From: RBNXHS@rohvm1.bitnet
Newsgroups: alt.atheism.moderated
Subject: A non-Muslim scholar on Islam & Rushdie
Date: 13 Aug 92   13:25 EDT
Distribution: world

In this part (last of the series), I shall present a view expressed
by a *non-Muslim* scholar on the subject of Rushdie affair.
Prof. John Esposito is a Professor of Religious Studies and Director
for the Center of International Studies, College of the Holy Cross.
He is an author of several books on Islam. Among his recent publica-
tions are Islam: The Straight Path (Oxford University Press) and
Islam and Politics (Syracuse University Press). The following article
is an abridged version of his article which appeared on "The
Minaret", Spring, 1989 (Los Angeles, CA).
===========================
....
What is the source of moral outrage of many Muslims throughout the
world at the publication of the Satani Verses? Is Salman Rushdie
simply the innocent victim of what what the press has often called
'fundamentalist fanaticism'? ..

Basic to understanding the controversy over The Satanic Verses is
an appreciation of the place of the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad
in Muslim belief and piety. The Qur'an and the example of the
Prophet Muhammad are the cornerstones of Islam. The former is
believed to be the literal, perfect and complete word of God, and
the latter (Muhammad) is regarded to be the primary instrument of
God, the embodiment of God's will and Islamic values. Throughout
history of Islam, Muslims have looked to the word of God and the
example of the Prophet for inspiration and guidance in their
everyday lives. Muslims sought to discover and preserve the example
of the Prophet (what he said and did) scruplously. Any student
of Islam or Muslim societies knows the special place of the
Qur'an and of the Prophet Muhammad in the lives of more than 800
million Muslims who constitute the second largest of world
religions. Therefore, it is not surprising that for a broad
spectrum of Muslim believers to question the authenticity of the
Qur'an or to allude to the Prophet, his wives or companions in
anything but the most reverential terms would be blasphemy. ...

As those of us in the Western society try to understand Muslim
responses, it is important to remember that we live today in a
more secular society. Thus we tend to forget that the death
penalty was the prescribed punishment for blasphemy in the
Hebrew scriptures and in Christian history not only because
of the individual's sin but also because such an example could
undermine the moral fabric of society itself. The public protest
against Rushdie's book must be seen against this background as
well as the broader context of the history of Muslim-Christian
relations...

Within the context of the belief that Islam and Muslims have often
been misunderstood, ridiculed and under attack form the West,
the writing of the Satanic Verses by one who was born into a
Muslim family and its publication in Britain and the United States
engender a sense of outrage, powerlessness and victimization.

In a modern context, how would Jews feel if in the name of creative
imagination the memory of the Holocaust and its victims, like
Ann Frank, were distorted or denegerated?
....
------ Peace (Salam) -- H. Siddiqui.