Some days ago, some set of Muslims in Kano protested that a Musician who sang derogatory song against the person of the Prophet Muhammad be punished for blasphemy.
In Islam, blasphemy is an impious utterance or action concerning God, his Prophets, denying their truth, insulting the companions etc.
The Hadith recommended various punishments for blasphemy , which may include death. But some Islamic scholars have argued that the Hadith cannot recommend what the Quran did not.
However, it has been argued that the death penalty applies only to cases where there is treason involved that may seriously harm the
Muslim community, especially during times of war.
The world has seen numerous violent orchestrated by Muslims to respond to blasphemy. One of such was about two teenage brothers in Pakistan who were killed after being tried for a blasphemy case against them and were acquitted after being found not guilty by a competent court. They were killed just in front of the court house.
Also, sometimes in 2009, a FIR was registered against two teenage brothers, complainant falsely accusing them that they had spoken against Prophet Mohammad. Their family had to leave the country for their safety.
July 2009, hundreds of members of Sipah-e-Sahaba and International Khatm-e-Nabuwat 'IKNM' the banned Muslim organisations, torched the Christian homes and killed Christians in the Punjabi city of Gojra Faisalabad and in the nearby village of Korian, District Faisalabad as a reaction to the blasphemy against the Prophet by a Christian.
However, how violence and death as a penalty for blasphemy creeped into Islamic law is still a great puzzle as the Prophet Muhammad never on record executed those who made derogatory remarks to his face or deny his truth-even in his most powerful time as a statesman with absolute power.
Where did violence as a response to blasphemy come from?
Not only does the Quran not prescribe any earthly punishment for blasphemy, it actually advocates a non-violent response. The commanded response is only to "not sit with" those who mock the religion.
For example the Quran says in Quran 4:140 thus:
"When you hear God’s revelations disbelieved in and mocked at, do not sit with them until they enter into some other discourse; surely then you would be like them".
Who now initiated and influenced this violent response to blasphemy?
Drop your comments in the comments section if you have an explanation to this pls.
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