Free Republic

Ok, let's get down to brass tacks. How long has the Islam religion been around and have they always been so hateful and violent (like so many of them are today)? I believe they claim to be direct descendants of Abraham but I also believe that Abraham was a favorite of our one true Judeo-Christian God, and was the father or grandfather of the Jewish and Christian religions. I have a hard time believing that our loving Judeo-Christian God is also the Islam God, Allah, whose Muslim followers seem to be so misplaced. Haven't the warlike Muslim tribes fanned out...

The 'Birmingham Koran' fragment that could shake Islam after carbon-dating suggests it is OLDER than the Prophet Muhammad Fragments of the oldest Koran were discovered last month in BirminghamCarbon dating found the pages were produced between 568AD and 654AD But several historians now say that the parchment may predate MuhammadThey believe that this discovery could rewrite the early history of Islam Fragments of the world's oldest Koran, found in Birmingham last month, may predate the Prophet Muhammad and could even rewrite the early history of Islam, according to scholars.The pages, thought to be between 1,448 and 1,371 years old, were...

The BBC announced enthusiastically Wednesday that “what may be the world’s oldest fragments of the Koran have been found by the University of Birmingham.” This news is not only of interest to scholars and Muslim intellectuals; it appears to buttress the Islamic claim that the Qur’an’s text has remained unchanged for 1,400 years – which is purported to be proof of its divine origin. There is only one problem with all this: the BBC article raises more questions than it answers, and reveals more about the wishful thinking of the academic and media establishments than it does about the...

What may be the world's oldest fragments of the Koran have been found by the University of Birmingham. Radiocarbon dating found the manuscript to be at least 1,370 years old, making it among the earliest in existence. The pages of the Muslim holy text had remained unrecognised in the university library for almost a century. The British Library's expert on such manuscripts, Dr Muhammad Isa Waley, said this "exciting discovery" would make Muslims "rejoice". The manuscript had been kept with a collection of other Middle Eastern books and documents, without being identified as one of the oldest fragments of the...

If all these candidates are going to pop off about Islam and Muslims, how’s about they at least have to do it front of one?Last Tuesday’s GOP debates were all about Muslims. The word “Islam” or derivations of it like “Islamic” were mentioned 27 times in the primetime debate and 31 times during the earlier “kid’s table” debate. If you had played a drinking game where you had to do a shot of whiskey every time the word “Islam” was uttered during those GOP debates, you would’ve been dead about 30 minutes in. And the discussion about Islam during the...

Yesterday, YouGov and the Huffington Post released a poll showing that large majorities of Americans -- and pluralities across every political demographic -- have an "unfavorable opinion" of the Islamic faith. The numbers are simply not close. There will be no doubt some hand-wringing about "Islamophobia" and further calls to continue the American elite's fourteen-year track record of whitewashing Islamic beliefs and culture, but I wonder if the media is missing a powerful, largely-uncovered influence on America's hearts and minds - the experience and testimony of the more than two million Americans who've served overseas since 9/11 and have experienced...

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has released a call to arms which asks Muslims everywhere to physically join ISIS in the area it now controls or simply take up the struggle against unbelievers wherever they are. The title of the message "March Forth Whether Heavy or Light" comes from a verse in the Koran which calls on believers to "strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah." In Baghdadi's view that striving is ISIS's war against unbelievers. "O Muslims, Islam was never for a day the religion of peace. Islam is the religion of war," al-Baghdadi...

I am not a Christian nor a Jew, and thus do not have a dog in this fight between them and Muslims on a theological level. From the perspective of an outsider, I offer my views on Islam in its current form and how non-believers should respond to its spread into our homelands: Those who worship the God of Abraham [Jews, Christians and Muslims] have this history in common: Theological Exclusivism [my God is the only God and my religion is the only valid religion]. Jews do not proselytize and are not obligated to spread their faith. Christians and Muslims...

In leaked recording of Likud faction meeting, prime minister also questions how New York would cope with wave of violence similar to one faced by Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel could destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem if it wanted to – but doing so "would be contrary to everything we represent." Netanyahu was speaking during a meeting of the Likud Knesset faction on Thursday. A recording of his words was published by Army Radio. Responding to what he said was Palestinian incitement regarding Israel's supposed interest in getting rid of...

Question: Do moderate Muslims believe in the Quran, sharia law, jihad, infidels, dhimmi, etc? If so, why would they be considered "moderate" and why should any of them be allowed into our country under any circumstances whatsoever? The Quran, sharia law, jihad, infidels, dhimmi, etc, are beliefs, laws and concepts that are antithetical to our Judeo-Christian system of government, constitution laws, culture, etc, and besides being hateful and incitement to violence and terrorism are in fact, subversive to our constitution and a direct threat to our unalienable rights and even to the continuation of our free nation. The following is...

Under federal law, the executive branch is expressly required to take religion into account in determining who is granted asylum. Under the provision governing asylum (section 1158 of Title 8, U.S. Code), an alien applying for admission must establish that ... religion... was or will be at least one central reason for persecuting the applicant. Moreover, to qualify for asylum in the United States, the applicant must be a 'refugee' as defined by federal law. That definition (set forth in Section 1101(a)(42)(A) of Title , U.S. Code) also requires the executive branch to take account of the alien's religion: The...

The Rape of Sweden Swedish woman raped for hours by migrant “children” https://translate.google.co.uk/transl... The truth about the “children” swarming into Sweden https://acidmuncher.wordpress.com/201...

Don’t Make the Muslims Angry Our abusive relationship with Islam has to end. October 27, 2015 Daniel Greenfield 124 Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam. The Secretary of State of the United States traveled to the Muslim country of Jordan to assure its Foreign Minister that Jews would not be praying any more at the holiest site in Judaism. As Kerry put it, “It is Muslims who pray on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif and non-Muslims who visit.” Israel is often accused of apartheid and segregation, but here...

Vladimir Putin has the United States’ foreign policy establishment swooning. One columnist admires the “decisiveness” that has put him “in the driver’s seat” in the Middle East. A veteran diplomat notes gravely, “It’s the lowest ebb since World War II for U.S. influence and engagement in the region.” A sober-minded pundit declares, “Not since the end of the Cold War a quarter-century ago has Russia been as assertive or Washington as acquiescent.”

The number of Africans trapped in poverty has surged by around 100 million over the past quarter century, the World Bank said on Friday, despite years of economic growth and multi-million dollar aid programs. The report's figures, described as "staggering" by the bank's Africa head Makhtar Diop, showed widespread malnutrition, and rising violence against civilians, particularly in central regions and the Horn of Africa. "It is projected that the world's extreme poor will be increasingly concentrated in Africa," Diop added in a foreword. A surge in population meant the proportion of Africans in poverty had actually fallen since 1990, but...

Islamic State militants have brutally murdered 12 Christians, including the 12-year-old son of a Syrian ministry team leader who had planted nine churches, for refusing to renounce Jesus Christ and embrace Islam instead, the Gospel Herald reported. The horrific executions took place last Aug. 28 in an unnamed village outside Aleppo, Syria, according to Christian Aid Mission, a humanitarian group that assists indigenous Christian workers in their native countries. "In front of the team leader and relatives in the crowd, the Islamic extremists cut off the fingertips of the boy and severely beat him, telling his father they would stop...

A Burbank man faces more than 11 years in state prison if convicted in connection with allegations that he punched a 78-year-old Costco shopper following a dispute over a Nutella waffle sample. ... The incident occurred Sunday morning at the Costco located at 1051 W. Burbank Blvd. The punch left the victim with with facial swelling and a significant cut above the left eye, Losacco said. He victim was transported to a local hospital by Burbank paramedics, and he was treated for his injuries and released.

(www.teenvogue.com) A common assumption in our society, especially among the educated classes, is that ignorance—of a religion, culture, or race—invariably begets hatred and prejudice. A corresponding assumption is that the more you understand the other, the less you will fear him. Of course, this notion can be easily debunked by pointing out that German Jews who understood what Nazism was all about had good reason to fear the Nazis. Likewise, Southern blacks who understood the true nature of the Ku Klux Klan were justifiably on their guard against the Klan. Ignorance can breed unwarranted fear, but sometimes ignorance can...

ISLAM arose with remarkable speed and mystery. Patricia Crone’s well-stocked mind, clear prose and unflinching intellectual honesty were devoted to explaining why. She had little time for Islam’s own accounts of its origins: “debris” as far as historians were concerned, and hopelessly inconsistent. Far better, she reckoned, to fill the gap with contemporary sources and knowledge of other cultures, from messianic Maoris to Icelanders. That required both personal and intellectual bravery. The central beliefs of Islam, such as the way the Koran took shape, the life of Muhammad and Islam’s relations with other religions, are sensitive subjects. Outside scrutiny can...

J A N U A R Y   1 9 9 9Researchers with a variety of academic and theological interests are proposing controversial theories about the Koran and Islamic history, and are striving to reinterpret Islam for the modern world. This is, as one scholar puts it, a "sensitive business" by Toby Lester (The online version of this article appears in three parts. Click here to go to part two. Click here to go to part three.) N 1972, during the restoration of the Great Mosque of Sana'a, in Yemen, laborers working in a loft between the structure's inner and...