The Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah Association of Australia has announced on its website the “Abu Lahab Award: The Islamophobia Award for the worst Islamophobes in Australia. Details coming soon”.

This is a copy of a similar award presented by the UK Islamo-Fascist group Islamic Human Rights Commission from 2003 to 2005.

Abu Lahab was a contemporary critic of the Prophet Muhammad and was consequently the subject of Koranic Surah, the Al-Masad (Sura 111) where God (Allah) made it clear what the punishment of critics or Islamophobes was to be:

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

  1. The power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish.
  2. His wealth and gains will not exempt him.
  3. He will be plunged in flaming Fire,
  4. And his wife, the wood-carrier,
  5. Will have upon her neck a halter of palm-fibre; (Pickthall)

No doubt there are many reasons for Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah to promote this award. In my opinion, the main reason is to intimidate critics.

There is always in one’s mind the unstated but real threat that some crazy Islamist will try to cut your head off; as happened in 2004 with the Dutch Islamophobe Theo van Gogh.

We are all very conscious of the sensitivity of Islam to any criticism as is demonstrated by the 1989 death fatwa by the Iranian leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, against Salman Rushdie and also the more recent matter of the Danish cartoons.

I welcome any expression of freedom of speech (such as this Award) by the Islamic community and absolutely support their right to do so. As far as my own freedom of speech goes, I have been called an Islamophobe many times and have received the occasional threat.

It will be very interesting to see who the Award nominees are and who wins. It is fair to say that the award is coveted by most recipients.

My wife is fairly anxious that I am not nominated, mainly because she is troubled about the “halter of palm-fibre” that Allah may compel her to wear for being married to me.