“The ink of a scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr.”

Would that this was better understood by so many in the radical religious right (of all religions! ;-).

Too bad he isn't around to remind his so-called followers about this in person.

Hmm..I wonder what the Islamic Extremists would say about this quote.

If only they practiced what their preached... then and only then consideration may be an option.

Each and every life is noble and sacred, the martyr's, the single lost face in a crowd, the rich, the poor, the religious, the non-religious, all being equal. There may be principles of liberty worth dying for but those principles support life and the free exercise of conscious (what ever religion or philosophy that might entail; atheism to zen)

Martyr's are created with 'ink'. Whatever is sacred is sacred already -- man cannot make anything sacred -- he may only declare what he believes to be sacred.

Unfortunately, this is considered a da'if ahadith (weak hadith) by the Ulema. Who knows though, maybe the Prophet Muhammad did say this and it's been suppressed for political reasons, as happened in the institutionalization of early Christianity? In my opinion, I'd like to believe he did say this. A beautiful thought, regardless of whomever penned it.

Such a shame that this single quote appears and that such a great man is judged by the fanaticism of some.