Posted on 11/14/2004 4:32:15 AM PST by MidTown_Doc
Shedding light on Islam Although welcomed in Memphis, the faith is misunderstood
By Bima Said Special to Viewpoint November 14, 2004
When foreigners talk about the United States, they all know about New York. They all know about Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.
I'm sure they also know about Elvis Presley and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But not all foreigners know that Elvis was from Memphis and that rock and roll was born here.
Perhaps not all foreigners are aware that King was assassinated in Memphis, and that the National Civil Rights Museum was built on the site of the Lorraine Motel, where King was shot.
I was really delighted during my three weeks in Memphis. Participating in an International Journalism Exchange program sponsored by American Society of Newspaper Editors and International Center for Journalists, I felt lucky to have a newspaper attachment with The Commercial Appeal.
Being able to look at an American newsroom's practices was an amazing experience. But what fascinated me the most was the overall religious scene of this city.
I felt a lot of peace here; everyone was tolerant of other faiths. There are several churches, Jewish synagogues, Hindu temples and Islamic mosques. I visited the Muslim Society of Memphis (MSM) and was surprised to learn that four other mosques are in the city.
I was even more surprised when Nabil Bayakly, community relations director for MSM, told me that Muslims here were never victims of harassment as a result of the atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001.
By contrast, he told me that as many as four people convert to Islam every month, and more people are becoming interested in learning about Islam after 9/11.
Still, Americans hold numerous misconceptions about Islam. Since many Americans have asked me questions about my religion, it has come to my attention to straighten this out. Here is my list of the top 10 misconceptions about Islam.
Misconception No. 10: Muslims don't believe in Jesus or any other prophets.
Jesus is considered as one of the greatest of God's messengers to mankind. Muslims respect and revere Jesus, upon Him be peace, and await His Second Coming.
A Muslim never refers to Him simply as Jesus, but always adds the phrase "upon him be peace." The Koran confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Koran is titled "Mary"), and Mary is considered the purest woman in all creation.
Misconception No. 9: Muhammad was the founder of Islam, and Muslims worship him.
Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born in Mecca in the year 570. Because his father died before his birth and his mother shortly afterward, he was raised by his uncle from the respected tribe of Quraysh.
As he grew up, he became known for his truthfulness, generosity and sincerity, so that he was sought after for his ability to arbitrate in disputes. Historians describe him as calm and meditative.
Muhammad (peace be upon him) was of a deeply religious nature, and had long detested the decadence of his society.
It became his habit to meditate from time to time in the Cave of Hira near Mecca.
At the age of 40, while engaged in a meditative retreat, Muhammad (peace be upon him) received his first revelation from God through the Angel Gabriel. This revelation, which continued for 23 years, is known as the Koran.
As soon as he began to recite the words he heard from Gabriel and to preach the truth God had revealed to him, he and his small group of followers suffered bitter persecution. The persecution grew so fierce that in 622 God gave them the command to emigrate.
This event, the Hijrah or "migration" in which they left Mecca for the city of Medina, marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar.
After several years, the Prophet and his followers were able to return to Mecca, where they forgave their enemies and established Islam definitively. Before the death of the Prophet at the age of 63, the greater part of Arabia was Muslim, and within a century of his death Islam had spread to Spain in the west and as far east as China.
He died with fewer than five possessions to his name.
While Muhammad (peace be upon him) was chosen to deliver the message, he is not considered the "founder" of Islam, since Muslims consider Islam to be the same divine guidance sent to all peoples before.
Muslims believe all the prophets, from Adam, Noah, Moses, Jesus, etc., were all sent with divine guidance for their peoples. Every prophet was sent to his own people, but Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent to all of mankind.
Muhammad is the last and final messenger sent to deliver the message of Islam. Muslims revere and honor him for all he went through and his dedication, but they do not worship him.
Misconception No. 8: Muslims are a barbaric, backward people.
Among the reasons for the rapid and peaceful spread of Islam is the simplicity of its doctrine -- Islam calls for faith in only one God worthy of worship. It also repeatedly instructs man to use his powers of intelligence and observation.
Within a few years, great civilizations and universities were flourishing, for according to the Prophet (peace be upon him), "seeking knowledge is an obligation for every Muslim man and woman."
The synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas and of new thought with old brought about great advances in medicine, mathematics, physics, astronomy, geography, architecture, art, literature and history.
Many crucial systems such as algebra, Arabic numerals and the concept of the zero (vital to the advancement of mathematics) were transmitted to medieval Europe from Islam.
Sophisticated instruments that made possible the European voyages of discovery were developed, including the astrolabe, the quadrant and good navigational maps.
Misconception No. 7: All Muslim men marry four wives.
The religion of Islam was revealed for all societies and all times, and so it accommodates widely differing social requirements. Circumstances may warrant the taking of another wife but the right is granted, according to the Koran, only on condition that the husband is scrupulously fair.
No women can be forced into this kind of marriage if they do not wish it, and they have the right to exclude it in their marriage contract.
Polygamy is neither mandatory nor encouraged, but merely permitted. A man is only allowed at most four wives only if he can fulfill the stringent conditions of treating each fairly.
Permission to practice polygamy is not associated with mere satisfaction of passion. It is rather associated with compassion toward widows and orphans. It was the Koran that limited and put conditions on the practice of polygamy among the Arabs, who had as many as 10 or more wives and considered them "property."
It is honest and accurate to say that it is Islam that regulated this practice, limited it, made it more humane and instituted equal rights and status for all wives. It is also evident that the general rule in Islam is monogamy and not polygamy. A very tiny percentage of Muslims throughout the world practice it.
Misconception No. 6: The Nation of Islam is a Muslim group.
Islam and the so-called Nation of Islam (NOI) are two different religions. NOI is more of a political organization because its members are not limited to a single faith. Muslims consider this group to be just one of many cults using the name of Islam for their own gain.
The only thing common between them is the jargon, the language used by both. NOI is a misnomer; this religion should be called Farrakhanism, after its propagator, Louis Farrakhan.
Islam and Farrakhanism differ in many fundamental ways. For example, Farrakhan followers believe in racism and that the black man was the original man and is therefore superior. In Islam, there is no racism and everyone is considered equal in the sight of God, the only difference being in one's piety.
There are many other theological examples that show the NOI's teachings have little to do with true Islam. There are many groups in America that claim to represent Islam and call their adherents Muslims.
Any serious student of Islam has a duty to investigate and find the true Islam. Malcolm X is an example of an NOI member who later found the true Islam, realizing that it is much different than NOI. After finding the true Islam, Malcolm X changed his name to Al-Hajj Malik al-Shabazz.
Misconception No. 5: All Arabs are Muslims.
Not all Muslims are Arabs, and not all Arabs are Muslims. The Muslim population of the world is around 1.2 billion. One out of five people in the world is a Muslim.
Muslims are a vast range of races, nationalities and cultures from around the globe -- from the Philippines to Nigeria -- and are united by their common Islamic faith. Only about 18 percent live in the Arab world; the largest Muslim community is in Indonesia. Most Muslims live east of Pakistan. Thirty percent of Muslims live in the Indian subcontinent, 20 percent in sub-Saharan Africa, 17 percent in Southeast Asia, 18 percent in the Arab world, and 10 perent in the Soviet Union and China.
Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan make up 10 percent of the non-Arab Middle East. Although Muslim minorities are in almost every area, including Latin America and Australia, they are most numerous in Russia and its newly independent states, and in India and central Africa. There are about 6 million Muslims in the United States.
Misconception No. 4: Islam was spread by the sword and is intolerant of other faiths.
Many social studies textbooks for students show the image of an Arab horseman carrying a sword in one hand and the Koran in the other, conquering and forcibly converting. That is not a correct portrayal of history.
Islam has always given respect and freedom of religion to all faiths. The Koran says: "God forbids you not, with regards to those who fight you not for (your) faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them; for God loves those who are just (Koran 60:8)."
Freedom of religion is laid down in the Koran itself: "There is no compulsion (or coercion) in the religion (Islam).The right direction is distinctly clear from error (Koran 2:256)."
It is a function of Islamic law to protect the privileged status of minorities, and this is why non-Muslim places of worship have flourished all over the Islamic world. History provides many examples of Muslim tolerance toward other faiths, such as when the caliph Omar entered Jerusalem in the year 634, Islam granted freedom of worship to all religious communities in the city.
Proclaiming to the inhabitants that their lives and property were safe and that their places of worship would never be taken from them, he asked the Christian patriarch Sophronius to accompany him on a visit to all the holy places.
Islamic law also permits non-Muslim minorities to set up their own courts, which implement family laws drawn up by the minorities themselves. The life and property of all citizens in an Islamic state are considered sacred whether the person is Muslim or not.
Racism is not a part of Islam; the Koran speaks only of human equality and how all peoples are equal in the sight of God. "O mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Truly, the most honored of you in God's sight is the greatest of you in piety. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware (Koran 49:13)."
Misconception No. 3: Muslims worship a different God.
Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. Allah for Muslims is the greatest and most inclusive of the names of God. It is an Arabic word of rich meaning, denoting the one and only God and ascribing no partners to Him.
It is exactly the same word the Jews, in Hebrew, use for God (eloh), the word Jesus Christ used in Aramaic when he prayed to God. God has an identical name in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; Allah is the same God worshiped by Muslims, Christians and Jews.
Muslims believe Allah's sovereignty is to be acknowledged in worship and in the pledge to obey His teaching and commandments, conveyed through His messengers and prophets who were sent at various times and in many places throughout history.
However, it should be noted that God in Islam is One and Only. He, the Exalted, does not get tired, does not have a son or have associates, nor does He have human-like attributions as found in other faiths.
Misconception No. 2: Islam oppresses women.
The image of the typical Muslim woman wearing the veil and forced to stay home and forbidden to drive is all too common in most people's thoughts. Although some Muslim countries may have laws that oppress women, this should not be seen as coming from Islam.
Many of these countries do not rule by any kind of Shari'ah (Islamic law), and introduce their own cultural standpoints on the issue of gender equity.
Islam, on the other hand, gives men and women different roles, and equity between the two is laid down in the Koran and the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Islam sees a woman, whether single or married, as an individual in her own right, with the right to own and dispose of her property and earnings. A marriage gift is given by the groom to the bride for her own personal use, and she keeps her family name rather than taking her husband's.
Both men and women are expected to dress in a way that is modest and dignified. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: "The most perfect in faith amongst believers is he who is best in manner and kindest to his wife."
Violence of any kind toward women and forcing them against their will for anything is not allowed. A Muslim marriage is a simple, legal agreement in which either partner is free to include conditions.
Marriage customs thus vary widely from country to country. Divorce is not common, although it is acceptable as a last resort. According to Islam, a Muslim girl cannot be forced to marry against her will.
Misconception No. 1: Muslims are violent, terrorists and/or extremists.
Even before the 9/11 attacks, this was already the biggest misconception in Islam. It no doubt resulted from the constant stereotyping and bashing the media give Islam.
When a gunman attacks a mosque in the name of Judaism, a Catholic IRA guerrilla sets off a bomb in an urban area, or Serbian Orthodox militiamen rape and kill innocent Muslim civilians, these acts are not used to stereotype an entire faith. Never are these acts attributed to the religion of the perpetrators. Yet how many times have we heard the words "Islamic fundamentalist" linked with violence?
Politics in so-called Muslim countries may or may not have any Islamic basis. Often dictators and politicians will use the name of Islam for their own purposes. One should go to the source of Islam and separate what the true religion of Islam says from what is portrayed in the media.
Islam literally means "submission to God," and is derived from a root word meaning peace.
Islam may seem exotic or even extreme in the modern world. Perhaps this is because religion doesn't dominate everyday life in the West, whereas Islam is considered a way of life for Muslims, and they make no division between secular and sacred in their lives.
Like Christianity, Islam permits fighting in self-defense, in defense of religion, or on the part of those who have been expelled forcibly from their homes. It lays down strict rules of combat, which include prohibitions against harming civilians and against destroying crops, trees and livestock.
The Koran says: "Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors (Koran 2:190)."
War, therefore, is the last resort, and is subject to the rigorous conditions laid down by the sacred law.
The term "jihad" literally means struggle. Muslims believe there are two kinds of jihad. The other jihad is the inner struggle of the soul that everyone wages against egotistic desires for the sake of attaining inner peace.
Contact Bima Said at bima.prameswara@waspada.co.id
It's interesting how even the act of posting such an article shows how much Islam and Christianity have in common. Notice how in both religions, it's the "death-to-them" crowd that makes the most noise and gets all the publicity. Another interesting thing is how these very same "death-to-them" people are the ones who insist who claim to be closest to their Creator.
IMHO this kind of reaction is the dark side of the Freerepublic. The admin people will let you post "ISLAM IS SH**" (without the asterisks) while anything negative at all about something that they really hold sacred (say, Rush) will get your thread pulled in seconds.
I'm half expecting this thread to get pulled.
What morons. And just what will they use for a penis? They will have no human body.
That day did more to show Americans the true face of islam then anything before.
It is a blood-thirsty cult. Nothing else. September 11, 2001...woke us up.
Muhammed spread his religion by intimidation and war.
His army marched from village to village and said join us or you are dead. The Koran is nothing but a war and intimidation plan.
After Muhammed died, his followers continued with the war and intimidation plan and now there are over 1 billion of them. Has to stop somewhere.
IOW, kill all 1.3 billion. You've got your work cut out for you. Say you got them all in one place-- that many bodies would cover 700 square miles. Maybe you could start by just killing those under 12 months at first, but you'd have to work fast because even if you used a pitchfork a lot of them would be crawling away.
Then again, maybe this is not a healthy direction for this thread, after all today is Sunday.
Absolutely, not at all like us ---what religion did you say you were?
Is THAT you, MAKnight?
ISLAM IS KILLING US !!!
What did we (in America) learn from September 11, 2001 and the deaths of 3,000 people. I am tempted to admit: Absolutely Nothing !!!
Among the many unlearned lessons of the Day-Which-Will-Live-In-Infamy-II, the necessity to control our borders, the need for a patriotic renewal and the importance of combating multiculturalism -- the most significant is the NATURE of Islam. You will note that I do not say militant Islam, or radical Islam, or Islamic extremism or any other such weasel words – but just Islam. Period, end of argument !!!
Every one of the hijackers who flew airliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon were professing and practicing Muslims, as is Osama bin Laden. The Al Qaeda terrorist network, is based in Muslim countries and supported financially by the so called pious Muslim leadership of Saudi Arabia !!!
The overwhelming majority of Muslim religious authorities who have spoken out on the subject, including those at the main mosque in Mecca and Egypt’s prestigious Al Azar University, either endorse or rationalize acts of terrorism. On a day when Americans were incinerated or buried under tons of rubble, Muslims from Nigeria to Indonesia, celebrated wildly in the streets !!!
Sept. 11 was just one more chapter in a 1400-year jihad. Every day, the World Trade Center massacre is reenacted on a smaller scale somewhere in the world. Jewish women and children are burned alive in a bus in Israel. A missionary is beheaded in the Philippines, gunmen shoot up a church in Pakistan, deliberately firing into the prostrate bodies of women who were trying to shield their children !!!
Ancient monasteries and convents were destroyed in Kosovo. Women are sentenced to death for adultery in Nigeria, Hindus are murdered in the Kashmir. In Denmark, the Muslim community there has put a $30,000 bounty on the heads of Jews and those who support Israel. Nuns are beheaded in Baghdad, Christians in Sudan are forced into slavery, hundreds of parents and children are murdered in a Russian school, and in Britain, Islam openly states it is going to take over not only the UK, but the entire world -- and the beat goes on... and on... and on !!!
Genocide in the Sudan, ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, religious persecution in Saudi Arabia, calls for another holocaust in mosques from Mecca to Gaza, the imposition of Islamic law in Nigeria, forced conversions in Indonesia, synagogues burned in France, Jews attacked across Europe – these are everyday events, as the Third World and much of the First slowly turns Islamic green. Eeeeyuch !!!
Sadly our leaders, from President Bush on down, insist on peddling the absolute absurdity that "Islam Is A Religion Of Peace" – a creed of kindness and benevolence tragically and inexplicably corrupted by a few misguided fanatics. Bovine Feces, George W. (pull your stupid head out of your ass) !!!
Why is the leadership of the West so reluctant to confront manifest reality? The reason lies partly with our absurd foreign policy. We have declared certain Muslim nations to be our loyal allies – including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. Good grief... we surely would NOT want to "offeeeeeennnnnd" these dear and loving friends by saying something unflattering about their bloody, butcher-based, dark ages, moon god murder cult !!!
Americans are naturally benevolent. Most of us are taught from childhood that religion is good (and it does not matter which religion). As long as little Johnny believes in God and goodness, it’s inconsequential whether he lights candles, wears a skull cap to services or prays in the direction of Mecca. Yes, that's what most Americans are taught !!!
However... this works with every religion except Islam !!!
Consider the following: Of the three major western religions one was started by a lawgiver who helped to free slaves; one by a man of peace; the last one by a man who loved war and having sex with children. Mohammed not only led men into battle, he enjoyed marrying girls as young as six years old (yes, it's in the Koran) !!!
The essence of Mohammed's message is sick and thoroughly disgusting. A holy war where you slaughter your enemies, while at the same time encouraging followers to have sex with the children they capture (as he did) "for the glory of Allah." He even advised his followers to negotiate false peace treaties in order to lull their enemies, before they suddenly beheaded them !!!
For almost 1,400 years, that has been the reality of Islam. Within a century after the death of Mohammed, Islam spread throughout the Middle East and across North Africa. It overran the Iberian peninsula and was finally stopped in southern France. It spread eastward as far as the southern Philippines. It was not propagated by fresh-faced young men knocking on doors and announcing: “Hello. I’m from your local mosque. Have you considered the Koran?” It was and is spread by force – conversion by the sword or death -- and this murder cult method is still in practice today !!!
Some will respond that all religions go through periods of violence, usually in their infancy. Christianity had its crusades and Inquisition, its forced conversions and expulsions. The evil committed in the name of Christ happened centuries ago. But the evil committed in the name of the murder cult prophet is going on right now, even as you read these words !!!
Of 22 present conflicts in the Third World, 20 involve Muslims versus someone else. Coincidence? In his brilliant book, "Clash of Cultures and the Remaking of World Order," Samuel Huntington speaks of Islam’s "bloody borders" therein !!!
There is no Methodist Jihad, no Jewish Hasidic holy warriors, no Buddhist monk wanting to have 72 firm breasted virgins and 12 beautiful young boys waiting for him in Buddhist paradise after a suicide bombing, no Hindu Holy men plotting to blow up people and property, no Southern Baptist beheaders, and no Mormon elders preaching the annihilation of members of other faiths !!!
Islam is a religion of war and warriors – the perfect vessel for fanatics, the violence-prone, the envious and the haters of all stripes. This is the main reason why Islam is making so many converts among the formerly peaceable denizens of our prison system !!!
Still... much of the West is addicted to a fairy-tale version of Islam. Christian and Jewish clergy fall all over themselves to have interfaith services with imams. Representatives of Muslim groups are invited to the White House. The president signs a Ramadan declaration. In California, public schools ask children to role-play at being Muslims. Our universities take CAREFULLY SELECTED verses from the Koran and present them as the essence of the faith. All that’s needed is a Muslim character on “Sesame Street.” Look – it’s the Jihad Monster !!!
This perspective engenders a fatally false sense of security. Imagine, in 1940, Winston Churchill taking to the airwaves to announce “Nazism is an ideology of peace which, regrettably, has been perverted by a few fanatics like Hitler and Goebbels. But most storm troopers and SS men are fine fellows – your friends and neighbors.” Yeah... sure !!!
For the first thousand years of its history – from the death of Mohammad to the 17th. century decline of the Ottoman empire, Islam was an expansionist force. For the next 300 years, as the West rose to preeminence, Islam receded. For the past four decades – fueled by Arab oil wealth, a surplus population in the Middle East, the waning of the West and the rise of more virulent strains of the faith (Shiism, Wahhabism, Sunni fundamentalism) – Islam is expanding once more !!!
Due to Muslim immigration and aggressive proselytizing, Islam is being exported to the West. Muslim populations are burgeoning throughout Western Europe. (In southern France, there are more mosques than churches.) In Judeo-Christian America, Islam is the fastest growing religion. It is also spreading down the coast of West Africa, through the Balkans (after Serbia, Macedonia is the next target) and up from Mindanao in the Philippines !!!
Wherever it comes, Islam brings its delightful customs – child marriages, female circumcisions, rabid hatred toward Christians, Hindus, Jews, Buddhists and every other non-muslim, terrorism and support for terrorism and a virulent intolerance of other faiths as it invades the local population !!!
We currently see this happening... right now... today,,, in Hamtramk, Michigan... where the ignorant city councel has purposely given Muslims permission to pollute the entire city with high-powered loud speaker screechings from the top of their mosques, from morning to night, six times a day, seven days a week, as they scream Muslim chants to glorify their pagan moon god Allah, and his child molesting, head chopping prophet, Mohammud (may he rot in hell). And the ACLU backs them 100%, threatening to sue anyone who dares to complain !!!
Yes, yes... the ACLU... the American Civil Liberties Union... but in reality it's the Arabic Communist Lucifer Union, championing their "cleave unto" plan of action against Judeo-Christian America. And then they further defend it by saying... "Hey, it's no different then when you disgustingly filthy, pig fat polluted, less than human Infidels ring your damned evil church bells on Sunday morning." !!!
So am I suggesting we declare war on over 1 million billion Muslims? The question is moot – Islam has declared war on the rest of the human race. When one side knows it’s at war and the other thinks peace and brotherhood prevail, guess who wins???
Ultimately, it is not about Jews in Israel, or Orthodox Serbs in Kosovo, or Hindus in Kashmir, Buddhists in Thailand, or Maronite Catholics in Lebanon, Taoists in China, or Christians in Sudan, Nigeria and Russia... but ALL OF US. As Ben Franklin would have it – Either we will "hang" together, or surely we shall all "hang" separately (now swap "be decapitated" for "hang" to properly update Mr. Franklin) !!!
So, have you loved a filthy, scum-sucking, Islamofascist Muzzle-em murderer today? Why not? What? You refuse to convert to Islam and follow the insanely murderous teachings of the Koran?
Sheeesh... obviously you are just another sub-human Infidel who's name will be on the list for bloody decapitation by a friendly and p-i-e-c-e-f-u-l Islamofascist Muzzle-em murderer... and you won't get 72 virgins when you enter Islamic Hell either !!!
In understanding Islam, you have to understand the life of mohammed. He was a savage warrior, a leader of armies that conquered all of the arabian penninsula. His experiences, his "art of war" is the essence of the Islamic texts.. Koran, Hadiths and the Sira.
You are so right. The first huge problem with the credibility of Islam is that they recognize Jesus Christ as a prophet. Since Jesus Christ said He was God, he cannot be a prophet. He can either be who He says He is (God), or he can be a blasphemer, or crazy person. The fact that the Koran is so wrong about Jesus shows you cannot trust anything else in it.
Yeah, we're all just one big "It's a Small World" Disney ride.
How can you as an American and I'm assuming here, a Christian, turn a blind eye to the perils to all of us when confronting islamofacist?
Do you want to bow to mecca 5 times a day? See your women and girls systematically raped and circumcised?
Will you be the kind that pulls the covers over their eyes to avoid reality only to have them jerk the covers back, drag you from your bed, kneel you before them, then hack your head off? Is that the kind of thing you are willing to endure?
Then don't come crying and wringing your hands when they come for you. Because they will.
and they believe he was not crucified. The hole notion that Islam is an abrhamic religion (judaisims and chrisitanity) is absurd in my opinion.
To stop this talk is to ignore the dark side...
There is no way to face Islam without considering the dark side...
Are you perhaps a democrat in disguise...
Thank you freerepublic for giving us a honest forum.
I daresay that almost all of them are jailbirds or women so desperate for husbands that they convert.
Yes, thank you Free Republic for letting us delve into this subject as we try to figure out how we are going to survive this, this evil that confronts us.
I know what kind of a monster he was. I will never bow before him. As a woman, I would prefer death to islam. I and my daughters and granddaughtes will never lives as slaves.
they also believe in Moses,basicly they are the newest of the major religions,stealing the good from the others and putting in their OWN bad since they have no good..the destroy and then build mosques upon old churches or temples(agia sofia,and the temple mount+numerious others in bosnia ,serbia,india,pakistan, etc etc etc)
what a load of crap
=====
An unbiased study of the Quran shows that far from being a “miracle” that book is a complete hoax! Once the Quran is scrutinized with rational thinking, almost every sentence proves to be false. The Quran is replete with scientific heresies, historic blunders, mathematical mistakes, logical absurdities and grammatical errors. Could the Creator of this Universe possibly be as ignorant as He appears to be in the Quran???
The Quran instructs Muslims to kill any and all disbelievers wherever they find them (Q. 2:191), to murder them and treat them harshly (Q. 9:123), slay them (Q. 9:5), fight with them, (Q. 8: 65 ) especially if they are Christians and Jews, humiliate them and impose a penalty tax on them (Q. 9: 29).
The Quran takes away the freedom of belief from all humanity and states clearly that NO other religion except Islam is accepted (Q. 3: 85). It relegates those who disbelieve in the Quran to hell (Q. 5: 11), and calls them najis (filthy,
untouchable, impure) (Q. 9: 28). It orders its followers to fight the unbelievers until NO other religion except Islam is left upon this Earth (Q. 2: 193). It states that the non-believers will go to hell and will drink boiling water (Q. 14: 17).
It tells the Muslims to slay or crucify or cut the hands and
feet off the unbelievers, that they be expelled from the land with disgrace and that “they shall have a great punishment in world hereafter” (Q.5: 34). “As for the disbelievers”, it says that “for them garments of fire shall be cut and there shall be poured over their heads boiling water whereby whatever is in their bowls and skin shall be dissolved and they will be
punished with hooked iron rods” (Q. 22: 9). Yikes !!!
The Quran prohibits a Muslim to befriend a non-believer, even if that non-believer is the father or the brother of that Muslim (Q. 9: 23), (Q. 3: 28). The Quran further tells the Muslims to “strive against the unbelievers with great endeavor (Q. 25: 52), be stern with them because they belong to hell (Q. 66: 9).
The so called holy Prophet commanded his follower to “strike off the heads of the disbelievers”; then, after
making a “wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives” (Q. 47: 4).
As for women ... the book of Allah says they are inferior to men and their husbands have the right to scourge them if they are found disobedient (Q. 4:34). It teaches that women will go to hell if they are disobedient to their husbands (Q. 66:10). It maintains that men have an advantage over the women (Q. 2:228). It not only denies the women's equal right to their inheritance (Q. 4:11-12), it also regards them as
imbeciles and decrees that their witness is not admissible in the court (Q. 2:282). This means that a woman who is raped can NOT accuse her rapist unless she can produce a male witness to the rape!
Muhammad allowed the Muslims to marry up to four views and gave them license to sleep with their slave maids and as many “captive” women as they may have (Q. 4:3). He himself did just that. This is why anytime a Muslim army subdues another nation, they call them kafir and allow themselves to rape their women.
Pakistani Muslim soldiers raped up to 250,000 Bangali women in 1971 after they massacred 3,000,000 unarmed civilians when their religious leader decreed that all Bangladeshis are un-Islamic. This is why the prison guards in the Islamic regime of Iran rape women and then kill them after calling them apostates and the enemies of Allah !!!
That I would rather die with dignity than live with the shame that comes with being a Muslim.
I think if the muslims were to take a close look at their religion critically and step back from it a bit, they would be overwhelmed with shame...as so they should.
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