First of all, let's set the record straight: just because someone calls himself a Muslim does not necessarily mean that he speaks in the name of Islam. A wise Muslim once said: ‘You want to understand Islam? Read the Qur’an, don't just look at Muslims’. And the Qur’an has some very clear things to say about violence and how to react to insults.

Revenge, yes, but in moderation

The terrorist attacks that strike and plunge into mourning from time to time, especially in France and Austria, are bringing the debate back to the fore, but in this debate where many voices are being heard, one point of view is missing: that of the Qur’an. What does the Qur’an have to say about terrorism and the glorification of violence? The fact that teenagers rejoiced in the despicable murder of Samuel Paty five years after another despicable murders of the Charlie Hebdo journalists, after the appalling attacks of 13 November, after so many terrorist attacks in Paris, Nice and elsewhere, makes it important to clarify what the Qur’an says.

For a Muslim, cartoons of the Prophet are insulting, hurtful, vulgar and uncomfortable, because they are an attack on the person of the Prophet and can be taken as an attack on Islam itself. How should Muslims respond?

In the Qur’an, we find the old law of retaliation: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But it is well defined and must be proportional. ‘When someone attacks you, reciprocate in proportion to the damage caused’ (Qur’an, 2.194). Any disproportionate reaction is reprehensible (Qur’an, 2.178; 2.194). No disproportionate revenge. So, no verbal or written offence, insult or caricature can therefore justify a call for violence or murder, or even a boycott of a country's products. If the logic is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth when it comes to cartoons of the prophet, the only response will be... in the form of cartoons.

He who over-reacts becomes the aggressor

The Qur’an hastens to add that forgiveness is better than retaliation: ‘If you must retaliate, let it be in proportion to the offence suffered, but “If you forgive, it is better for you” (16.126). And even: ‘He who forgives obtains God's forgiveness’ (5.45). Here we find an idea that echoes the message of Jesus in the Gospel (Matthew, 6, 12; 18, 32-33): forgiveness is better, because whoever asks God's forgiveness knows how to forgive others. In short: ‘The response must be equal to the offence suffered, and he who forgives and is conciliatory will find his reward with the Lord, for God does not love aggressors’ (42.39-40). The conclusion then is: the one who over-reacts becomes the aggressor.

Patience and dignity in the face of mockery

So, what should Muslims do, when faced with mockery of their Prophet and his Sacred Book? The Qur’an invites us not to respond with violence. When someone makes fun of Islam, the Qur’an recommends that you walk away, don't argue, and remain dignified. It even suggests: ‘Your religion is yours, mine is mine. Peace be upon you’ (28.55). And again: ‘Avoid arguing with those who denigrate the faith’ (6.68). In short, the best response to mockery is indifference and moral high ground. Say to them: ‘You are free to mock’, says the Qur’an (9.64). And it insists: it is not up to us to judge, still less to punish. Judgement belongs to God, and it will take place in the hereafter, not here on earth. The Qur’an explicitly states that God ‘will settle your disputes on the Day of Judgement’ (22.69).

If this applies to the Qur’an, the holy book, it applies a fortiori to a caricature of the Prophet, however insulting or vulgar: ‘The servants of the Merciful are those who walk humbly on the earth, those who respond with gentleness to non-believers who question them’ (Qur’an, 25.63). It's best not to attach too much importance to insults or to give them a resonance chamber.

Everyone is responsible for themselves

The message of the Qur’an is profoundly individualistic: each person is responsible for his or her own faith, actions and conscience. You cannot force someone to believe. Even the Prophet did not have this power: ‘You cannot convince someone who will not listen’. (28.56). Faith is a personal journey. Everyone has the freedom to believe in what he or she wants, to his or her heart's content. It is not up to believers controlling the thoughts of others, but of making the effort themselves, individually, to attain faith.

And nobody can know everything, only God knows everything (Qur’an, 18.22). We must therefore recognise that we do not have the right over others’ faith, but that we must continually seek our own spiritual path. Each person must take responsibility for the morality of his or her own actions, and no one can appeal to injunctions coming from others to escape the morality of his or her own actions: ‘We have made every human being responsible for his or her own destiny’ (Qur’an, 17.13). Following the advice or precepts of others does not absolve one of one's own moral responsibility: ‘Each one will bear the burden of his deeds’. (17.13). This principle also prevents abuses: we cannot say ‘I was told to do that’ to justify violence.

Believing in God is crucial in Islam, but it is not up to no one to take the place of God as a justifier. Trying to convince others about religion is ‘futile’ (Qur’an, 43.83). It is true that the divine message can be brought, but the recipient of the message has full individual responsibility for following it or not (Qur'an, 6.69).

Islam is close to Judaism and Christianity

This respect for others, this rejection of gratuitous violence, this constant reminder of individual responsibility - these are values that can also be found in Judaism, Christianity and even Stoic philosophy. This is not accidental. Islam is not opposed to these values, it is an extension of them, because historically it came after them.

Monotheism presupposes an individually responsible subject, since each person will be judged for his or her own actions. Islam is no exception, and the cultural proximity between Islam and the other two monotheisms is stronger than we think (Hannah Arendt, The Crisis of Culture, chap. 2). It is up to each individual to exercise his or her own judgement on the path towards greater mastery and morality.

To sum up, even if certain cartoons are insulting, the response is neither hatred nor violence. The Qur’an calls for restraint, patience and self-control. Islam does not need to defend itself with terror. It defends itself with dignity.

A final question

Admittedly, many messages in the Qur’an show a ‘cultural proximity between Islam and the other two monotheisms’, but are they the only ones which reflect the message of the Prophet? Does the analysis of the message of the Qur’an reported in this text by a wise Muslim really reflect the essence of Islam? Or, as often it happens, are there ‘other things’ that Islam is unwilling to recognise?  For, as the wise man said: ‘Truth is the daughter of time’ (Aulu-Gelle) and conviction is not demonstration.

See also, Le droit de légitime défense en islam : mythes et réalités or What is Islam’s view on revenge?