Posted on 08/01/2005 8:44:48 AM PDT by Ozone34
The Prophet of Arabia
THE LIFE AND RELIGION OF MOHAMMAD. By J. L. Menezes. (Roman Catholic Books, P.O. Box 2286, Fort Collins, Colo. 80522, 1912/2005 reprint), 194 pp. HB $24.95.
Mohammed, the founder of the Islamic religion, was born in Mecca, Arabia, in 570 and he died in 632. Father Menezes, the author of this book, lived and worked in India, which has a significant Moslem population. He wrote this book in 1911 as a type of friendly letter to the Moslems of India, explaining to them the history and origins of their religion.
The main purpose of the book is to show that Mohammed, on the basis of his own experience and with the help of a few others, fabricated a new religion dedicated to the one only God, Allah, with special honor for the prophet, namely, himself, whom he placed above Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ. The culture of Arabia at the time was dominated by various forms of idolatry, which was an abomination to Mohammed. One of the good things he did was to destroy idols and idol worship and bring his followers to the worship of the one God of heaven. It seems that he got his idea about the one God from the Jews because he was familiar with the Old Testament. He also knew the New Testament and had great respect for Jesus and his Mother, Mary. He acknowledged Jesus as a great prophet and miracle worker, but he did not recognize the divinity of Jesus.
Mohammed’s ideas about God and religion are contained in the Koran, which he claimed was given to him by God through the agency of the archangel Gabriel. The borrowings in the Koran from the OT and the NT are obvious. There are five chapters in the book. In the first chapter the author gives a history of the life of Mohammed. Up to the age of about forty he lived a rather decent life with one wife. After her death he married twelve women; he also had many concubines. Once he started his religion he fell into a life of sensuality; he engaged in robbery, murder and cruelty to his enemies. Because of the hostility against him in Mecca, he was forced to move to Medina where he was more successful in gaining followers. From there he waged holy war in all directions in order to spread his religion by the sword and bloodshed. When it is said that Islam is a religion of peace, it means it is peaceful if you accept it; if you do not, you are either killed or made an oppressed subject forced to pay exorbitant taxes.
Next, Fr. Menezes explains the faith of the Moslems from the Koran. It is a very simple religion with few articles of faith. There are six articles of faith: 1) Belief in one God (but total rejection of the Trinity); 2) Belief in Angels; 3) Belief in Books (OT, NT and the Koran); 4) Belief in Prophets (Mohammed in the greatest and last); 5) The Resurrection and the Day of Judgment; 6) Predestination of Good and Evil.
The moral code or duties of Islam are four, namely, prayer, alms, fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime.
Because of its use of Jewish and Christian ideas in a sense one can say that it is a Jewish and Christian heresy. Fr. Menezes says, “with all its positive and negative laws [it] has been a curse to human society” (p. 140). He also says that Mohammed has given “to the whole world a religion which, claiming a divine origin as the final and irrevocable standard of morality, has kept its followers sunk in ignorance and barbarism, and has become an insuperable barrier to the regeneration, civilization and progress of the Eastern world” (p. 142).
The fourth chapter deals with sects in Islam. The author says that there are at least 150 different Moslem sects. The two main ones are the Sunnis (the most numerous) and the Shiites. In recent years there have been many reports from Iraq about the conflicts between these two Moslem sects.
The last chapter is a friendly letter written by the author to the Moslems in India. He offers a point-by-point refutation of the claims of Mohammed, relying often on quotes from the Koran to show that the only true religion is the Catholic religion and that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world. He invites his Moslem readers to see that Islam is a human creation and that they should put their faith in Jesus Christ who is both God and Man and who established the one true Church on Peter and the Apostles.
Given the present world situation and the conflict of civilizations between Islam and Christianity, the book is recommended for Catholics who would like to have a better understanding if Islam and the fanaticism that motivates young people to blow themselves up in order to kill other people who do not agree with them.
Kenneth Baker, S.J. Ramsey, N.J.
bump for later
Excellent.
There are five pillars of Islam, not four. He left out declaration of faith. If he can't even get this simple fact straight, how are we to believe anything else?
"Everlasting Hatred, The Roots of Jihad" by Hal Lindsey is excellent. I can't understand how any thinking person would follow the teachings of Mohammad.
He offers a point-by-point refutation of the claims of Mohammed, relying often on quotes from the Koran to show that the only true religion is the Catholic religion...
There you go. Romanists just have to slip it in don't they? Since the RCC is the only true religion what do you suppose they think about Protestants? No better than the Muslims in their estimation.
Check out Karen Armstrong's "Muhammad" - she is one of the foremost historians alive today, writing almost exclusively on the Middle East and its Religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
She takes into account this early work - which has been challenged in a number of its findings.
The author and the reviewer are both Catholic priests.
Realizeing there are numerouse web sites and published books on Islam, it can be somewhat difficult to find a "one source"
that can pretty well provide a "medium level" study in what Islam represents in all it's variatal forms. I think I have found a site (have referenced it for about two years), that just may fit the bill of being a first source for folks to suppliment their current level of understanding.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam
Now this site is pretty well updated. So lets say you wanted to actually gain some info on how Osama Bin Laden and or Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had ended up taking the path they choose (migth surprise some folks one they wade into this stuff a bit............NOT all MUSLIMS hold the same views, and what you will read if you make the effort to examine the various groups, e.g. Sunni, sect= whahhabist, deviation = Qutbism, is that those that subscribe to placing all Muslims in the same boat are truly off based. They do so because they simply are ignorant of the facts.
But lets say you are interested on pursuing some info on how OBL fell into the traps of a deviant sub sect of Sunni Islam.
From the MAIN PAGE.
1). Look on the right side of page, and notice the GREEN frame section. Scroll down to where you see a sub title with a yellow background called: Messanic sects Movements
2). Notice under this section (under the movement side) the hyperlink titled: Salafism. Click on it.
3). As you read through this section you will encounter a bold faced title: Salafism in the Arab World after 1991 Gulf War
Notice in this section there is a hyperlink titled:
Qutbism. Click on that hyperlink.
Notice under the sub title: Bin Laden the Qutbee?
If you go this suggested route, do consider bookmarking the main page for further usuage.
Well after wading through this encyclopeida for some time, assuming you make an honest effort to start learning a little bit more then just reading a few military/terroristic verses in the Qu'ran at this web site and others, you may elect to change your viewpoint a bit as why it is not fair to just nuke the whole world of Islam.
I have been threatening to transcribe the article about Mohommetanism in the first edition of the Encyclopedia Britanica, 1762 (call me a liar for plus or minus a few years).
Every time I read it I am amazed at the candidness and the suppressed humor of the writer, not just PC, but anti-PC with a vengeance.
I always wondered how long that attitude persisted.
Evidently at least until 1911, LOL!
http://www.conservativebookservice.com/products/bookpage.asp?prod_cd=c6614
Mohammed: the ugly truth about the founder of the world's most violent religion
By a priest who lived and ministered among Muslims
The Life and Religion of Mohammed
by Menezes, J.L.
Fr. J.L. Menezes knew Islam up close: as a priest in India, he devoted his priestly life to introducing that nation's tens of millions of Muslims to Christianity. With this life of Mohammed, he left us the record of his appeals: a frank, honest, and exhaustively researched exploration of the life of the "prophet" of Islam, the development and contents of the Koran, and an introduction to various Muslim sects.
Working from the earliest Islamic sources, Fr. Menezes provides a complete account of Mohammed's life, from his days as a simple merchant to his triumphs as a leader of armies and revered prophet. Menezes delved so deeply into his subject that he was even able to describe Mohammed's physical appearance. He explains why Mohammed couldn't possibly be a true prophet, and reveals the true sources of his "revelations."
Fr. Menezes could be writing about today's Muslim terrorists when he explains that "Mohammed posed as the apostle of God, the seal of the prophets; as the destroyer of idolatry; as preacher of one true God, and the reformer of morals: while his life is marked by innumerable marriages; and great licentiousness, deeds of rapine, warfare, conquests, unmerciful butcheries, all the time invoking God's holy name to sanction his evil deeds, ordering prayers and alms deeds and at the same time propagating Islam everywhere by fire and sword."
Turning to the Koran, Fr. Menezes delineates the distinctive teachings of Islam, explaining the elements of the Muslim holy book that make it so difficult for Muslims to convert to Christianity -- and showing how the Koran, when read honestly and without Islamic preconceptions, nonetheless depends upon and leads to Christianity.
Fr. Menezes concludes with an "appeal to candor and common sense," inviting Muslims to think critically about their religion, and to embrace Christ instead. With Islam on the march everywhere and Muslims streaming into the U.S. in record numbers, the candor, common sense, and solid Christian faith of this book are needed more than ever.
Your guide into the dark mind of Mohammed:
The bizarre circumstances of Mohammed's "revelations": "it was a painful sight to behold the nervousness of his features, the distortion of his countenance and the anxiety of mind portrayed on his face"
How worldly ambition gradually blinded Mohammed's mind and overwhelmed his early searches for the true God
How Mohammed borrowed many of his ideas of Paradise from contemporary Jews and Christians -- and mixed them with base and lewd imaginings
How Mohammed again and again justified his rapine and licentiousness with new "divine revelations"
Why Mohammed grew so bitter against both Jews and Christians, after initially courting their favor
Mohammed's fateful order that all churches and synagogues in his domains be demolished
How Mohammed ordered the assassinations of several of his chief opponents
How even Mohammed's replies to his critics in the Koran are insufficient to refute the charge that he was a false prophet who fabricated revelations
Why Mohammed adopted -- and later discarded -- many Jewish customs and ritual observances
Islamic tolerance: Mohammed let Jews and Christians live in his domains -- if they paid tribute and accepted second-class status
What the Koran really teaches about Christianity and Christ
What Mohammed learned from heretical Christian sects -- and incorporated into the Koran
The early history of Islam: just as bloody as the life of its founder
How the Koran doesn't limit Muslims to four wives, as is widely believed, but actually sets no real limit
Why the new religion Mohammed taught became so commonly identified with war and politics
The crisis caused in Islam by the death of Mohammed's only son -- which continues to this day
Sunnis, Shiites, Sufis, Motazalites and more: the differences between the various Muslim sects
Please carry out your threat! The writing would have been contemporaneous with Gibbon, whose style in TDAFOTRE is utterly delightful in that respect. Is there a URL to the EB article?
Hey Sukhoi! Do you know about this guy? Must be from near your place.
Converting one Muslim to Christianity, or even atheism, is equivalent to ridding this world of a thousand terrorists IMHO.
This Fr. did a great job, which was unfortunately not picked up from where he left, in showing Muslims the right path toward real peace and progress.
Here's the 1911 Edition.
Mohammad tried to kill himself twice because he thought these "vision" were from Satan. His wife talked him out of it and told him they were directly from God.
In that case, his wife was probably Satan. LOL!
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