1200 years later, the western societies accorded that status to women, including the passage of women's-suffrage act here in America just a hundred years ago, while a few conservative Muslim societies have gone back to the times before the prophet.
Apostasy
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did
not punish apostates, that is those who chose to abandon Islam, and yet Pastor Naderkhani
in Iran is being harassed; Abdul Rahman in Afghanistan and Lena Joy in Malaysia
were relieved with the international pressures.
Prophet was clear, there is no compulsion in religion, and you cannot force any one to believe who does not want to believe. His own uncle chose not to believe in Islam; did the Prophet punish him? This is a divine intentional example from God for people to learn, that there is no compulsion in faith; let anyone believe what he or she is comfortable with. There is confusion among the average Muslims, and it behooves for Muslims to put this thing behind and move on. It is time to follow the prophet and universally declare that there is no punishment for apostasy.
Blasphemy
Prophet Muhammad did not punish anyone for blasphemy. Instead he did the right thing; prayed for them. The self-appointed guardians of Sharia laws can tell great many stories of the prophet, yet they do the opposite.
The blasphemy laws go
against the God-given freedom and it aids the crooks to abuse it. In Pakistan a
damned crook framed a girl for desecrating Quran. A whole Christian town was
destroyed before they discovered the truth; at least that is the saving grace
Muslims believe that we are answerable to God on the Day of Judgment. The more of us speak up, the greater the chance of delivering justice to fellow beings; if we don't, then evil persists. The least a Muslim can do is to speak up.
Sharia was a human effort in delivering justice to fellow beings in accordance with Quran and the Prophet's examples; however, humans are fallible beings and are not delivering justice to women, apostates, blasphemers and rapists, and the raped. Sharia as practiced in a few of the Muslim nations does not reflect God's wisdom nor does it correspond with prophet's practice. It needs to be fixed badly before we sink with our sins of injustice to women. More about Sharia at www.sharialaws.com.
To be a Muslim is to be a peacemaker, one who mitigates conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation, life and matter.
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