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,...
....Islam teaches that no human being is infallible. And that is why we all constantly seek Allah's Rahama. Says the Holy Book:
"... whoever forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is with Allah..." Qr 42 v. 40.
"And verily, whoever shows patience and forgives, that would truly be from the things recommended by Allah" Q 42 v. 43
Saturday November 16 was our error, for which we feel very sorry. We recognise the gravity of this error, and we have handled it with all the seriousness it deserves, including very strong disciplinary measures for those who failed in their duties.
We therefore seek the understanding of our Muslim brothers and sisters and sincerely hope that in the spirit of the Holy month of Ramadan, and in the interest of our beloved country, Nigeria, we would show forgiveness and understanding. [ThisDay] Yes, we apologize for forcing you to riot, burn chruches and our office, kill at least 50 people, and in general behave like rampaging savages.
Rather thean the paper apologizing, it seems more appropriate for the paper and every other media voice on earth to demand that every single representative of Islam on every continent demand that the violence stop, condemn it unequivocally, denounce the use of violence as a form of protest. NOW is the time, THIS is the chance for the spokespersons of Islam to make their case, to prove their sincerity, to apologize and condemn the unspeakable behavior of their fellow adherents.
But thus far intellectual dishonesty, squeamishness, equivocation and dissembling not only dominates the Islamic sphere, but infects its apologists and political sympathizers as well - this from The Guardian one year ago:
- The studied moral evasiveness, callous ness and plain nastiness of Said's article, with its refusal to condemn outright the attacks on America or show any sympathy for the victims or Americans, leave an unpleasant taste in the mouth of anyone whose moral sensibilities have not been blunted by political and Islamic correctness. In the face of all evidence, Said still argues that it was US foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere that brought about these attacks.
The unfortunate result is that academics can no longer do their work honestly. A scholar working on recently discovered Koranic manuscripts showed some of his startling conclusions to a distinguished colleague, a world expert on the Koran. The latter did not ask, "What is the evidence, what are your arguments, is it true?" The colleague simply warned him that his thesis was unacceptable because it would upset Muslims.
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?