Showing posts with label John Esposito. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Esposito. Show all posts

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Esposito's Question & My Answer

On August 27, John Esposito uttered and the On Faith Panel of  News Week & The Washington Post published  Is Islam a primary driver or cause of terrorism? which attracted my attention while I read an article by Jordan Sekulow:  Imam Rauf should apologize. While I generally agree with Sekulow, I admit that an apology from the Imam would not alter my attitude, even if I thought it to be sincere.  Nor would I be satisfied by relocation of the Park 51 project.

    I skimmed Esposito's article and discovered a spew of al-Taqiyya which deserves refutation. As is my habit, I will quote the most egregious passages and let those who want to read the  entire article use the link above.


"Islam, like all world religions, neither supports nor requires illegitimate violence." [Emphasis added.]

illegitimate violence

    Allah, through his conquest imperatives, legitimatizes  aggression.  Is it legitimate  to wage war because your intended victim does not share your beliefs & ritual practices?  Surah Al-Anfal 38 identifies "those who have disbelieved"  as the target of violence commanded in the next verse :  8:39. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allâh) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allâh Alone... .  The explicit casus belli is disbelief.  Allah & his slaves think that is legitimate, do you?

    In Surah At-Taubah, Allah commands Muslims to fight  Jews & Christians until they are subjugated and make annual extortion payments called jizya.
9:29. Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allâh, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allâh and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islâm) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.  Is disbelief a legitimate casus belli?  You be the judge.  In my opinion, John Esposito practiced kitman to convey a false impression. 
 
"The Quran does not advocate or condone terrorism."

Quran does not advocate  terrorism

    That is not what Allah said. In Surah  Al-Imran 3:151. We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they joined others in worship with Allâh, for which He had sent no authority; their abode will be the Fire and how evil is the abode of the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong­doers).  What did Allah say he would do?  That could be a reference to the afterlife, is it? Here is the answer from Tafsir Al-Jalalayn. "We will cast terror (read ru‘b or ru‘ub) into the hearts of the disbelievers: after departing from Uhud they resolved to return in order to exterminate the Muslims, but they were terrified and did not return;..."

    Islam does not get off so easily, the reference is temporal, not eterna. In Surah Al Anfal, Allah again says that he will cast terror.  8:12. (Remember) when your Lord inspired the angels, "Verily, I am with you, so keep firm those who have believed. 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."

      Yeah, right, Allah issued the command to the angels; so why was he reminding  his companions of  the command?  Obviously it was something he wanted them to do.  Examine verse 57 carefully. 8:57. So if you gain the mastery over them in war, punish them severely in order to disperse those who are behind them, so that they may learn a lesson.  The meaning reaches full clarity in the light of  Surah Al-Hashr 2.

 59:2. He it is Who drove out the disbelievers among the people of the Scripture (i.e. the Jews of the tribe of Banî An-Nadîr) from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think that they would get out. And they thought that their fortresses would defend them from Allâh! But Allâh's (Torment) reached them from a place whereof they expected it not, and He cast terror into their hearts, so that they destroyed their own dwellings with their own hands and the hands of the believers. Then take admonition, O you with eyes (to see).     Allah terrorized the Bani An-Nadir so that they destroyed their own settlement, so you should take admonition.  Learn a lesson : take admonition. Get it?  By what agency did Allah cast terror?  Verse 13 has a clue for you.  59:13. Verily, you (believers in the Oneness of Allâh - Islâmic Monotheism) are more awful as a fear in their (Jews of Banî An-Nadîr) breasts than Allâh. That is because they are a people who comprehend not (the Majesty and Power of Allâh).
    The Jews were  more afraid of Moe's army than of Allah.  Ain't that the general idea?  Examine Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation of 8:60.  Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of God and your enemies, and others besides, whom ye may not know, but whom God doth know. Whatever ye shall spend in the cause of God, shall be repaid unto you, and ye shall not be treated unjustly. [Emphasis added.]
    Maximize your army to strike terror.  Got that clue yet?  

"As with other faiths, a radical fringe distorts and misinterprets mainstream and normative Islamic doctrines and laws."

distorts and misinterprets

    What did Allah command Muslims to do?  What did Moe and his "rightly guided caliphs" do?  Just how did Islam expand to rule  all of Arabia, northern Africa,  southern Europe and nearly half of Asia?  Sahih Bukhari's books of  Jihad, Khumus & Expedition have some clues for you.  Sure, there is an injunction against suicide.  There is a difference between wasting your death and killing Jews or pagans.  Get a clue.  The phrase "fought until he was killed"  occurs in several ahadith. Sunan Abu Dawud 14.2567, Sahih Muslim 19.4413, 20.4678,4679,4681,4683.
"They pay no attention to Islamic law which draws on the Quran to set out clear guidelines for the conduct of war and provides no support for hijacking and hostage taking."

no support for  hostage taking

    A search of Hilali & Khan's Noble Qur'an turned up ten matching Surahs for "ransom".  Most of them are not relevant, but one is particularly relevant.
8:67. It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land. You desire the good of this world (i.e. the money of ransom for freeing the captives), but Allâh desires (for you) the Hereafter.

    The parenthetical expressions come from tafsirs used in the translation.  Allah reprimanded Moe for not killing enough of the enemy because he wanted ransom money.   Tafsir Al-Jalalayn makes matters abundantly clear.  "The following was revealed when they ransomed those taken captive at Badr: It is not for any Prophet to have (read as an takūna lahu or an yakūna lahu) prisoners until he has made slaughter in the land, going all the way in fighting disbelievers. You, O believers, desire the transient things of this world, its ephemeral gains, by ransoming, while God desires, for you, the Hereafter, that is, its reward, through your killing them; and God is Mighty, Wise: this was abrogated by His words [and set them free] afterward either with grace or by ransom [Q. 47:4]."     Surah Muhammad 4, as mentioned in the tafsir, reinforces the concept beyond all doubt.  47:4. So, when you meet (in fight Jihâd in Allâh's Cause), those who disbelieve smite at their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, i.e. take them as captives). Thereafter (is the time) either for generosity (i.e. free them without ransom), or ransom (according to what benefits Islâm), until the war lays down its burden. Thus [you are ordered by Allâh to continue in carrying out Jihâd against the disbelievers till they embrace Islâm (i.e. are saved from the punishment in the Hell-fire) or at least come under your protection], but if it had been Allâh's Will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight), in order to test you, some with others. But those who are killed in the Way of Allâh, He will never let their deeds be lost,
    Moe was given permission to release captives for ransom after he had killed a sufficient number.
"Islam's relationship to violence and terrorism, as well as the primary causes of global terrorism, are often concealed and confused by the religious language and symbolism that extremists use."

Islam's relationship to violence and terrorism

    What is that relationship, if not that which is revealed in the Qur'an & hadith?  What texts do the "extremists" quote?

causes of global terrorism

    Islamic doctrine. Not poverty, not repression, not occupation, not ignorance, not illiteracy; Islamic doctrine. What did Allah command them to do?  What did Moe do?  The objective is accumulating   "good deeds"  to weigh against their sins on judgment day. If one does not die in battle, his sins are weighed against his "good deeds".   Allah has a clue for you in Surah At-Taubah 120, I will emphasize the crucial clause for clarity.  9:120. It was not becoming of the people of Al-Madinah and the bedouins of the neighbourhood to remain behind Allâh's Messenger (Muhammad  when fighting in Allâh's Cause) and (it was not becoming of them) to prefer their own lives to his life. That is because they suffer neither thirst nor fatigue, nor hunger in the Cause of Allâh, nor they take any step to raise the anger of disbelievers nor inflict any injury upon an enemy but is written to their credit as a deed of righteousness. Surely, Allâh wastes not the reward of the Muhsinûn

    Muslims earn Brownie points by angering or injuring disbelievers.  That is the cause of terrorism.


"Religiously legitimated violence adds divine, authority that increases a terrorist leader's authority as well as moral justification, obligation, certitude, and heavenly reward, all of which enhance recruitment and a willingness to fight and die in a "sacred struggle." "

Religiously legitimated violence

    The most effective lies have a little sliver of truth mixed in to disguise them. That last quote is exemplary.  I already detailed the religious legitimation.  The obligation is fard al-kifaya, outlined in Reliance of the Traveller, o9.1.  The minimum requirement is one attack per year. The word reward occurs in 60 surahs.  Surah As-Saff 12 mentions the reward for participation in jihad. 61.12 (If you do so) He will forgive you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow, and pleasant dwelling in Gardens of 'Adn ­ Eternity ['Adn (Edn) Paradise], that is indeed the great success. To see their reward, begin reading at 56:10.

Sphere: Related Content

The Duke On Immigration....

The Duke On Immigration....
The Duke Says it Best!

They Sacrifice for US

They Sacrifice for US
DO NOT LET THEIR SACRIFICE BE IN VAIN!

SOLDIER"S ANGELS

SOLDIER"S ANGELS NEEDS YOUR HELP!

The Veterans Hospital in Tucson needs our help!!! They have contacted Soldiers' Angels with a list of needs for their patients. Soldiers Angels needs your help in making some of these come true.

Below you will find just a small portion of needs that are immediate. You can also find this list posted on the Soldiers Angels Forum at www.soldiersangelsforum.com you will be able to find lots of great information there for our deployed and vets.

If you are sending a monetary donation please follow the link and indicate the State you are in.

Donate here;
Ttp://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=veterans-support

COMFORT ITEMS- $350/MO
Dry Skin Cream
Slipper Socks-No skid
Catheter bag covers
Shaving Cream
Hand Lotion
Baby Shampoo
Hand Soap
Roll on/Spray Deodorant
Denture Cleaner
Underwear (men and women (all sizes)
Toothbrushes
Denture Grip
Socks (white)
Talcum Powder
Nail Clippers
Toothpaste
Ladies hand and body lotion
Backpacks
Disposable Razors
Comb/Brushes
Shawls
Shaving Cream/small
Knitted Caps
Travel Alarm Clocks
Ball Caps
Tote Bags
Shower Shoes
Pocket Size Needle and Thread Kit
Heart pillows for cardiac patients
Lap Robes (3x5 or 5x7)

GUEST SERVICES
30 cup coffee makers
Coffee supplies (reg. & decaf)
Music CDs
Stamps
Writing Paper and Envelopes
Prepaid Phone Cards for patients’

RECREATION
Puzzle books
Crossword Puzzles
Pencils
Video tapes & DVDs (movies, educational)
DVD Player

Sports equipment (basketball, tennis rackets &
Tickets for entertainment & sporting events
Balls, badminton set, Frisbees, football)

If you can send just one item that would be great!!! If each person sends one thing we will make a difference! They are also needing those who can volunteer time at the hospital just contact the Voluntary Services Dept. For information.

Mail Items to:

Department of Veterans Affairs Southern Arizona VA Health Care System – Voluntary Services 9-135, 3601 S. Sixth Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85723


PLEASE HELP US HELP THOSE WHO FOUGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM!

Surrender is NOT An Option Banner

Surrender is NOT An Option Banner

My Favorite Speeches and Other Items of Interest

  • George Bush's March 28, 2007 Discusses Economy, War on Terror During Remarks to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association;http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/03/20070328-2.html
  • Mitch McConnell's March 15, 2007 Funding For Troops, Not Timelines for Retreat; http://mcconnell.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=270747&start=1
  • Ronald Reagan's June 12, 1987 Tear Down This Wall Speech; http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/wall.asp
  • Vice President Cheney's March 12, 2007 Remarks at the AIPAC 2007 Policy Conference; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/03/20070312.html

Winston Churchill Quotes

  • A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.
  • Although personally I am quite content with existing explosives, I feel we must not stand in the path of improvement.
  • Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed.
  • Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
  • Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter.
  • Danger - if you meet it promptly and without flinching - you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
  • I always seem to get inspiration and renewed vitality by contact with this great novel land of yours which sticks up out of the Atlantic.
  • I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
  • I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.
  • I like a man who grins when he fights.
  • I was only the servant of my country and had I, at any moment, failed to express her unflinching resolve to fight and conquer, I should at once have been rightly cast aside.
  • If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time-a tremendous whack.
  • In war as in life, it is often necessary when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might.
  • It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.
  • Moral of the Work. In war: resolution. In defeat: defiance. In victory: magnanimity. In peace: goodwill.
  • Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
  • Never, never, never give up.
  • No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism.
  • One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
  • Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.
  • Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
  • The first quality that is needed is audacity.
  • The nose of the bulldog has been slanted backwards so that he can breathe without letting go.
  • The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.
  • There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion.
  • These are not dark days: these are great days - the greatest days our country has ever lived.
  • They are decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.
  • True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.
  • Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.
  • War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can't smile, grin. If you can't grin, keep out of the way till you can.
  • War is mainly a catalogue of blunders.
  • We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
  • We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.
  • When the eagles are silent the parrots begin to jabber.
  • When you are winning a war almost everything that happens can be claimed to be right and wise.
  • You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.

Ronald Reagan Quotes

  • "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's just that they know so much that isn't so."
  • Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have.
  • All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.
  • Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources
  • Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
  • Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.
  • Double, no triple, our troubles and we'd still be better off than any other people on earth. It is time that we recognized that ours was, in truth, a noble cause.
  • Facts are stupid things.
  • Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
  • Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.
  • Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.
  • Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them.
  • History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.
  • How can a president not be an actor?
  • How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin.
  • I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.
  • I will stand on, and continue to use, the figures I have used, because I believe they are correct. Now, I'm not going to deny that you don't now and then slip up on something; no one bats a thousand.
  • In Israel, free men and women are every day demonstrating the power of courage and faith. Back in 1948 when Israel was founded, pundits claimed the new country could never survive. Today, no one questions that. Israel is a land of stability and democracy in a region of tryanny and unrest.
  • Let us ask ourselves; "What kind of people do we think we are?".
  • Man is not free unless government is limited.
  • My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose - somehow we win out.
  • No mother would ever willingly sacrifice her sons for territorial gain, for economic advantage, for ideology.
  • Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.
  • Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act.
  • Protecting the rights of even the least individual among us is basically the only excuse the government has for even existing.
  • Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.
  • The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas - a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.
  • The United Sates has much to offer the third world war.
  • There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.
  • To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.
  • Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong.
  • We are never defeated unless we give up on God.
  • We have the duty to protect the life of an unborn child.
  • We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.
  • We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free.
  • Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.
  • You know, if I listened to Michael Dukakis long enough, I would be convinced we're in an economic downturn and people are homeless and going without food and medical attention and that we've got to do something about the unemployed.

Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes

  • No one can make you feel inferior without your consent

I'm One-Are You?

NEVER Submit

NEVER Submit

Miss Beth's Victory Dance Headline Animator

Paypal

Global Incident Map

When you click on the website link below, a world Map comes up showing what strange & dangerous things are happening right now in every country in the entire world & is updated every few minutes.


This "map" updates every 310 seconds...constantly--24/7, 365.

The link: http://www.globalincidentmap.com/home.php

Concentrated Evil

Recent Comments

Gifts From the Heart Store

DTBN

My Headlines

Subscribe via email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Blog Archive

Blog Catalog

Find Me On Facebook

Kateri E. Jordan's Facebook profile

Twitter Updates

Faves and Raves

Candidates on Immigration Information

Make YOUR Voice Heard!

Find Federal Officials
Enter ZIP Code:

or Search by State

Find State Officials
Enter ZIP Code:

or Search by State

Contact The Media
Enter ZIP Code:

or Search by State

Stop the ACLU!-Click Here

BraveNet Counter 1

Goodcounter

Go to casino where you'll find the best casino information.

More Maxine...

Max9

Maxine...

It"s "...one nation UNDER GOD..." or bite my skinny old ass and leave! Max8

Support Our Troops-Click Here

[google68fa612964682dda.html]
This layout made by and copyright cmbs.