Muslims Chop Hand Of Professor Over Blasphemy, Receive Condemnation

In what may be called taking law and order into ones hand, some Muslim youth of Kerala punished a professor accused of hurting religious sentiments, by cutting of his hand. The community leaders condemned this saying that Islam does not allow such acts while there is already an authority on work.

Some Muslim youth, in the name of protecting their religion, chopped off the hand of a professor who committed blasphemy of the Prophet Muhammad.

According to the media reports, professor T J Joseph was returning along with his family from church prayers when they were attacked by a group of unknown assailants. The attackers forced Joseph get out of the car, and then they attacked him with knives and swords, cut off his hand and right arm throwing them away after about 200 meters.

They advised that instead of taking revenge Islam teaches to forgive the culprits. “Those who attacked Joseph forgot that the Prophet of Islam, upon whom be peace, in his own life had pardoned a Jewish woman who used to throw garbage on him and when she did not do so one day, the Prophet enquired about her and upon being told that she is ill, went to wish her early recovery and good health. The Prophet forgave the people of Mecca after its conquest although they had pained him, expelled him from his hometown and had waged war against him for years.

Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians condemned this "barbaric act" and recalled that "Sharia is not the law of India. He also said that Kerala is witnessing a growth of Islamic extremism. “Christian schools are often targeted on the headscarf issue or another issue and unfortunately many schools succumb under pressure. The design of these militants is to provoke peaceful Christian communities and provoke a civil war. The rapid growth of the Muslim population and their influence in elections is increasing safety concerns for Christians throughout the country”.

This act of taking law and order into the hands received strong condemnation by even the leaders of the Muslim community. In the presence of competent authorities to deal with an issue, the leaders said, Islam explicitly forbids taking law and order into one's hands.

All India Milli Council, Jamaat e Islami Hind, All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, Jamiat Ulama e Hind, Movement for Empowerment of Muslim Indians (MOEMIN) and many other Muslim organizations condemned this act.

They advised that instead of taking revenge Islam teaches to forgive the culprits. “Those who attacked Joseph forgot that the Prophet of Islam, upon whom be peace, in his own life had pardoned a Jewish woman who used to throw garbage on him and when she did not do so one day, the Prophet enquired about her and upon being told that she is ill, went to wish her early recovery and good health. The Prophet forgave the people of Mecca after its conquest although they had pained him, expelled him from his hometown and had waged war against him for years. We find that the attack on the Kerala lecturer is against the basic tenets of Islam and the Sunnah of the Prophet which emphasis on forgiveness,” said a press release jointly released by the organizations.

The story started when Prof. TJ Joseph at Newman's College, Kerala, referred to one Muhammad as “madman” while preparing an exam paper for his college last March. In the paper a question which asked the students to mark punctuations related a story in which a desperate fisherman Muhammad repeatedly called God. His brother scolded him, "Why are you calling God, God, God...?”

The Muslim organizations asserted that the Muhammad shown having conversation with God in the question paper was the Prophet of Islam and that Professor has intentionally referred to him as a man having lost his sense. In the subsequent apology the professor maintained that it was an “unintentional error”.

However, following a series of protest by Muslim organizations the church-run Newman College in Thodupuzha town of the hilly district of Pathamthitta had sacked the professor for one year. The Malayalam language professor was also arrested in April for provoking religious sentiments. Now he is free on bail.

By Staff Writer