Silver Sparrow
05-01-2005, 09:26 PM
ISLAM, MUSLIMS and TERRORISM
Below are some pages that I have extracted from several Islamic InterNet sites. What these pages show us is an immature, medieval and barbaric religion with near disdain for human life. Some passages may be read in horror!
As with Christianity, Islam was first spread at the point of the sword. But unlike Christianity, Islam never completed a reformation marking it's transition into a mature religion. Instead, a resurgence of the Wahhabiyyah sect of Islam threatens to terrorize the world.
The above is from a shockingly malicious webpage dedicated to slandering the muslims and, so it seems, to create tension and hatred amongst our multifaith communities.
Both myself and brother Usayd have responded to these claims, and wish to continue the dialogue here in an open forum, if Mr Cruzan is willing to participate (which I certainly hope he is)
My original respose
Dear Mr Cruzan
As a British Muslim woman, I'd just like to say how very pleased I am
that you have dedicated a whole section of your site to the Muslims!
Masha Allah!
Although I also believe the Wahhabi/Salafi sect to be a fitnah (trial
and affliction) to the Muslims, the agreement ends there. To label
Islam as a "medieval and barbaric religion with near disdain for human
life" is very ignorant of you. I fail to see how one person, of limited
knowledge on the subject, can judge 1/5 of the world's population from
a handful of people.
You are implying here that Islam =Terrorism.
By analogy, I could say: Christianity = Paedophilia. Yes, nearly every
peadophile I've read about in the news comes from a white Christian
background. What would you reaction be to a website called:
Christianity and Child Porn?
What if this site spoke of priests sexually abusing boys and getting
away with it? What if it described Christianity as "a perverse religion
for people of no morals and no respect for the welfare of children"?
Doesn't seem very fair does it? But if you can judge a whole group of
people, over 1 billion because some people claiming to be fighting for
their religion have commited acts of evil, why can't I lump all
Christians together? I'm trying to make you see how unjust and
insulting you are being. I don't mean to come across as rude, so please
accept my apologies if it seems that way and if I have caused you
offence in any way. Those that commited the twin towers attack were not
representatives of Islam. They were not abiding by Shariah. A true
mujahideen would NOT kill civilians intentionally. An true mujahideen
would not spend the night before a mission at a bar consuming alcohol
and hiring prostitutes. These people were as much a disgrace to Muslims
as they were to you. My own opinion is that this was an inside job. And
by the way, Shaikh Usamah bin Laden denied any involvement in the
attack and whats more he isnt wahhabi either, but a Qutbi who the
wahhabis hate.
You have said: "As with Christianity, Islam was first spread at the
point of the sword. But unlike Christianity, Islam never completed a
reformation marking it's transition into a mature religion."
This is a very very old fairy tale, spread by the pope during the
Crusades. It was Christianity that forced itself on people on fear of
death. If you read an English meaning of the Quran, in Surah 2 (Al
baqarah) you will see Allah has stated: "There is no compulsion in
religion (deen)". Dr Jamal Badawi says:
"The view that Islam was spread by the sword is a myth and now no
serious historian, including Western scholars, accepts this version of
events. One need only read the accounts of early Islam by A Michener,
HG Wells, Bernard Shaw and Toynbee to realise this.
There are, in addition to the above points, several logical points to
be made to a person who thinks that Islam was spread by the sword.
These include the arguments that:
1. Indonesia, with 120 million Muslims, and Russia, with 50 million,
never once had a Muslim soldier on their soil at the time of the great
expansion of Islam.
2. Since a Muslim man may not even force his Christian or Jewish wife
to be Muslim, he cannot force anyone else
3. When the Seljuks conquered the Muslims, they did not impose their
own beliefs on the Muslims, but embraced Islam themselves."
Let's have a look at what some non-Muslims have said about Islam and
the issue of its propagation:
__________________________________________________ _____________________
Mahatma Gandhi writes:
I wanted to know the best way of life, of one who holds, today,
undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind... I became more
than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for
Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity,
the utter self-effacement of the Prophet [SAW], the scrupulous regard
for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his
intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absoulte trust in God and in his own
mission. **These, and not the sword, carried everything before them and
surrounded every obstacle.**
Arthur Gilman writes in The Saracens, London 1887:
It is greatly to his (Muhammad's [SAW] ) praise that on this occasion
(conquest of Makkah), when his resentment for ill-usage might naturally
have incited him to revenge, he restrained his army from all shedding
of blood, and showed every sign of humility and thanksgiving to Allah
for His goodness... Ten or twelve men who had a former occasion shown a
barbarous spirit were proscribed, and of them, four put to death, but
this must be considered exceedingly humane, in comparison with the acts
of other conquerors; in comparison, for example, with the cruelty of
the Crusaders, who in 1099 put SEVENTY THOUSAND Muslims, men, WOMEN
and HELPLESS CHILDREN[capitals mine], to death when Jerusalem fell into
their hands; or with that of the English army, also fighting under the
cross, which in the year of grace 1874 burned an African capital, in
its war on the Gold Coast. Muhammad's [SAW] victory was in very truth,
one of religion and not of politics; he rejected every token of
personal homage and declined all regal authority; and when the haughty
chiefs of the Quraishis appeared before him, he asked:
"What do you expect at my hands?"
"Mercy, O generous brother!"
"Be it so; you are free!" he exclaimed.
GW Leitner says:
Muhammad [SAW] himself never made any claim to infallibility. One one
occasion he had a revelation censuring himself severely for having
turned away from a beggar in order to speak to an illustrious man of
the commonwealth, and he published this revelation, the very last thing
he would have done had he been an impostor, as ignorant Christians call
the great Arab Prophet.
__________________________________________________ _____________________
As stated, these were written by NON-MUSLIMS in order for you to have
an objective look at the noble character of the Final Messenger (SAW).
As for Christianity being a 'mature' religion, and Islam not, is a
claim with little basis. Look back to the Crusades. Look back to the
Spanish inquisition (incidentally, one charge brought against the
Muslims was that they were 'too tolerant of other religions'. Not a
very mature thing to say! ).Take a look at Belfast and the tensions
there. In fact, take a look at your own Bible. It is full of numerous
contradictions (see
http://www.islaminfo.com/articleview.asp?level=6&catID=1). Even
christian scholars have had to admit that it is no longer the
infallible word of God. How much of your religion is based PURELY upon
the teachings of Jesus (peace be upon him) and how much is made up by
man? The message of Jesus (AS) was very simple: Worship the ONE God. No
reference to trinity, no holy ghosts and catechisms and confessions and
popes. I don't wish to go into any more detail here, there is plenty of
info online. I hope that Allah will guide you to the truth, and make
you realise that Muhammad is the very Prophet that your own scriptures
predicted.
Thank you very much for reading all this. My religion is something I am
very passionate about, so again, please forgive me if I have offended
you in away, and I hope you can look beyond the Islamophobic
propaganda, and see Islam for what it truly is: A way of life of peace,
kindness and good deeds. May Allah guide you to the truth AMEEN!
Samira
Below are some pages that I have extracted from several Islamic InterNet sites. What these pages show us is an immature, medieval and barbaric religion with near disdain for human life. Some passages may be read in horror!
As with Christianity, Islam was first spread at the point of the sword. But unlike Christianity, Islam never completed a reformation marking it's transition into a mature religion. Instead, a resurgence of the Wahhabiyyah sect of Islam threatens to terrorize the world.
The above is from a shockingly malicious webpage dedicated to slandering the muslims and, so it seems, to create tension and hatred amongst our multifaith communities.
Both myself and brother Usayd have responded to these claims, and wish to continue the dialogue here in an open forum, if Mr Cruzan is willing to participate (which I certainly hope he is)
My original respose
Dear Mr Cruzan
As a British Muslim woman, I'd just like to say how very pleased I am
that you have dedicated a whole section of your site to the Muslims!
Masha Allah!
Although I also believe the Wahhabi/Salafi sect to be a fitnah (trial
and affliction) to the Muslims, the agreement ends there. To label
Islam as a "medieval and barbaric religion with near disdain for human
life" is very ignorant of you. I fail to see how one person, of limited
knowledge on the subject, can judge 1/5 of the world's population from
a handful of people.
You are implying here that Islam =Terrorism.
By analogy, I could say: Christianity = Paedophilia. Yes, nearly every
peadophile I've read about in the news comes from a white Christian
background. What would you reaction be to a website called:
Christianity and Child Porn?
What if this site spoke of priests sexually abusing boys and getting
away with it? What if it described Christianity as "a perverse religion
for people of no morals and no respect for the welfare of children"?
Doesn't seem very fair does it? But if you can judge a whole group of
people, over 1 billion because some people claiming to be fighting for
their religion have commited acts of evil, why can't I lump all
Christians together? I'm trying to make you see how unjust and
insulting you are being. I don't mean to come across as rude, so please
accept my apologies if it seems that way and if I have caused you
offence in any way. Those that commited the twin towers attack were not
representatives of Islam. They were not abiding by Shariah. A true
mujahideen would NOT kill civilians intentionally. An true mujahideen
would not spend the night before a mission at a bar consuming alcohol
and hiring prostitutes. These people were as much a disgrace to Muslims
as they were to you. My own opinion is that this was an inside job. And
by the way, Shaikh Usamah bin Laden denied any involvement in the
attack and whats more he isnt wahhabi either, but a Qutbi who the
wahhabis hate.
You have said: "As with Christianity, Islam was first spread at the
point of the sword. But unlike Christianity, Islam never completed a
reformation marking it's transition into a mature religion."
This is a very very old fairy tale, spread by the pope during the
Crusades. It was Christianity that forced itself on people on fear of
death. If you read an English meaning of the Quran, in Surah 2 (Al
baqarah) you will see Allah has stated: "There is no compulsion in
religion (deen)". Dr Jamal Badawi says:
"The view that Islam was spread by the sword is a myth and now no
serious historian, including Western scholars, accepts this version of
events. One need only read the accounts of early Islam by A Michener,
HG Wells, Bernard Shaw and Toynbee to realise this.
There are, in addition to the above points, several logical points to
be made to a person who thinks that Islam was spread by the sword.
These include the arguments that:
1. Indonesia, with 120 million Muslims, and Russia, with 50 million,
never once had a Muslim soldier on their soil at the time of the great
expansion of Islam.
2. Since a Muslim man may not even force his Christian or Jewish wife
to be Muslim, he cannot force anyone else
3. When the Seljuks conquered the Muslims, they did not impose their
own beliefs on the Muslims, but embraced Islam themselves."
Let's have a look at what some non-Muslims have said about Islam and
the issue of its propagation:
__________________________________________________ _____________________
Mahatma Gandhi writes:
I wanted to know the best way of life, of one who holds, today,
undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind... I became more
than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for
Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity,
the utter self-effacement of the Prophet [SAW], the scrupulous regard
for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his
intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absoulte trust in God and in his own
mission. **These, and not the sword, carried everything before them and
surrounded every obstacle.**
Arthur Gilman writes in The Saracens, London 1887:
It is greatly to his (Muhammad's [SAW] ) praise that on this occasion
(conquest of Makkah), when his resentment for ill-usage might naturally
have incited him to revenge, he restrained his army from all shedding
of blood, and showed every sign of humility and thanksgiving to Allah
for His goodness... Ten or twelve men who had a former occasion shown a
barbarous spirit were proscribed, and of them, four put to death, but
this must be considered exceedingly humane, in comparison with the acts
of other conquerors; in comparison, for example, with the cruelty of
the Crusaders, who in 1099 put SEVENTY THOUSAND Muslims, men, WOMEN
and HELPLESS CHILDREN[capitals mine], to death when Jerusalem fell into
their hands; or with that of the English army, also fighting under the
cross, which in the year of grace 1874 burned an African capital, in
its war on the Gold Coast. Muhammad's [SAW] victory was in very truth,
one of religion and not of politics; he rejected every token of
personal homage and declined all regal authority; and when the haughty
chiefs of the Quraishis appeared before him, he asked:
"What do you expect at my hands?"
"Mercy, O generous brother!"
"Be it so; you are free!" he exclaimed.
GW Leitner says:
Muhammad [SAW] himself never made any claim to infallibility. One one
occasion he had a revelation censuring himself severely for having
turned away from a beggar in order to speak to an illustrious man of
the commonwealth, and he published this revelation, the very last thing
he would have done had he been an impostor, as ignorant Christians call
the great Arab Prophet.
__________________________________________________ _____________________
As stated, these were written by NON-MUSLIMS in order for you to have
an objective look at the noble character of the Final Messenger (SAW).
As for Christianity being a 'mature' religion, and Islam not, is a
claim with little basis. Look back to the Crusades. Look back to the
Spanish inquisition (incidentally, one charge brought against the
Muslims was that they were 'too tolerant of other religions'. Not a
very mature thing to say! ).Take a look at Belfast and the tensions
there. In fact, take a look at your own Bible. It is full of numerous
contradictions (see
http://www.islaminfo.com/articleview.asp?level=6&catID=1). Even
christian scholars have had to admit that it is no longer the
infallible word of God. How much of your religion is based PURELY upon
the teachings of Jesus (peace be upon him) and how much is made up by
man? The message of Jesus (AS) was very simple: Worship the ONE God. No
reference to trinity, no holy ghosts and catechisms and confessions and
popes. I don't wish to go into any more detail here, there is plenty of
info online. I hope that Allah will guide you to the truth, and make
you realise that Muhammad is the very Prophet that your own scriptures
predicted.
Thank you very much for reading all this. My religion is something I am
very passionate about, so again, please forgive me if I have offended
you in away, and I hope you can look beyond the Islamophobic
propaganda, and see Islam for what it truly is: A way of life of peace,
kindness and good deeds. May Allah guide you to the truth AMEEN!
Samira