Friday, May 24, 2013

The Seven Myths About Islam

 

http://www.knightscrusaders.com/Knights_Crusaders/The_Seven_Myths_About_Islam.html

 

 

 

The Seven Myths About Islam

The Seven Myths About Islam

 

Islam is all about big lies and myths, this article sheds some light on seven of the most common of such lies and deceptions:

First, it is untrue that Islam is the world's fastest-growing religion. (Mormonism and Scientology also claim this, but few outside of Salt Lake City and Hollywood believe it.) As Philip Jenkins of Penn State University demonstrates in his work Christianity – in particular Pentecostalism – is the world's most-rapidly growing faith. Currently there are 2 billion Christians and 1.3 billion Muslims (out of a world population of 6 billion), and in the 21st century Christianity will very likely maintain its lead, thanks to explosive growth in sub-Saharan Africa and China.

 

Second, despite the claims of even President Barack Hussein Obama in a number of public statements, Islam is not a "religion of peace." Yes, there are a few verses of toleration in the Qur'an: Sura (chapter) al-Baqarah:256 says "there shall be no compulsion in religion;" Sura al-Furqan:65ff says that Allah will be merciful to those who repent and do good works; and Sura al-Nisa':19ff enjoins Muslim men to provide financially for wives and ex-wives. But verses such as these are rare and arguably outweighed by many others: Sura Anfal:12ff and Sura Muhammad:3ff command the beheading of unbelievers; Sura al-Nisa':34ff allows for beating of one's wives and in verses 74ff and 94ff, promises great reward for those who die fighting for Allah; Sura al-Ma'idah:51 says "Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends." Someone who simply rehashs that "the Qur'an teaches peace" obviously has not read it. No doubt a few Muslims may not read the passages about decapitation as a blueprint for today, but quite obviously most Muslims worldwide practice the injunction to behead unbelievers.

 

Third on the misinformation parade is the allegation that jihad does not mean holy war. This falsehood crops up often in text books and in the media, where the politically-correct tirelessly repeat that jihad actually means only "striving to be a good Muslim." This is half-right. But early on in Islamic history, jihad came to mean fighting against unbelievers in order to expand the territory under Muslim rule. al-Bukhari lived in the 9th century CE and was the most authoritative compiler of sayings attributed to the prophet Muhammad; he mentions jihad many times as meaning "holy war." Jihad as "Muslim piety" is mainly the province of the Sufis, the mystics of Islam, and has become a minority view today. Furthermore, Islamic history is chock-full of leaders declaring jihads against their enemies – even the moderately Muslim Ottoman Empire declared a holy war against the French, British and Russians in World War I!

 

Fourth is the whopper that Islam spread peacefully from Arabia, as if the followers of Muhammad went door-to-door ringing doorbells and handing out brochures. From the mid-7th century CE Muslims militarily overran regions and then pressured the conquered to convert. Muslim Arab armies destroyed the entire Persian Empire (modern Iran), replacing its official Zoroastrian religion; about the same time they invaded the surviving Christian Roman (Byzantine) Empire and within a few decades had taken half its territory. In 732 CE a Muslim army from Morocco was in France! By 750 CE Muslims ruled from the Iberian Peninula to India. And Muslim armies would stay on the offensive for the next millennium, with only two exceptions: the "Reconquista" in Iberia and the Crusades.

The fifth tiresome myth is that the European Catholic Crusaders started the war with Islam and that for eight centuries Muslims have been brooding over the horrible injustices thereof. Actually, the Crusades, 1095-1291, were simply the first time that European Christians managed to take the fight to their enemy's territory. And besides: why are the Crusades being constantly used as a club with which to beat the West – remember the scathing attacks on President Bush when, not long after 9/11, he referred to a "crusade" against terrorism? Usama bin Ladin's constant references to Americans as "Crusaders" is thus a perfect marriage of historical illiteracy with keen psychological insight into his enemy's self-hate.

 

Another fairy tale about Islam is that poverty produces terrorists. This hoary myth tells us more about the worldview of its American adherents than it does about the ranks of the Islamists. Most of the 9/11 and London bombers were university-educated and at least middle-class. The same is true for Palestinian suicide bombers and most likely those in Iraq. Naive Americans take their domestic paradigm about poverty and crime – that the former causes the latter – and apply it to a context where it doesn't fit. Regarding the recent London bombings, a British terrorism expert said that "socioeconomic background does not appear to [have] play[ed] a role." Poverty is hardly sufficient, to explain Islamic terrorism.

 

And finally, we have politically-correct mendacity number seven, which even British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently repeated: that Islam has been "hijacked" by terrorists. In this view Bin Ladin, the ayatollahs in Iran, the former Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, the Saudis with their Wahhabism (a particularly puritanical brand of Sunni Islam) – all are twisting a "moderate" religion to suit their purpose. The "Islam = peace" brigade essentializes Islam as peaceful. UBL essentializes it as jihad. Although there are Qur'an verses, and sayings of Muhammad, on both sides, many do support Bin Ladin and his ilk. Also, Islamic history is replete with Muslim scholars whom the modern Islamic fundamentalists draw upon. The most famous is Ibn Taymiyah who, 700 years before George Bush said "you're either for us or against us," divided the world into the domain of Islam and that of war. The only good ruler is a Muslim ruler, asserted Ibn Taymiyah. And by that he meant one that enforces shari`ah, or Islamic law – most Muslims agree.

 

Even if only 10 percent of Muslims followed these teachings, the number of Jihadist is staggering – 10 percent of 1.3 billion is 130 million! It is no use pretending that the UBLs of the world have falsely "hijacked" Islam. Indeed, their view of the faith – however intolerant and violent it may seem – is the predominant belief of most Muslims today and has a basis in Islamic theology and history.

 

Europe is already lost – it is time to wake up America and realize that denial and Political Correctness is killing us!

 

War has been declared on Christians, Jews, non-Muslims and secularists worldwide by Muslims simply because we are infidels according to their belief. As Islamic fundamentalism spreads its tentacles worldwide, it is crucial for the people of the United States to understand the danger, know what to expect, and know what to do about it. Threats and realities of forced conversions to Islam, beheadings, torture and murder are quickly becoming commonplace. They're rarely mentioned in the news and when they are, it's with a disclaimer, and the word "insurgent" has replaced the truth of "terrorists."

 

If we do not win the war against Islam other issues in America will not matter at all: We will not have an economy to worry about. We will not have equal rights for all. We will not have our cherished freedom under the Constitution. And we will live under Sharia Law.

 

 

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