By  Mohammad Sabrah, IOL Correspondent

CAIRO — Prominent Muslim scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi refuted allegations by a far-right Dutch lawmaker that the Noble Qur’an incites murder and hatred, outlining five ways to stand up to Islam offenders.

“What the Dutch politician did is tantamount to opening fire on the Qur’an,” Qaradawi said in exclusive statements to IslamOnline.net.

“Calling the Qur’an a ‘fascist book’ is a groundless, fabricated allegation that can only come from an ignorant,” added the president of the International Union for Muslim Scholars.

Geert Wilders, the leader of the right-wing Freedom Party, on Thursday, March 27, posted a controversial anti-Qur’an documentary on a video-sharing website.

The 15-minute film, entitled “Fitna,” an Arabic word for sedition or strife, starts with a Danish cartoon showing a man described as Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with a ticking bomb in his turban. It then shows a page from the Noble Qur’an on the right and a translation of one specific verse on the left.

In the following scene, the Qur’an page is replaced by a plane hitting the New York World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, while the verse remains on the left.

Similar segments follow the same pattern linking verses from the Qur’an to attacks such as the 2004 Madrid train bombing, the 2005 London bombing, the attack on US soldiers in Somalia a decade ago, the murder of Dutch director Theo van Gogh in 2004 and beheadings in Iraq.

The controversial films has drawn rebuke from the UN, EU and the dutch government.

“The film equates Islam with violence. We reject that interpretation,” Dutch Premier Jan Peter Balkenende said immediate after its release.

“We believe it serves no purpose other than to offend.”

Five Responses

Sheikh Qaradawi outlined five ways to respond to insults to Islam and Prophet Muhammad by Wilders and his alike.

“We need scholarly refutations to claims that Prophet Muhammad incited the killing of men and women,” he stressed.

“This should be done in several languages to reach all those who do not know the truth about the prophet of mercy.”

The prominent Muslim scholar also urged political responses.

“Heavyweight Muslim countries should have a manly stance in defense of Islam and its prophet,” he added.

“The peoples need to pressure their governments to take such a stand and prove to the world that the Muslim Ummah is still alive.”

Sheikh Qaradawi also underlined the need for artistic and media responses.

“Movies and TV shows play an important role in clarifying the true image of a much-stereotyped Islam.”

Two young Dutchmen, Ersin Kiris and Vincent van der Lem, have already released a counter film on Youtube and MTNL.nl (official website of the Multicultural Television in the Netherlands).

It seeks the borders of freedom of expression and attacks Wilders with his own weapons.

Sheikh Qaradawi said the response is boycotting the products of countries that allow its citizens to bash Islam.

The Dutch government has reportedly distanced itself from Wilders views and tried unsuccessfully to convince him not to broadcast the film.

Recognizing that under the Dutch law and constitution it could not prevent the film release, it had vowed to review its content once made public.

“The government will investigate whether Mr Wilders has committed a criminal offence; the Public Prosecution Service will decide about prosecution.”

Sheikh Qaradawi, the president of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, regretted that many Muslims project a distorted image of their religion though their wrong understand of the Qur’an.

“We ask them to better understand the Islam’s message of peace, mercy and human brotherhood,” he added.

“We also hope that non-Muslims will get a chance to know the truth about Islam which only wants peace and prosperity for mankind.”

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