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Islamic studies are the keyto understanding terrorism -
Sunday Telegraph ^ | 12 March 2006 | Piers Akerman

Posted on 03/11/2006 2:50:30 PM PST by Fair Go

FIVE years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre towers and the Pentagon, four years after the first Bali atrocity and three months after the Cronulla riots, it has become appallingly apparent that local police are still standing flat-footed in the face of a growing crime problem among some in Australia's own Muslim community.

It's high time the politically correct pap that spews forth after every evil global terrorist attack was ignored and real research into the underlying philosophy driving the radical fringe, and its supporters and financiers, was undertaken.

A good first step would be to reject the claims of all those who continue to spuriously argue that the West was in some way wholly responsible for the rise of militant Islam and deserving of terrorism. It is not, as even Osama bin Laden acknowledges.

The roots for this evil can be found within extremist strands of Islam such as the Wahabism followed by bin Laden, which takes as its inspiration a literal reading of the Koran and the sharia law derived from its teachings.

This also inspires groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has a branch in Sydney and works to reinstate the Islamic empire of the caliphate through a global jihad.

In the past few days, senior NSW police and Police Minister Carl Scully have bemoaned the lack of co-operation investigators have received from members of a community formerly described as being "of Middle Eastern appearance".

These people are now described as "Arabic", in a clumsy, if politically correct, attempt to avoid describing the alleged perpetrators as Islamic.

But it is well documented that the thugs who took part in the initial attacks on Cronulla beach were Muslim. Those who participated in the subsequent reprisal raids after the well-publicised riots met outside the Lakemba mosque before taking their convoy of violence to Maroubra and other beachside suburbs.

For decades, the multiculturalist policies of Gough Whitlam's Labor government and Malcolm Fraser's Liberal government, and their successors, encouraged and funded migrant groups to retain their particular cultures and refrain from assimilation.

Although most migrant groups actively embraced the broader Australian culture, it's obvious to all that the focus of Islamic communities on their mosques meant there was minimal cross-cultural contact.

It is now just as obvious that many senior religious leaders discouraged members of their communities from associating with people in the wider community.

Indeed, there is ample evidence that leaders – including Keysar Trad and the Mufti, Sheik Taj Eldeen Alhilaly – for many years preached hatred and contempt for Australian society. They based their sermons and lectures on their readings of the Koran.

Logically, that would seem to give the lie to those well-meaning souls who rush to praise Islam as a religion of tolerance and love after every terrorist attack.

Whenever crimes or acts of terror are committed in the name of Islam, we are again told that the religion is essentially one of peace that teaches respect for the rights of all.

As it happens, the Koran, particularly in verses found in Sura 9, provides numerous invitations for Muslims to visit violence upon Jews, Christians and non-Muslims in general.

It is an unfortunate reality that these verses are still read with enthusiastic approval in mosques throughout Australia and the rest of the world.

Scholarly studies of the Koran have been made by academics and theologians, but there are few within intelligence organisations or law-enforcement agencies with any great knowledge of Islam.

The exceptions are a few officers in the ranks of the Australian Federal Police who have had to undertake studies of the Koran to confront terrorists inspired by the fundamentalist teachings of Jemaah Islamiah in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Muslims are taught that the Koran is the word of God, revealed through Mohammed, but its Arabic version can seem to be poetically ambiguous.

Most serious scholars seem to agree that informed readings would indicate God wasn't beyond changing his mind – a trait noticed by some of Mohammed's contemporaries – and, on occasion, even issuing views contradicting his earlier statements.

A handful of Muslims around the world have called for greater examination of the Koran and for a reformation like the one that modernised the Christian church in Europe during the 16th century, but they have been vilified by many of their fellows.

The political correctness permeating the liberal-arts community has prevented thorough studies of Islam, but courageous theologians and scholars are exploring the topic.

They must be joined by members of intelligence and law-enforcement agencies if the West is to understand the motivation for terrorism and combat those who are using Western liberal democracies' overly indulgent multiculturalism policies as shields for their criminal acts.

It's not enough for the West to ask Muslims, from Iraq to Cronulla, to become part of the solution. It should also be asking why so many are demonstrably not interested in bringing criminals to justice and working for peace.


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Culture/Society; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: australia; highereducation; islam; islamicstudies; terrorism
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To: RS

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/047.qmt.html


Ten Misconceptions About Islam
Misconception 1
Misconception 2
Misconception 3
Misconception 4
Misconception 5 Misconception 6
Misconception 7
Misconception 8
Misconception 9
Misconception 10

In this article, we will try to clear up many of the misconceptions that are prevalent about Islam. Before jumping into the list of misconceptions directly, it is important to give a little interesting background about the source of Islam.

Islam is the name of a way of life which the Creator wants us to follow. We avoid the word religion because in many non-Islamic societies, there is a separation of "religion and state." This separation is not recognized at all in Islam: the Creator is very much concerned with all that we do, including the political, social, economic, and other aspects of our society. Hence, Islam is a complete way of life.

The source of Islam is Allah, the Creator of everything known and unknown to us. He is One, and He is Unique. Allah has taught us about Islam via two mediums: the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Both the Qur'an and Sunnah were transmitted to us, humanity, via the Messenger of Allah: Muhammad bin Abdullah, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him (saas). The Messenger of Allah was nothing more and nothing less than a mortal messenger of the immortal Creator.

The Qur'an is a book containing the literal Word of Allah. It was transmitted from Allah to an angel of His (Gabriel), and from the angel to the Messenger of Allah who delivered it to us. The Qur'an covers a wide variety of topics, including evidence to support its claim of being the Word of the Creator, stories of earlier generations, rules which humanity is asked to obey, and information about the Hereafter. The Qur'an claims that it is protected from change by other than Allah, and this is confirmed by its 1400 year history. The earliest copies and the latest copies are the same.

The Sunnah is the term used to describe how the Messenger of Allah (saas) lived his life. The Messenger's life is an example for all Muslims, or those who accept Islam, to follow. Whatever the Messenger (saas) did, said, or approved of is a source of Islam just as much as the Qur'an. The Messenger's role is not overemphasized: his life was dictated by what the Creator desired, and the Messenger did not add or subtract to Islam according to his own personal whim. His life was such that his wife called him "a walking Qur'an."

The Qur'an and Sunnah are the only two mediums by which Allah has directly taught us about Islam. This leads us to the following simple but critical principle:

If any man or woman engages in a belief or action which clearly contradicts the Qur'an or Sunnah, then that belief or action cannot be thought of as `Islamic'.
This rule applies whether the man or woman is Muslim or non-Muslim. Hence, we cannot equate Islam and the Muslims. Islam is the way of life; Muslims are people who claim to follow that way of life. A Muslim may claim to follow Islam, but be wrong. In the context of misconceptions, we can restate the above principle in a slightly different way:

Some misconceptions about Islam are due to the wrong beliefs and actions of Muslims, and others are due to a significant lack of understanding and false stereotyping by non-Muslims.
Several misconceptions are listed below. Instead of simply stating the misconception by itself, we have also included some reasons why people might adopt that misconception. Therefore, each entry in the list is given in the following form:

ETC ETC ETC.

IN AUSSIE SPEAK; YOU'VE GOT TO BE EFFING PULLING MY LEG MATE!


81 posted on 03/13/2006 2:49:52 PM PST by Fred Nerks (Read the bio THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD free! Click Fred Nerks for link to my Page.)
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To: RS
The only problem I see are that fanatics are using it.

Not that far apart here... the problem I see is that self declared "true believers" can are are using it because they can simply point to the examples of mohammed himself, and as muslims, he is the example as al-insan al-kamil (perfect man) for them to emulate. The concepts of bidah (against innovations), maruf + ijma (consensus), the koran as the absolute irrefutable and final word of allah himself, and the prophecies simply stop them from evolving too far away from islam as it was practiced in the 7th century.

If we are able to plant some good roots for democracy, and diminish the threat of religious leaders taking political power, all to the good.

I have more hopes about the long term use of democracy as two stage solution than a quick fix end unto itself, having serious doubts of the compatibility of islam and democracy. Call me cynical, but I'm one who has witnessed them simply vote in sharia to the dismay of "muslims" and non-muslims alike, and thus destroying the very democratic institutions that bring the "true believers" into power in the first place.

82 posted on 03/13/2006 2:51:31 PM PST by USF (I see your Jihad and raise you a Crusade ™ © ®)
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To: Fair Go
Is there a correlation between the seizing of Australian firearms and 'yutes' expressing themselves?
83 posted on 03/13/2006 2:57:06 PM PST by Beckwith (The liberal press has picked sides & they've sided with the Islamofascists)
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To: Beckwith

http://www.gabriellereillyweekly.com/gabrielle_reilly/politics/gun_laws_australia_america.htm

http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/ausguns.asp


84 posted on 03/13/2006 3:01:04 PM PST by Fred Nerks (Read the bio THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD free! Click Fred Nerks for link to my Page.)
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To: Fred Nerks

Not getting off the hook that easy ... just where DID you find that seemingly bogus "quote" you posted ?

( Just so that we know who NOT to trust in the future )




BTW - just what did you find a problem with in the page you copied ? for example the arguement -

"If any man or woman engages in a belief or action which clearly contradicts the Qur'an or Sunnah, then that belief or action cannot be thought of as `Islamic'. "

has been used many times in these threads as "proof" that moderate muslims cannot exist.


85 posted on 03/13/2006 4:39:31 PM PST by RS ("I took the drugs because I liked them and I found excuses to take them, so I'm not weaseling.")
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To: RS
"...just where DID you find that seemingly bogus "quote" you posted ?"

ON THE SITE FROM THE LINK YOU PROVIDED.

Seeing I don't have a pic of the bunny with a pancake on its head, I'll leave you with this:

Image hosting by Photobucket

86 posted on 03/13/2006 4:52:19 PM PST by Fred Nerks (Read the bio THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD free! Click Fred Nerks for link to my Page.)
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To: Fred Nerks

I meant the bogus one you posted in #72


87 posted on 03/13/2006 5:01:19 PM PST by RS ("I took the drugs because I liked them and I found excuses to take them, so I'm not weaseling.")
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To: RS

Prophet of Doom.

"To write Prophet of Doom, I analyzed the Sira, the Ta’rikh, or History of al-Tabari, and the topical Hadith collections of Bukhari and Muslim. Using Islam’s most holy books I was able to reorder the Qur’an chronologically and set it into the context of Muhammad’s life. The result is bone chilling. The depiction of the prophet by the most revered Muslim sources reveals behavior that is immoral, criminal, and violent. The five oldest and most trusted Islamic sources don't portray Muhammad as a great and godly man. They confirm that he was a thief, liar, assassin, mass murderer, terrorist, warmonger, and an unrestrained sexual pervert engaged in pedophilia, incest, and rape. He authorized deception, assassinations, torture, slavery, and genocide. He was a pirate, not a prophet. According to the Hadith and the Qur'an, Muhammad and his henchmen plundered their way to power and prosperity. And by putting the Qur'an in chronological order and correlating it with the context of Muhammad's life, we find that Allah mirrored his prophet's character..."

Read more...http://prophetofdoom.net/

If you need to know any more, link to My Page for a free pdf download THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD. It was published in 1913. Before 9/11, before 'palestinians' before oil and before cartoons. You'll find the source-notes fascinating.


88 posted on 03/13/2006 5:18:22 PM PST by Fred Nerks (Read the bio THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD free! Click Fred Nerks for link to my Page.)
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To: Fred Nerks

Kind of what I figured - the book written by the guy with no background in history or theology, no known knowledge of Arabic, and what appears to be an uncanny ability to source quotes to support his premise that are available nowhere else.


89 posted on 03/13/2006 5:39:16 PM PST by RS ("I took the drugs because I liked them and I found excuses to take them, so I'm not weaseling.")
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To: RS

If you don't appreciate Prophet of Doom, I'm sure you will enjoy Edward, Canon Sell. He was a Fellow of the University of Madrass, wrote several books on the subject of islam. Other than that, I cannot be of any further help to you, there's more than one POV - if you are unable to include any western thought or literature in your search for truth, then you're stuck on stupid I guess. You are not debating, but trying to stuff your opinions down my throat.

And I am NOT interested in parsing the koran and hadith word for word.

Sorry, I'm an Aussie, we're stubborn. Those tactics doesn't work.


90 posted on 03/13/2006 5:49:40 PM PST by Fred Nerks (Read the bio THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD free! Click Fred Nerks for link to my Page.)
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To: Fred Nerks
"You are not debating, but trying to stuff your opinions down my throat."

My opinion was on your choice of a source... a proven poor choice, since I have pointed out more then one bogus quote from that same source.

Not controvertible, not inaccurate, not a point of view difference, simply made up "facts".


Now as far as Sell goes, his books might have some bearing if our discussion involved whether the Koran was truly a revealed book of God - As I have said before, I don't care, so if it makes you happy to call Mohammod a dirty rotten pig farmer, have at it.

Not a particularly good move if your object is to kill the bad guys and calm the rest so I might question your motives in doing so, but I'm not going to argue the point.
91 posted on 03/13/2006 6:20:04 PM PST by RS ("I took the drugs because I liked them and I found excuses to take them, so I'm not weaseling.")
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To: RS

The first step is to stop allowing people to mistake a degree in islamic law as a degree in "law".

Islamic law degrees are just a degree in theology.

Very bloody, violent, and merciless theology.


92 posted on 03/13/2006 6:38:10 PM PST by longtermmemmory (VOTE!)
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To: longtermmemmory

Hey longterm bin longtime

... but not really sure where what you posted fits


93 posted on 03/13/2006 6:45:06 PM PST by RS ("I took the drugs because I liked them and I found excuses to take them, so I'm not weaseling.")
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To: RS

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/009.qmt.html#009.029

YUSUFALI: Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

Thanks, but no thanks.


94 posted on 03/13/2006 6:50:22 PM PST by Fred Nerks (Read the bio THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD free! Click Fred Nerks for link to my Page.)
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To: Beckwith

Own firearms and own a ute but have never had anything seized so I can't really answer that one.


95 posted on 03/13/2006 10:25:27 PM PST by Fair Go
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To: NormB

I cannot possibly imagine how horrific that must have been. It was upsetting enough to hear the news on the radio. I will never forget where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news. Seeing replays is still horrific.


96 posted on 03/13/2006 10:28:13 PM PST by Fair Go
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To: the anti-liberal

I have just acquired a book of interviews with Bin Laden. I have also collected a number of books on terrorism. I will check the title of the book.


97 posted on 03/13/2006 10:29:48 PM PST by Fair Go
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To: Fred Nerks

Aussies don't like being pushed around, period.


98 posted on 03/13/2006 10:33:33 PM PST by Fair Go
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To: Fair Go

It's not the pushing we mind so much as the bullsh*t that tries to pass itself off as brains.


99 posted on 03/13/2006 10:59:49 PM PST by Fred Nerks (Read the bio THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD free! Click Fred Nerks for link to my Page.)
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To: Fred Nerks

Very true.


100 posted on 03/13/2006 11:04:50 PM PST by Fair Go
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