OPINION:
To the Muslims who chanted “With our blood and soul, we defend you, Islam” during Muslim-Coptic Christian riots in Egypt last weekend, I say you are maligning, not defending, Islam.
Have you forgotten the Koran’s instructions (22:41) telling Muslims to protect all places of worship, including churches? You cannot be the true followers of Prophet Muhammad, who mandated full protection of Christians from any act of aggression by Muslims. Indeed, St. Catherine’s Monastery in Mt. Sinai, Egypt, houses a facsimile of the prophet’s letter in this regard. If you want to defend Islam, then protect churches and show the same spirit of brotherhood you did during the uprising that ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.
As a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, I urge Egyptian authorities to provide full protection to Christians and their places of worship and pursue the guilty parties. Lastly, I express my most sincere condolences to the victims’ families.
NASIR AHMAD
Tinton Falls, N.J.
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