Every Da‘ī Ilallāh – Please submit to a local newspaper

Letter to the Editor

Letter Title: “Freedom of Speech Comes with Great Responsibility”

We proclaim Free Speech in the US and other countries, but with that right comes a great responsibility. Does burning Holy Scriptures fall in that right? What about inciting religious hatred? Recently, far right extremists burned a Holy Quran in Malmo, Sweden, resulting in riots and French magazine, Charlie Hebdo republished offensive caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. Both groups have this right, but instead of inciting religious hatred, why didn’t they try to have a peaceful dialogue with local Muslim communities?

If they had engaged in interfaith dialogue, they would’ve learned that True Islam teaches that every human being has the right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion without the threat of coercion or punishment. This understanding stems directly from the Holy Quran, which declares, “There is no compulsion in religion” (2:257). Islam does not limit free speech but advocates responsible speech.

They would’ve also learned that my Caliph Mirza Masroor Ahmad, worldwide spiritual leader of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has repeatedly condemned violence and extremism, “Religious extremism, be it Christian extremism, Muslim extremism or any other kind is never a true reflection of the religion” and recently said, “The truth is that most people in Sweden and other Western countries remain unaware of the true teachings of Islam and this enables extremists to take individual verses of the Holy Quran completely out of context for the sake of their false propaganda. They ignore the fact that the Bible has many more verses that can be taken out of context and used to justify the use of force.”

There’s already too much violence and hatred in this world. We should use Freedom of Speech to spread peaceful interfaith dialogue, not hatred.

Name, title, contact info (email, phone, address)

Twitter – 

Every Da‘ī Ilallāh – Please follow our Tabligh Twitter Handle @muslimsforpeace. Please retweet each tweet below from your personal account.

Tweet #1)

#Islam does not limit free speech but advocates responsible speech. Islam teaches that every human being has the right to freedom of speech & freedom of religion without the threat of coercion or punishment. The Holy #Quran declares, "There is no compulsion in religion" (2:257). pic.twitter.com/TfxpLOuEiz

— Muslims For Peace (@muslimsforpeace) September 9, 2020

https://twitter.com/muslimsforpeace/status/1303546801081978881?s=20

Tweet #2)

The issue of #Quran burning is comparable to flag burning in the #UnitedStates. Many #Americans favor a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning for similar reasons: the flag is an important symbol of national identity. pic.twitter.com/UfOvUgqBSs

— Muslims For Peace (@muslimsforpeace) September 9, 2020

https://twitter.com/muslimsforpeace/status/1303550307511791616?s=20

Tweet #3)

Even if the #Quran was burned as an insult, Islam teaches #forgiveness. Misconceptions about #Islam exist because people learn about faith from headline news rather than from the Quran and the Prophet. Don't burn the Quran; read the Quran here: https://t.co/UemSioH59k. pic.twitter.com/cIlqdUtkjq

— Muslims For Peace (@muslimsforpeace) September 9, 2020

https://twitter.com/muslimsforpeace/status/1303553305143062529?s=20

Tweet #4)

His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad #khalifaofislam, the spiritual head of the #Ahmadiyya community, in the strongest terms far-right extremists who had burned a copy of the Holy #Quran in #Sweden. pic.twitter.com/KBcQNdhTOC

— Muslims For Peace (@muslimsforpeace) September 9, 2020

https://twitter.com/muslimsforpeace/status/1303558760087126018?s=20

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Instagram Post #1)

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Islam does not limit free speech but advocates responsible speech. Islam teaches that every human being has the right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion without the threat of coercion or punishment. This understanding stems directly from the Holy Quran, which declares, "There is no compulsion in religion" (2:257).

A post shared by Muslims For Peace (@muslimsforpeaceofficial) on Sep 8, 2020 at 9:19pm PDT

https://www.instagram.com/p/CE5vLPyHnFO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Instagram Post #2)

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The issue of #Quran burning is comparable to flag burning in the #UnitedStates. Many Americans favor a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning for similar reasons: the flag is an important symbol of national identity. Many #Americans see flag-burning as an attack on that identity, or even on the country itself. For Muslims, the Quran is the very basis of Islamic identity, and an attack on the Quran is an attack on #Muslim identity. Burning the Quran is a direct attack on Muslim citizens' civil liberties and directly contradicts the #freedomofspeech, cherished by both Islam and western democracies.

A post shared by Muslims For Peace (@muslimsforpeaceofficial) on Sep 8, 2020 at 9:32pm PDT

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Instagram Post #3)

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Even if the #Quran was burned as an insult, Islam teaches #forgiveness. Misconceptions about #Islam exist because people learn about faith from headline news rather than from the Quran and the Prophet. Don't burn the Quran; read the Quran here: https://www.alislam.org/quran.

A post shared by Muslims For Peace (@muslimsforpeaceofficial) on Sep 8, 2020 at 9:43pm PDT

https://www.instagram.com/p/CE5x1loHsB4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Instagram Post #4)

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His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad #khalifaofislam, the spiritual head of the #Ahmadiyya community, condemned in the strongest terms far-right extremists who had burned a copy of the Holy #Quran in #Sweden. '…wrong for Muslims to respond to such horrific and provocative acts through violence or disorder.' Instead, he said it was up to Muslims to educate people about the Quran's actual teachings so those anti-Muslim extremists could not seek to defame #Islam by taking individual Quranic verses entirely out of context to further their hateful aims and objectives. 'The truth is that most people in #Sweden and other #Western countries remain unaware of Islam's actual teachings, and this enables extremists to take individual verses of the Holy #Quran entirely out of context for the sake of their false propaganda.' 'People who conduct such hateful acts have no knowledge of #Islam or what the actual conditions laid down in the Holy #Quran are for Jihad. They ignore the fact that the #Bible has many more verses that can be taken out of context and used to justify force use.' 'Ahmadi Muslims have to introduce and exemplify the actual and #peaceful teachings of #Islam in every city and town so that people understand our religion's reality.' Read the full pressrelease @ https://www.alislam.org/press-release/head-of-ahmadiyya-muslim-community-strongly-condemns-horrific-act-of-quran-burning-in-malmo/

A post shared by Muslims For Peace (@muslimsforpeaceofficial) on Sep 8, 2020 at 10:05pm PDT

https://www.instagram.com/p/CE50Vbun4lA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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