Violent riots against Prophet's teachings: Muslim Imam

[sonz]

Imam Maulana Shafayat Mohamed, a South Florida Muslim spiritual leader condemned the recent violent riots that broke out all over the world protesting the blasphemous cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), saying that violence is against the holy Prophet's teachings.

Maulana Shafayat, the head of the Darul Uloom Institute and Islamic Training Center in Pembroke Pines, made his remarks during his sermon before Friday’s prayers addressing some 600 worshipers, where he spoke against violence and called on Muslims follow the peaceful example of the Messenger of Allah.

''If the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was alive today, he would never, ever give an instruction to practice that kind of violence,'' he said. ``Why do we cause more harm? We could use the same situation to let the world know who is Muhammad (PBUH).''

The blasphemous cartoons, featuring the holy Prophet (PBUH) with a bomb in his turban and in other unflattering postures, where first published in a Danish daily newspaper and later reprinted in other European papers, sparking fierce protests in Iran, Afghanistan, the Palestinian West Bank, Egypt, London and elsewhere.

It's time for other Muslims to denounce the protests as well, Darul Uloom's Mohamed told his congregation on Friday.

''Sometimes I wonder if my Muslim brothers and sisters who demonstrate this kind of behavior have read the life of the Prophet Muhammad,'' the Imam said.

In the wake of the fierce protests going on all over the world, numerous Muslim organizations in the U.S. launched campaigns educating the public about the Holy Prophet's legacy.

In South Florida, The Council for American Islamic Relations, launched a free lecture series on the life of Mohammed and plans distributing DVDs of the PBS documentary “Muhammad: The Legacy of a Prophet.”

The Council will also rent a billboard next month along Florida's Turnpike near Interstate 595 in Davie calling on drivers to ``Explore the Legacy of Prophet Muhammad.''

''If you see how Muslims are reacting in parts of the world, it is very contrary to what our prophet would have taught us,'' said Altaf Ali, the group's executive director.

Raymond Austin, a firefighter for Miami-Dade County, condemned the violent protests, saying that Muslims overreacted because they are oppressed by the West.

''The Muslim world is being taunted to react,''

“I don't condone the violence, but I do understand their emotions. . . . You don't find Muslims in this country doing stuff like that.''

Source: Miami Herald