Monday, December 26

Truly murderous language

A reader, Mohamed, recently expressed his concern over my use of the term "murderous" in connection with his namesake.

Rather than bristle at my (justified) use of the adjective, why not revulse at the actual practice of it carried out at the command of Mohammed (Qur'an and Hadith) over the last fourteen centuries ?

"Murderous" is appropriate since Mohammed personally carried out or ordered directly the murders of thousands of people. Additionally, "revelations" commanding the killing of unbelievers in the Qur'an and his commands to kill in Hadith makes the use of the term, in a word, appropriate.

Mohamed wrote:
"The truth of Islam is that it's the religion of mercy..I dare to say it..
"Mercy?" From Qur'an 5:33:
"The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter...."
My guest continued:
Terrorism is what Americans are doing in Iraq,Terrorism is what Israel doing in Palastine,,,,
America and its allies have removed a monster who killed, tortured, and oppressed millions of Muslims. Those fighting against the Coalition now target innocent Iraqi men, women, and children, yet you claim that we are the terrorists. Whose side are you on?

Israel has its citizens routinely slaughtered going to lunch, or shopping, or to worship, and when they target the vile wretches responsible, they are blamed? If Israel wanted to kill innocent Muslims, they would have no problem completely wiping out every nation in their neighborhood (especially those calling for their annihilation), as demonstrated in every open war carried out against them by their "merciful" Islamic neighbors since the 40's.

Mohamed continued...
I think with your dialectic we will say to Palastinian people: "When Israel come to fight and kill you cooperate with them"
Instead, the "Palestinian" people ought to stop carrying out terrorism against Israel. If anything, Israel has been overly generous, accommodating, and merciful.
ALL verses and Hadith talking about "killing the unbelievers wherever you find them" is when someone come to fight you and what unbeliever;it's the one who fight you not his sons,wives or any other one....
"ALL"? That is false.

A passage like Qur’an 2:191 talks about warfare in self-defense...
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.

Here the context suggests slaying and “turning out” is to be done in retaliation for “they have turned you out”. This is one of only two verses I've seen that command killing for a wrong first done by an enemy. The other commands are universal, since they make no distinction.

I asked you to demonstrate from the text itself that 9:5 and other passages like it are talking about warfare in self-defense, but you have not done that.

In fact, you can't, because at this point in Allah's "revelation" to Mohammed, offensive warfare against the non-Muslim world to spread the rule of Islam is now required of all able-bodied Muslims.

An excerpt from An exegesis on ‘Jihad in Islam', by Syed Kamran Mirza:
“The well-known Egyptian scholar, Sayyid Qutb, (Sayyid Qutb, Milestones, Revised Edition, chapter. 4, “Jihaad in the Cause of God") notes four stages in the development of jihad:

1. While the earliest Muslims remained in Mecca before fleeing to Medina, God did not allow them to fight;

2. Permission is given to Muslims to fight against their oppressors;

3. God commands Muslims to fight those fighting them;

4. God commands the Muslims to fight against all polytheists.

“Sayyid Qutb views each stage to be replaced by the next stage in this order (the fourth stage to remain permanent). To justify the universal and permanent dimensions of jihad he cites the following Qur’anic passages:

Qur'an 4:74: They ought to fight in the way of God who have sold the life of this world for the life of the Hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of God and is killed or becomes victorious, to him shall We (God) give a great reward....

Qur'an 8:38-40: ...and fight them until there is no oppression and the religion is wholly for God....

Qur'an 9:29-32: Fight against those among the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) who do not believe in God and the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His messenger have forbidden, until they are subdued and pay jizyah (tax on non-Muslims) ...

“Sayyid Qutb, however, pours scorn upon those who view jihad as solely defensive:

'... They are ignorant of the nature of Islam and of its function, and that it has a right to take the initiative for human freedom. Thus wherever an Islamic community exists which is a concrete example of the Divinely-ordained system of life, it has a God-given right to step forward and take control of the political authority so that it may establish the Divine system on earth, while it leaves the matter of belief to individual conscience.'”
Mohamed concluded with...
I repeat:
DON'T TALK ABOUT A THING TILL YOU UNDERSTAND IT...
That's good advice. Demonstrate from their contexts that verses like Qur'an 9:5 are talking about self-defense, and then we can talk.

I'll be waiting.