Last modified: November 24, 2004, 10:28 AM PST
By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
The CIA is quietly funding federal research into surveillance of Internet chat rooms as part of an effort to identify possible terrorists, newly released documents reveal.
In April 2003, the CIA agreed to fund a series of research projects that the documents indicate were intended to create "new capabilities to combat terrorism through advanced technology." One of those projects is research at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., devoted to automated monitoring and profiling of the behavior of chat-room users.
Even though the money ostensibly comes from the National Science Foundation, CIA officials were involved in selecting recipients for the research grants, according to a contract between the two agencies obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and reviewed by CNET News.com.
NSF program director Leland Jameson said Wednesday the two-year agreement probably will not be renewed for the 2005 fiscal year. "Probably we won't be working with the CIA anymore at all," Jameson said. "I think that people have moved on to other things."
The NSF grant for chat-room surveillance was reported earlier this year, but without disclosure of the CIA's role in the project. The NSF-CIA memorandum of understanding says that while the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the fight against terrorism presented U.S. spy agencies with surveillance challenges, existing spy "capabilities can be significantly enhanced with advanced technology."
EPIC director Marc Rotenberg, whose nonprofit group obtained the documents through the Freedom of Information Act, said the CIA's clandestine involvement was worrisome. "The intelligence community is changing the priorities of scientific research in the U.S.," Rotenberg said. "You have to be careful that the National Science Foundation doesn't become the National Spy Foundation."
A CIA representative would not answer questions, saying the agency's policy is never to talk about funding. The two Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers involved, Bulent Yener and Mukkai Krishnamoorthy, did not respond to interview requests.
Their proposal, also disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, received $157,673 from the CIA and NSF. It says: "We propose a system to be deployed in the background of any chat room as a silent listener for eavesdropping...The proposed system could aid the intelligence community to discover hidden communities and communication patterns in chat rooms without human intervention."
Yener and Krishnamoorthy, both associate professors of computer science, wrote that their research would involve writing a program for "silently listening" to an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel and "logging all the messages." One of the oldest and most popular methods
for chatting online, IRC attracts hundreds of thousands of users every day. A history written by IRC creator Jarkko Oikarinen said the concept grew out of chat technology for modem-based bulletin boards in the 1980s.
The Yener and Krishnamoorthy proposal says their research will begin Jan. 1, 2005 but does not say which IRC servers will be monitored.
A June 2004 paper they published, also funded by the NSF, described a project that quietly monitored users of the popular Undernet network, which has about 144,000 users and 50,000 channels. In the paper, Yener and Krishnamoorthy predicted their work "could aid (the) intelligence community to eavesdrop in chat rooms, profile chatters and identify hidden groups of chatters in a cost-effective way" and that their future research will focus on identifying "topic-based information."
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Monday, November 29, 2004
Stop Terror Sheikhs, Muslim Academics Demand
Over 2,500 Muslim intellectuals from 23 countries have signed a petition to the United Nations calling for an international treaty to ban the use of religion for incitement to violence, according to the English-language daily newspaper Arab News, based in Saudi Arabia.
It also calls on the Security Council to set up a tribunal to try “the theologians of terror.” The petition is addressed to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and to all members of the Security Council and its current chairman.
“There are individuals in the Muslim world who pose as clerics and issue death sentences against those they disagree with,” says Shakir Al-Nablusi, a Jordanian academic and one of the signatories. “These individuals give Islam a bad name and foster hatred among civilizations.”
Nablusi said hundreds of Arab writers and academics were collecting more signatures and hope to have “tens of thousands” by next month. Among those collecting signatures are Jawad Hashem, a former Iraqi minister of planning, and Alafif Al-Akdhar, a leading Tunisian writer and academic. Most of the signatories are from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states plus Iraq, Jordan and Palestine.
The signatories describe those who use religion for inciting violence as “the sheikhs of death”. Among those mentioned by name is Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian preacher working in Qatar. The signatories accuse him of “providing a religious cover for terrorism.”
Last year Qaradawi raised a storm when he issued a fatwa allowing the killing of Israeli pregnant women and their unborn babies on the ground that the babies could grow up to join the Israeli Army. Last September, Qaradawi in a fatwa in response to a question from the Egyptian Union of Journalists said killing “all Americans, civilian or military” in Iraq was allowed.
“We cannot let such dangerous nonsense to pass as Islam,” Nablusi says.
The petition also names the late Egyptian preacher Muhammad Al-Ghazzali who, in 1992, issued a fatwa for the murder of Farag Foda, an anti-clerical writer in Cairo. Within weeks of the fatwa, zealots murdered Foda in his home.Other “sheikhs of death” mentioned include the Yemeni Abdul-Majid Al-Zendani, and the Saudis Ali bin Khudhair Al-Khudhair and Safar Al-Hawali.
The two Saudis have described the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the United States as “retaliations”, and thus justified under Islamic law.
Issuing murder fatwas has a long story.
In 1947 the late Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Ahmad Kasravi, one of Iran’s most prominent lawyers. A few weeks later, six men stabbed Kasravi to death in a court of law. In 1951 a group of mullas issued a fatwa for the murder of Iran’s Prime Minister Haji-Ali Razmara. He was shot dead a few days later. In 1989 Khomeini issued a fatwa for the murder of the British novelist Salman Rushdie.
The signatories of the petition also want the UN to order its member states to stop broadcasting the “mad musings of the theologians of terror.”
http://www.contactomagazine.com/sheiksofterror1106.htm
It also calls on the Security Council to set up a tribunal to try “the theologians of terror.” The petition is addressed to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and to all members of the Security Council and its current chairman.
“There are individuals in the Muslim world who pose as clerics and issue death sentences against those they disagree with,” says Shakir Al-Nablusi, a Jordanian academic and one of the signatories. “These individuals give Islam a bad name and foster hatred among civilizations.”
Nablusi said hundreds of Arab writers and academics were collecting more signatures and hope to have “tens of thousands” by next month. Among those collecting signatures are Jawad Hashem, a former Iraqi minister of planning, and Alafif Al-Akdhar, a leading Tunisian writer and academic. Most of the signatories are from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states plus Iraq, Jordan and Palestine.
The signatories describe those who use religion for inciting violence as “the sheikhs of death”. Among those mentioned by name is Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian preacher working in Qatar. The signatories accuse him of “providing a religious cover for terrorism.”
Last year Qaradawi raised a storm when he issued a fatwa allowing the killing of Israeli pregnant women and their unborn babies on the ground that the babies could grow up to join the Israeli Army. Last September, Qaradawi in a fatwa in response to a question from the Egyptian Union of Journalists said killing “all Americans, civilian or military” in Iraq was allowed.
“We cannot let such dangerous nonsense to pass as Islam,” Nablusi says.
The petition also names the late Egyptian preacher Muhammad Al-Ghazzali who, in 1992, issued a fatwa for the murder of Farag Foda, an anti-clerical writer in Cairo. Within weeks of the fatwa, zealots murdered Foda in his home.Other “sheikhs of death” mentioned include the Yemeni Abdul-Majid Al-Zendani, and the Saudis Ali bin Khudhair Al-Khudhair and Safar Al-Hawali.
The two Saudis have described the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the United States as “retaliations”, and thus justified under Islamic law.
Issuing murder fatwas has a long story.
In 1947 the late Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Ahmad Kasravi, one of Iran’s most prominent lawyers. A few weeks later, six men stabbed Kasravi to death in a court of law. In 1951 a group of mullas issued a fatwa for the murder of Iran’s Prime Minister Haji-Ali Razmara. He was shot dead a few days later. In 1989 Khomeini issued a fatwa for the murder of the British novelist Salman Rushdie.
The signatories of the petition also want the UN to order its member states to stop broadcasting the “mad musings of the theologians of terror.”
http://www.contactomagazine.com/sheiksofterror1106.htm
U.S. uses napalm gas in Fallujah – Witnesses
11/28/2004 9:00:00 PM GMT
The U.S. military is secretly using banned napalm gas and other outlawed weapons against civilians in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, eyewitnesses reported.
Residents in Fallujah reported that innocent civilians have been killed by napalm attacks, a poisonous cocktail of polystyrene and jet fuel which makes the human body melt.
Since the U.S. offensive started in Fallujah earlier this month, there have been reports of “melted” bodies which proves that the napalm gas had been used.
"Poisonous gases have been used in Fallujah," 35-year-old Fallujah resident, Abu Hammad said. "They used everything -- tanks, artillery, infantry, and poisonous gas. Fallujah has been bombed to the ground." Hammad was living in the Julan district of Fallujah which witnessed some of the heaviest attacks.
Other residents of that area also said that banned weapons were used. Abu Sabah, said; “They used these weird bombs that put up smoke like a mushroom cloud… then small pieces fall from the air with long tails of smoke behind them."
He said that pieces of these strange bombs explode into large fires that burn the skin even when water is thrown on the burns.
Phosphorous arms and the napalm gas are known to have such effects. "People suffered so much from these," Abu Sabah said.
Fallujah “almost gone”
Kassem Mohammed Ahmed, who fled Fallujah last week, said that he witnessed many atrocities committed by U.S. troops in the shattered city. "I watched them roll over wounded people in the street with tanks," he said. "This happened so many times."
Another Fallujah resident Khalil (40) said that “Fallujah is suffering too much, it is almost gone now." He added that refugees are in a miserable situation now, "It's a disaster living here at this camp," Khalil said. "We are living like dogs and the kids do not have enough clothes."
In many refugee camps around Fallujah and Baghdad, people are living without enough food, clothing and shelter. Relief groups estimate that there are more than 15,000 refugee families in temporary shelters outside Fallujah.
Blair under fire over the use of napalm
On Saturday, Labor MPs have demanded that British Prime Minister confront the Commons over the use of the deadly gas in Fallujah.
Halifax Labor MP Alice Mahon said: "I am calling on Mr. Blair to make an emergency statement to the Commons to explain why this is happening. It begs the question: 'Did we know about this hideous weapon's use in Iraq?'"
Furious critics have also demanded that Blair threatens the U.S. to pullout British forces from Iraq unless the U.S. stops using the world’s deadliest weapon.
The United Nations banned the use of the napalm gas against civilians in 1980 after pictures of a naked wounded girl in Vietnam shocked the world.
The United States, which didn't endorse the convention, is the only nation in the world still using the deadly weapon.
The U.S. military is secretly using banned napalm gas and other outlawed weapons against civilians in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, eyewitnesses reported.
Residents in Fallujah reported that innocent civilians have been killed by napalm attacks, a poisonous cocktail of polystyrene and jet fuel which makes the human body melt.
Since the U.S. offensive started in Fallujah earlier this month, there have been reports of “melted” bodies which proves that the napalm gas had been used.
"Poisonous gases have been used in Fallujah," 35-year-old Fallujah resident, Abu Hammad said. "They used everything -- tanks, artillery, infantry, and poisonous gas. Fallujah has been bombed to the ground." Hammad was living in the Julan district of Fallujah which witnessed some of the heaviest attacks.
Other residents of that area also said that banned weapons were used. Abu Sabah, said; “They used these weird bombs that put up smoke like a mushroom cloud… then small pieces fall from the air with long tails of smoke behind them."
He said that pieces of these strange bombs explode into large fires that burn the skin even when water is thrown on the burns.
Phosphorous arms and the napalm gas are known to have such effects. "People suffered so much from these," Abu Sabah said.
Fallujah “almost gone”
Kassem Mohammed Ahmed, who fled Fallujah last week, said that he witnessed many atrocities committed by U.S. troops in the shattered city. "I watched them roll over wounded people in the street with tanks," he said. "This happened so many times."
Another Fallujah resident Khalil (40) said that “Fallujah is suffering too much, it is almost gone now." He added that refugees are in a miserable situation now, "It's a disaster living here at this camp," Khalil said. "We are living like dogs and the kids do not have enough clothes."
In many refugee camps around Fallujah and Baghdad, people are living without enough food, clothing and shelter. Relief groups estimate that there are more than 15,000 refugee families in temporary shelters outside Fallujah.
Blair under fire over the use of napalm
On Saturday, Labor MPs have demanded that British Prime Minister confront the Commons over the use of the deadly gas in Fallujah.
Halifax Labor MP Alice Mahon said: "I am calling on Mr. Blair to make an emergency statement to the Commons to explain why this is happening. It begs the question: 'Did we know about this hideous weapon's use in Iraq?'"
Furious critics have also demanded that Blair threatens the U.S. to pullout British forces from Iraq unless the U.S. stops using the world’s deadliest weapon.
The United Nations banned the use of the napalm gas against civilians in 1980 after pictures of a naked wounded girl in Vietnam shocked the world.
The United States, which didn't endorse the convention, is the only nation in the world still using the deadly weapon.
Sunday, November 28, 2004
So what they got that Islam don't got?
What's the lure? What type of carrot is at the end of that stick? In as
much as our Ummah is growing, via converts and immigrants, we seem to
be losing our youth: those born into "Muslim households." The disease is
easy to identify. Sisters and brothers, let me present to you the new
Muslim youth, strutting down "society don't understand me" avenue. The
image is all too common: low slung pants, over-sized shirts, a slouchy
walk and an ear full of (fill in ubiquitous music group here).
Sounds harsh? Over exaggerated? Too paranoid? How about this: Muslim
children cutting high school, being thrown out for carrying knives,
thinking beer is halal! Now, I know that this sounds like another "Brother,
lend me your ear so that I can tell you about our children"
introduction. Nope. This message goes out to all of you "don't nobody be
understandin' what I be goin' through, cause don't nobody be knowin' 'bout me on
the real tip!" teens.
Whether you know it or not, slick, your soul is in a struggle between
this world and the next. I'm here to ask a simple question: "So what
they got that Islam don't got?" What is this great elixir that Puff Daddy
promises? Oh, Puffy is for punks? Maybe you be likin' Nas instead.
Tha's dope right? Question: "What have any of them done for you? What will
they do for you?" Any answers? Really? Let's check them out, together.
1) "These people really know where I'm coming from. They know exactly
what I feel." Thrilling. Some guy or girl whom you've never met, may
never meet, knows exactly what you're all about. The only thing these
"entertainers" care about is money. Dr. Dre, when asked about being a role
model, had stated: "Man, I'm here to get paid." You have to realize
that it's easier to manipulate someone when you know what it is that that
person needs. And for teenagers, that's easy. Talk about the pressures
about being too young for real responsibilities yet too old to be told
what to do, and you've pretty much described the universal dilemma.
Once you know what a person needs, you feed into that. There are people
who capitalize on others, those who feel the need to take advantage of
someone. For such people, love and understanding is conditional. "Get to
know more about me if you buy my records, see my concerts, rent my
films, wear my t-shirts..." You need to relate to someone who doesn't ask
anything from you in return except respect. You need a love that's
unconditional: "It was We who created man, and We know what dark
suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular
vein." Surah 50:16 Imagine that. Imagine someone knowing something
about you because they actually know you! Actually care about you! And
the one condition? Respect. That's easy enough, right? The funny thing
is, this Someone deserves respect. "For what?!" you may ask. "For
creating records?" No. "For creating videos?" No. Try...for creating
you. And you are worth something, right? You need to steer away from
image and focus on substance.
2) "These are my peeps. They gots my back and all." So let me get this
straight. You'd rather belong to a GANG of fifty or so rather than an
UMMAH of 1.5 BILLION? Nice odds, huh? Let's see. I'd have to go through
some initiation, learn secret handshakes and/or just aqueous to trivial
gossip about nonsense just so that I could flash a few "signs." That's
down right ignorant. When you really think about it, there really is no
basis for such trivial garbage. Realistically, most of your "peeps" are
not going to get "your back and all" because they'll either be in jail,
heading towards the penitentiary, dead or just wasting their life with
no real chance for growth in the future. Is this the end all be all for
such people? Of course not.
The problem lies when you place such a heavy responsibility on a person
who (9 out of 10) can't even take care of themselves. "If they become
Muslims they shall be rightly guided but if they turn back, you need not
worry, because your sole responsibility is to convey the Message. Allah
is watching all His servants very closely." (Surah 3:20) Do you
understand that? We have a responsibility to ourselves and our Creator. We're
talking about a connection with anyone in the world based on faith! Not
nationality. Not gender. Not regional area. Faith! A faith that
transcends time. Your Islamic history goes back over 1400 years. 1400
years! And you know what? It's going to keep on growing. So while you'll
hearing about all of the gangs that have come and gone, ask yourself:
"What mark have they left? Who have they salvaged?" Let me break
something down for you. You're going to die one day. It's inevitable.
When it's your turn to stand before the Creator of the Universe, who's
gonna get your back then?
3) "They be keepin' it real, yo. They 'bout it, 'bout it." How real is
the pathetic acquisition of a car when Allah (swt) has promised you the
world? The world!! The problem with a lot of people (adults included)
is that they fall in love with things. Liking an object isn't so bad.
We're human, after all. However, when your happiness is based on an
object that can be destroyed, stolen or become obsolete, there is a problem.
The only thing that is worth investing time in is knowledge. Think
about it; as you grow, so does your knowledge. No one can take away what
you've learned, but it can be twisted. That's why you have to focus
yourself on nourishing thoughts. Keeping it real is being aware of your
place in this world and the next. It does not mean wearing big clothing!
You wanna be a man, and you can't fit into your own clothes. You ain't
even grown! Explain your gear...one pant leg up, one pant leg down?!
Walkin' with a limp, tryin' to show people that you're "bad." It's
stupid! The need to establish an identity is understandable. However,
when your individuality is based on looking like others, it's
degrading. You're keeping up with the Jones' as opposed to keeping up with the
Akhirah.
4) "This is the real me. They know my come from." For all of your cry
for a sense of individuality, you look just like every other kid who
shaves the sides of his head and wears big pants. There is no real
individuality in the way one looks. If someone hasn't already come up with the
idea, they're doing it some place else in another part of the world.
That's the real you. Strip away your facade about being hip, and you have
a boy or a girl who's, inshallah, trying to do the best with what Allah
(swt) has dealt them. That's right: dealt you. You have a purpose in
this world. There are many people in life who have no clue what they want
to do with their lives. Be aware that as a Muslim you have a role to
play. You have ready made jobs waiting for you. You can heal people:
doctor, counselor. You can guide people: teacher, a good parent, political
leader. You can make advances within science, technology, business,
etc. And your foundation? The moral values and determination found in
Islam. Now, are you going to try your best in this "test," or are you
going to struggle? Think about what's waiting for you: Paradise! The
real you is the manner in which you handle, approach and use the life
that Allah (swt) has given you, not the clothes you wear or the lyrics you
repeat.
5) "Man, it's just plain fun. Straight up, son. No doubt." Hanging out
with your "dogs" getting the "digits " from the "honey's" and running
away from authority is "mad dope," right? If this is the case, you're
just another hoodlum. Typical. Always trying to fit in with people who or
may not accept you the next day. Your Creator will always except you.
"And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a
fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed."
Hadith Qudsi 15. However, you have dues to pay. When you pass away, and
you will, there are only three ways to continue to earn blessings: build
a place where people can continue to learn (school, Masjid), write
something that will teach people about living an Islamic life (novel, text
book, computer program) or raise a good Muslim child who will pray for
you. It doesn't get easier than this. If you have money and a good
heart, build a school. If you're poor but have knowledge, educate others.
If
you have neither of those traits, at least raise a good Muslim child.
Is that "plain fun"? It can be. When you know that you've accomplished
something more in life than just "hanging out," it's worth it.
Some teens who read this might feel: "Huh, this guy doesn't know what
he's talking about. It's not like that at all. I'm not like that at
all." But how far away are any of us from such temptations? I could go on
and describe those teens that are completely lost, but I'm sure that
you are familiar with a least one of these people. Next, you think I'll
say, "It'll be alright. Inshallah, there is hope for all of our kids.
It's just a phase they're going through." Well, you're wrong. Sorry
to be the one to tell you this. Not all of us are going to make it.
It's a wild world out there.
"And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a
fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed."
Hadith Qudsi 15
http://www.islamiceducation.net/zine%202/article_5.htm
much as our Ummah is growing, via converts and immigrants, we seem to
be losing our youth: those born into "Muslim households." The disease is
easy to identify. Sisters and brothers, let me present to you the new
Muslim youth, strutting down "society don't understand me" avenue. The
image is all too common: low slung pants, over-sized shirts, a slouchy
walk and an ear full of (fill in ubiquitous music group here).
Sounds harsh? Over exaggerated? Too paranoid? How about this: Muslim
children cutting high school, being thrown out for carrying knives,
thinking beer is halal! Now, I know that this sounds like another "Brother,
lend me your ear so that I can tell you about our children"
introduction. Nope. This message goes out to all of you "don't nobody be
understandin' what I be goin' through, cause don't nobody be knowin' 'bout me on
the real tip!" teens.
Whether you know it or not, slick, your soul is in a struggle between
this world and the next. I'm here to ask a simple question: "So what
they got that Islam don't got?" What is this great elixir that Puff Daddy
promises? Oh, Puffy is for punks? Maybe you be likin' Nas instead.
Tha's dope right? Question: "What have any of them done for you? What will
they do for you?" Any answers? Really? Let's check them out, together.
1) "These people really know where I'm coming from. They know exactly
what I feel." Thrilling. Some guy or girl whom you've never met, may
never meet, knows exactly what you're all about. The only thing these
"entertainers" care about is money. Dr. Dre, when asked about being a role
model, had stated: "Man, I'm here to get paid." You have to realize
that it's easier to manipulate someone when you know what it is that that
person needs. And for teenagers, that's easy. Talk about the pressures
about being too young for real responsibilities yet too old to be told
what to do, and you've pretty much described the universal dilemma.
Once you know what a person needs, you feed into that. There are people
who capitalize on others, those who feel the need to take advantage of
someone. For such people, love and understanding is conditional. "Get to
know more about me if you buy my records, see my concerts, rent my
films, wear my t-shirts..." You need to relate to someone who doesn't ask
anything from you in return except respect. You need a love that's
unconditional: "It was We who created man, and We know what dark
suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular
vein." Surah 50:16 Imagine that. Imagine someone knowing something
about you because they actually know you! Actually care about you! And
the one condition? Respect. That's easy enough, right? The funny thing
is, this Someone deserves respect. "For what?!" you may ask. "For
creating records?" No. "For creating videos?" No. Try...for creating
you. And you are worth something, right? You need to steer away from
image and focus on substance.
2) "These are my peeps. They gots my back and all." So let me get this
straight. You'd rather belong to a GANG of fifty or so rather than an
UMMAH of 1.5 BILLION? Nice odds, huh? Let's see. I'd have to go through
some initiation, learn secret handshakes and/or just aqueous to trivial
gossip about nonsense just so that I could flash a few "signs." That's
down right ignorant. When you really think about it, there really is no
basis for such trivial garbage. Realistically, most of your "peeps" are
not going to get "your back and all" because they'll either be in jail,
heading towards the penitentiary, dead or just wasting their life with
no real chance for growth in the future. Is this the end all be all for
such people? Of course not.
The problem lies when you place such a heavy responsibility on a person
who (9 out of 10) can't even take care of themselves. "If they become
Muslims they shall be rightly guided but if they turn back, you need not
worry, because your sole responsibility is to convey the Message. Allah
is watching all His servants very closely." (Surah 3:20) Do you
understand that? We have a responsibility to ourselves and our Creator. We're
talking about a connection with anyone in the world based on faith! Not
nationality. Not gender. Not regional area. Faith! A faith that
transcends time. Your Islamic history goes back over 1400 years. 1400
years! And you know what? It's going to keep on growing. So while you'll
hearing about all of the gangs that have come and gone, ask yourself:
"What mark have they left? Who have they salvaged?" Let me break
something down for you. You're going to die one day. It's inevitable.
When it's your turn to stand before the Creator of the Universe, who's
gonna get your back then?
3) "They be keepin' it real, yo. They 'bout it, 'bout it." How real is
the pathetic acquisition of a car when Allah (swt) has promised you the
world? The world!! The problem with a lot of people (adults included)
is that they fall in love with things. Liking an object isn't so bad.
We're human, after all. However, when your happiness is based on an
object that can be destroyed, stolen or become obsolete, there is a problem.
The only thing that is worth investing time in is knowledge. Think
about it; as you grow, so does your knowledge. No one can take away what
you've learned, but it can be twisted. That's why you have to focus
yourself on nourishing thoughts. Keeping it real is being aware of your
place in this world and the next. It does not mean wearing big clothing!
You wanna be a man, and you can't fit into your own clothes. You ain't
even grown! Explain your gear...one pant leg up, one pant leg down?!
Walkin' with a limp, tryin' to show people that you're "bad." It's
stupid! The need to establish an identity is understandable. However,
when your individuality is based on looking like others, it's
degrading. You're keeping up with the Jones' as opposed to keeping up with the
Akhirah.
4) "This is the real me. They know my come from." For all of your cry
for a sense of individuality, you look just like every other kid who
shaves the sides of his head and wears big pants. There is no real
individuality in the way one looks. If someone hasn't already come up with the
idea, they're doing it some place else in another part of the world.
That's the real you. Strip away your facade about being hip, and you have
a boy or a girl who's, inshallah, trying to do the best with what Allah
(swt) has dealt them. That's right: dealt you. You have a purpose in
this world. There are many people in life who have no clue what they want
to do with their lives. Be aware that as a Muslim you have a role to
play. You have ready made jobs waiting for you. You can heal people:
doctor, counselor. You can guide people: teacher, a good parent, political
leader. You can make advances within science, technology, business,
etc. And your foundation? The moral values and determination found in
Islam. Now, are you going to try your best in this "test," or are you
going to struggle? Think about what's waiting for you: Paradise! The
real you is the manner in which you handle, approach and use the life
that Allah (swt) has given you, not the clothes you wear or the lyrics you
repeat.
5) "Man, it's just plain fun. Straight up, son. No doubt." Hanging out
with your "dogs" getting the "digits " from the "honey's" and running
away from authority is "mad dope," right? If this is the case, you're
just another hoodlum. Typical. Always trying to fit in with people who or
may not accept you the next day. Your Creator will always except you.
"And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a
fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed."
Hadith Qudsi 15. However, you have dues to pay. When you pass away, and
you will, there are only three ways to continue to earn blessings: build
a place where people can continue to learn (school, Masjid), write
something that will teach people about living an Islamic life (novel, text
book, computer program) or raise a good Muslim child who will pray for
you. It doesn't get easier than this. If you have money and a good
heart, build a school. If you're poor but have knowledge, educate others.
If
you have neither of those traits, at least raise a good Muslim child.
Is that "plain fun"? It can be. When you know that you've accomplished
something more in life than just "hanging out," it's worth it.
Some teens who read this might feel: "Huh, this guy doesn't know what
he's talking about. It's not like that at all. I'm not like that at
all." But how far away are any of us from such temptations? I could go on
and describe those teens that are completely lost, but I'm sure that
you are familiar with a least one of these people. Next, you think I'll
say, "It'll be alright. Inshallah, there is hope for all of our kids.
It's just a phase they're going through." Well, you're wrong. Sorry
to be the one to tell you this. Not all of us are going to make it.
It's a wild world out there.
"And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a
fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed."
Hadith Qudsi 15
http://www.islamiceducation.net/zine%202/article_5.htm
Where Are the Women?
By Jeewan Chanicka
11/10/2004
From the pulpit to the preachers, many often proclaim Islam’s
liberation of women 1,400 years ago. After all, Islam did recognize that women
possess souls—this was acknowledged only over the past 100 years in
Christianity— and Islam did give women the right to vote, yet another
relatively recent phenomenon in Western society. We are quick to convince
skeptics of Islam’s superiority in that the first martyr in Islam was a
woman, the first to accept Islam was Khadijah, the first nurse was
Rufaida, that the one from whom we have learned one third of our deen was
`A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with them all).
And why should we not feel proud of such a legacy when this legacy has
produced scholarship and numerous examples of leadership, virtue and
excellence? Women, for all intents and purposes outshone many of their
male counterparts despite their “gender.”
However if we were to take a critical look at our community today we
would be hard-pressed to find the likes of `A’ishah, Fatimah, Nusaibah,
and many others. We would first have to look behind the barriers erected
in the masjid, or call on them at their homes where they have been
relegated to housework by the male-dominated and chauvinistic practices
that have permeated the Muslim community.
Virtue today as imposed (or should I say “encouraged”) upon Muslim
women dictates that a woman should be fully covered (the more the better),
that she stay at home and raise the children and fulfill her husband’s
every wish and desire. It is better that she stay inside than walk
outside lest she be a temptress and cause someone to commit sin by looking
at her, and that she should be silent because her voice is her `awrah.
Should she have questions, it is best that she write them and “fly
them” over the barriers so that someone would by chance pick it up and read
it and perhaps give her an answer.
We men, the “proper leaders,” know that women come from the rib of man
and that it is bent and cannot be made straight, that women are highly
emotional and, of course, have that “menstrual thing,” which
incapacitates their ability to make proper decisions and to function in a “normal
way.” There is no way that they can contribute to Islamic work because
their voices and “grace” make them weaknesses for men and so it is in
keeping with piety that we shut them out and lock them away. After all,
we men, being the rational thinkers, are capable of making decisions
for women, who are in constant need of our superior knowledge.
Hence we do not need them on the boards of our institutions. We fail to
put them in leadership positions because it is not compatible with
their “feminine nature.” As one imam once said, they may start to
“fraternize with the men.” In keeping with this, we do not really need to give
them a big space at the mosque because they should pray at home. Should
we be so generous as to offer them some space, we must ensure that it
is fully sealed so that there is not enough ventilation and that they
are trapped within the confines of limited space with 20 crying babies.
It is OK if they don’t hear anything because they don’t really need that
much knowledge, even though the lap of the mother is the first school
of the Ummah. As long as we don’t hear or see them, then all is well.
We should not shame them by giving them the ability to communicate
their ideas, thoughts, or wishes because we already know them. So we are
locking them up for their own good. Anyone who dares to question this
must be outside of the proper understanding of Islam. There seems to be
some discrepancy between what is said on the pulpit about the excellence
of the earlier women and how it translates to reality for our sisters.
It has further allowed the perpetuation of blatant double standards in
terms of what women and men can and cannot do. Usually men can engage
in numerous activities, which if done by women, would cause their
commitment to Islam to be questioned.
Women comprise about half of our community, yet they must still compete
to have their voices heard, to have space, to be able to go to
functions that take into consideration that they need to bring their children.
More often than not, when there are issues involving our sisters, they
are “dealt with” by the men. When any sisters dare to challenge this,
they automatically are branded as Western-styled feminists who are
trying to sully the sanctity of Islamic values and ideals.
Yet if one were to look on campuses and in general community work the
da`wah of this community is being carried on the shoulders of Muslim
women. Many who would ordinarily be silenced are finding their niches and
are doing their bit to fulfill their covenant in enjoining right and
forbidding evil and in spreading this deen. In fact, women in our
community are the flag-bearers of Islam, particularly those who wear hijab
because they are easily identifiable. When walking down the street, it is
those whom we notice as being Muslim and those who are approached and
asked about Islam.
We tend to answer in utopian terms when asked about our glorious past
and ignore the wrongdoing that is taking place today. It behooves us men
to believe that we can be wrong or may have WRONG understandings of the
seerah (life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him) and the
place of women in society.
It would appear, though, that having shut women out of the community
has allowed them now to approach Islam and Islamic work with less baggage
than men. Men have inherited much cultural baggage that they still keep
with them today, cultural practices that have become engrained in our
daily practices as being Islamic. As Muslim women return to the
authentic understanding of the Qur’an and seerah, they are in a better position
to take on this work and fulfill its requirements.
Islamic work in North America and the world will never be successful
until women are completely integrated within the framework of leadership,
decision-making, and shura (mutual consultation). While no one is
arguing for “free intermingling” or a neglect of duties of motherhood or the
negation of fiqh (and its proper application), there is a need for
discussion and critical deconstruction of some of the cultural practices
that have become mainstays in our community.
The argument that the time of the Prophet was different and now is a
time of fitnah (temptation) holds no weight, especially when one
considers that the earliest generation of Muslims was in one of the most
corrupt societies that existed. Yet women played a vibrant part of its growth
and development. They were consulted when decisions were to be made,
they were included in matters affecting society’s growth and development,
some were teachers and others were poets, others fought in wars—all
this while still following Allah’s commands and the examples of His
Prophet. There are no shortages of examples of this in the seerah, though
they tend to be ignored.
We are quick to point to the fact that we are leaders and have the
“last say.” Perhaps there is a need to analyze our understanding of
leadership. Is a leader one who ignores the needs of others, makes all the
decisions, and is scared of debate and consultation? The Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) was the opposite of this. He was the best of
leaders as he consulted with others and led by example. He was most kind
and in fact said, “The one who is best is the one who is best to his
family, and I am the best to my family.” It may be that we are afraid
that women will perform some of the duties we have been doing better than
we have, that their knowledge may be sounder, and that they may be
fitter for leadership positions than those who have traditionally held the
reigns. Even in this regard, we seem to forget the just leadership of
the Queen of Sheba or a tradition that is rich with female scholarship.
If we are sincere in wanting to do what Allah requires of us, we need
to
be open to this dialogue, admit our injustices to our sisters, ask for
forgiveness, and try to move forward. A bird can only fly if it flaps
both wings.
Allah has made women our equal counterparts, and they bring value and
insight inherent with their nature that we may not think about or know
of. Some scholars explain that women are the spiritual anchors of
society. If we are sincere, we need to realize that in many ways we are
oppressing our sisters; when we shut women out of leadership roles, banish
them to domestic spaces, pretend that we can speak on their behalf, we
are oppressing the very ones under whose feet lies Paradise. The issues
of leadership and involvement are not black and white, and those
sisters and brothers advocating for change are not asking for all values and
standards to be dropped or changed. Instead, we are asking for justice
and fairness.
Sisters should be a part of the shura council in the masjid and various
institutions because leadership (and I am not speaking about being imam
here) should be defined based on qualification and not sex. Shura
entails that we take the voices of the varying members of our community into
consideration. We need to ensure that sisters are able to have equal
access to speakers and knowledge so that they, too, are able to grow and
learn. Our primary consideration should not be how big a barrier is and
whether or not it touches the ceiling. Most importantly we have to let
sisters represent themselves; we should not speak for them but with
them. The realization should be based upon the trust that women are our
partners in establishing Islam in the world and do not have ulterior
motives of “fraternizing with the opposite sex.” They, too, want to work
with us to benefit Islam, Muslims, and society in general.
Muslims have a standard that has to be adhered to as defined by the
Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). We
need to rise to the challenge of implementing this within our daily
lives, to adhere to its boundaries, and to challenge our own bias and
(mis)-interpretations of its application. As men, it is time that we
acknowledge the struggles of our sisters (both within and without our
community), and it is even more important to recognize the privilege that we
have enjoyed due to no real merit but simply because of our sex. If we
want to please Allah and to be true to our covenant of bringing this
deen to the people around us, it is necessary for us to address these
issues. Until such time we will be held accountable before Allah when
people reject our self-styled versions of Islam.
http://www.islam-online.net/English/family/2004/08/article01.shtml
11/10/2004
From the pulpit to the preachers, many often proclaim Islam’s
liberation of women 1,400 years ago. After all, Islam did recognize that women
possess souls—this was acknowledged only over the past 100 years in
Christianity— and Islam did give women the right to vote, yet another
relatively recent phenomenon in Western society. We are quick to convince
skeptics of Islam’s superiority in that the first martyr in Islam was a
woman, the first to accept Islam was Khadijah, the first nurse was
Rufaida, that the one from whom we have learned one third of our deen was
`A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with them all).
And why should we not feel proud of such a legacy when this legacy has
produced scholarship and numerous examples of leadership, virtue and
excellence? Women, for all intents and purposes outshone many of their
male counterparts despite their “gender.”
However if we were to take a critical look at our community today we
would be hard-pressed to find the likes of `A’ishah, Fatimah, Nusaibah,
and many others. We would first have to look behind the barriers erected
in the masjid, or call on them at their homes where they have been
relegated to housework by the male-dominated and chauvinistic practices
that have permeated the Muslim community.
Virtue today as imposed (or should I say “encouraged”) upon Muslim
women dictates that a woman should be fully covered (the more the better),
that she stay at home and raise the children and fulfill her husband’s
every wish and desire. It is better that she stay inside than walk
outside lest she be a temptress and cause someone to commit sin by looking
at her, and that she should be silent because her voice is her `awrah.
Should she have questions, it is best that she write them and “fly
them” over the barriers so that someone would by chance pick it up and read
it and perhaps give her an answer.
We men, the “proper leaders,” know that women come from the rib of man
and that it is bent and cannot be made straight, that women are highly
emotional and, of course, have that “menstrual thing,” which
incapacitates their ability to make proper decisions and to function in a “normal
way.” There is no way that they can contribute to Islamic work because
their voices and “grace” make them weaknesses for men and so it is in
keeping with piety that we shut them out and lock them away. After all,
we men, being the rational thinkers, are capable of making decisions
for women, who are in constant need of our superior knowledge.
Hence we do not need them on the boards of our institutions. We fail to
put them in leadership positions because it is not compatible with
their “feminine nature.” As one imam once said, they may start to
“fraternize with the men.” In keeping with this, we do not really need to give
them a big space at the mosque because they should pray at home. Should
we be so generous as to offer them some space, we must ensure that it
is fully sealed so that there is not enough ventilation and that they
are trapped within the confines of limited space with 20 crying babies.
It is OK if they don’t hear anything because they don’t really need that
much knowledge, even though the lap of the mother is the first school
of the Ummah. As long as we don’t hear or see them, then all is well.
We should not shame them by giving them the ability to communicate
their ideas, thoughts, or wishes because we already know them. So we are
locking them up for their own good. Anyone who dares to question this
must be outside of the proper understanding of Islam. There seems to be
some discrepancy between what is said on the pulpit about the excellence
of the earlier women and how it translates to reality for our sisters.
It has further allowed the perpetuation of blatant double standards in
terms of what women and men can and cannot do. Usually men can engage
in numerous activities, which if done by women, would cause their
commitment to Islam to be questioned.
Women comprise about half of our community, yet they must still compete
to have their voices heard, to have space, to be able to go to
functions that take into consideration that they need to bring their children.
More often than not, when there are issues involving our sisters, they
are “dealt with” by the men. When any sisters dare to challenge this,
they automatically are branded as Western-styled feminists who are
trying to sully the sanctity of Islamic values and ideals.
Yet if one were to look on campuses and in general community work the
da`wah of this community is being carried on the shoulders of Muslim
women. Many who would ordinarily be silenced are finding their niches and
are doing their bit to fulfill their covenant in enjoining right and
forbidding evil and in spreading this deen. In fact, women in our
community are the flag-bearers of Islam, particularly those who wear hijab
because they are easily identifiable. When walking down the street, it is
those whom we notice as being Muslim and those who are approached and
asked about Islam.
We tend to answer in utopian terms when asked about our glorious past
and ignore the wrongdoing that is taking place today. It behooves us men
to believe that we can be wrong or may have WRONG understandings of the
seerah (life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him) and the
place of women in society.
It would appear, though, that having shut women out of the community
has allowed them now to approach Islam and Islamic work with less baggage
than men. Men have inherited much cultural baggage that they still keep
with them today, cultural practices that have become engrained in our
daily practices as being Islamic. As Muslim women return to the
authentic understanding of the Qur’an and seerah, they are in a better position
to take on this work and fulfill its requirements.
Islamic work in North America and the world will never be successful
until women are completely integrated within the framework of leadership,
decision-making, and shura (mutual consultation). While no one is
arguing for “free intermingling” or a neglect of duties of motherhood or the
negation of fiqh (and its proper application), there is a need for
discussion and critical deconstruction of some of the cultural practices
that have become mainstays in our community.
The argument that the time of the Prophet was different and now is a
time of fitnah (temptation) holds no weight, especially when one
considers that the earliest generation of Muslims was in one of the most
corrupt societies that existed. Yet women played a vibrant part of its growth
and development. They were consulted when decisions were to be made,
they were included in matters affecting society’s growth and development,
some were teachers and others were poets, others fought in wars—all
this while still following Allah’s commands and the examples of His
Prophet. There are no shortages of examples of this in the seerah, though
they tend to be ignored.
We are quick to point to the fact that we are leaders and have the
“last say.” Perhaps there is a need to analyze our understanding of
leadership. Is a leader one who ignores the needs of others, makes all the
decisions, and is scared of debate and consultation? The Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) was the opposite of this. He was the best of
leaders as he consulted with others and led by example. He was most kind
and in fact said, “The one who is best is the one who is best to his
family, and I am the best to my family.” It may be that we are afraid
that women will perform some of the duties we have been doing better than
we have, that their knowledge may be sounder, and that they may be
fitter for leadership positions than those who have traditionally held the
reigns. Even in this regard, we seem to forget the just leadership of
the Queen of Sheba or a tradition that is rich with female scholarship.
If we are sincere in wanting to do what Allah requires of us, we need
to
be open to this dialogue, admit our injustices to our sisters, ask for
forgiveness, and try to move forward. A bird can only fly if it flaps
both wings.
Allah has made women our equal counterparts, and they bring value and
insight inherent with their nature that we may not think about or know
of. Some scholars explain that women are the spiritual anchors of
society. If we are sincere, we need to realize that in many ways we are
oppressing our sisters; when we shut women out of leadership roles, banish
them to domestic spaces, pretend that we can speak on their behalf, we
are oppressing the very ones under whose feet lies Paradise. The issues
of leadership and involvement are not black and white, and those
sisters and brothers advocating for change are not asking for all values and
standards to be dropped or changed. Instead, we are asking for justice
and fairness.
Sisters should be a part of the shura council in the masjid and various
institutions because leadership (and I am not speaking about being imam
here) should be defined based on qualification and not sex. Shura
entails that we take the voices of the varying members of our community into
consideration. We need to ensure that sisters are able to have equal
access to speakers and knowledge so that they, too, are able to grow and
learn. Our primary consideration should not be how big a barrier is and
whether or not it touches the ceiling. Most importantly we have to let
sisters represent themselves; we should not speak for them but with
them. The realization should be based upon the trust that women are our
partners in establishing Islam in the world and do not have ulterior
motives of “fraternizing with the opposite sex.” They, too, want to work
with us to benefit Islam, Muslims, and society in general.
Muslims have a standard that has to be adhered to as defined by the
Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). We
need to rise to the challenge of implementing this within our daily
lives, to adhere to its boundaries, and to challenge our own bias and
(mis)-interpretations of its application. As men, it is time that we
acknowledge the struggles of our sisters (both within and without our
community), and it is even more important to recognize the privilege that we
have enjoyed due to no real merit but simply because of our sex. If we
want to please Allah and to be true to our covenant of bringing this
deen to the people around us, it is necessary for us to address these
issues. Until such time we will be held accountable before Allah when
people reject our self-styled versions of Islam.
http://www.islam-online.net/English/family/2004/08/article01.shtml
Is Islam Exclusive to Us?
Saturday, 27, November, 2004 (15, Shawwal, 1425)
Tariq A. Al-Maeena,close_encounters@gawab.com
Islam is a faith embraced by over 1.2 billion people around the world,
from Alaska to Adelaide. And it is flourishing by the numbers across
all continents by people drawn to the reverence of total submission to
the will of Almighty God.
In this context, a Saudi businessman recently financed the production
of a movie that was released on Eid day in selected theaters across
America. The movie “Muhammad, the Last Prophet” portrays the early days of
Islam through the eyes of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and was
completed in cartoon caricatures. With a budget in excess of $12
million, this was one Saudi’s attempt to educate the Western public including
the Muslim expatriates on the simplicity and oneness of this faith.
To ensure theological accuracy, the financier brought on board four
Islamic scholars who were to see that there were no distortions or
misrepresentations of facts during the making of this film. Additionally, the
famed Jamaat Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Cairo provided input during the
production phase, thus ensuring accuracy.
From early reviews the film has generated a lot of interest among the
theatergoers in the US. Plans are now being made to enhance the
distribution through the mainstream theater operators, as well as tailor it to
foreign markets outside the US.
The Saudi financier also turned toward our own authorities to discuss
the possibility of getting approval to release the film on DVD, since we
have no movie theaters here. But he was turned down. While approval was
given by the Ministry of Information, there was a flat rejection by the
Supreme Ulema Council of this country.
No valid reason was provided by these clerics, except a vague reference
to a similar precedent handed out 27 years ago banning the distribution
of “The Message” for reasons known only to them. The businessman even
offered to tailor the movie to Saudi standards, provided he knew what
the guidelines were but he was given nothing, except a firm rejection.
And herein lies a nagging issue. Why would a movie acceptable to the
Muslims in the West, and to scholars from reputable Islamic institutions
find resistance from our own clerics? Saudi Arabia is the cradle of
Islam, but we Saudis should have no exclusivity on this faith. It belongs
to the entire world, and when decisions such as the refusal by our
ulema to allow this film into the country are taken, they do all of us a
great disservice.
Or are we a higher standard of Muslims than others? Judging from some
of the edicts handed out in recent years applying the badge of sin on
some issues, maybe we are on an altogether different track than the rest
of the world. Pokemon was decreed a sin, and so were camera-equipped
mobile phones. As was the application of physical education for girls in
schools. And now, “Muhammad, the Last Prophet”?
Islam flourished and spread 1400 years ago because of its message and
tolerance. It spread quickly then from Europe to the far corners of
Asia, at a time when the fastest means of transport was on horseback. Those
who accepted the faith did so because of their acceptance and
submission to Almighty God. They were not coerced nor bribed into following this
faith. And it has continued flourishing ever since.
Therefore, when we in this country are quick to reject any new idea by
adopting a holier than thou attitude, and with no authentic religious
precedence, we are either telling the world that we are better Muslims
than them or we are simply fooling ourselves.
Today, the media is the best means of carrying out the message, and
attempts by some quarters to stifle new and creative means in the pursuit
of our faith is a cause of alarm. It only leads to intolerance and
subsequent rejection of all others who do not see eye to eye with us. And
in today’s world that should be unacceptable.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=55127&d=27&m=11&y=2004
Tariq A. Al-Maeena,close_encounters@gawab.com
Islam is a faith embraced by over 1.2 billion people around the world,
from Alaska to Adelaide. And it is flourishing by the numbers across
all continents by people drawn to the reverence of total submission to
the will of Almighty God.
In this context, a Saudi businessman recently financed the production
of a movie that was released on Eid day in selected theaters across
America. The movie “Muhammad, the Last Prophet” portrays the early days of
Islam through the eyes of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and was
completed in cartoon caricatures. With a budget in excess of $12
million, this was one Saudi’s attempt to educate the Western public including
the Muslim expatriates on the simplicity and oneness of this faith.
To ensure theological accuracy, the financier brought on board four
Islamic scholars who were to see that there were no distortions or
misrepresentations of facts during the making of this film. Additionally, the
famed Jamaat Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Cairo provided input during the
production phase, thus ensuring accuracy.
From early reviews the film has generated a lot of interest among the
theatergoers in the US. Plans are now being made to enhance the
distribution through the mainstream theater operators, as well as tailor it to
foreign markets outside the US.
The Saudi financier also turned toward our own authorities to discuss
the possibility of getting approval to release the film on DVD, since we
have no movie theaters here. But he was turned down. While approval was
given by the Ministry of Information, there was a flat rejection by the
Supreme Ulema Council of this country.
No valid reason was provided by these clerics, except a vague reference
to a similar precedent handed out 27 years ago banning the distribution
of “The Message” for reasons known only to them. The businessman even
offered to tailor the movie to Saudi standards, provided he knew what
the guidelines were but he was given nothing, except a firm rejection.
And herein lies a nagging issue. Why would a movie acceptable to the
Muslims in the West, and to scholars from reputable Islamic institutions
find resistance from our own clerics? Saudi Arabia is the cradle of
Islam, but we Saudis should have no exclusivity on this faith. It belongs
to the entire world, and when decisions such as the refusal by our
ulema to allow this film into the country are taken, they do all of us a
great disservice.
Or are we a higher standard of Muslims than others? Judging from some
of the edicts handed out in recent years applying the badge of sin on
some issues, maybe we are on an altogether different track than the rest
of the world. Pokemon was decreed a sin, and so were camera-equipped
mobile phones. As was the application of physical education for girls in
schools. And now, “Muhammad, the Last Prophet”?
Islam flourished and spread 1400 years ago because of its message and
tolerance. It spread quickly then from Europe to the far corners of
Asia, at a time when the fastest means of transport was on horseback. Those
who accepted the faith did so because of their acceptance and
submission to Almighty God. They were not coerced nor bribed into following this
faith. And it has continued flourishing ever since.
Therefore, when we in this country are quick to reject any new idea by
adopting a holier than thou attitude, and with no authentic religious
precedence, we are either telling the world that we are better Muslims
than them or we are simply fooling ourselves.
Today, the media is the best means of carrying out the message, and
attempts by some quarters to stifle new and creative means in the pursuit
of our faith is a cause of alarm. It only leads to intolerance and
subsequent rejection of all others who do not see eye to eye with us. And
in today’s world that should be unacceptable.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=55127&d=27&m=11&y=2004
Jihad Comes to The Netherlands
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2218
"Education by murder" describes the slow and painful way people wake up to
the problem of radical Islam. It took 3,000 deaths to wake up Americans, or
at least to wake up the half of them who are conservative. Likewise, it took
hundreds of deaths in the Bali explosion to semi-wake up Australians; it
took the Madrid assault for Spaniards, and the Beslan atrocity for Russians.
Twelve workers beheaded in Iraq awoke the Nepalese.
But it took just one death to wake up many Dutch. Indeed, one gruesome
killing may have done more to arouse the Netherlands than September 11,
2001, did for Americans.
The reason for this lies in the identity of the victim and the nature of the
crime. He was Theo van Gogh, 47, a well-known radical libertarian, a
filmmaker, television producer, talk show host, newspaper columnist, and
all-around mischief-maker who enjoyed the distinction of being a relative of
one of Holland's most renowned artists, Vincent van Gogh. In recent years,
Theo garnered attention by critiquing Islam (in a 2003 book Allah Knows Best
and a 2004 film Submission).
He was murdered at 8:40 a.m. on November 2 in his hometown of Amsterdam
while bicycling down a busy street to work. In the course of being shot
repeatedly, Van Gogh beseeched his killer, "Don't do it. Don't do it. Have
mercy. Have mercy!" Then the killer stabbed his chest with one knife and
slit his throat with another, nearly decapitating van Gogh.
The presumed murderer, Mohammed Bouyeri, 26, a Dutch-born dual
Moroccan-Dutch citizen, left a five-page note in both Arabic and Dutch
attached to Van Gogh's body with a knife. In it he threatened jihad against
the West in general, ("I surely know that you, Oh Europe, will be
destroyed"), and specifically against five prominent Dutch political
figures.
Police investigators quickly realized that the assassin was an Islamist whom
they knew well and had been following until just two weeks earlier; they
also placed him in the "Hofstadgroep" network and charged him and six of his
associates with "conspiracy with a terrorist intent." The authorities
additionally asserted that these had possible connections to the Takfir
wa'l-Hijra and Al Qaeda terrorist groups.
That a non-Muslim critic of Islam was ritually murdered for artistically
expressing his views was something without precedent, not just in Holland
but anywhere in the West. Dutch revulsion at the deed shook the deep
complacency of what is perhaps the world's most tolerant society. The
immigration minister, Rita Verdonk, one of the five persons threatened,
publicly rued the country's having long ignored the presence of radical
Islam. "For too long we have said we had a multicultural society and
everyone would simply find each other. We were too naïve in thinking people
would exist in society together."
Jozias van Aartsen, parliamentary leader of the VVD party, went further,
warning that "jihad has come to the Netherlands and a small group of
jihadist terrorists is attacking the principles of our country. These people
don't want to change our society, they want to destroy it."
One day after the murder, 20,000 demonstrators gathered to denounce the
killing, and 30 people were arrested for inciting hatred against Muslims.
The interior minister, Johan Remkes, announced that he could not rule out
unrest. "The climate is seriously hardened." Proving him right, the next two
weeks saw more than 20 arson and bombing attacks and counterattacks on
mosques, churches, and other institutions, plus some major police raids,
giving the country the feel of a small-scale civil war.
Dutch attitudes toward Muslims immediately and dramatically hardened. A poll
found 40% of the population wanting the nearly million-strong Muslim
community no longer to feel at home in the Netherlands. Double that number
endorsed more stringent policies toward immigrants.
De Telegraaf, a leading paper, published an editorial unimaginable before
the van Gogh murder calling for "a very public crackdown on extremist Muslim
fanatics." Even left-wing politicians woke up to the need to speak "harsh
truths" about immigration, focusing on the disproportionate criminality of
Muslims.
Islamist terrorism in the West is counterproductive because it awakens the
sleeping masses; in brief, jihad provokes crusade. A more cunning Islamist
enemy would advance its totalitarian agenda through Mafia-like intimidation,
not brazen murders.
But if Islamists do continue with overt terrorism, the tough Dutch response
will everywhere be replicated.
-- "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
Iraq's lost lessons
By CAROLINE GLICK (Jerusalem Post)
"The new Iraqi army that is now being trained is the first instance of an
Arab army to be developed to fight Arab and Islamic terrorists. This is an
extraordinary accomplishment. Iraqi soldiers are now fighting and dying to
purge their country of Arab terrorists, many of whom are also Iraqis."
Something remarkable is happening in Iraq. There is a civil war going on and
the terrorists are losing. US Marine commanders in Fallujah reported
Wednesday that they seized enough weapons in the city "for the insurgency to
take over the whole country."
Iraq is currently undergoing a post-Saddam revolution. Last April, when the
Marines first attempted to take over Fallujah from the Sunni terrorists,
they were joined by an Iraqi army brigade led by a general from the former
regime. His troops quickly went AWOL and joined the ranks of the terrorists
in fighting American forces. Under pressure from the UN, the Coalition
Provisional Authority, led by then-viceroy L. Paul Bremer, lost its nerve to
continue fighting. The Marines fell back to the city's outskirts and enabled
the likes of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Palestinian-Jordanian arch terrorist,
to take over Fallujah.
This month's combined US-Iraqi offensive into Fallujah was different. It was
marked by tight cooperation between the Iraqi and American forces on the
ground, and ordered by Iraq's Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who didn't
back down even when three of his relatives were kidnapped by the terrorists.
The new Iraqi army that is now being trained is the first instance of an
Arab army to be developed to fight Arab and Islamic terrorists. This is an
extraordinary accomplishment. Iraqi soldiers are now fighting and dying to
purge their country of Arab terrorists, many of whom are also Iraqis.
In addition to the new Iraqi government's determination to fight on the side
of the US on the battlefields, it is also fighting the intellectual war
against terror. This week, in an interview with the pan-Arab newspaper
Asharq al-Aswat, Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan branded Al-Jazeera
television station a "channel of terrorism." Shaalan went on to threaten
Al-Jazeera, saying, "Let God curse all those who terrorize Iraqi citizens
and the children of Iraq, be they journalists or others. The day will come
when we will take measures against Al-Jazeera other than by words."
As PLO chieftains and the likes of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak defend
their regime-controlled media's dissemination of constant calls for jihad
against Israel and the US as an exercise of free speech, Iraq's leaders are
admitting openly that these media operations are part and parcel of the
terror arsenal. And so, in Iraq today, we have a situation in which it is
the Iraqi government itself - rather than the US or Israel or any other
country targeted by jihad - which is taking the lead to punish organs of
incitement.
And then there is the question of democracy. Ahead of the January 30
elections scheduled to be held in Iraq, some 126 political parties have
registered to run. Some are Islamists. Some are crypto-Ba'athist. Some are
Iranian backed. But many of them are regular political parties that want to
earn power and a piece of the pie through the democratic process.
When asked about the possibility that elections be delayed until the civil
war has subsided, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, speaking at a
conference at Sharm e-Sheikh this week, vowed that in spite of the violence
the government would hold elections as planned. In his words, "our very
credibility is really on the line."
Zebari made these statements because the Arab leaders present at the
conference, like their counterparts from the UN and France, were all pushing
for Iraq to delay the elections. The conference itself was almost scuttled
due to the French demand that the terrorists fighting in Iraq also be
allowed to send representatives, as if the international community shouldn't
choose sides between the terrorists who until a week ago were running
slaughterhouses in mosques and apartment buildings and the soldiers sent in
to destroy them. So it is now the Iraqis themselves who are standing up to
the so-called international community in demanding to be allowed to become a
democracy while fighting terrorism.
"The new Iraqi army that is now being trained is the first instance of an
Arab army to be developed to fight Arab and Islamic terrorists. This is an
extraordinary accomplishment. Iraqi soldiers are now fighting and dying to
purge their country of Arab terrorists, many of whom are also Iraqis."
Something remarkable is happening in Iraq. There is a civil war going on and
the terrorists are losing. US Marine commanders in Fallujah reported
Wednesday that they seized enough weapons in the city "for the insurgency to
take over the whole country."
Iraq is currently undergoing a post-Saddam revolution. Last April, when the
Marines first attempted to take over Fallujah from the Sunni terrorists,
they were joined by an Iraqi army brigade led by a general from the former
regime. His troops quickly went AWOL and joined the ranks of the terrorists
in fighting American forces. Under pressure from the UN, the Coalition
Provisional Authority, led by then-viceroy L. Paul Bremer, lost its nerve to
continue fighting. The Marines fell back to the city's outskirts and enabled
the likes of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Palestinian-Jordanian arch terrorist,
to take over Fallujah.
This month's combined US-Iraqi offensive into Fallujah was different. It was
marked by tight cooperation between the Iraqi and American forces on the
ground, and ordered by Iraq's Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who didn't
back down even when three of his relatives were kidnapped by the terrorists.
The new Iraqi army that is now being trained is the first instance of an
Arab army to be developed to fight Arab and Islamic terrorists. This is an
extraordinary accomplishment. Iraqi soldiers are now fighting and dying to
purge their country of Arab terrorists, many of whom are also Iraqis.
In addition to the new Iraqi government's determination to fight on the side
of the US on the battlefields, it is also fighting the intellectual war
against terror. This week, in an interview with the pan-Arab newspaper
Asharq al-Aswat, Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan branded Al-Jazeera
television station a "channel of terrorism." Shaalan went on to threaten
Al-Jazeera, saying, "Let God curse all those who terrorize Iraqi citizens
and the children of Iraq, be they journalists or others. The day will come
when we will take measures against Al-Jazeera other than by words."
As PLO chieftains and the likes of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak defend
their regime-controlled media's dissemination of constant calls for jihad
against Israel and the US as an exercise of free speech, Iraq's leaders are
admitting openly that these media operations are part and parcel of the
terror arsenal. And so, in Iraq today, we have a situation in which it is
the Iraqi government itself - rather than the US or Israel or any other
country targeted by jihad - which is taking the lead to punish organs of
incitement.
And then there is the question of democracy. Ahead of the January 30
elections scheduled to be held in Iraq, some 126 political parties have
registered to run. Some are Islamists. Some are crypto-Ba'athist. Some are
Iranian backed. But many of them are regular political parties that want to
earn power and a piece of the pie through the democratic process.
When asked about the possibility that elections be delayed until the civil
war has subsided, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, speaking at a
conference at Sharm e-Sheikh this week, vowed that in spite of the violence
the government would hold elections as planned. In his words, "our very
credibility is really on the line."
Zebari made these statements because the Arab leaders present at the
conference, like their counterparts from the UN and France, were all pushing
for Iraq to delay the elections. The conference itself was almost scuttled
due to the French demand that the terrorists fighting in Iraq also be
allowed to send representatives, as if the international community shouldn't
choose sides between the terrorists who until a week ago were running
slaughterhouses in mosques and apartment buildings and the soldiers sent in
to destroy them. So it is now the Iraqis themselves who are standing up to
the so-called international community in demanding to be allowed to become a
democracy while fighting terrorism.
Council Meeting Record
For the purposes of concise consciousness records, and in the interest of
fairness to all conscious beings involved, the following summary of the
results of the full council meeting finalized on 26 November, 2004 C.E. is
being made available in written form. This meeting was held to determine the
course for the resolution of the current human apocalyptic cycle.
I) The seven agenda items below were discussed, and the determination for
each is as follows:
1) Final decision on confirmation of 90 year extinction plan initiated in
2000 C.E.
It has been decided to defer human extinction until at least the next 100
year cycle.
2) Final decision on potential need for accelerated extermination of "human
infestation problem"
Despite its gross over-consumption and generally destructive presence within
its planetary environment, humanity still demonstrates the potential to grow
beyond this behavior and develop enhanced creative abilities conducive to
the further growth of consciousness and life.
Allowing the self-extermination of humanity is therefore not deemed
necessary at this juncture, however, severe environmental adjustments must
be made to the planetary ecosystem, and it is hoped that this will
encourage greater responsiveness to the needs of life on the part of
humanity, as well as ensure that the possibility of rapid extermination is
still available early in the next cycle in the event of continued
ecologically destructive behavior from the species.
3) Preservation of human life-forms options in lieu of full extermination
but within extinction window (would any "Human Ark" plan violate current
planetary quarantine?)
The continuation of the species throughout the next cycle will allow for the
possible development of biological and consciousness derived subspecies of
humanity that may possess greater adaptability, and that could facilitate
enhanced creative potential that would render humanity as a species
redundant.
At this point, it seems that in lieu of such enhanced potential on the part
of either humanity itself or a subspecies, all necessary and useful
contributions from this line could be exhausted by the conclusion of this
cycle. Greater exposure of humanity to conditions beyond its current
planetary and limited solar environment could pose the risk of the
introduction of self-limiting and destructive elements to the greater
continuum of life. At this point, however, the exact consequences are still
in flux. Therefore, a non-mandatory quarantine recommended throughout the
duration of this cycle. Higher levels of enforcement may imposed by
intermediary agencies as seen fit.
4) Preservation of planetary consciousness after either full extinction
and/or accelerated extermination (approval of the "Insect and Grass"
collective plan)
The natural development of entities for the maintenance of planetary
consciousness will continue concurrently with all present human activities.
The "Insect and Grass" collective plan may still result from pending
environmental adjustments, and so all progress towards this end should be
continued. In the event of global, self-extermination of the human species,
the planet should still have several useful geological and evolutionary
lifecycles left without necessitating a total loss.
5) The value of breaking apocalyptic event seals to ensure narrative ending
for the purpose of consciousness records (and are We contractually obligated
to do so if humanity has failed to fulfill terms of original covenants?)
All original covenants are still in effect pending terms of completion.
However, higher agencies are not responsible for any misinterpretations of
the terms or defaulting behavior on the part of humanity. Apocalyptic event
seals shall remain in place for at least the duration of the current cycle.
6) Contingencies if extinction plan is canceled or significantly delayed
Contingencies not considered by this council are to be prepared by all
appropriate agencies, and implemented throughout the cycle as necessary.
7) Manner of leveling of political/cultural/economic entity "United States
of America" in the event human extinction/extermination is not approved
(Will a "full and complete" or only partial destruction be necessary in
order to spur the appropriate survival instincts in rest of species, and
what level of physical devastation will be required in either case?)
The general stewardship of the political/cultural/economic development of
humanity granted previously to the dominant entity "United States of
America" on a provisional status at the end of the previous cycle is to be
revoked immediately. This is in accordance with the need for the promotion
of a global institution responsible for the collective welfare of the
species, and also due to gross immaturity and generally destructive behavior
demonstrated by the controlling institutions of said entity and their
constituents.
The following previously stated goals have not been met to the satisfaction
of this council:
A) The corrupting elements of over-ambitious ideologues have not been
sufficiently purged from the governing institutions of the United States of
America;
B) No real discernable progress towards a workable and lasting solution to
the Palestinian-Israeli crisis has so far been implemented;
C) Claims by the United States to control and manipulate Iraqi sovereignty
appear to still be in place;
D) While the possibility for more effective, viable, international
institutions of global human unity do seem to be developing, for the most
part, this is without the cooperation or useful participation of the United
States of America.
While neither large scale physical devastation nor complete
political/cultural/economic disintegration is not in the interests of the
development of a species as a whole, a swift and immediate leveling of the
United States of America is in order to deter the heedlessness and general
hubris recently demonstrated.
A near-catastrophic breakdown of the primary institutions of governance and
commerce will be allowed to occur within the next few years in order to call
attention to the faulty behavior, and to eliminate the primary root sources
of corruption within these institutions. Recovery shall then commence only
to ensure that the United States of America takes its place among other such
nation-states and so long as no undue attempts at overall dominance are
initiated on its part. In such event, the full dissolution of this entity
into its constituent parts may be enforced with no further consideration
necessary.
II) The Following General Directives were also set by this Council:
1) The primary function of this cycle is the development of collective
human institutions and consciousness to ensure the survival of the species.
All present operations concerned with higher order individual development
are to continue as circumstances permit. Collective and individual human
development should continue to be considered as concurrent priorities, but
global survival imperatives necessitate that greater emphasis needs to be
placed on collective issues in the presentation of all interrelated
development plans.
2) The full unification of the "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" dispensations of
the "Abrahamic Prophet" line is to be given increased priority for the
duration of this cycle. The goal of rapid "secularization" of the previous
cycle can be considered essentially completed, and extensive deliberate
effort towards this end should be considered secondary and complimentary to
overall human unification.
This directive is issued bearing in mind that greater equilibrium between
all religious dispensations and non-religious systems of thought is
necessary in order to foster the necessary attitudes of unity given the
survival imperative conditions of this cycle, and that this can best be
accomplished through techniques organic to prevailing conditions.
As always, consciousness development must be understood as a phenomena that
operates independently of physical and political/cultural/economic
technologies. The general guideline is still to use what works, but the
stressed consideration here is to not allow any potentially outmoded
concepts of either prophesy OR progress based in such technological concepts
to limit potential development.
3) All natural competition to human dominance have been eliminated, yet the
threat of collective extinction remains. For this reason, potential
alternative life-forms derived from human engineered biological and
consciousness technologies should be encouraged, but only bearing in mind
that any such developments may create a divergent line in direct competition
for the resources necessary for human survival.
Form the perspective of the overall needs of life, competition between
humanity and its potential progeny is highly useful, but from the
perspective of the preservation of human life, it could prove disastrous.
Neither perspective can be ignored, and therefore developments towards both
ends will continue throughout this cycle, and no conclusive injunctions will
be issued either way.
Consciousness record translated by
Jeffrey P. George, Attending Secretary
fairness to all conscious beings involved, the following summary of the
results of the full council meeting finalized on 26 November, 2004 C.E. is
being made available in written form. This meeting was held to determine the
course for the resolution of the current human apocalyptic cycle.
I) The seven agenda items below were discussed, and the determination for
each is as follows:
1) Final decision on confirmation of 90 year extinction plan initiated in
2000 C.E.
It has been decided to defer human extinction until at least the next 100
year cycle.
2) Final decision on potential need for accelerated extermination of "human
infestation problem"
Despite its gross over-consumption and generally destructive presence within
its planetary environment, humanity still demonstrates the potential to grow
beyond this behavior and develop enhanced creative abilities conducive to
the further growth of consciousness and life.
Allowing the self-extermination of humanity is therefore not deemed
necessary at this juncture, however, severe environmental adjustments must
be made to the planetary ecosystem, and it is hoped that this will
encourage greater responsiveness to the needs of life on the part of
humanity, as well as ensure that the possibility of rapid extermination is
still available early in the next cycle in the event of continued
ecologically destructive behavior from the species.
3) Preservation of human life-forms options in lieu of full extermination
but within extinction window (would any "Human Ark" plan violate current
planetary quarantine?)
The continuation of the species throughout the next cycle will allow for the
possible development of biological and consciousness derived subspecies of
humanity that may possess greater adaptability, and that could facilitate
enhanced creative potential that would render humanity as a species
redundant.
At this point, it seems that in lieu of such enhanced potential on the part
of either humanity itself or a subspecies, all necessary and useful
contributions from this line could be exhausted by the conclusion of this
cycle. Greater exposure of humanity to conditions beyond its current
planetary and limited solar environment could pose the risk of the
introduction of self-limiting and destructive elements to the greater
continuum of life. At this point, however, the exact consequences are still
in flux. Therefore, a non-mandatory quarantine recommended throughout the
duration of this cycle. Higher levels of enforcement may imposed by
intermediary agencies as seen fit.
4) Preservation of planetary consciousness after either full extinction
and/or accelerated extermination (approval of the "Insect and Grass"
collective plan)
The natural development of entities for the maintenance of planetary
consciousness will continue concurrently with all present human activities.
The "Insect and Grass" collective plan may still result from pending
environmental adjustments, and so all progress towards this end should be
continued. In the event of global, self-extermination of the human species,
the planet should still have several useful geological and evolutionary
lifecycles left without necessitating a total loss.
5) The value of breaking apocalyptic event seals to ensure narrative ending
for the purpose of consciousness records (and are We contractually obligated
to do so if humanity has failed to fulfill terms of original covenants?)
All original covenants are still in effect pending terms of completion.
However, higher agencies are not responsible for any misinterpretations of
the terms or defaulting behavior on the part of humanity. Apocalyptic event
seals shall remain in place for at least the duration of the current cycle.
6) Contingencies if extinction plan is canceled or significantly delayed
Contingencies not considered by this council are to be prepared by all
appropriate agencies, and implemented throughout the cycle as necessary.
7) Manner of leveling of political/cultural/economic entity "United States
of America" in the event human extinction/extermination is not approved
(Will a "full and complete" or only partial destruction be necessary in
order to spur the appropriate survival instincts in rest of species, and
what level of physical devastation will be required in either case?)
The general stewardship of the political/cultural/economic development of
humanity granted previously to the dominant entity "United States of
America" on a provisional status at the end of the previous cycle is to be
revoked immediately. This is in accordance with the need for the promotion
of a global institution responsible for the collective welfare of the
species, and also due to gross immaturity and generally destructive behavior
demonstrated by the controlling institutions of said entity and their
constituents.
The following previously stated goals have not been met to the satisfaction
of this council:
A) The corrupting elements of over-ambitious ideologues have not been
sufficiently purged from the governing institutions of the United States of
America;
B) No real discernable progress towards a workable and lasting solution to
the Palestinian-Israeli crisis has so far been implemented;
C) Claims by the United States to control and manipulate Iraqi sovereignty
appear to still be in place;
D) While the possibility for more effective, viable, international
institutions of global human unity do seem to be developing, for the most
part, this is without the cooperation or useful participation of the United
States of America.
While neither large scale physical devastation nor complete
political/cultural/economic disintegration is not in the interests of the
development of a species as a whole, a swift and immediate leveling of the
United States of America is in order to deter the heedlessness and general
hubris recently demonstrated.
A near-catastrophic breakdown of the primary institutions of governance and
commerce will be allowed to occur within the next few years in order to call
attention to the faulty behavior, and to eliminate the primary root sources
of corruption within these institutions. Recovery shall then commence only
to ensure that the United States of America takes its place among other such
nation-states and so long as no undue attempts at overall dominance are
initiated on its part. In such event, the full dissolution of this entity
into its constituent parts may be enforced with no further consideration
necessary.
II) The Following General Directives were also set by this Council:
1) The primary function of this cycle is the development of collective
human institutions and consciousness to ensure the survival of the species.
All present operations concerned with higher order individual development
are to continue as circumstances permit. Collective and individual human
development should continue to be considered as concurrent priorities, but
global survival imperatives necessitate that greater emphasis needs to be
placed on collective issues in the presentation of all interrelated
development plans.
2) The full unification of the "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" dispensations of
the "Abrahamic Prophet" line is to be given increased priority for the
duration of this cycle. The goal of rapid "secularization" of the previous
cycle can be considered essentially completed, and extensive deliberate
effort towards this end should be considered secondary and complimentary to
overall human unification.
This directive is issued bearing in mind that greater equilibrium between
all religious dispensations and non-religious systems of thought is
necessary in order to foster the necessary attitudes of unity given the
survival imperative conditions of this cycle, and that this can best be
accomplished through techniques organic to prevailing conditions.
As always, consciousness development must be understood as a phenomena that
operates independently of physical and political/cultural/economic
technologies. The general guideline is still to use what works, but the
stressed consideration here is to not allow any potentially outmoded
concepts of either prophesy OR progress based in such technological concepts
to limit potential development.
3) All natural competition to human dominance have been eliminated, yet the
threat of collective extinction remains. For this reason, potential
alternative life-forms derived from human engineered biological and
consciousness technologies should be encouraged, but only bearing in mind
that any such developments may create a divergent line in direct competition
for the resources necessary for human survival.
Form the perspective of the overall needs of life, competition between
humanity and its potential progeny is highly useful, but from the
perspective of the preservation of human life, it could prove disastrous.
Neither perspective can be ignored, and therefore developments towards both
ends will continue throughout this cycle, and no conclusive injunctions will
be issued either way.
Consciousness record translated by
Jeffrey P. George, Attending Secretary
Friday, November 26, 2004
Does Islam make the Face Veil Obligatory for Muslim Women?
Muslim scholars differ amongst themselves on the issue of the obligatory duty (or otherwise) of veiling of the face by Muslim women. In Islam, rules and regulations and the do's and don'ts are derived from the word of Allah, i.e. the Glorious Qur'an and the teachings of the Messenger of Allah, i.e. the authentic Ahadith.
The Qur'an says:
"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those charged with authority among you. If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger if you do believe in Allah and the Last Day: that is best and most suitable for final determination."
(Al-Qur'an 4:59)
As mentioned in the verse quoted above, when people in authority, the rulers, leaders, imams and scholars differ amongst themselves, our Creator instructs us to look into the Qur'an and the authentic Ahadith for guidance. The legitimacy, relevance and accuracy of the reasons and evidence provided by these people should be evaluated in the light of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. However, it should be borne in mind that infallibility belongs to Allah alone and a scholar, being a human, can make an error of judgement.
There is no clear-cut authentic hadith to the effect of making the face veil obligatory. Those scholars, who insist that covering the face is obligatory for Muslim women, interpret 'al-idnaa' in the verse of the jilbaab (Al-Qur'an: 33:59) to mean, "covering the face". This interpretation is erroneous because the basic meaning of the word in Arabic is "to come close", as the well-known scholar, ar-Raaghib al-Asbahaanee mentions in his authoritative dictionary 'al-Mufradaat'. Some people claim that jilbaab is "a garment which covers the face". This too is a misinterpretation as it is contrary to the interpretation of the leading scholars of past and present as well, who define jilbaab as a garment which women drape over their head scarves (khimaar).
Some people claim that the khimaar (headscarf) in Al-Qur'an 24:31 covers the head and the face, whereas linguistically the word only means a head covering. The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said "Allah does not accept the prayer of a woman who has reached puberty unless she wears a khimaar".
(Sunan Abu Dawood, vol. 1, hadith No. 641)
However, no scholar insists on covering the face in Salaah for women based on the hadith quoted above, which further substantiates that khimaar does not mean covering the face. Shaykh Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee, one of the foremost scholars of recent times has clarified in detail, the errors made by these scholars who insist on the obligatory nature of the face veil in his books ar-Radd al-Mufhim & Jilbaab al-Mar'ah al-Muslimah (3rd edition, 1996, al-Maktabah al-Islaamiyyah). Likewise, other scholars like Ibn Muflih al-Hambalee, an-Nawawee, al-Qaadee 'Iyaad are too of the opinion that covering the face is not obligatory.
As stated earlier, that there is not a single authentic hadith that makes covering the face obligatory. On the other hand, we find several ahadith which prove that covering the face is not compulsory in Islam. For instance, once while the prophet was admonishing and preaching to a group of women after having admonished the men on the Id day, "...a woman having a dark spot on her cheek stood up..." seeking clarification on the subject the prophet was discussing. (Sahih Muslim, Vol. 2, Hadith No. 1926)
It is understood from the above-mentioned hadith that the woman having interaction with the prophet was not covering her face nor did the prophet command her to do so. It is incumbent upon every Muslim to enjoin right and forbid wrong, as Allah instructed us in the Glorious Qur'an. Thus we cannot expect the prophet, on whom the Qur'an was revealed, to let the woman keep her face uncovered after having known the obligation of covering the face.
Narrated Ata bin Abi Rabah (R.A.)
Ibn 'Abbas said to me, "Shall I show you a woman of the people of Paradise?" I said, "Yes." He said, "This black lady came to the Prophet and said..."
(Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 7, Hadith No. 555 - Dar Al Arabia- Beirut- Lebanon & Sahih Muslim Hadith No. 6571-Darusslam- Arabic)
The hadith quoted above proves that the 'woman of the people of the paradise' was not covering her face when she had visited the prophet nor was she covering it when Ibn 'Abbas was discussing about her later. Some may argue by saying she could be recognized owing to the dark complexion of her hand and not due to the exposure of her face. However, this argument would carry no weight since she was not the only black woman at the time of the prophet. Moreover, to identify a person, the aspect of exposure of the face is of immense significance.
The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said, "...The Muhrima (a woman in the state of Ihram) should not cover her face, or wear gloves."
(Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 3, Hadith No. 1838)
With regards to the hadith quoted above, some people say that the commandment of the prophet (pbuh) not to cover the face is specifically for the women in the state of Ihram, thus it cannot be used as an evidence because in Ihram certain rules and regulations change. However, the point to be noted here is that the things that are Mustahab (recommended) can be made Haraam (forbidden), like the cutting of nails, even the things that are Mubah (permissible) or Mustahab (recommended) can be made Fard (obligatory), e.g. wearing two pieces of white unsewn cloth is made Fard for a man, while normally it is Mubah (permissible). But anything that is Haraam in the normal course of life can never be made Fard. Hence, if exposing the face is Haraam for women, then how can it be made Fard in Ihraam?
During the day of Nahr (10th Dhul-Hijja), when Al-Fadl bin 'Abbas was riding behind the prophet on his she -camel, "...a beautiful woman from the tribe of Khath'am came, asking the verdict of Allah's Apostle. Al-Fadl started looking at her as her beauty attracted him. The Prophet looked behind while Al-Fadl was looking at her; so the Prophet held out his hand backwards and caught the chin of Al-Fadl and turned his face (to the other side) in order that he should not gaze at her..."
(Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 8, Hadith No. 6228)
In the above-mentioned hadith we find Al-Fadl looking at the lady because her beauty attracted him. Here too, it is understood that the face of the lady was exposed as the hadith says that the woman was beautiful. Obviously, it is the face that plays the most significant role in making a person being perceived as ugly or beautiful. In spite of this, the prophet didn't instruct the lady to cover her face but instead turned the face of Al-Fadl in order to prevent him from staring at her, further substantiating the verse of the Qur'an from Surah An-Noor, 24:30, which says:
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do."
The Qur'an further says in the next verse:
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof...
(Al-Qur'an 24:31)
When Ibne Abbaas (RA), the leading commentator of the Qur'an was asked about the verse mentioned above as to what it meant, he replied, "it refers to the face and hands".
(Collected by Ibn Abee Shaybah in al-Musannaf, Vol. 3, p. 540 & 541, hadith no. 16997 & 17012 and al-Bayhaqi in Sunan al- Kubraa. Al-Albaanee ruled in Jilbaab al-Mar'ah al-Muslimah, pp 59-60, that the isnaad of this statement is saheeh.)
Some scholars argue that all the ahadith, which speak of women's faces being seen, are of the time earlier than the revelation of the verses of Al-Qur'an 33:59 & 24:31, which make covering the face compulsory. Firstly, as discussed earlier, these Qur'anic verses do not make covering the face compulsory for women. Secondly, to prove that these verses make the covering of women's face compulsory, they have to quote an authentic hadith for it, which they don't. Thirdly most of the ahadith quoted above, are of the time after these Qur'anic verses were revealed.
Thus, it can be concluded that covering the face is not obligatory for women. However, covering the face was obligatory for the Ummul Mu'mineen, the wives of the Prophet (pbuh) as was Tahajjud obligatory for the Prophet (pbuh). Although Muslims are exempted from its obligation, it is still a highly recommended Sunnah for the Muslims. The scholars unanimously agree that it is preferable for Muslim women to cover their faces. Thus it is not compulsory for Muslim Women to cover their faces but those women who cover their faces may continue to do so if they wish. And Allah knows the best.
source: http://www.irf.net/irf/faqonislam/index.htm
The Qur'an says:
"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those charged with authority among you. If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger if you do believe in Allah and the Last Day: that is best and most suitable for final determination."
(Al-Qur'an 4:59)
As mentioned in the verse quoted above, when people in authority, the rulers, leaders, imams and scholars differ amongst themselves, our Creator instructs us to look into the Qur'an and the authentic Ahadith for guidance. The legitimacy, relevance and accuracy of the reasons and evidence provided by these people should be evaluated in the light of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. However, it should be borne in mind that infallibility belongs to Allah alone and a scholar, being a human, can make an error of judgement.
There is no clear-cut authentic hadith to the effect of making the face veil obligatory. Those scholars, who insist that covering the face is obligatory for Muslim women, interpret 'al-idnaa' in the verse of the jilbaab (Al-Qur'an: 33:59) to mean, "covering the face". This interpretation is erroneous because the basic meaning of the word in Arabic is "to come close", as the well-known scholar, ar-Raaghib al-Asbahaanee mentions in his authoritative dictionary 'al-Mufradaat'. Some people claim that jilbaab is "a garment which covers the face". This too is a misinterpretation as it is contrary to the interpretation of the leading scholars of past and present as well, who define jilbaab as a garment which women drape over their head scarves (khimaar).
Some people claim that the khimaar (headscarf) in Al-Qur'an 24:31 covers the head and the face, whereas linguistically the word only means a head covering. The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said "Allah does not accept the prayer of a woman who has reached puberty unless she wears a khimaar".
(Sunan Abu Dawood, vol. 1, hadith No. 641)
However, no scholar insists on covering the face in Salaah for women based on the hadith quoted above, which further substantiates that khimaar does not mean covering the face. Shaykh Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee, one of the foremost scholars of recent times has clarified in detail, the errors made by these scholars who insist on the obligatory nature of the face veil in his books ar-Radd al-Mufhim & Jilbaab al-Mar'ah al-Muslimah (3rd edition, 1996, al-Maktabah al-Islaamiyyah). Likewise, other scholars like Ibn Muflih al-Hambalee, an-Nawawee, al-Qaadee 'Iyaad are too of the opinion that covering the face is not obligatory.
As stated earlier, that there is not a single authentic hadith that makes covering the face obligatory. On the other hand, we find several ahadith which prove that covering the face is not compulsory in Islam. For instance, once while the prophet was admonishing and preaching to a group of women after having admonished the men on the Id day, "...a woman having a dark spot on her cheek stood up..." seeking clarification on the subject the prophet was discussing. (Sahih Muslim, Vol. 2, Hadith No. 1926)
It is understood from the above-mentioned hadith that the woman having interaction with the prophet was not covering her face nor did the prophet command her to do so. It is incumbent upon every Muslim to enjoin right and forbid wrong, as Allah instructed us in the Glorious Qur'an. Thus we cannot expect the prophet, on whom the Qur'an was revealed, to let the woman keep her face uncovered after having known the obligation of covering the face.
Narrated Ata bin Abi Rabah (R.A.)
Ibn 'Abbas said to me, "Shall I show you a woman of the people of Paradise?" I said, "Yes." He said, "This black lady came to the Prophet and said..."
(Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 7, Hadith No. 555 - Dar Al Arabia- Beirut- Lebanon & Sahih Muslim Hadith No. 6571-Darusslam- Arabic)
The hadith quoted above proves that the 'woman of the people of the paradise' was not covering her face when she had visited the prophet nor was she covering it when Ibn 'Abbas was discussing about her later. Some may argue by saying she could be recognized owing to the dark complexion of her hand and not due to the exposure of her face. However, this argument would carry no weight since she was not the only black woman at the time of the prophet. Moreover, to identify a person, the aspect of exposure of the face is of immense significance.
The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said, "...The Muhrima (a woman in the state of Ihram) should not cover her face, or wear gloves."
(Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 3, Hadith No. 1838)
With regards to the hadith quoted above, some people say that the commandment of the prophet (pbuh) not to cover the face is specifically for the women in the state of Ihram, thus it cannot be used as an evidence because in Ihram certain rules and regulations change. However, the point to be noted here is that the things that are Mustahab (recommended) can be made Haraam (forbidden), like the cutting of nails, even the things that are Mubah (permissible) or Mustahab (recommended) can be made Fard (obligatory), e.g. wearing two pieces of white unsewn cloth is made Fard for a man, while normally it is Mubah (permissible). But anything that is Haraam in the normal course of life can never be made Fard. Hence, if exposing the face is Haraam for women, then how can it be made Fard in Ihraam?
During the day of Nahr (10th Dhul-Hijja), when Al-Fadl bin 'Abbas was riding behind the prophet on his she -camel, "...a beautiful woman from the tribe of Khath'am came, asking the verdict of Allah's Apostle. Al-Fadl started looking at her as her beauty attracted him. The Prophet looked behind while Al-Fadl was looking at her; so the Prophet held out his hand backwards and caught the chin of Al-Fadl and turned his face (to the other side) in order that he should not gaze at her..."
(Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 8, Hadith No. 6228)
In the above-mentioned hadith we find Al-Fadl looking at the lady because her beauty attracted him. Here too, it is understood that the face of the lady was exposed as the hadith says that the woman was beautiful. Obviously, it is the face that plays the most significant role in making a person being perceived as ugly or beautiful. In spite of this, the prophet didn't instruct the lady to cover her face but instead turned the face of Al-Fadl in order to prevent him from staring at her, further substantiating the verse of the Qur'an from Surah An-Noor, 24:30, which says:
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do."
The Qur'an further says in the next verse:
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof...
(Al-Qur'an 24:31)
When Ibne Abbaas (RA), the leading commentator of the Qur'an was asked about the verse mentioned above as to what it meant, he replied, "it refers to the face and hands".
(Collected by Ibn Abee Shaybah in al-Musannaf, Vol. 3, p. 540 & 541, hadith no. 16997 & 17012 and al-Bayhaqi in Sunan al- Kubraa. Al-Albaanee ruled in Jilbaab al-Mar'ah al-Muslimah, pp 59-60, that the isnaad of this statement is saheeh.)
Some scholars argue that all the ahadith, which speak of women's faces being seen, are of the time earlier than the revelation of the verses of Al-Qur'an 33:59 & 24:31, which make covering the face compulsory. Firstly, as discussed earlier, these Qur'anic verses do not make covering the face compulsory for women. Secondly, to prove that these verses make the covering of women's face compulsory, they have to quote an authentic hadith for it, which they don't. Thirdly most of the ahadith quoted above, are of the time after these Qur'anic verses were revealed.
Thus, it can be concluded that covering the face is not obligatory for women. However, covering the face was obligatory for the Ummul Mu'mineen, the wives of the Prophet (pbuh) as was Tahajjud obligatory for the Prophet (pbuh). Although Muslims are exempted from its obligation, it is still a highly recommended Sunnah for the Muslims. The scholars unanimously agree that it is preferable for Muslim women to cover their faces. Thus it is not compulsory for Muslim Women to cover their faces but those women who cover their faces may continue to do so if they wish. And Allah knows the best.
source: http://www.irf.net/irf/faqonislam/index.htm
ISLAM AND TERRORISM
BY DR. ZAKIR NAIK
MUSLIMS ARE FUNDAMENTALISTS AND TERRORISTS
Question:
Why are most of the Muslims fundamentalists and terrorists?
Answer:
This question is often hurled at Muslims, either directly or indirectly, during any discussion on religion or world affairs. Muslim stereotypes are perpetuated in every form of the media accompanied by gross misinformation about Islam and Muslims. In fact, such misinformation and false propaganda often leads to discrimination and acts of violence against Muslims. A case in point is the anti-Muslim campaign in the American media following the Oklahoma bomb blast, where the press was quick to declare a 'Middle Eastern conspiracy' behind the attack. The culprit was later identified as a soldier from the American Armed Forces.
Let us analyze this allegation of 'fundamentalism' and 'terrorism':
1. Definition of the word 'fundamentalist'
A fundamentalist is a person who follows and adheres to the fundamentals of the doctrine or theory he is following. For a person to be a good doctor, he should know, follow, and practise the fundamentals of medicine. In other words, he should be a fundamentalist in the field of medicine. For a person to be a good mathematician, he should know, follow and practise the fundamentals of mathematics. He should be a fundamentalist in the field of mathematics. For a person to be a good scientist, he should know, follow and practise the fundamentals of science. He should be a fundamentalist in the field of science.
2. Not all 'fundamentalists' are the same
One cannot paint all fundamentalists with the same brush. One cannot categorize all fundamentalists as either good or bad. Such a categorization of any fund amentalist will depend upon the field or activity in which he is a fundamentalist. A fundamentalist robber or thief causes harm to society and is therefore undesirable. A fundamentalist doctor, on the other hand, benefits society and earns much respect.
3. I am proud to be a Muslim fundamentalist
I am a fundamentalist Muslim who, by the grace of Allah, knows, follows and strives to practise the fundamentals of Islam. A true Muslim does not shy away from being a fundamentalist. I am proud to be a fundamentalist Muslim because, I know that the fundamentals of Islam are beneficial to humanity and the whole world. There is not a single fundamental of Islam that causes harm or is against the interests of the human race as a whole. Many people harbour misconceptions about Islam and consider several teachings of Islam to be unfair or improper. This is due to insufficient and incorrect knowledge of Islam. If one critically analyzes the teachings of Islam with an open mind, one cannot escape the fact that Islam is full of benefits both at the individual and collective levels.
4. Dictionary meaning of the word 'fundamentalist'
According to Webster's dictionary 'fundamentalism' was a movement in American Protestanism that arose in the earlier part of the 20th century. It was a reaction to modernism, and stressed the infallibility of the Bible, not only in matters of faith and morals but also as a literal historical record. It stressed on belief in the Bible as the literal word of God. Thus fundamentalism was a word initially used for a group of Christians who believed that the Bible was the verbatim word of God without any errors and mistakes.
According to the Oxford dictionary 'fundamentalism' means 'strict maintenance of ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion, especially Islam'.
Today the moment a person uses the word fundamentalist he thinks of a Muslim who is a terrorist.
5. Every Muslim should be a terrorist
Every Muslim should be a terrorist. A terrorist is a person who causes terror. The moment a robber sees a policeman he is terrified. A policeman is a terrorist for the robber. Similarly every Muslim should be a terrorist for the antisocial elements of society, such as thieves, dacoits and rapists. Whenever such an anti-social element sees a Muslim, he should be terrified. It is true that the word 'terrorist' is generally used for a person who causes terror among the common people. But a true Muslim should only be a terrorist to selective people i.e. anti-social elements, and not to the common innocent people. In fact a Muslim should be a source of peace for innocent people.
6. Different labels given to the same individual for the same action, i.e. 'terrorist' and 'patriot'
Before India achieved independence from British rule, some freedom fighters of India who did not subscribe to non-violence were labeled as terrorists by the British government. The same individuals have been lauded by Indians for the same activities and hailed as 'patriots'. Thus two different labels have been given to the same people for the same set of actions. One is calling him a terrorist while the other is calling him a patriot. Those who believed that Britain had a right to rule over India called these people terrorists, while those who were of the view that Britain had no right to rule India called them patriots and freedom fighters.
It is therefore important that before a person is judged, he is given a fair hearing. Both sides of the argument should be heard, the situation should be analyzed, and the reason and the intention of the person should be taken into account, and then the person can be judged accordingly.
7. Islam means peace
Islam is derived from the word 'salaam' which means peace. It is a religion of peace whose fundamentals teach its followers to maintain and promote peace throughout the world.
Thus every Muslim should be a fundamentalist i.e. he should follow the fundamentals of the Religion of Peace: Islam. He should be a terrorist only towards the antisocial elements in order to promote peace and justice in the society.
WAS ISLAM SPREAD BY THE SWORD?
Question:
How can Islam be called the religion of peace when it was spread by the sword?
Answer:
It is a common complaint among some non-Muslims that Islam would not have millions of adherents all over the world, if it had not been spread by the use of force. The following points will make it clear, that far from being spread by the sword, it was the inherent force of truth, reason and logic that was responsible for the rapid spread of Islam.
1. Islam means peace.
Islam comes from the root word 'salaam', which means peace. It also means submitting one's will to Allah (swt). Thus Islam is a religion of peace, which is acquired by submitting one's will to the will of the Supreme Creator, Allah (swt).
2. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace.
Each and every human being in this world is not in favour of maintaining peace and harmony. There are many, who would disrupt it for their own vested interests. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace. It is precisely for this reason that we have the police who use force against criminals and anti-social elements to maintain peace in the country. Islam promotes peace. At the same time, Islam exhorts it followers to fight where there is oppression. The fight against oppression may, at times, require the use of force. In Islam force can only be used to promote peace and justice.
3. Opinion of historian De Lacy O'Leary.
The best reply to the misconception that Islam was spread by the sword is given by the noted historian De Lacy O'Leary in the book 'Islam at the cross road' (Page 8):
'History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myth that historians have ever repeated.'
4. Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years.
Muslims ruled Spain for about 800 years. The Muslims in Spain never used the sword to force the people to convert. Later the Christian Crusaders came to Spain and wiped out the Muslims. There was not a single Muslim in Spain who could openly give the adhan, that is the call for prayers.
5. 14 million Arabs are Coptic Christians.
Muslims were the lords of Arabia for 1400 years. For a few years the British ruled, and for a few years the French ruled. Overall, the Muslims ruled Arabia for 1400 years. Yet today, there are 14 million Arabs who are Coptic Christians i.e. Christians since generations. If the Muslims had used the sword there would not have been a single Arab who would have remained a Christian.
6. More than 80% non-Muslims in India.
The Muslims ruled India for about a thousand years. If they wanted, they had the power of converting each and every non-Muslim of India to Islam. Today more than 80% of the population of India are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Indians are bearing witness today that Islam was not spread by the sword.
7. Indonesia and Malaysia.
Indonesia is a country that has the maximum number of Muslims in the world. The majority of people in Malaysia are Muslims. May one ask, 'Which Muslim army went to Indonesia and Malaysia?'
8. East Coast of Africa.
Similarly, Islam has spread rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. One may again ask, if Islam was spread by the sword, 'Which Muslim army went to the East Coast of Africa?'
9. Thomas Carlyle.
The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book 'Heroes and Hero worship', refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam: 'The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one. In one man's head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can.'
10. No compulsion in religion.
With which sword was Islam spread? Even if Muslims had it they could not use it to spread Islam because the Qur'an says in the following verse:
'Let there be no compulsion in religion:
Truth stands out clear from error'
[Al-Qur'an 2:256]
11. Sword of the Intellect.
It is the sword of intellect. The sword that conquers the hearts and minds of people. The Qur'an says in Surah Nahl, chapter 16 verse 125:
'Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord
with wisdom and beautiful preaching;
and argue with them in ways that are
best and most gracious.'
[Al-Qur'an 16:125]
12. Increase in the world religions from 1934 to 1984.
An article in Reader's Digest 'Almanac', year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article also appeared in 'The Plain Truth' magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by 235%, and Christianity had increased only by 47%. May one ask, which war took place in this century which converted millions of people to Islam?
13. Islam is the fastest growing religion in America and Europe.
Today the fastest growing religion in America is Islam. The fastest growing religion in Europe in Islam. Which sword is forcing people in the West to accept Islam in such large numbers?
14. Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson.
Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson rightly says, 'People who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in the hands of the Arabs, fail to realize that the Islamic bomb has been dropped already, it fell the day MUHAMMED (pbuh) was born'
MUSLIMS ARE FUNDAMENTALISTS AND TERRORISTS
Question:
Why are most of the Muslims fundamentalists and terrorists?
Answer:
This question is often hurled at Muslims, either directly or indirectly, during any discussion on religion or world affairs. Muslim stereotypes are perpetuated in every form of the media accompanied by gross misinformation about Islam and Muslims. In fact, such misinformation and false propaganda often leads to discrimination and acts of violence against Muslims. A case in point is the anti-Muslim campaign in the American media following the Oklahoma bomb blast, where the press was quick to declare a 'Middle Eastern conspiracy' behind the attack. The culprit was later identified as a soldier from the American Armed Forces.
Let us analyze this allegation of 'fundamentalism' and 'terrorism':
1. Definition of the word 'fundamentalist'
A fundamentalist is a person who follows and adheres to the fundamentals of the doctrine or theory he is following. For a person to be a good doctor, he should know, follow, and practise the fundamentals of medicine. In other words, he should be a fundamentalist in the field of medicine. For a person to be a good mathematician, he should know, follow and practise the fundamentals of mathematics. He should be a fundamentalist in the field of mathematics. For a person to be a good scientist, he should know, follow and practise the fundamentals of science. He should be a fundamentalist in the field of science.
2. Not all 'fundamentalists' are the same
One cannot paint all fundamentalists with the same brush. One cannot categorize all fundamentalists as either good or bad. Such a categorization of any fund amentalist will depend upon the field or activity in which he is a fundamentalist. A fundamentalist robber or thief causes harm to society and is therefore undesirable. A fundamentalist doctor, on the other hand, benefits society and earns much respect.
3. I am proud to be a Muslim fundamentalist
I am a fundamentalist Muslim who, by the grace of Allah, knows, follows and strives to practise the fundamentals of Islam. A true Muslim does not shy away from being a fundamentalist. I am proud to be a fundamentalist Muslim because, I know that the fundamentals of Islam are beneficial to humanity and the whole world. There is not a single fundamental of Islam that causes harm or is against the interests of the human race as a whole. Many people harbour misconceptions about Islam and consider several teachings of Islam to be unfair or improper. This is due to insufficient and incorrect knowledge of Islam. If one critically analyzes the teachings of Islam with an open mind, one cannot escape the fact that Islam is full of benefits both at the individual and collective levels.
4. Dictionary meaning of the word 'fundamentalist'
According to Webster's dictionary 'fundamentalism' was a movement in American Protestanism that arose in the earlier part of the 20th century. It was a reaction to modernism, and stressed the infallibility of the Bible, not only in matters of faith and morals but also as a literal historical record. It stressed on belief in the Bible as the literal word of God. Thus fundamentalism was a word initially used for a group of Christians who believed that the Bible was the verbatim word of God without any errors and mistakes.
According to the Oxford dictionary 'fundamentalism' means 'strict maintenance of ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion, especially Islam'.
Today the moment a person uses the word fundamentalist he thinks of a Muslim who is a terrorist.
5. Every Muslim should be a terrorist
Every Muslim should be a terrorist. A terrorist is a person who causes terror. The moment a robber sees a policeman he is terrified. A policeman is a terrorist for the robber. Similarly every Muslim should be a terrorist for the antisocial elements of society, such as thieves, dacoits and rapists. Whenever such an anti-social element sees a Muslim, he should be terrified. It is true that the word 'terrorist' is generally used for a person who causes terror among the common people. But a true Muslim should only be a terrorist to selective people i.e. anti-social elements, and not to the common innocent people. In fact a Muslim should be a source of peace for innocent people.
6. Different labels given to the same individual for the same action, i.e. 'terrorist' and 'patriot'
Before India achieved independence from British rule, some freedom fighters of India who did not subscribe to non-violence were labeled as terrorists by the British government. The same individuals have been lauded by Indians for the same activities and hailed as 'patriots'. Thus two different labels have been given to the same people for the same set of actions. One is calling him a terrorist while the other is calling him a patriot. Those who believed that Britain had a right to rule over India called these people terrorists, while those who were of the view that Britain had no right to rule India called them patriots and freedom fighters.
It is therefore important that before a person is judged, he is given a fair hearing. Both sides of the argument should be heard, the situation should be analyzed, and the reason and the intention of the person should be taken into account, and then the person can be judged accordingly.
7. Islam means peace
Islam is derived from the word 'salaam' which means peace. It is a religion of peace whose fundamentals teach its followers to maintain and promote peace throughout the world.
Thus every Muslim should be a fundamentalist i.e. he should follow the fundamentals of the Religion of Peace: Islam. He should be a terrorist only towards the antisocial elements in order to promote peace and justice in the society.
WAS ISLAM SPREAD BY THE SWORD?
Question:
How can Islam be called the religion of peace when it was spread by the sword?
Answer:
It is a common complaint among some non-Muslims that Islam would not have millions of adherents all over the world, if it had not been spread by the use of force. The following points will make it clear, that far from being spread by the sword, it was the inherent force of truth, reason and logic that was responsible for the rapid spread of Islam.
1. Islam means peace.
Islam comes from the root word 'salaam', which means peace. It also means submitting one's will to Allah (swt). Thus Islam is a religion of peace, which is acquired by submitting one's will to the will of the Supreme Creator, Allah (swt).
2. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace.
Each and every human being in this world is not in favour of maintaining peace and harmony. There are many, who would disrupt it for their own vested interests. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace. It is precisely for this reason that we have the police who use force against criminals and anti-social elements to maintain peace in the country. Islam promotes peace. At the same time, Islam exhorts it followers to fight where there is oppression. The fight against oppression may, at times, require the use of force. In Islam force can only be used to promote peace and justice.
3. Opinion of historian De Lacy O'Leary.
The best reply to the misconception that Islam was spread by the sword is given by the noted historian De Lacy O'Leary in the book 'Islam at the cross road' (Page 8):
'History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myth that historians have ever repeated.'
4. Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years.
Muslims ruled Spain for about 800 years. The Muslims in Spain never used the sword to force the people to convert. Later the Christian Crusaders came to Spain and wiped out the Muslims. There was not a single Muslim in Spain who could openly give the adhan, that is the call for prayers.
5. 14 million Arabs are Coptic Christians.
Muslims were the lords of Arabia for 1400 years. For a few years the British ruled, and for a few years the French ruled. Overall, the Muslims ruled Arabia for 1400 years. Yet today, there are 14 million Arabs who are Coptic Christians i.e. Christians since generations. If the Muslims had used the sword there would not have been a single Arab who would have remained a Christian.
6. More than 80% non-Muslims in India.
The Muslims ruled India for about a thousand years. If they wanted, they had the power of converting each and every non-Muslim of India to Islam. Today more than 80% of the population of India are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Indians are bearing witness today that Islam was not spread by the sword.
7. Indonesia and Malaysia.
Indonesia is a country that has the maximum number of Muslims in the world. The majority of people in Malaysia are Muslims. May one ask, 'Which Muslim army went to Indonesia and Malaysia?'
8. East Coast of Africa.
Similarly, Islam has spread rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. One may again ask, if Islam was spread by the sword, 'Which Muslim army went to the East Coast of Africa?'
9. Thomas Carlyle.
The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book 'Heroes and Hero worship', refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam: 'The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one. In one man's head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can.'
10. No compulsion in religion.
With which sword was Islam spread? Even if Muslims had it they could not use it to spread Islam because the Qur'an says in the following verse:
'Let there be no compulsion in religion:
Truth stands out clear from error'
[Al-Qur'an 2:256]
11. Sword of the Intellect.
It is the sword of intellect. The sword that conquers the hearts and minds of people. The Qur'an says in Surah Nahl, chapter 16 verse 125:
'Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord
with wisdom and beautiful preaching;
and argue with them in ways that are
best and most gracious.'
[Al-Qur'an 16:125]
12. Increase in the world religions from 1934 to 1984.
An article in Reader's Digest 'Almanac', year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article also appeared in 'The Plain Truth' magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by 235%, and Christianity had increased only by 47%. May one ask, which war took place in this century which converted millions of people to Islam?
13. Islam is the fastest growing religion in America and Europe.
Today the fastest growing religion in America is Islam. The fastest growing religion in Europe in Islam. Which sword is forcing people in the West to accept Islam in such large numbers?
14. Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson.
Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson rightly says, 'People who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in the hands of the Arabs, fail to realize that the Islamic bomb has been dropped already, it fell the day MUHAMMED (pbuh) was born'
THE CAUSES OF ANGER AND ITS MEDICINE
From Imam Ghazali’s book “Ihyaa Uloom ad Deen” (The
revival of religious teachings)
THE CAUSES OF ANGER AND ITS MEDICINE
Know, O dear readers, that the medecine of a disease is
to remove the root cause of that disease. Isa (Jesus
Christ) -peace be upon him- was once asked: “What thing
is difficult?” He said: “God’s wrath.” Prophet Yahya
(John the Baptist) -peace be upon him- then asked: “What
thing takes near the wrath of God?” He said:”Anger”.
Yahya - peace be upon him- asked him:”What thing grows
and increases anger?” Isa -peace be upon him-
said:”Pride, prestige, hope for honour and haughtiness”
The causes which cause anger to grow are self-conceit,
self-praise, jests and ridicule, argument, treachery, too
much greed for too much wealth and name and fame. If
these evils are united in a person, his conduct becomes
bad and he cannot escape anger. So these things should
be removed by their opposites. Self-praise is to be
removed by modesty. Pride is to be removed by one’s own
origin and birth, greed is to be removed by remaining
satisfied with necessary things, and miserliness by
charity. The prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
“A strong man is not he who defeats his adversary by
wrestling, but a strong man is he who controls himself at
the time of anger.” We are describing below the
medecines of anger after one gets angry. The medecine is
a mixture of knowledge and action. The medecine based on
knowledge is of six kinds: (1) The first medecine of
knowledge is to think over the rewards of appeasing
anger, that have come from the verses of the Quran and
the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh). Your hope for getting
rewards of appeasing anger will restrain you from taking
revenge. (2) The second kind of medecine based on
knowledge is to fear the punishment of God and to think
that the punishment of God upon me is greater than my
punishment upon him. If I take revenge upon this man for
anger, God will take revenge upon me on the Judgement
Day. (3) The third kind of medecine of anger based on
knowledge is to take precaution about punishment of
enemity and revenge on himself. You feel joy in having
your enemy in your presence in his sorrows, You yourself
are not free from that danger. You will fear that your
enemy might take revenge against you in this world and in
the next. (4) Another kind of medecine based on
knowledge is to think about the ugly face of the angry
man, which is just like that of the ferocious beast. He
who appeases anger looks like a sober and learned man.
(5) The fifth kind of medecine based on knowledgeis to
think that the devil will advise by saying: “ You will be
weak if you do not get angry!” Do not listen to him! (6)
The sixth reason is to think: “ What reason have I got to
get angry? What Allah wishes has occured!” Medecine
based on action When you get angry, say: I seek refuge
in God from the accursed evil (A’oudhou billaahi min as
shaytaan ir rajeem). The prophet (pbuh) ordered us to say
thus. When Ayesha (RA) got angry, he dragged her by the
nose and said: “ O dear Ayesha, say: O God, you are the
Lord of my prophet Muhammad, forgive my sins and remove
the anger from my heart and save me from misguidance.”
If anger does not go by this means, you will sit down if
you are standing, lie down if you are sitting, and come
near to earth, as you have been created of earth. Thus
make yourself calm like the earth. The cause of wrath is
heat and its opposite is to lie down on the ground and to
make the body calm and cool. The prophet (pbuh) said:
Anger is a burning coal. Don’t you see your eyebrows wide
and eyes reddish? So when one of you feels angry, let him
sit down if standing, and lie down if sitting. If still
anger does not stop, make ablution with cold water or
take a bath, as fire cannot be extinguished without
water. The prophet (pbuh) said : “ When one of you gets
angry, let him make ablution with water as anger arises
out of fire.” In another narration, he said:” Anger comes
from the devil and the devil is made of fire.” Hazrat
Ali (RA) said: The prophet did not get angry for any
action of the world. When any true matter charmed him,
nobody knew it and nobody got up to take revenge for his
anger.
revival of religious teachings)
THE CAUSES OF ANGER AND ITS MEDICINE
Know, O dear readers, that the medecine of a disease is
to remove the root cause of that disease. Isa (Jesus
Christ) -peace be upon him- was once asked: “What thing
is difficult?” He said: “God’s wrath.” Prophet Yahya
(John the Baptist) -peace be upon him- then asked: “What
thing takes near the wrath of God?” He said:”Anger”.
Yahya - peace be upon him- asked him:”What thing grows
and increases anger?” Isa -peace be upon him-
said:”Pride, prestige, hope for honour and haughtiness”
The causes which cause anger to grow are self-conceit,
self-praise, jests and ridicule, argument, treachery, too
much greed for too much wealth and name and fame. If
these evils are united in a person, his conduct becomes
bad and he cannot escape anger. So these things should
be removed by their opposites. Self-praise is to be
removed by modesty. Pride is to be removed by one’s own
origin and birth, greed is to be removed by remaining
satisfied with necessary things, and miserliness by
charity. The prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
“A strong man is not he who defeats his adversary by
wrestling, but a strong man is he who controls himself at
the time of anger.” We are describing below the
medecines of anger after one gets angry. The medecine is
a mixture of knowledge and action. The medecine based on
knowledge is of six kinds: (1) The first medecine of
knowledge is to think over the rewards of appeasing
anger, that have come from the verses of the Quran and
the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh). Your hope for getting
rewards of appeasing anger will restrain you from taking
revenge. (2) The second kind of medecine based on
knowledge is to fear the punishment of God and to think
that the punishment of God upon me is greater than my
punishment upon him. If I take revenge upon this man for
anger, God will take revenge upon me on the Judgement
Day. (3) The third kind of medecine of anger based on
knowledge is to take precaution about punishment of
enemity and revenge on himself. You feel joy in having
your enemy in your presence in his sorrows, You yourself
are not free from that danger. You will fear that your
enemy might take revenge against you in this world and in
the next. (4) Another kind of medecine based on
knowledge is to think about the ugly face of the angry
man, which is just like that of the ferocious beast. He
who appeases anger looks like a sober and learned man.
(5) The fifth kind of medecine based on knowledgeis to
think that the devil will advise by saying: “ You will be
weak if you do not get angry!” Do not listen to him! (6)
The sixth reason is to think: “ What reason have I got to
get angry? What Allah wishes has occured!” Medecine
based on action When you get angry, say: I seek refuge
in God from the accursed evil (A’oudhou billaahi min as
shaytaan ir rajeem). The prophet (pbuh) ordered us to say
thus. When Ayesha (RA) got angry, he dragged her by the
nose and said: “ O dear Ayesha, say: O God, you are the
Lord of my prophet Muhammad, forgive my sins and remove
the anger from my heart and save me from misguidance.”
If anger does not go by this means, you will sit down if
you are standing, lie down if you are sitting, and come
near to earth, as you have been created of earth. Thus
make yourself calm like the earth. The cause of wrath is
heat and its opposite is to lie down on the ground and to
make the body calm and cool. The prophet (pbuh) said:
Anger is a burning coal. Don’t you see your eyebrows wide
and eyes reddish? So when one of you feels angry, let him
sit down if standing, and lie down if sitting. If still
anger does not stop, make ablution with cold water or
take a bath, as fire cannot be extinguished without
water. The prophet (pbuh) said : “ When one of you gets
angry, let him make ablution with water as anger arises
out of fire.” In another narration, he said:” Anger comes
from the devil and the devil is made of fire.” Hazrat
Ali (RA) said: The prophet did not get angry for any
action of the world. When any true matter charmed him,
nobody knew it and nobody got up to take revenge for his
anger.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
According to the FBI, the definition of terrorism is:
This I got off a newsgroup.
"Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property
to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment
thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."
The religion of Islam fulfills each and every criteria of the above-mentioned
definition of terrorism. The following irrefutable facts and deductive logic
will amply demonstrate this statement. Ever since Islam was founded it has left
behind a legacy of violent atrocities and horrible crimes. The holy book of the
Muslims, the Koran, contains specific instructions on how to loot, pillage,
plunder, rape, torture and murder in order to further the interests of Islam .
It can clearly be called a specific instruction manual of terrorism.
The Holy Koran is full of very unholy and terrorist ambitions, it is obviously
not from God, as the Muslims would have us believe. Any sane individual can see
that it is a journal and collection of a terrorist's criminal activities and
ideas. This terrorist's name is Mohammed (popularly known as the prophet of
Islam). During his lifetime, Mohammed organized at least 86 expeditions against
people who either refused to follow his teachings or simply came in the way of
his power crazed ambitions. He led the life of a serial killer, terrorist and
rapist, who perpetrated genocide throughout Arabia. Along with the pagan Arabs,
many Jews and Christians were victims of this mindless terrorist. Mohammed was
a man who destroyed peace wherever he went, and in its place brought terror,
carnage and death. And he did all this in the name of God! Mohammed has clearly
stated in the Koran that God has instructed him and all pious Muslims to loot,
pillage, plunder, rape, torture and murder innocent human beings, in order to
further the interests of Islam.
I have stated below just a few of the verses from the Koran, which support this
fact. As the Koran is supposed to be timeless and universal, the verses in it
hold true even today and are used everyday by pious Muslims to justify their
brutal and terrorist activities.
1. (Koran 8:12) "Remember Thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I
am with you: give firmness to the believers, I will instill terror into the
hearts of the unbelievers, Smite ye above their necks and smite all their
finger tips of them."
In the above verse the great prophet of Islam, Mohammed, is giving step by step
instructions on how to torture and kill the unbelievers if they don't follow
Islam. He is clearly instructing Muslims to commit cold-blooded murder in the
name of religion.
2. (Koran 2:216) "Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you;
but it may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you and it may happen
that you love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, you knew not."
The above verse was stated by Mohammed after his first terrorist attack. He and
his followers mercilessly massacred four innocent and unarmed merchants at
Nakhla in 623 AD. The massacre came in January, the sacred month of Rejeb.
Arabs regard this month as a sacred month, when warfare and violence is
forbidden. Since this barbaric criminal act was led and sanctioned by the
"great" prophet Mohammed, we can conclude that Islam's sacred activities
include loot and cold-blooded murder of innocent individuals. The very
beginnings of Islam are stained with the blood of innocents.
By stating the above verse, Mohammed completely absolved himself from all blame
for having murdered innocents. The most insidious and devilish implication of
this verse is that God is completely justifying Mohammed's murder of the
innocent Meccans. The import of this verse is that killing and violence are
JUSTIFIED for Muslims, because they are doing it by divine ordinance! It is a
religious duty of every Muslim to murder anyone who comes in the way of Islam.
Since it is also the duty of every Muslim to ensure that the entire world is
converted to Islam by force if necessary, one must directly conclude that it is
the religious duty of Muslims to kill all those who are non-Muslim. This
conclusion is derived directly from the supreme edict of Allah, who admonishes
that even the Muslim who feels it is wrong to kill, must murder in the name of
Allah, otherwise he is not a true Muslim. Over and above this, Mohammed is
hypocritically implying that warfare is hateful to him, but he participated in
it because God ordained it.
3. (Koran 69:30-37) "It is not for any Prophet to have captives until he hath
made slaughter in the land. You desire the lure of this world and Allah desires
for you the hereafter and Allah is Mighty, Wise.. Now enjoy what you have won
as lawful and good and keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is forgiving,
merciful."
This verse is in reference to the prisoners that Mohammed held for ransom after
the battle of Badr. This battle occurred on March 17, 623 AD. This is the month
of Ramadan-another sacred month for the Muslims! In this battle, Mohammed and
his followers killed at least 70 innocent merchants from the Quraysh tribe of
Mecca and slaughtered several hundred soldiers who came forward to defend them.
Here God the "Merciful" is saying that all the non-believers deserve to be
killed! In addition, God is conveniently commenting that whatever loot Mohammed
has plundered is "lawful and good" because it was done in service to God. So
murder, rape, plunder and destruction are all perfectly legal with the Muslim
God as long as they are done in the name of Islam! Mohammed is also insidiously
making himself seem very kind for having spared the lives of the prisoners,
when in fact he only let them live so he could ransom their lives for more
money. In today's world this is called "taking hostages" and defines
"Terrorism" of the worst kind.
4. (Koran 69:30-37) "(It will be said) Take him and fetter him and expose him
to hell fire. And then insert him in a chain whereof the length is seventy
cubits. Lo! he used not to believe in God the tremendous, and urged not on the
feeding of the wretched. Therefore hath he no lover hear this day nor any food
save filth which none but sinners eat."
The above verses from the Koran prove that Muslims are specifically instructed
not to tolerate unbelievers. It directly states that people who do not believe
in Mohammed and the Islamic God are to be tortured and murdered.. Not only does
this verse clearly implicate that unbelievers must be tortured and killed, it
goes on further to state prescribed methods for committing torture. The
horrific acts mentioned above are in practice even today in Islamic countries.
In fact, in India, Muslims tortured the Sikh Gurus and their families exactly
as prescribed by the Koran. For example, the Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur was
imprisoned in a cage like a wild animal, when he refused to forsake his
religion for Islam. Three of his disciples were murdered in front of his eyes.
One of them was Bhai Mati Das. He was sawed alive into little pieces. The other
was wrapped up in cotton and burnt alive. Bhai Dyala, the third one, was boiled
alive in a cauldron. Guru Tegh Bahadur himself was brutally tortured and killed
in a similar fashion. One wonders at the mercy of "The all beneficent Allah"
who enjoys watching the roasted burnt flesh of hapless innocents falling off
their bones.
5. (Koran 5: 33-34) "The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His
messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be
killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet and alternate sides cut off,
or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the
world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom; Save those who repent
before ye overpower them. For know that Allah is forgiving, merciful."
6. (Koran 22: 19-22) "These twain (the believers and the disbelievers) are two
opponents who contend concerning their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve,
garments of fire will be cut out for them, boiling fluid will be poured down
their heads. Whereby that which is in their bellies, and their skins too, will
be melted; And for them are hooked rods of iron. Whenever, in their anguish,
they would go forth from thence they are driven back therein and (it is said
unto them): Taste the doom of burning."
7. (Koran 76: 4) "Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers chains, yokes and a
blazing fire."
The above verses clearly state extreme terrorist activities, as they contain
nothing but detailed recipes of horrific torture. Cutting off the hands and
feet of individuals and then making them walk and jump, pouring boiling waters
over their victims, making them drink it, burning them alive, inserting hot
iron rods into their bodies, dismemberment and disembowelment, genital
mutilation etc. are common Islamic practices.
I have mentioned only a few of the verses from the Koran to show that Islam is
nothing but an excuse to legalize terrorism, genocide, massacre and other
criminal activities. Many other verses that demonstrate these specific
qualities, are to be found throughout the Koran . As Muslims worldwide regard
the Koran to be the ultimate holy book, it is followed to the word. Their daily
lives are guided specifically by such passages from the Koran . Moreover, the
terrorist, lecherous and criminal activities described in the Koran are
considered to be the sacred words of God. Is it any wonder that mindless
Muslims all over the world, justify their criminal activities of destruction,
loot, torture, rape and murder by pointing to the Koran? They actually consider
their acts to be holy and believe that for committing such holy acts they will
go to paradise-a paradise where they will have plenty of wine, women and young
boys for their sexual pleasure. (How Mohammed uses bribery in the Koran to
attract mindless human beings is above the scope of this article and will be
described in later ones).
Today, many followers of Islam such as Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Momar Gaddafi,
Louis Farrakhan, Yasser Arafat, Dawood Ibrahim, Abu Nidal, etc. are famed for
the brutality of their crimes and terrorism. The entire world is marred by
violence and murder, wherever Muslims reside. The entire world is suffering due
to the barbaric activities of Islamic terrorists. Pick up a newspaper today and
you will note that 98% of terrorist activities that occur involve Muslims. I
have named a few of the countries below as examples:
(1) India - Muslims have been terrorizing this country since the 7th century
AD. Muslim regimes throughout India have a record of unparalleled terror and
torture described in gory detail by contemporary Muslim chronicles themselves.
Subjecting all non-Muslims to abject atrocities, plundering their wealth,
abducting their women and usurping their houses of worship to be used as
mosques and tombs, has been considered sacred duty of every Muslim. Such acts
earned for the tormentors the coveted title of Ghazi , to be paraded as a
citation of great Islamic glory and greatness. Aurangzeb, one of the last
Muslim emperors had 10,000 Hindus massacred everyday for an entire year. He
alone was responsible for the massacre of at least 3,650,000 Hindus and
destruction of more than 11,000 Hindu temples. William Durant, author of the
voluminous "Story of Civilization" has described the Muslim conquests in India
as constituting the saddest and goriest chapter in human history. Muslims have
destroyed and looted the whole country and have killed countless innocent
Hindus in the process.
The Muslims forced the violent partition of India into three parts in 1947
(India, West Pakistan and East Pakistan). Even today, they terrorize the
innocent people of India by causing bomb blasts and killing innocent
individuals. Currently, the followers of Islam are concentrating their efforts
in Kashmir, a northern state in India. Kashmir has been the land of the Hindus
since ancient times. The word Kashmir itself is derived from Rishi Kashyap-a
great spiritual leader of Hinduism. The Muslims have destroyed this beautiful
land completely. Today the Pakistan-sponsored Muslim terrorists continue to
kill, torture and rape the innocent Hindus of Kashmir. To cite the most recent
incidents: In a cold-blooded massacre on the night of January 25th 1998, 23
Kashmiri Hindus, including 10 women and four children, were gunned down by a
group of Islamic terrorists from Pakistan in Wandhama, 27 km from Srinagar. On
April 19th Islamic terrorists belonging to the Pakistani Lashkar-e-Tobia
terrorist organization claimed responsibility for gunning down at least 13
Kashmiri Hindus in Prankot village near Mahore in Udhampur district. The
victims included four women and two children. Pakistan's aim is to separate
Kashmir from India and declare it as an Islamic state. I will provide you with
more information on Islamic terrorism in India and Kashmir in a separate
article.
(2) The Assyrian Nation - The horrible crimes committed by Islamic terrorists
against the Assyrian nation is a well documented fact. Between 1980 and 1988
the Iraqi regime exiled thousands of Iraqi citizens to Iran on the charges that
they were of Persian ancestry. Many Assyrians were targeted in this illegal and
barbarous act. During this bloody war, it is estimated that up to 10,000
Assyrian men from Iraq were killed. The most disturbing aspect of this tragedy
is that many of these Assyrians were killed in cold blood by their own Arab
countrymen, just for being Assyrians. On December 13th 1997, a group of
militants belonging to the Kurdish Labour Party (PKK), treacherously attacked
six Assyrians through an ambush laid for them in the district of
Mangeesh-Duhok, Northern Iraq. Two of them were killed immediately and the
others were wounded, then the armed group charged over them and cold-bloodedly
killed the wounded.
Ever since the invasion of their homelands by barbaric Muslims, the Assyrians
have been fighting for their rights. The persecution of Assyrian Christians by
the Islamic terrorists has brought them to the brink of extinction!
(3) Bangladesh - Bangladesh was a part of India before the Muslim terrorists
led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah separated it from India in 1947. It was then called
East Pakistan. Jinnah lied to the thirteen million Hindus, Buddhists and
Christians in East Pakistan and told them that they would not be persecuted
against. He promised that they would be given full freedom under the Islamic
rule. However, these religious minorities-especially the Hindus and the
Buddhists have been tortured, raped and murdered by the pious Muslims ever
since 1947. Over 2.5 million Hindus alone were slaughtered during the
Pakistan-Bangladesh war in 1971. The types of crimes committed were perfectly
in accordance with the Koran. Robert E. Burns, the author of Wrath of Allah
states, "The mutilation was disgusting-eyes gouged out, pregnant women
disemboweled, male genitals cut off, women's breasts cut off….."
The persecution of "unbelievers" in the name of Allah , continues even today in
Bangladesh under the Islamic rule. For example, Taslima Nasreen, the author of
Lajja was given a death sentence for just stating the facts and speaking
against the inhumane, cruel and barbaric nature of Islam.
(4) Egypt - Egypt has been terrorized by Muslims since the time of Umar II (8th
Century AD.). With Umar's raid on Egypt began the destruction of Egypt's
Christians. Their Churches were destroyed, Umar imposed Jizya-a special tax
that was invented by Mohammed , where all the "non-believers" had to pay or
face death. They lost ownership of all their land and had to pay a special land
tax, kharaj, simply in order to use it . They were ridiculed, made to wear
discriminatory clothing and were made to ride on donkeys. Anyone not complying
with the wishes of the Islamic terrorists was tortured to death in absolute
accordance with the Koran. The ongoing Islamic terrorist attacks on innocent
people in Egypt even today prove that Islamic terrorism is alive and kicking in
this country as well. In this country the tourists are special targets of the
Muslim terrorists. Just last year in Cairo, the pious followers of Mohammed
murdered an entire bus load of German tourists. In another incident, Muslim
fundamentalists killed more than 40 tourists near the Pyramids.
The terrorists continue to commit these horrible crimes to achieve their goal
of declaration of Egypt as an Islamic state. An Islamic state is desired by
these terrorists, so that they will be able to commit more such crimes freely.
As per the Koran, they will go to the typical Islamic Paradise for committing
these "holy" acts! Apparently, the most important condition by far, for
entering "Jannat" (Islamic Heaven) is that you must have the blood of
innocents, stained on your hands!
(5) Algeria - Algeria has been under Islamic terrorist attack for quite some
time now. Accurate casualty figures are difficult to acquire, but as many as
50,000 Algerians (militants, security personnel, and civilians) have died as a
result of the nearly four-year-old insurgency. Even the U.S. embassy's
warehouse was the target of Islamic terrorists. They set fire to the warehouse
and threatened to kill the security guard just because he was working for the
United States. The Islamic terrorist organization which carries out most of
these attacks is called GIA (Algerian Armed Islamic Group). The GIA was
responsible for the deaths of 31 foreigners in Algeria in 1995, compared to at
least 64 in 1994. Most of the foreigners killed were "soft targets," such as
teachers and nuns. Cowardly Islamic terrorists, conform to this pattern of
targeting the most vulnerable and helpless segment of the population, in
imitation of Prophet Mohammed's life. From July to October, a terrorist bombing
campaign in France began against civilian targets, killing eight persons and
wounding 160. And such attacks continue on even today in Algeria.
(6) Pakistan - Like East Pakistan (Bangladesh), Pakistan was also founded by
the terrorist leader, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Ever since its foundation, Pakistan
has sponsored terrorism and Islamic terrorist groups all over the world.
Pakistan's main focus of terrorist activity has always been India. This nation
is obsessed with the downfall of India and will do anything to accomplish this
goal. It has gone to war with India three times in the past and failed
miserably all three times. Pakistan continues to support Islamic terrorist
organizations such as Harakat ul-Ansar (HUA) and Al-Faran. Al-Faran is the
group that claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in Kashmir of two US
citizens, two Britons, a German, and a Norwegian. Other Pakistan-backed groups
have claimed responsibility for numerous bombings in Kashmir, including one
against foreign journalists.
It is a well-known fact today that Pakistan is an Islamic terrorist state. The
mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing hailed from Pakistan. The Islamic
terrorists in Kashmir are trained and supplied by Pakistan. There is even proof
that Pakistan is supporting and helping the Taliban-the barbaric Islamic
organization of Afghanistan.
Many other countries such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Syria,
Indonesia, Israel, Libya, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Mauritania, Cyprus,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, etc. can be added to the above list.
As we can clearly see Muslims are actively committing acts of terrorism in many
other parts of the world and justifying it by pointing towards the Koran. Even
the West is not untouched anymore. The fact that countries such as the U.K,
U.S.A and France have already experienced Islamic terrorism first hand is a
testament to this. It remains to be seen whether countries such as these will
learn from the past and recognize Islam for what it is-a religious sanction to
legalize barbaric and horrific crimes! I urge each and everyone to read the
Koran, the terrorist's instruction manual, for their own personal safety. It is
necessary to know what you are up against before you can begin to defend
yourself.
This is just a simple introduction to Islamic terrorism. I intend to post more
such articles that contain many more such proofs to show that Islam is nothing
but an excuse to legalize terrorist activities and other such crimes. In order
to realize this, one must first understand that Islam itself was founded for
the sole purpose of terrorizing, subjugating, massacring and torturing
non-Muslims in the name of Allah. Mohammed, the founder of Islam composed the
entire Koran in order to justify his terrorist activities and crimes by false
Divine injunctions.
"Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property
to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment
thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."
The religion of Islam fulfills each and every criteria of the above-mentioned
definition of terrorism. The following irrefutable facts and deductive logic
will amply demonstrate this statement. Ever since Islam was founded it has left
behind a legacy of violent atrocities and horrible crimes. The holy book of the
Muslims, the Koran, contains specific instructions on how to loot, pillage,
plunder, rape, torture and murder in order to further the interests of Islam .
It can clearly be called a specific instruction manual of terrorism.
The Holy Koran is full of very unholy and terrorist ambitions, it is obviously
not from God, as the Muslims would have us believe. Any sane individual can see
that it is a journal and collection of a terrorist's criminal activities and
ideas. This terrorist's name is Mohammed (popularly known as the prophet of
Islam). During his lifetime, Mohammed organized at least 86 expeditions against
people who either refused to follow his teachings or simply came in the way of
his power crazed ambitions. He led the life of a serial killer, terrorist and
rapist, who perpetrated genocide throughout Arabia. Along with the pagan Arabs,
many Jews and Christians were victims of this mindless terrorist. Mohammed was
a man who destroyed peace wherever he went, and in its place brought terror,
carnage and death. And he did all this in the name of God! Mohammed has clearly
stated in the Koran that God has instructed him and all pious Muslims to loot,
pillage, plunder, rape, torture and murder innocent human beings, in order to
further the interests of Islam.
I have stated below just a few of the verses from the Koran, which support this
fact. As the Koran is supposed to be timeless and universal, the verses in it
hold true even today and are used everyday by pious Muslims to justify their
brutal and terrorist activities.
1. (Koran 8:12) "Remember Thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I
am with you: give firmness to the believers, I will instill terror into the
hearts of the unbelievers, Smite ye above their necks and smite all their
finger tips of them."
In the above verse the great prophet of Islam, Mohammed, is giving step by step
instructions on how to torture and kill the unbelievers if they don't follow
Islam. He is clearly instructing Muslims to commit cold-blooded murder in the
name of religion.
2. (Koran 2:216) "Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you;
but it may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you and it may happen
that you love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, you knew not."
The above verse was stated by Mohammed after his first terrorist attack. He and
his followers mercilessly massacred four innocent and unarmed merchants at
Nakhla in 623 AD. The massacre came in January, the sacred month of Rejeb.
Arabs regard this month as a sacred month, when warfare and violence is
forbidden. Since this barbaric criminal act was led and sanctioned by the
"great" prophet Mohammed, we can conclude that Islam's sacred activities
include loot and cold-blooded murder of innocent individuals. The very
beginnings of Islam are stained with the blood of innocents.
By stating the above verse, Mohammed completely absolved himself from all blame
for having murdered innocents. The most insidious and devilish implication of
this verse is that God is completely justifying Mohammed's murder of the
innocent Meccans. The import of this verse is that killing and violence are
JUSTIFIED for Muslims, because they are doing it by divine ordinance! It is a
religious duty of every Muslim to murder anyone who comes in the way of Islam.
Since it is also the duty of every Muslim to ensure that the entire world is
converted to Islam by force if necessary, one must directly conclude that it is
the religious duty of Muslims to kill all those who are non-Muslim. This
conclusion is derived directly from the supreme edict of Allah, who admonishes
that even the Muslim who feels it is wrong to kill, must murder in the name of
Allah, otherwise he is not a true Muslim. Over and above this, Mohammed is
hypocritically implying that warfare is hateful to him, but he participated in
it because God ordained it.
3. (Koran 69:30-37) "It is not for any Prophet to have captives until he hath
made slaughter in the land. You desire the lure of this world and Allah desires
for you the hereafter and Allah is Mighty, Wise.. Now enjoy what you have won
as lawful and good and keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is forgiving,
merciful."
This verse is in reference to the prisoners that Mohammed held for ransom after
the battle of Badr. This battle occurred on March 17, 623 AD. This is the month
of Ramadan-another sacred month for the Muslims! In this battle, Mohammed and
his followers killed at least 70 innocent merchants from the Quraysh tribe of
Mecca and slaughtered several hundred soldiers who came forward to defend them.
Here God the "Merciful" is saying that all the non-believers deserve to be
killed! In addition, God is conveniently commenting that whatever loot Mohammed
has plundered is "lawful and good" because it was done in service to God. So
murder, rape, plunder and destruction are all perfectly legal with the Muslim
God as long as they are done in the name of Islam! Mohammed is also insidiously
making himself seem very kind for having spared the lives of the prisoners,
when in fact he only let them live so he could ransom their lives for more
money. In today's world this is called "taking hostages" and defines
"Terrorism" of the worst kind.
4. (Koran 69:30-37) "(It will be said) Take him and fetter him and expose him
to hell fire. And then insert him in a chain whereof the length is seventy
cubits. Lo! he used not to believe in God the tremendous, and urged not on the
feeding of the wretched. Therefore hath he no lover hear this day nor any food
save filth which none but sinners eat."
The above verses from the Koran prove that Muslims are specifically instructed
not to tolerate unbelievers. It directly states that people who do not believe
in Mohammed and the Islamic God are to be tortured and murdered.. Not only does
this verse clearly implicate that unbelievers must be tortured and killed, it
goes on further to state prescribed methods for committing torture. The
horrific acts mentioned above are in practice even today in Islamic countries.
In fact, in India, Muslims tortured the Sikh Gurus and their families exactly
as prescribed by the Koran. For example, the Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur was
imprisoned in a cage like a wild animal, when he refused to forsake his
religion for Islam. Three of his disciples were murdered in front of his eyes.
One of them was Bhai Mati Das. He was sawed alive into little pieces. The other
was wrapped up in cotton and burnt alive. Bhai Dyala, the third one, was boiled
alive in a cauldron. Guru Tegh Bahadur himself was brutally tortured and killed
in a similar fashion. One wonders at the mercy of "The all beneficent Allah"
who enjoys watching the roasted burnt flesh of hapless innocents falling off
their bones.
5. (Koran 5: 33-34) "The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His
messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be
killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet and alternate sides cut off,
or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the
world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom; Save those who repent
before ye overpower them. For know that Allah is forgiving, merciful."
6. (Koran 22: 19-22) "These twain (the believers and the disbelievers) are two
opponents who contend concerning their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve,
garments of fire will be cut out for them, boiling fluid will be poured down
their heads. Whereby that which is in their bellies, and their skins too, will
be melted; And for them are hooked rods of iron. Whenever, in their anguish,
they would go forth from thence they are driven back therein and (it is said
unto them): Taste the doom of burning."
7. (Koran 76: 4) "Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers chains, yokes and a
blazing fire."
The above verses clearly state extreme terrorist activities, as they contain
nothing but detailed recipes of horrific torture. Cutting off the hands and
feet of individuals and then making them walk and jump, pouring boiling waters
over their victims, making them drink it, burning them alive, inserting hot
iron rods into their bodies, dismemberment and disembowelment, genital
mutilation etc. are common Islamic practices.
I have mentioned only a few of the verses from the Koran to show that Islam is
nothing but an excuse to legalize terrorism, genocide, massacre and other
criminal activities. Many other verses that demonstrate these specific
qualities, are to be found throughout the Koran . As Muslims worldwide regard
the Koran to be the ultimate holy book, it is followed to the word. Their daily
lives are guided specifically by such passages from the Koran . Moreover, the
terrorist, lecherous and criminal activities described in the Koran are
considered to be the sacred words of God. Is it any wonder that mindless
Muslims all over the world, justify their criminal activities of destruction,
loot, torture, rape and murder by pointing to the Koran? They actually consider
their acts to be holy and believe that for committing such holy acts they will
go to paradise-a paradise where they will have plenty of wine, women and young
boys for their sexual pleasure. (How Mohammed uses bribery in the Koran to
attract mindless human beings is above the scope of this article and will be
described in later ones).
Today, many followers of Islam such as Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Momar Gaddafi,
Louis Farrakhan, Yasser Arafat, Dawood Ibrahim, Abu Nidal, etc. are famed for
the brutality of their crimes and terrorism. The entire world is marred by
violence and murder, wherever Muslims reside. The entire world is suffering due
to the barbaric activities of Islamic terrorists. Pick up a newspaper today and
you will note that 98% of terrorist activities that occur involve Muslims. I
have named a few of the countries below as examples:
(1) India - Muslims have been terrorizing this country since the 7th century
AD. Muslim regimes throughout India have a record of unparalleled terror and
torture described in gory detail by contemporary Muslim chronicles themselves.
Subjecting all non-Muslims to abject atrocities, plundering their wealth,
abducting their women and usurping their houses of worship to be used as
mosques and tombs, has been considered sacred duty of every Muslim. Such acts
earned for the tormentors the coveted title of Ghazi , to be paraded as a
citation of great Islamic glory and greatness. Aurangzeb, one of the last
Muslim emperors had 10,000 Hindus massacred everyday for an entire year. He
alone was responsible for the massacre of at least 3,650,000 Hindus and
destruction of more than 11,000 Hindu temples. William Durant, author of the
voluminous "Story of Civilization" has described the Muslim conquests in India
as constituting the saddest and goriest chapter in human history. Muslims have
destroyed and looted the whole country and have killed countless innocent
Hindus in the process.
The Muslims forced the violent partition of India into three parts in 1947
(India, West Pakistan and East Pakistan). Even today, they terrorize the
innocent people of India by causing bomb blasts and killing innocent
individuals. Currently, the followers of Islam are concentrating their efforts
in Kashmir, a northern state in India. Kashmir has been the land of the Hindus
since ancient times. The word Kashmir itself is derived from Rishi Kashyap-a
great spiritual leader of Hinduism. The Muslims have destroyed this beautiful
land completely. Today the Pakistan-sponsored Muslim terrorists continue to
kill, torture and rape the innocent Hindus of Kashmir. To cite the most recent
incidents: In a cold-blooded massacre on the night of January 25th 1998, 23
Kashmiri Hindus, including 10 women and four children, were gunned down by a
group of Islamic terrorists from Pakistan in Wandhama, 27 km from Srinagar. On
April 19th Islamic terrorists belonging to the Pakistani Lashkar-e-Tobia
terrorist organization claimed responsibility for gunning down at least 13
Kashmiri Hindus in Prankot village near Mahore in Udhampur district. The
victims included four women and two children. Pakistan's aim is to separate
Kashmir from India and declare it as an Islamic state. I will provide you with
more information on Islamic terrorism in India and Kashmir in a separate
article.
(2) The Assyrian Nation - The horrible crimes committed by Islamic terrorists
against the Assyrian nation is a well documented fact. Between 1980 and 1988
the Iraqi regime exiled thousands of Iraqi citizens to Iran on the charges that
they were of Persian ancestry. Many Assyrians were targeted in this illegal and
barbarous act. During this bloody war, it is estimated that up to 10,000
Assyrian men from Iraq were killed. The most disturbing aspect of this tragedy
is that many of these Assyrians were killed in cold blood by their own Arab
countrymen, just for being Assyrians. On December 13th 1997, a group of
militants belonging to the Kurdish Labour Party (PKK), treacherously attacked
six Assyrians through an ambush laid for them in the district of
Mangeesh-Duhok, Northern Iraq. Two of them were killed immediately and the
others were wounded, then the armed group charged over them and cold-bloodedly
killed the wounded.
Ever since the invasion of their homelands by barbaric Muslims, the Assyrians
have been fighting for their rights. The persecution of Assyrian Christians by
the Islamic terrorists has brought them to the brink of extinction!
(3) Bangladesh - Bangladesh was a part of India before the Muslim terrorists
led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah separated it from India in 1947. It was then called
East Pakistan. Jinnah lied to the thirteen million Hindus, Buddhists and
Christians in East Pakistan and told them that they would not be persecuted
against. He promised that they would be given full freedom under the Islamic
rule. However, these religious minorities-especially the Hindus and the
Buddhists have been tortured, raped and murdered by the pious Muslims ever
since 1947. Over 2.5 million Hindus alone were slaughtered during the
Pakistan-Bangladesh war in 1971. The types of crimes committed were perfectly
in accordance with the Koran. Robert E. Burns, the author of Wrath of Allah
states, "The mutilation was disgusting-eyes gouged out, pregnant women
disemboweled, male genitals cut off, women's breasts cut off….."
The persecution of "unbelievers" in the name of Allah , continues even today in
Bangladesh under the Islamic rule. For example, Taslima Nasreen, the author of
Lajja was given a death sentence for just stating the facts and speaking
against the inhumane, cruel and barbaric nature of Islam.
(4) Egypt - Egypt has been terrorized by Muslims since the time of Umar II (8th
Century AD.). With Umar's raid on Egypt began the destruction of Egypt's
Christians. Their Churches were destroyed, Umar imposed Jizya-a special tax
that was invented by Mohammed , where all the "non-believers" had to pay or
face death. They lost ownership of all their land and had to pay a special land
tax, kharaj, simply in order to use it . They were ridiculed, made to wear
discriminatory clothing and were made to ride on donkeys. Anyone not complying
with the wishes of the Islamic terrorists was tortured to death in absolute
accordance with the Koran. The ongoing Islamic terrorist attacks on innocent
people in Egypt even today prove that Islamic terrorism is alive and kicking in
this country as well. In this country the tourists are special targets of the
Muslim terrorists. Just last year in Cairo, the pious followers of Mohammed
murdered an entire bus load of German tourists. In another incident, Muslim
fundamentalists killed more than 40 tourists near the Pyramids.
The terrorists continue to commit these horrible crimes to achieve their goal
of declaration of Egypt as an Islamic state. An Islamic state is desired by
these terrorists, so that they will be able to commit more such crimes freely.
As per the Koran, they will go to the typical Islamic Paradise for committing
these "holy" acts! Apparently, the most important condition by far, for
entering "Jannat" (Islamic Heaven) is that you must have the blood of
innocents, stained on your hands!
(5) Algeria - Algeria has been under Islamic terrorist attack for quite some
time now. Accurate casualty figures are difficult to acquire, but as many as
50,000 Algerians (militants, security personnel, and civilians) have died as a
result of the nearly four-year-old insurgency. Even the U.S. embassy's
warehouse was the target of Islamic terrorists. They set fire to the warehouse
and threatened to kill the security guard just because he was working for the
United States. The Islamic terrorist organization which carries out most of
these attacks is called GIA (Algerian Armed Islamic Group). The GIA was
responsible for the deaths of 31 foreigners in Algeria in 1995, compared to at
least 64 in 1994. Most of the foreigners killed were "soft targets," such as
teachers and nuns. Cowardly Islamic terrorists, conform to this pattern of
targeting the most vulnerable and helpless segment of the population, in
imitation of Prophet Mohammed's life. From July to October, a terrorist bombing
campaign in France began against civilian targets, killing eight persons and
wounding 160. And such attacks continue on even today in Algeria.
(6) Pakistan - Like East Pakistan (Bangladesh), Pakistan was also founded by
the terrorist leader, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Ever since its foundation, Pakistan
has sponsored terrorism and Islamic terrorist groups all over the world.
Pakistan's main focus of terrorist activity has always been India. This nation
is obsessed with the downfall of India and will do anything to accomplish this
goal. It has gone to war with India three times in the past and failed
miserably all three times. Pakistan continues to support Islamic terrorist
organizations such as Harakat ul-Ansar (HUA) and Al-Faran. Al-Faran is the
group that claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in Kashmir of two US
citizens, two Britons, a German, and a Norwegian. Other Pakistan-backed groups
have claimed responsibility for numerous bombings in Kashmir, including one
against foreign journalists.
It is a well-known fact today that Pakistan is an Islamic terrorist state. The
mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing hailed from Pakistan. The Islamic
terrorists in Kashmir are trained and supplied by Pakistan. There is even proof
that Pakistan is supporting and helping the Taliban-the barbaric Islamic
organization of Afghanistan.
Many other countries such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Syria,
Indonesia, Israel, Libya, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Mauritania, Cyprus,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, etc. can be added to the above list.
As we can clearly see Muslims are actively committing acts of terrorism in many
other parts of the world and justifying it by pointing towards the Koran. Even
the West is not untouched anymore. The fact that countries such as the U.K,
U.S.A and France have already experienced Islamic terrorism first hand is a
testament to this. It remains to be seen whether countries such as these will
learn from the past and recognize Islam for what it is-a religious sanction to
legalize barbaric and horrific crimes! I urge each and everyone to read the
Koran, the terrorist's instruction manual, for their own personal safety. It is
necessary to know what you are up against before you can begin to defend
yourself.
This is just a simple introduction to Islamic terrorism. I intend to post more
such articles that contain many more such proofs to show that Islam is nothing
but an excuse to legalize terrorist activities and other such crimes. In order
to realize this, one must first understand that Islam itself was founded for
the sole purpose of terrorizing, subjugating, massacring and torturing
non-Muslims in the name of Allah. Mohammed, the founder of Islam composed the
entire Koran in order to justify his terrorist activities and crimes by false
Divine injunctions.
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