Islam Religion

Contact Author: Ney Rieber

The Journey By Night Or Why Muslims Pray Five Times A Day

2008-10-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Why Muslims Pray Five Times A Day

The Journey By Night
Or
Why Muslims Pray Five Times A Day

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

Salah

Prayer, worship of Allah. Muslims must perform salah 5 times a day. Before Salah, Muslims prepare themselves by performing Wudu (Ablution) which involves cleaning the hands, face, arms, head and feet.

Salat	Time
Salat-ul-Fajr	Between the first light of dawn and sunrise
Salat-ul-Zuhr	After Midday
Salat-ul-Asr	Mid-afternoon
Salat-ul-Maghrib	Sunset
Salat-ul-Isha	From one and a half hours after sunset

Early in building his base for Islam, Muhammad had a dream or night vision that was so unbelievable, when he related to his followers, many turned away from his teaching. He quickly received a revelation explaining that the vision was a test of faith for his disciples. Muhammad learned his lesson, and never made this kind of extravagant claim again.

In this dream, Muhammad mounted "a white animal which was smaller than a mule and bigger than a donkey" called "the Buraq." He flew from Mecca to Jerusalem and from there ascended to heaven. He was escorted by Moses through seven heavens into the presence of God. There, at Moses instigation, Muhammad plead with God to reduce the number of daily manditory prayers from fifty to five.

The night vision explains why Muslims pray five times a day. It is attested to in the Qur'an as being a true happening, though it is not recorded in the Qur'an. To read the description of the event, we must again turn to the Ahadith.

Because Muhammad's ascension into heaven is believed to have occured here, the mosque built in Jerusalem is one of the most sacred sites to Muslims.

Qur'an references or allusions to the Journey By Night

Quran, Surah 17, Al-Isra (Israel)

17:1 Glory to (God) Who did take His Servant for Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did Bless- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the one Who heareth and seeth (all things).

17:60 Behold! We told thee that thy Lord doth encompass mankind round about: We granted the Vision which We showed thee, but as a trial for men- as also the Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Qur'an: We put terror (and warning) into them, but it only increases their inordinate transgression!

The Qur'an attests to the validity of this event. It was so unbelievable that it cost Muhammad many of his disciples in the early stages of his proselyting in Mecca.

The Story in the Hadith

From the Hadith collection known as "Sahih Al-Bukhari"

Compiled by Muhammad ibn Ismail Al-Bukhari

Miscellaneous Hadith references

(40) CHAPTER. The narration about the Night Journey of the Prophet (SAW) (to Jerusalem) and the Statement of Allah: 'Glory to (Allah) Who did take His slave (Muhammad) for a journey by night.' (17:1)

Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah that he heard Allah's Apostle (SAW) saying, "When the people of Quraish did not believe me (ie. the story of my Night Journey), I stood up in Al-Hijr and Allah displayed Jerusalem in front of me, and I began describing it to them while I was looking at it."

Hadith 228. Narrated Ibn Abbas: Regarding the Statement of Allah: And We granted the vision (Ascension to the heavens) which We made you see (as an actual eye witness) was only made as a trial for the people. (17:60) Ibn Abbas added: The sights which Allah's Apostle (SAW) was shown on the Night Journey when he was taken to Bait-ul-Maqdis (ie. Jerusalem) were actual sights, (not dreams). And the Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Quran is the tree of Zaqqum (itself).

Hadith 232. Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle (SAW) was presented with two cups one containing wine and the other milk on the night of this night journey at Jerusalem. He looked at it and took the milk. Gabriel said, "Thanks to Allah Who guided you to the Fitra (ie. Islam); if you had taken the wine, your followers would have gone astray.

Hadith 610. Narrated Ibn Abbas regarding the Verse: "And We granted the vision (Ascension to the heavens "Miraj") which We showed you (O Muhammad as an actual eye witness) but as a trial for mankind. (17:60): Allah's Apostle (SAW) actually saw with his own eyes the vision (all the things which were shown to him) on the night of his Night Journey to Jerusalem (and then to the heavens). The cursed tree which is mentioned in the Quran is the tree of Az-Zaqqum.

Vol. 1 - Salat

Book VIII. The Book Of Salat (prayer)

(1) CHAPTER. How the prayer was prescribed on the night of Isra (miraculous journey) of the Prophet (SAW) to Jerusalem (and then to Heaven). Ibn Abbas said: Abu Sufyan, when telling the narration of Heraclius, mentioned: "The Prophet (SAW) ordered us to offer our prayers regularly and to be true and chaste.

345. Narrated Abu Dharr: Allah's Apostle (SAW) said, "While I was at Mecca the roof of my house was opened and descended, opened my chest, and washed it with Zam-zam water. Then he brought a golden tray full of wisdom and faith and having poured its contents into my chest, he closed it. Then he took my hand and ascended with me to the nearest heaven, when I reached the nearest heaven, Gabriel said to the gatekeeper of the heaven, 'Open (the gate).' The gatekeeper asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel answered: 'Gabriel.' He asked, 'Is there anyone with you?' Gabriel replied, 'Yes, Muhammad is with me.' He asked, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel said, 'Yes.' So the gate was opened and we went over the nearest heaven and there we saw a man sitting with some people on his right and some on his left. When he looked towards his right, he laughed and when he looked toward his left he wept. Then he said, 'Welcome! O pious Prophet and pious son.' I asked Gabriel, 'Who is he?' He replied, 'He is Adam and the people on his right and left are the souls of his offspring. Those on his right are the people of Paradise and those on his left are the people of Hell and when he looks towards his right he laughs and when he looks towards his left he weeps.' Then he ascended with me till he reached the second heaven and he (Gabriel) said to its gatekeeper, 'Open (the gate).' The gatekeeper said to him the same as the gatekeeper of the first heaven had said and he opened the gate. Anas said: "Abu Dharr added that the Prophet (SAW) met Adam, Idris, Moses, Jesus and Abraham. He (Abu Dharr) did not mention on which heaven they were but he mentioned that he (the Prophet (SAW)) met Adam on the nearest heaven and Abraham on the sixth heaven. Anas said, "When Gabriel along with the Prophet (SAW) passed by Idris, the latter said, 'Welcome! O pious Prophet and pious brother' The Prophet (SAW) asked, 'Who is he?' Gabriel replied, 'He is Idris.' The Prophet (SAW) added, "I passed by Moses and he said, 'Welcome! O pious Prophet and pious brother.' I asked Gabriel, 'Who is he?' Gabriel replied, 'He is Moses.' Then I passed by Jesus and he said, 'Welcome! O pious brother and pious Prophet.' I asked, 'Who is he?' Gabriel replied, 'He is Jesus.' Then I passed by Abraham and he said, 'Welcome! O pious Prophet and pious son.' I asked Gabriel, 'Who is he?' Gabriel replied, 'He is Abraham.' The Prophet (SAW) added, "Then Gabriel ascended with me to a place where I heard the creaking of the pens." Ibn Hazm and Anas bin Malik said: The Prophet (SAW) said, "Then Allah enjoined fifty prayers on my followers. When I returned with this order of Allah, I passed by Moses who asked me, 'What has Allah enjoined on your followers?' I replied, 'He has enjoined fifty prayers on them.' Moses said, 'Go back to your Lord (and appeal for reduction) for your followers will not be able to bear it.' (So I went back to Allah and requested for reduction) and He reduced it to half. When I passed by Moses again and informed him about it, he said, 'Go back to your Lord as your followers will not be able to bear it.' So I returned to Allah and requested for further reduction and half of it was reduced. I again passed by Moses and he said to me: 'Return to your Lord, for your followers will not be able to bear it. So I returned to Allah and He said, 'These are five prayers and they are all (equal to) fifty (in reward) for My Word does not change.' I returned to Moses and he told me to go back once again. I replied, 'Now I feel shy of asking my Lord again.' Then Gabriel took me till we reached Sidrat Muntaha (lote tree of the utmost boundary) which was shrouded in colors, indescribable. Then I was admitted into Paradise where I found small (tents or) walls (made) of pearls and its earth was of musk."

Vol. 5 - Merits of the Ansar (The Helpers or Companions of the Prophet) - Hadith 227

227. Narrated Anas bin Malik: Malik bin Sasaa said that Allah's Apostle (SAW) described to them his Night Journey saying, "While I was lying in Al-Hatim or Al-Hijr, suddenly someone came to me and cut my body open from here to here." I asked Al-Jarud who was by my side, "What does he mean?" He said, "It means from his throat to his pubic area," or said, "From the top of the chest." The Prophet (SAW) further said, "He then took out my heart. Then a gold tray of Belief was brought to me and my heart was washed and was filled (with Belief) and then returned to its original place. Then a white animal which was smaller than a mule and bigger than a donkey was brought to me." (On this Al-Jarud asked, "Was it the Buraq, O Abu Hamza?" I (ie. Anas) replied in the affirmative). The Prophet (SAW) said, "The animal's step (was so wide that it) reached the farthest point within the reach of the animal's sight. I was carried on it, and Gabriel set out with me till we reached the nearest heaven. When he asked for the gate to be opened, it was asked, Who is it, Gabriel answered, Gabriel. It was asked, Who is accompanying you, Gabriel replied, Muhammad. It was asked, Has Muhammad been called, Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said, He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is! The gate was opened, and when I went over the first heaven, I saw Adam there. Gabriel said (to me). This is your father, Adam; pay him your greetings. So I greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and said, You are welcomed, O pious son and pious Prophet (SAW). Then Gabriel ascended with me till we reached the second heaven. Gabriel asked for the gate to be opened. It was asked, Who is it, Gabriel answered, Gabriel. It was asked, Who is accompanying you, Gabriel replied, Muhammad. It was answered in the affirmative. Then it was said, He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is! The gate was opened. When I went over the second heaven, there I saw Yahya (ie. John) and Isa (ie. Jesus) who were cousins of each other. Gabriel said (to (ie. Jesus) who were cousins of each other. Gabriel said (to me), These are John and Jesus; pay them your greetings. So I greeted them and both of them returned my greetings to me and said, You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet (SAW). Then Gabriel ascended with me to the third heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was asked, Who is it, Gabriel replied, Gabriel. It was asked, Who is accompanying your, Gabriel replied, Muhammad. It was asked, Has he been called, Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said, He is welcomed, what an excellent visit his is! The gate was opened, and when I went over the third heaven there I saw Joseph. Gabriel said (to me), This is Joseph; pay him your greetings. So I greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and said, You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet (SAW). Then Gabriel ascended with me to the fourth heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was asked, Who is it, Gabriel replied, Gabriel. It was asked, Who is accompanying you, Gabriel replied, Muhammad. It was asked, Has he been called, Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said, He is welcomed, what an excellent visit his is! The gate was opened, and when I went over the fourth heaven, there I saw Idris. Gabriel said (to me), This is Idris; pay him your greetings. So I greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and said, You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet (SAW). Then Gabriel ascended with me to the fifth heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was asked, Who is it, Gabriel replied, Gabriel. It was asked. Who is accompanying you, Gabriel replied, Muhammad. It was asked, Has he been called, Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is! So when I went over the fifth heaven, there I saw Harun (ie. Aaron), Gabriel said, (to me). This is Aaron; pay him your greetings. I greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and said, You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet (SAW). Then Gabriel ascended with me to the sixth heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was asked. Who is it, Gabriel replied, Gabriel. It was asked, Who is accompanying you, Gabriel replied, Muhammad. It was asked, Has he been called, Gabriel replied in the affirmative. It was said, He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is! When I went (over the sixth heaven), there I saw Moses; pay him your greeting. So I greeted him and he returned the greetings to me and said, You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet (SAW). When I left him (ie. Moses) he wept. Someone asked him, What makes you weep, Moses said, I weep because after me there has been sent (as Prophet (SAW)) a young man whose followers will enter Paradise in greater numbers than my followers. Then Gabriel ascended with me to the seventh heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was asked, Who is it, Gabriel replied, Gabriel. It was asked, Who is accompanying you, Gabriel replied, Muhammad. It was asked, Has he been called, Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said, He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is! So when I went (over the seventh heaven), there I saw Abraham. Gabriel said (to me). This is your father; pay your greetings to him. So I greeted him and he returned the greetings to me and said, You are welcomed, O pious son and pious Prophet (SAW). Then I was made to ascend to Sidrat-ul-Muntaha (ie. the Lote Tree of the utmost boundary) Behold! Its fruits were like the jars of Hajr (ie. a place near Medina) and its leaves were as big as the ears of elephants. Gabriel said, This is the Lote Tree of the utmost boundary). Behold! There ran four rivers, two were hidden and two were visible, I asked, What are these two kinds of rivers, O Gabriel, He replied, As for the hidden rivers, they are two rivers in Paradise and the visible rivers are the Nile and the Euphrates. Then Al-Bait-ul-Maur (ie. the Sacred House) was shown to me and a container full of wine and another full of milk and a third full of honey were brought to me. I took the milk. Gabriel remarked, This is the Islamic religion which you and your followers are following. Then the prayers were enjoined on me: They were fifty prayers a day. When I returned, I passed by Moses who asked (me), What have you been ordered to do, I replied, I have been ordered to offer fifty prayers a day. Moses said, Your followers cannot bear fifty prayers a day, and by Allah, I have tested people before you, and I have tried my level best with Bani Israel (in vain). Go back to your Lord and ask for reduction to lessen your followers' burden. So I went back, and Allah reduced ten prayers for me. Then again I came to Moses, but he repeated the same as he had said before. Then again I went back to Allah and He reduced ten more prayers. When I came back to Moses he said the same, I went back to Allah and He ordered me to observe ten prayers a day. When I came back to Moses, he repeated the same advice, so I went back to Allah and was ordered to observe five prayers a day. When I came back to Moses, he said, What have you been ordered, I replied, I have been ordered to observe five prayers a day. He said, Your followers cannot bear five prayers a day, and no doubt, I have got an experience of the people before you, and I have tried my level best with Bani Israel, so go back to your Lord and ask for reduction to lessen your follower's burden. I said, I have requested so much of my Lord that I feel ashamed, but I am satisfied now and surrender to Allah's Order. When I left, I heard a voice saying, I have passed My Order and have lessened the burden of My Worshippers."

Things Found In Christ, Not Found In Islam

2008-10-01T19:00:00.002-07:00

Things Found In Christ, Not Found In Islam

Things Found In Christ, Not Found In Islam

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

Things Found In Christ, Not Found In Islam

One simple but effective way of explaining the difference between a major "world" religion and the gospel of Christ (the New Testament, Matt. 26:28) is to show the things found "in Christ" that are not found elsewhere. The following are things found in Jesus Christ that are not found in Islam.

I. Things Concerning The Resurrection Of Jesus

The Bible clearly teaches that "God" raised up Jesus from the dead (read Acts 2:24). Furthermore, this information is found only in the Gospel (read 2 Timothy 2:8). Believing that God raised up Jesus from the dead is important enough that man cannot be saved without this belief: Romans 10:9-10

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

II. Things Concerning The Blood Of Jesus

A. The "Propitiation"

God accepted Christ’s blood as an appeasement of His justifiable wrath. 1 John 2:2 states, " and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." Notice that the scope of the propitiation is the whole world! It is not man’s obedience ( which is certainly necessary on man’s part for salvation, Heb. 5:9) that satisfies the penalty for sin but the blood of Christ. God Himself declares Christ’s death to be the acceptable sacrifice for Sin. This does not mean that everyone has been saved by Christ’s death, but that "the way" has been provided for anyone who desires to be saved through Christ’s death (John 14:6; Rom. 3:25-26). In this propitiation we see God’s love for man (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8-10; I John 4:9; I John 4:9-10). This means that those who do not understand this have not seen God’s love. Have you?

B. We have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of our sins

Eph. 1:7 states, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"

Whatever method that Islam prescribes for forgiveness of sins is sorely lacking in effectiveness or ability. The meaning of redemption is "to release on payment of ransom" and the price paid was the life of Christ (read Romans 4:25; Matt. 20:28).

C. Ratified the New Covenant

Jesus blood, that appeases God’s wrath and saves man, is the blood of the New Testament (Matt. 26:28). And that’s not the Koran! In His new covenant He states all that is necessary for man to do in order that he might have eternal life (2 Pet. 1:2-3; 2 Tim. 3:16-18; Heb. 13:20-21). As christians we are "complete" in Him (Col. 2:10).

D. Purchased the Church, Acts 20:28

The church, His body (Ephes. 1:22-23) belongs to Him. (see I Cor. 6:20). "How" one receives the remission of their sins and becomes a member of Christ’s church is explained in I Peter 1:18-22. They had purified their souls "by obeying the truth" (I Pet. 1:22). The blood of Christ provides the "way" of salvation, but we must obey the truth if we want salvation. (What is the truth? It is "the gospel" as stated in Eph. 1:13, and Col. 1:5.) Later, in I Pet. 3:21, Peter identifies "when" or at what point this cleansing of all our sins takes place ~ at Baptism (I Pet. 3:21). Reading Acts 2:38 along with 2:41 will show when one is baptized for the remission of their sins that they are added to Christ’s church. Jesus is the head of the church, and the "savior of the body" (Col. 1:18). The "body" that makes up the saved is the church (Eph. 1:22-23). The church is the saved here on this earth! Can one be saved without being a part of that which is the saved? When one is baptized they put on Christ and become spiritually a child of God (Gal. 3:26-27). Unlike Christians, Muslims are not baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:38).

E. Destroyed Satan’s power, Heb. 2:14

Jesus’ through death and the resurrection destroyed Satan’s "power of death" because of sin (Heb. 2:14; read I Cor. 15:56-57)

F. Gives us Boldness in Prayer

Muslims pray several times a day. Christians can approach God’s presence any time knowing Christ ever lives there to make intercession for us (Romans 8:34).

G. Cleanses Christians As Long As They Walk In The Light, 1 John 1:7

Muslims are not baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), nor do they walk in the light of Christ’s Word the New Testament.

III. Islam Denies The Purpose Of Jesus’ Ascension To Heaven

A. That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name, Lk.24:44-49

This is what Peter preached as recorded in Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

B. To Receive Glory, 1 Peter 1:18-23

God raised Jesus and "gave Him glory" that man’s faith and hope might be in the God who raised him! Notice that the distinct belief in God that offers the hope of redemption (read all these verses) is a belief wherein one comes by or through Christ to believe in God. John 5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." Again, in John 12:44 "Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me." And in John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Did God impose upon all the world the obligation to seek Christ? It says "no man"!

Note that God gave Jesus glory (I Pet. 1:18). This statement means that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had glorified his Son (Acts 3:13); that Jesus was given all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18; I Peter 3:22); that Jesus fulfilled what the prophets of old foretold (I Peter 1:11); that He rules in heaven on behalf of His church (Ephes. 1:20-23); that the Father has committed all judgment unto the Son (John 5:22; Acts 17:31; 2 Cor. 5:10); that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father (John 5:23; Phil. 2:9-11); that those who reject Christ Jesus reject the Father (Lk. 10:16); that Jesus was given glory as Lord and King (I Tim. 5:16). Dear reader Jesus Christ is man’s only hope!

IV. Things Concerning Christ And The Resurrection Day, John 11:25

Islam says that it believes in a resurrection day. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the resurrection and the life ( John 11:25; 2 Cor. 4:14; Col. 3:1-4). Those who do not obey the Gospel will be ashamed on that Day the Lord comes again (2 Th. 1:8-9; I John 2:28).

V. Things Concerning Jesus And The Wrath To Come, Rom. 5:9

"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him." (John 3:16; I Thes. 1:10; 2 Th. 1:7-9).

Why should you be baptized for the remission of "your" sins?

By Bob Lovelace

What every non-Muslim needs to know about Islam!

2008-10-01T19:00:00.001-07:00

What every non-Muslim needs to know about Islam!

What every non-Muslim needs to know about Islam!

What you need to know about how dangerous Islam is and why there will never be peace in the Middle east as long as Muslims exist.

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

Here are 10, "Top ten Lists"?

Top 100 facts about Islam that Christians must learn:

Islam, as a religious system, is entirely of Satanic origin. The Devil is behind every aspect of it. It is a "monotheistic" form of the ancient moon worship that Abraham left in Iraq 2000 BC, but which his descendents through Ishmael have continued. When Muslims circle the Kabah en mass, the Devil is the true object of their worship. The Bible teaches that the Devil and demons use religions like Islam in order to be worshipped by man as God. "the Gentiles sacrifice things to demons and not to God" 1 Cor 10:20; 2 Chron 18:21-22; Acts 17:16-23; Lev 17:7 ; Deut 32:17; Ps 106:37; Rev 9:20; Rev 16:13-14; Rev 18:2; 1 Ti 4:1-2; Gal 1:8. That Islam is clearly of satanic origin is seen in how vicious the theological and physical attacks are against Christians or anyone who believes that Christ was crucified at all, or that Christ is God's Son. Islam to pagan Arabs is an excellent satanic counterfeit that has influenced 1/4 of the earth's population. Islam is certainly the Devil's greatest challenge against the one true God and and Saviour: Jesus Christ.
Although Islam is a monotheistic religion, it is really a pagan religion reformed and repackaged into monotheism. Islam is paganism in monotheistic wrapping paper. Muhammad chose one god, from among hundreds of pagan gods, to be his one monotheistic god. "Islam is Polytheism with a monotheistic veil". "Islam is Repackaged Polytheism."
Christianity is the religion where God sends his own son to die for your. Islam is the religion where Allah to die for him. Jesus said love your enemies. Muhammad said murder your enemies with a bloody sword. When Jesus was mocked, ridiculed and tortured, he turned the other cheek, and endured it in silence. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead he entrusted himself to him who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:22, 23). When Muhammad was so much as questioned, he ordered their immediate murder.
"What are the highest values in Christian faith? Love, sacrifice, humility, and compassion for others, which includes longsuffering. What are the highest values in Islam? The highest is fighting for Allah especially if you die in the process. As far as an ordinary Muslim is concerned, his highest value is doubtless going to Paradise and enjoying all the sensual delights promised to him. Although virtues are of importance in Islam, you never hear that love or patience, longsuffering or goodness, or faithfulness or truthfulness are of the highest value. Prayer and good works in keeping the Five Pillars are most important. Prayer and good works are very important in Christianity also, but they are a means to an end, not the end in itself. The Bible teaches us that all the qualities of love are the top priority in a Christian's life because this mirrors the character of God (1 Cor 13:1-7). ... What is the Islamists' highest goal? It is without doubt to be martyred in a physical battle for Allah in extending his sovereignty or the rule of his law on the Earth. ... What is the Christian's highest goal? God tells us what His purpose is for us, and that ought to be our highest goal. "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son" (Romans 8:29). Now Jesus is "in the express image of the Father" (Hebrews 1:3). This means that to be conformed to the likeness of Christ is to be conformed to the likeness of God, and this is God's purpose for us. It ought to be our highest goal in this life and in the life to come." (Islam Rising, Jim Murk, p200)
The center of focus of the Kabah that Muslims circle 7 times counterclockwise once a year during the Hajj, is a meteorite called the black stone. This meteorite is the reference point by which they count the 7 revolutions. It is the "zero" marker. This shows the true origin of the Hajj to be pagan. Obviously a real meteorite fell sometime before Muhammad was born and the pagan Arabs began worshipping it. A similar pagan worship of a meteorite is found in Ephesus when Apostle Paul visited it: Acts 19:23-36
It is clear, from a historical point of view, that Muhammad, as a youth participated in worshipping all the 360 pagan gods in the Kabah in Mecca which was owned and operated by the Quraish tribe to which Muhammad was member in good standing. As Muhammad grew up, he was influenced by Christians (monotheists) who condemned the polytheism at the Kabah. At some point in Muhammad's life, he was convinced by the Christians that Polytheism was wrong and sought to reject the 360 pagan gods he had grown up with. Muhammad was converted to the concept of monotheism through the influence and teachings of Christians. Being a proud "nationalistic cultural Arab", bent on preserving his traditions, Muhammad, decided to "reform" his native pagan religion, rather than adopt a completely different religion like Christianity. Muhammad took the top pagan god of the Kabah in Mecca (called Hubal and/or Allah) and chose it to be his new monotheistic god. This god was already considered the top god among other gods at the Kabah. Muhammad's strategy was simple. Rather than converting all the Arab people to the monotheism of Christianity, Muhammad merely banished the other 359 pagan gods and chose the one remaining to be the one and only god... what Muslims refer to today as "Allah".

Islam was born in 610 AD, a full 600 years later than Christianity! The Devil had just gotten Pope Boniface III to declare himself the universal bishop of all churches in the world... a claim the eastern orthodox churches never accepted. In 622 AD, Muslims wiped out the eastern church in a bloody slaughter, leaving the Bishop of Rome to become the dominant, (although apostate) force of Christianity for the next 1000 years.

When Muhammad was trying to convert one of his fellow pagan Arabs to monotheism, the conversation probably went something like this: Muhammad: "You know, worshipping all these pagan gods is really silly. There must be a supreme god, a "THE GOD". (the god is what Allah actually means) We already refer to the chief or head of the Kabah as "Allah", lets continue to worship that god, but do away with all the others. I don't want to discard the Allah, the Lord of the Kabah that we already worship, rather I only want to remove his wife and his daughters and all the other gods. And lets never refer to Allah again as "Hubal" or call him the moon god, because Allah, being our new monotheistic supreme god, created the moon.
In 1975 AD, the Muslim/Algerian President Boumedienne told the UN General Assembly: "One day millions of men will leave the southern hemisphere of this planet to burst into the northern one. But not as friends. Because they will burst in to conquer, and they will conquer by populating it with their children. Victory will come to us from the wombs of our women." Based on demographics, the Netherlands are currently most at risk of being taken over by the Muslims, but the cities of Paris and Brussels equally at risk. We predict the Eiffel Tower will be converted to a mosque within 50 year and fly the Crescent moon god symbol atop.
"This new monotheism is Satan's substitute for Judeo Christianity and seeks to take over the Earth. It is an attempt to copy aspects of both Judaism and Christianity, while at the same time cutting the real meaning and heart out of each and substituting a reasonable deception and fraud. Satan's name is Deceiver. If we seriously and carefully compare God's revelation given to the prophets of Israel and through Jesus and his disciples as found in the Bible with the Qur'an and the teachings of Muhammad and Islam, there is no other conclusion to make than that this religious charade is a very clever invention of Satan, the imposter. Islam provides no Savior, no grace, no salvation from sin, no lasting forgiveness, no real love and no intimate fellowship with God. At its heart it offers sensual or lust-of-the flesh satisfactions which are in the category of Satan's appeal to Eve's flesh in the Garden of Eden. Islam's promised Paradise, for example, which can be achieved by dying for Allah, is a well-watered garden filled with tasty food and drink and an unending heavenly orgy of sex. There is no mention of the spiritual heavenly joy of experiencing the eternal presence of God and His glory. A Muslim can never have a close personal relationship with God or "know" God as his Heavenly Father in this life or in the life to come. One can only have this relationship with Jesus Christ who said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). It is too bad that Muhammad did not know this statement of Jesus." (Islam Rising, Jim Murk, p184)
"In many cases they (Muslims) do not even recognize what sin is. Their Perfect Model Muhammad was a robber, a murderer, a fornicator, a pedophile, a wife beater, a truce breaker, a liar, and one who had his enemies assassinated. We not only reflect the character of our heroes, we will reflect the character of our god, and Allah cannot be trusted completely. He is distant, capricious and changeable; he is not a loving father but a demanding taskmaster; he is cold without unconditional love; he hates the sinner and the corrupt, and predestines everything with seeming legalistic arbitrariness countenancing violence and the killing of all those who will not submit to him." (Islam Rising, Jim Murk, p198)
Islam literally means Submission. Western Imams knowingly lie to the media when they say Islam means peace.
Islam is not primarily a religion but a political control system for economic and territorial domination. It is fascism exactly like Hitler or Stalin that seeks to take over the world. A Muslim proverb says: "First we will wipe out the Saturday people and then we will eliminate the Sunday people." Osama bin Laden said, "We win because we want to die and you want to live."
Muhammad invented Islam in order to control the warring Arab tribes. Muhammad grafted to annual pagan pilgrimage (Hajj) into Islam in order to create a "no fighting between warring tribes" time, in order to facilitate commerce and trade.
Within 100 years of the invention of Islam, Muslims had wiped out 80% of all Christians on the face of the planet with the sword. The modern "Orthodox" church (eastern, Byzantine) was almost entirely destroyed. Before this Islamic-initiated holocaust, the Byzantine church was 5 times larger than the "western/roman Catholic" church. Today the Roman Catholic church is 10 times larger than the Orthodox, as a testimony to this slaughter they endured at the hands of the Muslims. Had this slaughter not occurred, the Orthodox church would be 10 times larger than the Roman Catholic today.
The remnants of moon worship can be seen in Islam in the fact that the crescent moon is atop every mosque and that the 28 day sacred month of Ramadan, (annual pilgrimage of Hajj) starts and finishes with the crescent shaped phase of the moon . The croissant was invented in Vienna in the 16th century, being inspired by the crescent moon symbol of Islam. Islamic countries fly flags that still use the crescent moon with the stars in the middle are remnants of moon worship. Before Muhammad came along, the crescent moon represented Allah and the stars represented his daughters. (el-Lat, el-Uzza, and Manat)

Even the Islamic sword (scimitar) is shaped like a crescent moon in honor of their pagan history.
Islamic ritual, including the Hajj, the stand, the throw and the run were all practiced by the pagans long before Muhammad adopted them into Islam. Muhammad took these pagan practices and declared them to be the correct way to worship a monotheistic Allah. In this way, the pagans could keep their old pagan practices and apply them to one god rather than hundreds. It made conversion to Islam very easy for the Arabs since Islam felt the same as their paganism.
Islam is the restoral of moon worship Abraham gave up when he left the Ur of Chaldees. Abraham left moon worship of Iraq for the one true God. His son Ishmael was cast out and went to Arabia where he continued to worship the moon God. The crescent moon atop every mosque is the symbol that Ishmael went back to the very moon worship that his father Abraham abandoned.
Muslims cannot be trusted to keep political truces because Muhammad never did. Muhammad set the pattern of truce breaking employed by Muslims today. Yasser Arafat actually cited the fact that Muhammad broke the truce of Hudaybiyyah, as a precedent for breaking the Oslo accords. "A "hudna" isn't a peace treaty. It's a temporary truce called by a Muslim warrior who's losing in battle. It's pretty easy to understand how hudnas work by watching Israel fight Hamas and Hezbollah. Those two terrorist groups lob rockets and send suicide bombers into Israel for months; then, every once in a while, Israel deploys its military and flattens Hamas and Hezbollah, who then call for a "hudna". The UN intervenes, saving Hamas and Hezbollah to fight another day. That's a hudna: a tactical truce for a strategic advantage." Ezra Levant.
Whereas Muhammad only allowed his followers to have 4 wives, Muhammad had 22 wives, the youngest was six years old. Surah 32:50. Muslim men can have sex with as many of their own slave girls as they can buy. Sura 4:3,24. When Muhammad wanted to marry another man's wife, (Zayd) he got a "convenient" revelation from Allah that permitted Zayd to divorce his wife Zeinab, so Muhammad could marry her. Muhammad permitted his soldiers to have three day temporary marriages called a "muta" so they could have "legal sex" while away from their real wives at home. Today Ayatollahs grant marriages for specific periods of time (hours, days, months, years) , like leasing a car or an apartment. This is how a man made religion comes up with a "solution" to fornication and adultery.
Proof that Islam was invented by Muhammad, is proven by the fact that the Koran indicates that the Christian trinity is made up of the Father, Son and Mary (Jesus Mother). This heretical doctrine was indeed taught by the Collyridlans and Ebonites who had fled to Arabia. Muhammad learned Christian doctrine through these heretics and incorrectly assumed it was representative of Christianity in general.
Zaid bin Thabit's Second Account of the Collection of the Qur'an in Hadith 509 proves that the Koran was never compiled into one volume during the life time of Muhammad. The Hadith shows how it was feared that portions of the Qur'an would be lost. This indicates that there was not yet a complete recognized cannon. Abu Bakr was not familiar with a collected Qur'an and said that Muhammad had never decreed it be collected. The best that was available was "fragmentary scripts." When ordered to compile the Qur'an, Zaid at first refused on the grounds that Muhammad had not done so. Zaid declared that it would be a difficult task. There were three methods of recording Zaid searched out - palm leaf stalks, thin white stones and also from the men who knew it by heart. One verse was found only in the possession of one man.
There were, originally, countless contradictory versions of the Koran until Caliph Uthman ordered the Qur'an collected into one volume about 40 years after Muhammad died. (about 650 AD) cf. Hadith 709 & 507. The only reason the modern versions of the Koran have only small variations between the various versions, is because a formal edict was issued in 800 AD that outlawed, under pain of execution, the possession of any Koran version other than the one chosen by Caliph Uthman. (Basically, Caliph Uthman chose a version of the Koran that we was familiar with.) Historically, it was not even the best choice, but the most convenient choice. Contrary to Muslim claims, there are no ancient copies of the Koran dating before 745 AD in museums.
The Arabs were polytheists and pagans until 600 AD. Their claims of being the only monotheistic religion is laughable given the fact that they were the "late bloomers" who adopted monotheism 2600 years after the Jews and 600 years after the Christians.
The Koran borrows heavily from the Bible and is a random collection of literature that includes confirmed fairy tails and myths. Reading the Koran is a toilsome and confused jumble of nonsense. Large portions of the Koran are impossible to accurately translate because the text is incomprehensible. McClintock and Strong say of the Koran: "It is humiliating to the human intellect to think that this mediocre literature has been the subject of innumerable commentaries and that millions of men are still wasting time in absorbing it." In other words, reading the Koran is a confusing waste of time, where as the Bible is beautiful, coherent with a simple and powerful message.
Islam, like Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons have progressive revelation. JW's call it "new light". Muslims call it "Nasikh". Jehovah's Witnesses were once instructed to celebrate Christmas, birthdays and salute the flag, but "new light" changed all that. Mormons, like all Muslims, were originally polygamists until Joseph Smith conveniently received a revelation from God on the eve of the US government outlawing the practice of polygamy.
"Nasikh" is the concept that newer revelation cancels older revelation. Today Muslims, who understand the principle of "Nasikh" deceptively quote the Koran to trick the media into thinking Islam is peaceful and tolerant of non-Muslims. The Koran, like the Bible, has an "old testament", that is abolished and not used as law and a "new testament", that is used by Muslims today. The abolished sections of the Koran were written in Medina when Muhammad faced his disciples to pray towards Jerusalem in an effort to sway the Jews to convert to Islam. It was during this time Muhammad taught toleration towards non-Muslims. When the Jews rightly told Muhammad to take a hike, he killed them and as a "snubbed and jilted lover" suddenly instructed his followers to forget praying towards Jerusalem and start praying towards Mecca. During the Medina phase, Muhammad taught toleration towards non-Muslims. During the Meccan phase, Muhammad started teaching "death to non-Muslims". Muslim leaders (Imams) deliberately quote from the abolished "Media" sections of the Koran when, for a short time, Muhammad preached tolerance, in a manipulative ploy to convert the Jews. These Imams know that the later sections of the Koran when Muhammad was at Mecca, preach death to non-Muslims.
Contrary to the deceptive claims of Muslims, the word "Allah" is never used in the Bible. There are no prophecies of Muhammad in the Bible.
Muslims who refer to Allah as a "loving father" will be put to death. Allah is a distant, cold, rigid, unknown god, never a loving father as in Judaism and Christianity.
In nations where Muslims are a minority, they claim Islam is a peaceful religion that worships the same God as Christians. However, when these same Muslims gain a majority, military or political control, they slaughter the Christians.
More Christians have been murdered at the hands of Muslims in the last 100 years, than all previous persecutions upon Christians combined back to the first century.
It is the formal stated policy of the Koran and modern Muslim leaders to take over the world and replace the constitution of the USA with Shariah law and install loudspeakers throughout the land forcing everyone to endure the "howling of the demons" 5 times a day and bow to the Moon God in prayer. They certainly would abolish our public noise bylaws to say the least!
Islam evangelizes with the physical sword, Christianity evangelizes with the sword of the Spirit (the message of the Gospel) Islam grows by placing a crescent moon shaped knife to the throat to force conversion. Christianity offers freedom of each individual to accept or reject the eternal life offered by Jesus Christ, the son of God.
Allah, the Muslim moon God, can and does break his word and promises because "he is god". Jesus taught that students are never above their teachers. This may be instructive in dealing with Muslims in politics, business, diplomacy and socialization.
The Koran plainly and openly instructs men to physically beat their "insubordinate" wives. (Koran 4:34)
To the Muslim, before the day of resurrection and the second coming of Christ, there will be "17 fearful signs in heaven" and "8 lesser signs on the earth".
The highest and greatest reward for Muslim men is to go to heaven where he will have 72 bashful dark eyed virgins (houris) at his sexual disposal and whim. We wonder what Muslim women get as their great reward? (One woman speculated their reward may be to be rid of Muslim men!) The description of heaven is exactly what a 7th century Arab male would find appealing in the physical sense only: 80,000 servants, 72 beautiful sex slaves, wine and booze, fruit, shade, fine clothing and jewelry, carpets made of silk, music etc. In fact we wonder if Hugh Hefner is in fact a secret Muslim, given the fact that he is living now on earth, like Muslim hope to live like when they get to heaven. It is puzzling why Muslims forbid wine, booze and alcoholic drinks now, but they will be permitted in heaven. But moral consistency is not important to a Muslim, given the fact that even Yasser Arafat built and owned a large casino in near Jericho, Israel, even though gambling is also forbidden to Muslims.
What we are experiencing today in Islamic terrorism is the normalized pattern Muslims learned from Muhammad. Muslims never negotiate, compromise or enter peaceful co-existences with non-Muslims that are considered permanent. So too Muslims are content to dwell and sound reasonable and peaceful, until they reach large enough majorities to start flexing their terrorist muscles as we recently saw in the European riots and in France. Muslim quest for power and world domination is like a creeping weed or a slow dripping faucet that non-Muslims would be wise to take note of and action against.
Saddam Hussein believed he was the reincarnation of the Nebuchadnezzar of the Bible, who conquered the Jews in 586 BC. He, like all Muslim leaders including the current president of Iran (Ahmadinejad), believe Israel should be exterminated and wiped off the face of the map. These same Muslim leaders who want to commit genocide and holocaust against Israel today, also denounce the German holocaust of the second world war as a myth invented by Jews for sympathy. It is the formal stated goal of most Muslim leaders to recapture and destroy Israel because they believe this is one of the things that must happen before Christ can return. Historically, Arab countries sided with the Nazis in the extermination of Jews, while today they dismiss the very holocaust they supported as a "Zionist myth".
Muhammad taught that the highest and noblest thing one could do for Allah, was to fight with the sword and/or die in the process. He taught that in heaven, the shade is provided by large swords (Hadith 1:25). Now that's a strange umbrella indeed! He taught that 24 hours of slicing Christians and pagans into bloody pieces with the sword was better than a month of prayer and fasting.
Modern Muslims in the west knowingly lie about the ruthless and cruel nature of Muhammad and have publicly stated things like, "Muhammad was such a peaceful man that he wouldn't even bend the twig of a branch of a tree." This is rather untruthful, given the fact he exterminated and plundered many towns and caravans to evangelize his new religion.
Muslims live in an alternate historical universe and reject every history book in every library in every country in the world... The only history books they accept, are those that say Adam built the Kabah in Mecca, Jesus was a Muslim who made the pilgrimage to Mecca etc.
Muslim leaders have been documented openly promoting silly myths like: 1. Jews were driving the planes that hit the world trade towers under the authority of the FBI and the advice of Israel to make Muslims look bad. 2. The day the World Trade Towers fell, the TV footage of Palestinians dancing in the streets was faked by CNN. So not only do Muslims live in an alternate historical universe, they live in an alternate logical universe.
The only iron clad guarantee of immediate entrance into heaven assured the Muslim is to die while murdering innocent non-Muslims with swords, guns, suicide bombs. Such actions surely spread the military and political control of Islam for "king Muhammad" and should be a simple and obvious sign to the unbiased observer, that Islam is a form of fascism that uses religion to conquer new lands.
The Crusades initiated by Pope Urban II in 1095 AD, was a retaliation for the Muslim slaughter of 7000 Christian pilgrims who tried to peacefully visit Jerusalem in 1065 AD. Of course they could also be considered a 450 year delayed retaliation for the Muslim slaughter of almost 100% of the Christians from Alexandria through Israel to Asia. All of Europe would be Muslim today had Charles "The Hammer" Martel (grandfather of Charlemagne) not halted the slaughter of Christians in 732 AD begun by Muhammad himself 100 years earlier. "Charles's victory has often been regarded as decisive for world history, since it preserved western Europe from Muslim conquest and Islamization." (Britannica) Christians had turned the other cheek for 450 years of Islamic genocide against Christians. Today, Islamic Imperialism continues to spread with the murder all the Christians within their power to execute. Europe and the West should take this warning seriously.
Pope Urban II does not escape our criticism however. He lowered the high bar of Christianity to the low moral level of Islam. Echoing Satan's instructions to Muhammad, the Pope spoke where God was silent by promising the Christian soldiers that they would go straight to heaven if they died in the Crusades. He also cloned the Muslim slogan of "As Allah wills, with one of his own: "Deus Vult" (God wills it). While the Muslim slaughter of Christians is plainly mandated by the Koran and Muhammad as "Islam par excellence", Jesus outright forbade the murder of Muslims, for simply being Muslims. Yet it is important to keep in mind that the Crusades were not offensive actions, but provocated defensive actions. After the slaughter of 7000 unarmed pilgrims at Jerusalem, the Pope decided to send another group of "pilgrims" whose innocent intent was the same as the first: visit Jerusalem. But these pilgrims were also armed soldiers who, unlike the first 7000, were capable of defending themselves when the Muslims attacked them. While the Crusades where a provocative but passive incursion into Muslim controlled lands, no Muslim blood would have been shed, had they merely let the Crusaders pray in Jerusalem and leave in peace. Unfortunately, when the Muslims did attack, the Crusaders went too far by slaughtering everything in their path, including both Muslims and Jews. This slaughter was historically, a dark stain on Christianity, although it paled in the magnitude of the Muslim slaughters that happened 400 years earlier.
Muslims say, "Thanks to your democratic laws we will invade you from the inside. Thanks to our religious laws we will rule over you." There is no reciprocity of the freedoms offered Muslims in the lands where they came from.
Apart from oil production, the GDP (gross domestic product) of all Arab nations combined is less than a single European nation, a large US state or the province of Ontario in Canada. Without oil, Arabs would be hopelessly part of the third world for centuries to come. Arabs don't manufacture and produce stuff the world want to use. They are living off of the "welfare of the oil" in their land. Even then, they need American genius, technology and manpower to get it out ground. Arab nations are a welfare states where their money is handed to them from the hard labors of the west. Arab nations are like a lazy, unproductive and uneducated son of a rich man who inherits a large sum of money and then lives the life of a king on the money. Arab nations have more in common with Paris Hilton, then they care to admit! From an economic point of view, they just sit back and collect the oil royalty checks each month without doing a thing and think the blessing is from Allah. In a paradox, it is the very money the west sends these Arab nations that has funded all of the recent Islamic terrorism and aggression around the world and posses a threat to the west.
Inventing and "Developing mass commercial aviation and soaring skyscrapers was the West's idea; slashing the throats of stewardesses and flying the planes into the skyscrapers was radical Islam's idea. Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
The "moderate Muslims" living in North America quietly support the destruction of Israel. On rare occasions (or when it makes them look good to naive western Media outlets), they will criticize suicide bombers. Even Muslims living in the USA, have a fundamental hatred of both the USA and Israel. Almost all Muslims living in Canada openly and vocally voice their hate for both the USA and Israel. They only time Muslim organizations stand up for freedom, is to defend the democratic freedoms we offer them, not criticize the open slaughter and torture of Christians in the very lands where these same Muslim leaders were born. For example, almost all Muslim organizations in the USA oppose the "Patriot act". These Muslim organizations often have under the table sympathy for active terrorist groups in the Middle east. None of them would protest if the constitution of the USA was replaced with Shariah law.
Bibles are forbidden anywhere inside Saudi Arabia, the "offence" being punishable by death. When a Muslim converts to Christianity, Muhammad ordered the person to be killed.
There is often an obscene hypocrisy between what Muslim leaders say in English to westerners vs. what they say in Arabic to Muslims.
Suicide bombers openly call themselves terrorists with pride since the Koran calls for Muslims to act as terrorists in Koran 8:12. "I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them".
There are at least 20 direct parallels between Mormons and Muslims. The Parallels are so striking, some speculate that Joseph Smith studied and copied Islam. Other's view the similarities as proof that the same demon "angel" spoke to both Smith and Muhammad.
Muhammad would "experience" epileptic type fits when he received revelation from Allah.
Muhammad reacted to images and symbols of the Christian cross the exact same way that a "vampire reacts to garlic". Being terrified of the cross, may have been learned by Muhammad from the Devil himself, since Satan was defeated by the cross and is a real source of terror for the devil. We would expect the servants of Satan to be like their master.
Home grown in the west Muslim suicide bombers "are a literal baby boom." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
In Europe, more Muslims attend Friday mosques, than Christians attend Sunday churches. Islam is not growing by conversion, but immigration. Only 2% of European's attend church today. 40 years ago, 50% attended. Muslims don't actually convert many non-Muslim people, unless they put a knife to their throat. The Muslims grow by as many babies as they can. "In every mosque of Europe the Friday prayer is accompanied by the exhortation with which the imam addresses the Muslim women: ‘Bear at least five children each couple’" (Oriana Fallaci)
Every baby aborted in Canada is replaced by a Muslim immigrant on an almost one to one basis. Every year in Canada, there are approximately 330,000 live births 105,000 abortions by home grown Canadians. There are 210,000 immigrants each year into Canada. Today, Muslims are the second biggest supplier of immigrants to Canada. If abortion was banned and Canadian families had just one more kid, we would not need any immigrants into Canada to keep the economy afloat! The abortion rate in Canada is 30% of live births. For Russia it is 70%! Multiply the Canadian figures by ten to get the approximate US figures. If Western countries would ban abortion, they could then allow immigration out of Christian compassion, not economic necessity.
Europe's Islamic leaders view Europe as a Muslim colony that will soon have Sharia law. Solid science shows that within 20 years many European nations will be literally taken over by the Muslims.
"Christianity had its blood-drenched moments, but the Spanish Inquisition, which remains a byword for theocratic violence, killed fewer people in 150 years than the Jihad does every year." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
The jilbab (Female Muslim fashions featuring eye slits) was invented in the 1970's by fanatical Muslims in Saudi Arabia, who, because of US money from oil sales, have evangelized the rest of the Muslim world into wearing the Jilbab with only eye slits. Muhammad borrowed the idea of women covering themselves from the Jews and Christians. Muslim women are told in the Koran to cover themselves. However the specific eye slist version of the fashion being forced upon women today, is only 30 years old. The eye slit fashion was invented about the same time little children first started dressing up like Darth Vader for Halloween, "to which at a casual glance is not dissimilar". Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"Post-Christian European culture is already post-cultural and, with its surging Muslim populations, will soon be post-European. ... Most mainline Protestant churches are, to one degree or another, post-Christian." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"How bad is it going to get in Europe? As bad as it can get- as in societal collapse, fascist revivalism, and then the long Eurabian night, not over the entire continent, but over significant parts of it. And those countries that manage to escape the darkness will do so only after violent convulsions of their own." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"You can't breed at the lethargic rate of most Europeans and then bitch and whine about letting the Turks into the European Union. Demographically, they're the kids you couldn't be bothered to have." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"Islam is a 21st century political project driven by 7th century ideology." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"Iran's hardline spiritual leaders have issued an unprecedented new fatwa, or holy order, sanctioning the use of atomic weapons against its enemies. In yet another sign of Teheran's stiffening resolve on the nuclear issue, influential Muslim clerics have for the first time questioned the theocracy's traditional stance that Sharia law forbade the use of nuclear weapons." (UK Telegraph 19/02/2006)
"We are not fighting so that you will offer us something. We are fighting to eliminate you." (Hussein Massawi, Hezbollah Muslim terrorist leader)
In 2003, Muslims in San Juan Capistrano, California forced a Roman Catholic high school to change the name of their football team from "The Crusaders" to "The Lions". Later that same year and only twenty miles away in Irving, California, a Muslim Football league's New year Tournament, organized by Muslims, named their teams: "The Intifada", "The Mujahideen", "The Saracens", "The sword of Allah". (Reported in the LA Times)
Zacarias Moussaoui, the 20th high-jacker of the world trade center proclaimed, "America, you lose" upon being sentenced to life, instead of to death like he deserved. "Nine out of twelve U.S. jurors agreed that the "emotional abuse" Mr. Moussaoui suffered as a child should be a mitigating factor." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
The United Nations, otherwise known as the "Useless Nothings" has only once had the guts to apply the label of "totalitarian regime" to a member UN state in recent history. Yes indeed in 2004, Boutros Boutros-Ghali applied the term to the USA.
"If one looks at their comparative dissemination patterns, Christianity spread by acquiring believers and then land; Islam spread by acquiring land and then believers." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"On March 11, 2002, 6 months to the day after Mohammed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi died flying their respective planes into the World Trade Center Tower One and Tower Two, their flight schools in Florida received a letter from the Immigration and Naturalization Service informing it that Mr. Atta and Mr. al-Shehhi's student visas had been approved" Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"The last people around in any numbers will determine the kind of society we live in, and right now, the last people around Europe will be Muslim. For many nations, it's already too late." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"Multiculturalism was conceived by the Western Elites not to celebrate all cultures but to deny their own: it is, thus, the real suicide bomb." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"It's not black (the bomber) and white (the rest of us); there's a lot of murky shades of gray in between: the terrorist bent on devastation and destruction prowls the streets, while around him are a significant number of people urging him on, and around them a larger group of cocksure young male co-religionists gleefully celebrating mass murder, and around them a much larger group of "moderates" who stand silent at the acts committed in their name, and around them a mesh of religious and community leaders openly inciting treason against the state, and around them another mesh of religious and community leaders who serve as apologists for the inciters, and around them a network of professional identity-group grievance-mongers adamant that they're the real victims, and around them a vast mass of elite opinion in the media and elsewhere too squeamish about ethno-cultural matters to confront reality, and around them a political establishment desperate to pretend this is just a managerial problem that can be finessed away with a few new laws and a bit of community outreach. It's these insulating circles of gray-the imams, lobby groups, media, bishops, politicians-that bulk up the loser death-cult and make it a potentforce. And way out at the end of this chain of shades of gray is the general population. And sometimes enough of them bleed into the gray blur of passivity and defeatism, as in Spain. Sometimes they don't, yet, as in America. And sometimes, as in the United Kingdom, they talk about defiance and the old Blitz spirit, but they make a thousand trivial concessions day by day. That's how great nations die-not by war or conquest, but bit by bit, until one day you wake up and you don't need to sign a formal instrument of surrender because you did it piecemeal over the last ten years." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"After the carnage in Spain, Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed told Lisbon's Publica magazine that a group of London Islamists were "ready to launch a big operation" on British soil. "We don't make a distinction between civilians and non-civilians, innocents and non-innocents," he said, clarifying the ground rules. "Only between Muslims and unbelievers. And the life of an unbeliever has no value." The cleric added he expected to see the banner of Islam flying in Downing Street. "I believe one day that is going to happen. Because this is my country, I like living here," he said. "If they believe in democracy, who are they afraid of? Let Omar Bakri benefit from democracy!" You think that sounds ridiculous? The Islamic crescent flying over 10 Downing Street? You'd be surprised..."" Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"After September 11, the first reaction of just about every prominent Western leader was to visit a mosque: President Bush did, so did the Prince of Wales, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, the prime minister of Canada and many more. And, when the get-me-to-the mosque-on-time fever died away, you couldn't help feeling that this would strike almost any previous society as, well, bizarre. Pearl Harbor's been attacked? Quick, order some sushi and get me into a matinee of Madam Butterfly! Seeking to reassure the co-religionists of those who attack you that you do not regard them all as the enemy is a worthy aim but a curious first priority. And, given that more than a few of the imams in those mosque photo-ops turned out to be at best equivocal on the matter of Islamic terrorism and at worst somewhat enthusiastic supporters of it, it involved way too much self-deception on our part." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"In Europe today, as in the thirties, the political class prostrates itself before an insatiable force that barely acknowledges the latest surrender before moving on to the next invented grievance. Indeed, a formal enemy is all but superfluous to requirements. Bomb us, and we agonize over the "root causes." Decapitate us, and our politicians rush to the nearest mosque to declare that "Islam is a religion of peace." Issue bloodcurdling calls at Friday prayers to kill all the Jews and infidels, and we fret that it may cause a backlash against Muslims. Behead sodomites and mutilate female genitalia, and gay groups and feminist groups can't wait to march alongside you denouncing Bush and Blair. Murder a school full of children, and our scholars explain that to the "vast majority" of Muslims "jihad" is a harmless concept meaning "healthy-lifestyle lo-fat granola bar." Thus the lopsided value macabre of our times: the more the Islamists step on our toes, the more we waltz them gaily round the room." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
"Clearly, a civilization that feels guilty for everything it is and does , will lack the conviction to defend itself." (Jean-Francois Revel, French philosopher)
The New York Times, is a left wing, secular progressive Newspaper in serious financial decline because of it’s obvious hypocrisy. When the Danish cartoon controversy arose, the editors said it would be wrong to reprint the cartoons because responsible and civilized news organizations must "refrain from gratuitous assaults on religious symbols." Christians were quick to point out the hypocrisy of the paper, since New York Times had printed a full colour piece of "artwork" where the Virgin Mary was covered in elephant dung in 1999 and another piece: a crucifix inside a jar of the artists own urine. Of course, Christians find this artwork offensive, but no more offensive than the content of Hollywood movies, prime time sitcoms or the person cursing the name of Jesus in front of you in the line up at the coffee shop. Christians follow the example of Jesus and turn the other Cheek. Muslims follow the example of Muhammad and murder.

Virgin Mary with elephant dung falling on her praised by the New York Times in 1999.

Crucifix inside a glass jar of the full artists own urine advertised by the New York Times in 1989.
When Muslims complained that burqa was necessary for women to wear, even when driving a car in New Zealand, Greg O'Connor, the president of the New Zealand Police Association insightfully observed "If one's belief system was so strong that you didn't want to show one's face then perhaps that belief system should extend to not driving." Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn commented: "Indeed. If your clothing can't evolve out of the camel-train era, maybe your mode of transportation shouldn't either."
An Islamic States of America, an Islamic Republic of France, an Islamic Kingdom of Belgium, an Islamic Dominion of Canada would all very quickly be societies in decline, living on the accumulated capital of their pre-Muslim past-as, indeed, much of Islam did at its zenith. Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
The advantage for the United States and, to a lesser extent, other parts of the English-speaking world is that Europe is ahead in the line, and its fate may wake up even the most blinkered on this side of the Atlantic. Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn
Fertility rates of world countries: (A birth rate of 2.1 is zero growth rate.)

Niger: 7.46 (Islamic)
Mali: 7.42 (Islamic)
Somalia: 6.76 (Islamic)
Afghanistan: 6.69 (Islamic)
Yemen: 6.58 (Islamic)
USA: 2.11
New Zealand: 2.01
France: 1.89 (France's fertility rate is high only because of the large number of Muslim babies being born.)
Ireland: 1.9
Denmark: 1.77
Netherlands: 1.72
UK: 1.6
Australia: 1.7
Canada: 1.48
EU average: 1.38
Germany: 1.35
Japan: 1.32
Austria: 1.3
Italy: 1.23
Russia: 1.14
Spain: 1.1

Although this must read book is a NY Times bestseller in the US, it has endured censorship in Canada because Muslim activists don't like the way is exposes them for what they really are. Buy the book: "America Alone", Mark Steyn, who is a Canadian Citizen, has this advice: "My advice to Canadian readers is drive over to the Buffalo Barnes & Noble and smuggle it back in, cunningly hidden under the Algerian terrorist in the back seat."

Quotations from the Koran:

2:190-193 Fight in the cause of God, those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loveth not transgressors. And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out: For tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; But fight them not at the sacred Mosque unless they first fight you there; But if they fight you, Slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith. But if they cease, God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God; but if they cease, Let there be no hostility except to those who practise oppression."
2:216-217 Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But God knoweth, and ye know not. They ask thee concerning fighting in the Prohibited Month. Say: "Fighting therein is a grave (offense); but graver is it in the sight of God to prevent access to the path of God, to deny Him, to prevent access to the Sacred Mosque, and drive out its members. Tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter. Nor will they cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can. And if any of you turn back from their faith and die in unbelief, their works will bear no fruit in this life and in the Hereafter; they will be Companions of the Fire and will abide therein.
2:244-245 Then fight in the cause of God, and know that God heareth and knoweth all things. Who is he that will loan to God a beautiful loan, which God will double unto his credit and multiply many times? It is God that giveth (you) want or plenty, and to Him shall be your return.
4:74-77 Let those fight in the cause of God who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter, to him who fighteth in the cause of God, whether he is slain or gets victory, soon shall We give him a reward of great (value). And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)? Men, women, and children whose cry is: "Our Lord! rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from Thee one who will protect; and raise for us from Thee one who will help!" Those who believe fight in the cause of God, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil: so fight ye against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan. Hast thou not turned thy vision to those who were told to hold back their hands (form fight) but establish regular prayers and spend in regular charity? When (at length) the order for fighting was issued to them, behold! a section of them feared men as, or even more than, they should have feared God: they say: "Our Lord! why hast Thou ordered us to fight? Wouldst Thou not grant us respite to our (natural) term, near (enough)?" Say: "Short is the enjoyment of this world: the Hereafter is the best for those who do right: never will ye be dealt with unjustly in the very least!
4:95-96 Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of God with their goods and their persons. God hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit (at home). Unto all (in Faith) Hath God promised good: But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward: Ranks specially bestowed by Him, and Forgiveness and Mercy. For God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
5:51 O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily God guideth not a people unjust.
5:72-73: They do blaspheme who say: "God is Christ the son of Mary." But said Christ: "O Children of Israel! worship God, my Lord and your Lord." Whoever joins other gods with God, - God will forbid him the garden, and the Fire will be his abode. There will for the wrongdoers be no one to help. They do blaspheme who say: God is one of three in a Trinity: for there is no god except One God. If they desist not from their word (of blasphemy), verily a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them.
8:12-15 Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the Believers: I will instil terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them." This because they contended against God and His Apostle: If any contend against God and His Apostle, God is strict in punishment. Thus (will it be said): "Taste ye then of the (punishment): for those who resist God, is the penalty of the Fire." O ye who believe! when ye meet the Unbelievers in hostile array, never turn your backs to them.
8:37-39: In order that God may separate the impure from the pure, put the impure, one on another, heap them together, and cast them into Hell. They will be the ones to have lost. Say to the Unbelievers, if (now) they desist (from Unbelief), their past would be forgiven them; but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is already (a matter of warning for them). And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God altogether and everywhere; but if they cease, verily God doth see all that they do.
9:5 But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (trick in war for deceiving and outwitting the enemy); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them: for God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
9:14 Fight them, and God will punish them by your hands, cover them with shame, help you (to victory) over them, heal the breasts of Believers
9:20 Those who believe, and suffer exile and fight with might and main, in God's cause, with their goods and their persons, have the highest rank in the sight of God: they are the people who will achieve (salvation).
9:29 "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the last day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and his apostle nor acknowledge the religion of truth of the people of the Book (the Jews and the Christians) until they pay the Jizya [tax on non-Muslims] with willing submission and feel themselves subdued."
9:41 Go ye forth, (whether equipped) lightly or heavily, and strive and struggle [fight in war], with your goods and your persons, in the cause of God. That is best for you, if ye (but) knew.
9:73 O Prophet! strive hard [wage war] against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode is Hell, - an evil refuge indeed.
9:123: O ye who believe! fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them find firmness in you: and know that God is with those who fear Him.
22:38-39 Verily God will defend (from ill) those who believe: verily, God loveth not any that is a traitor to faith, or shows ingratitude. To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight) because they are wronged-and verily, God is Most powerful for their aid
25:52 So obey not the unbelievers and fight strenuously with them in many a strenuous fight.
47:4 Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks; At length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them): thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom: Until the war lays down its burdens. Thus (are ye commanded): but if it had been God's Will, He could certainly have exacted retribution from them (Himself); but (He lets you fight) in order to test you, some with others. But those who are slain in the Way of God, - He will never let their deeds be lost.
48:29: "Those who follow Muhammad are merciless for the unbelievers but kind to each other."
60:4: We have renounced you; and enmity and hatred is begun between us and you for ever, until ye believe in Allah alone
61:9-11 It is He Who has sent His Apostle with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, that he may proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest (it). O ye who believe! shall I lead you to a bargain that will save you from a grievous Penalty?- That ye believe in God and His Apostle, and that ye strive (fight) in the Cause of God, with your property and your persons: that will be best for you, if ye but knew!
66:9 O Prophet! make war on the infidels and hypocrites, and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their abode! and wretched the passage to it!

The Hadith:

Hadith 1:13-- "I have been ordered by Allah to fight with people till they bear testimony to the fact that there is no God but Allah."
Hadith 1.24 "Narrated Ibn `Umar: Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers"
Hadith 1.25"Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle was asked, "What is the best deed?" He replied, "To believe in Allah and His Apostle (Muhammad). The questioner then asked, "What is the next (in goodness)? He replied, "To participate in Jihad (religious fighting) in Allah's Cause."
Hadith 19:4294 "Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war."
Hadith 1:35 "The person who participates in Allah's cause (namely, in battle). . will be recompensed by Allah either with reward or booty or will be admitted to Paradise."
Hadith 9:4 "Wherever you find infidels kill them; for whoever kills them shall have reward on the Day of Resurrection."
Hadith 9:50, 57 "No Umma (a member of Muslim community) should be killed for killing a Kafir (an infidel). . Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him."
Sahih Muslim 4363: "You (the Jews) should know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle and I wish to expel you from this land (Arabia)
Sahih Muslim 4366 Narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab. Umar heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslims

Words of Muslim leaders:

"Those who know nothing about Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those people are witless. Islam says: 'Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all!' Does this mean that Muslims should sit back until they are devoured by the infidel? Islam says: 'Kill them, put them to the sword and scatter them.' Islam says: 'Whatever good there is exists thanks to the sword.' The sword is the key to Paradise, which can be opened only for the Holy Warriors! Does all this mean that Islam is a religion that prevents men from waging war? I spit upon those foolish souls who make such a claim." (Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini)
"In the Muslim community, the holy war is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and the obligation to convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or force. The other religious groups (Christianity and Judaism) did not have a universal mission, and the holy war was not a religious duty to them, save only for purposes of defense. (Ibn Khaldun, The Muqadimmah: Ail Introduction to History, Islamic historian, 1377 AD)
"Islam makes it incumbent on all adult males to prepare themselves for the conquest of countries so that the writ of Islam is obeyed in every country in the world." Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian Shiite mullah)
"the religion of Islam could be above all, so that all areas of life could be guided by Islam, and so that the earth could be cleansed from unbelief" (The Islamic Council in Chechnya)
"The foremost duty of Islam is to depose the government and society of unbelievers (jahiliyyah) from the leadership of man." (Sayyid Qutb, Egyptian)
"Uniting the five pillars of Islam is the principle Jihad (lit. struggle). In Islam a Muslim must struggle against himself and his habits to submit fully to God. He must also struggle to guide his family, relatives, and friends to bring them to Islam and to convey the message of Islam itself. Since Islam is totalistic, Muslims wherever they may be, must struggle and sacrifice their energy, time, and material resources to establish Muslim congregations, mosques, madrassas (religious schools) for the maintenance and spread of Islam. Where Muslims make up a substantial fraction of the population, they must struggle to establish the Islamic Shariah (law) as their rule for living, with the aim to ultimately establish a full Islamic state in which Islam would be the ruling ideology and system. To understand this last point is very important for it is part and parcel of Islam to seek its full manifestation and where Muslims fail politically or economically, they also fail spiritually. It is innate to Islam to be militantly uncompromising with alien systems since all sovereignty and glory belongs to God, to the Prophets (PBUH) and to the believers." (Spirit of Toronto, Ontario, Canada: 1834-1984, Lindsay Holton, 1983 AD, Foreword by David Crombie, MP: Secretary of State and Minister of Multiculturalism, Islam - A Dynamic Stability, by Camel Xerri Abdullah Idris, Islamic Center Toronto Jami Mosque, p282-293)

Written by Brother Andrew

There are not 50,000 errors in a Bible, as Jehovah’s Witnesses claim!

2008-10-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

There are not 50,000 errors in a Bible, as Jehovah’s Witnesses claim!

There are not 50,000 errors in a Bible, as Jehovah’s Witnesses claim!

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

Muslim's, in a desperate effort to locate any scrap that says the Bible contained errors, frequently quote from an article written by Jehovah's witnesses with the title, "50,000 errors in a Bible". First we point out that this non-Christian cult had just released their own Bible called "the New World translation ". It is more a sectarian paraphrase of the Bible, than a true translation, which has been universally condemned as a perversion of the original Greek and Hebrew by everyone who is not a member of this cult. Because the Greek manuscripts and English translations of all other Bibles contradicts "watchtower doctrine", but cult had no choice but to produce a version of the Bible themselves that did teach their doctrine. So the article was written as a cheap self-serving diatribe against all other Bibles, and to provide blind praise for their newly unveiled Bible. (If we can call it that.)

Having said this, we must draw the Muslim's attention to the fact that these alleged 50,000 errors, which are never specifically identified, exist not in the original Greek manuscripts but claimed to be in the English translations. Of course, such a statement is false, as anyone who has studied the Hebrew and Greek transmission of the Bible will tell you. Furthermore the article claims, in the voice of a deceptive used car salesman, that all these errors have been fixed in the New World translation. So for Muslim's to quote this article as proof of corruption of the Bible, proves they have no understanding of the subject of textual transmission of the original Greek manuscripts vs. the English translations made from these Greek manuscripts.

It looks good on Jehovah's Witnesses that the article they wrote in 1957 to trash solid translations of the Bible like the King James version, is being used by Muslim's today to proof the New World translation contains 50,000 errors. Although the article is actually quoting a "liberal Bible trasher" (a tactic common for JW’s) the JW who wrote the article at world headquarters in Brooklyn, actually agrees there are 50,000 errors in the KJV. In fact, the New World translation is guilty of the very thing Muslim's would love to know about. Like the fact that the New World translation actually adds words that are not found in any of the original Greek manuscripts. For example, most of the errors in the King James version that Jehovah's Witnesses claim exist are the fact that the name of God instead of being transliterated into an unpronounceable word, was replaced by the word LORD. So English translations do not actually remove the name of God from the Old Testament but Jehovah's Witnesses have in fact added it in their New World translation in the New Testament where it is never use in the Greek manuscripts. Here they took the Greek word from Lord and replaced it with the English word Jehovah. This kind of blind hypocrisy is typical of all Jehovah's Witnesses. Muslim's merely need to ask Jehovah's Witnesses this stunning question: "Why he does the New World translation add the name Jehovah throughout the New Testament, when it is never found in any Greek manuscripts in the world? Aren't you guilty of adding to the word of God in order to propagate your own false doctrine?"

Shortly after the article published in 1957, Bible scholars politely critiqued JW’s and refuted the claim of 50,000 errors in the KJV. Rather than retract the article, Jehovah's Witnesses merely slithered back to Brooklyn to quietly hide while sales of their New World translation kept raking in the dough. Isn't Satan clever! What is even more amazing, is that it is a well known fact that there was only one person on the translating committee of the NWT that could even read Greek or Hebrew. Four out of the five men on the committee had no Hebrew or Greek training at all. They had only a high school education. Franz studied Greek for two years at the University of Cincinnati, but dropped out after his sophomore year. When asked in a Scotland courtroom if he could translate Genesis 2:4 into Hebrew, Franz replied that he could not. The truth is that Franz was unable to translate Hebrew or Greek. What we are left with is a very inexperienced translating committee that twisted Scripture to make it fit the Society's doctrine. Unlike every major translation, the NWT paraphrase was produced under a cloud of secrecy... now you know why!

Finally, Muslims think that because there are a few textual variations in the Bible, that it proves the Bible is corrupt. If we took the sum of all the 5,000 manuscripts of the Bible we will find differences ranging from a missing single letter to entire verses. I make these three important comments to my Muslim friends,

All the differences affect less than 1/10% of Scripture.
None of the textual variants change any doctrine or believe taught in the Bible. This is what Jesus meant when he said Scripture cannot be broken. The message of salvation and the kingdom of God is the same in every Bible in every country in every language in the world.
And perhaps most importantly, only Muslim's claim the Koran contains no textual variants. Christians openly admit textual variants in the Bible, but the proof of textual variants in the Koran is devastating to Muslims for it contradicts their belief in the "unchangeable Mother book" in heaven.

It is in fact utterly dishonest and deceptive for Muslim's to use this article to proof that the Greek manuscripts of the Bible have 50,000 errors, when all the article is claiming is a sub-standard translation process from the Greek manuscripts into the King James version. If Muslim's cannot understand this important point, than they should not speak out of ignorance. If they do understand, which we believe they must, because we've explained it to them in great detail many times, than they are being dishonest and deceptive. But why would we expect Muslim's to be any more honest than the Jehovah's Witnesses they were quoting?

We must conclude this article by emphatically saying that the King James version is one of the most accurately translated Bibles in the world, even though there are three or four notable translation errors which have been corrected by modern translations. These would be translating Hades as hell in Luke 16; use of the word Easter and inclusion of the of the Trinitarian gloss in 1 John 5:7. We wholly recommend and endorse the King James version as an excellent translation from the original Greek.

Written by Brother Andrew

Islam: Muhammad and His Religion

The pagan origin of the word, "Allah".

2008-10-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

The pagan origin of the word, "Allah". Islam is paganism in monotheistic wrapping paper.

The pagan origin of the word, "Allah".

Islam: Truth or Myth? start page
Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah was already being worshipped at the Ka'ba in Mecca by Arab pagans before Muhammad came. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this." (Who Is This Allah?, G. J. O. Moshay, 1994, p 138)

"But history establishes beyond the shadow of doubt that even the pagan Arabs, before Muhammad’s time, knew their chief god by the name of Allah and even, in a sense, proclaimed his unity...Among the pagan Arabs this term denoted the chief god of their pantheon, the Kaaba, with its three hundred and sixty idols." (The Moslem Doctrine of God, Samuel M. Zwemer 1905, p 24-25)

In fact, he did not at first intend to establish a new religion, but rather to reform the belief in Allah which already existed, and to show what this belief truly signified and rightfully demanded. (Mohammed: The man and his faith, Tor Andrae, 1936, Translated by Theophil Menzel, 1960, p13-30)

The pre-Islamic origin of "Allah"

There is absolutely no question that Allah was worshipped by the pagan Arabs as one of many polytheistic gods.

Allah was worshipped in the Kabah at Mecca before Muhammad was born. Muhammad merely proclaimed a god the Meccans were already familiar with. The pagan Arabs never accused Muhammad of preaching a different Allah than the one they already worshipped.

Many scholars say "Allah" is derived from a compound Arabic word, AL + ILAH = Allah. "Ilah" in Arabic is "God" and "Al" in Arabic is a definite article like our word "the". So from an English equivalent "Allah" comes from "The + God". Others, like Arthur Jeffery say, "The common theory is that it is formed from ilah, the common word for a god, and the article al-; thus al-ilah, the god," becomes Allah, "God." This theory, however, is untenable. In fact, the name is one of the words borrowed into the language in pre-Islamic times from Aramaic." (

, Arthur Jeffery, 1958, p 85)

Although "Allah" has become known as the proper name for the Muslim god, Allah is not a name, but a descriptor that means literally, "the god". All pagan cultures have these generic terms that refer to their "top god" as "the god". In comparison to the perfect monotheism of Judaism and Christianity, "Allah" was originally no more a proper name for the Muslim God, than the word Hebrew "elohim" (god) or Greek "theos" (god) are proper names of the one true God of the Bible. "Jehovah" is the only revealed proper name for the "Elohim" of the Old Testament ( Ex 3:13; 6:3) and "Jesus" is the only revealed proper name of "Theos" in the New Testament. (Acts 4:12) Islam has no proper name for their god, but merely transformed, by universal use and confusion, the generic Allah into a proper name. So although today, Muslims use "Allah" as a proper name, it was never used this way originally. Allah, therefore is equivalent to "elohim" and "ho theos" but not "Jehovah" or "Jesus". Allah is not the name of the nameless Muslim God. However Muslims will claim that Allah is the name of God that corresponds to Jehovah. Both the Father and the Son are called "ho theos" (The God). Jesus is called "The God" many times in the New Testament: John 20:28; Heb 1:8. An important conclusion from this, is that the mere fact that "Allah" is equivalent to "elohim" and "ho theos" does not mean they are directly corresponded. It certainly doesn’t prove Allah is the same as the God of the Old or New Testament. It does not prove that Muslim’s worship the same God as Christians. If this correspondence proved the Muslim god was the same as the Christian God, then because pagan religions also have generics that correspond to "the god" (Allah), this correspondence would also prove that Allah is the same god as the Buddhist god, for Buddhists also refer to their god as "the god".

What scholars say about the origin of the word "Allah":

It is not related that the Black Stone was connected with any special god. In the Ka'ba was the statue of the god Hubal who might be called the god of Mecca and of the Ka'ba. Caetani gives great prominence to the connection between the Ka'ba and Hubal. Besides him, however, al-Lat, al-`Uzza, and al-Manat were worshipped and are mentioned in the Kur'an; Hubal is never mentioned there. What position Allah held beside these is not exactly known. The Islamic tradition has certainly elevated him at the expense of other deities. It may be considered certain that the Black Stone was not the only idol in or at the Ka'ba. The Makam Ibrahim was of course a sacred stone from very early times. Its name has not been handed down. Beside it several idols are mentioned, among them the 360 statues. (

First Encyclopedia of Islam, E.J. Brill

, 1987, Islam, p. 587-591)

"The verses of the Qur’an make it clear that the very name Allah existed in the Jahiliyya or pre-Islamic Arabia. Certain pagan tribes believed in a god whom they called ‘Allah’ and

whom they believed to be the creator of heaven and earth and holder of the highest rank in the hierarchy of the gods

. It is well known that the

Quraish

as well as other tribes believed in Allah, whom they designated as the ‘Lord of the House’ (i.e., of the Ka’ba)...It is therefore clear that the Qur’anic conception of Allah is not entirely new." (

A Guide to the Contents of the Qur’an

, Faruq Sherif, (Reading, 1995), pgs. 21-22., Muslim)

According to al-Masudi (Murudj, iv. 47), certain people have regarded the Ka'ba as a temple devoted to the sun, the moon and the five planets. The 36o idols placed round the Ka'ba also point in this direction. It can therefore hardly be denied that traces exist of an astral symbolism. At the same time one can safely say that there can be no question of any general conception on these lines. The cult at the Ka'ba was in the heathen period syncretic as is usual in heathenism. (

First Encyclopedia of Islam, E.J. Brill

, 1987, Islam, p. 587-591)

The name Allah, as the Qur'an itself is witness, was well known in pre-Islamic Arabia. Indeed, both it and its feminine form, Allat, are found not infrequently among the theophorous names in inscriptions from North Arabia.

The common theory is that it is formed from ilah, the common word for a god, and the article al-; thus al-ilah, the god," becomes Allah, "God." This theory, however, is untenable. In fact, the name is one of the words borrowed into the language in pre-Islamic times from Aramaic

. (

Islam: Muhammad and His Religion

, Arthur Jeffery, 1958, p 85)

"If a Muslim says, "Your God and our God is the same," either he does not understand who Allah and Christ really are, or he intentionally glosses over the deep-rooted differences." (

Who Is Allah In Islam

?, Abd-Al Masih, Light of Life, 1985, p. 36.)

Now there dwelt in Mecca a god called Allah. He was the provider, the most powerful of all the local deities, the one to whom every Meccan turned in time of need. But, for all his power, Allah was a remote god. At the time of Muhammad, however, he was on the ascendancy. He had replaced the moon god as lord of the Kaaba although still relegated to an inferior position below various tribal idols and three powerful goddesses: al-Manat, goddess of fate, al-Lat, mother of the gods, and al-Uzza, the planet Venus. (

Islam and the Arabs

, Rom Landau, 1958 p 11-21)

Muhammad no more invented Allah than he did al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat. The Cult of the deity termed simply "thc god" (al-ilah) was known throughout southern Syria and northern Arabia," and it was obviously of central importance in Mecca, where the building called the Ka'ba was indisputably his house. Indeed, the Muslim profession of faith, 11 there is no ilah except al-ilah," attests to precisely that point: the Quraysh are being called upon to repudiate the very existence of all the other gods save this one. It seems equally certain that Allah was not merely a god in Mecca but was widely regarded as the "high god," the chief and head of the Meccan pantheon, perhaps the result, as has been argued, of a natural progression toward henotheism or of the growing influence of Jews and Christians in the peninsula." The most convincing piece of evidence that the latter was at work is the fact that of all the gods of Mecca, Allah alone was not represented by an idol. (

The Hajj

, F. E. Peters, p 3-41, 1994)

Allah, we can be sure, was neither an unknown nor an unimportant deity to the Quraysh when Muhammad began preaching his worship at Mecca. What is equally certain is that Allah had what the Quran disdainfully calls "associates": other gods and goddesses who shared both his cult and his shrine. The processional chant of the pagans of the Age of Barbarism was, we are told, "Here I am, O Allah, here I am; You have no partner except such a partner as You have; You possess him and all that is his." 103 The last clause may reflect what we have already seen was an emerging tendency toward henotheism, the recognition of Allah as the "high god" of Mecca. But it was not sufficient for Muslims, who put in its place their own manifestly monotheistic hymn: "Here I am, O Allah, here I am; You have no partner; the praise and the grace are Yours, and the empire; You have no partner." (

The Hajj

, F. E. Peters, p 3-41, 1994)

While Allah is best known as the principal god of Mecca, he was also worshiped in other places throughout Arabia as is shown by the occurrence of the name in Sabean, Minean and particularly Libyanite inscriptions." The Qur'an (xxix, 61) refers to the belief of the pagans in Allah as the creator of the heavens and the earth; and Muhammad's own father bore the name of `Abd Allah or `Abdullah, meaning the slave or worshiper of this god. In Mecca, Allah was worshiped in the Ka'bah and possibly represented by the famous Black Stone in that place. (

The Archeology Of World Religions

, Jack Finegan, 1952, p482-485, 492)

In Mecca, Allah was worshiped in the Ka'bah and possibly represented by the famous Black Stone in that place. (

The Archeology Of World Religions

, Jack Finegan, 1952, p482-485, 492)

Prior to the rise of Islam, these three goddesses were associated with Allah as his daughters and all were worshiped at Mecca and other places in the vicinity. (

The Archeology Of World Religions

, Jack Finegan, 1952, p482-485, 492)

Allah (allah, al-ilah, the god) was the principal, though not the only, deity of Makkah. The name is an ancient one. It occurs in two South Arabic inscriptions, one a Minaean found at al-'Ula and the other a Sabaean, but abounds in the form HLH in the Lihyanite inscriptions of the fifth century- B.C. Lihyan, which evidently got the god from Syria, was the first Centre of the worship of this deity in Arabia. The name occurs as Hallah in the Safa inscriptions five centuries before Islam and also in a pre-Islamic Christian Arabic inscription found in umm-al-Jimal, Syria, and ascribed to the sixth century . The name of Muhammad's father was 'Abd-Allah ('Abdullah, the slave or worshipper of Allah). The esteem in which Allah was held by thepre-Islamic Makkans as the creator and supreme provider and the one to be invoked in time of special peril may be inferred from such koranic passages as 31 : 24, 31; 6 : 137, 109; to : 23. Evidently he was the tribal deity of the Quraysh. (

History Of The Arabs

, Philip K. Hitti, 1937, p 96-101)

When Mohammed proclaimed his creed: 'There is no God but Allah,' he was not trying to introduce a new God. His pagan countrymen knew and acknowledged this divinity. His name, Allah, occurs already in pre-Mohammedan times, both in inscriptions and in compound personal names like Abd Allah, 'servant of Allah.' The effective note in Mohammed's evangelistic preaching is that he is able to accuse the pagans of acknowledging Allah as the creator of heaven and earth, and yet failing to draw the only possible conclusion from their belief; which is, to worship Allah and none else besides Him. 'If thou ask them who hath created the Heavens and the Earth, and hath imposed laws upon the sun and the moon, they will certainly say, "Allah". . If thou ask them who sendeth rain from Heaven, and by it quickeneth the earth after it hath been dead, they will certainly answer "Allah"' (Sura 29, 6 1 and 63). When in extreme danger, especially on the sea, the pagans call upon Allah (29, 65; 31, 31; 17, 69), but when they are on land again, and feel safe, they share His divine honour with other beings. Allah is supposed to have given certain commandments and taboos to men (Sura 6, 139 ff.), and the most sacred oaths are sworn in His name (Sura 3,r, 40; 16, 40). Thus, even though Allah was not worshipped as He deserved, the cult of Allah was not entirely neglected. A species of tithing, or offering of the first-fruits of grain and cattle, was offered to Allah as well as to the other gods (6, 137). But, above all, Allah was apparently regarded as ,the Lord of the Ka'ba,' the God to whom the cult of the highest sanctuary of Central Arabia was dedicated. In one of the oldest Suras (io6) Mohammed urges his tribesmen, the Quraish, to worship 'the Lord of this house, who allows the two annual trade caravans to be equipped, and who cares for them, and permits them to dwell in security. Concerning himself he says that he has received the commandment to worship 'the Lord of the house,' i.e. the Ka'ba. Apparently, then, the Prophet and his countrymen fully agree that the God who is worshipped through the ritual of the Ka'ba is Allah. (

Mohammed: The man and his faith

, Tor Andrae, 1936, Translated by Theophil Menzel, 1960, p13-30)

"The religion of the Arabs, as well as their political life, was on a thoroughly primitive level...In particular the Semites regarded trees, caves, springs, and large stones as being inhabited by spirits; like the Black Stone of Islam in a corner of the Ka’bah at Mecca, in Petra and other places in Arabia stones were venerated also...Every tribe worshipped its own god, but also recognized the power of other tribal gods in their own sphere...Three goddesses in particular had elevated themselves above the circle of the inferior demons. The goddess of fate, al-Manat, corresponding to the Tyche Soteira of the Greeks, though known in Mecca, was worshipped chiefly among the neighboring Bedouin tribes of the Hudhayl. Allat—"the Goddess," who is Taif was called ar-Rabbah, "the Lady," and whom Herodotus equates with Urania—corresponded to the great mother of the gods, Astarte of the northern Semites; al-‘Uzza, "the Mightiest," worshipped in the planet Venus, was merely a variant form... In addition to all these gods and goddesses the Arabs, like many other primitive peoples, believed in a God who was creator of the world, Allah, whom the Arabs did not, as has often been thought, owe to the Jews and Christians...The more the significance of the cult declined, the greater became the value of a general religious temper associated with Allah. Among the Meccans he was already coming to take the place of the old moon-god Hubal as the lord of the Ka’bah...Allah was actually the guardian of contracts, though at first these were still settled at a special ritual locality and so subordinate to the supervision of an idol. In particular he was regarded as the guardian of the alien guest, though consideration for him still lagged behind duty to one’s kinsmen." (

History of the Islamic Peoples

, Carl Brockelmann, p 8-10)

The god Il or Ilah was originally a phase of the Moon God, but early in Arabian history the name became a general term for god, and it was this name that the Hebrews used prominently in their personal names, such as Emanuel, Israel, etc., rather than the Bapal of the northern semites proper, which was the Sun. Similarly,

under Mohammed's tutelage, the relatively anonymous Ilah became Al-Ilah, The God, or Allâh, the Supreme Being

. (

Southern Arabia

, Carleton S. Coon, Washington, D.C. Smithsonian, 1944, p.399)

"...a people of Arabia, of the race of the Joktanites...the Alilai living near the Red Sea in a district where gold is found; their name, children of the moon, so called from the worship of the moon, or Alilat." (

Gesenius Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures

, translated by Samuel Prideaux Tregelles, 1979, p. 367)

Al-Kindi, one of the early Christian apologists against Islam, pointed out that Islam and its god Allah did not come from the Bible but from the paganism of the Sabeans. They did not worship the God of the Bible but the moon-god and his daughters al-Uzza, al-Lat, and Manat (

Three Early Christian-Muslim Debates

, ed. by N. A. Newman, Hatfield, PA, IBRI, 1994, pp.357, 413, 426).

"The cult of a deity termed simply "the god" (al-ilah) was known throughout southern Syria and northern Arabia in the days before Islam—Muhammad’s father was named ‘Abd Allah ("Servant of Allah")--and was obviously of central importance in Mecca, where the building called the Ka’bah was indisputably his house. Indeed, the Muslims shahadah attests to precisely that point: the Quraysh, the paramount tribe of Mecca, were being called on by Muhammad to repudiate the very existence of all the other gods save this one. It seems equally certain that Allah was not merely a god in Mecca but was widely regarded as the "high god," the chief and head of the Meccan pantheon, whether this was the result, as has been argued, of a natural progression toward henotheism or of the growing influence of Jews and Christians in the Arabian Peninsula...Thus Allah was neither an unknown nor an unimportant deity to the Quraysh when Muhammad began preaching his worship at Mecca." (

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World

, ed. John L. Esposito, 1995, p 76-77)

That Islam was conceived in idolatry is shown by the fact that many rituals performed in the name of Allah were connected with the pagan worship that existed before Islam

. ... Before Islam Allah was reported to be know as: the supreme of a pantheon of gods; the name of a god whom the Arabs worshipped; the chief god of the pantheon; Ali-ilah; the god; the supreme; the all-powerful; all-knowing; and totally unknowable; the predeterminer of everyone’s life destiny; chief of the gods; the special deity of the Quraish; having three daughters: Al Uzzah (Venus), Manah (Destiny), and Alat; having the idol temple at Mecca under his name (House of Allah).; the mate of Alat, the goddess of fate. . ... Because of other Arabian history which points to heathen worship of the sun, moon, and the stars, as well as other gods, of which I believe Allah was in some way connected to. This then would prove to us that Allah is not the same as the true God of the Bible whom we worship, because God never changes." (

Is Allah The Same God As The God Of The Bible

?, M. J. Afshari, p 6, 8-9)

"In pre-Islamic days, called the Days of Ignorance, the religious background of the Arabs was pagan, and basically animistic. Through wells, trees, stones, caves, springs, and other natural objects man could make contact with the deity... At Mekka, Allah was the chief of the gods and the special deity of the Quraish, the prophet’s tribe. Allah had three daughters: Al Uzzah (Venus) most revered of all and pleased with human sacrifice; Manah, the goddess of destiny, and Al Lat, the goddess of vegetable life. Hubal and more than 300 others made up the pantheon. The central shrine at Mekka was the Kaaba, a cube like stone structure which still stands though many times rebuilt. Imbedded in one corner is the black stone, probably a meteorite, the kissing of which is now an essential part of the pilgrimage." (

Meet the Arab

, John Van Ess, 1943, p. 29.)

"Muslims are notoriously loathe to preserve traditions of earlier paganism and like to garble what pre-Islamic history they permit to survive in anachronistic terms" (

Southern Arabia

, Carleton S. Coon, Washington DC, Smithsonian, 1944, p 398)

The Moslem Doctrine of God

, Samuel M. Zwemer 1905, p 24-25)

"Historians like Vaqqidi have said Allah was actually the chief of the 360 gods [one for each day of the year] being worshipped in Arabia at the time Muhammad rose to prominence. Ibn Al-Kalbi gave 27 names of pre-Islamic deities...

Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah was already being worshipped at the Ka'ba in Mecca by Arab pagans before Muhammad came

. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this." (

Who Is This Allah

?, G. J. O. Moshay, 1994, p 138)

"Islam also owes the term "Allah" to the heathen Arabs. We have evidence that it entered into numerous personal names in Northern Arabia and among the Nabatians. It occurred among the Arabs of later times, in theophorous names and on its own." (

Why I Am Not A Muslim

, Ibn Warraq, 1995, p. 42)

"Arabia in Muhammad’s time was polytheistic in its conception of the cosmos and tribal in its social structure. Each tribe had its own god(s) and goddess(es), which were manifest in the forms of idols, stones, trees, or stars in the sky." (

Islamic Studies, A History of Religions Approach

, Richard C. Martin, 2^nd Ed., p 96)

"Before Islam, the religions of the Arabic world involved the worship of many spirits, called jinn. Allah was but one of many gods worshiped in Mecca. But then Muhammad taught the worship of Allah as the only God, whom he identified as the same God worshiped by Christians and Jews." (

A Short History of Philosophy

, Robert C. Solomon, p. 130)

"Allah: Originally applied to the moon; he seems to be preceded by Ilmaqah, the moon god... Allat: the female counterpart to Allah." (

A Dictionary of Non-Classical Mythology

, Marian Edwardes, Lewis Spence, Allah, p. 7)

There were hundreds of such deities in pagan Arabia; the Ka'bah alone at one time housed three hundred and sixty-seven of them. Of all those mentioned in the Qur'an, four appeared to be most popularly revered on the eve of Islam, al`-Uzzah (power), al-Lat (the goddess), and Manah (fate); all three female deities, popularly worshiped by the tribes of the Hijaz, were regarded as the daughters of Allah (the god) who headed the Arabian pantheon when Muhammad began to preach. Allah, the paramount deity of pagan Arabia, was the target of worship in varying degrees of intensity from the southernmost tip of Arabia to the Mediterranean. To the Babylonians he was "Il" (god); to the Canaanites, and later the Israelites, he was "El"., the South Arabians worshipped him as "Ilah," and the Bedouins as "al-Ilah" (the deity). With Muhammad he becomes Allah, God of the Worlds, of all believers, the one and only who admits of no associates or consorts in the worship of Him. Judaic and Christian concepts of God abetted the transformation of Allah from a pagan deity to the God of all monotheists. There is no reason, therefore, to accept the idea that "Allah" passed to the Muslims from Christians and Jews. (

, Beliefs And Observances, Caesar E. Farah, p2-7, 26-35)

Before the name [Allah] came into Islam, it had already long been part of the pre-Islamic system, and a considerably important part, too...the pagan concept of Allah, which is purely Arabian—the case in which we see the pre-Islamic Arabs themselves talking about "Allah" as they understand the word in their own peculiar way." (

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

Let us begin by remarking that the name itself of Allah is common to Jahiliyyah and Islam.

When, in other words, the Koranic Revelation began to use this word, it was not introducing a new name of God, a name strange and alien to the ears of the contemporary Arabs

. The first problem, then, that we must answer is

: Was the Koranic concept of Allah a continuation of the pre-Islamic one, or did the former represent a complete break with the latter? Were there some essential-not accidental-ties between the two concepts signified by one and the same name? Or was it a simple matter of a common word used for two different objects?

." (

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

What does this mean from the semantical point of view? What are the implications of the fact that the name of Allah was not only known to both parties but was actually used by both parties in their discussion with each other? The very fact that the name of Allah was common to both the pagan Arabs and the Muslims, particularly the fact that it gave rise to much heated discussion about the concept of God, would seem to suggest conclusively that there was some common ground of understanding between the two. parties. Otherwise there, could have been neither debate nor discussion at all. And when the Prophet addressed his adversaries in the name of Allah all, he did so simply and solely because he knew that this name meant something and something important to their minds too. If this were not, so, his activity would have been quite pointless in this respect. " (

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

As regards the 'basic' meaning of Allah, we may remark that many Western scholars have compared rightly -to my mind- the word in its formal aspect with the Greek "Ho Theos" which means quite simply 'the God'. On such an abstract level the name was common to all Arab tribes. In pre-Islamic times each tribe, as a rule, had its own local god or divinity known by a proper name. So, at first, each tribe may have meant its own local divinity, when it used an expression equivalent to "the God"; this is quite probable. But the very fact that people began to designate their own local divinity by the abstract form of "the God' must have paved, the way for the growth of an abstract notion of God without any localizing qualification and then, following this, for a belief in the supreme God common to all the tribes. We meet with similar instances all over the world. Besides, we must remember, there were the Jews and the Christians with whom the Arabs had constant opportunities of a close cultural contact. And naturally these Jews and Christians both used the same word Allah to denote their own Biblical God. This must have exerted a great influence on the development of the pre-Islamic concept of Allah among the Arabs towards a higher concept than that of a mere tribal divinity, not only among the town-dwellers but also among the pure Bedouins of the desert. However this may be, it is certain from the Koran alone, that by the time Muhammad began to preach, the pagan Arabs had come to cherish at least a vague idea, and perhaps also a vague belief, in Allah as the highest God standing above the level of local idols. This much we may reasonably assume as the 'basic' meaning, of the word Allah in Jahiliyah. And this much meaning, at least, must the word have carried into the Islamic system when the Koran began to use it as the name of the God of Islamic Revelation. For otherwise, as I have said, even a polemic discussion on this Islamic God could not have been possible between the Muslims and the Meccan pagans. " (

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

However, this is not the whole picture. We would commit a grave mistake if we imagined that this 'basic' meaning was the sole point of contact between the two conceptions of God. The thing did not occur in such a way that the pure concept of Allah with its simple 'basic' meaning or which is suggested by its formal structure -Allah = ho theos - came straight into the Islamic conceptual system falling down, so to speak, from some metaphysical world of pure concepts. But actually, i.e. historically, it came into the Islamic system through another system, namely, the pre-Islamic system of religious concepts, however crude the latter might have been.

Before the name came into Islam, it had already long been part of the pre-Islamic system, and a considerably important part, too

. (

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

To put it in another way, when the Islamic Revelation began, the pagan Arabs of Mecca could possibly have no other way of understanding the word Allah than by associating with it all the semantic elements that were already present in their minds. This was the first big semantic problem which faced the Prophet Muhammad when he started his prophetic career. ... The chief of those objectionable elements was the idea that Allah, although admittedly the supreme God, allowed of the existence of so-called "associates" shuraka' besides Him. But apart from this polytheistic element and some other less important points, the Koran acknowledges that the general concept of Allah entertained by the contemporary Arabs was surprisingly close to the Islamic concept of God. (

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

The first is the pagan concept of Allah, which is purely Arabian-the case in which we see the pre-Islamic Arabs themselves talking about "Allah" as then, understand the word in their own peculiar way ... (II) The case in which we observe the Jews and the Christians of pre-Islamic times using the very word Allah in referring to their own God. In this case "Allah" means of course the God of the Bible, a typically monotheistic concept of God. Exceedingly interesting examples are found in this respect, for instance, in the work of 'Adi b. Zayd, a, well-known Arab Christian, the Court poet of al-Hirah. (III) Lastly, the case in which we see the pagan Arabs - non-Christian, non-Jewish pure Jahili Arabs - handling the Biblical concept of God under the name of "Allah".(

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

II THE CONCEPT OF ALLAH IN ARABIAN PAGANISM (1) Allah in this conception, is the Creator of the world. (2) He is the Giver of rain, i.e., more generally, the Giver of life to all living things on earth. (3) He is the One who presides over the most solemn oaths. (4) He is the object of what we might justly describe as "momentary?' or "temporary" monotheism, the existence of which is evidenced by the recurrent expression in the Koran "making (momentarily) their faith pure for Him alone" (5) Finally, Allah is the Lord of Ka'bah. (

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

"The relation of this name, which in Babylonia and Assyrian became a generic term simply meaning ‘god’, to the Arabian Ilah familiar to us in the form Allah, which is compounded of al, the definite article, and Ilah by eliding the vowel ‘i’, is not clear. Some scholars trace the name to the South Arabian Ilah, a title of the Moon god, but this is a matter of antiquarian interest...it is clear from Nabataen and other inscriptions that Allah meant ‘the god.’ The other gods mentioned in the Quran are all female deities: Al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat, which represented the Sun, the planet Venus, and Fortune, respectively; at Mecca they were regarded as the daughters of Allah... As Allah meant ‘the god’, so Al-Lat means ‘the goddess’." (

, Alfred Guillaume, 1956, p 6-7)

Apparently, then, Allah was, already in the conception of the pre-Islamic Arabs the Creator of the world and the Giver of rain, i.e., the Giver of life to all that exists on earth. The only serious complaint brought against them by the Qur'an in this respect was that the pagans failed to draw the only reasonable conclusion from the acknowledgment of Allah's being the Creator of the heaven and the earth: that they should serve Allah alone and none else. (

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

It is indeed remarkable that this expression implies that in an emergency when they really felt that their own life was in mortal danger, the pagan Arabs used to have recourse to 'temporary monotheism' apparently without any reflection on the grave implication of such an act. That the phrase "making one's religion pure for Allah" in contexts of this kind means what we might call 'momentary -or temporary- monotheism', and not simply "sincerity" or "earnestness" in one's prayer is clearly shown by the fact that in the majority of the verses in which this expression is used the Koran adds the remark that these pagans, as soon as they reach the shore and feel sure of absolute safety, forget about all that has passed and begin again "to ascribe partners to Allah", i.e., fall back into their original polytheism. (

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

"The enemies tried hard against me", he says, "without desisting from doing anything that could harm me, by the Lord of Mecca and the ' Crucified". ... In this verse 'Adi b. Zayd claims his complete innocence and says that the misunderstanding on the part of the king has been produced only by the machination of the slanderers envious of his good fortune, and in order to give special weight to this declaration he swears by the Lord of Mecca and Christ putting together the two "Lords" into a single oath. What is important to remember regarding this verse is that the poet 'Adi b. Zayd was an Arab Christian, but he was neither a simple Arab nor an ordinary Christian. He was a man of the highest culture of his age. ... The fact that this man of highest culture and education put in one of his solemn oaths the Lord of Mecca and Christ together is significant, in My view, in two different ways: it is of importance, first of all, in connection with the problem of the relational meaning of the word Allah in its purely Arabian aspect. That a highly educated Christian, not a pagan Arab, living in Hirah, away from Mecca, did use this concept of the Lord of Ka'bah in this way shows better than anything else how wide-spread and influential was this particular connotation of Allah. ... The example of 'Adi b. Zayd's verse would seem to suggest, at least to my mind, that there was in the Christian psychology an unconscious tendency or inclination towards identifying -their Christian concept of Allah with the purely pagan Arabian concept of Allah as the Lord of the Meccan shrine. (

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

Both the Jews and the Christians in Arabia used Arabic as their vernacular, and, as I have pointed out earlier, referred to their Biblical God by the very word Allah, which was something quite natural seeing that the 'basic' meaning conveyed by this word was a very abstract one that would correspond roughly to the Greek ho theos. (

, Toshihiko Izutsu, Chapter 4: Allah, p96-119, 1980)

It is clear from the negative form of the Muslim creed, "There is no god except God," that the existence and lordship of Allah were known and recognized in pre-Islamic Arabia. The Prophet's mission was not to proclaim God's existence but to deny the existence of all lesser deities. The fact that Muhammad's own father bore the name 'Abd-Allah, slave of God, demonstrates that God was known by that name prior to Islam. The Qur'an in many passages refers to Muhammad's adversaries in Mecca, swearing by God, invoking Him, and recognizing His sovereignty as Creator. The name Allah is also evident in archaeological and literary remains of pre-Islamic Arabic. But the people of Mecca did not understand or allow that God alone should be worshipped. Indeed they contended against Muhammad that if God had willed it they would have refrained from believing in other deities (Surah vi. 148), clearly implying that God approved of their concurrent idolatry. (

The Call of The Minaret

, Kenneth Cragg, 1956, 35-41)

There can be no doubt then that the Prophet's contemporaries knew of a Supreme Being, but He did not dominate their minds. Rather they thought more directly and frequently of the lesser gods, the daughters, perhaps even the sons, of Allah who were far more intimately related to their daily lives, their wars, their harvests, and their fertility. (

The Call of The Minaret

, Kenneth Cragg, 1956, 35-41)

Certain trees and stones (especially meteorites and those shaped to resemble human forms) housed spirits and divinities. (

Mohammed

, Maxime Rodinson, 1961, translated by Anne Carter, 1971, p 16-17)

This was especially true of Allah, 'the God, the Divinity', the personification of the divine world in its highest form, creator of the universe and keeper of sworn oaths. In the Hejaz three goddesses had pride of place as the 'daughters of Allah'. The first of these was Allat, mentioned by Herodotus under the name of Alilat. Her name means simply 'the goddess', and she may have stood for one aspect of Venus, the morning star, although hellenized Arabs identified her with Athene. Next came Uzza, 'the all-powerful', whom other sources identify with Venus. The third was Manat, the goddess of fate, who held the shears which cut the thread of life and who was worshipped in a shrine on the sea-shore. The great god of Mecca was Hubal, an idol made of red cornelian. (

Mohammed

, Maxime Rodinson, 1961, translated by Anne Carter, 1971, p 16-17)

In recent years I have become increasingly convinced that for an adequate understanding of the career of Muhammad and the origins of Islam great importance must be attached to the existence in Mecca of belief in Allah as a ‘high god'. In a sense this is a form of paganism, but it is so different from paganism as commonly understood that it deserves separate treatment. Moreover there is much about it in the Qur'an. The first point to note is that the pagans are prepared to admit that Allah is the creator of the heavens and the earth. (

, W. Montgomery Watt, Chapter 3: Religion In Pre-Islamic Arabia, p26-45)

The Arabic word for 'God', Allah, is a contraction of al-ilah, which like the Greek ho theos simply means 'the god' but was commonly understood as 'the supreme god' or 'God'. It is possible that before the time of Muhammad the Meccan pagans used to indicate the principal deity of the Ka'bah, in the same way in which the deity worshipped at at-Ta'if was known simply as al-Lat, the goddess. If the word Allah was also used for God as acknowledged by Jews and Christians, the opportunities for confusion would be great. The probability therefore is that while some Meccans acknowledged God, they did not see that their old polytheistic beliefs were incompatible with belief in God and reject them. These premonitions of monotheism among the Arabs must have been due mainly to Christian and Jewish influences. The Arabs had many opportunities of contact with Christians and Jews. The Byzantine empire, whose power and higher civilization they greatly admired, was Christian, and so was Abyssinia. Even in the Persian empire Christianity was strong, and al-Hirah, the Persian vassal-state with which the Arabs were much in contact, was an outpost of the East Syrian or Nestorian Church. This combination of monotheism with military and political strength and a higher level of material civilization must have impressed the Arabs greatly. (

Muhammad at Mecca

, W. Montgomery Watt, 1953, p 23-29)

All this material goes to show that among the pagans in Mecca and presumably also in the region round there was widespread recognition of Allah as high god. Such people may even have been more numerous than those who gave no special place to Allah, and they may have differed among themselves about the powers of a high god. This conclusion has been reached from a study of the Qur'an, and refers to a relatively small region during a restricted period. The study of inscriptions, however, has shown that belief in a high or supreme god was common throughout the Semitic Near East in the Greco-Roman period. It is worth quoting the conclusions of one who has made a thorough study of the inscriptions. It is worth quoting the conclusions of one who has made a thorough study of the inscriptions: "The epigraphical material reveals that the worship of a supreme god coexisted with that of other minor gods. The belief that one god is able to control all the other gods, or is supreme in that he has created and looks after the world, does not constitute monotheism. But the increasing emphasis on such beliefs is evidence of a trend towards monotheism, namely towards the exclusion of other gods' existence." [Javier Teixidor, The Pagan God: Popular Religion in the Greco-Roman Near East, Princeton 1977, 17.] " The authors of the inscriptions worshipped a supreme god who was alone in possessing a power that excelled any other divine power. He was believed to be a Weather god; heaven belonged to him. Lesser gods were his messengers and ministers. As stated in the first chapter, the cult of the angels became a significant feature of the religious life of the Near East during the Persian and Hellenistic times. It gave the angels their role of messengers, but also stressed the fact that the Lord of Heaven ranked at the top of a hierarchy of divine beings. On the other hand, the religious life of the various groups whose inscriptions have been studied in the preceding pages was rooted in the traditions of the ancestors." [Javier Teixidor, The Pagan God: Popular Religion in the Greco-Roman Near East, Princeton 1977, 161f.] In the light of this further evidence it becomes highly probable that when Muhammad began preaching the dominant view among thinking people in Mecca was the belief in Allah as high god. Pure paganism was in decline. (

Oxford Dictionary of World Religions

, W. Montgomery Watt, Chapter 3: Religion In Pre-Islamic Arabia, p26-45)

North Arabian deities. Among the peoples around the northern perimeter of Arabia, "god," in the most generic sense, was El, or in a longer form of the same name, Ilah. (

Britannica

, Arabian Religions, p1057, 1979)

"Allah: Before the birth of Muhammad, Allah was known as a supreme, but not sole, God." (

, 1997, p. 48)

"Origin- Nabataean and Arabic: Derived from the western Semitic god Il. ... Known period of worship: circa 300 BC until present. ... The creator god of Islam. Perceived in pre-Islamic times as the creator of the earth and water" (

Encyclopedia of Gods, Michael Jordan

, Allah, p 12)

"Despite the prominence of the name elsewhere among Semitic peoples, the god Il (EI) appears to play a comparatively minor role in the South Arabian inscriptions. Some modem scholars have sought to explain this circumstance by equating Il with the moon god, but this opinion has not prevailed." ... "Among the peoples around the northern perimeter of Arabia, "god," in the most generic sense, was El, or in a longer form of the same name, Ilah. (Britannica,

Arabian Religions

, p1057, 1979)

Allah was known to the pre-Islamic Arabs; he was one of the Meccan deities, possibly the supreme deity and certainly a creator-god (cf. Kur'an, xiii, 16; xxix, 61, 63; xxxi, 25; xxxix, 38; xliii, 87). He was already known, by antonomasia, as the God, al-Ilah (the most likely etymology; another suggestion is the Aramaic Alaha). For Allah before Islam, as shown by archaeological sources and the Kur'an, see ILAH. (

The Encyclopaedia Of Islam

, New Edition, Edited By B. Lewis, V. L. Menage, Ch. Pellat And J. Schacht, 1971, ALLAH, page 406)

But the vague notion of supreme (not sole) divinity, which Allah seems to have connoted in Meccan religion, was to become both universal and transcendental; it was to be turned, by the Kur'anic preaching, into the affirmation of the Living God, the Exalted One. (

The Encyclopaedia Of Islam

, New Edition, Edited By B. Lewis, V. L. Menage, Ch. Pellat And J. Schacht, 1971, ALLAH, page 406)

ALLAH is the proper name of God among Muslims, corresponding in usage to Jehovah (Jahweh) among the Hebrews. Thus it is not to be regarded as a common noun meaning 'God' (or 'god'), and the Muslim must use another word or form if he wishes to indicate any other than his own peculiar deity. Similarly, no plural can be formed from it, and though the liberal Muslim may admit that Christians or Jews call upon Allah, he could never s Peak of the Allah of the Christians or the Allah of tire Jews. (

, James Hastings, Allah p 326)

"The origin of this goes back to pre-Muslim times, as Prof. Noldeke has shown" (

, James Hastings, Allah p 326)

Muhammad found the Meccans believing in a supreme God whom they called Allah, thus already contracted. With Allah, however, they associated other minor deities, some evidently tribal, others called daughters of Allah. Muhammad's reform was to assert the solitary existence of Allah. The first article of the Muslim creed, therefore, La ilaha illa-llahu means only, as addressed by him to the Meccans, ' There exists no God except the one whom you already call Allah.' Naturally, this precise historical origin is not clear to the Muslin exegetes and theologians. But that Allah is a proper name, applicable only to their peculiar God, they are certain, and they mostly recognize that its force as a proper name has arisen rough contraction in form and limitation in usage. (

, James Hastings, Allah p 326)

The preferable view is that Allah is a proper name of God and has no derivation; this he defends with arguments based on the undoubted usage of the Qur'an and the impossibility of making a common noun apply to an individual only. (

, James Hastings, Allah p 326)

Broadly, Allah is used of the true God only, as also, in the first instance, al-ilah ; but the latter can by extension be applied to any god, as Allah Himself applies it in the Qur'an. (

, James Hastings, Allah p 326) [This, of course, is a complete reversal of the historical fact.]

"In any case it is extremely important fact that Muhammad did not find it necessary to introduce an altogether novel deity, but contented himself with ridding the heathen Allah of his companions subjecting him to a kind of dogmatic purification." (

Karen Armstrong, Muhammad

, I:664.)

Comment: Allah is a term Muslims use to distinguish their moon god. The term was in existence before Muhammad was born. However it has no history of use outside the Arabic world, as Muslims claim. For example, it is not found in the Bible or in any Jewish or Christian writings. The moon god, however, does have a long history that dates back to the time of Abraham.

The final divinity to be considered is Allah who was recognized before Islam as god, and if not as the only god at least as a supreme god. The Quran makes it quite clear that he was recognized at Mecca, though belief in him was certainly more widespread .78 How is this to be explained? Earlier scholars attributed the diffusion of this belief solely to Christian and Judaic influences. But now a growing number of authors maintain that this idea had older roots in Arabia. Wellhausen's view that Allah (al-ilah, "the god") is a sort of abstraction which (originating in the local gods) gave rise first to a common word, then a common concept that merged the various gods into one single god has rightly been judged inadequate. One must rather see in this pre-Islamic Allah one of those great supreme gods who created the world but who plays a minor role in the actual cult. 79 If, therefore, Allah is indigenous to Arabia, one must ask further: Are there indications of a nomadic origin? I think there are, based on a comparison of the beliefs of the nomads in central and northern Asia with those of northeastern Africa. Like the supreme being of many other nomads, Allah is a god of the sky and dispenser of rain. 80 These indications might not seem sufficiently peculiar to Bedouin, for the notion of such a god might just as well have been formed by settled farming people. But one must not forget that rain is even more important for nomads. (

Studies on Islam

, edited by Merlin L. Swartz, Pre-Islamic Bedouin Religion, by Joseph Henninger, 1981, p 3-22)

"...the Ka’aba was dedicated to al-Ilah, the High God of the pagan Arabs, despite the presiding effigy of Hubal. By the beginning of the seventh century, al-Ilah had become more important than before in the religious life many of the Arabs. Many primitive religions develop a belief in a High God, who is sometimes called the Sky God...But they also carried on worshipping the other gods, who remained deeply important to them." (

, (New York: San Francisco, 1992) p. 69.)

From the Koran itself it is clear that monotheistic ideas were familiar in Western Arabia. The existence of a supreme God, Allah, is assumed as an axiom common to Mohammed and his opponents. The Koran never argues the point; what it does argue is that He is the one and only God. La ilaha illa'llah, ‘there is no god but Allah.’ Mohammedanism, An Historical Survey H.A.R. Gibb, 1950,

The Koran

, p 36-47

"Allah, the Supreme Being of the Mussulmans: Before Islam.

That the Arabs, before the time of Muhammed, accepted and worshipped, after a fashion, a supreme god called Allah,--"the Ilah, or the god, if the form is of genuine Arabic source; if of Aramaic, from Alaha, "the god"—seems absolutely certain

. Whether he was an abstraction or a development from some individual god, such as Hubal, need not here be considered...But they also recognized and tended to worship more fervently and directly other strictly subordinate gods...It is certain that they regarded particular deities (mentioned in 1iii. 19-20 are al-‘Uzza, Manat or Manah, al-Lat’; some have interpreted vii, 179 as a reference to a perversion of Allah to Allat as daughters of Allah (vi. 100; xvi, 59; xxxvii, 149; 1iii, 21); they also asserted that he had sons (vi. 100)..."There was no god save Allah". This meant, for Muhammed and the Meccans, that of all the gods whom they worshipped, Allah was the only real deity. It took no account of the nature of God in the abstract, only of the personal position of Allah. ...ilah, the common noun from which Allah is probably derived..." (

First Encyclopedia of Islam, E.J. Brill

, 1987, Islam, p. 302)

"The name Allah goes back before Muhammad" (

The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend

, Anthony S. Mercatante, I:41, 1983)

Written by Brother Andrew

The social dynamics behind the rise of Islam!

2008-10-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

The social dynamics behind the rise of Islam!

Encyclopedia of Islam Myths:
The social dynamics behind the rise of Islam!
Muhammad was not a prophet of God, but was in the right place in the right time, who said the right things in the right way, to transform a rapidly changing Arab society into the religion of Islam.

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

The social transformations under Islam that Muhammad was able to make because he was in the right place at the right time:

Before Muhammad conquered Mecca: Security based on tribal associations (tribal based)

After Muhammad conquered Mecca: Security based on being a Muslim. (religion based)

Forces that were in place in Muhammad’s life that made all the pieces fall into place for the major transformation in the Arab world take place:

When Muhammad was young, he was an orphan that felt first hand what it was like to be outside the inner circle.
Muhammad was older, he had been cast out of his tribe and felt first hand what it was like to exist without tribal security. Exploiting the Haram (protection area) to his own personal advantage, Muhammad’s reforms under the banner of Islam, were quite self serving.

Notes:

During the years just before he received the call to prophethood Muhammad must have been increasingly aware of the unsatisfactory social conditions in Mecca. This was something he could observe for himself and did not require to be shown by revelation. The fundamental source of the trouble was that the traditional values of nomadic society (which was that of the recent ancestors of the Meccans ) were proving inadequate in the prosperous mercantile economy of Mecca, and were fading away. The wealthy merchants, who were also the leading men of the clans, were neglecting the traditional duty of caring for the needy and unfortunate among their kinsmen. Their great wealth made them proud, arrogant and presumptuous, ready to oppress and take advantage of any who were in any sense weak. Some of the Qur'anic evidence for these attitudes was presented in the last chapter. Muhammad may well have come to see the root of the troubles as the secular, materialistic outlook of the very wealthy, and may even have decided that this could only be got rid of by some form of religious belief. (Muhammad's Mecca, W. Montgomery Watt, Chapter 3: Religion In Pre-Islamic Arabia, p26-53)
Through a combination of divine revelation and great personal character, Muhammad brought humanity a religion that offered alternatives not only to the idolatry and bigotry of the desert Arabs but also to the Judaism and Christianity that were operating in and around the Arab world. In the Quran, Islam had its equivalent of the Torah and the Gospels; its Sabbath fell on Friday rather than Saturday or Sunday; and in place of the synagogue and church, Islam offered the mosque, combining the teaching and praying functions of both. (The Joy of Sects, Peter Occhigrosso, 1996, p394-397)
The rise of "Allah" to prominence in the pantheon at Mecca was commensurate with the rising status of the Quraysh. The pagans in and around Mecca at an earlier date had already considered him the supreme deity. The attributes associated with "Allah" before Islam, namely his being regarded as creator of the world and lord guardian of contractual obligations of the wayfarer and fate, were preserved in the Islamic conception of him. That he enjoyed a high status during this period is evident in the deference accorded him by certain Christians and non-Christians, like the Sabians and the Magians, who regarded Allah as a deity and even implored their indigenous gods to intercede with him on their behalf. The Sabians not only made ritualistic sacrifices to Allah and sent offerings to the Ka`bah, but even regarded their astral gods as "companions of Allah." Perhaps it is owing to this recognition of Allah that the Muslims later extended their protection to both Sabians and Magians even though they did not strictly qualify as possessors of scriptures in the same context as Christians and Jews. What is of significance to the mission of Islam is the trend toward socio-religious centralization in Meccan society on the eve of the advent of Muhammad. While laboring to establish and safeguard their economic ascendancy, the merchant oligarchy of Qurayshites, ruling Mecca brought about a transformation of values, most important being the establishment of security under law in lieu of kinship. Thus when Muhammad preached social unity and solidarity on the basis of Islam, he was exploiting a trend already in evidence. In the area of the haram a stranger was afforded protection because of the sanctity it enjoyed. The support of a native patron would be called upon only when an injustice was perpetrated against the stranger. To be born or to sojourn in the sanctified environment of the Ka'bah gave non-Qurayshite Arabs precedence over others. (Islam, Beliefs And Observances, Caesar E. Farah, p2-7, 26-35)
Of paramount importance to the development of the central socio-religious function of Allah in Islam as an equalizer and a force of solidarity was this pre-Islamic institution in Mecca. When rights and obligations, hitherto unrecognized outside membership in the tribe, became extra-familial or extra-tribal in the jiwar of the haram, it was the prerogative, if not indeed the responsibility, of Allah to serve as imposer and guarantor. When Muhammad called upon all Qurayshites to forsake the idols and place all their faith in Allah, it was not the novelty of the preaching as much as the fear of economic loss from having to abandon guardianship over the Ka`bah, home of the idols of pagan Arabia and the target of the profitable pilgrimage as well as an all round stimulant of trade, that impelled them to resist him, even by force. (Islam, Beliefs And Observances, Caesar E. Farah, p2-7, 26-35)

But in this crucial period of Mecca, when traditional socio-religious values were giving way to new ones, the evolving system was not free from injustices; otherwise Muhammad would have lacked the wherewithal for his preaching of a new socio-religious system based on submission to one God

The need for a remedial treatment such as that offered by Muhammad in his message of Islam was timely because demands for reform could not have been avoided much longer. The role of Muhammad was indeed preordained

Written by Brother Andrew

Theological and historical errors in the Qur’an

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Theological and historical errors in the Koran

Theological and historical errors in the Qur’an

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

Muhammad was not a very well informed theologian when he wrote the Koran. Yes, we know, Muslims will tell us that Muhammad didn’t write the Qur'an. After all that way they can blame Allah for the errors and their prophet remains sinless and blameless! Here are the most obvious errors!

The Qur'an has also many statements about Christian belief, many of them mistaken, and contrary arguments

The chief error in the Qur'an in respect of Judaism is the assertion that the Jews regarded Ezra ('Uzayr) as 'son of God' (9-30); while it is true that the Old Testament uses the term 'son of God' for the Messiah who was expected, there is no evidence that it was ever applied to Ezra

Muslims mistakenly thought that Mary was the third member of the Christian trinity.

The Qur'an shows that there was little knowledge in Mecca of the New Testament apart from the story of the virginal conception of Jesus (19.16-21). On the other hand several mistaken ideas about Christianity appear to have been current among the Meccans. They supposed that Christians worshipped three gods, taking both Jesus and Mary as gods. (Muhammad's Mecca, W. Montgomery Watt, Chapter 3: Religion In Pre-Islamic Arabia, p26-45)

The well known Muslim "rosary" (sibhah) or chain of beads, in thrice thirty three arrangement, is a means of recollecting serially the Ninety-nine names of God. They may also be seen in the Arabic numerals 81 and 18 adding up to 99, which can easily be read in the left - and right-hand palms

The Call of The Minaret

Written by Brother Andrew

2008-10-01T18:54:00.001-07:00

The Myth of Islamic/Muslim toleration: The four stage program of Islam to make North America an Islamic state.

The Myth of Islamic/Muslim toleration towards other religions in North America
The four stage program of Islam to make North America an Islamic state.

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

The Myth of Islamic/Muslim toleration towards other religions in North America

I have had several requests for information about whether the terrorist attacks are characteristic of Islam in general or were they an aberration? Many ask, "Though obviously most Muslims in North America do not in anyway condone the violence in New York City (World Trade Centre) and the Pentagon, does the Koran? In other words, when we hear that the terrorists in no way reflect the true nature of Islam, is that correct?"

The basic principle here is that Western society and Islamic society cannot coexist. When Muslims become strong enough, they will demand the implementation of "Shariah." Shariah is Islamic law that is based upon the Qur’an and Ahadith. This is the law that makes women virtual prisoners in a man’s house, causes the to wear the veil, and makes them second class citizens. It is the law that demands the execution of those who blaspheme Muhammad, Islam or the Qur’an. This is the law that will not allow Christians to attempt to convert a Muslim and will imprison or execute a Muslim convert unless he recants. This is the law the required US soldiers in Desert Storm to hide their Bibles. This is the law that Muslims want to see replace the constitution of the United States.

Islam has historically developed in four stages:

1. Evangelism:

Evangelism continues until persecution arises or Muslims have developed a large power base.
Characterized by great tolerance of others and their beliefs
Don’t be fooled by the "tolerant" face of Muslims you meet in the US today.

2. Consolidation

A power base is now established
Tolerance diminishes and greater demands are placed upon adherents

3. Revolution

All opposition, no matter what kind, is challenged and either eradicated or subdued

4. Islamic State

The Qur’an becomes the "law of the land."
Religions other than Islam are forbidden to evangelize.

If the Muslims can overcome by peaceful means, that is the avenue that they will take, but if they cannot win by peaceful means, "jihad" is the next step. Most American and European Muslims advocate co-existence and will quote the Qur’an, Surah (chapter) 2, Ayah (verse)

256 where it says: 2:56. There is no compulsion in religion; truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error; therefore, whoever disbelieves in the Shaitan and believes in Allah he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handle, which shall not break off, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.

However, the other side of the story is expressed by one of today's foremost Islamic apologists, Ahmed Deedat of South Africa, when he writes,

"In the battle for the hearts and minds of mankind, "cruci-FICTION" is the only card the Christian holds. Free him from his infatuation and you will have freed the Muslim world from missionary aggression and harassment."

From the book, Crucifixion or Crucifiction by Ahmed Deedat, Published by Islamic Propagation Centre International, Madressa Arcade, Durban 4001, R.S.A. 1st print March 1984 P.9

In his eyes, a Christian simply trying to teach a Muslim the truth is "aggression." The Muslim response to aggression is jihad. Jihad means "holy struggle" It is used to describe an individual's struggle in his personal life to become more as Allah would have him be, but it is also used as a term to describe a communities resistance to attack. Hence Sadam Hussein called for a "holy war" against the US during Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Here are some important quotes from the Qur’an.

25:51 Had it been Our Will, We could have sent a warner to every center of population, 25:52 Therefore listen not to the Unbelievers, but strive (Jihad, NR) against them with the utmost strenuousness, with the (Qur’an).
61:9 It is He Who has sent His Apostle with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, that he may proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest (it). 10 O ye who believe! shall I lead you to a bargain that will save you from a grievous Penalty?- 11 That ye believe in God and His Apostle, and that ye strive (Jihad, NR) (your utmost) in the Cause of God, with your property and your persons: that will be best for you, if ye but knew!
9:19 Do ye make the giving of drink to pilgrims, or the maintenance of the Sacred Mosque, equal to (the pious service of) those Who believe in Allah and the last day, and strive with might and main in the cause of Allah? And Allah guides not those who do wrong. 20 Those who believe, and suffer exile and strive with might and main, in God’s cause, with their goods and their persons, have the highest rank in the sight of God: They are the people who will achieve (salvation).
2:190 Fight in the cause of God, those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loveth not transgressors. 191 And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out: For tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; But fight them not at the sacred Mosque unless they first fight you there; But if they fight you, Slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith.
2:216 Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But God knoweth, and ye know not. 217 They ask thee concerning fighting in the Prohibited Month. Say: "Fighting therein is a grave (offense); but graver is it in the sight of God to prevent access to the path of God, to deny Him, to prevent access to the Sacred Mosque, and drive out its members. Tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter. Nor will they cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can. And if any of you turn back from their faith and die in unbelief, their works will bear no fruit in this life and in the Hereafter; they will be Companions of the Fire and will abide therein.
2:244 Then fight in the cause of God, and know that God heareth and knoweth all things. 245 Who is he that will loan to God a beautiful loan, which God will double unto his credit and multiply many times? It is God that giveth (you) want or plenty, and to Him shall be your return.
It should come as no surprise to learn that Allah is on the side of the Muslims when they go to war. Surah 22, (Al-Hajj) makes this abundantly clear.
22:38 Verily God will defend (from ill) those who believe: verily, God loveth not any that is a traitor to faith, or shows ingratitude. 39 To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight) because they are wronged-and verily, God is Most powerful for their aid- 40 (They are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right-(for no cause) except that they say, "Our Lord is God." Did not God check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of God is commemorated in abundant measure. God will certainly aid those who aid His (cause); for verily God is Full of Strength, Exalted in Might, (Able to enforce His Will).
Surah 4, (An-Nisa) promises heaven for those who fight in the Cause of Allah, and calls all who oppose Islam the "friends of Satan." 4:74 Let those fight in the cause of God who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter, to him who fighteth in the cause of God, whether he is slain or gets victory, soon shall We give him a reward of great (value). 75 And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)? Men, women, and children whose cry is: "Our Lord! rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from Thee one who will protect; and raise for us from Thee one who will help!" 76 Those who believe fight in the cause of God, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil: so fight ye against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan. 77 Hast thou not turned thy vision to those who were told to hold back their hands (form fight) but establish regular prayers and spend in regular charity? When (at length) the order for fighting was issued to them, behold! a section of them feared men as, or even more than, they should have feared God: they say: "Our Lord! why hast Thou ordered us to fight? Wouldst Thou not grant us respite to our (natural) term, near (enough)?" Say: "Short is the enjoyment of this world: the Hereafter is the best for those who do right: never will ye be dealt with unjustly in the very least!
Surah 47, (Muhammad) again promises paradise to the believer who dies in battle. 47:4 Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks; at length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them): thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom: Until the war lays down its burdens. Thus (are ye commanded): but if it had been God’s Will, He could certainly have exacted retribution from them (Himself); but (He lets you fight) in order to test you, some with others. But those who are slain in the way of God, He will never let their deeds be lost. 5 Soon will He guide them and improve their condition. 6 And admit them to the Garden which He has announced for them. 7 O ye who believe! if ye will aid (the cause of) God, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly. 8 But those who reject (God), for them is destruction, and (God) will render their deeds astray (from their mark).

And this is just the beginning. Commenting on the peaceful nature of Muslims in the US and Europe, Dr. Siddique, writes the following:

"The intensity of oppression, tyranny, and hostility faced by the new Muslims in America and the rest of the West is not as severe as was faced by the early Muslims or faced by the Muslims involved in revolutionary struggles like those in Iran, Afghanistan, and Syria. The reason is simple: that Islamic struggle in its revolutionary form has not yet started in the West and Muslims have not yet threatened the very system of the West."

By Ney Rieber

The Koran and the earliest Muslims did not believe the Bible was corrupted.

2008-10-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

The Koran and the earliest Muslims did not believe the Bible was corrupted.

The Koran and the earliest Muslims did not believe the Bible was corrupted.

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

WHY do Muslims believe the text of the Bible has been corrupted?

The Quran declares the Bible to be a true revelation of God and demands faith in the Bible. Sura 2:40-42,126,136,285; 3:3,71,93; 4:47,136; 5:47-51, 69,71-72; 6:91; 10:37,94; 21:7; 29:45,46; 35:31; 46:11

All these above texts presuppose the availability of the true revelation of God to the people of Muhammad’s day. Sura 3:71,93; 10:94; 21:71

A true Muslim is obliged to believe in all the revelations of God. Sura 2:136; 4:136; 29:46

The Quran makes no distinction between God’s revelations Sura 2:136

The Qur’an claims that NO ONE can change the Word of God. Sura 6:34; 10:34

Why Do Muslims Believe The Bible Is Corrupted?

In 1064, Ibn-Khazem, FIRST charged that the Bible had been corrupted and the Bible falsified. This charge was to defend Islam against Christianity because Ibn-Khazem come upon differences and contradiction between the Bible and the Quran. Believing, by faith that the Quran was true, the Bible must then be false. He said, "Since the Quran must be true it must be the conflicting Gospel texts that are false. But Muhammad tells us to respect the Gospel. Therefore, the present text must have been falsified by the Christians after the time of Muhammad." His argument was not based on any evidence or historical facts but only on his personal faith, reasoning and desire to safeguard the Quran. This led him to teach that, "The Christians lost the revealed Gospel except for a few traces which God has left intact as argument against them."

Many great MUSLIM teachers DO NOT believe the Bible has been corrupted and ACCEPT the authenticity of our PRESENT New Testament texts.

Ali al-Tabari (died 855) accepted the Gospel texts

Amr al-Ghakhiz (869) " " " "

BUKHARI (810-870) " " " " (he gathered some of the earliest tradition of Islam quoted the Quran itself to support his belief in the text of the Bible Sura 3:72,78)

Al-Mas’udi (956) " " " "

Abu Ali Husain Bin Sina (1037)" " "

AL-GHAZZALI (1111) " " " " (probably the greatest Muslim scholar he lived after Ibn-Khazem but did not accept his teachings)

Ibn-Khaldun (1406) " " " " " " (he lived after Ibn-Khazem but did not accept his teachings but rather believed the earlier Islamic teachers.)

Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, founder of the Aligarh College "In the opinion of us Mohammedans it is not proved that corruption (tahrif-i-lafzi)...was practiced."

Fakhruddin Razi, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, a nephew of Muhammed, "The Jews and early Christians were suspected of altering the text of the Taurat and Injil; but in the opinion of eminent doctors and theologians it was not practicable thus to corrupt the text, because those Scriptures were generally known and widely circulated, having been handed down from generation to generation."

Sources:

Christians Answer Muslims, Gerhard Nehls, 1992 Can We Trust the Bible?, J Wijngaard Quran, A. Yusuf Ali Kitab al-Asnam, Ibn al-Kalbi, 1952 Sahih al Bukhari, 6^th ed. 1986 The Islamic Christian Controversy, LCA 1996

Encyclopedia of Islam Myths: The Islamic Myth that Muhammad was a moral example for the world. Jesus Christ, even Ghandi, were better moral examples

2008-10-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

The Islamic Myth that Muhammad was a moral example for the world

Encyclopedia of Islam Myths:
The Islamic Myth that Muhammad was a moral example for the world.
Jesus Christ, even Ghandi, were better moral examples by a long shot!

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

Muhammad was not a moral example compared to Jesus Christ. We challenge Muslims to tell us one moral principle that Muhammad gave the world that Jesus Christ had not already revealed 600 years earlier. Muslims 100% reject the New Testament as a fiction invented by Apostle Paul. Now if this were true that means the Bible is of human origin not divine. So this allows us to make a second challenge to Muslims. Name one moral concept in the Koran, that is better than what is revealed in the New Testament... a book you mistakenly claim is of human origin. How can a book of human origin like the New Testament, contain a much higher moral standard than the Koran, a book you believe is of divine origin. Frankly Christians are insulted that Muslims would even suggest a person who slaughtered entire caravans for their material goods, is worthy of any moral consideration. Jesus never did any such thing. The blunt truth is that when the Koran is placed side by side with the Bible, the Koran is pale and dark, compared to the wonderful moral light that Jesus Christ gave to the world in passages like Matthew chapters 5-7. We invite Muslims to read these three chapters right now and prove it to themselves that Muhammad fell far short of Jesus when it comes to a moral example.

So much must be said in fairness to Muhammad when he is measured against the Arabs of his time. Muslims, however, claim that he is a model of conduct and character for all mankind. In so doing they present him for judgement according to the standards of enlightened world opinion. Though the world is increasingly becoming one world, it has so far paid scant attention to Muhammad as a moral exemplar. Yet because Muslims are numerous, it will sooner or later have to consider seriously whether from the life and teaching of Muhammad any principles are to be learnt which will contribute to the moral development of mankind. (Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, W. Montgomery Watt, 1961, p229-235)
My personal view is that Muslims are unlikely to be successful in their attempt to influence world opinion, at least in the sphere of morals. ... But towards convincing Christian Europe that Muhammad is the ideal man, little, indeed nothing, has so far been accomplished. (Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, W. Montgomery Watt, 1961, p229-235)

Written by Brother Andrew

Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman

The Islamic Myth that Muhammad did not found or invent Islam

2008-10-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

The Islamic Myth that Muhammad was a prophet who did not found or invent Islam

Encyclopedia of Islam Myths:
The Islamic Myth that Muhammad did not found or invent Islam

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

Muhammad was not a prophet of God but the inventor Islam. The religion of Islam simply did not exist anywhere in history prior to Muhammad. Inventing the myth that Jesus and Abraham were Muslims in the 600’s AD is further proof that Islam, as practiced today, was conceived in the 7th century. Even this devout Muslim admits that Islam was unknown before Muhammad came along:

"SINCE WHEN IS ANYONE A MUSLIM? Islam began as a world religious movement in the first decade of the seventh century C.E. in the city of Makkah (Mecca) in Arabia. It was taught by Muhammad, son of 'Abdullah, of the tribe of Quaraysh and the clan of Hashim. When Muhammad was forty years old, he began to have visions in which God sent down a series of revelations through the Angel Gabriel. The revelations, recited in Arabic form, were a disclosure not of God, but of His will or commandments." (Islam, Isma’il R. Al Faruqi 1984, p13-14, Muslim)

Other notes and Quotes:

Was Muhammad a prophet

Not all the ideas he proclaimed are true and sound

a better religion than they had before

If it is true, as we are often told, that Christianity is Christ, there is also a sense in which it is true that Islam is Muhammad. It was from his preaching in seventh-century Arabia that the religion got its start. Its Scripture, the Qur'an, bears the impress of his mind, with its enthusiasms and its limitations, from the first page to the last. The sunna enshrined in the corpus of Traditions, both canonical and uncanonical, is from one point of view nothing more than an attempt to get Muhammad's personal authority as backing for every detail of public or private conduct. In this sense it is an attempt to provide the faithful Muslim with material for an imitatio Muhammedis more far-reaching in its consequences than any imitatio Christi has ever been. (Islam: Muhammad and His Religion, Arthur Jeffery, 1958, p 3-4)

WAS MUHAMMAD A PROPHET

I would begin by asserting that there is found, at least in some men, what may be called ' creative imagination '. Notable instances are artists, poets and imaginative writers

Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman

Once established in Madina, Muhammad became less a preacher and prophet than a community leader and man of state, and we witness that curious change of character which develops steadily until his death from a wasting fever in 632. (Islam: Muhammad and His Religion, Arthur Jeffery, 1958, p 3-4)
In Muhammad, I should hold, there was a welling up of the creative imagination, and the ideas thus produced are to a great extent true and sound. It does not follow, however, that all the Qur'anic ideas are true and sound. In particular there is at least one point at which they seem to be unsound. The idea that 'revelation' or the product of the creative imagination is superior to normal human traditions as a source of bare historical fact. There are several verses in the Qur'an (II. 5I; 3. 39; I2. I03) to the effect that 'this is one of the reports of the unseen which We reveal to thee; thou didst not know it, thou nor thy people, before this '. One could admit a claim that the creative imagination was able to give a new and truer interpretation of a historical event, but to make it a source of bare fact is an exaggeration and false. (Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, W. Montgomery Watt, 1961, p229-235)

THE ERROR AND ORIGINS OF THE MUSLIM RELIGION -- ISLAM

2008-10-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

THE ERROR AND ORIGINS OF THE
MUSLIM RELIGION -- ISLAM

Based upon a text written by Dr. Robert Morey
edited by MF Blume

Where Did Allah Come From?
Muslims worship a god by the name of Allah. They also give him ninety-nine other names.
The question that naturally arises is who or what is this Allah?
Where did the Muslims derive their ideas of Allah's nature and attributes?

Historical Source of Islam

Historians, linguists, and archeologists have dug into this question for over a century. Various archeological digs in Arabia and throughout the Middle East have uncovered the answer: Islam is a modern version of the ancient fertility religion of the moon god. Once this is grasped, the rise and history of Islam becomes clear.

The Arab conquests were made possible because the central powers in the Middle East had exhausted themselves in wars against each other. They were not able to fight off wave after wave of Arab armies which subdued entire nations with merciless slaughter, rape and plunder.

Conquering Armies

The Arabs destroyed some of the wonders of the ancient world such as the world famous library in Alexandria, Egypt, They destroyed many ancient churches and synagogues. Anthropologists have recorded how the Arabs destroyed the cultural
heritage of any nation which fell under their sword.

Who were these Arabs? They obviously were not Christians because they destroyed churches and murdered priests wherever they went. Obviously, they were not Jews because they persecuted Jews without pity. This is seen today in their hatred of Israel and the many wars and acts of terrorism waged against Jews throughout the world.

If the Arab hordes which swept over the ancient world were not Christians or Jews, then what were they? They were pagans who worshipped a pagan god called Allah and followed pagan rites which were practiced in Arabia long before the religion of Islam evolved.

Islam Denies God

These facts of history reveal that Islam does not worship the same God worshipped by Christians. Why?

Christians worship one God and Muslims worship a different deity called Allah, who did not robe himself in flesh and come to earth to die for us. He has no son, begotton or otherwise.

Since the religion found in the Bible teaches that God is The Creator, the savior and the comforter it does not take a Ph.D. to see that Islam did not come from the Bible. Thus it is not the religion of the biblical prophets, apostles or Jesus.

Pagan Origins

Similar to the origins of other false doctrines, Islam's origins have been traced back by scholars to the ancient fertility religion of the worship of the moon god which was always the dominant religion of Arabia. The moon god was worshipped by praying toward Mecca several times a day, making an annual pilgrimage to the Kabah which was a temple of the moon god, running around the Kabah seven times, caressing an idol of a black stone set in the wall of the Kabah, running between two hills, making animal sacrifices, gathering on Fridays for prayers, giving alms to the poor, etc.. These were pagan rites practiced by the Arabs long before Muhammad was born.

Some Muslims may point to the so-called Christian feasts of Christmas and Easter being pagan in origins. I agree. They are pagan in origin! That is the reason I teach people to not indulge in Christmas and Easter as a form of worship to God, because the New Testament teaches that we are not to observe any holy days, or months or years (Gal. 4:10-11). Keeping Christmas and Easter as a non-religious time of gift-giving is okay. But we do not worship God with it.

The Crescent Moon

What religion today practices the pagan rites of the moon god?

Islam!

This explains why the crescent moon is the symbol of Islam. It is placed on top of mosques and minarets and displayed on hats, flags, rugs, amulets and even jewelry. Every time you see the Muslim symbol of a crescent moon, you are seeing the ancient symbol of the moon god.

Denial Not a Refuge

Does the average Muslim know that he is worshipping a moon god?

No.

Does he know why the crescent moon symbol sits on top of his mosque?

No.

Is he shocked and perhaps angered at these facts of history?

Yes.

But can mere denial or angry threats refute the fact that Islam is nothing more than a modern version of the ancient religion of the moon god Allah?

No.

The average Muslim has been kept in the dark by the Mullahs and Imams who would lose their power if the truth ever got out.

Common Logical Fallacies Made By Muslims

Christians must be prepared to answer the typical objections made against the Gospel. Most of the objections are based on simple logical fallacies. The following is a list of some of the most common fallacies used by Muslims.

Note: The average Muslim does not know that his arguments are logically erroneous. He is sincere in his beliefs. Thus you must be patient and kind in sharing with him why his arguments are invalid.

1. The Fallacy of False Assumptions: In logic as well as in law, "historical precedent" means that the burden of proof rests on those who set forth new theories and not on those whose ideas have already been verified. The old tests the new. The already established authority judges any new claims to authority.

Since Islam came along many centuries after Christianity, Islam has the burden of proof and not Christianity. The Bible tests and judges the Qur'an. When the Bible and The Qur'an contradict each other, the Bible must logically be given first place as the older authority. The Qur'an is in error until it proves itself.

Some Muslims violate the principle of historical precedent by asserting that Islam does not have the burden of proof and that the Qur'an judges the Bible.

2. Arguing in a circle: If you have already assumed in your premise what you are going to state in your conclusion, then you have ended where you began and proven nothing.

If you end where you began, you got nowhere.

Examples:

#1 Proving Allah by the Qur'an and then proving the Qur'an by Allah.

#2 Proving Muhammad by the Qur'an and then proving the Qur'an by Muhammad.

#3 Proving Islam by the Qur'an and then proving the Qur'an by Islam.

3. False Analogy: Comparing two things as if they are parallel when they are not really the same at all.

Examples:

#1 Many Muslims erroneously assume that Muslims and Christians share the same concepts of God, revelation, inspiration, textual preservation, the Bible, prophethood, biblical history, conversion, etc...

#2 Because a false analogy is drawn between Islam and Christianity, some Muslims think that any argument which refutes the Qur'an will likewise refute the Bible; any argument which refutes Muhammad will also refute Jesus Christ, etc...

#3 For example, many Muslims claim that Muhammad and all prophets were sinless. They even deny that Abraham was an idol worshipper. Thus when a Christian points out all the wicked things that Muhammad did (mass murder, child abuse, lying, etc.), the Muslims will say, "If you are right, then you must also reject your biblical prophets for doing wicked things as well."

What he is really saying is, "If you reject my prophet, then you must reject your prophets as well. If Muhammad was a false prophet, then your prophets are false as well."

The root problem is that the Muslim concept of prophethood is not the same as the Christian concept of prophethood. We teach that prophets sin like anyone else. Thus while Islam is refuted by the sins of Muhammad, Christianity is not jeopardized at all. The Muslim is guilty of setting up a "false analogy."

Whenever a Muslim responds to a Christian attack on the Qur'an, Muhammad, or Allah by flipping the argument around and applying it to the Bible, Jesus or the Godhead as if Islam and Christianity either stand or fall together, he is guilty of the fallacy of false analogy. Islam can be false and Christianity be true at the same time.

4. The Fallacy of Irrelevance: When you introduce issues which have no logical bearing on the subject under discussion, you are using irrelevant arguments.

Examples:

#1 Some Muslims argue, "The Qur'an is the Word of God because the text of the Qur'an has been preserved perfectly." This argument is erroneous for two reasons:

a. Factually, the text of the Qur'an has not been preserved perfectly. The text has additions, deletions, conflicting manuscripts, and variant readings like any other ancient writing.

b. Logically, it is irrelevant whether the text of the Qur'an has been preserved because preservation does not logically imply inspiration. A book can be perfectly copied without implying its inspiration.

#2 When Muslims attack the character and motives of anyone who criticizes Islam, they are using irrelevant arguments. The character of someone is no indication of whether he is telling you the truth. Good people can lie and evil people can tell the truth. Thus whenever a Muslim uses slurs such as "mean," "dishonest," "racist," "liar," "deceptive," etc., he is not only committing a logical fallacy but also revealing that he cannot intellectually defend his beliefs.

#3 When confronted with the pagan origins of the Qur'an, some Muslims defend the Qur'an by answering, "So what! Didn't you Christians get Christmas from the pagans?"

This argument is erroneous for several reasons.

a. It is a false analogy to parallel the pagan origins of the rites commanded in the Qur'an with the present day holidays nowhere commanded in the Bible. What some modern day Christians do on Dec. 25th has no logical bearing on what the Qur'an commands Muslims to do (eg. the Pilgrimage, the Fast, etc.).

b. It is irrelevant that some Christians choose to celebrate the birth of Christ. Since the Bible nowhere commands it, it is a matter of personal freedom. But Muslims are commanded in the Qur'an to believe and practice many things which came from the paganism of that day.

c. The Muslim by using this argument is actually admitting that the Qur'an was not "sent down" but fabricated from pagan sources. This means he has become an unbeliever (Surah 25:4-6).

#4 Some Muslims argue that the Qur'an is the Word of God because it contains some historically or scientifically accurate statements. This argument is irrelevant. Just because a book is correct on some historical or scientific point does not mean it is inspired. You cannot take the attributes of a part and apply it to the whole. A book can be a mixture of true and false statements. Thus it is a logical fallacy to argue that the entire Qur'an is true if it makes one true statement.

When a Muslim argues that history or science "proves" the Qur'an, this actually means that he is acknowledging that history and science can likewise refute the Qur'an. If the Qur'an contains just one historical error or one scientific error, then the Qur'an is not the Word of God. Verification and falsification go hand in hand.

#5 The present meaning of a word is irrelevant to what it meant in ancient times. The word "Allah" is a good example. When confronted by the historical evidence that the word was used by pagan Arabs in pre-Islamic times to refer to a high god who was married to the sun-goddess and had three daughters, some Muslims will quote dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc. to prove (sic) that "Allah means God." They are thus using modern definitions to define what the word meant over a thousand years ago! What "Allah" means now has no bearing on what it meant before Muhammad.

5. The Fallacy of Equivocation: If we assume that everyone has the same definition of such words as God, Jesus, revelation, inspiration, prophet, miracle, etc., we are committing a very simple logical fallacy.

#1 When a Muslim says, "Christians and Muslims worship the same God," he is committing the fallacy of equivocation. Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God.

#2 When a Muslim says, "We believe in Jesus too," he is committing the fallacy of equivocation. The "Jesus" of the Qur'an is not the Jesus of the Bible. Islam preaches "another Jesus" (II Cor. 11:4).

The Jesus of the Bible is the Son of God, God incarnate, who died on the cross for our sins. But the "Jesus" of the Qur'an is not the Son of God and he did not die on the cross for our sins. Thus it is erroneous for Muslims to tell Christians that they believe in Jesus, too.

#3 When a Muslim assumes that Christians have the same concept of revelation as Muslims, he is guilty of the fallacy of equivocation. According to Islam, the Qur'an was written in heaven by Allah and has no earthly sources. When we prove that it comes from earthly sources, this threatens the inspiration of the Qur'an.

On the other hand, the Bible does not claim that it dropped out of heaven one day. It openly quotes from earthly sources. It uses pre-existing sources without any difficulty whatsoever, Thus while the Qur'an is threatened by historical sources, the Bible is actually confirmed by them.

#4 When a Muslim tells you that the word "Allah" has only one meaning: "the one, true, universal God," he is assuming a fallacy. The word "allah" has many different meanings.

a. It can be used as a generic term like the English word "God." Thus it can be applied to any god or goddess regardless if a true or false god is in view. (ex. The "Allahs" of Hinduism.)

b. The Nation of Islam uses it to refer to Wallace Dodd Ford, Elijah Muhammad, and Louis Farrakhan as "Allah" and teaches that all black people are "Allahs."

c. It has been used by some Christians in Arabic speaking countries as a generic name God.

d. It was used in pre-Islamic times by pagan Arabs to refer to the moon-god who was the father of al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat.

e. It is used by Muslims to refer to their god.

Islam and Christianity do not worship the same God. The Christian worships the Jesus Christwhile the Muslim worships Allah.

6. The Fallacy of Force: The Qur'an commands Muslims to wage war against non-Muslims and apostates (Surah 5:33; 9:5, 29).

Some Muslims use a false analogy to answer this argument. They respond by saying, "Well, what about the Crusades? You Christians use violence just like Muslims."

It is logically erroneous to set up a parallel between Muslims killing people in obedience to the Qur'an and Christians killing people in disobedience to the Bible. While the Qur'an commands Jihad, the New Testament forbids it.

7. The Fallacy Of Confusing Questions of Fact with Questions of Relevance: Whether something is factually true is totally different from the issue of whether you feel it is relevant. The two issues must be kept separate.

Examples:

#1 When a Christian argues that some of the beliefs and rituals of the Qur'an came from pre-Islamic Arab paganism, the Muslim will deny it at first. But as more and more evidence is given, the Muslim will often do a flip-flop and begin arguing, "So what! Didn't you Christians get Christmas from the pagans?" The Muslim has now committed three fallacies:

a. The "So what!" argument is dealing with the issue of relevance, not fact. You must stop the Muslim at that point and ask him, "Since you are now dealing with the issue of whether the pagan origins of the Qur'an are relevant, does this mean that you are now agreeing to the fact of the pagan origins of Islam?"

b.. The Muslim has also committed the fallacy of equivocation, The Bible is not threatened by historical sources. It freely refers to them and even quotes them (Acts 17: 28). But the Qur'an denies that it has any earthly historical sources (Surah 25:4-6).

c. He also committed the fallacy of false analogy. The Bible and the Qur'an are two totally different books. The inspiration of the Bible does not depend upon the fate of the Qur'an because what Muslims claim for the Qur'an is not what Christians claim for the Bible.

8. Phonic Fallacies: The phonetic sound of a word should not be used to twist its meaning. For example,

a. Some Muslims try to prove that the word "Allah" is in the Greek New Testament because of the Greek word alla. But while the word is pronounced "alla," it only means "but" in Greek. It has nothing to do with the Arabic "Allah."

b. Some Muslims have claimed that the word "Allah" is in the Bible because the Biblical word "Allelujah." They then mispronounce the word as "Allah-lujah" But "Allelujah" is not a compound Arabic word with "Allah" being the first part of the word. It is a Hebrew word with the name of God being "JAH" (or Yahweh) and the verb "alle" meaning "praise to." It means "praise to Yahweh." The Arabic word "Allah" is not in the word.

c. The same error is found in the Muslim argument that the word "Baca" (Psa. 94:6) really means "Mecca." The valley of Baca is in northern Israel.

d. Some Muslims have tried to go from "Amen" to "Ahmed" to "Mohammed!" Such nonsense is beyond belief.

9. "Red Herring" Arguments: When a Muslim is asked to defend the Qur'an, if he turns around and attacks the reliability of the Bible, the deity of Christ, the Crusades, etc., he is introducing irrelevant issues that have no logical bearing on the truthfulness of Islam. He is trying to divert attention from Islam to other issues.

Furthermore, he is assuming that if he can refute the Bible, then the Qur'an wins by default. If he can refute the deity of Jesus Christ, then Allah wins by default. But this is logically erroneous. You cannot prove your position by refuting someone else's position. The Bible and the Qur'an could both be wrong. Muslims must prove their own book.

10. Straw Man Arguments: When you put a false argument into the mouth of your opponent and then proceed to knock it down, you have only created a "straw man" argument, Muslims sometimes either misunderstand or deliberately misquote the arguments Christians give them.

Example:

Some Muslims have built a "straw man" argument that claims that we teach, "The Qur'an teaches that Allah is the Moon-god and that Muslims knowingly believe in and worship the Moon-god and his daughters." They then knock down this "straw man" argument and claim victory. Of course, we never said such nonsense. What we have said is that while the Qur'an claims that Allah is God and Muslims think they are worshipping the one true God, in reality they are worshipping a false god preached by a false prophet according to a false book.

Conclusion

The average Muslim has been deceived by Muslim apologists who use such logical fallacies without regard to reason, fact or honesty. But there are many Muslims who want to be rational in their religion and thus have an open mind to rational discourse. Once they see that their arguments are based on logical fallacies, they will be open to the wonderful news that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins on the cross.

Koran: Earliest complete manuscript 200 AH or 800AD!

2008-10-01T18:47:00.001-07:00

The earliest complete Koran manuscript in existence in museums today are hundreds of years after Muhammad died:

Koran: Earliest complete manuscript 200 AH or 800AD!
Muslims are fond of the myth that there are complete copies of the Koran dating from the year Muhammad died. The scientific facts say otherwise!

There are no ancient copies of the Koran dating before 750 AD in museums. We challenge you to prove us wrong! Send us the name, locate and date of the Koran written earlier! Email Brother Andrew

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

The earliest complete Koran manuscript in existence in museums today are hundreds of years after Muhammad died:

The Muslim false claim:

"In other words: two of the copies of the Qur’an which were originally prepared in the time of Caliph `Uthman, are still available to us today and their texts and arrangement can be compared, by anyone who cares to, with any other copy of the Qur’an, be it in print or handwriting, from any place or period of time. They will be found to be identical." (Von Denffer, Ulum al-Qur’an, p 64)

The truth:

Although Muslims proclaim they have a Koran that dates to the time of Muhammad, the Reality is different.

Two ancient copies of Koran that are in existence are the Samarqand MSS is in Tashkent, and the MSS housed in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul. What many Muslim's do not know, is that because these two manuscripts were written in a script style called "Kufic", practicing Muslim scholars generally date these manuscripts no earlier than 200 years after Muhammad died. Had these two manuscripts been compiled any earlier, they would have been written in either the Ma'il or Mashq script style. John Gilchrist, in his book, "Jam' Al-Qur'an" came to this same conclusion. (John Gilchrist, Jam' Al-Qur'an, Jesus to the Muslims, 1989)

Now we do have one ancient copy of the Koran written in the Ma'il style of script, that is housed in the British Museum in London (Lings & Safadi 1976:17,20; Gilchrist 1989:16,144). But scholar Martin Lings, who was not only a practicing Muslim, but also a former curator for the manuscripts of the British Museum, dates this manuscript at 790 AD, making it the earliest. On the other hand Yasir Qadhi notes one Islamic Masters/PhD scholar who believes the Samarqand MSS is the ‘most likely candidate for the original’.

It is unknown, even by Muslims that authorities will not release photographs of the ancient Topkapi manuscript in Istanbul and so there are no known studies on it. This is why the Muslim apologist, M. Saifullah had to state "Concerning the Topkapi manuscript we are not aware of studies done it." (Who's Afraid Of Textual Criticism?, M. S. M. Saifullah, 'Abd ar-Rahman Squires & Muhammad Ghoniem) What is in this manuscript that Muslims are afraid to let the world see? After all in Qur'an 2:111 it says "Produce your proof if you are truthful."

Even the earliest fragmentary manuscripts of the Koran are all dated no earlier than 100 years after Muhammad died.

Add to this the fact that there is no archeological evidence dated at the time when Muhammad was alive, by way of artifact, manuscript or inscription has ever been found were Muhammad is actually referred to as "a prophet".

If you don’t believe me, listen to faithful Muslim, Ahmad Von Denffer, in his book, Ulum al Quran, in a chapter called, Old Manuscripts Of The Qur'an, "Most of the early original Qur'an manuscripts, complete or in sizeable fragments, that are still available to us now, are not earlier than the second century after the Hijra. [or 800 AD] The earliest copy, which was exhibited in the British Museum during the 1976 World of Islam Festival, dated from the late second century.' However, there are also a number of odd fragments of Qur'anic papyri available, which date from the first century." (Grohmann, A.: Die Entstehung des Koran und die altesten Koran- Handschriften', in: Bustan, 1961, pp. 33-8)

There are no ancient copies of the Koran dating before 750 AD in museums. We challenge you to prove us wrong! Send us the name, locate and date of the Koran written earlier! Email Brother Andrew

Written by Brother Andrew

The Bible is superior to the Koran and is God's Only Inspired Revelation!

2008-10-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

The Bible is superior to the Koran and is God's Only Inspired Revelation!

The Bible is superior to the Koran and is God's Only Inspired Revelation!

	Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

This discussion considers the Bible as the only inspired revelation of God's will to man. In western civilization, the Bible is probably considered by most people as God's word in some way.

Some of the other great religions of the world have a set of writings which may compete with the Bible in today's world, but only the Quran, among the non-Biblical religious writings claims to be inspired. For those who know both the Bible and the Quran, the Bible, without contest, stands out for its spiritual excellence.

The real competition for the Bible comes in Western thought, where we find that many philosophies seek to replace it. Deism denies revelation, in favor of natural law and scientific discovery. Liberal theology denies any supernatural, inspired word revelation in favor of human experience, learned by education and scientific discovery. Schleiermacher held for the learning of the truth of God's will through "feelings". Existential theology, which has flourished greatly within our own century, denies prepositional, word revelation in favor of an "irrationalism", or non-reasoned knowledge of religious truth, which comes in a private existential "encounter", but which contains no prepositional, cognitive information or message that can be communicated to someone else. It is totally subjective. A related theology, called Salvation-History holds that real, factual revelation from God has been given in the events of history, but that the Bible is only a fallible, errant, human record of those revelatory historical events. It is not to be trusted in its statements and concepts, and the meaning of the events is learned through existential, subjective insights.

Some religious views today argue in favor of the Bible as God's word, but in fact hold it to be powerless and inert, in and of itself. For them there must be some additional supernatural power to accompany the Bible, else it cannot be understood and cannot communicate God's message to man. Some believe, for example, that the ordinary man cannot understand or interpret the Bible for himself, but that this must be done by a specially appointed religious leader, upon whom special powers have been conferred. Others accept the Bible as God's word, but say that it is incomprehensible until the Holy Spirit confers a special illuminating power upon the individual in a private, elect way. Though he can understand ideas in science and history and other fields without this special impact of the Holy Spirit, he cannot do so in religion. Once he received the impact, however, it all comes clear to him.

In spite of all these theories, the Bible itself claims that the gospel itself is "the power of God unto salvation" Romans 1:16; the word is the "seed of the kingdom" Matthew 13: 1-9; 19): and "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ" Romans 10:17. Only from the Bible do we learn what we know of Jesus the Christ. From it we learn of him both in prophecy and fulfillment, which, when fully evaluated, offers proof "quite convincing" of the supernatural influence in the production of the Bible. It could not have been produced by only natural powers, for no man knows the future by himself. The Bible furnishes the highest moral demands known to man. It has had a salutary influence on western civilization, and under its outlook, science has been approved and has prospered. In-spite of critics in all generations it has thrived, and archaeology has confirmed its truths of historical facts in manifold ways. Its alleged "contradictions" are fading out, one by one, as scholars delve into history and fact. The story of how the Bible came into existence and has prospered through the ages is a confirmation of faith. The four separate accounts of the Life of Jesus in its pages demand a supernatural control in the choice of materials included. Not only can we say of Jesus, "Never man spake like this man", but we can say, "Never men wrote like these men". The Bible speaks to the yearnings of the human heart. It puts God in the center of the universe and gives man a purpose for living and a meaning to life. It has the answer for what we wonder about. There is, therefore, no need for additional modern-day revelations since, as far as religious matters are concerned, the inspired apostles have already been guided into "all truths" (John 16: 13), and since God has already given us "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).

John Hurt