Dear Pam Geller,
I am a Muslim woman from the Netherlands and I want to send you my heartfelt appologies for the deeds of fellow Muslims who are sending you death threats for mocking the prophet. This is unacceptable Islamically and Democratically. It amazes me that they don’t know the stories in which the prophet had been mocked for many times by people from his time. When Suhail bin Amr, a poet and brilliant orator who was notorious for blaspheming the Prophet was taken as a prisoner of war after the battle of Badr, the Prophet asked his companions to show kindness to him. `Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab approached the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and said, "OMessenger of Allah, let me extract the teeth of Suhail Ibn `Amr until no speaker stands against you after today." The Messenger responded, "No, `Umar. I do not treat anyone harshly so Allah will not harm me, even though I am a Prophet." Then `Umar came nearer to him and the Prophet said, "Perhaps Suhail will take a stand tomorrow that will make you happy."
Another story from the hadieth mentions a neighbor of the Prophet that tried her best to irritate him by throwing garbage in his way every day. One day, when he walked out of his home there was no garbage. This made the Prophet inquire about the old woman and he came to know that she was sick. The Prophet went to visit her and offer any assistance she might need. The old woman was extremely humbled and at the same time ashamed of her actions in light of the concern that the Prophet showed her. She did not only offend him but threw even garbage at him, but he showed kindness towards her. These are but a few stories that illustrates that the Prophet reacted with kindness towards people who ridiculed him. There are many examples in which he set the right example for his followers.
Sadly, many imams do not explain Islam in the right way to their followers. These men are copious and spread far and wide in the Muslim community. This saddens me. You are free to say whatever you want about any subject you want, with the exception of hate speech, and this is your democratic right. This is also your right in Islam, as you may have seen in the before mentioned examples. That bearded man in the interview owes you an apology, what he said was offending and hateful. It is by no way Islamic behavior, but sadly he is enabled by the majority of the Muslim community, because we aren’t speaking up massively against him, we aren’t showing you our support massively and this saddens me. I hope you will accept this letter from me. I wish I could do more.
A firm handshake,
De Gezonde Moslima