Educating our Youth about Islam
Regular readers of my posts know that my specialty is deliaring pious frauds. In the present case, two clues stand out from the beginning. First, the source: Common Ground News: the name implies the existence of common ground shared by Islam and Western Civilization where no common ground exists. The second clue is the French word in the title: it is impossible to re-establish cordial relations because only a state of war has existed since the foundation of Moe's war cult.
Before 9/11, many Americans were blissfully ignorant about Islam. After 9/11, everyone had something to say about it. Unfortunately, much of it was based on half-truths and unsubstantiated claims that cast Islam’s past, present and future as one of violence. This has left us with the great need and challenge of reshaping our public understanding of Islam in America.
Islam: violence
past
"How many Ghazwat did the Prophet undertake?" Zaid replied, "Nineteen."[Sahih Bukhari 5.59.285] Visit Wikipedia's article on Moe's military career and view the list of battles in the right sidebar. Next, visit the Wikipedia article on Islamic conquests and view the map in the right sidebar. How was Islam established? "By Jihâd Islâm is established, Allâh’s Word is made superior, (His Word being Lâ ilaha illallâh which means none has the right to be worshipped but Allâh), and His Religion (Islâm) is propagated. "[Noble Qur'an footnote to 2:190] What is jihad? Al-Jihâd (holy fighting) in Allâh’s Cause (with full force of numbers and weaponry); "Jihad means to war against non-Muslims"[Reliance of the Traveller O9.0]present
The Armenian genocide, attempted reconquest of Israel, Indian civil war, Lebanese civil war and subsequent terrorist attacks are ample evidence of the continuance of jihad.future
I do not have a crystal ball, and I doubt that Mr. Bos has one, but we do have Islamic texts. Allah's jihad imperative against Jews & Christians, contained in Surah At-Taubah 29, is outcome oriented, with neither geographic nor chronological limits. Moe's oral tradition has a clue for us:"jihad will be performed continuously since the day Allah sent me as a prophet until the day the last member of my community will fight with the Dajjal ".
[Sunan Abu Dawud14.2526] Of course, Sunan Abu Dawud is ranked third in authenticity; perhaps we should consult the most authentic hadith collection. "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."[Sahih Bukhari 4.52.177] "The Hour" refers to the day of judgment, when the gates of Paradise will swing open to Muslims. Perhaps Mr. Box will favor us with a comment elaborating on the "half truths" and "unsubstantiated claims", but I won't hold my breath waiting.
understanding of Islam
Exactly what is wrong with our "public understanding of Islam" that needs to be "reshaped"? Is it the infamous lie by President Bush that "Islam is a great religion of peace"? Is it his infamous lie that "Islam has been hijacked", or is it both? Just a cursory review of the number of evangelical Christian responses to “A Common Word” (www.acommonword.com), a letter written by a number of high profile Muslim leaders that outlines common principles in the Muslim and Christian scriptures, evidences this.
common word
I have seldom seen such a slickly crafted and target rich fraud as the Ulema's missive to Christianity. My initial dissection ran to 45KB. I later created a separate blog, Go Burn With Muhammad, primarily to deliar it in detail.People have overcome biases and changed opinions because of their relationships with Muslims. It is through the face of another, not facts about them, that we are forced to re-examine our positions. As the number of people who find themselves in relationships with Muslims increases, so will the fairness and respect with which they treat their faith.
relationships with Muslims
Our relationship with Muslims is prey:predator, nothing can change that objective factual reality. We do not have Muslim friends. Allah explicitly forbids friendly relations with Kuffar. This is one of nine explicit prohibitions: 5:51. O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliyâ' (friends, protectors, helpers, etc.), they are but Auliyâ' to one another. And if any amongst you takes them as Auliyâ', then surely he is one of them. Verily, Allâh guides not those people who are the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrongdoers and unjust).. The prohibition extends to parents & siblings[9:23].face, not facts
Stare into the eyes of a photograph of Usama bin Ladin or Nidal Malik Hasan. How do their visages force you to re-examine your positionon Islam?The assertion is so absurd on its face as to require no elaboration.
fairness
Fairness is an abstract concept that can neither be efficiently defined nor measured. Exactly how does it apply to Islam? What is fair; is it allowing the construction of Mosques in America while no church can be built in Saudi Arabia or Egypt? Is it fair to tell office workers in Britain that they must not eat in the presence of Muslim co-workers during Ramadan?respect
Respect, like credit, is given where respect is due. Islam is not due any respect; it is due contempt and detestation. How can a Christian respect a cult whose doctrine denies the patrimony, deity, crucifixion, death & resurrection of his Savior and reveres him as a genocidal warlord? How can a freeman respect a cult whose doctrine postulates a divine mission to conquer him?As I consider what the next ten years will hold in our rapprochement with Islam, I think the answer largely depends on where our youth will get their information. Make no mistake about it, someone will teach them.
where our youth will get their information
They will not receive relevant, accurate factual information from the public schools because Islam is already infiltrating and intimidating the text book publishers and those who set the standards for text books. They will not receive relevant, accurate factual information about Islam from the mainstream media, because they are infiltrated & intimidated. They will not receive it from politicians because most of them are either ignorant or politically correct. Will our youth receive relevant, accurate factual information about Islam from the church? Will Sunday school divert attention from the Gospel to the Qur'an, Life of Muhammad and hadith? Will our youth slog through several hundred pages of redundant, obtuse Arab fantasy? Will they read an 800 page biography? Will they slog through thousands of redundant and fantastic stories about men long dead? Perhaps they might if you tell them there is sex in it. Will the church introduce students to the writings of Robert Spencer, Andrew Bostom, Andrew McCarthy or Raymond Ibrahim? Fat chance. Perhaps the students will become curious and search the web for information. With luck, they might discover this blog post and click its links.Our youth have been exposed to disparate components of Islam and will not accept only broad generalisations and a bottom line message that Islam is a religion of peace – please be clear that I am not countering this as the religion’s ideal.
Islam is a religion of peace
While that might be the personal ideal of a substantial sub set of Muslims, it is not Allah's ideal nor that of his Messenger. A religion of peace would not devote two chapters of its scripture to the warfare, commanding its votaries to engage in it, commanding its Messenger to urge them to it and laying down rules for division of spoils. If Islam were a religion of peace, its canon law would not define a "religious obligation" to attack disbelievers in every year. A religion of peace would not threaten its votaries with eternity in Hellfire if they refuse to go to war, nor would it promise them admission to Paradise if they join the jihad. A religion of peace would not impute "steps" to injure or enrage disbelievers to its votaries as "deeds of righteousness", accruing Brownie Points toward admission to Paradise.
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