Needless to say, Bangladesh is a country preponderantly dominated by people who belong to the Islamic faith. Therefore, it is no surprise that the news of insulting Prophet Muhammad (SM) in a cartoon in France, will be disliked, even resented, by a great many number of people in this country. And they would likely express their dislike or discomfort as an outcome of the same.

But the question we ask is : can we allow such expressions to be too aggressive, too unrestrained or of a nature that could stir up more troubles in contrast to what things are being protested. Or should the protests prove to be more damaging than what things are aimed for through protesting ?
Also let us be mindful of what the HolyQuran and Sunnah say in these matters. Specific verses in the Holy Quran are highlighted often in different discourses to signify that Almighty Allah’s will is Islam should be a religion of moderation. The verses urge the Muslims or believers to follow a middle path and not to engage in extreme behaviour even in relation to their religious adversaries.

That does not mean that Muslims will not protest wrong doings or where their religious sentiments are hurt they should remain silent. But the Quran emphasizes on moderation even in such protests. The Quran warns that many people in the past perished mainly for their failure to practice moderation when faced with runaway savage impulses and Muslims, therefore, need to tame such impulses for their own good and the good of all.

Looking back at the past, we would see how in the days of the Prophet Mohammad (SM), non believers were treated leniently and even in the height of his power with many non believers in Islam in Arabia around him, the Prophet very strictly controlled his followers and obligated them to treat non believers with utmost kindness and equality. They were exhorted by the Prophet not to bring non believers under Islam through any form of physical or mental coercion but only from their free will. Thus, many Christian and Jews still live peacefully in Arab countries and they would all be Muslims today if Prophet Muhammad centuries ago chose to act differently.

With so much guidance in the Quran and Sunnah, it is so regretful that so many Muslims the world over are leaning to act and express their mind in relation to the non Islamic world with least temperance or better understanding of present day world conditions.. The protests centering on denigrating the Prophet through a cartoon is the latest example. Specially notable is the riotous expression of large crowds of people in our country to the cartoon event and its aftermath. They are seen organizing or whipping up huge gatherings, ventilating their expression in very coarse manner, pushing for marching towards the French embassy, calling for the boycott of French goods, severing diplomatic relations with France, etc.

If these people were allowed to have their way, they could create serious stresses and strains in interstate relations or specifically between Bangladesh and most other non Islamic countries. But in today’s interdependent world, how such an outcome can be beneficial for Bangladesh ? As it is, Bangladesh has been regarded as a ‘moderate’ country where religious extremism is not prominent or encouraged officially or otherwise.

If this conception of Bangladesh is allowed to be distorted worldwide, then how that would be useful for Bangladesh ? A bulk of our foreign trade is with non Muslim countries, specially in European countries including France. If the call to boycott French goods is pursued hard, then we may face retaliation with corresponding calls from these countries to boycott our goods. In that case, how such a development will be helpful for Bangladesh to shore up its garments industry now fighting very difficult conditions under the corona pandemic ?

There are many other aspects to discouraging adoption of an extreme posture in today’s world stage when nations are so interdependent. The same cannot be discussed in the limits of this column. Suffice it to say, the label of a moderate country serves best interests of Bangladesh in all respects. We must do our best to retain this label come what may. This is dictated in our all round best interests.

There is every way open to us for expressing our grievances in relation to the cartoon. But the same can be done within the bounds of acceptability, presently adhered to international norms and relations, preponderant international practices, etc. Also, let it not be missed that protests made in this civil manner are likely to be better received and positively acted upon than any degree of fanatical behaviour.

Let us not forget that our Islamic faith is not so thin or wishy-washy that the same can be so easily spoiled by a mere cartoon. Rather we can prove the real mettle of our religion by remaining calm under any such provocation, now and in the future. That way we will be the stronger, forever.