslims...
To all our Muslim brothers and sisters, Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahamatul-Llahi Wa Barakatuhu. May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon you all. With all sense of responsibility, sensitivity and respect for all Muslims, the staff, management, editors and Board of THISDAY Newspapers apologise for the great editorial error in last Saturday's edition on Miss World Beauty Pageant.
We are sorry that the portrayal of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (SAW) in a commentary written by one of our staff was not only unjustified, but utterly provocative.
The supervising editor made an attempt to remove the offensive portion during the editing process. But we must say that this time, technology failed us, and gravely too. When we realised that the publication had gone to the market, we did not wait to be reminded. The Editor promtply issued an apology and retracted the story . This was published on the front pages of Monday and Tuesday editions. But many thought the apology was insufficient...
At THISDAY, we have no reason to denigrate Muslims or the Holy Prophet. Why should we? Key members of our management are devoted Muslims, including our Group Executive Director, Alhaji Deji Mustapha,...
Article comments
1 - Oliver
Christianity was just fine with slavery, the crusades, and several instances of genocide. That's also supposed to be a "religion of peace". They're all bad.
2 - mary
Every religion has its good points and its bad points - but Muslim fundamentalism is currently responsible for the deaths of millions in the Sudan, the enslavement of Christians there, terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, Pakistan, Yemen... This fundamentalist strain of Islam is a threat to people around the world, and it's not something to ignore.
3 - The Theory
every religion (when used for political purposes) is going to be bad. When a person tries to push his or her own agenda under the cloak of a religion, it discolours the person and the religion.
There are Muslums who are are good and sincere who wouldn't harm a fly, just like the majority of Christians wouldn't either.
But, I think that if one of them (as with anyone) is going for a position of power, they have are going to exploit thier religious beliefs to push thier agendas... wether or not they align with the religion's beliefs.
peace.
4 - Rob
I can understand some of the resentment that the Muslim world has towards the west but this had caused me to lose almost all sympathy for them. It is becoming more and more obvious that the Islamic Fundamentalists have lost ability to reason or communicate. They do not have the right, to tell others how to think or speak.
5 - whatever
Let's not forget that so-called Christian slave traders bought thier raw materials from Islamic slave harvesters
6 - grace
ok, what is like up with these people. Wasn't Muhammad a man too, even though he was a special prophet sent by GOD? He has hormones. He could've gone for the Miss World, who knows and plus wasn't Muhammad for peace? Why are his people resembling violence instead of peace? Even if Muhammad was alive, he wouldn't have killed 100s of people because of some newspaper mistake (plus they said it was a mistake and they apologized) offending him. He would've spoke words of wisdom and chose a more mature way, unlike his followers who acted before they thought. Next time, they need to think before they act, like us Christians, we think: What Would Jesus Do; yall Muslims think this: What Would Muhammad Do?
7 - Abul Hasad
In response to Grace:
Of course, Prophet Muhammad (p) was a man, however, he was a prophet sent to be the perfect model for mankind. You're point is very true -- Muslims should reflect and think "what would Prophet Muhammad do?" After reading his early biographies by Martin Lings, Prof. Tarik Ramadan etc. it's clear how much tolerance he exhibited.
It's interesting, Prophet Muhammad, when speaking about merits to look for in a future spouse mentioned physical attraction, however, he said the best quality to look for was their inner self - how good of a "believer" they were (in "truth").
No, Muhammad (p) certainly wouldn't blindly kill 100's of people, otherwise he would have done the same to the hundreds who persecuted him and tortured him + his companions upon re-entering Mecca. Instead, as he entered he bowed his head and sought forgiveness in case there was any arrogance in his heart, and pardoned all those former oppressors.
8 - gregg
After living in Egypt with islam being the guiding rules for everything, nothing a muzlim does can surprise me. How can a person find this reaction anything but typical for a muzlim.
Moohammed married a 6 year old child and banged her at 9 before she could develop any critique of his "manliness". this is common in pedophiles. If you have a tiny penis you go where no one knows what a real man is too play.
Moohammed wanted to bang a married jewish woman. To ensure that she was receptive to his advances without any hesitation, he murdered her husband while she watched. Any one would rave about old Moo's performance if getting your throat slit was the only other option. Ride that teeny weenie you big girl.
Anyone that has lived among muzlums, not just known them but KNOWS them, has to notice all of the young 6 to 12 year old boys they keep around. Well old Moo saw a girl bent over fetching some item and wanted to play hide the salami with her. turns out the she was a he. Good Old Moo was quick to think and stated that satan, (the musleem version of a higher power) told him that if the boys had no pubic hair then it was OK to mudslide them to his hearts content. Every male muzie that can afford it has his harem of tight back door boys.
When old Moo ran across a Jew that noted that old Moo just combines a bunch of pagan rituals with some jewish and christian ones and called it new and unique, that old satan told Moo to just lie in satans name to any one that questioned him.
Satan then went whole hog, so to speak, and commanded moo to lie, cheat, steal, murder, enslave and of course rape, everyone that he could not convert.
Who would not riot over unburned books if you could have everything the old evil heart desired in the name of good old satan?? islam is a soul killer and it is doing just that. muzlums hide in dresses, wetting their pants while brave men hunt them. I guess I understand as all muzlum men were once boys and we all KNOW what men do to these young boys. If I could never sit down until I was 13 I would be angry too.