“His main claim is that the Prophet married an underage girl but at that time in Arabia they had different laws.” Quite so. It is interesting to note that Bunglawala doesn’t deny that Muhammad, when a little over 50, married Aisha, who was nine. That is attested in Sahih Bukhari, the Hadith collection considered most reliable by Muslims. But the problem here is not that Muhammad was a lawbreaker; the problem is, as I explain at length in Islam Unveiled, that Muhammad is al-insan al-kamil, the perfect man, and as such his example is valid for all time. That’s why child marriage is rampant in the Islamic world, and why Bennett should not be castigated: it is not a question of criticizing the founder of someone else’s religion, but of asking whether the example of that founder is really a positive thing in 21st century society. But that, of course, is the question that must never be asked.
From the Star, with thanks to all who sent this:
A POLITICAL researcher working for high-profile UK Independence Party Euro MP Robert Kilroy-Silk has been accused of inflaming racial hatred by claiming the Prophet Mohammed was a paedophile and castigating Islam as a false religion.
Outspoken solicitor Tony Bennett, of Chippingfield, Old Harlow, insists his views, which were published in the Sunday Telegraph at the weekend, are based on historical fact.
His comments have been condemned by the Muslim Council of Britain but Mr Bennett said this week he had received a lot of support.
“These are things that should be brought into the public domain and talked about,” he told the Star….
Yet Mr Bennett also condemned racial stereotyping, insisting: “There’s no hatred here. Many Muslims in this country are hard-working people who just want to get on and I have no problem with them.
“I am dealing with historical facts that are in Islamic textbooks.”
And he pointed to the fact that he assisted Asian postal worker Mahmood Siddiqui, who was awarded £130,000 compensation after claiming he was subjected to racial abuse while working at the Royal Mail sorting office in Harlow, as proof that he was not anti-Muslim.
Inayat Bunglawala, Essex spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, described Mr Bennett as an idiot.
“Those kinds of remarks, saying the Prophet was a paedophile, are utterly unacceptable,” he said. “The Prophet is held in huge respect by Muslims the world over and he changed the course of history. The best thing we can do is try to ignore him. I think Mr Bennett is not fit to lick the shoes of the Prophet.”
He added: “His main claim is that the Prophet married an underage girl but at that time in Arabia they had different laws.”…
Charles Jackson, president of the Harlow Jewish Community, accused Mr Bennett of trouble-making, while the Rev David Kirk-wood, of St Paul’s Church, in The High, Harlow, said: “There are differences of opinion between Christians and Muslims but it’s very important we respect each other’s beliefs and that we don’t try to undermine the founder of their religions.”