Truth About Islam

Islam and Death Threats Against Critics of Muhammad

A Historical and Modern Analysis

When Criticism Becomes a Capital Offense

“O Muhammad! Tell us the truth about your claims, or we will mock you!”
“Kill them.”
— This is the pattern: criticism meets command for execution.

From the 7th century deserts of Arabia to 21st century European cities, criticism of Muhammad has repeatedly been met with a consistent, deadly response — not just outrage, but threats, assassinations, fatwas, and riots.

This post does not seek to provoke. It seeks to expose, analyze, and trace the historical continuity between Islamic texts, orthodox law, and modern reactions to any challenge, satire, or scholarly critique of Muhammad.

📜 Part I — In the Beginning: Death for Dissent

Islam’s founding narrative, according to its own sources, sets the tone early.

🔪 The Prophet and His Critics: Who Was Silenced?

According to Sirat Ibn Ishaq (the earliest biography of Muhammad), several poets and individuals were assassinated for mocking or criticizing Muhammad:

Asma bint Marwan — A poetess in Medina who mocked Muhammad’s killings. Assassinated in her sleep by one of his companions (Ibn Ishaq).
Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf — A Jewish poet who mocked Muhammad after Badr. Killed by Muhammad’s order (Bukhari 4037).
Abu Afak — A 120-year-old man who opposed Muhammad’s rule. Executed.

"Who will rid me of this man?" — Muhammad reportedly asked about critics, and companions obliged.

These are not fringe stories. They are recorded in mainstream Islamic biographies (sira), hadith collections (Bukhari, Muslim), and classical commentaries.

🧾 Blasphemy = Death: The Legal Consensus

Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) is unambiguous:

Reliance of the Traveller (Umdat al-Salik), o8.7: A non-Muslim who insults the Prophet must be killed.
Ibn Taymiyyah, "Al-Sarim al-Maslul": The sword is for anyone who insults Muhammad — Muslim or non-Muslim.
Al-Shafi’i, Al-Mawardi, Ibn Hazm, Al-Nawawi — Across madhhabs (schools), the punishment is death, whether by qadi’s ruling or vigilante action.

This wasn’t metaphor. This was state-sanctioned law.

🌍 Part II — Modern Echoes of Medieval Law

Fast forward 1,400 years. The script remains largely the same.

🔥 Death Threats in the Age of Free Speech

Salman Rushdie (1989): Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa called for his assassination for The Satanic Verses. Multiple translators and publishers were attacked or killed.
Charlie Hebdo (2015): French cartoonists murdered for drawing Muhammad.
Samuel Paty (2020): A teacher in France beheaded for showing caricatures in a lesson on free speech.
Theo van Gogh (2004): Dutch filmmaker killed for criticizing Islam’s treatment of women and quoting the Qur’an.

The attackers didn’t invent these ideas. They were carrying out the traditional mandate found in Islamic law and history: Criticism = death.

🧠 Part III — The Islamic Apologetic Playbook

When these events happen, Islamic apologists scramble. Let’s examine their key defenses — and where they collapse.

1. “They misinterpreted Islam.”

Yet the assassins quote the same hadiths and scholars taught in traditional Islamic curricula.

Q: Who really misinterprets Islam — the attackers or the ones denying its textual legacy?

2. “Muhammad was merciful — look at Ta’if.”

True, he forgave in Ta’if. But that doesn't cancel the dozens of executions for blasphemy recorded in canonical sources.

You cannot cherry-pick mercy stories and ignore judicial death sentences for mockery in Islamic law.

3. “Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom to insult.”

In the West, it does. Free speech includes the right to criticize religion. You can critique Jesus, mock Moses, or parody Buddha — without fear of death.

Only Islam demands lethal exception for its prophet.

🕌 Part IV — Blasphemy Laws Today: Alive and Well

Even in 2025, Islamic countries enforce blasphemy laws rooted in these ancient precedents.

Country	Punishment for Insulting Muhammad
Pakistan	Death (Section 295-C of penal code)
Iran	Death (under Sharia)
Saudi Arabia	Death, beheading
Afghanistan	Death or life imprisonment
Mauritania	Death (though sometimes overturned)

These are not rogue interpretations. They are codified Islamic laws, grounded in hadith and classical jurisprudence.

🔍 Part V — The Core Conflict: Prophetic Infallibility vs. Liberal Secularism

The modern world is built on:

Freedom of expression
Open criticism of public figures
Rejection of sacred immunity from challenge

Islam’s orthodox theology asserts:

Muhammad is the “best of creation” (Qur’an 33:21)
Insulting him is a capital offense
His legacy must be protected at all costs

This creates a perpetual clash between Islamic absolutism and Western liberalism.

There is no compromise: either Muhammad is above critique, or he is not.

🧨 Final Reflection: Ideological Fragility Masquerading as Honor

If a religion’s prophet cannot withstand historical analysis, satire, or dissent without triggering bloodshed, that is not strength.

That is ideological fragility cloaked in claims of honor.

When a religion institutionalizes lethal responses to criticism, it forfeits its claim to moral high ground.

🔚 Conclusion

The problem is not just with the radicals.
It’s with the texts that inspire them, the laws that enshrine their actions, and the apologists who sanitize it for Western ears.

Criticism of Muhammad is not a crime.
It is a litmus test of whether a civilization values truth more than tribal sanctity.