Here is the latest press release from Hamas-linked CAIR:
CAIR Repudiates Egypt ‘Blasphemy’ Death Sentences
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/28/12) — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil liberties organization, today repudiated death sentences handed down by an Egyptian court for charges linked to the anti-Islam film “Innocence of Muslims” that attacked the Prophet Muhammad….
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We repudiate this un-Islamic attempt to impose the death sentence for blasphemy, a sentence that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself never imposed, despite being attacked both rhetorically and physically.
“One Islamic tradition (hadith) states in reference to the Prophet: ‘You do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness.’ (Sahih Al-Bukhari) Muslims in Egypt and worldwide should choose the same path of kindness and reconciliation followed by the Prophet himself.
“We ask civil and religious authorities in Egypt to honor the legacy of the Prophet by following his example and rejecting these death sentences.
“To do otherwise violates Islamic principles and offers support to those — like the extremists who produced this despicable film — who seek to defame Islam and Muslims.”…
That all sounds great. The only problem with it is that it isn’t honest. It is noteworthy that Awad tacitly acknowledges that Islam does indeed have a death sentence for blasphemy, which most Islamic apologists in the West deny; however, Muhammad did actually have people murdered for insulting him. Awad almost certainly knows this, and the Egyptian authorities undoubtedly do. So when Hamas-linked CAIR asks “civil and religious authorities in Egypt to honor the legacy of the Prophet by following his example and rejecting these death sentences,” they’re talking to people who believe they’re following the “legacy of the Prophet” by imposing the death sentences. There is absolutely no chance that Egyptian authorities will heed CAIR’s call, and CAIR knows this.
This makes it clear that Hamas-linked CAIR’s repudiation of the death sentences is not designed to bring about any real change in Egypt, but only to lull more Americans into complacency about the reality of the contents of Sharia.
Islam mandates death for non-Muslim subjects of the Islamic state who mention “something impermissible about Allah, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), or Islam” (‘Umdat al-Salik, o11.10), and such laws go back to passages in the Hadith and Sira in which Muhammad orders the murders of people who have insulted him, including Abu “˜Afak, who was over one hundred years old, and the poetess “˜Asma bint Marwan. Abu “˜Afak was killed in his sleep, in response to Muhammad’s question, “Who will avenge me on this scoundrel?” Similarly, Muhammad on another occasion cried out, “Will no one rid me of this daughter of Marwan?” One of his followers, “˜Umayr ibn “˜Adi, went to her house that night, where he found her sleeping next to her children. The youngest, a nursing babe, was in her arms. But that didn’t stop “˜Umayr from murdering her and the baby as well. Muhammad commended him: “You have done a great service to Allah and His Messenger, “˜Umayr!” (Ibn Ishaq, 674-676)
Then there was Ka’b bin Al-Ashraf. Muhammad asked: “Who is willing to kill Ka’b bin Al-Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His Apostle?” One of the Muslims, Muhammad bin Maslama answered, “O Allah’s Apostle! Would you like that I kill him?” When Muhammad said that he would, Muhammad bin Maslama said, “Then allow me to say a (false) thing (i.e. to deceive Kab).” Muhammad responded: “You may say it.” Muhammad bin Maslama duly lied to Ka’b, luring him into his trap, and murdered him. (Sahih Bukhari, volume 5, book 59, number 369)
And another incident:
A blind man had a slave-mother [a slave who bore children for him] who used to abuse the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and disparage him. He [the blind man] forbade her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she did not give up her habit. One night she began to slander the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and abuse him. So he [the blind man] took a dagger, placed it on her belly, pressed it, and killed her. A child who came between her legs was smeared with the blood that was there. When the morning came, the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) was informed about it.
He assembled the people and said: I adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and I adjure him by my right to him that he should stand up. Jumping over the necks of the people and trembling the man stood up.
He sat before the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: Apostle of Allah! I am her master; she used to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to abuse and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her.
Thereupon the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Oh be witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, book 38, number 4348)
And:
A Jewess used to abuse the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and disparage him. A man strangled her till she died. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) declared that no recompense was payable for her blood. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, book 38, number 4349)
(Thanks to Jihad Watch reader Traeh for those last two.)
Likewise Islam QA calls for death for blasphemers, using both Qur’an and Hadith to make its argument. “The scholars are unanimously agreed,” the site explains, “that a Muslim who insults the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) becomes a kaafir [unbeliever] and an apostate who is to be executed. This consensus was narrated by more than one of the scholars, such as Imaam Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh, Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad, al-Khattaabi and others.”
Is Hamas-linked CAIR really unaware of these traditions, and of these unanimous rulings of Islamic law, and consensus among Islamic scholars? Of course not. And that is the difference between reform and deception. If they were really “moderates” or “reformers,” they’d refer to this material in some way and explain why Muhammad’s example in this should not be normative. Instead, they take advantage of the fact the hardly any Americans know anything about this material, and so they know they can lie about it and get away with it.
Except at Jihad Watch.