Where To Start? What To Consider?

We start by considering history itself. Both the religion of Islam and Western Society has its own versions of what it considers the truth. Before we start we must consider which version we wish to follow, or how much of each we wish to accept. The combinations and conditions are as follows:

Accept Islamic history, you will disagree with this article.

Accept revisionist history and you will disagree with this article.

Accept some of both standard Western History and Islamic or revisionist history and you will not only disagree with parts of this article, you will have shown you have no basis for arbitrarily choosing either, but ONLY what you want to believe.

This would mean you most likely have a lot of wishful thinking, hoping for the best without due consideration to the reality of the facts as presented from the accepted standards of past Western History. This would come from a good dose of the humanistic courses now taught at all school levels, including college. (This has become increasingly worse over the last 30 years. ) Modern mind conditioning from too much television and mass media also helps to drastically develop this mindset.

Finally note the problem of revisionist history itself; It becoming a new standard of teaching during the last 30 years. This coming from the new age philosophies of humanism, materialism and new age religions. (including many versions of Christianity as well as the liberalization of Catholicism. ) All of which requires the rewriting and re-nterpretation of past history.

OR you can accept the standards of Western History from its' first recordings, of which I resend to you. However if you do accept this, be warned, you may not like the conclusions; but is it reality, is the question you must ask yourself?

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The Initial Beginning of Islam:

Founded by a camel driver in the Arabian desert after he married the woman who hired him. She was 15 years his senior. After marriage he gave up his work and studied religion. In 622AD he had to flee from Mecca to the city of Yathrib in the Arabian Peninsula because of his teachings, of which he had denounced all other forms of religion. This is known as the official year of the founding of Islam. In Islam their calendar year begins here with 0 (zero)AH.

He became magistrate of the city and renamed it Medina, meaning "City of the Prophet". He acquired 12 wives while there, some as young as 9 years old. He took in many followers and combined the religion into the politics. When the Jews rejected his calls to convert, he turned against the Jews in Medina and elsewhere.

He plundered and looted all caravans passing anywhere within his reach. With this loot, he and his followers built a large treasury for the city, which was used to increase his army of followers. Of which he was able too ever increasingly gain more and more territory. Eventually leading to war with the city of Mecca, which he defeated, and then he easily took the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. He was in constant warfare from the time he became magistrate of Yathrib(Medina), in 622AD, until his death in 632AD. In that time period of 12 years, Mohammed had conquered the whole of the Arabian Peninsula.

In the next 12 years, under the next two caliph's or leaders of Islam, the religion would go on to take Jerusalem, Syria, Egypt, Persia, and Mesopotamia! ALL BY FORCE AND WARFARE! Let's see that's 24 years of Islam and 24 years of warfare! This would put the year at 644AD or 24AH.

The next two caliph's continued the same ways as their predecessors. They took the areas/regions of North Africa, parts of India, and Spain. The caliph's line continues, and the wars continue unabated. If it had not been for Charles Martel's victory in 732AD at the Battle of Tours; France, Germany and the rest of Europe would have surely fallen. So we have 110 years of Islam and we have 110 years of Islamic warfare against the rest of the world. We have all the lands from Turkey to India, to North Africa to Spain, all in the hands of Islam! Oh, don't the Arabian Peninsula, Mid-east and Persia! But finally Islam has been slowed down, but only temporarily.

Now instead of large areas conquered in the name of Islam, it is smaller areas. Still Islam's drive for land and conquering people does not stop. By mid 1050AD, a period of 318 years, Islam has gained more ground, driving north towards Russia, northeast towards the Caspian Sea and Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and northeast towards the Balkans and Greece. Constantinople, a main center of Catholicism was being threatened.

Something must be done to stop Islam again, or else Constantinople itself would fall, and then Greece! Roman Popish armies fought off Islam armies alone until 1096AD, with armies of up to 50, 000 men each, battling one Muslim front. Pope Urban II in 1096AD, because of deteriorating conditions, and the threat to Constantinople, called upon all of Christendom to contribute armies, men and material to once and for all drive the Muslims back out of Asia Minor, and maybe back, just past Palestine.

This was the first call of the "Crusades". A series of wars that would last almost another 450 years, with only small lapses in time between major wars, between another Holy Jihad and another Crusade! It would be correct to state for all practical purposes, that the war was constant until approximately 1550AD!

Now if you the reader will just take a minute and do some simple math, it becomes more than clear that since the inception of Islam in 622AD, that Islam has been a religion of constant and consistent war! It has become the world's ultimate long distance war machine, regardless to what ANY OTHER historian has to say! Of the time period listed above, it is more than safe to say that Islam had been at war for more than 600 of its' approx. 900 years of existence. And even during that time of 300 years, they were still fighting wars, only on a smaller and more defined scale. Even as late as the mid 1500's, was only the last Muslim strongholds defeated in Spain! That is how persistent the Muslims were!

Now, I am sure more than a few of you will disagree with parts of the account I have given. But consider this, generally: We do know for a fact that Islam started in the Arabian Peninsula after 620AD, and by 1000AD it had spread to vast regions, from India to Spain, to North Africa, to Turkey, and Central Asia. That is in a time period of less than 400 years. And we know more lands were conquered by Muslims after that.

Now after all this writing, the ONLY point I have been trying to make is this: Islam has been a religion of constant and consistent warfare. It is a war machine that never ever quits! Even in defeat in battle, it is looking forward, for its' next Holy Jihad! It is efficient and it is ruthless! It takes no prisoners! Either you convert to Islam or you are killed!

Everywhere that Islam has maintained control of those lands listed above, NO other religion is allowed to openly exist, IF AT ALL! Near the end of my article I will list some websites for you to go, and read for yourself, why this is so, according to the Koran, Q'uran and other Islamic Books and writings. Plus I will shortly give you some simple specific quotes and references to get you started.

To save time I will skip from the mid 1500's to the 20 and 21st centuries, giving you the reader the benefit of the doubt, here, and times involved. This because Islam's spread did slow down during this time, to its slowest rate since its' inception. The Crusades had managed to drain Islam of its ability to wage all out warfare.

After WWII Islam started making a comeback from its' low point since its inception. Islam started to spread again, and under many new guises and pretenses. I won't go into the details, but we know that new forms of terrorism evolved with Islam. Islam also began to spread in the name of peace for the first time. That it was some kind of peaceful religion, and modern humanistic philosophy was all the more willing to embrace it. (Plus the mystic effect was of great benefit in fostering new interested and curious people, who seen Islam as something unique and different during the early 1950's. )

Not that the Islamic teaching of peace was new, but rather the way Islam applied this teaching to Western Society. Islam took the approach of implying its' peaceful nature also included many peoples. More specifically targeted at Christians and Catholics to divert any negative rebuttals from hard line Christians and Catholics. .

So actually we now have Islam spreading by the calling of peace as well as by practicing terrorism, and by most of all, what is called the Holy Jihad's. The rebirth of Israel helped foster this more than anything, but it was only a catalyst to re-ignite the age old calls for more Holy Jihads. This teaching had never died, nor had there even been a redefinition of the term. It was just conditions and timings had not previously permitted wide ranging calls for Holy Jihads, nor was their any unifying rallying point. Israel solved all this. It gave Islam a shot in the arm to reignite its' warring traditions.

Islam has now spread to the Philippines, and it is now in the process of cleansing the country of all other religions, including Christianity and Catholicism. It has taken over Indonesia, the world's third most populated country which combined with the other Muslims of South East Asia numbers a population of over 1 billion people. 

Several countries, south bordering Russia, and in China, Islam is now clashing with the government as well as Buddhism. In Sudan, Africa, the country is a staging point for attacks in all African countries below it, and oddly this is occuring while Muslims are still in the process of eliminating the rest of the Christians and other religions in Southern Sudan.

In England today, there are more Islamic Mosques than Christian or Catholic Churches. Today Islam has a following of anywhere from 1 billion to 1.2 billion people, according to which ever report one wishes to believe. Whatever the actual number, Islam is the world's single biggest religion, all things considered.

* According to Carmody and Carmody, "Islam is the world's fastest growing religion today. It is a great force in Africa, a middling presence in China and the Soviet Union, a shareholder in the petropolitics of the Middle East, a huge presence in Indonesia, and the religion of more than 6 million North Americans."

The only point I wanted to make from all of the above is this: Islam has not changed its doctrines concerning conquests of territories or the annihilation of all other religions! Only the methods have been improved!

The above is a very/extremely brief synopsis of Islamic history. But it is factual. You can reprove and verify any of the above by reading most any conventional Western History book. Now I want you the reader to answer a few questions, to yourself:

Concerning ALL you have read above; What do you think is the current philosophy and doctrines of Islam?

Is it right to consider Islam a religion of "peace"?

What does the past intent of Islam tell you about its' current plans for the future?

What direction is Islam headed, concerning its' ambitions and goals?
What would the religion attempt to do to achieve those goals;
Whatever you the reader may think those goals are; Does Islam look to be the peaceful religion it claims to you to be? Should ANYTHING be done in regards to Islam, in regards to your conclusions?

With that out of the way, phew; Tough calls isn't it?

Maybe not?

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Just What Does Islam Stand For, and Want?

Major problems with Western Society today concerning Islam, are: Do not we as a civilized and so called free society, owe Muslims the right to practice their religion in our country? Aren't we supposed to grant freedoms to ALL?  Does not Western Society see Islam as a peaceful religion, and it having peaceful people? Does not Islam teach peace? Or does Islam teach war? What about gods; Does Islam worship the same god as Christianity and Catholicism?  And what is the difference between moderate, fundlementalist and radical Muslims? I hate to say it, but even the above average American has not the foggiest idea! Maybe I should say understandings.

Consider these things in regards to the above: Muslims from Islamic countries are free to enjoy the freedoms of Western Society; But what freedoms would we enjoy in an Islamic Society? Should any religion be tolerated or allowed that promotes violence? (What I mean here, is that the whole Islamic religion actually teaches violence towards any other culture or religion, except its' own!

It is INTOLERANT of anything but itself, and it even fights among itself to maintain as radical a philosophy as possible!  I can say this because Islam's philosophy teaches it, and its' past history proves it! ) How can ANY religion be proclaimed peaceful, when it is constantly at war, and constantly calling for Holy Jihads? (Does not Islam's past history prove this also? And does not Islam teach this also?) The clerics of Islam loves to state how Christians, Catholics, and Jews ALL share the same the god. Now you tell me; Since Islam rejects Jesus Christ as being God; How is their god, my GOD? (But they do claim that Christ is a prophet and is coming to earth again. Makes their sham sound better. Muslims also get around Koran contradictions by simply stating that the our Holy Bible has been corrupted, so as not to follow Islam!)

About the different sects and lines of Islam: Considering the fact that even the most moderate of Islamic sects is very radical to Western thoughts, ideals and philosophy; What would that make fundlementalist and radical Muslim sects to us? (Meaning, all of Islam is radical by Western standards, all standards! And calling a Muslim radical is really only a worse degree of a moderate Mulsim! Again the philosphy, doctrines, history and people of Islam itself proves this. It is like calling the kettle black, but stating the kettle as being black, or very black, or super black or dark black.)

Below are excerpts from the Koran, the Islamic Holy Book, and quotes from Islamic leaders. I have verified the quotes as authentic. They do exist. As for the context of the writtings out of the Muslim Holy Book; I'll let you judge for yourself, but I find it close enough to be accurate on all accounts. But then again, so do the Muslims if it suits their purposes.
-- Michael Lamb

Quran: (Muslim Holy Book with Koran)

[4.56] (As for) those who disbelieve in Our communications, We shall make them enter fire; so oft as their skins are thoroughly burned, We will change them for other skins, that they may taste the chastisement; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise."

[22:19-22] But as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them, boiling fluid will be poured down their heads. Whereby that which is in their bellies, and their skins too, will be melted; And for them are hooked rods of iron. Whenever, in their anguish, they would go forth from thence they are driven back therein and (it is said unto them): Taste the doom of burning.

[8.12] When your Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you, therefore make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.

"Have no mercy on the Jews, no matter where they are, in any country. Wherever you meet them, . Wherever you are, Americans who are like them."
- Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabiya, member of the Palestinian Fatwa Council

"Kill a settler every day.... Shoot at settlers everywhere.... Woe to you if you let them reach their homes safely or travel safely on the roads.... I want you to kill as many settlers as possible.... Do not pay attention to what I say to the media, the television or public appearances. Pay attention only to the written instructions that you receive from me."
- Yasser Arafat, addressing his people at a public event, July 2001

"I am ready to kill for the sake of my cause; wouldn't I lie for it?"
- Yasser Arafat

Quran:

[58:5] Those who resist Allah and His Messenger will be crumbled to dust, as were those before them: for we have already sent down Clear Signs and the Unbelievers will have a humiliating Penalty

Sahih Muslim Book 019, Number 4366: It has been na by 'Umar b. al-Khattib that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) say: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.

Sahih Muslim The Book of Faith (Kitab Al-Iman) Book 001, Number 0033: It has been  on the authority of Abdullah b. 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer, and pay Zakat and if they do it, their blood and property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.

[9.29] Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.

[9.123] O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness; and know that Allah is with those who guard (against evil).

[4.74] Therefore let those fight in the way of Allah, who sell this world's life for the hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of Allah, then be he slain or be he victorious, We shall grant him a mighty reward.

[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

Quran: [5.51] O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.

Terrorism is a logical outcome of putting the Qur'an into practice.

The Qur'an promotes permanent struggle against non-Muslims - or at least until non-Muslims are converted to Islam, subjected to Islamic authority, or killed. Below is a listing of relevant verses in the Qur'an.

(Q. 2:191) Quran tells Muslims to kill the disbelievers wherever they find them.

(Q. 9:123),to murder them and treat them harshly

(Q.9: 5),  slay them

(Q. 8: 65 )fight with them, even if they are Christians and Jews,

(Q. 9: 29) humiliate them and impose on them a penalty tax.

(Q. 2: 193) It orders its followers to fight the unbelievers until no other religion
except Islam is left .

(Q. 14: 17) It says that the non-believers will go to hell and will drink boiling water.

(Q.5: 34) It asks the Muslims to slay or crucify or cut the hands and feet of the
unbelievers, that they be expelled from the land with disgrace and that they
shall have a great punishment in world hereafter.

(Q. 22: 9) As for the disbelievers, it says that for them garments of fire shall be cut and there shall be poured over their heads boiling water whereby whatever is in their bowels and skin shall be dissolved and they will be punished with hooked iron rods .

(Q.3: 85) Quran takes away the freedom of belief from all humanity and tells clearly that no other religion except Islam is accepted .

(Q. 5:11) It relegates those who disbelieve in Quran to hell ,

(Q. 9: 28)calls them najis (filthy, untouchable, impure) .

(Q. 9: 23), (Q. 3:28) Quran prohibits a Muslim to befriend a non-believer even if that non-believer is the father or the brother of that Muslim .

(Q. 25: 52) Quran asks the Muslims to strive against the unbelievers with great endeavor

(Q. 66: 9)be stern with them because they belong to hell .

(Q. 47: 4) The holy Prophet demanded his follower to strike off the heads of the disbelievers then after making a wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives .

(Q.4:34) As for women the book of Allah says that they are inferior to men and their husbands have the right to scourge them if they are found disobedient .

(Q. 66:10) It teaches that women will go to hell if they are disobedient to their husbands .

(Q. 2:228) It maintains that men have an advantage over the women .

(Q.4:11-12) It not only denies the women's equal right to their inheritance

(Q. 2:282)it also regards them as imbeciles and decrees that their witness is not admissible in the court .

(Q. 4:3) This means that a woman who is raped cannot accuse her rapist unless she can produce a male witness. Muhammad allowed the Muslims to marry up to four wives and gave them license to sleep with their slave maids and as many captive women as they may have.

He himself did just that. This is why anytime a Muslim army subdues another nation, they call them kafir and allow themselves to rape their women.

Pakistani soldiers raped up to 250,000 Bangali women in 1971 after they massacred 3,000,000 unarmed civilians when their religious leader decreed that Bangladeshis are unislamic. This is why the prison guards in Islamic regime of Iran rape the women and then after calling them apostates and the enemies of Allah.

Islam promises hell to non-Muslims 3:85, 4:56, 5:37, 5:72, 8:55, 9:28,15:2, 21:98-100, 22:19-22, 22:56-57, 25:17-19, 25:55, 29:53-55 31:13, 6:9, 68:10-13, 72:14- 15,

Islam warms against mixing with non-Muslims 2:21, 3:28, 3:118, 5:51, 5:144, 9:7, 9:28, 58:23, 60:4.

Islam calls on Muslims to wage war against non-Muslims 2:191, 2:193,4:66, 4:84, 5:33, 8:12, 8:15-18, 8:39, 8:59-60,8:65, 9:2-3, 9:5, 9:14,9:29, 9:39, 9:73, 9:111, 9:123, 25:52, 37:22-23, 47:4-5, 48:29,69:30-37.

Islam encourages the war against the non-Muslims by glorifying it 2:216, 9:41, 49:15, or by promising lust in paradise to the Shaheeds who die in such a war 3:142, 3:157-158, 9:20--21.

One of the most important theme in the Qur'an, perhaps an indication of the preoccupation in Muhammad's mind is that of imagery of hell and the punishment for the unbelievers.

This is indicated by the huge number of Qur'anic references:

al-Baqarah 2:24,119,161,166,201; Al-Imran:10,12,116,131,151,162,192;
an-Nisa'4:55-56,93,97,114,121,169;   al-Ma'idah 5:10,37,72,86;
al-An`am 6:27,70,128-129,   al-A`raf 7:18,36,38,41,50,179;
al-Anfal 8:16,36,50;   at-Taubah 9:17,35,49,63,68,73,81,95,109,113;
Yunus 10:8,27,  Hud11:16-17,98,106,113,119;    ar-Ra`d 13:5,18,35;
Ibrahim 14:16,49;  al-Hijr 15:43;  an-Nahl 16:29,62;
bani Isra'il 17:8,18,39,63,97;  al-Kahf 18:29,53,100,106;
Maryam 19:68,70,86;  Ta Ha 20:74,  al-Anbiya' 21:39,98;
al-Hajj 22:4,9,19-22,51,72;  al-Mu'minun 23:103-104;  an-Nur 24:57;
al-Furqan 25:11-13,34,65;  ash-Shu`ara' 26:91,94;  an-Naml 27:90;
al-Qasas 28:41;  al-`Ankabut 29:25,54,68,  Luqman 31:21;
as-Sajdah 32:13,20;  al-Ahzab 33:64,66;  Saba' 34:12,42;
al-Fatir 35:6,36;  Ya Sin 36:63;  as-Saffat 37:10,23,55,63,68,163;
Sad 38:27,56, Sad 38:59,61,64,85;  az-Zumar 39:8,16,19,32,60,71-72;
al-Mu'min 40:6-7,41,43,46-47,49,60,72,76,   ash-Shura 42:7;
Ha Mim Sajdah 41:19,24,28,40;  az-Zukhruf 43:74;  al-Ahqaf 46:20,34;
ad-Dukhan 44:47,56;  al-Jathiyah 45:10,34-35;  Muhammad 47:12,15;
al-Fath 48:6,13,  Qaf 50:24  adh-Dhariyat 51:13;  at-Tur 52:13-16,18;
al-Qamar 54:48;  ar-Rahman 55:43;  al-Waqi`ah 56:94; as-Saff 61:41;
al-Hadid 57:15,19;  al-Mujadilah 58:8,17;  al-Hashr 59:3,17,20, ,
at-Taghabun 64:10;  at-Tahrim 66:6,9-10;  al-Mulk 67:5-10;
al-Haqqah 69:31;  al-Ma`arij 70:15,  Nuh 71:25;  al-Jinn 72:15,23;
al-Muzammil 73:12-13;  al-Mudathir 74:26-31,42;  ad-Dahr 76:4;
al-Mursalat 77:31;  an-Naba' 78:21;  an-Nazi`at 79:36,39,
at-Takwir 81:12;  al-Infitar 82:14;  at-Tatfif 83:16;  al-Inshiqaq 84:12;
al-Buruj 85:10;  al-A`la 87:12;  al-Ghashiyah 88:4;  al-Fajr 89:23;
al-Balad 90:20,  al-Layl 92:14;  al-Bayyinah 98:6;  al-Qari`ah 101:9-11;
at-Takathur 102:6;  al-Humazah 104:6-9;  al-Lahab 111:3

Sahih Bukhari 004.055.567:  99.9% of humans will be in hell.

I encourage this article to be freely reprinted, published and used any way one so desires, as long as the content remains unchanged. Any comments or additions must be noted at the end of the article, and must be signed by its' author.

-- Michael Lamb
-- * Carmody and Carmody Statistics

II. FAITH AND PRACTICE OF ISLAM

"The faith and practice of Islam are governed by the two great branches of Muslim learning, theology and jurisprudence, to both of which some reference has already been made. Muslim theology (usually called "Tawhid" from its central doctrine of the Unity of the Godhead) defines all that a man should believe, while the law (Shari'a) prescribes everything that he should do. There is no priesthood and no sacraments... Unlike any other system in the world today the Shari'a embraces every detail of human life, from the prohibition of crime to the use of the toothpick, from the organization of the State to the most sacred intimacies -- or unsavory aberrations -- of family life."

These practices are mainly true of Sunni Islam, not of the divergent sects.

A.The Five Articles of Faith -These are basic doctrines that every Muslim is required to believe.

"O believers, believe in God and His messenger and the Book He has sent down before. Whoso disbelieves in God and his angels and His books, and His Messengers, and the Last Day, has surely gone astray into far error. Those who believe, and then disbelieve, then believe, then disbelieve, and then increase in unbelief-God is not likely to forgive them, neither to guide them on any way." (The Koran, Sura 4:135)

God-- There is one true God and His name is "Allah"; Allah is all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful. Yet, Allah is not a personable, but a transcendent God, for He is so far above man that He is not personally knowable.

"Say: 'He is God, One, God, the Everlasting Refuge, who has not begotten, and was not begotten, and equal to Him is not any one." Angels-- The chief unfallen angel is Gabriel, who was instrumental in revealing the visions to Muhammad. The chief fallen angel is Shaitan, and his followers are called jinn (demons). Scripture-- There are 4 books which are considered inspired by the Muslims: the Torah of Moses (first 5 books of the OT), the Zabur (Psalms of David), the Injil, (the gospel of Jesus) and the Koran. Muslims believe the former three contain error because they have been tampered with by Jews and Christians. Since the Koran is God's most recent and final word, it is viewed as superior to all other writings.

When asked for a miracle to attest his claim to be a prophet, Muhammad would refer to the miracle of the Koran. "Quran" (or "Koran") an Arabic word which means "recite".

It is seen as a perfect revelation of God, faithful reproduction of an original engraved on a tablet in heaven which has existed from all eternity. Copies of the Qur'an are therefore venerated very highly and are only touched and read by Muslims after ceremonial cleansing. According to Islamic tradition, the Qur'an was originally written on palm leaves, on shoulder-blade bones of camels and on stones.

Following Muhammad's death in AD 632, tradition states that the first caliph, Abu Bakr, ordered Muhammad's former secretary, Zaid, to collect and arrange writings. This was done in co-operation with other and finally an authorized revision of the text was established by Caliph Uthman. Other versions in existence were ordered to be destroyed." Judgement Day --On the last day the dead will be resurrected. Allah will judge each person according to their deeds, sending them to heaven or hell. Heaven is a place of sensual pleasure.

"For many men the best part of the heavenly garden was the bur: dark-eyed buxom virgins. In addition to his earthly wife, each male in heaven could expect to have seventy bur. They would never be sick, menstruating, pregnant(unless he wished), bad-tempered, or jealous." He would be able to de-flower them at will, and return to find them virgins again. Prophets -- The Koran lists 28 prophets, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah, and Jesus. Muhammad is the last and greatest prophet. Predestination --Allah has determined what he pleases and no one can change what he has decreed. This is a sixth article of faith that is considered by many to be part of the five articles.

This strong fatalism has played a central role in Muslim culture, and may be connected to the lack of modern progress that has characterized Muslim countries until recently.

III. THE FIVE PILLARS

-- The Creed: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet".
This must be stated publicly to become a Muslim. The creed is repeated regularly by worshipers. Prayer (Salat)-- "The practice of prayer (salat) is five times a day (upon rising, at noon, in midafternoon, after sunset, and before retiring). The worshiper must recite the prescribed prayers (the first surah and other selections from the Koran) in Arabic while facing the Ka'aba in Mecca. The Hadith (book of tradition) has turned these prayers into a mechanical procedure of standing, kneeling, hands and face on the ground, and so forth. The call to prayer is sounded by the muezzin (a Muslim crier) from a tower called a minaret which is part of the mosque (the place of public worship)"

-- Almsgiving (Zakat)

Muslims are required to give one-fortieth of their income to help the poor. Fasting (Ramadan)-- Faithful Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset everyday during this holy month.

-- The Pilgrimage (Hajj)

The Pilgrimage to Mecca is expected of every Muslim at least once in their lifetime, unless prevented by war or other conditions beyond the worshipper's control. "It is the duty of all men towards God to come to the House a pilgrim, if he is able to make it there." "The Kaaba (in Mecca) is the most sacred place for believers. Much more than a mosque, it is believed to be the place where heavenly power touches the earth directly. "

Holy War-- There is a sixth controvercial religious duty associated with the Five Pillars--Jihad, or Holy War.

The Koran teaches:

"Prescribed for you is fighting, though it be hateful to you. Yet it may happen that you will hate a thing which is better for you; and it may happen that you will love a thing which is worse for you; God knows, and you know not.

They will question thee concerning the holy month, and fighting in it. Say: `Fighting in it is a heinous thing, but to bar from God's way, and disbelief in Him, and the Holy Mosque, and to expel its people from it--that is more henious in God's sight; and persecution is more heinous than slaying.They will not cease to fight with you..."(Sura 2:212)

"So let them fight in the way of God who sell the the present life for the world to come; and whosoever fight in the way of God is slain, or conquers, We shall bring him a mighty wage.How is it with you, that you do not fight in the way of God, and for the men, women, and children who, being abased, say, `Our Lord, bring us forth from this city whose people are evildoers, and appoint to us a protector from Thee, and appoint to us from Thee a helper'?The believers fight in the way of God, and the unbelievers fight in the idols' way.Fight you therefore against the friends of Satan; surely the guile of Satan is ever feeble." (Sura 4:77)

Islamic scholars explain that:

"Jihad literally means an effort or striving. It includes a religious war against unbelievers with the object of converting them to Islam or subduing all opposition (see Koran 9:5; 4:76; 2:214; 8:39). It is the sacred duty of the Muslim nation to ensure that Islam triumphs over all religions. It is considered a general duty of the nation as a whole, not of individuals. Furthermore, it is a duty which relates only to religion. It has nothing to do with economic exploitation, political repression or imperialism in any form.

In his early career Mohammed spread Islam by teaching and persuasion: several early Meccan suras stated that he was sent only to preach. When, at Medina, he declared that God had allowed him and his followers to defend themselves against infidels, and later when he proclaimed that he had divine leave to attack them and set up the true faith by the sword. Muhammad himself fought in nine battles and ordered many more."

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IV. ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY

God-- Muslims deny the doctrine of the trinity, considering it polytheistic. They consider it blasphemous to call God "Father" because it implies to them that He had sexual relations. "This doctrine, which makes God different from His creatures, is strong in Islam. Allah is so different that it makes it (l) difficult to really know very much about him, and (2) unlikely that he is affected by his creatures' attitudes or actions. Although Allah is said to be loving, this aspect of his nature is almost ignored, and his supreme attribute of justice is thought to overrule love. " The Bible-- The Muslims trace their roots to the Bible, but feel free to pick and choose the parts that support their view. Islam, for example, would not consider our New Testament to be the Injil (gospel of Jesus). It is not the words of Jesus, it is others' words about Jesus. His original words have been corrupted and many have been lost. Only the Qur'an is infallible. Muhammad and the Qur'an are that which Islam is to follow.

"It is well known that at many points the Qur'an does not agree with the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. Therefore, from the Muslim point of view, it follows of necessity that these Scriptures must have been corrupted. Historical evidence makes no impression on the crushing force of the syllogism. So it is, and it can be no other way. The Muslim controversialist feels no need to study evidence in detail. The only valid picture of Jesus Christ is that which is to be found in the pages of the Qur'an."

References to the Bible in the Koran make it evident that Muhammad was confused about the message of Christianity and also what the Old testament said. In Gleason Archer's study we find that there are blatant anachronisms and historical inaccuracies in the Koran. If God revealed the Koran, He not only contradicted some of His earlier revelation in the Old and New Testaments (including the parts that Muslims consider to be inspired) but He forgot some of the historical details of His own revelation. The distinction between what are Christ's actual words and what was "corrupted" by Christians is completely arbitrary, leaving the Muslim interpreter as the final authority.

As was pointed out earlier, when Muhammad was asked to validate his prophetic claim, he neither claimed to be divine, nor to have been raised from the dead. Rather, he pointed to the miracle of the Quran. Unfortunately, the book lends itself neither to falsification nor verification. There is no predictive prophecy such as that used by the God of the Bible to verify His word.

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The Koran's view of women In the Koran's teaching on women, we see striking difference with the Bible.

"Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they have expended of their property. Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for God's guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them. If they then obey you, look not for any way against them." (Sura 4:38)

In these few words, God has made known the status of women in relation to men. In relation to other matters the status, rights and duties of women are defined with various degrees of rigidity, but in this the message is clear, finite and complete; it is not a matter for discussion or compromise. The Koran also states:

'Your women are a tillage for you; so come unto your tillage as you wish.'(Sura 2:223)"

The Following passage is a summary of Islamic attitudes on women given by Denise Carmody:

The status of women in Islam says a great deal about Muslim society. In the Qur`an there is some basis for sexual equality: Reward and punishment in the afterlife depend on deeds, not gender; marriage and conjugal life are precious; women have dowry rights in some divorces, inheritance rights, rights to remarry, and rights to protection in time of pregnancy and nursing. However, women's rights were not equal to those that the Qur'an gave males in either divorce or inheritance. Moreover, the Qur'an does not even consider the possibility that women might assume leadership roles in the community, receive an education equal to that of males, teach law or theology, or engage in polygamy (as males could).

Furthermore, the misogyny latent in most patriarchal religions had dark effects in Muslim society. As late as 1970, an Arab sheik offered the opinion that "educated or not a woman is a woman and the Prophet--God's prayers and peace on him--had said that women are lacking in mind and religion. The tradition placed more women in the Fire than in the Garden, and the prime determinant of their destiny was their treatment of their husbands. In legend Muhammad virtually despised female nature as stupid and irreligious. Its specific defects were menstruation, which interfered with prayer and fasting, and unreliability, which made a woman's witness worth only half a man's in court. Obedience to her husband was the woman's first duty; failure to obey can still get her killed today.

The Muslim woman was considered erotic and empty-headed. Thus she was subject to purdah (seclusion and veiling), polygyny, concubinage, and the harem. Women were not to be taught to read and write ("a great calamity"), and they were morally "bent" because they came from Adam's bent rib. Thus, in many men's eyes, they had a dismal existence: "It were best for a girl not to come into existence, but being born she had better be married or buried." Recent Muslims, especially Africans, have defended clitoridectomy and kindred operations, frequently with the following sort of rationale: "Circumcision of women releases them from their bondage to sex, and enables them to fulfill their real destiny to mother."