Posted on 06/28/2004 1:22:31 PM PDT by nuconvert
Hooded al-Qaida Thugs Real Enemies of Islam
M. Zuhdi Jasser, MD
AIFD Press Releases
Jun. 23, 2004
Whatever the beheadings of Daniel Pearl and Nicholas Berg left untold, the recent beheadings of American Paul Johnson and South Korean Kim Sun-il certainly clarify, for those who remained uncertain, what our country is up against. As a Muslim, it also clarifies what my faith is up against.
These acts are not those of humans, nor even animals. These acts are demonic, pure and simple.
The kidnappings and beheadings join the litany of gruesome savagery that has been done in the name of my religion - Islam. I am filled with incalculable sorrow, but it also stiffens my resolve to no end.
As much as the hooded demons of al-Qaida are enemies of freedom, they are enemies of Islam.
The terrorist ideology, clothed in religious jargon, is similar to that of Stalin's Russia or Hitler's Germany. It is all based on one thing, destroying the spirit and will of others through fear and chaos so that a brutal ideology may reign supreme.
That is why this battle is all about preserving freedom.
It is only through freedom that we can get closer to God. Faith is when man freely chooses to relate to God, and is not dictated to do so by the commands of others.
This is diametrically opposed to what Islamist fanatics believe. Their belief is medieval, just like those beheadings that are torn out of the pages of medieval history. They think that through the terror of the sword, they can kill and intimidate people into believing as they do.
But they will not win. They are, in fact, a dying breed. This recent gruesome series demonstrates that they feel the terminal nature of their militancy. They are the dinosaurs of the modern era. They may, and probably will, still inflict tremendous damage as they continue to exploit our freedom. But their day is fading. These fanatics can only destroy. They cannot create. They cannot bring prosperity or happiness. All they can do is manufacture rage and a cowardly exploitation of religion.
For too long, the so-called leaders of the Muslim world have, for the most part, remained quiet in the face of these atrocities. Their reprimands have been continually couched with qualifications or passive platitudes, but the time for denial is long over.
The South Koreans have responded by dispatching 3,000 more troops, which sends an unmistakable message that targeting innocents only raises the resolve of freedom-loving nations to extinguish al-Qaida.
My resolve and the resolve of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is, in fact, exponentially magnified. I see a two-headed poisonous snake, against which our resolve is necessary. One head, not of this world, is violently militant and must be defeated on the ground; the other is oppressively theocratic and must be defeated in public discourse.
For their vicious killers, Nicholas Berg, Paul Johnson and Kim Sun-il were merely pawns in their game. Their real enemy is freedom. Their actions are meant to silence and intimidate people of good faith. But they will not succeed. If we have seen one thing in the titanic battles played out in the 20th century, it is that the forces of tyranny and oppression will eventually lose to the forces of freedom.
"If that is the case why doesn't ISLAM recognize who Israel belongs to? Why is the case for Adultery "Death" why do they believe in Martyrdom? this is taught in the Koran."
"In Chapter 3, Verse 151 is the most chilling. It says, "We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they set up with Allah that for which He has sent down no authority, and their abode is the fire, and evil is the abode of the unjust.""
But, in the meanderings of a mind as sick as Mohammed's, what is the true meaning of "is?"
I'll take that as a joke, because it's really not relavent to the discussion.
I've found it is hazardous to my health to try to discuss religionnaad religious differences with people who constantly talk about violence and also subscribe to extremist views. Since freely admitted that you and the most extremist Wahhabi clerics of the 19th century have the same understanding of Islam, I'll leave you with a better translation of 8:12, along with two other verses governing disputes. Then I'll end this due to (as you so colorfully put it) my neck's allergic reaction to your ideas.
[8:12] Recall that your Lord inspired the angels: "I am with you; so support those who believed. I will throw terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved. You may strike them above the necks, and you may strike even every finger."
AND ...
[60:8] GOD does not enjoin you from befriending those who do not fight you because of religion, and do not evict you from your homes. You may befriend them and be equitable towards them. GOD loves the equitable.
[60:9] GOD enjoins you only from befriending those who fight you because of religion, evict you from your homes, and band together with others to banish you. You shall not befriend them. Those who befriend them are the transgressors.
You sure twisted things around regarding Scriptures....The Koran is not the word of G0D...If you knew that then you would know that the promise of Israel was given by GOD to the Jews....Also have not met any Christian Martyrs lately...You have?
"Would I be justified DEMANDING that you turn in Neo-Nazi skinheads in Eastern Pennsylvania based on the fact that you are an American and they are Americans too (on paper, if not in spirit)?
Wow. There are mismatches and there are mismatches. Yours are off the planet. First, I'm neither a skinhead, a neo-nazi, nor do I live in eastern Pennsylvania. American to American, absolutely I would turn them in if I knew that they were neo-nazi skinheads who were perpetrating evil or criminal deeds. The difference is that Dr. Jasser has positioned himself as a Muslim apologist who attempts to get us to ignore the man behind the curtain."
I know the scriptures fine and I really don't twist them, I just put them out there. You're trying to argue on faith, which will ultimately be decided on Judgment Day. That might be what's twisting your views, causing you to see things in the scriptures that don't necessarily exist.
The "promise of Israel" does not necessarily correspond to the State of Israel, which many orthodox Jews do not recognize, since only the Mossiach (Messiah) can bring it to the Earth. I've found nothing in the Qur'an to contradict that. Have you?
Jesus was a Christian martyr, no? Most of the saints were, no? And the word is still applied today to people who die for their faith. Remember the 2 kids at Columbine high school who were asked if they were Christian and then shot when they said "Yes"?
"Instead, what he is doing is lecturing to Americans that we should not consider all Muslims to be terrorists because only the hooded ones are the terrorists. The problem with this argument is that he needs to be calling on the so-called "moderates" to turn in the extremists. Somebody knows who they are. I may not know any skinheads, but if I were just to lecture to blacks that only the skinheads are racists, I would be lying. Racists come in all colors and all religions; with and without hair. In essence, this is what Dr. Jasser is doing - he's still telling us to ignore that man behind the curtain."
To continue your analogy, what Dr. Jasser is doing is emphasizing that not all bald people are skinheads, and that skinheads aren't really bald people, just people trying to look bald.
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