Posted by
Sidney Allen Johnson on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 8:24:26 PM
"THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH"
The Truth About Islam pt. 2
It
was an amusing beginning to a not so amusing story. In the year 610AD
Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, a 40 year old merchant from the town of Mecca on
the Arabian peninsula, was awakened from his sleep (in a cave no less)
by a heavenly(?) voice telling him he was the messenger from God. This
man, who would go on to establish one of the largest, most militaristic
and intolerant religions ever conceived, reacted the way any cold and
calculating conqueror would.....he hid under his wife until it went
away!! Thus, Islam was born.
Muhammad was born on
approximately August 20, 570 AD. His father died soon after his birth
and his mother died when he was six leaving the future prophet to be
raised as a shepherd by his uncle Abu-Talib. At the age of 25 he
cleverly married a rich widow 15 years his senior named Khadeejah. They
spawned six children, all of whom died young except for a daughter,
Fatima.
The Arabia of the time was populated by warring
tribes (sectarian violence anyone?) who took a particular delight in
raiding one another's caravans. Muhammad was a member of the Quraysh
tribe and had participated in two local wars with the Banu Hawazin
tribe. He was subjected to epileptic seizures, and addicted to prayer
and fasting even before his "divine" visitations with the angel he
identified as Gabriel had begun. He was also familiar, though somewhat
erroneously, with the traditions and customs of the Jewish and
Christian people that also inhabited the region.
After his
initial encounter with the "angel," he worried that he was actually
being pursued by demons and feared he was becoming possessed by them.
His wife encouraged him that these apparitions were real and that he
should open himself up to be the prophet of God. This made her his
first convert and, as could be expected, his immediate family tended
make up his initial following. He began preaching to his own Quraysh
tribe about one god and, from the very beginning, was adamant about his
role as this god's one true prophet.
Initially the Meccans
were relatively indifferent to his preaching. Their society was a
pluralistic one so they were somewhat accustomed to a variety gods and
religions. This was further enhanced by their trade relations which
likewise kept them aware of "alternative" belief systems. It wasn't
even particularly unusual to declare himself a divine prophet as there
were actually quite a few "would be" prophets making the rounds in the
Middle East of that time. Since the citizenry of Mecca weren't
responding particularly well to his preaching, Muhammad decided he
needed to step up his rhetoric and began assailing the popular pagan
gods of the region, as well as to promote the idea that their ancestors
may have earned a less than heavenly reward for having died in their
disbelief of the one true god. Faced with a "hellfire" preacher in
their midst the Quraysh lost their tolerance. His situation
deteriorated rapidly when Muhammad's uncle Abu Talib, head of his Banu
Hashem clan, died and was replaced with another of his uncles, Abu
Lahab. This uncle particularly disliked Muhammad and his teachings so
much that he earned a special mention in the, as yet unwritten, Qur'an.
Qur'an 111 1. Perish the
hands of the Father of Flame! Perish he! 2. No profit to him from all
his wealth, and all his gains! 3. Burnt soon will he be in a Fire of
Blazing Flame! 4. His wife shall carry the (crackling) wood - As fuel!-
5. A twisted rope of palm-leaf fibre round her (own) neck!
As you can see he did not take this rejection well. Intolerance of
criticism is a trait that his religion retains to this day.
This rejection, and the ensuing persecution of Muhammad and his
approximately 40 followers, led to what the Muslims now call the
Hejira. He left Mecca and fled to a nearby village called Medina, in
hopes of finding a climate more suitable to incubate his new religion.
It is in Medina that Muhammad would truly get his act together and
would transform himself from a relatively unsuccessful private preacher
to a political and military leader. He established the "Constitution Of
Medina" which organized the the new local following, and those who
followed in the migration to Medina, into one community called an umma.
This one document essentially laid the foundation for all of Islamic
law and order to follow. It established the religion of Islam as the
source of all social and political organization. This firmly married
the religion to the state and they have been INSEPARABLE ever since!
It was in Medina that Muhammad would also begin his
military career. Although initially, this amounted mostly to piracy as
he and his followers raided the caravans of the Quraysh. These raids
provided both a source of income and an opportunity for training his
followers. This training would serve a theological purpose as well as
the more obvious military one. One particular raid on a caravan at
Nakhla was done during the sacred month of Rajab, when such fighting is
not permitted. However, not surprisingly, a new "revelation" came from
Allah that allowed the raid to be justified because the opposition of
the Quraysh to Muhammad was a greater transgression than violating the
prohibition against violence during the sacred month. To reject
Muhammad is the moral equivalent of persecuting Islam, and accordingly,
is worse than killing. Thus the "situational ethics" of Islam is born.
Qur'an
Surah 2:216-217: Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto
you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and
it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth,
ye know not. They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in
the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but
to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in
the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel his people thence, is a
greater with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing. And they
will not cease from fighting against you till they have made you
renegades from your religion, if they can.
There
are those Islam apologists who will tell you that Islam actually
prohibits the targeting of innocent people in conflicts. However the
"Doctine of Nakhla" is one of the justifications for doing exactly
that. Since non-believers by definition are guilty of persecuting
Islam, fighting that persecution, by any means necessary, is not only
tolerated, it is expected. This is not an extremist position. This is
mainstream Islam! This is why they celebrate in the streets and rejoice
when two buildings full of innocent people come crashing down at the
hands of Osama Bin Ladin's terrorists. It is also why mainstream Islam
fails to condemn the actions of terrorists. Quite the opposite, in
mosques all over the world (including the United States!) they
encourage violence against civilians. Moral absolutes do not exist in
Islam. That which benefits Islam at the expense of Islam's enemies is
the whole of the law....And if you are not for them, you are against
them.
Shortly after the Nakhla raid, Muhammad and his
Muslims fought their first major battle when they attacked a Quraysh
caravan at Badr. What first looked like an easy target for the Muslims
turned into a much bigger affair when Muhammad's 300 men found
themselves facing a force of over 1000. Yet the Muslims surprisingly
routed the Quraysh. The prophet even went so far as to claim that Allah
had sent an army of angels to insure that the Muslims prevailed in the
engagement.
The victory at Badr came at a convenient time
for Muhammad as his influence in Medina had actually been on the wane.
He thus used the victory at Badr to consolidate his authority and move
against his opposition. The first to find themselves in the line of
fire were the Jews of Medina. They had refused to acknowledge him, or
his "revelations," as coming from God. Upon migrating to Medina,
Muhammad tried to convert the local Jewish population by pointing out
the similarities (some might call it plagiarism) between Islam and
Judaism. He even adopted certain Jewish practices such as the fast of
Yom Kippur and the Day of Atonement. It is also interesting to note
that originally Muslims faced toward Jerusalem for their daily prayers.
Instead of being impressed by all these overtures toward their faith,
the Jews turned into his biggest critics. They consistently pointed out
the errors and inconsistencies of his teachings. Now Muhammad was going
to "correct" them.
Since the three Jewish tribes living in
Medina also happened to be wealthy, this provided Muhammad with another
opportunity for plundering. He banished from Medina the Qainuqu tribe,
with whom he had a truce, citing their unwillingness to recognize him
as the prophet of God. He then divided up their property among the
Muslims. This of course, had the effect of providing the Muslims with
an incentive continue to follow Muhammad's instructions as they tended
to profit from them. He even authorized murder when a young Muslim
volunteered to fulfill his wishes to kill a Jewish poet, who was
accused by Muhammad of insulting Muslim women.
Not all of
Muhammad's military ventures were successful. After a defeat in the
battle of Uhud, Muhammad attributed the loss to a lack of faith on the
part of his followers.
Qur'an
3:152 GOD has fulfilled His promise to you, and you defeated them by
His leave. But then you wavered, disputed among yourselves, and
disobeyed after He had shown you (the victory) you had longed for. But
then, some of you became distracted by the spoils of this world, while
others were rightly concerned with the Hereafter. He then diverted you
from them to test you. He has pardoned you. GOD showers the believers
with His grace.
Muhammad's prestige was
dented by this setback so he used this as an opportunity to strike
against another Jewish tribe. The Nadir. He banished them from Medina
and, once again, divided their land and property among the Muslims.
However it would be the third Jewish tribe, the Quraiza, that would
suffer the worst, as a scapegoat for Muhammad's greater ambitions.
In 627AD, 10,000 Meccan bedouins laid siege to Medina. Apparently they
had tolerated all they could from Muhammad and his Muslim raiders and
were determined to rid themselves of the problem once and for all.
Unfortunately their military enterprise quickly turned into a disaster.
Muhammad had cleverly dug trenches around the city where it would have
been vulnerable to calvary attack. Since the cavalry was the strength
of the Quraysh army, this rendered their attacks ineffective and, after
only two weeks, they left. Muhammad subsequently accused the Quraiza,
the richest and most powerful of the original three Jewish tribes of
Medina, of collaborating with the Meccans. The 800 men of the tribe
were coerced into digging a trench and then told to sit on the edge of
it. Then, one by one, they were sytsematically beheaded and their bodies
tossed into the trench. They then sold their women and children into
slavery and, of course, divided the proceeds among the Muslims. From
this point on, Muhammad would only regard the Jews as treacherous and
evil people. He claimed it was they who falsified scriptures and taught
doctrines in error. He changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Friday as
well as changing the direction of daily prayers from Jerusalem to
Mecca. Its good to know the history of how these things came
about...isn't it?
After the failed siege of Medina, Muhammad
had a "revelation" of making a pilgrimage to Mecca. This was, in fact,
a current pagan tradition that he wanted to apply to Islam. We see once
again the fluidity of logic that allows Muhammad to plagiarize ideas
from other religions and absorb them into his own. Now he would claim
that the holy shrine of the Kaaba, in Mecca, was actually built by
Abraham and his son Ishmael. Most Arabs are descendants of Ishmael, the
illegitimate elder son of Abraham and his wife's handmaiden Hagar. The
Jews, of course, are descended from Abraham's "legitimate" son by his
wife Sarah, who was named Isaac. There is no evidence that Abraham and
Ishmael built the Kaaba but it was clever of Muhammad to make this
claim and showed his shrewdness in constructing the Islamic myth
through his conveniently opportunistic "revelations."
In
628AD Muhammad led 1500 men on a "pilgrimage" to Mecca. However, the
Meccans made it clear they would not let him enter the city. He then
negotiated the infamous "Treaty Of Hudaybiyya." With this treaty,
Muhammad agreed to go home but Muslims would be allowed to make the
pilgrimage the next year. He even agreed to some terms that most
Muslims found distressing. Quraysh men seeking asylum with the Muslims
were to be returned to the Quraysh, but Muslims seeking asylum with the
Quraysh did not have to be returned. Even worse to the Muslims,
Muhammad agreed to not identify himself as "Muhammad the Prophet Of
God," instead he would identify himself as his father's son in the
traditional manner. Despite the extremely unfavorable terms that
Muhammad had negotiated, he had the audacity to claim the treaty was,
in fact, a victory for both himself and the Muslims.
Because most Muslims viewed this negotiated "victory" a lot less
favorably than he did, Muhammad had to find some way of distracting the
dissenters among his people. Since turning against the Jews had proved
to be a profitable distraction in the past, he decided to stay true to
the formula. But alas, there were no more Jews remaining in Medina for
him to persecute. He would have to find them elsewhere. Therefore he
attacked and laid siege to the Jewish community at Khaibar. When they
inevitably surrendered, he followed the now well established tradition
of stripping them of their property and dividing it among the Muslims.
Initially he wanted to force them to leave, however there weren't
enough Muslims to work the land. Conveniently he was blessed with
another "revelation" that instructed him on how to properly subjugate
the Jewish population.....To the considerable profit of the Muslims of
course.
The "Treaty Of Hudaybiyya" is probably more well
known, not for Muhammad's willingness to make such overwhelming
concessions, but for the relative ease with which he would discard its
terms. Soon after agreeing to the treaty, a Quraysh woman, Umm Kulthum,
came to the Muslims of Medina seeking refuge. When her brothers came
for her and demanded she be returned according to the terms of the
treaty, Muhammad refused. He claimed Allah forbade it. You see, he had
a new "revelation:"
Qur'an
60:10 O you who believe, when believing women (abandon the enemy and)
ask for asylum with you, you shall test them. GOD is fully aware of
their belief. Once you establish that they are believers, you shall not
return them to the disbelievers. They are not lawful to remain married
to them, nor shall the disbelievers be allowed to marry them. Give back
the dowries that the disbelievers have paid. You commit no error by
marrying them, so long as you pay them their due dowries. Do not keep
disbelieving wives (if they wish to join the enemy). You may ask them
for the dowry you had paid, and they may ask for what they paid. This
is GOD's rule; He rules among you. GOD is Omniscient, Most Wise..
In 629AD Muhammad finally made his pilgrimage to Mecca. He made a
relatively strong impression and managed gather a host of new converts
along the way. The next year, when a Muslim was killed by a Meccan in a
dispute that had nothing to do with the Muslim/Quraysh rivalry,
Muhammad used the incident as a pretext for totally discarding the
Hudaybiyya Treaty. He advanced on Mecca and, without serious
resistance, they surrendered the city to him. This established, for all
time, an important principle for Muslims. All truces and treaties
forthwith were to be negotiated for no more than ten years, and only
entered into to afford a weakened Muslim situation time to strengthen
itself, and then it is to be discarded.
To his credit, or
more likely, his shrewdness, Muhammad did not force the Meccans to
convert to Islam immediately, although he did take to smashing numerous
idols to pagan gods. He established the pilgrimage to Mecca as an
annual event, now known as the Hajj, and insisted every Muslim must
make the journey at least once in their lifetime. In 632AD Muhammad
made his first and last "annual" pilgrimage to Mecca. Three months
later Muhammad, complaining of headaches and fever, ended his existence
on this earth on June 8, 0632AD.
The life of Muhammad is
extremely important to understanding how we should interact with Islam
in the modern world. 1400 years later he has a much greater influence
on the world than he had during his lifetime. In this, and this alone,
he shares a similarity with Jesus. As I have shown in this very brief
overview of his life, Muhammad established Islam, not just as a
religion, but as the basis for all social, political and military
associations. It has been that way from the very beginning. Worse, he
used the religious aspect of Islam to validate all the morally
questionable actions he undertook. This is particularly illuminating
with respect to his military expeditions that, all too often, had the
objective of providing a source of income for the Muslims as well as
suppressing opposition.
Jesus, by contrast, spoke of a
kingdom "not of this earth" and said to "Render therefore unto Caesar
the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."
This is the origin of the concept of a separation between church and
state. It is an entirely and uniquely Christian principle! Muhammad, on
the other hand, set about acquiring an earthly kingdom and dispensing
heavenly justice on earth. There is absolutely no moral equivalence
between the two philosophies!
Christianity survived for
three centuries as a shunned and persecuted philosophy. Only with
Constantine's Edict of Milan, in 313AD, did Christianity gain tolerance
within the Roman system. Contrary to popular belief, Constantine did
NOT establish Christianity as the official religion of Rome. That was
done in 380AD by Flavius Theodosius. This gives Christianity almost 400
years of incubation as a persecuted cult. By contrast, Islam's first
400 years saw it conquer the Middle East, Persia, Spain, as well as
much of the Byzantine empire. All this would be done in the name of
Jihad or "holy war." It would be the year 1095 with the first Crusade
before the concept of 'holy war" would rear its head in the Christian
world....and that would be as a direct result of contact with Islam!
Once the Christian church got a taste of the power and influence it
could wield over the populations of Europe through the Crusades, the
same corruptions always present in Islam began to take hold in the
Christian church. This would eventually work itself out, unfortunately
violently, with both the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic
Counter Reformation. Eventually Christianity would extract itself from
direct participation in government and political affairs as much for
its own sake as for that of state sovereignty. However this was
accomplished largely through one major act. That of Martin Luther
translating the Bible into his own native language, and then utilizing
the then new technology of the printing press to distribute it. Thus
making the words of, and life of, Jesus available for all to read for
themselves. Then informed faithful congregations could "reform" the
church themselves. They were no longer vulnerable to those who
exploited and profited from their ignorance. This worked because of the
life Jesus led and the words he said. This is going to be a problem for
those who are looking for an "Islamic Reformation."
President Bush, shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, tried to
quell a potential backlash against Islam in this country by saying that
we worship the same God. There are also those who would have you
believe in the concept of "Radical Islam" or "Political Islam" as
though they are somehow different and separate from the "Real Islam."
As we can see by looking at the life of Muhammad, Islam is a religion
that justifies violence, not only to spread its influence, but as a
means of providing a financial income as well. Anyone who is not a
believer is automatically guilty of persecuting Islam and therefore
justified as their prey. Osama Bin Laden is perfectly correct in his
behavior according to a true and accurate understanding of Muhammad and
Islamic law. How can we realistically hope for so called "moderates" to
reform Islam? On what will they base this reform? In truth, there is
nothing to reform!
Christianity had the example of a
peaceful martyr who laid down HIS life for the salvation of others.
Muhammad was no martyr and he was definitely not a peaceful man. He was
an opportunistic pirate who was clever enough exploit religion for his
own advantage. In this he has much in common with David Koresh and Jim
Jones. There is much to suggest, particularly in the successful
worldwide expansion of Islam after his death, that his "revelations"
may have been the result of real contact with a spiritual being. But it
definitely was NOT authorized by the God of Abraham, Moses or Jesus.
Whether or not Islam is a Satanic counterfeit religion (which I do
believe) or simply the result of a very charismatic fraud, almost
doesn't matter at this point. The die is cast. It's interesting to note
that when Jesus was asked about the sign of his return, he warned his
disciples of false religions, explaining that false prophets and even
false messianic figures would arise. Check this one off as another
fulfilled prophecy.
Considering Islam sustained itself during
Muhammad's life through small raids on caravans, the modern terrorist
can find much inspiration to fuel an effective justification of small
quick attacks on both local government entities as well as U.S. led
coalition forces. Its just the type of warfare they have been engaging
in from the very beginning. It is entirely JUSTIFIED by Islam and ISLAM
IS THE LAW!! They have been entirely consistent with the teachings and
examples of Muhammad. Islam as a religion is a predator. It requires
external enemies to provide them with a purpose and to serve as prey.
It does not matter what we are fighting for, or if we fight at all.
Their's is a struggle that can not end until we submit to them. It is
war they have been fighting for almost 1400 years. The word "Islam"
translated means to surrender or submit to the will of God......THEIR
GOD! Their God is NOT the same God as the Christian God. Unfortunately,
even the President of the United States does not properly understand
this fact. I wish he did. If you have read all of this, then perhaps
you now understand it.
Islam is at war with the world. It
always has been. It is a religious war. It always has been. Still don't
think so? Do you still believe we can "talk" to these people? Dialog?
Negotiations? I will leave you with their own words:
"I was ordered to fight all men until they say 'There is no god but Allah.'" Muhammad, 632AD.
"I
shall cross this sea to their islands to pursue them till there remains
no one on the face of the earth who does not acknowledge Allah" Saladin 1189AD
"I was ordered to fight the people until they say there is no God but Allah, and his prophet Muhammad." Osama Bin Laden 2001AD.
With all apologies to Bob Dylan, "The Times They Are NOT A-Changin!'"