Posted on 11/10/2008 8:34:56 AM PST by NYer
Life TV’s Father Zakaria Botros recently ran a show dedicated to answering the question, “Was Muhammad a messenger from God or Satan?” As usual with these shows, viewers were asked to call in and respond to this question, with poll results revealed at the end of the show.
His co-host in this particular show was an ex-Muslim woman turned Christian, who, a few shows earlier, used to still wear a hijab, but not today---as Zakaria Botros put it, in English, her "new look." She said that such an offensive question—ascertaining the divine or demonic source of Muhammad’s prophethood—would have enraged her in former days, and how, till today even, it makes her feel awkward, uncomfortable. Such was her conditioning.
Botros was quick to respond by saying that it is not he that insults Muhammad but rather Islam’s books. He, once again, insisted that he’s merely a reader, who is bringing to the table what he reads—“So don’t be angry with me!” he says, somewhat tongue in cheek. “If you don’t like it, then go and burn all those books that portray him so and leave me alone!”
He then spent some time making a valid point: that in Islam, it seems that Muhammad’s honor is to be more zealously guarded than even Allah’s. To prove this, he quoted from a famous Arabic manual of law called Kitab Ahkam Al-Koran (“Book of Koranic Rulings”) by the famous scholar al-Jassas: according to this manual, the apostate must not be killed until he has been given several chances to repent and return to Islam.
This same book, however, clearly states that whoever offends the name of the prophet (Muhammad) must be killed right where he stands, not given a chance to repent or take back his words.
So, wondered Botros, while the person who offends Allah by essentially rejecting him and trying to break away from his religion gets several chances to repent, not the one who offends Muhammad—thus, according to Botros’ logic, "In Islam, Muhammad has a higher place than Allah."
As for the question of the show, Botros asked a more pivotal question: how does one differentiate prophets from false prophets? He came up with three prerequisites of prophethood as well as three characteristics of prophets. Today we will examine the prerequisites.
PREREQUISITES:
“So, what about Muhammad?” asked Botros; “Did God speak to him direct? Not at all; instead, he was visited by a creature [that is, a created, lesser being], who Muhammad himself was convinced was a demon or Jinn.” (Botros ran an entire episode revealing the many anecdotes in Islamic tradition that indicate that Muhammad was in fact visited by a Jinni, which I hope to translate shortly).
As for the second prerequisite, prophecy, again Botros provided several examples from the Bible of prophets prophesying, such as Psalms 22: 16, which Christians believe foretells the sufferings of Jesus, by nearly two millenia.
Asked Botros: “So, what prophecy did Muhammad bring?” He then quoted from the Koran verses which plainly indicate that Muhammad had no inkling of the future (see 6:50 and 7:188).
To the third prerequisite of prophethood: miracles. Botros indicated the miracles of Moses (e.g., Ten Plagues) and Jesus (raising the dead), which are recorded in both the Bible and Koran.
“So,” asked again, rather dryly, the Coptic priest, “what miracles did Muhammad perform?”
Here his co-hostess said that, from childhood, she, as a Muslim, was taught that the Koran is the miracle of Islam and Muhammad—to which Botros gave a chuckle, only to implore the viewers to not be angry with him, that he is not laughing in mockery but rather dismay.
He then insisted that discussing the problems of the “divine” Koran are manifold—linguistically, contextually, grammatically, etymologically—and that he had already dedicated several shows examining these problems. “However, let’s let one single Islamic book that exposes this issue suffice for today.”
After giving the title of the book, Haqa’iq Al Islam (“the Truths of Islam”), he boomed: “Quick, leave the TV set, or send your sons to the stores to buy this book, because we all know from previous experience that whatever Islamic book is used as evidence against Islam on this show is often immediately pulled off the market!”
He then read from page 200 of that book: “The Koran is most magnificent and perfect in language and structure; thus, if something appears wrong, it is not the Koran that is wrong but rather our understanding of language. As for obvious problems or contradictions, we are obligated to overlook these, for faith will resolve these matters.”
He also quoted Sunni Islam’s most authoritative institution, Al Azhar, saying “We must always strive to discover why in certain instances the Koran appears to not follow correct Arabic grammar. If we cannot find an answer, however, then we must leave the matter to Allah.”
The co-hostess said that Muslims believe Muhammad performed other miracles, according to the hadith. Botros responded by saying that that is simply another contradiction with the Koran, which flatly declares that even though the people demanded a miracle from Muhammad, the only one he could provide was the Koran:
"They say: We shall not believe in thee, until thou cause a spring to gush forth for us from the earth. Or (until) thou have a garden of date trees and vines, and cause rivers to gush forth in their midst, carrying abundant water…. No, we shall not even believe in thy mounting until thou send down to us a book that we could read. Say: Glory to my Lord! Am I aught but a man—a messenger?" (17:90-93).
Earlier, Life TV's Father Zakaria Botros discussed the three prerequisites of prophethood—direct revelation from God, the ability to prophesize, and the ability to perform miracles to support the claim of prophet. Here he discussed the three characteristics of prophethood, which are:
However, since Muslims may think that verse has been “corrupted”—the accusation of tahrif being commonplace when wanting to avoid biblical debates—Botros also went on to quote from none other than Ibn Taymiyya himself, radical Islam’s most favorite son, in regards to the characteristics of prophets.
According to Sheikh al-Islam’s Minhaj Al Sunna Al Nabawayya, Taymiyya said that false prophets, such as Musailima the Liar, were exposed by the fact that they were liars, oppressors, and possibly possessed by demons and jinn. However, when sober minded individuals studied their lives and deeds, they were able to discern that they were false prophets, that they were exposed.
After reading the relatively long quote from Taymiyya, Botros put his book down, looked directly at the screen, and flatly said that everyone of those negative characteristics indicative of false-prophethood mentioned by Taymiyya in fact apply to Muhammad. As but one example, he pointed to the fact that, even though the Taymiyya excerpt condemned lying, Muhammad himself justified lying in three circumstances—during war, to reconcile people, and husband to wife.
As for oppressive qualities of false prophets, Botros, reading from Sunan Al Bayhaqi, revealed to the viewers that Muhammad, after raiding innocent villages, would take into concubinage women he found desirable, and then send off to be sold in the market less than attractive women as well as children. With the money he’d make from this slave trade, he would purchase war horses and weaponry, in order to conquer other villages.
After reading such accounts, the good priest again put the books down, looked directly into the camera, and asked the predominantly Muslim viewers: “Does this sound like a real prophet to you? Remember: Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
Botros next considered what he called “Muhammad’s sexual escapades.” After listing them—all which should be famous by now to Jihad Watch readers—he proceeded to read from Kitab Al Tabaqat A Kubra, quoting a Muhammadan hadith, wherein the latter said “Of this world, the most things Allah has made me love are”—here Botros interjected with “What? Salvation of souls?! Doing good to others? What?!" only to continue quoting Muhammad’s conclusion—“women and perfume,” the latter to lure the former.
As for the second characteristic Botros listed as being indicative of prophethood—making sacrifices on behalf of others—the Coptic priest listed some biblical examples, such as Paul saying “I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved” (2 Cor 12:15). He also pointed to the “ultimate sacrifice” of Jesus. Here, his co-hostess objected saying that Jesus was not a prophet, but Son of God, to which the father roared “I’m speaking according to their beliefs!”
He then looked at the viewers asking, "So, what 'sacrifices' did Muhammad make?" He confessed he knew of none, but instead read various quotes of Muhammad asking others to sacrifice themselves for him and his religion—in the jihad and as shuhada—promising them a sensual heaven in return, one filled with sexual orgies and rivers of wine.
He next moved on to the final point, the final characteristic of a prophet: dedicating one’s life to God, exhibited by a life of good deeds, advocating peace, and above all love. He spend some time insisting that a prophet should lead mankind to love God unconditionally, so that believers would want to worship God voluntarily, not as an act of obsequiousness or fear.
He quoted from John 14:21: “He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
“Well, what of Muhammad? What was his approach to making humanity worship their Maker?” Botros insisted that Muhammad, doing away with grace and love as typified by the New Testament, tried instead to usher mankind back to an era of law and fear. "Instead of love and mercy, Muhammad brought death and punishments."
As example, he read from al-Shinqiti’s works an entire chapter dedicated to proving that in Islam, whoever refuses to perform the obligatory prayers should be killed. Writes Shinqiti: “Those who refuse to pray, stand above them with a sword or stick, and command them—‘Pray!’—and if they refuse, smite them until they either pray or die.”
Finally, Father Zakaria Botros closed the program with an overall comparison of the life and deeds of Jesus and Muhammad, the founders of the two largest religions. He said that Jesus’ words and life example would lead to peace on earth, and mercy, whereas the words of Muhammad and his life example—here he quoted several Koranic verses, such as 9:5, 9:29, and 8:60—lead only to warfare and terrorism.
“Jesus came to save souls, Muhammad came to sacrifice the souls of others in order to create a worldly empire for himself.”
At the end of the program, Botros revealed the end poll results regarding the question “Was Muhammad a messenger from God or Satan?” 89% said Satan, 11% said God.
I cannot see it in such a benign fashion. Did God unleash wrath in the Old Testament? You bet He did. But can you reconcile any correlation between God and orgies in heaven with black-eyed virgins? (God uses a virgin birth to establish the salvation of the world. An Islamic heaven paints virginity as a special treat to exploit for sexual gratification.) Does the Allah of the Koran look like a pre-Jesus version of God, or a perverted caricature of Him?
MM (in TX)
This is why this cult was known as muhammadism up until some time after WWII. Thomas Jefferson and our other Founding Fathers knew this cult as muhammadism. And what is interesting is they recognized it for what it was ... EVIL!
This cult should never be referred to as anything but muhammadism. The followers of this cult have no god they only have a disgusting pedophile to worship.
Mohammed obviously saw the “kingdom of heaven” pretty much in terms of his culture. But if one looks at the Pentateuch, absent any knowledge of the revelvation of the Prophets and the books of Wisdom, one sees a world that would be familar to Mohammed. The story of Dina reveals that moral universe, of an Israel untutored by adversity to obedience to God. It is Israel before Joseph, whom God used to show Israel the way it should go, by giving example of that love that God feels toward his people.
Wow, what a commanding presence Father Zakaria Botros exhibits. I pray that St Michael and all Angels will guard him from oppression by man or spirit.
He is one of those who will usher in the end times by proclaiming the Gospel to all the earth.
He needs all of our prayers! Here is his other web site.
Excellent post.
This agreeing with you is getting entirely out of hand! LOL.
I strongly suspect that all human belief and endeavor comes from the mind. There seems no evidence of it before humans. Thus whether God made existence cumulative to this point, or other intelligences elsewhere in the cosmos might view “evil” similarly is why I take Joseph Albo’s 15th century point to heart and similarly say, “If I knew God I’d be Him.”
Christ himself says: I am the Truth and the way. All who want to know my Father must come through me.
End of story.
That would most probably confirm one’s belief, but it really doesn’t qualify as knowledge, does it?
No, I just don’t think that a belief really qualifies as knowledge. I can honestly say that while I have strong beliefs, I really don’t have knowledge of the same.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Ever heard of 'Satanic Verses' by Salman Rushdie? His claim is that the angel of light who visited muhammed was not from God and that Mo's wife cautioned him not to take the angel seriously.
Rushdie is still alive, somewhere in England.....
Read the Bible and the Koran and Haddith. The difference between Islam and Christianity is clear. Christians will forgive. Muslims will kill.
Killing is the nature of Islam. That cannot be from God. Looks like an easy answer to me!
The example of Mohamed on forgivness Sahih Muslim, Book 17: 4206
There came to him (the Holy Prophet) a woman from Ghamid and said: Allah's Messenger, I have committed adultery, so purify me. He (the Holy Prophet) turned her away. On the following day she said: Allah's Messenger, Why do you turn me away? Perhaps, you turn me away as you turned away Ma'iz. By Allah, I have become pregnant. He said: Well, if you insist upon it, then go away until you give birth to (the child). When she was delivered she came with the child (wrapped) in a rag and said: Here is the child whom I have given birth to. He said: Go away and suckle him until you wean him. When she had weaned him, she came to him (the Holy Prophet) with the child who was holding a piece of bread in his hand. She said: Allah's Apostle, here is he as I have weaned him and he eats food. He (the Holy Prophet) entrusted the child to one of the Muslims and then pronounced punishment. And she was put in a ditch up to her chest and he commanded people and they stoned her. Khalid b Walid came forward with a stone which he flung at her head and there spurted blood on the face of Khalid and so he abused her. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) heard his (Khalid's) curse that he had huried upon her. Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Khalid, be gentle. By Him in Whose Hand is my life, she has made such a repentance that even if a wrongful tax-collector were to repent, he would have been forgiven. Then giving command regarding her, he prayed over her and she was buried.
The example of Jesus on forgivness (John 8:1-11)
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?" They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."
Satan is a FALLEN angel. He is one of those who decided they were more enlightened than God, and has since tried to convince others of the same.
That goes without saying, SuziQ. :-)
My point was that it is improper to think of Satan as God's evil counterpart (as many people do!) because Satan's entire class of being is one created by God. If I make a paper airplane, can it become my counterpart? No. If I build a magnificent mansion, can it become my counterpart? No. If I engineer the most advanced robot ever, can it become my counterpart? No. Creatures cannot be counterparts of their creator. Satan can aspire but in the end, he can only be a petty counterfeit. That's my point.
ROLF, thanks for your earlier comment. :-)
MM (in TX)
Not as ironic as the fact that these same "old testament" hating liberals have claimed for over two hundred years to love and admire the Jews.
Liberals only admire “liberated” Jews, those for whom Enlightenment means a repudiation of Torah, except as a family sentiment.
Unfortunately, libs see even the most reactionary Jews as "dissidents" against the "intolerant" chr*stians. In their minds they've changed `Am Yisra'el from The People Of The Book to the First Dissidents who "paved the way for being gay." And they associate the "old testament" not with the Jews but with hillbillies. Which would be great if it ever came back to bite them. I just hope it does.
Good and evil exist. We are in a battle every day for our souls. Islam is the worship of satan. There can be no Holiness to a religion that murders innocents.
Our country is being led down a path to slavery. Muslim immigration is dominating our LEGAL immigration allotments. We are being flooded with people who would murder me for writing this.
Our country is being led by people who are funding the muslim oil lords, rather than allow us to drill for our own oil. Everyone but the USA is drilling off the Fla coast. NASA’s main mission is to make muslims feel good about themselves. I feel like I’m living in the twilight zone. Does no one care?
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