Islam: Cult or Religion?

faithfreedom.org ^ | Ali Sina

[paltz]

Islam is known as the second largest religion. The very fact that 1.2 billion people call themselves Muslims vests Islam with the mantel of legitimacy and confirms the claim that it is a religion. But is it? 

Can 1.2 billion people be wrong? Well, in logic we have something called "argumentum ad numerum". It states that something is true if a lot of people believe in it. But argumentum ad numerum is a logical fallacy. Truth cannot be established by the consensus of the majority. In fact many arguments have been proven to be false, even though everyone in the world once accepted them as true. For example, not until a few centuries ago everyone believed that the Earth is flat and is at the centre of the universe. Despite that common belief both geocentricity and the idea of the flat Earth were false. A false belief does not become true even if everyone thinks they are true. 

Therefore, not only 1.2 billion people, but the entire mankind can be wrong. As Bertrand Russell said: “The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.”   (Source)

After shattering the myth of argumentum ad numerum, let us put Islam under scrutiny and see whether it is a religion or a cult. 

The following is a description of what cult is:   

1. A cult is a religious group with extreme beliefs and practices - beliefs that are often contrary to science and logic but they are believed as "obvious" truth by the cult members. 

2. The members of cults often isolate themselves from friends, family and society and use deceptive and unethical recruiting techniques
3. Use manipulative methods to control the minds of followers
4. Venerate a human leader or leaders

5. Recruiting work is performed by all of the members
6. People are not allowed to criticize the leader, the doctrine, or the organization, or read information that is critical of the cult.

7. Members are trained to reject and disbelieve criticism of the cult as lies from Satan.
8. Members spy on one another and report improper activities or comments to leaders.

9. Members are taught to suppress anything which might reflect negatively to outsiders about the cult.
10. The doctrine is absolutist and the ideology is internalized as "the Truth."
11. Members are told to avoid contact with ex-members or critics, even their relatives.

12. Members are instilled with a deep fear about ever leaving the organization, and anyone who does depart is of the devil and sometimes severely punished.
13. Members are emotional controlled and warned of being caught and punished.

14. Disciplinary action is administered by group leaders, which may involve excommunication for such things as questioning organization policy or doctrine.
15. People are encouraged to sacrifice education, career and family interests to server the interests of the cult.
16. Advocate socializing only with other members in the organization and avoiding outsiders.

17. The belief in apocalypse and Dooms Day.

[Source]

All these traits are present in Islam.

1. Islam claims to be a religion with strong devotion to Muhammad and a set of unsubstantiated doctrines presented by him. Monotheism is used as a pretext to exert absolute control over the believers, leaving them no chance to question or investigate alternative paths.
2. Muhammad forced his followers to leave their families (8:72) and gathered them in Yathrib. He said: “And those who believed but did not leave their homes, ye have no duty to protect them till they leave their homes”. He warned those who did not follow him, leaving behind their families, will be cursed by Allah and “their habitation will be hell”(4:97). Muhammad went as far as to order his followers to murder those Muslims who defected his barricade.(4:89) 

   In Yathrib he banished and killed the Jews who did not believe in him, thus eliminating the chance of his followers coming in contact with outsiders and being influenced by anyone. In this way he exerted absolute control over the lives and the minds of his followers. Jim Jones did the same. He called his town "Jonestown". Muhammad changed the name of Yathirb to Madinatul Nabi (Prophet’s Town)

3. He used manipulative methods to control the minds of his followers. These methods ranged from threat of hellfire, and promises of paradise, to exhaustive rituals of prayers and fasts, devised to numb the thought, and threat of physical punishment including execution and constant warfare, keeping his followers in perpetual state of agitation.

4. He established himself as the sole authority among his followers and the only source of guidance to the extent that they looked up to him for every detail of their lives, including how to dress, how to shave, how to pray and even how to urinate and how to clean after bowl movement. Ostensibly the worship was to God but effectively he was the only object of veneration of his followers and the only authority. Nominally God was to be obeyed but he was God's proxy, thus assuming the authority of God. 
5. All believers were asked to promote his cause through Jihad, propaganda or by giving generously from their wealth. 4:95, 9:20, 49:15, 61:11

6. The criticism of Muhammad and Islam was totally prohibited and if anyone dared to question him or his decisions, Omar swiftly unshielded his sword and threatened to slash the throat of the intrepid questioner forcing him to apologize. The message was sent in a very clear tone that no one must question Muhammad and his authority. 1400 years later, the message remains the same. If you question Islam you will be killed.
7. Muslims are told to dismiss any criticism of Islam as coming from Satan and they often avoid reading critical views about their Faith. I have received testimonies of apostates who confessed that at first when they came across this site they stopped reading it and dismissed it as the work of Satan. See this I myself never read any book critical of Islam and once frowned at a friend who expressed her curiosity about Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses. 

8. Muslims are encouraged to spy on each other and report any sign of dissent. Amr bil Maroof wa Nahi anil Munkir (Commanding to follow the religion and preventing from doing what is prohibited) is a tenet of Islam. Every Muslim is required to poke his nose in the private lives of others, spy on them and tell them what they should do and what they should not do. Every Muslim is an enforcer of religion and the moral police for others. 
9. Muslims suppress anything that might present Islam in negative light. Preserving the image of Islam is of utmost importance and Muslims lie with clarity of conscience to misrepresent their religion and make it look good. For example women in Islam are treated like animals and are considered as deficient in intelligence. Every Muslim knows that including the women, who blame the men for it but not the Islam. But they lie through their teeth bragging about the "elevated" status of women in Islam. Jihad means aggressive war to expand Islam. Every Muslim knows that. Yet all of them lie and say Jihad means "self defense". A couple of years ago I received a very angry email from a Muslim who cursed me for revealing the fact that Muhammad had slept with a 9-year old child and at the end he said “the damage is already done” and I will be certainly punished for what I had done. The fact that Muhammad slept with a child did not bother this Muslim but what bothered him was revealing this fact.    

10. Islam is extremely absolutist and Muslims believe that it is the only true religion. This “truth” however is not self evident. It is "true" because Muhammad said so.
11. Muslims are told to shun the apostates and the critics of Islam. New converts are often circled and are isolated from their non-Muslim family and friends. They are showered with love and receive a lot of emotional support until the brainwashing is complete.

12. Muslims are instilled with the fear of leaving Islam. This fear comes in two forms. One is the fear of Hell and of eternal punishment and the other is the fear of being caught and put to death by fellow Muslims, including their best friends and family.
13. Those who leave Islam must live in constant threat of being discovered and killed. In Muslims’ Comments section of this site you can see that Muslims often talk about this fear and say they pity me for having to look over my shoulders all the time and live in fear of being assassinated. The values are so distorted that they do not pity themselves for being the assassins but pity me for having to live in their fear. 

14. In Islam disciplinary action includes beating, maiming, stoning, beheading or jail. Excommunication is for minor offenses. The poet Ka’b and two others were excommunicated for fifty days and during that time no one spoke to them. Ka’b’s wife was told to leave him and wherever he went people ignored him as if he was invisible. All this, because he did not accompany Muhammad in the war of Tabutk.
15. Muslims are told to sacrifice their comfort, their wealth and including their lives to promote Islam. Young men are encouraged to leave their studies and work, wage Jihad, and commit suicide bombing to make Islam dominant. Family and even children are regarded as "tests" of the believers. To prove their loyalty to Allah, they must be able to forgo all these "worldly attachments" and get ready to sacrifice their lives in the cause of Islam. 

16. Muslims are discouraged to take friends from amongst the unbelievers even if these unbelievers are their kin. 3:28 They are told the unbelievers are najis (filthy) 9:28  and that the believers should not associate with them. 

17. The belief in the Day of Judgment and the Dooms Day is one of the pillars of the Islamic Faith.  

Based on the above, Islam is a cult. It is the biggest and the most successful cult. It practically reunites every feature of cult. Other cults may not be cultic in some of the above points. But Islam is cultic in every way and it would be a gross mistake to number it among religions just because 1.2 billion benighted people call themselves Muslims.

 

[Proud Infidel]

Islam - the world's largest cult?

by Kent Philpott

Islam is rarely critiqued by journalists because it can be dangerous to do so. This has been less true since 11 September 2001 because people are interested in Islam and are searching for answers.

However, it is still risky to write anything that may impugn Islam and especially the founder, Mohammed. This is one reason why I call Islam a cult. Muslims often treat opponents with something less than kindness as they seek to defend the honour of ‘Allah’.

What is a ‘cult’?

My working definition of a cult is non-theological. Traditionally, Christians apply the term to Bible-based groups that have departed significantly from the mainstream and historical creeds.

Such cults frequently deny the full deity and humanity of Jesus; his atoning work on the cross; his bodily resurrection; and his return at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead.

However, I will employ a secular definition of a cult as ‘any group that uses psychological or sociological techniques to recruit, motivate, and retain adherents’.

Cults are not necessarily religious; they may be political, commercial, psychological, or sociological in nature. They may be large or small, named or unnamed, known or unknown.

Cults may have a leader or be without a leader. The common feature is the use of control mechanisms that violate the individuality of participants.

Is Islam cultic?

Many would deny that Islam has the characteristics of a cult. But why is Islam not a cult when in many Muslim-dominated countries it is a capital offence to hand Muslims a Bible or explain Christianity (or any other religion) to them?

Saudi Arabia, the guardian of Islam’s most holy shrines at Mecca and Medina, is a highly restricted society where Christians are not allowed any public expression of their faith.

Why is Islam not a cult when it is virtually impossible for a Muslim to leave the religion, even if he merely wishes to become an atheist or agnostic?

Why is Islam not a cult when Muslim warriors force their religion on people? The history of Islam is full of that kind of proselytisation.

Yes, I know the Roman Catholic Church has in the past forced ‘pagans’ to adopt Catholicism. However that body has acknowledged that it was wrong-headed and anti-Christian to do so.

As a Baptist, I can say that in 500 years of our history, if we have been true to our principles, we have not engaged in such tactics and neither have any of the traditional Evangelical, Protestant denominations.

Satanic Verses

A vivid illustration of the cultic nature of Islam is the case of the novelist Salman Rushdie. Rushdie had a death contract issued against him for writing his book The Satanic Verses. Yet novelists, journalists, commentators, filmmakers, and television producers routinely blaspheme the God of Christianity without reprisal.

Of course, the fatwah against Salman Rushdie is blamed on ‘fundamentalists’ and ‘extremists’, while most Muslims who live in Western countries are peace-loving citizens.

But the loyalty inculcated by Islam runs deeper than allegiance to any nation. Muslims will change ‘political’ affiliations if needed, but their commitment to the defence of Islam easily becomes fanatical.

A contrast

How insecure and weak must Islam be when Muslims threaten those who oppose it with violence rather than use reasoned defence. Such paranoid behaviour renders Islam resistant to self-evaluation and exposes its internal deficiencies.

Biblical Christianity thrives in a free, pluralistic, and democratic society. It neither needs nor benefits from the support of a nation state. By contrast, Islamic control in many countries is totalitarian, dictatorial, and oppressive.

In countries ruled by Sharia (Islamic law), minor infractions may be punished by the loss of a hand, a foot, or life itself. Muslim women have been stoned to death for inadvertently exposing an ankle or forearm in public. The much touted ‘mercy’ of Islam is hard to detect.

Disillusionment with the religion simmers under the surface in Islamic societies. Muslim immigrants to Western countries, if allowed to do so, either moderate or abandon Islam altogether. Others go through the religious motions, but their hearts are not in it.

The cost of defection

Recently there was a ‘rallying to the cause’ as many Muslims believed the ‘war against terrorism’ is between ‘Christian America’ and Islam. But many Muslims would prefer to be free of such influences if they could.

Of course, Muslim clerics in the West realise this and do not hesitate to isolate their constituents from non-Muslim influence. Isolation is a typical cultic mechanism — defections are treated most seriously.

In lands dominated by Islam, the rule is ‘once a Muslim, always a Muslim’. Like the Mafia, Islam is difficult to leave, and any who defect may do so at a great price.

Most cults ostracize defecting people, cutting them off from family, friends, and even employment. Muslims sometimes assassinate people who leave their religion. How very cultic!

World rule

Cults are dangerous — they control and manipulate those under their sway. Islamic leaders may issue a declaration (fatwah) or call for a holy war (jihad). Muslims are expected to obey these calls despite their individual feelings. As with the fatwah against Rushdie, Muslems remained under a theoretical obligation to kill him even though restrained from doing so by the law of the land.

If Islam were not so fractured into sects and splinter movements, the non-Muslim world would face a more serious enemy than it does today. Islam sanctions the murder of ‘infidels’ and, of course, I am one and so is anyone who is not a Muslim.

It is no secret that Islam’s goal is world rule. This is not some right-wing conspiracy theory; it is the stated aim of Islam.

On the other hand, while Christians seek to share the Good News of Christ world-wide, they are not intent on forcing people to accept Christianity, much less eliminating those who reject the message.

Spiritual process

Conversion to Christ is a spiritual process, not the recitation of a formula like: ‘There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet’. Biblical Christianity is about grace, which is God’s gift of faith and forgiveness.

Christianity is grounded both in the sacrifice Jesus offered for sin on the cross, and upon his resurrection which declares those for whom he died ‘justified’. No one becomes a Christian on the basis of their ‘works’ or actions.

Rather, conversion is something God brings about. This is why the New Testament uses the term ‘new birth’ to describe it (see John 3:1-15). Humans cannot control their physical birth, and the new (spiritual) birth is the same. It lies in God’s power to bring about, not man’s. No public or private declaration will ever make a Christian out of anyone.

Revised religion

Islam is classed with those religious groups that have ‘revised’ Christianity. Some of these are: The Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Unification Church (Moonies).

In all these groups, including Islam, Jesus is acknowledged and honoured as a prophet. He may even be worshipped to some degree. Yet many of Jesus’ teachings are declared to be incomplete and outdated. They must therefore be replaced or superseded by the teachings of … (insert name of group or prophet).

The Christianity Mohammed knew in the sixth and seventh centuries in the Arabian Peninsula was far different from New Testament Christianity — it had radically deteriorated.

Observing the deficiencies in Judaism and this degenerate Christianity, Mohammed replaced them with his own concepts. This is understandable. The result, however, is not an improvement; it is simply another failed revisionist effort.

Downgrade

It is patronising, too, for Islam to say it respects Jesus as a prophet while denying or altering what he said about himself and what the New Testament writers said concerning him. I am thinking of such Scriptures as John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15-20 among many others.

Of course, the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Moonies do the same. Revisionist cults must downgrade Jesus so that the ‘new, improved prophet’ (or ‘truth’) can be presented as a replacement.

If Jesus is God in the flesh, Emmanuel, as the Christian Scripture proclaims; and if Jesus is the Messiah prophesied by the great Hebrew prophets; and if Jesus is the only Lord and Saviour who will return to judge the living and the dead; then it is impossible to replace him.

Revelation

The Qur’an declares that the Bible, Old and New Testaments, is a revelation from God. But it then proceeds to reject the clear message of the Bible! If the Bible is accurate about Jesus, there is no need for the Qur’an or Mohammed.

So, was Mohammed using flattery, or attempting to patronise Christians, when he seems to honour Jesus? Or did he simply not understand?

Christians reject the belief that Mohammed is the prophet of God. Christians reject the Qur’an as a revelation from God. At least this is an honest position, innocent of any effort to mislead, flatter, confuse, or patronise.

[dmanLA]

Basic difference between Christianity and Islam...

Allah demands that you give your life (while killing infidels, even better) for salvation.

The Christian God gave His Son's life for your salvation.

[Jeff Gordon]

Jeff, what's it mean?

Allahu FUBAR

[TexasCowboy]

No matter how many times I watch those, broadsword, the tears and anger well up from deep inside.

My question to all of Islam: WHAT DO YOU FEEL?

[jan in Colorado]

Thanks for the ping USF.

>>>Islam is known as the second largest religion. Can 1.2 billion people be wrong?<<<

"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it." Matt.7:13

And there is this warning...

"Beware of the FALSE prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves" Matt 7:15

The number of followers in no way determines its authenticity.

[ariamne]

. Still discussing some things with RS over at the other thread.
_______________
I wish you luck in that endeavor.

[ariamne]

Until it's modified HEAVILY...I vote for "TERRORIST ORGANIZATION"
__________________
Roger that. And any group that isolates new converts from friends and family, as in the way of islam, is a CULT as well.

[dog breath]

Your preaching to the choir here. If the militants want to claim that there is increasing anti Islamic feeling in the West they are correct. Yeah, we have come to despise Islam and with good reason. The more you look at the religion's history and practices the worse it looks. I think many more educated Muslims will leave the faith in the years to come.

[stuartcr]

Nope

[stuartcr]

Blaspheming demon-spawn...

[stuartcr]

Not necessarily doomed to die...just to burn in hell for eternity....

[stuartcr]

If there really is only one God...then none of these earthly originated religions/cults, really matters...they are nothing more than a bunch of people believing in something which no one can prove or disprove.

[JesseHousman]

Islam: Cult or Religion?

I believe it's neither.

Rather it is a amalgam of killers and their sycophants who adhere strictly (unless cavorting the day before in stip joints and whorehouses in the nation they intend to destroy part of the following day) to the scribblings of a perverted madman.

Any religion whose founder they worship and revere and die for at all ages and are promised 72 young virgins to deflower is inherently evil and filthy!

[conserv13]

Then what would you call islam? Simply a false religion?

Yes, a false religion.

[7.62 x 51mm]

Excellent, b!

[7.62 x 51mm]

Hillarious, isn't it? They actually believe that crap, A.

[Bennett46]

"Be careful with this. IMO, this could apply to some of the Christian denominations too."




You are correct.


Ali traded in islam for Humanism.

I have read quite a bit of his stuff on Humanist websites.

When he asks "islam: Cult or Religion?", he is winking at some of his readers who are in the know about his not believing in God...only the human as god.

We must not be taken in by him just because the things he writes about islam are true....he is very negative concerning Christians; actually all religions.



Thanks for the ping, TexasCowboy!

[Bennett46]

"Still discussing some things with RS over at the other thread."

Thanks for keeping the fella distracted. He will be over soon enough!

[appalachian_dweller]

Well folks, I tried to reason with RS, but ended up wasting my time.

Oh well.

For the life of me, I cannot understand anyone who does not see islam for what it really is. Willful ignorance and blindness? A deep-rooted hate of Christians and Christianity? I don't get it.

Jesus teach us to love our enemies and I will continue to try to reach out to those who seem open or even curious about Christ Jesus. However, make no mistake, I'll not end up like that poor Coptic family in NJ. Any threats to my safety will be eliminated with extreme prejudice.

[Bennett46]

Jesus teach us to love our enemies and I will continue to try to reach out to those who seem open or even curious about Christ Jesus. However, make no mistake, I'll not end up like that poor Coptic family in NJ. Any threats to my safety will be eliminated with extreme prejudice.




Extreme prejudice is what ole RS is constantly accusing of of displaying toward islam

Ironic is it not that extreme prejudice is the only act that will save us infidels when push comes to shove?