Letters to the Editor

Daily Mail

2 Derry Street

London W8 5TT.

November 19th, 2001

Dear Sir,

The picture of the Prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings of God be upon him) and the associated headline of John Casey's article (Daily Mail, November 17, 2001 p.12-13) has caused widespread distress to British Muslims.

In Islam it is absolutely prohibited to attempt to sketch or reconstruct a likeness of any Prophet of God. This is because many peoples have been led astray in the past by giving undue reverence to their prophets through various likenesses. This, in time, led them to worship their prophet rather than God alone. It is God alone who is Creator of the Universe and no-one else.

The blessed Prophet Muhammed is deeply respected as the final Prophet of God. The Qur'an describes him as the 'best example' for Muslims. While we acknowledge that your headline described him as a creator of a religion capable of extraordinary good, to go on to describe him as a 'brigand' whose religion is also capable of 'unspeakable evil' is to utterly misunderstand and misrepresent him.

This is offensive to all Muslims who have been very hurt by this during the fasting month of Ramadan. British Muslims are now an integral part of UK society and we urge you to remember that we all need to learn to understand one another and not propagate misconceptions that could lead to disharmony.

Yours faithfully,

Yousuf Bhailok