Expose Your Revulsion Of Islam
From: India
About me: Born in Kashmir, raised and educated in Western Europe. I presently live somewhere west of the Bosphorus and east of the Rocky Mountains.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Bismika Alllahuma: Muslim responses to anti-Islam polemics has an excellent article called 100 Christian proofs of Islamic falsehood.
The article in a "light manner" discusses some of the excuses and reasons given by Christians to prove that Islam is false.
I have reproduced below in random order a selection of the "100 proofs":
(4) Islam teaches that Jesus was a messenger. Christianity teaches that Jesus was the Son of God. Therefore, Islam is false.
(5) Muslims are obligated to pray to God 5 times a day while bowing down and reciting from the Qur'an.
Muslims are also obligated to fast during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
Islam teaches other things which are simply too hard to stick to, and also unnecessary in my opinion. I would rather accept Jesus and be saved, because it's easier. Therefore, Islam is false.
(18) Our pastor says that the Qur'an is from the devil. Therefore, Islam is false.
(34) Vampires in movies are harmed by coming in contact with a cross. Therefore, Islam is false.
(94) Islam forbids anal sexual intercourse. I do not like that. Therefore, Islam is false.
I am sure there are many who have either used these "proofs" at sometime in their lives or who are at the very least convinced by them.
The article highlights the fact that many who like to pontificate about Islamic theology do not really have the tools, patience nor aptitude to do the "job". Rather they prefer that others massage their egos and support them in throwing slurs and insults about Islam and Muslims without any depth of knowledge in the subject matter.
Technorati Tags:Islam Muslim Religion Christianity Theology Bible Anal Pastor
Thursday, June 29, 2006
An update to the story of Ayaan Hirsi Ali the former Dutch M.P, one time asylum seeker and Islam critic:
The BBC reports that the ruling Dutch coalition government has fallen over the issue of immigration minister Rita Vonderk and her "sympathetic consideration" of Ayaan Hirsi Ali's asylum case. A small coalition partner the D66 party has pulled support from the coalition causing the ruling government to fall.
The BBC reports:
"The D66 party pulled its support because Ms Verdonk, known as "Iron Rita" for her tough stance on immigration issues, refused to resign over her treatment of Ms Hirsi Ali."
For more on Ayaan Hirsi Ali:
Did Lying Pay For Ayaan Hirsi Ali?
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Islam And The Neo-Cons
Is Ayaan Hirsi Ali A Liar?
Youtube Video: Lying Somali Apostate Ayaan Hirsi Ali Exposed
Technorati Tags:Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali Dutch Muslim Holland Rita Verdonk
At a time when hatred of Muslims and their rights to practice their religion are at the mercy of others. The English Al-Jazeera website brings news from Spain of a leap forward from the Spanish parliament.
Al-Jazeera reports that the Spanish parliament is going to vote on a resolution proposed by a Green Party member. The resolution calls for enshrining the rights of great apes to life and freedom into law.
If passed this will be the first time anywhere in the world that such "human rights" as the right to life and freedom will be passed into law for great apes.
There are many in this world that wish to remove from Muslims the same right to "life and freedom" as will be enjoyed by these great apes. It only goes to show that while some of the human race can show compassion to even animals such as apes there are others unable to show any compassion to their fellow man if he/she happens to be a Muslim.
Technorati Tags:Islam Great Apes Al Jazeera Spain Human Rights Muslim Hate Green Party Freedom
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
The question that always comes to my mind when the I hear the name Ayaan Hirsi Ali is does lying pay? In her case it certainly does. She lied about her name and past to gain asylum in Holland and eventually Dutch citizenship.
Now after an investigation by the Dutch immigration minister Rita Verdonk and an uproar around the world it appears that Ayaan Hirsi Ali can keep her Dutch passport.
Considered a "critic" of Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali gave a "false impression" to authorities when gaining entry into the Dutch Kingdom as an asylum seeker. For more details on the tissue of lies that Aryaan Hirsi Ali fabricated and an offer to work for the American Enterprise Institute click on the following links: 1 and 2
I think this latest development is a sad state of affairs. When nation states give up the rule of law it is a loss for all of us. I believe the reason why Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been treated with such "sympathy" has nothing to do with her trying to escape "eminent death" by her family or an arranged marriage or war torn Somalia but rather has a lot more to do with her public statements about Islam. What type of sign does this decision give to other would-be asylum seekers to the shores of Europe? How many more asylum seekers will want to make public statements denouncing Islam so that they are allowed into Europe?
In the long run this type of "sympathy" for self confessed liars does not help those in the west that wish to debate or reform Islam.
When I hear Ayaan Hirsi Ali speak a lingering thought always remains with me: Is she saying those things because she means them or is she saying those things because it will make her acceptable to western audiences and famous?
For more on Ayaan Hirsi Ali see :Youtube Video: Lying Somali Apostate Ayaan Hirsi Ali Exposed
Technorati Tags:Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali Dutch Muslim Holland Rita Verdonk
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
In this post I wish to deal with the topic of hatred and slurs that are used in reference to Muslims.
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines a slur as such: "an insulting or disparaging remark or innuendo".
Therefore an anti-Muslim slur is a statement that is insulting or disparaging remark or innuendo about Muslims. In an age when discrimination by race and sex to name a few are looked down upon by society however discrimination and prejudice of Muslims is alive and well.
For your amusement or dismay depending on your point of view I have reproduced from Wikipedia a list of slurs that are used in reference to Muslims.
"Fatme" A term used by non-Muslim Lebanese to denote a Muslim women that wears traditional concealing clothing.
"Goatfu**er" A term used to describe a Muslim. It comes from the Netherlands and was popularized by Theo Van Gough.
"Habib" A term used to denote any Muslim.
"Hajji" A term used by Americans to denote an Iraqi or Arab or Muslim
"Islum, Islumic" A term used in the United Kingdom to denote Islam and Muslims. It is a combination of Islam and slum - a reference to the socio-economic status of Muslims in the U.K.
"Kakerlake" The cockroach, a German term that is used to denote Arabs, Turks and other Muslims.
"Koranimal" This is a term used to denote Muslims as animals. It is made up of the Koran and animal.
"Mo or Moe". A contraction of the Muslim name Muhammad.
"Mohammedan / Muhammadan / Mahamedan / Mahumedan / Mahomedan". Terms used to denote a Muslim and refers to an accusation that Muslims worship Muhammad.
"Moor" A term used to denote a Muslim.
"Mudslim" A term used to describe Muslims, a combination of Mud and Muslim.
"Muja or Muj " A term used as a slur against Muslims and comes from the Arabic for holy warrior.
"Muzzo" An Australian term used to denote Muslims.
"Muzzie" An American term used to denote Muslims.
Technorati Tags:Muslim Hate Muzzie Hajji Mudslim Islam Habib
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines a slur as such: "an insulting or disparaging remark or innuendo".
Therefore an anti-Muslim slur is a statement that is insulting or disparaging remark or innuendo about Muslims. In an age when discrimination by race and sex to name a few are looked down upon by society however discrimination and prejudice of Muslims is alive and well.
For your amusement or dismay depending on your point of view I have reproduced from Wikipedia a list of slurs that are used in reference to Muslims.
"Fatme" A term used by non-Muslim Lebanese to denote a Muslim women that wears traditional concealing clothing.
"Goatfu**er" A term used to describe a Muslim. It comes from the Netherlands and was popularized by Theo Van Gough.
"Habib" A term used to denote any Muslim.
"Hajji" A term used by Americans to denote an Iraqi or Arab or Muslim
"Islum, Islumic" A term used in the United Kingdom to denote Islam and Muslims. It is a combination of Islam and slum - a reference to the socio-economic status of Muslims in the U.K.
"Kakerlake" The cockroach, a German term that is used to denote Arabs, Turks and other Muslims.
"Koranimal" This is a term used to denote Muslims as animals. It is made up of the Koran and animal.
"Mo or Moe". A contraction of the Muslim name Muhammad.
"Mohammedan / Muhammadan / Mahamedan / Mahumedan / Mahomedan". Terms used to denote a Muslim and refers to an accusation that Muslims worship Muhammad.
"Moor" A term used to denote a Muslim.
"Mudslim" A term used to describe Muslims, a combination of Mud and Muslim.
"Muja or Muj " A term used as a slur against Muslims and comes from the Arabic for holy warrior.
"Muzzo" An Australian term used to denote Muslims.
"Muzzie" An American term used to denote Muslims.
Technorati Tags:Muslim Hate Muzzie Hajji Mudslim Islam Habib
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Virginity, hymen repair and Muslims is the latest topic that U.S.A Today has found to write about. In an article entitled "Young Muslim women in Europe go to extremes to be virgins- again." The article states the following:
"Hymen repair, fake virginity certificates and other deceptions, said to be commonplace in some Muslim countries, are practiced in France and elsewhere in Europe, where Muslim girls are more emancipated but still live under rigid codes of family honor."
"The procedures are legal but shrouded in silence"
As one who has never had to have my hymen repaired I can safely say what is the big deal?
For females that do not wish to undergo this procedure there is a very simple answer and that is do not partake in pre-martial coitus. If you do then you will more than likely need an operation like a hymen repair or a fake certificate in order for you to be able to deceive your family and your future husband.
I do not understand the position of these females. I suppose it is human nature to want ones cake and to eat it or as in this case to have your man and still be a virgin. However how can one start ones married life on the premise of such a deception? Why not just tell your family and future husband the truth? There will be some that read the last question and will start jumping up and down shouting at the computer monitor, if they do that they will be killed. Let me clarify for those of you that are at this point doing just that we are taking about females that live in Europe not in the deepest darkest parts of the Arabian deserts. If they really want to make a stand against this custom then I am sure that the full weight of the state such as France or Germany or Britain can be made to bear on the family if they try anything untoward. Look at the case of Ayaan Hirsi Ali who was given asylum status and Dutch nationality because she deceitfully claimed that she was forced into a marriage. There are many Muslim parents that know of their off-spring being sexually active before marriage and have not attempted to kill them and there also Muslim husbands who know that their wives have had pre-marital sex and have not killed them either.
This is not a question of Islam and Muslims oppressing these women. It is however a case of these women wishing to oppress and deceive not only their families but their future husbands. Why go through the whole rigmarole of returning your virginity when it was not that important to you when you decided to loose it?
Technorati Tags:Virginity Hymen Women Muslim Operation
Saturday, June 24, 2006
While posting on this blog and writing comments I have dealt with a number of issues regarding religion. From Islam to Christianity to Hinduism. In this post I wish to deal with a subject that I have not written about before.
As Muslims we are taught to believe in the Prophethood of Jesus the son of Mary. All our religious scriptures place an obligation upon the Muslim to love and believe in him. The Qur'an in numerous places talks about the virtues of Jesus and his mother Mary, there is infact a whole chapter in the Qur'an named after her. However as Muslims we do not believe in the divinity of Christ nor do we believe in his crucifixion and resurrection. Herein in lies a fundamental difference between Islam and Trinitarian Christianity.
While researching Jesus in world religions one comes across three distinct narratives: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The view of Trinitarian Christianity and Islam has to some extent been already covered in this weblog. In this post I wish to look at the view of Judaism and the Talmud towards Jesus.
By way of introduction I will now give an outline of what constitutes the Talmud.
The Talmud is defined by Wikipedia as follows:
A record of rabbinical discussions of Jewish law, ethics, customs and stories which are authoritative in Jewish tradition.
The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah, which is the first written compendium of Judaism's Oral Law; and the Gemara, a discussion of the Mishnah.
After the brief introduction above we know move on the substance of this post. How is Jesus viewed by Judaism in general and by the Talmud in particular?
For the purpose of this post I shall be using the following three websites as references for Judaism and the Talmud's view of Jesus:
(i) Jews and Hasidic Gentiles- United to save America
(ii) About Judaism
(iii) Judaism 101
The common perception amongst many is that Jesus is regarded by Judaism as foremost a Jew and secondly a teacher.
"Many liberal Jews and rabbis will routinely say something like, "he was a great teacher but not the messiah" when a Christian asks. My impression is that these people haven't given any serious thought to the question and haven't studied to Jesus's teachings, and are saying this only because they don't want to offend anyone rather than because of any deeply held conviction." (Judaism 101)
In this view Jesus is stripped from his role of being divine as ascribed to him by Trinitarian Christianity and also the role of prophethood and the Messiah as ascribed to him by Islam. However this is not the only view of Jesus that can be found from those that follow Judaism.
Scholars disagree regarding the fact if Jesus is mentioned in the Talmud or not. The Talmud makes references to a person by the name of Yeshu and many contend that this person is the Jesus of the New Testament. Yeshu is very similar to the Hebrew/Aramaic name Yeshua (Jesus). For the purposes of this post we will accept this assertion not because I have any particular axe to grind but rather because many in Judaism accept this assertion.
The Talmud makes references to one Yeshu ben Pandeira also known as Yeshu ha-Notzri. The passages in the Talmud relating to him were censored and placed on the list of forbidden books by the Roman Catholic Church in 1264 and the whole Talmud was placed on the index in 1559 by Pope Paul IV.
The story of Yeshu in the Talmud and allied works goes something like this:
"The Talmud claims that this Yeshu was the son of a Jewish woman named Miriam (Mary) who was betrothed to a carpenter (more accurately, their marriage was in the stage of kiddushin, where she is legally his wife but not yet living with him or having sexual relations with him). She was either raped or voluntarily slept with a Greek or Roman soldier known as Pandeira, and Yeshu was the product of that union. Because of the status of Miriam's marriage, Yeshu is considered to be a mamzer (usually mistranslated as "bastard", it means the product of an adulterous or incestuous relationship). Some say that he was also a ben-niddah (conceived through intercourse with a woman in a state of menstrual impurity, which is also said to leave a stain on the offspring). The Talmud describes Yeshu as a heretic who dabbled in sorcery and lead the people astray (into idolatry). He was stoned to death by the Sanhedrin for his crimes, and in accordance with the procedure for heretics, his dead body was hung in a tree until nightfall after his death.
Were Jesus and Yeshu the same person? Many Jewish sages in history believed so." (Judaism 101)
As one can see this story is at odds with the gospel narrative that is found in the New Testament. However suffice to say that this narrative has been accepted by many Jewish sages throughout history.
In ending I wish to summarize the different perceptions of Jesus that can be found in Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
On the two extremes we have Trinitarian Christianity and Judaism. The first ascribing divinity to Christ and the other representing Christ as a teacher who dabbled in sorcery. For the keen observer somewhere in the middle the Islamic representation of Christ can be found as a Prophet of God and righteous miracle worker.
Technorati Tags:Islam Jesus Christ Talmud Judaism Muslim Christianity
Thursday, June 22, 2006
As Muslims we are lectured day and night about freedom and oppression. We are told that Islamic values oppress whereas western values promote freedom . These thoughts become even stronger when applied to the question of women.
Having set the stage of this post, I now wish to introduce an article from the Al-Jazeera English website. It narrates that the Islamic veil that covers the face will be banned from schools in the Norwegian capital Oslo. The ban will begin after the current summer holidays. Oslo will join the ranks of countries like France that have also banned the Islamic veil from their schools.
While reading this report I was struck by the fact that if the west promotes pluralistic, mutli-cultural societies how can it then ban the veil from schools? Is it not a fundamental right of a human being to practice his/her religion without hindrance? How can the west ban the Islamic veil while in the same breath defending the right of some to produce and distribute pornography? The pornographer uses his right to freedom of expression while the Muslim female is banned from her right to wear a veil and to practice her freedom of religion.
Is this a healthy hypocrisy that all of us should support?
Technorati Tags:Islam Freedom Women Norway Veil
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
I love Ann Coulter! I love Ann Coulter! I love Ann Coulter! I love Ann Coulter! I love Ann Coulter! I love Ann Coulter!
Just in case you misunderstood, I love Ann Coulter!
For those of you that are unfimiliar with Ann Coulter and wonder why I love her so here are a few of her quotes regarding Muslims and Islam taken from WikiQuote:
"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war."
"Being nice to people is, in fact, one of the incidental tenets of Christianity (as opposed to other religions whose tenets are more along the lines of 'kill everyone who doesn't smell bad and doesn't answer to the name Mohammed')"
"To The People Of Islam: Just think: If we'd invaded your countries, killed your leaders and converted you to Christianity YOU'D ALL BE OPENING CHRISTMAS PRESENTS RIGHT ABOUT NOW! Merry Christmas."
One canot help oneself but to love her.
Technorati Tags: Islam Ann Coulter
A recent case of honor killing has been highlighted today in the British Daily Mail . The article entitled "Murdered For Loving Our Values" relates to a Samaira Nazir who was killed by her family for staining their "family honor". The BBC also carried the story at the time of the trail of Samaira's brother.
Here are some of the gruesome details of her murder as related by the Daily Mail:
(i) Samaira refused marriage to suitors that her family had arranged for her, rather preferring to marry an Afghan man from a different "caste". For this reason her family became enraged precipitating her murder.
Although being Kashmiri and someone who comes from the Indian sub-continent I find it very difficult to understand the concept of caste. I think it works like this and please correct me if I am wrong: you are born into a family, that family belongs to a particular caste (social group) all your socializing and familial relations can only conducted in the scope of that caste. Thus when a person whether male or female decides to break one of the rules of the caste such as marrying outside, thenthe honor of the family is stained within the cast.
(ii) "During a bloody struggle, her father, brother and cousin used four knives to cut the young woman's throat and stab her 18 times. At one point, she tried to get out of the house, but was dragged back by her hair. Her father explained to anxious neighbor's that his daughter was 'having a fit'."
(iii) "Samaira's nieces, aged two and four, were forced to witness the killing as a warning of what they could expect if they similarly dared to break with tradition. The little girls were found screaming and splattered with blood."
Cases such as these highlight the fact that there are some very sick and misguided people in this world. To place your standing amongst your family and peers over the consideration of love for your child is a crime in itself and then to murder that child for the same reason cannot be explained but as the most callous barbarity.
There will be many who consider this as a justification that Islam promotes the murder of females and forced marriages. As far as the latter is concerned this is the assertion of the author in the Daily Mail. She claims that the British government is tip-toeing around the sensibilities of the Muslim community in regard to forced marriages and legislation.
Let me say that as a Muslim I abhor forced marriages. I have a number of friends that have had their lives ruined by this most despicable of customs.
The custom of forced marriages is not something that is special to those who claim to be Muslims. There have been cases of forced marriage and even murder in the Hindu and Sikh communities both in the West and in India. For those that which to make this into a "religious crusade" against Islam then let me remind them of a couple of things:
(i) Forced marriages are carried out by people of different faiths it depends more on culture and customs rather than religion.
(ii) Forced marriages have been taking place for thousands of years before Islam. This is not to try to lessen barbarity of this practice but rather to show that Islam did not give birth to it.
(iii) Islam does not condone forced marriages rather it prohibits them.
There are certain sections of the Asian community in the United Kingdom, they maybe Muslim or Hindu or Sikh that condone the practice of forced marriages for a variety of reasons however the media portrayal is one of a particularly Muslim problem.
The assertion that Samaira Nazir died because she loved western values is incorrect. The value to decided who to marry and who not to marry is a universal value enshrined in both Western and Islamic values.
The reason Samaira was killed was not because of Islam but adherence to a culture and custom that views any divergence from its norms as a dishonor punishable by death.
In the words of her brother who helped kill her:
"She does not wish to have an arranged marriage. We only allow marriage within the family."
The question that needs to be asked by all of us is, was Samaira killed by Muslims because of Islam or was she killed by her family who happened to be Muslim for reasons of culture and customs?
Technorati Tags: Muslim Honor Killing
Here are some of the gruesome details of her murder as related by the Daily Mail:
(i) Samaira refused marriage to suitors that her family had arranged for her, rather preferring to marry an Afghan man from a different "caste". For this reason her family became enraged precipitating her murder.
Although being Kashmiri and someone who comes from the Indian sub-continent I find it very difficult to understand the concept of caste. I think it works like this and please correct me if I am wrong: you are born into a family, that family belongs to a particular caste (social group) all your socializing and familial relations can only conducted in the scope of that caste. Thus when a person whether male or female decides to break one of the rules of the caste such as marrying outside, thenthe honor of the family is stained within the cast.
(ii) "During a bloody struggle, her father, brother and cousin used four knives to cut the young woman's throat and stab her 18 times. At one point, she tried to get out of the house, but was dragged back by her hair. Her father explained to anxious neighbor's that his daughter was 'having a fit'."
(iii) "Samaira's nieces, aged two and four, were forced to witness the killing as a warning of what they could expect if they similarly dared to break with tradition. The little girls were found screaming and splattered with blood."
Cases such as these highlight the fact that there are some very sick and misguided people in this world. To place your standing amongst your family and peers over the consideration of love for your child is a crime in itself and then to murder that child for the same reason cannot be explained but as the most callous barbarity.
There will be many who consider this as a justification that Islam promotes the murder of females and forced marriages. As far as the latter is concerned this is the assertion of the author in the Daily Mail. She claims that the British government is tip-toeing around the sensibilities of the Muslim community in regard to forced marriages and legislation.
Let me say that as a Muslim I abhor forced marriages. I have a number of friends that have had their lives ruined by this most despicable of customs.
The custom of forced marriages is not something that is special to those who claim to be Muslims. There have been cases of forced marriage and even murder in the Hindu and Sikh communities both in the West and in India. For those that which to make this into a "religious crusade" against Islam then let me remind them of a couple of things:
(i) Forced marriages are carried out by people of different faiths it depends more on culture and customs rather than religion.
(ii) Forced marriages have been taking place for thousands of years before Islam. This is not to try to lessen barbarity of this practice but rather to show that Islam did not give birth to it.
(iii) Islam does not condone forced marriages rather it prohibits them.
There are certain sections of the Asian community in the United Kingdom, they maybe Muslim or Hindu or Sikh that condone the practice of forced marriages for a variety of reasons however the media portrayal is one of a particularly Muslim problem.
The assertion that Samaira Nazir died because she loved western values is incorrect. The value to decided who to marry and who not to marry is a universal value enshrined in both Western and Islamic values.
The reason Samaira was killed was not because of Islam but adherence to a culture and custom that views any divergence from its norms as a dishonor punishable by death.
In the words of her brother who helped kill her:
"She does not wish to have an arranged marriage. We only allow marriage within the family."
The question that needs to be asked by all of us is, was Samaira killed by Muslims because of Islam or was she killed by her family who happened to be Muslim for reasons of culture and customs?
Technorati Tags: Muslim Honor Killing
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
I came across an article while surfing the internet entitled 60 questions for the Christian. The article is authored by Hussein Khalid al-Hussein and is broken down into the following section headings:
(i)Salvation
(ii) Holy Spirit
(iii) The Mission of Jesus
(iv) The Resurrection
(v) The Bible And Its Contradictions
(vi) The Qur'an And Christians
(vii) Muhammad or Jesus
(viii) Final Questions
I found the article thought provoking and would like to read responses from Christians regarding some of the issues that it brought up.
Technorati Tags: Christianity Bible God Jesus Christ Muhammad
(i)Salvation
(ii) Holy Spirit
(iii) The Mission of Jesus
(iv) The Resurrection
(v) The Bible And Its Contradictions
(vi) The Qur'an And Christians
(vii) Muhammad or Jesus
(viii) Final Questions
I found the article thought provoking and would like to read responses from Christians regarding some of the issues that it brought up.
Technorati Tags: Christianity Bible God Jesus Christ Muhammad
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Islam is portrayed as something of a new experience in the west. If we are to believe common held notions then Islam came to the Europe with mass migration after the second world war. Whether it be Muslims from places a far a field as the Indian sub-continent or North Africa the notion is the same Islam is alien to Europe.
In this post I want to have a look at why I think that this notion is firstly incorrect and secondly deliberately perpetuated to legitimise fear of Muslims and Islam.
Long before America was discovered by Christopher Columbus Muslims had been at the very heart of Europe and created a civilization that was the envy of the world. I am not one for repeating the mantra that Muslims were once a great civilization however I think that it is important for us to established some facts regarding the presence of Islam in Europe and how it is has deliberately been doctored.
In this endevour I present the following video for the purpose of discussion of this topic.
More on the subject of Islam in Spain can be found in my post Spain and her Islamic Past.
The Wa Salaam Blog also contains more information about Muslim Spain.
Technorati Tags:Islam Europe Spain Muslim History
In this post I want to have a look at why I think that this notion is firstly incorrect and secondly deliberately perpetuated to legitimise fear of Muslims and Islam.
Long before America was discovered by Christopher Columbus Muslims had been at the very heart of Europe and created a civilization that was the envy of the world. I am not one for repeating the mantra that Muslims were once a great civilization however I think that it is important for us to established some facts regarding the presence of Islam in Europe and how it is has deliberately been doctored.
In this endevour I present the following video for the purpose of discussion of this topic.
More on the subject of Islam in Spain can be found in my post Spain and her Islamic Past.
The Wa Salaam Blog also contains more information about Muslim Spain.
Technorati Tags:Islam Europe Spain Muslim History
Is there a link between Trinitarian Christianity and Hinduism? On the surface maybe not. As far as I can tell Christians claim to be monotheistic and Hindus follow a multitude of gods. Can there really be a connection?
While surfing the internet earlier today and I came across a very interesting website. Its called HinduUnity.org. After examining the articles on the site I cam across one very interesting section called Basic Hinduism, it details the beliefs of Hinduism among other things.
I have reproduced here for your benefit the section that relates to Hindu beliefs regarding God:
"A Hindu is one that believes in one God who incarnates, as and when He feels fit, in the shape and form He wants. God has incarnated in many forms as Lord Rama , Lord Shiva , Lord Brahma( in His form as The Creator) Lord Krishna and others that were in existence for shorter periods.
Certain incarnations of God have come under criticism from those who have the inbuilt mind concept that God should only be in a certain form. This is totally refuted by Hinduism. Our belief is that God has the infinite capacity and will take forms as and when He so feels. A simple little human has no right to put imitations on God. "
I think that these two paragraphs bring up a very important question regarding our understanding of God or gods. If Hinduism preaches a concept of one God, one Creator who sustains the universe, who incarnates himself and descends to earth, how can we in all fairness call it a religion of polytheism ?
The reason why I ask this is that Trinitarian Christianity also asks us to believe in one God, in one Creator who incarnated himself into human form and came down to earth. In the case of Trinitarian Christianity we call this monotheism however in the case of Hinduism we call the same concept of God incarnating himself into human or any other form for that matter polytheism.
One may say well the difference is that as Christians we believe that God only incarnated himself once and therefore we only worship one God. What difference does it make how many times God incarnated himself? If God incarnates himself once into human form and it is considered monotheism why can he not incarnate himself a thousand times or a million times and it still be considered monotheism? The question is not the number of incarnations but rather the incarnation itself. In the end is it not just one God but in differenet forms just as the Trinatarian Christians believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost? If this senario is acceptable then why is not the senario that God incarnated himself into the form of Ram or Krishna or Shiva? When I raise objections to the concept of the trinity I am told not to limit God, are not the Christians limiting God by saying He cannot incarnate into Shiva?
As Muslims we do not believe in the divinity of Christ or Rama or Shiva. We do not believe in the incarnation of God into man no matter how pious that individual was or is. The concept of a savior God who incarnates himself into human form and saves the world is not a concept that is particular to Trinitarian Christians. In a future post we will look at other religions far older than Christianity that believed in a God incarnate who descended to earth for the saving of man.
Technorati Tags:Christianity Trinity Hinduism Jesus Bible
Saturday, June 17, 2006
The Baptism of Christ
I am not one to play the "race card" at every possible opportunity. I think that more times than not it is unwarranted and at other times it is just pure deception and lying . However for the purpose of this post I am compelled to talk about Christians and racism all in the same breath.
The question of today's topic is, are some Christians racist?
The reason why I ask the question is that as you can see from the example above lots of "western" pictorial representations of Jesus depict him as an Anglo-Saxon man. I am sure that anyone who researches this topic even in the most superficial way will realize that neither Jesus nor his mother were Anglo-Saxon.
Therefore the question must be asked why do the representations depict Jesus with European features? Why can Jesus not have Mediterranean features or Negroid features or Arab feature or Indian features or Jewish features? Why must Jesus be white and European looking ? Could a certain amount of racism play a part in the manufacturing of these images ?
Technorati Tags: Jesus Racism Christianity
Friday, June 16, 2006
The results of the latest poll have now come through. As you see an overwhelming majority do not want to live under Islamic law is that really surprising? The surprising thing is that 20% did want to. I wonder if all these were Muslims or if any were non-Muslims that voted yes. We will never be able to tell.
Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this series can be acessed by clicking the required number.
A great deal has been written about the treatment of women in the Qur'an. A lot of this material has been written by Christian missionaries and Jewish opponents of Islam. Thus I thought in the pursuit of fairness and balance we should discuss the treatment of women in the Bible.
The topic of today's "Establishing The Truth About The Bible" will be on the subject of the treatment of women in the Bible. In particular we shall look at Deuteronomy 22 verse 28 and 29.
More on this topic can be found by clicking this link.
This quote from the Bible is taken from BibleGateway.com
"If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives."
The implication of these Biblical verses as far as I can see is that the punishment for raping a virgin according to the Bible is for the offender to pay the father of the girl 50 shekels of sliver, marry her and never to divorce her. If my understanding of the verses is incorrect please can someone correct me. Is there anyone who can defend these verses?
I want to at this point clear up a few misconceptions. The purpose of the series entitled "Establishing The Truth About The Bible" is not to attack or denigrate Christianity. I began this series after comments were made on this blog by a partcipant writer. He wanted me and you to believe that Islam and the Qur'an are from Satan and false religion. He also spoke about the superiority of western culture and western religions as represented by Judaism and Christianity. Keeping this in mind I wanted to establish a balance in the discourse between the Judeo-Christian tradition and the Islamic tradition hence the birth of the series.
Technorati Tags:Islam Satan Christianity Rape Virgin Bible Deuteronomy
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Islamic Banking is to become available throughout the United Kingdom. The BBC reports that the Lloyds TSB Bank is now to offer Islamic compliant banking packages through its network of 2000 banks. The Lloyds TSB has been offering Islamic compliant banking packages since 2005 but this is the first nationwide rolling out of the service. Other U.K banks such as HSCB, Islamic bank of Britain and West Bromwich building society provide Islamic banking packages as well.
This anouncment comes amid calls from the British finance minister Gordon Brown to make the United Kingdom a gateway for "Islamic finance."
The topic of today's post is Islamic banking in the west. I must make a confession at this point neither am I an Islamic scholar nor am I an economist. For this reason I will not be going into a lengthy explanation or discussion about the definition and the inner workings of Islamic banking. However I think that it would suffice to say that just as an introduction to the topic I must mention the following:
Islam prohibits usury (interest taking or giving). The Islamic banking system worldwide is an attempt by some to introduce a banking system that not only caters for the needs of Muslims in the modern world but also stays true to the Islamic principles on usury.
How have Mr.Brown's comments been taken by those that are Islam experts and callers to the threat of Islam ? You can read their comments on Dhimmi Watch.
Is it surprising that some people even find news like this to attack Islam and Muslims? Some portray it as an Islamic takeover of the west. The end of the western civilization and the establishment of the Islamic caliphate by the Saracen invaders.
At this junction may I point out that the banks are not providing Islamic banking out of concern for the Muslim community or out of the goodness of their hearts. The finance minister too is not calling for Britain to become the home of Islamic banking either for the same reasons. In both cases the reason for such concern for the Islamic banking needs of the Muslim community is the profit that can be made.
According to the BBC worldwide the Islamic banking system is worth between £200 to £300 billion a year. As a observer may I suggest that this is the reason for all the concern and not any plot by Saracenen invaders to end western civilizationon.
Technorati Tags: Islamic Banking Saracen Muslim West Gordon Brown
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
The question of virgins, Islam and paradise has vexed the thoughts of many a great blog on the internet and Christian missionaries for a lot longer. The subject is used to define, defame and ridicule Muslims and Islam. I can understand why some would want to do this especially after looking at the actions of some Muslims however to say that visions of virgins waiting for the pious is a only an Islamic phenomena is in all honesty a lie.
In this post we will be looking the Christian version of virgins in Heaven.
More information on this topic can be found by clicking this link.
Virgins in heaven is not a concept that was known to Pre-Islamic Arabs,infact they did not believe in an after-life at all. For this reason we find that a lot of discourse that is recorded in the Qur'an between the pagan Arabs and the Prophet of Islam centers around establishing in the mind of the pagan Arab the concept of an after- life.
This however was not the case when we look at Christianity. Christians had already accepted that there was a kingdom of God - a hereafter where the good and the pious would be rewarded for their beliefs and actions. This brings me onto Saint Ephraim and the topic of today's post. Before we start on the topic I think that it will be useful to introduce to the reader who St. Ephraim the Syrian was. More information can be found on him at Wikipedia.
St.Ephraim (Ephrem Syrus in Latin) was born around the 306 A.D in modern day Turkey near the border with Syria. He lived in the time that the first ecumenical council of Nicea was held in the year 325. A.D. A further discussion of the fruits of that council can be found in my post entitled The Trinity, Christianity And The Council Of Nicea. St. Ephraim was a theologian who wrote hymns, poems and biblical commentaries. He is revered by Christians throughout the world and particularly Syriac Christians. Around 400 of his written works have survived to this day he was considered a prolific author. One such work is entitled: "Hymns On Paradise" and is the subject of this post.
While describing the reward that will be given to those that abstain from worldly pleasures St. Ephraim writes in strophy 18 about monks that will be received by maidens (vines) with immaculate bosoms:
"Whoever has abstained from wine on earth, for him do the vines of Paradise yearn. Each one of them holds out to them a bunch of grapes. And if a man had lived in chastity, they [feminine] receive him in a pure bosom, because he as a monk did not fall into the bosom and bed of earthly love"
For those that wish to point an accusative finger at Islam claiming that it is religion based upon sexual reward in heaven they need to look no further than the works of Christian saints like Ephraim.
Technorati Tags: Christianity Bible God Jesus Christ Virgin
Monday, June 12, 2006
The British Daily Telegraph reports that the Ku Klux Klan has for the first time been given permission to demonstrate at the battle of Antietam under freedom of expression laws. The battle took place during the American civil war and it is reported that more than 23,000 people died in the fighting that took place.
While I was reading this article it got me thinking what do the Klu Klux Klan think about Islam and Muslims? I know that they do not like black people a great deal and I also know that they do not like Jewish people a lot hence the Nazi salutes in the image but what do white supremacist think about Muslims?
I personally do not knowingly know any white supremacists and to tell you the truth I have no desire to either but having said that I do not know how they view me as a Muslim. I know there are lots of right wing parties that are anti-immigrant whether those immigrants be Muslim or not. However how do these parties and white supremacist view Muslims in the Muslim world. For instance do they believe in establishing western imperial empires like the British or the French or do they just want to be left to live in peace and to keep their "racial purity"?
They believe that multicultural and multi-racial societies do not work and in the long run are doom to failure. Whether they are right in this assertion is left to a great deal of debate between those for and those against multiculturalism. Personally I would like to know how do this people view Muslims that do not live in their communities or towns or countries for example Muslims that live in Cairo or New Delhi or Jakarta. Are they equally opposed to such people as they would be to Muslims that live in western lands?
Technorati Tags: Islam Racism Immigration Muslim
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Is there any form of Islam that is acceptable to the West?
If one is to scour the blogsphere one will find a myriad of blogs that call for the extermination of Muslims. The question that naturally follows from this thought is that are these people just hateful towards the actions of some Muslims or do they actually hate the religion of Islam? If they actually hate Islam how can they achieve their goal of exterminating it? Upon this question we arrive at a dead end. These people are vehement in condemning Islam and Muslims but when one is asked what is the answer to stopping the "filth" of Islam it appears that no one has an answer. As I see it the proponents of this course of action have at least three options infront of them:
(i) Kill all Muslims and physically destroy the Islamic heritage that has been collected over 1400 years. This method will ensure in one swoop the ending of the "Islam" problem. However those that advocate such a "final solution" to the problem of Islam must be reminded of the logistics in killing around 1 billion people and also burying Islamic tradition forever.
(ii) Convert all Muslims by force or inducement while at the same time burying their Islamic heritage. The problems associated with this course of action include the fact that some Muslims would not want to convert and would have to killed. It is hard to see what percentage of Muslims would prefer death to conversion but as can been seen from the experience of Muslims in Spain during the 1400's many did convert and others did prefer death. Another problem with this action is that if flies full in the face of the values that so many in the west say they adhere to namely the right to life and right to freedom of religion.
(iii) Reform of Islam from within. This is the most alluring to all except the most die hard of Islam haters. As I have detailed on this blog before in a post entitled Islam and reformation. How can Islam be reformed when there is no tradition of reformation in this religion?
Those that espouse thoughts about exterminating the filth of "Islam" when is comes down to the nuts and bolts of the problem do they really have any solutions or is it just frustration and over active keyboard skills?
In ending how and by what will Islam become acceptable to the West?
Technorati Tags: Islam Christianity West Terrorism
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Previous posts in the series can be accessed by clicking the following links : part 1 and part 2.
In Establishing The Truth About The Bible (3) we shall discuss the story of Mary the mother of Jesus as it is related from Christian sources.
More information about this subject can be found here.
According to non-biblical Christian sources Mary was married to Joseph in her early teens and conceived Jesus around the age of 12 years old.
According to the Priest of Saint Mary's Catholic Church: "Mary was approximately 14 years old when she got pregnant with Jesus. Joseph, Mary's Husband is believed to be around 36. Mary was only 13 when she married Joseph. When she first was arranged with Joseph she was between 7 to 9 years old."
It appears from these narrations that Christians before raising the finger of pedophilia against Islam should research the actions of their "Holy Ghost" who impregnated a girl that was 12 years old with the "Son of God". Some how I do not think that the Christians who come to this weblog to espouse their theories about Islam have ever really considered the fact that Mary "Mother Of God" was married to a 37 year old man who arranged the marriage when she was 7 years old.
Technorati Tags: Islam Joseph Christianity Bible God Mother of God Bible
In Establishing The Truth About The Bible (3) we shall discuss the story of Mary the mother of Jesus as it is related from Christian sources.
More information about this subject can be found here.
According to non-biblical Christian sources Mary was married to Joseph in her early teens and conceived Jesus around the age of 12 years old.
According to the Priest of Saint Mary's Catholic Church: "Mary was approximately 14 years old when she got pregnant with Jesus. Joseph, Mary's Husband is believed to be around 36. Mary was only 13 when she married Joseph. When she first was arranged with Joseph she was between 7 to 9 years old."
It appears from these narrations that Christians before raising the finger of pedophilia against Islam should research the actions of their "Holy Ghost" who impregnated a girl that was 12 years old with the "Son of God". Some how I do not think that the Christians who come to this weblog to espouse their theories about Islam have ever really considered the fact that Mary "Mother Of God" was married to a 37 year old man who arranged the marriage when she was 7 years old.
Technorati Tags: Islam Joseph Christianity Bible God Mother of God Bible