The following letter was published by Ottawa Sun on Jan. 10, 2015.
The people who committed this week’s attack on Charlie Hebdo, and those Muslim clerics who support and condone such attacks, are committing crimes against humanity and against their own Muslim community. The Islam that was taught by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is completely contrary to the Islam being showcased by these extremists who attack in its name.
These extremist Muslims need to understand that fighting is only permitted in Islam for self-defense. That was the only context in which Muslims at the time of Prophet Muhammad were commanded to pick up the sword, and it was merely for the sake of defending their freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. We are no longer living in a time where Islam is being attacked by the sword.
Jihad has to be waged with the pen against attacks of the pen. This is the Jihad which our Muslim Community has been waging to show the true honor of Prophet Muhammad. “The Astonishing Story of the Prophet” which showed the peaceful teachings of Islam, in which hundreds of non-Muslims were invited all across Canada. This was the Ahmadiyya Muslim response to the attacks Charlie Hedbo made on Muhammad via cartoons. Killing innocent people has only shown the savageness of these perpetrators and the barbaric beliefs of the clerics who incite them. All they have done is incited further animosity between Islam and the West.
Imam Hanan Ahmer Sobhi, Hamilton
