How the text of the Qur’an tells a ‘hidden’ story about its own origins.
In his recent book, The Qur’an and its Biblical Reflexes, and in this video (from the June 11, 2020 live webinar), Mark Durie explores how the text of the Qur’an tells a ‘hidden’ story about its own origins, one which is different from the conventional account.
The Qur’an is a difficult book to read and understand. Within the religion of Islam, its text has always been read, explained and understood through the lens of the biography of Muhammad, which was itself based on later, sources committed to writing more than a century after the Qur’an came into existence.
This is a story about a small religious community, not located in Mecca, but somewhere else, enjoying a more moderate climate suited to agriculture but vulnerable to earthquakes, which found itself facing an existential theological crisis. Tune into this webinar to hear Mark Durie tell the story of how this crisis was resolved, and the momentous consequences which continue to influence the lives of billions, right down to the present day.
Showing posts with label koran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label koran. Show all posts
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
England, Anglican Church continue submission to Islam, openly denying Jesus Christ in Royal Cathedral
How many of the congregants took their faith in Jesus Christ seriously enough to get up and walk out of this blasphemous invasion of a Christian gathering by a hostile, antichrist spirit? I suspect the number is zero.
Protestant and Catholic England is doomed. Orthodox England is small, but holds out hope for faithful Christians.
Regarding this latest abomination, Bishop Gavin Ashenden, who resigned as Queen’s Chaplain after objecting to the reading of the Koran in Glasgow Cathedral in 2017, warns of the spiritual force of these blasphemies:
“Reading the Koran in cathedrals... validates Islam’s teaching that is predicated on the claim that the resurrection was a fraud and Jesus lied to his followers and the world.”
"By welcoming an uncritical reading of the Koran, Westminster Abbey asserts the legitimacy of Mohammad and in so doing repudiates Jesus. One has to wonder what their claim to be a Christian cathedral rests on at that point?"— Bishop Gavin Ashenden
Koran read at Westminster Abbey as Royal Cathedral bows to Islam
September 16, 2019,Jules Gomes, Rebel Priest:
Britain’s royal cathedral—the nation’s coronation church since 1066—and the final resting place of 17 monarchs approved a Koranic reading from its lectern at a memorial service last Tuesday.
Husein Kavazović, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, read from Koran 16: 90-97 at a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Paddy Ashdown—a British politician and former diplomat who served as leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Ashdown, who died on 22 December 2018, became a passionate advocate for the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the wars that led to the break-up of Yugoslavia.
The Koranic reading was in Bosnian and preceded biblical readings from Isaiah 52: 7-12 and Paul’s second epistle to Timothy 4:1-7.
Expressing his consternation, Islamic jurist Yasser Hussein who spoke to Rebel Priest media, said that such an act could imply that the deceased may have secretly converted to Islam.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Mark Durie: 'The Qur’an’s Turn To Violence'
"A careful reading of the Qur’an’s text reveals a movement which was faltering under the weight of the non-arrival of a prophesied doomsday scenario. This movement was then saved – and transformed – by a shocking and epoch-making announcement that the swords of believers were to be considered an act of God."
This landmark article by Dr. Mark Durie, based on his groundbreaking new book on the Qur'an, upends the standard approach to understanding the shift of Islam from a relatively benign religious movement (in its so-called "Meccan Period") to an aggressive and militaristic religio-political ideology (typically identified as beginning with the "Medinan Period"), which expanded rapidly through the sword and bloodshed to conquer and subjugate huge swaths of the ancient Christian World lasting over a millennium — vast areas of North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of Europe — and which is directly responsible today for the new era of global martyrdom of Christians in the 21st century, the relaunch of Islam's 1400-year-old jihad against the followers of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Durie's enormous contribution to Quranic studies reveals the desperate and opportunistic theological motives behind Muhammad's — and Islam's — embrace of outright hatred and bloody jihad against non-Muslims. The false prophet and forerunner of Antichrist now stands clearly revealed as the maniacal tool of a bloodthirsty "god," justifying the waging of divine wrath on those who reject Allah and his messenger.
The Qur’an’s Turn to Violence
A conventional Islamic theological interpretation is that in Mecca Muhammad and his community were weak, vulnerable and persecuted, so Allah wisely commended patience and forbearance. However when their power was established in Medina the Muslims were commanded to fight for the cause of Allah, ushering in the triumphant advance of the religion.
It is indisputable that there is a progression from peace to violence in the Qur’an. But is the conventional explanation for that shift supported by the text of the Qur’an itself? Does this explanation make the best sense of the Qur’an?
In my recently published book, The Qur’an and its Biblical Reflexes, I argue that the traditional explanation is based on a misreading. Setting aside the whole Mecca-Medina narrative (for a whole host of reasons), I argue that if we read the Qur’an with an ear for changes in its theology around the transition between the (so-called) ‘Meccan’ and ‘Medinan’ verses, a different story emerges. This is a story about a crisis of faith and how it was successfully resolved.
This landmark article by Dr. Mark Durie, based on his groundbreaking new book on the Qur'an, upends the standard approach to understanding the shift of Islam from a relatively benign religious movement (in its so-called "Meccan Period") to an aggressive and militaristic religio-political ideology (typically identified as beginning with the "Medinan Period"), which expanded rapidly through the sword and bloodshed to conquer and subjugate huge swaths of the ancient Christian World lasting over a millennium — vast areas of North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of Europe — and which is directly responsible today for the new era of global martyrdom of Christians in the 21st century, the relaunch of Islam's 1400-year-old jihad against the followers of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Durie's enormous contribution to Quranic studies reveals the desperate and opportunistic theological motives behind Muhammad's — and Islam's — embrace of outright hatred and bloody jihad against non-Muslims. The false prophet and forerunner of Antichrist now stands clearly revealed as the maniacal tool of a bloodthirsty "god," justifying the waging of divine wrath on those who reject Allah and his messenger.
The Qur’an’s Turn to Violence
by Mark Durie, June 7, 2019
It is widely recognized that, on the topic of violence, the Qur’an speaks with more than one voice. Some verses speak for peace, and others for war. The conventional explanation is that the difference hinges on the migration of the early Muslim community from Mecca to Medina: in Mecca Muslims were persecuted while Muhammad and the Qur’an preached non-violence and tolerance, but in Medina an Islamic state was established, and Muhammad gathered an army, leading it to triumph in battle against non-believers.
The Problem Of Peace Vs. Violence
It is widely recognized that, on the topic of violence, the Qur’an speaks with more than one voice. Some verses speak for peace, and others for war. The conventional explanation is that the difference hinges on the migration of the early Muslim community from Mecca to Medina: in Mecca Muslims were persecuted while Muhammad and the Qur’an preached non-violence and tolerance, but in Medina an Islamic state was established, and Muhammad gathered an army, leading it to triumph in battle against non-believers.
A Conventional Explanation
A conventional Islamic theological interpretation is that in Mecca Muhammad and his community were weak, vulnerable and persecuted, so Allah wisely commended patience and forbearance. However when their power was established in Medina the Muslims were commanded to fight for the cause of Allah, ushering in the triumphant advance of the religion.
It is indisputable that there is a progression from peace to violence in the Qur’an. But is the conventional explanation for that shift supported by the text of the Qur’an itself? Does this explanation make the best sense of the Qur’an?
"If we read the Qur’an with an ear for changes in its theology around the transition between the (so-called) ‘Meccan’ and ‘Medinan’ verses, a different story emerges."
A Different Story To Be Told
In my recently published book, The Qur’an and its Biblical Reflexes, I argue that the traditional explanation is based on a misreading. Setting aside the whole Mecca-Medina narrative (for a whole host of reasons), I argue that if we read the Qur’an with an ear for changes in its theology around the transition between the (so-called) ‘Meccan’ and ‘Medinan’ verses, a different story emerges. This is a story about a crisis of faith and how it was successfully resolved.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
' NOT THE SAME GOD' - Franklin Graham delivers robust Christian response to the latest Islamic jihad terror attack
"Graham reacted strongly to a recent Islamic terror attack in Strasbourg, France, warning that radical Islam continues to be a major global threat."
There are so few Christian voices stating the obvious, that the obvious is in decline.
'AXIOS' to Rev. Graham for having the courage and conviction to boldly rebuke those who hold to the Same God Heresy, to bravely condemn the false religion of Islam, and to blast weak Christian leaders like Pope Francis who deny that Islam is behind jihad terror attacks. Graham recently stated that
by Thomas D. Williams, PhD, Breitbart News, December 16, 2018:
Celebrated evangelical pastor Franklin Graham reacted strongly to a recent Islamic terror attack in Strasbourg, France, warning that radical Islam continues to be a major global threat.
In a two-part tweet Saturday, Rev. Graham, the son of the prominent Christian leader Billy Graham, reminded citizens that Islamic extremism has not ceased to be a menace to the world and that, contrary to popular opinion, the Muslim idea of God is very different from the God worshiped by Christians.
In the past, Rev. Graham has said that bloody jihadist attacks should not surprise anyone, since hatred and violence against nonbelievers are central to the teachings of Islam.
“Why does Islam hate so much?” Graham asked in a 2016 Facebook post. “It’s because the Quran teaches its followers to hate.”
“Jews, Christians and others are to be subdued so that Islam may ‘prevail over all religions,’” he added. “It’s all in the final chapter of the Quran—‘Kill or be killed in battle, and paradise awaits,’” he said.
Graham has been an ongoing critic of theories that would equate Islam to Christianity.
There are so few Christian voices stating the obvious, that the obvious is in decline.
'AXIOS' to Rev. Graham for having the courage and conviction to boldly rebuke those who hold to the Same God Heresy, to bravely condemn the false religion of Islam, and to blast weak Christian leaders like Pope Francis who deny that Islam is behind jihad terror attacks. Graham recently stated that
Islam “is behind the violence and jihad we’re seeing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and here in this country.
“It’s a religion that calls for the extermination of ‘infidels’ outside their faith, specifically Jews and Christians.”
Franklin Graham: Allah and the Christian God ‘Not the Same’
by Thomas D. Williams, PhD, Breitbart News, December 16, 2018:
Celebrated evangelical pastor Franklin Graham reacted strongly to a recent Islamic terror attack in Strasbourg, France, warning that radical Islam continues to be a major global threat.
In a two-part tweet Saturday, Rev. Graham, the son of the prominent Christian leader Billy Graham, reminded citizens that Islamic extremism has not ceased to be a menace to the world and that, contrary to popular opinion, the Muslim idea of God is very different from the God worshiped by Christians.
Radical Islam continues to be a huge threat around the world. I thank God for the hard work of the French police & law enforcement who tracked down terrorist Cherif Chekatt. Remember the families of those whose lives were taken and the many wounded. 1/2 https://t.co/edjAvRxde7— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) December 15, 2018
Contrary to what some may say, the god of Islam & the God of the Christian faith are not the same. The God of the Christian faith is Creator of the Universe & sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to save us from our sin. He can change every heart who will put their faith in Him. 2/2— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) December 15, 2018
In the past, Rev. Graham has said that bloody jihadist attacks should not surprise anyone, since hatred and violence against nonbelievers are central to the teachings of Islam.
“Why does Islam hate so much?” Graham asked in a 2016 Facebook post. “It’s because the Quran teaches its followers to hate.”
“Jews, Christians and others are to be subdued so that Islam may ‘prevail over all religions,’” he added. “It’s all in the final chapter of the Quran—‘Kill or be killed in battle, and paradise awaits,’” he said.
Graham has been an ongoing critic of theories that would equate Islam to Christianity.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Ramadan Update - The Muslim Sacred Month at a Glance (with links)
Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch notes wryly of one of these acts that:
[It] brings to mind Barack Obama’s last Ramadan message, from 2016, which said: "For many, this month is an opportunity to focus on reflection and spiritual growth, forgiveness, patience and resilience, compassion for those less fortunate, and unity across communities."
Spencer takes the opportunity to draw a lesson from these Ramadan attacks:
Spiritual growth for Muslims involves obeying Allah, who says "kill them wherever you find them" (cf. Qur’an 2:191, 4:89, 9:5).
Of course, some will protest that especially suicide bombings and attacks are against the teachings of Religion of Peace. What, have you not read Allah's command?
“Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties, for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed.” (Koran 9:111)
And kill and are killed, and kill and are killed, ad nauseum, ad infinitum.
Until Christ returns in glory to judge the world, which He may do very soon, the way the world looks now.
More teachable moments from the Muslim holy month follow (just a few highlights, not all 64 so far)...
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Raymond Ibrahim: 'Islam’s Erasure of Christianity'
The recent discovery of of "how an eighth century Koran was found to be written over... the Bible" has been hailed by the media as evidence of "cultural interactions between different religious communities.”
"What is euphemistically referred to as 'cultural interactions between different religious communities' is a reference to the near cultural annihilation of Coptic Christian civilization by Islam. "
Islam’s Erasure of Christianity
by Raymond Ibrahim, May 14, 2018:
A recent article titled “Passages from the Bible discovered behind Qur’an manuscript” is a reminder that for centuries Islam has been literally and figuratively erasing Christianity.
The report tells of how an eighth century Koran was found to be written over a Christian book, possibly the Bible: “French scholar Dr Eléonore Cellard … noticed that, appearing faintly behind the Arabic script, were Coptic letters. She contacted Christie’s [an auction house], and they managed to identify the Coptic text as coming from the Old Testament’s Book of Deuteronomy—part of the Torah and the Christian Old Testament.”
What this means, and how Western scholars understand it, are two different things: “This is a very important discovery for the history of the Qur’an and early Islam,” said Cellard. “We have here a witness of cultural interactions between different religious communities.” Christie’s specialist Romain Pingannaud concurs: “It shows the contact between communities in the first centuries of Islam.”
What is euphemistically referred to as “cultural interactions between different religious communities” and “the contact between communities in the first centuries of Islam” is a reference to the near cultural annihilation of Coptic Christian civilization by Islam on the former’s own homeland.
A recent article titled “Passages from the Bible discovered behind Qur’an manuscript” is a reminder that for centuries Islam has been literally and figuratively erasing Christianity.
The report tells of how an eighth century Koran was found to be written over a Christian book, possibly the Bible: “French scholar Dr Eléonore Cellard … noticed that, appearing faintly behind the Arabic script, were Coptic letters. She contacted Christie’s [an auction house], and they managed to identify the Coptic text as coming from the Old Testament’s Book of Deuteronomy—part of the Torah and the Christian Old Testament.”
What this means, and how Western scholars understand it, are two different things: “This is a very important discovery for the history of the Qur’an and early Islam,” said Cellard. “We have here a witness of cultural interactions between different religious communities.” Christie’s specialist Romain Pingannaud concurs: “It shows the contact between communities in the first centuries of Islam.”
What is euphemistically referred to as “cultural interactions between different religious communities” and “the contact between communities in the first centuries of Islam” is a reference to the near cultural annihilation of Coptic Christian civilization by Islam on the former’s own homeland.
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Mark Durie on 'The Noble Qur'an' and its Call to Violent Jihad
Similar to how the Gideons place Bibles in America's hotel and motel rooms, Saudi Arabia globally distributes free copies of its edition of 'The Noble Qur'an', "which can be found in mosques, prayer rooms and meeting places around the world."
But what is contained in this book at the heart of the world's second largest (but fastest growing) religion?
Mark Durie uses the placement of The Noble Qur'an in a prayer room at the airport at Canberra, Australia as an opportunity to reveal what is actually contained in Muhammad's recitations of the literal words of the Islamic god, Allah. And this has much to teach us about the nature of Allah and what lies at the heart of Islam.
by Mark Durie, April 11, 2018:
There is not a Bible, Jewish or Christian, containing such incendiary commentary as populates page after page of 'The Noble Qur’an', which for four years has preached to the faithful in Canberra Airport's prayer room. The ideology it promotes is violent jihad. It is a book to start a war.
The Saudis, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt recently cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed sanctions, accusing the Qataris of supporting terrorism. The Saudis have demanded that Qatar close Al-Jazeera and cut all ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah and the Islamic State. Qatar’s long-standing and well-known support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which aims to unify Muslim nations under an Islamic caliphate and has networks of supporters across the Middle East, is now perceived as a serious threat its neighbours.
This is the pot calling the kettle black, for Saudi Arabia itself has a long record of exporting Islamic radicalism. Among its most notable exports are millions of Korans in translation, which, through commentary (mainly in footnotes) and accompanying materials, incite Muslims to wage violent jihad to establish an Islamic state.
Among the Saudis’ exported Korans is an English-language edition, The Noble Qur’an, which can be found in mosques, prayer rooms and meeting places around the world. Anyone who applies to the Saudi embassy in Canberra will be sent a copy gratis.
The Noble Qur’an can be found in the musallah or prayer room of Canberra’s airport. What is apparently the same edition, with “AIRPORT MUSALLAH”written in black marker pen on the page ends, has been sitting there for the past four years, ever since the new airport was built. The Noble Qur’an is also publicly available in other “multi-faith” spaces that have been springing up in institutions across Australia in recent years, in universities, hospitals and other public places.
But what is contained in this book at the heart of the world's second largest (but fastest growing) religion?
Related:
Calling for Violent Jihad in Australia
by Mark Durie, April 11, 2018:
There is not a Bible, Jewish or Christian, containing such incendiary commentary as populates page after page of 'The Noble Qur’an', which for four years has preached to the faithful in Canberra Airport's prayer room. The ideology it promotes is violent jihad. It is a book to start a war.
This is the pot calling the kettle black, for Saudi Arabia itself has a long record of exporting Islamic radicalism. Among its most notable exports are millions of Korans in translation, which, through commentary (mainly in footnotes) and accompanying materials, incite Muslims to wage violent jihad to establish an Islamic state.
Among the Saudis’ exported Korans is an English-language edition, The Noble Qur’an, which can be found in mosques, prayer rooms and meeting places around the world. Anyone who applies to the Saudi embassy in Canberra will be sent a copy gratis.
The handsomely gilded Noble Qur’an is distributed as part of the Saudis’ global da’wa or effort to propagate Islam. It appears to target two kinds of readers:
First, The Noble Qur’an seeks to enlist Muslims in violent jihad against non-Muslims, to establish an Islamic caliphate.
Second, it aims to engage with Christians. The longest essay in the appendices is an argument that Jesus was a prophet of Islam, and commentary throughout... challenges and “corrects” Christian teachings.
The Noble Qur’an can be found in the musallah or prayer room of Canberra’s airport. What is apparently the same edition, with “AIRPORT MUSALLAH”written in black marker pen on the page ends, has been sitting there for the past four years, ever since the new airport was built. The Noble Qur’an is also publicly available in other “multi-faith” spaces that have been springing up in institutions across Australia in recent years, in universities, hospitals and other public places.
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Iraqi Archbishop: Muslim ‘Slow-Motion Genocide’ of Christians Began 1400 Years Ago
"Islamic persecution of Christians in the Middle East began with the founding of Islam itself in the 7th century, and thus is a permanent fixture of Islam that was present from the very beginning."
Thomas D. Williams of Breitbart has written a compelling article using a variety of contemporary voices to warn of the violent, hate-filled, anti-Christian ideology embedded in the foundation of Islam - the Koran and the example of Muhammad.
Thomas D. Williams of Breitbart has written a compelling article using a variety of contemporary voices to warn of the violent, hate-filled, anti-Christian ideology embedded in the foundation of Islam - the Koran and the example of Muhammad.
Iraqi Archbishop: Muslim ‘Slow-Motion Genocide’ of Christians Began 1400 Years Ago
by Thomas D. Williams, Breitbart, February 19, 2018:
The violent Muslim persecution of Christians in the Middle East did not begin with the Islamic State’s rise to power in 2014, said Iraqi Archishop Bashar Warda, but rather many centuries ago.
“Having faced for 1,400 years the slow-motion genocide that began long before the ongoing ISIS genocide today, the time for excusing this inhuman behavior and its causes is long since past,” said the Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil in a forceful speech last week at Georgetown University.
According to the archbishop, Islamic persecution of Christians in the Middle East began with the founding of Islam itself in the 7th century, and thus is a permanent fixture of Islam that was present from the very beginning.
“The harsh truth to this question is that without an end to this persecution and violence there is no future for religious pluralism in Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East for that matter,” he said.
“Having faced for 1,400 years the slow-motion genocide that began long before the ongoing ISIS genocide today, the time for excusing this inhuman behavior and its causes is long since past,” said the Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil in a forceful speech last week at Georgetown University.
According to the archbishop, Islamic persecution of Christians in the Middle East began with the founding of Islam itself in the 7th century, and thus is a permanent fixture of Islam that was present from the very beginning.
“The harsh truth to this question is that without an end to this persecution and violence there is no future for religious pluralism in Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East for that matter,” he said.
Saturday, November 11, 2017
William Kilpatrick: 'Islam: A Giant Step Backwards for Humanity'
"It’s not just that many clergy... fail to appreciate the deep differences in theology between Islam and Christianity, they fail to grasp the deep cultural and human differences that flow from the theological differences. To put the matter bluntly, Christianity is a humanizing religion and Islam is not."
William Kilpatrick looks at fundamental differences between Christianity and Islam in this especially illuminating article, especially appropriate for the Advent Season.
William Kilpatrick looks at fundamental differences between Christianity and Islam in this especially illuminating article, especially appropriate for the Advent Season.
Islam: A Giant Step Backwards for Humanity
by William Kilpatrick, Crisis Magazine, October 31, 2017
One of the big mysteries of our day is how so many supposedly enlightened Catholics have managed to get it so wrong about Islam for so long. It’s understandable that in the 1960s, when the Islamic world was relatively quiescent, Catholics might entertain the high hopes for Islamic-Catholic relations expressed in Nostra Aetate. But this is 2017 and in the intervening half century a lot of water has passed under the bridge.
Given all that has transpired in the interim—9/11, daily terror attacks, the accelerating Islamization of Europe, and the development of nuclear weapons by Pakistan and Iran—it seems that Catholics deserve to know more about Islam than the brief treatment presented in Nostra Aetate or the even briefer treatment in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism’s forty-four words on the subject end with the reassurance that “together with us they [Muslims] adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day” (842). Unfortunately, that has been interpreted by a good many clergy and laymen to mean “go back to sleep and don’t worry about a thing.” To get an idea of how nonchalant the Church leadership has been about providing guidance on Islam, consider that the Catechism devotes about five times as much space to a discussion of man’s relationship with animals than it does to the Church’s relationship with Muslims.
It’s not just that many clergy and lay Catholic leaders fail to appreciate the deep differences in theology between Islam and Christianity, they fail to grasp the deep cultural and human differences that flow from the theological differences. To put the matter bluntly, Christianity is a humanizing religion and Islam is not. That statement needs some qualifying, of course; but there is enough difference between the Christian vision of the human person and the Islamic vision, that Catholic leaders should be extremely careful before declaring common cause with Islam. The many declarations of commonality and solidarity with Islam that now routinely issue from the lips of Church leaders only serve to confuse and mislead Catholics.
Theologically, the most significant fact about Islam is that it is an anti-Christian movement. That’s one of the main themes in Nonie Darwish’s book, Wholly Different. Darwish who grew up in an Islamic society and subsequently converted to Christianity, contends that Islam is a counter-revolutionary faith: a rejection of core Bible beliefs. As she puts it:
The Biblical revolution was not only a revolution in our thinking about God, but also a revolution in our thinking about man. The most revolutionary moment occurred when God took on our humanity and became one of us. As Pope St. John Paul II observed, the Incarnation not only reveals God to man, it reveals man to himself.
In rejecting the Incarnation, Muhammad also rejected the heightened status of humanity that flows from it. This is not to say that this was his intention from the start. Islam didn’t begin as an anti-Christian theology, but it was almost inevitable that it would develop that way. Muhammad considered himself to be a prophet, and he wanted very much to be recognized as such. The trouble is that a prophet has to have a prophetic message. And, after Jesus revealed himself as the Son of God and the fulfillment of all prophecy, there wasn’t much left to say in that line.
Realizing this, Muhammad set about to retell the story of Jesus, recasting him not as the Son of God but as another—and lesser—prophet. This demotion of Jesus thus cleared the way for Muhammad’s claim to prophethood. (Faced with a similar problem, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, came up with a similar solution. In his telling, Jesus failed in his assigned task of marrying and creating a perfect family, thus leaving it up to Moon to carry out the unfinished mission.)
Jesus is in the Koran, but he has, in effect, been neutralized. He is not divine, he was not crucified nor resurrected, and he plays no role in the redemption of the human race. In fact, there is no suggestion in the Koran that mankind needs to be redeemed. One has to believe in Allah and his messenger (Muhammad) and obey Allah and his Messenger, and Allah will probably (there is no certainty) admit him to paradise. But one does not have to be born again.
We talk about “radical” Islam, but, in a sense, there is nothing radical about Islam. It does not require a radical transformation of the self as does Christianity. In Islam, man is not made in the image of God. Consequently, there is no call to holiness, no requirement that “you … must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). The radical transformation in Christ which prepares one for communion with God is not necessary since man’s destiny is not union with God, but union with maidens in paradise. There is no need of spiritual transformation because heaven is simply a better version of earth.
That’s one way of looking at human destiny. But the Christian view is altogether different. Saint Paul wrote “we … are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18), and “though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed everyday … preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:16-17). Whatever one may think of the truth of the Christian message, the message is that humans have a very high calling. The difference between this vision of man and the rather low estimate of human potential contained in the Koran is profound. It’s a wonder that so many Catholics are willing to dilute that vision for the sake of creating an illusory moral parity with Islam.
Islam’s lack of interest in human transformation begins with the lack of human interest in the Koran. Although it was composed some 600 years after the Gospels, it contains none of the drama of the Gospels—no divine drama and no human drama. Instead, it is a collection of disconnected statements, warnings, and curses, interspersed with Muhammad’s own versions of stories borrowed from the Bible.
Even when he retells these stories, Muhammad seems largely incapable of infusing the prophets and heroes of the Bible with personality. Indeed, the only character in the Koran that Muhammad seems truly interested in is himself. In order to emphasize his humility, Islamic apologists like to say that Muhammad is only mentioned four times in the Koran. I haven’t counted but that seems about right. Nevertheless, Muhammad manages to mention himself on nearly every page—sometimes as the “Messenger,” sometimes as the “Apostle,” sometimes as the “Prophet,” and nearly always as the indispensable intermediary between Allah and men. This repeated emphasis on his role as a prophet is also found in the hadith collections. For example, “I have been sent to all mankind and the line of the prophets is closed with me” (Sahih Muslim, book 004, number 1062).
Other than Allah, Muhammad is the main person of interest in the Koran. Which brings us back to the place of Jesus in the Koran. The truth is, he plays only a minor role. He is mentioned as one of the prophets on several occasions, and on a few other occasions he is given some lines to speak. On one of these occasions he assures Allah that he did not ever claim to be God: “I could never have claimed what I have no right to” (5:116).
Jesus has a place in the Koran, but only because he knows his place. His role is to remove the main obstacle to Muhammad’s claim of prophethood. Who better than Jesus to renounce Jesus’ claim to Sonship and thereby clear the way for Muhammad to be the seal of the prophets?
But, in stripping Jesus of his divinity, Muhammad also managed to strip him of his humanity. The Jesus of the Koran is simply not an interesting person. Indeed he hardly qualifies as a person. He seems more like a disembodied voice. When Christians hear that Jesus is in the Koran, they assume that he must be someone like the Jesus of the Gospels. Thus they can reassure themselves that although Muslims don’t accept Christ’s divinity, they will at least become familiar with his life. Anyone who bothers to read the Koran, however, will be quickly disabused of that notion. There is no life of Jesus in the Koran. There is no slightly altered version of the gospel story. Indeed, there is no story at all—just a few brief appearances in order to make the point that Jesus is only a man, not the Son of God.
This abbreviated treatment of Jesus in the Koran is matched by a diminished view of the human person. In Islam, man is little more than a slave of Allah. He can achieve paradise, but paradise is essentially a heavenly harem. According to the Christian vision, man’s destiny is union with God. According to the Islamic vision, man’s destiny is to copulate.
In rejecting the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation, Muhammad also rejected the Christian vision of a redeemed humanity. The fact of the Incarnation raised the status of man immeasurably—“no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir” (Gal. 4:7). That’s why Christmas carols are so full of joy. As one hymn reminds us, the night of our Savior’s birth becomes the moment at which “the soul felt its worth.” Thanks to Muhammad’s dismal vision, however, all this is missing in Islam—no “joy to the world,” no “hark the herald angels sing,” no “ding-dong merrily on high.”
In light of the comparative bleakness of the Islamic vision, it is difficult to understand why so many Catholic prelates and theologians insist on identifying Islam as a fellow faith with which we have much in common. Likewise, it’s not easy to comprehend why so many of them want to declare their solidarity with Islam.
Theologically and humanly, Islam represents a giant step backwards. It would take us back to a time when the idea of human dignity was considered laughable—to a time when slavery was unremarkable and women were valued less than men and sometimes less than animals.
In a sense, Muhammad’s rejection of the Incarnation is a replay of a primal story. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, Lucifer’s rebellion is brought on by God’s announcement that he had begotten a Son. Lucifer, who ranked very high among the angels, was nothing if not prideful. In modern terms we might say that he couldn’t stand the competition. Neither, it seems, could Muhammad—a man so obsessed with pride of place that he identifies himself as Allah’s close confidant on nearly every page of the Koran.
Like Lucifer, Muhammad rebelled against the Sonship of Christ. For if Christ is the Son of God, Muhammad is out of a job. Consequently, there are numerous passages in the Koran that deny the Trinity and the Sonship of Christ, and that curse those who do believe.
The price that the followers of Muhammad incurred was the loss of the heightened sense of humanity that the Incarnation brings. The central dramatic event in history is the birth of a baby boy who also happened to be the Author of life. He came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
But why did Muhammad come? He reveals nothing that hadn’t already been revealed in the Old Testament. In almost all respects, the Koran is simply old news. The only new element is the “revelation” that Muhammad is God’s final prophet. The good news of the Gospels is that God had become one of us; the big news of the Koran is that Muhammad has become a prophet.
Compared to the tremendous and wondrous revelations in the New Testament, that’s small potatoes. Again, one has to wonder why so many modern clerics are intent on drawing a moral equivalence between Christianity’s life-giving faith and Islam’s life-denying, rule-bound system. Perhaps they should read the Koran. Or, better yet, perhaps they should re-read the Gospels.
___________
William Kilpatrick taught for many years at Boston College. He is the author of several books about cultural and religious issues, including Why Johnny Can’t Tell Right From Wrong; and Christianity, Islam and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Catholic World Report, National Catholic Register, Aleteia, Saint Austin Review, Investor’s Business Daily, and First Things. His work is supported in part by the Shillman Foundation. For more on his work and writings, visit his website, turningpointproject.com
One of the big mysteries of our day is how so many supposedly enlightened Catholics have managed to get it so wrong about Islam for so long. It’s understandable that in the 1960s, when the Islamic world was relatively quiescent, Catholics might entertain the high hopes for Islamic-Catholic relations expressed in Nostra Aetate. But this is 2017 and in the intervening half century a lot of water has passed under the bridge.
Given all that has transpired in the interim—9/11, daily terror attacks, the accelerating Islamization of Europe, and the development of nuclear weapons by Pakistan and Iran—it seems that Catholics deserve to know more about Islam than the brief treatment presented in Nostra Aetate or the even briefer treatment in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism’s forty-four words on the subject end with the reassurance that “together with us they [Muslims] adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day” (842). Unfortunately, that has been interpreted by a good many clergy and laymen to mean “go back to sleep and don’t worry about a thing.” To get an idea of how nonchalant the Church leadership has been about providing guidance on Islam, consider that the Catechism devotes about five times as much space to a discussion of man’s relationship with animals than it does to the Church’s relationship with Muslims.
It’s not just that many clergy and lay Catholic leaders fail to appreciate the deep differences in theology between Islam and Christianity, they fail to grasp the deep cultural and human differences that flow from the theological differences. To put the matter bluntly, Christianity is a humanizing religion and Islam is not. That statement needs some qualifying, of course; but there is enough difference between the Christian vision of the human person and the Islamic vision, that Catholic leaders should be extremely careful before declaring common cause with Islam. The many declarations of commonality and solidarity with Islam that now routinely issue from the lips of Church leaders only serve to confuse and mislead Catholics.
Theologically, the most significant fact about Islam is that it is an anti-Christian movement. That’s one of the main themes in Nonie Darwish’s book, Wholly Different. Darwish who grew up in an Islamic society and subsequently converted to Christianity, contends that Islam is a counter-revolutionary faith: a rejection of core Bible beliefs. As she puts it:
[Muhammad] didn’t just quietly reject the Bible. Instead, he launched a ferocious rebellion against it… Islam is a negative religion, consumed with subversion. It is a rebellion and counter-revolution against the Biblical revolution.
The Biblical revolution was not only a revolution in our thinking about God, but also a revolution in our thinking about man. The most revolutionary moment occurred when God took on our humanity and became one of us. As Pope St. John Paul II observed, the Incarnation not only reveals God to man, it reveals man to himself.
In rejecting the Incarnation, Muhammad also rejected the heightened status of humanity that flows from it. This is not to say that this was his intention from the start. Islam didn’t begin as an anti-Christian theology, but it was almost inevitable that it would develop that way. Muhammad considered himself to be a prophet, and he wanted very much to be recognized as such. The trouble is that a prophet has to have a prophetic message. And, after Jesus revealed himself as the Son of God and the fulfillment of all prophecy, there wasn’t much left to say in that line.
Realizing this, Muhammad set about to retell the story of Jesus, recasting him not as the Son of God but as another—and lesser—prophet. This demotion of Jesus thus cleared the way for Muhammad’s claim to prophethood. (Faced with a similar problem, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, came up with a similar solution. In his telling, Jesus failed in his assigned task of marrying and creating a perfect family, thus leaving it up to Moon to carry out the unfinished mission.)
Jesus is in the Koran, but he has, in effect, been neutralized. He is not divine, he was not crucified nor resurrected, and he plays no role in the redemption of the human race. In fact, there is no suggestion in the Koran that mankind needs to be redeemed. One has to believe in Allah and his messenger (Muhammad) and obey Allah and his Messenger, and Allah will probably (there is no certainty) admit him to paradise. But one does not have to be born again.
We talk about “radical” Islam, but, in a sense, there is nothing radical about Islam. It does not require a radical transformation of the self as does Christianity. In Islam, man is not made in the image of God. Consequently, there is no call to holiness, no requirement that “you … must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). The radical transformation in Christ which prepares one for communion with God is not necessary since man’s destiny is not union with God, but union with maidens in paradise. There is no need of spiritual transformation because heaven is simply a better version of earth.
That’s one way of looking at human destiny. But the Christian view is altogether different. Saint Paul wrote “we … are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18), and “though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed everyday … preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:16-17). Whatever one may think of the truth of the Christian message, the message is that humans have a very high calling. The difference between this vision of man and the rather low estimate of human potential contained in the Koran is profound. It’s a wonder that so many Catholics are willing to dilute that vision for the sake of creating an illusory moral parity with Islam.
Islam’s lack of interest in human transformation begins with the lack of human interest in the Koran. Although it was composed some 600 years after the Gospels, it contains none of the drama of the Gospels—no divine drama and no human drama. Instead, it is a collection of disconnected statements, warnings, and curses, interspersed with Muhammad’s own versions of stories borrowed from the Bible.
Even when he retells these stories, Muhammad seems largely incapable of infusing the prophets and heroes of the Bible with personality. Indeed, the only character in the Koran that Muhammad seems truly interested in is himself. In order to emphasize his humility, Islamic apologists like to say that Muhammad is only mentioned four times in the Koran. I haven’t counted but that seems about right. Nevertheless, Muhammad manages to mention himself on nearly every page—sometimes as the “Messenger,” sometimes as the “Apostle,” sometimes as the “Prophet,” and nearly always as the indispensable intermediary between Allah and men. This repeated emphasis on his role as a prophet is also found in the hadith collections. For example, “I have been sent to all mankind and the line of the prophets is closed with me” (Sahih Muslim, book 004, number 1062).
Other than Allah, Muhammad is the main person of interest in the Koran. Which brings us back to the place of Jesus in the Koran. The truth is, he plays only a minor role. He is mentioned as one of the prophets on several occasions, and on a few other occasions he is given some lines to speak. On one of these occasions he assures Allah that he did not ever claim to be God: “I could never have claimed what I have no right to” (5:116).
Jesus has a place in the Koran, but only because he knows his place. His role is to remove the main obstacle to Muhammad’s claim of prophethood. Who better than Jesus to renounce Jesus’ claim to Sonship and thereby clear the way for Muhammad to be the seal of the prophets?
But, in stripping Jesus of his divinity, Muhammad also managed to strip him of his humanity. The Jesus of the Koran is simply not an interesting person. Indeed he hardly qualifies as a person. He seems more like a disembodied voice. When Christians hear that Jesus is in the Koran, they assume that he must be someone like the Jesus of the Gospels. Thus they can reassure themselves that although Muslims don’t accept Christ’s divinity, they will at least become familiar with his life. Anyone who bothers to read the Koran, however, will be quickly disabused of that notion. There is no life of Jesus in the Koran. There is no slightly altered version of the gospel story. Indeed, there is no story at all—just a few brief appearances in order to make the point that Jesus is only a man, not the Son of God.
This abbreviated treatment of Jesus in the Koran is matched by a diminished view of the human person. In Islam, man is little more than a slave of Allah. He can achieve paradise, but paradise is essentially a heavenly harem. According to the Christian vision, man’s destiny is union with God. According to the Islamic vision, man’s destiny is to copulate.
In rejecting the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation, Muhammad also rejected the Christian vision of a redeemed humanity. The fact of the Incarnation raised the status of man immeasurably—“no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir” (Gal. 4:7). That’s why Christmas carols are so full of joy. As one hymn reminds us, the night of our Savior’s birth becomes the moment at which “the soul felt its worth.” Thanks to Muhammad’s dismal vision, however, all this is missing in Islam—no “joy to the world,” no “hark the herald angels sing,” no “ding-dong merrily on high.”
In light of the comparative bleakness of the Islamic vision, it is difficult to understand why so many Catholic prelates and theologians insist on identifying Islam as a fellow faith with which we have much in common. Likewise, it’s not easy to comprehend why so many of them want to declare their solidarity with Islam.
Theologically and humanly, Islam represents a giant step backwards. It would take us back to a time when the idea of human dignity was considered laughable—to a time when slavery was unremarkable and women were valued less than men and sometimes less than animals.
In a sense, Muhammad’s rejection of the Incarnation is a replay of a primal story. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, Lucifer’s rebellion is brought on by God’s announcement that he had begotten a Son. Lucifer, who ranked very high among the angels, was nothing if not prideful. In modern terms we might say that he couldn’t stand the competition. Neither, it seems, could Muhammad—a man so obsessed with pride of place that he identifies himself as Allah’s close confidant on nearly every page of the Koran.
Like Lucifer, Muhammad rebelled against the Sonship of Christ. For if Christ is the Son of God, Muhammad is out of a job. Consequently, there are numerous passages in the Koran that deny the Trinity and the Sonship of Christ, and that curse those who do believe.
The price that the followers of Muhammad incurred was the loss of the heightened sense of humanity that the Incarnation brings. The central dramatic event in history is the birth of a baby boy who also happened to be the Author of life. He came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
But why did Muhammad come? He reveals nothing that hadn’t already been revealed in the Old Testament. In almost all respects, the Koran is simply old news. The only new element is the “revelation” that Muhammad is God’s final prophet. The good news of the Gospels is that God had become one of us; the big news of the Koran is that Muhammad has become a prophet.
Compared to the tremendous and wondrous revelations in the New Testament, that’s small potatoes. Again, one has to wonder why so many modern clerics are intent on drawing a moral equivalence between Christianity’s life-giving faith and Islam’s life-denying, rule-bound system. Perhaps they should read the Koran. Or, better yet, perhaps they should re-read the Gospels.
___________
William Kilpatrick taught for many years at Boston College. He is the author of several books about cultural and religious issues, including Why Johnny Can’t Tell Right From Wrong; and Christianity, Islam and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Catholic World Report, National Catholic Register, Aleteia, Saint Austin Review, Investor’s Business Daily, and First Things. His work is supported in part by the Shillman Foundation. For more on his work and writings, visit his website, turningpointproject.com
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Islam's War Against the West: 20 Major Jihad Attacks in Europe in Recent Years
The bloodthirsty demon-god of Islam is well pleased by his devotees. As would be Muhammad (if he weren't preoccupied by the fires of hell), who set the example for Muslims and commanded them to fight against non-Muslims until they submit to Islam.
Timeline: 20 Major Islamist Attacks in Europe in Recent Years
by Breitbart London, August 18, 2017:
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| Map by ClarionProject.org - h/t Bill D. - Click to enlarge. |
Timeline: 20 Major Islamist Attacks in Europe in Recent Years
by Breitbart London, August 18, 2017:
LONDON (AP) — The deadly Barcelona van attack that killed 13 people and wounded dozens of others Thursday is the latest attack in Europe in recent years. Here are some of the other major ones, many of which used vehicles:
—June 19, 2017: A British man who had reportedly made anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim remarks drives into a crowd of worshippers outside a London mosque. One person dies and nine others are wounded.
—June 3, 2017: Three Islamic extremists drive into a crowd of pedestrians on London Bridge and then go on a knife rampage in nearby Borough Market, killing eight people and wounding dozens of others.
—May 22, 2017: A suicide bomber kills 22 people and injures dozens during an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in northern England.
—April 7, 2017: A man driving a hijacked beer truck hits pedestrians at a Stockholm department store, killing four.
Friday, June 16, 2017
New Documentary on Muhammad and Islam - VIDEO
'Through the Lens of Muhammad's Life' by William DiPuccio, presents a clear and straightforward survey of Islam.
Suitable for viewing and sharing with any age group from mid-teens and older, this professionally produced video benefits from a sober, academic presentation style devoid of polemics or agenda. Rather, it's agenda is to present the truth about Islam and Muhammad from Islam's own primary sources, yet without obscuring the unpleasant facts about the founder of Islam.
A seven page, descriptive chronology of Muhammad’s life is also available with the video.
This documentary (and the supplemental chronology) is a serious teaching tool which can also be shared with Muslims, many of whom may not have been given the full picture Muhammad's life, actions, and directives. Seeing Islam through the lens of Muhammad's life is essential for anyone seeking to understand Islam in the 21st century.
As I watched this video, I was struck by how, without ever stating it, Bill DiPuccio manages to perfectly convey the truth of Jesus Christ's words:
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Lenten Pop-Quiz #2: What Orthodox Saint condemned Islam as 'the abomination of desolation clearly foretold to us by the prophets'?
He also wrote of the Muslims: "Those God-fighters boast of prevailing over all, assiduously and unrestrainably imitating their leader, who is the devil..."
Hint: He was the author of the Life of St Mary of Egypt, and was Patriarch of Jerusalem during the First Wave of Islamic Jihad immediately after the death of Muhammad.
The Answer: St Sophronius (commemorated March 11)
St Sophronius' descriptions of barbaric Muslim attacks on churches, monasteries, villages and fields, of their tearing down of the crosses and blaspheming the Name of Jesus Christ, give the lie to revisionist histories foisted today on our schoolchildren and in our universities that claim Islam advanced peacefully in its early years, spread by Muslim preachers and welcomed by local populations.
No, Sophronius and contemporaries also writing in the seventh century make clear that Islam spread by the sword, just as is commanded in the Koran:
St Sophronius set an eternal example for all Christians (but especially for clergy and bishops) by bravely confessing Jesus Christ and the True Faith during the horrific invasions by the bloodthirsty Arab Muslims in the late 630s following the death of Muhammad. His efforts to ensure peace and preserve the churches and shrines of the Holy City are recounted in this vignette from his Life:
Hint: He was the author of the Life of St Mary of Egypt, and was Patriarch of Jerusalem during the First Wave of Islamic Jihad immediately after the death of Muhammad.
No, Sophronius and contemporaries also writing in the seventh century make clear that Islam spread by the sword, just as is commanded in the Koran:
Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth [i.e. Islam] among the people of the Book [Jews and Christians], until they pay the jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (Sura 9:29)
Kill the mushrikun [unbelievers] wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and prepare for them each and every ambush. (Sura 9:5)
I will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved, so strike them over the necks, and smite over all their fingers and toes. (Sura 8:12)
Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the enemies of Allah and your enemies. (Sura 8:60)
St Sophronius set an eternal example for all Christians (but especially for clergy and bishops) by bravely confessing Jesus Christ and the True Faith during the horrific invasions by the bloodthirsty Arab Muslims in the late 630s following the death of Muhammad. His efforts to ensure peace and preserve the churches and shrines of the Holy City are recounted in this vignette from his Life:
"Toward the end of his life, St Sophronius and his flock lived through a two year siege of Jerusalem by the Moslems. Worn down by hunger, the Christians finally agreed to open the city gates, on the condition that the enemy spare the holy places. But this condition was not fulfilled, and St Sophronius died in grief over the desecration of the Christian holy places." (Source)
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Eric Allen Bell: 'Why I Do Not Hate Muslims'
"The way that Islam was first spread is nearly identical to how ISIS behaves, as it follows the commands of the Quran without compromise... Fortunately, most Muslims do not actually follow the Quran..."
"Should we all start hating Muslims now? Should the free world deliver it’s value system upon the Islamic world using missiles? Should we repeat the holocaust of the 20th Century and dehumanize an entire group of people? Herein lies a problem that gets to the core of why human beings are stuck. We seem to only know how to solve problems in such a way that creates more problems..."
Eric Allen Bell is the liberal filmmaker who, in the process of trying to expose Islamophobia in Tennessee, came to realize that there is something very wrong about Islam itself. In this article he comes "very close to the kingdom of God" in expressing both the problem with Islam, and also why we must not hate Muslims.
As an Orthodox Christian, I would add only the following, that the chief reasons we do not hate Muslims are two: (1) Because they too are created in the image of God, and therefore we are called to love them and share the Gospel with them; and (2) Because we know we too are sinners in need of God's mercy, seeking to repent and come to truly know Christ, abide in Him, and allow Him to abide in us by the Holy Spirit. If we can keep these simple truths in mind and heart, and grow in love by the Holy Spirit, then we shall be better able over time to forgive, and to share the truth in love, even with our enemies.
And, who knows. We may even come to discover that in truth, we have no enemies, for those who hate us, persecute us, and kill us for following Christ give us the supreme opportunity to love Christ to the fullest, to confess Him before men, and to exalt His Name by our own suffering and death.
Why I Do Not Hate Muslims
by Eric Allen Bell, December 22, 2016
(Follow the link for much more on Mr. Bell's website, including video and his documentary work.)
The mandate of Islam is to force the world to submit to Islam. Our leaders tell us that Islam means peace. But lying about something does not make it so. Islam means submission. Islam opposes free speech, free thought and human rights.
Sharia Law is the codification of the Quran. The Quran is the holy book in Islam. Sharia mandates the stoning of women for adultery or being raped, it requires the amputation of limbs for theft, the hanging of homosexuals and death to anyone who dares to leave Islam. Islam is the religion of approximately 1.5 billion people on the planet at this time. According to the Pew Forum, when polled the majority of Muslims believe that it is at least sometimes okay to kill innocent civilians in the name of Islam.
US President, Barack Hussein Obama has said, in response to the continuous killing of civilians in the name of Islam that, “No faith teaches this”. However, Quran 9:5 says to Muslims, with regard to the unbeliever, to “kill them wherever you find them”. Obama can lie to himself, he can lie to appease and he can lie to those who place their trust in him. But facts don’t lie.
"The Quran is... preoccupied with what to do with the unbeliever, how to enforce rules and how to engage in warfare."
Religion is an attempt to institutionalize one’s relationship with the Divine. However, when one reads the Quran it is clear that most of the passages do not deal with Allah, the god of Islam. Rather the book is obsessed with its own author, the “prophet” Muhammad. It is also very preoccupied with what to do with the unbeliever, how to enforce rules and how to engage in warfare. There is a strong argument to be made that Islam is first and foremost a tyrannical political system, then a brutal legal system with some religious overtones here and there.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
William Kilpatrick: 'The Prophet Who Stole Christmas'
Do Muslims truly "love and revere" Jesus? Do we really, as one Muslim apologist insists in his annual holiday message, “have more in common than you think?” Not if you compare the Muslim Jesus with the true Jesus in the Gospels.
The Prophet Who Stole Christmas
by William Kilpatrick, Crisis Magazine, December 16, 2016:
“Before searching for this quote in the New Testament, you might first ask your Muslim co-worker, friend, or neighbor for a copy of the Qur’an … the quote is from verse 45 of chapter 3 of the Qur’an.” So writes Ibrahim Hooper, the communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). It’s the introduction to his holiday message and it’s offered as proof that “Muslims also love and revere Jesus.”
Every year around Christmastime, Hooper’s message is reprinted and with it his assurance to Christians that “We have more in common than you think.” But there’s a hitch to this message of hope. That’s because every year during Christmastime, other Muslims have a tradition of slaughtering Christians and burning down their churches—preferably on Christmas Day. If you’re a Christian living in Nigeria, Egypt, or Pakistan, Christmas Day brings both joy and trepidation. Other Christians in the Muslim world live in constant fear of abduction, rape, forced marriage to Muslims, confiscation of property, beatings, and blasphemy convictions. As Raymond Ibrahim has ably demonstrated in his monthly series on Muslim persecution of Christians, the Muslim world is permeated with a climate of hatred towards Christians.
Which raises a question: why haven’t they gotten the message—that is, the message that Muslims “love and revere Jesus”? Well, they have. Except that the Jesus they revere is not Jesus of Nazareth, but the Jesus of Muhammad’s imagining.
The Prophet Who Stole Christmas
by William Kilpatrick, Crisis Magazine, December 16, 2016:
Behold! The angels said: O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him. His name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and in (the company of) those nearest to God.
“Before searching for this quote in the New Testament, you might first ask your Muslim co-worker, friend, or neighbor for a copy of the Qur’an … the quote is from verse 45 of chapter 3 of the Qur’an.” So writes Ibrahim Hooper, the communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). It’s the introduction to his holiday message and it’s offered as proof that “Muslims also love and revere Jesus.”
Every year around Christmastime, Hooper’s message is reprinted and with it his assurance to Christians that “We have more in common than you think.” But there’s a hitch to this message of hope. That’s because every year during Christmastime, other Muslims have a tradition of slaughtering Christians and burning down their churches—preferably on Christmas Day. If you’re a Christian living in Nigeria, Egypt, or Pakistan, Christmas Day brings both joy and trepidation. Other Christians in the Muslim world live in constant fear of abduction, rape, forced marriage to Muslims, confiscation of property, beatings, and blasphemy convictions. As Raymond Ibrahim has ably demonstrated in his monthly series on Muslim persecution of Christians, the Muslim world is permeated with a climate of hatred towards Christians.
Which raises a question: why haven’t they gotten the message—that is, the message that Muslims “love and revere Jesus”? Well, they have. Except that the Jesus they revere is not Jesus of Nazareth, but the Jesus of Muhammad’s imagining.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Timothy R. Furnish: Beheading in the Name of Islam
My friend — and fearless scholar of Islam, Mahdism, and Islamic eschatology — Tim Furnish, wrote this article over a decade ago, before the rise of ISIS and some of the more attention grabbing Islamic beheadings of recent years. In the article, Dr. Furnish sheds light on the bloody penchant for beheadings embedded in Islam's DNA. This helps to explain why the Islamic State Caliphate and other devout Muslim groups and "known wolves" are so intent to"strike the necks" of their victims.
Beheading in the Name of Islam
by Timothy R. Furnish, Middle East Quarterly
Spring 2005, pp 51-57
Images of masked terrorists standing behind Western hostages in Iraq and Saudi Arabia have become all too common on Arabic satellite stations such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Manar. Islamist websites such as Muntadiyat al-Mahdi[1] go further, streaming video of their murder.
Beheading in the Name of Islam
by Timothy R. Furnish, Middle East Quarterly
Spring 2005, pp 51-57
Timothy R. Furnish holds a PhD in Islamic History and is an author, analyst, and consultant to the US military who specializes in transnational Islamic movements, eschatology and Mahdism. His website is www.mahdiwatch.org.
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| An ISIS jihadi joyfully displaying his victim's head, July 2014. |
Images of masked terrorists standing behind Western hostages in Iraq and Saudi Arabia have become all too common on Arabic satellite stations such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Manar. Islamist websites such as Muntadiyat al-Mahdi[1] go further, streaming video of their murder.
The February 2002 decapitation of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, true to its intention, horrified the Western audience. Chechen rebels, egged on by Islamist benefactors, had adopted the practice four years earlier,[2] but the absence of widely broadcast videos limited the psychological impact of hostage decapitation. The Pearl murder and video catalyzed the resurgence of this historical Islamic practice. In Iraq, terrorists filmed the beheadings of Americans Nicholas Berg, Jack Hensley, and Eugene Armstrong. Other victims include Turks, an Egyptian, a Korean, Bulgarians, a British businessman, and a Nepalese. Scores of Iraqis, both Kurds and Arabs, have also fallen victim to Islamist terrorists' knives. The new fad in terrorist brutality has extended to Saudi Arabia where Islamist terrorists murdered American businessman Paul Johnson, whose head was later discovered in a freezer in an Al-Qaeda hideout. A variation upon this theme would be the practice of Islamists slitting the throats of those opponents they label infidels. This is what happened to Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, first gunned down and then mutilated on an Amsterdam street,[3] and to an Egyptian Coptic family in New Jersey after the father had angered Islamists with Internet chat room criticisms of Islam.[4]
The purpose of terrorism is to strike fear into the hearts of opponents in order to win political concession. As the shock value wears off and the Western world becomes immunized to any particular tactic, terrorists develop new ones in order to maximize shock and the press reaction upon which they thrive. In the 1970s and 1980s, terrorists hijacked airliners to win headlines. In the 1980s and 1990s, the car bomb became more popular; Palestinian terrorists perfected suicide bombings in the 1990s. But what once garnered days of commentary now generates only hours. Decapitation has become the latest fashion. In many ways, it sends terrorism back to the future. Unlike hijackings and car bombs, ritual beheading has a long precedent in Islamic theology and history.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Raymond Ibrahim: 'Can Quranism Save Islam?'
"Even if every single Muslim was to reject the Hadith and other “secondary books,” that wouldn’t change the fact that the Quran is saturated with violent and intolerant teachings that need little supplementation from secondary literature."
by Raymond Ibrahim, PJ Media, August 15, 2016:
Huffington Post recently published an article titled “The Source of Muslim Extremism” authored by Mike Ghouse (described as “a speaker, thinker, and a writer” who “offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day”). He argues that all violence and intolerance committed “in the name of Islam is coming from a single source; the secondary books. The Quran is the only authentic book and we cannot go wrong with it. Until we reject those other books, we don’t have a prayer.”
Among these “secondary books” Ghouse identifies the Hadith, which contains the words and deeds of Islam’s prophet Muhammad: “As a first step towards fixing our problems, we need to rehabilitate the Hadith.” By this he means that any hadith not “compatible with the statements that God is just and the Prophet is a mercy to the mankind” are to be expunged.
“Let’s stick to the Quran, we simply cannot go wrong,” concludes Ghouse.
What to make of this argument?
First, it should be noted that it is not original to Ghouse; this position belongs to a small sect of reformist/heretical (depending on who you ask) Muslims known as “Quranists.” Their movement, Quranism, goes back decades with echoes even earlier. It holds “the Qur’an to be the only authentic source of Islamic faith. Quranists generally reject, therefore, the religious authority and authenticity of hadith, Sunnah, and reject traditional Sharia Law, with the assertion that they are false attributes to the Islamic Prophet Muhammed. This is in contrast to the Sunni, Shia and Ibadi doctrines, which consider hadith necessary for Islamic faith.”
Saturday, April 2, 2016
St Gregory Palamas on Islam
This impious people [the Muslim Turks] boast of their victory over the Rom (the Byzantines) attributing it to their love of God. This is because they do not understand that this world below dwells in sin, and that evil men possess the greater part of it… That is why, down to the time of Constantine… the idolators have almost always held power over the world...
As for Muhammad, we do not see that the Prophets bear witness of him, nor do we have the witness of him performing any miracles and noteworthy works.
It is true that Muhammad started from the east and came to the west, as the sun travels from east to west. Nevertheless he came with war, knives, pillaging, forced enslavement, murders, and acts that are not from the good God but instigated by the chief manslayer, the devil.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
The Same God Heresy - Part 4: End of Days & Eschatology
Jesus is coming soon, but which Jesus? — "The radically opposite end times teachings of Islam and Christianity rest on radically opposite views of Jesus."
by Ralph H. Sidway
The “End of Days,” or Eschatology, also referred to as the Apocalypse, reveals much about Islam and Christianity, and the Same God Question. If you want to understand any belief system, look at what it teaches about Origin and Fulfillment, Beginning and End, about Ultimate Things.
Christian Anthropology and the Destiny of Man
Before getting into actual Eschatology, I suggest we look at a critical corollary, the question of Christian anthropology. Who and What is Man (and Woman)? Why were they created? What is their destiny? These are not philosophical or existential questions here, they are ultimate questions about our very existence.
Significantly, Islam does not share this central view of Man's nature, of his being created in the image and likeness of God. In Islam, man is at best a slave, and is not to question Allah's will, even when Allah orders him to kill:
"Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not." — Koran 2:216 [1] |
Christians believe Mankind is created in God's image and according to His likeness, per the creation passages in Genesis (Gen. 1:26-28, 5:1-4), but that Adam and Eve fell through disobedience and believing the serpent, who was trying to convince them to become gods without God. The import of the Creation story is summed up in Genesis 5:
In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. And Adam… begot a son in his own likeness, after his image… (Gen 5:1-3)
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
William Kilpatrick: 'Was Muhammad a False Prophet?'
by William Kilpatrick, Crisis Magazine, February 17, 2016:
Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves (Mt. 7:15).
Would “false prophets” include Muhammad? It’s an impolitic question to ask in these politically correct times, but, thanks to political correctness these are also highly dangerous times. Since a good deal of the danger emanates from the religion Muhammad founded, it seems reasonable to ask if he was a false prophet. And if he was, does that mean that Islam is a false religion? And if it is, why are Catholic leaders so keen on declaring their solidarity with Islam?
It’s a case of either/or. Either the New Testament account of Jesus is true or Muhammad’s account is true. Since they contradict each other, they both can’t be true.
Friday, February 5, 2016
The Same God Heresy, Gateway to Apostasy (Part 3)
"The contrast between how Muhammad spread Islam and how Jesus sent his apostles out could not be more startling. Indeed, Jesus tells his followers, 'I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves...' "
‘By their fruits you shall know them...'
(Continued from Part 1 and Part 2; see also Part 4)
It certainly can’t be a retaliation for the Crusades, as they post-date the creation of Islam by more than four centuries, and were themselves a response against relentless Islamic aggression.
‘By their fruits you shall know them...'
(Continued from Part 1 and Part 2; see also Part 4)
by Ralph H. Sidway
“After the San Bernardino attacks, everybody was saying, ‘If only Americans knew more about Islam, they wouldn’t be so afraid.’ Actually, it’s the reverse.” — Bill Maher
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| "I HAVE BEEN COMMANDED TO FIGHT!" — It says so RIGHT HERE! |
‘I have been commanded to fight…’
The condemnations of Christianity in the Koran (cited in Part 2) have real-world implications, as can be seen in the 14 centuries of Islamic jihad and aggression, and in the modern global phenomenon of Muslim persecution of Christians. As Raymond Ibrahim painstakingly documents both in his book Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War Against Christians, and in his monthly series Muslim Persecution of Christians, Islam’s jihad against Christianity spans centuries, geography, race and language, and takes exactly the same form, whether in Nigeria, Sudan or Egypt (Africa), or in Iraq, Syria, Iran or Lebanon (the Middle East), or in Pakistan, Afghanistan and all the other ‘stans (Central Asia), or in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and so on.
Another reliable source, Open Doors, has just published their annual World Watch List on persecution of Christians for 2015, noting that the persecution of Christians in Muslim-majority countries, while horrific in 2014 and prior years, actually doubled in 2015. Over 80% of the 50 worst nations for persecution of Christians are Islamic nations or have large Muslim populations.
Why is Muslim persecution of Christians so universal, and why has it been going on for 14 centuries?
It certainly can’t be a retaliation for the Crusades, as they post-date the creation of Islam by more than four centuries, and were themselves a response against relentless Islamic aggression.
Rather, the Muslim ummah was a completely new military force, which swept out of the Arabian peninsula in the mid-630s, conquering the Middle East and North Africa by the mid-7th century (and well into Central Asia in the East), followed by the Iberian peninsula (Spain), and even besieging Constantinople (for the first time) in the early 8th century. The below map shows the rapid expanse of Islam during the Arab jihad.
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