Who Killed Salwan? Who is the real responsible?

When I studied Law and Sharia in Egypt, they taught us that every crime has four pillars: Criminal, Victim, weapon, and motive. When I heard the shocking but also expected news about the murder of Salwan Momika, I had to ask myself the question: Why was Salwan killed? What is the motive? I do not support the burning of the Quran or any religious book, even if I disagree with it. Still, I remember when I was a young Salafi Muslim and what I have learned. Because Salwan, in the eyes of Islam, committed crimes, and the biggest crime is Blaspheming Islam. Blasphemy is: the action or offence of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk.

Example of blaspheming in Isalm is: “what has been mentioned by Imam Ghazali & Imam Shihabuddin Al-Misri El Shafi’i”

Revile, question, wonder, doubt, mock or deny the existence of God or Islamic Monotheism or Prophet of Islam or that the Prophet was sent by God.

revile, deny, or mock any verse of the Quran, or the religion of Islam

Deny the prophethood of Muhammed or The Last Judgment.

To deny the obligatory character of something considered obligatory by Ijma (consensus of Muslims)

Blasphemy Punishment is supported by Islam, like Quran, 5,33 (which Ibn Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:

“ Muhaarabah (waging war against Islam) is of two types: physical and verbal.

Waging war verbally against Islam may be worse than waging war physically – as stated above – hence the Prophet used to kill those who waged war against Islam verbally, whilst letting off some of those who waged war against Islam physically.

This ruling is to be applied more strictly after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Mischief may be caused by physical action or by words, but the damage caused by words is many times greater than that caused by physical action; and the goodness achieved by words in reforming may be many times greater than that achieved by physical action.

It is proven that waging war against Allah and His Messenger verbally is worse and the efforts on earth to undermine religion by verbal means is more effective.“

Al-Saarim al-Maslool, 3/735 

Which is supported and rooted in the verses of the Quran like, 9:5, 9:73, 8:39,

And Many other verses and Hadith (The Saying of the Muhammed the Prophet of Islam) like:

Narrated Ibn 'Umar:

Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives an property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah." Al Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 24:

I know that many Imams and Muslim theologians may start condemning the action of killing Salwan, saying that Islam is a religion of peace. And they will quote familiar verses like Chapter 2, verse 256 of the Quran, which talks about no compulsion in religion, BUT Many Scholars agreed that this verse is about " the people who refused to convert to Islam from the unbelievers, or the People of the Book; in case they pay the Jizya “The tribute.” Other Scholars went on to say that it is abrogated by the verses of Jihad “Fighting,” which is not accurate.

The majority of Scholars said that these verses abrogate each other, and some clarified that they are not, but it is according to the Muslim's status, if they can fight or if they are weak. If they can fight, they should fight till they force the enemies to Islam or to Jizyah (in case they are the people of the book) if they are the people of the good.

This was the opinion of Ibn Taymiah in Sarem EL Masloul (221) / Ibn Baz, Magmoo’ El Fatwa (3/ 189-194) / Ibn Katheer (Tafseer/Commentary)

Also, they may mention Chapter 18, verse 29, which says that “…whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve…” However, It is narrated about Ibn Al Abbas his say about this verse, where he says: Who God will for him to believe, he believes and who God will for him disbelieve, he disbelieves. “And you do not will except that Allah wills - Lord of the worlds.” -surah al takweer 81:29- and this is not an allowance from God of disbelief for who wills and belief for who wants BUT it is a threat and intimidation. Tafseer /commentary of al-Tabary.

 

Very strange as well that Othman Ibn Afan, the third Khalifa of Islam, burned many Qurans to keep only his own copy. And no body calls him the Quran burner, even though he burned all the copies except his

See Al Bukhari in English. Virtues of the Book in the Quran, No. 510. Hadith narrated by Anas bin Malik.

 

So, I don’t think that this is the solution, but we need a real solution. Muslims must deny these teachings, which I do not think is easy, as if they do that, they have to deny many clear Hadith and Athar (Muhammed Companions' Actions) as well as different commentaries of the Quran.

 

Tomas Samuel

MA in Ministy with Apologetics Focuse