“Neverfight on the battlefield. Destroy him on his own home front.” Islam learned well after trying to win on the battlefield in the middle ages. Islam is conquring the West as we read.
The Western nations have no defense against Islam. Better study the Koran.

It is unacceptable that nations made up of people who have only just come down from the trees should take themselves for world leaders . . . How can such primitive beings have an opinion of their own?

* in reference to the black African nations who voted in support of the 1975 U.N. resolution, which denounced Zionism as a form of racism, in Yediot Ahronot, November 14, 1975.

I am working with others to raise money and distribute a movie called “On Common Grounds” to counter Obsession’s message of hate with one of peace and tolerance.

Please spread the word. Donations can be made here:
http://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/countering-hateful-obsession

Thanks,
Shatha

While chatting with a friend the other day, we found ourselves on the topic of religion. This particular friend is getting a tattoo of the word in Islam for “infidel” in a few weeks. When I asked him why he would do this (he’s Christian), he told me that he was doing it as a mockery of the faith. He spoke of Islam as a violent religion, out to massacre and kill, pillage and rape. He cited this passage from the Quran: “Prophet make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil fate” (Quran 9:73) “Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil: so fight ye against the friends of Satan” (Quran 4:76), and of course, he referenced suicide bombings.

This logic no longer surprises me, but it does continue to agitate me. The direct correlation between Islam and September 11, the assertions that all Muslims are America-haters and Christian-killers, that the religion teaches them to either convert non-believers or exterminate them… all of this I’ve heard time and time again, and all of it I roll my eyes at. The overt hypocrisy, the vast generalizations, and the sheer idiocy of these remarks are so easy to see, yet even easier to overlook.

The Christian Bible’s Old Testament repeatedly calls on those of faith to either convert or kill non-believers. For example, Deuteronomy 17 states, “17:2 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant; 17:3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 17:4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; 17:5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.”

Why can we point out passages in the Quran that call for extermination of infidels while we continue to ignore the very passages in the CHRISTIAN BIBLE that promote the exact same actions? What makes our “peaceful” Christian religion justified in its writings urging murder yet labels Islam a violent faith?

After reaching this point in the argument, I am usually reminded of the events of September 11; I’m told that terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in the name of their faith, and thus, any faith that promotes such a thing must surely be a hostile one. I’d like to direct anyone who chooses to utilize this argument back to the actions of our peaceful Christian brothers and sisters. Think of the Christians who have blown up abortion clinics or attacked doctors and nurses who work there in the name of Christianity. Is this not a similar concept? European countries in the 16 and 1700s colonized and enslaved the people of Africa and Asia in the name of Christianity, in the name of saving the savage people from their filthy sin filled lives. Their land and resources were exploited and their human dignity ravaged all disguised under a veil of Christianity’s greater good, of a mission to bring the Christian faith to those who were too stupid and too uncivilized to know it.

But no, it is the Muslims who are violent.

The men who bombed the World Trade Center were not Muslims at all. The faith strictly forbids alcohol consumption, loose sexual values, and gambling, yet the terrorists of 911 drank heavily, utilized the service of prostitutes, and visited casinos all the night before their act of terrorism was to be executed. Wouldn’t it seem that men who are thought to be killing American lives all in the name of Islam would be interested in rigidly following the basic rules of their faith?

“Oh yes, well the Quran states that those who die for their faith will be rewarded greatly in heaven.” I would like to guide you toward Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount for a response to this argument. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake/ Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12). We honor martyrs and pray to saints, many of whom have died in the name of their Christian faith. We immortalize those who have died for the sake of Christianity… Sound familiar?

Of course, at this point I must add a disclaimer, although I know that there will still be someone who chooses to point this out: I am in no way saying that Islam is never used by evil people as a shield for evil deeds. However, we have to remember to separate the religion from the people. By this I mean, while the faith itself may say one this, someone else may interpret it to mean something else, something violent and hostile, and may act on it. This does not mean that that is what all Muslims believe!

Again, to Christianity… Some Christians believe that only through baptism can one be saved. Even if one has never heard of Jesus Christ, because that person has not been baptized and does not accept Christ as his or her savior (again, not by choice but because the belief in Christ has never been made known to that person), that person will go to hell. Not all Christians believe this. Not all Christians believe that homosexuality is a sin; not all Christians believe that the death penalty is bad; not all Christians believe evolution is real; not all Christians choose to wait to have sex until after marriage. This means that Christianity, like Islam, is not a uniform belief. Some people believe and do one thing while some people believe and do another. It is not just to generalize a whole people, an ENTIRE FAITH on the actions of the few or with regards to the events that we see on the news. It’s not fair, and it’s not right.

I really am becoming more and more disgusted with the hatred and bigotry toward Islam. Yes, there are bad Muslims out there, and Christians and Jews, and Hindus and atheists. We have to stop judging and entire faith on our shallow predispositions and skin-deep generalizations. We have to let go of our contempt and judgmental attitudes and stop being so childish and inane.

More senseless idealism and bleeding-heart liberalism from an untainted nineteen year old youth.
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
MLK Jr.

Perhaps it’s not too late…

Tags: Christianity, Christians, Islam, Muslims, Religion

This entry was posted on January 1, 2008 at 11:35 pm and is filed under Christian, Christianity, Islam, Muslims, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
4 Responses to “Before you diss Islam, know your Christianity first… And quit generalizing, too.”

1. ahh Says:
January 2, 2008 at 12:07 am

prokopios is the solution
2. amberfireinus Says:
January 2, 2008 at 12:10 am

I absolutely loved your blog. Finally someone who tells it like it is!!! I love it! I am planning to send this link to people who I feel need to see it in their lives. I have tried to articulate these same thoughts in my own blog.

Very eloquently put. Bravo!!
3. Before you diss Islam, know your Christianity first… And quit generalizing, too. « Opinions are like… « Amberfireinus’s Weblog Says:
January 2, 2008 at 12:14 am

[…] January 2, 2008 by amberfireinus Before you diss Islam, know your Christianity first… And quit generalizing, too. « Opinions are l… […]
4. ilegirl Says:
January 2, 2008 at 2:32 am

Thanks for this well-stated post. It’s good to know that there are others who are as troubled by misinformation and misinterpretation of Islam as I.

The Human Rights Foundation condemns the unjustified war assault upon the poor, innocent and defenceless people in Afghanistan. This is an unjust war being waged by the strongest country in the world against the poorest country in the world. The US has contemptously rejected many appeals to prove their case against Osma Bin Laden in an independant international court. Surely the US has nothing to fear if its case is as watertight as it would lead us to believe? Or are the public concerns expressed by US officials about the “holes” in their evidence the main reason for the US to refuse this request. Is George Bush junior any different from his father who said “I will never apologise for the United States of America. I don’t care what the facts are” (George Bush (snr) ( “The Rogue State”, William Blum)

The entire basis for the war is unproven allegations which rightly should have been submitted to an impartial independent court such as the International Court of Justice ( ICJ). It is interesting that the US and Israel are the two countries which have been most reluctant to give their support to the establishment of the International Criminal Court which could also have had jurisdiction.

The U.S. attack is not war but a reckless, emotional act of revenge under the banner of fighting for freedom and human rights. “US Policy, under the banners of freedom and human rights, has led to barbarous criminal acts” Institute for Policy Studies, Washington.

It must be remembered that the attack on the Twin Towers was not perpetrated by the government of Afghanistan. The attack was by alleged individuals. War is a state of hostilities between two countries. Instead of attacking the perpetrators for an alleged “war” on the U.S. ( which the Twin Towers attack was not ) the U.S. has declared war on the government and people of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is so hopelessly outmatched by the superior military capability of the US that it is effectively a mass murder and a slaughter of the innocents. George Bush has said that he wants Osma Bin Laden “Dead or Alive”as in the days of the Wild West.

The U.S. attack on Afghanistan is not even a terrorist attack – it is worse. “Terrorist attacks” by ‘freedom fighters’ are attacks by the weak designed to draw attention to a just cause and are usually resorted to by people who have exhausted all other means to draw attention to injustices and oppression. Our own history shows that the US and the apartheid regime in South Africa called the ANC a ‘terrorist organisation’ while we called them ‘freedom fighters’. The US has a perverted sense of values: It was the strongest ally of the former apartheid regime in SA and responsible for the arrest and imprisonment Nelson Mandela for 27 years as a result of the provision of intelligence by the CIA to the former apartheid government. The US voted against many resolutions at the United Nations which sought to impose sanctions against apartheid South Africa. This is the same US which claims to act in the interests of worldwide “freedom and democracy”

We must not lose sight of the important distinction between a “freedom fighter” and a “terrorist” or we will fall into the US propaganda trap of demonizing all people (as well as their “moral supporters” and the countries in which they live in and the religion they happen to follow) who have no other option but to use “terrorist activity” as a political weapon. The US has made it clear that it will not distinguish between the “terrorist” and the country that “harbours” a terrorist. What does this mean? It means that any country in which there are known “terrorists” (by the US definition of terrorist which conveniently excludes itself and its allies ) is a potential target for “anti-terrorist activity” The US conducts its own covert operations ( “US terrorist activity” ? ) by allocating a budget of $30 Billion for this purpose. We need to differentiate between “harbouring” a terrorist and the need to request proof of the guilt of a person before action is taken.

History will record the mass murder and terror in Afghanistan by the U.S. ( which CNN prefers to refer to as the “War on Terror” ) as a shameful event in the history of mankind. The due process of law has not been followed and the US has assigned to itself the role of judge, jury and executioner against an entire country. Once a court has found and convicted the true perpetrators of the attacks than the appropriate punishment should be meted out to the real perpetrators. Prior to this any act of aggression and death caused is illegal and is nothing less than the murder of innocent people.

The US is using sophisticated computer controlled gunships in an international posse of countries involved in a wild-west style manhunt to “smoke out” their prey, such passion unbecoming of a world leader purporting to believe in civilised values. What the US is doing in Afghanistan is a systematic campaign of terror on a far more concerted basis than what it accuses the terrorists of the September 11 attack. The difference is that they do not care if the accused is guilty; nor do they care how many innocent civilians they kill in achievieng their military, economic and strategic objectives in the region. An indication of the continuing callous attitude of the U.S. is the reponse of Colin Powel in respect of question posed to him on the number of Iraqi’s killed in the Gulf War when he said, “Its really not a number I’m terribly interested in” William Blum in “Rogue State” believes that if a list had to be compiled of Amercian leaders guilty of crimes against humanity, Colin Powel may be one of them. The deaths of civilians in this unjust war is referred to as ‘collateral damage” by the US.

According to UN reports the effect of the war has caused a humanitarian crisis potentially affecting between 4-7 million civilians who face not only starvation but the effects of exposure to icy cold weather without any form of heating and medical supplies. The US, in order to mute world condemnation and in an attempt to win over the suffering people resorts to the insulting use of scattering haphazardly food for 37 000 people when those starving are in excess of 4 million. Before the war, aid agencies at least ensured that all those who needed food received it. However the actions of the U.S. has disrupted supply of aid and misinformed the public of the true humanitarian impact of the war reflecting the dishonesty of the U.S. in claiming concern for the Afghanistan people.

The Mute Complicity of the Media

The atrocities committed by certain nations often receive only passing attention. The media attention to the Twin Towers attack was of course necessary. However what is to be condemned and exposed is the lack of any attention by the mainstream media to atrocities of a similar or far greater magnitute in the the past 10 – 20 years, significant of which is the horrendous bombing of Iraq which led to the death of over 1.5 million people over the next 10 years and to this day the strangulating economic sanctions imposed by the US and UN on Iraq are the cause of the painful and excruciating deaths of 5000 children every month. Do you know what the impact is on a mother to watch a child die a long excruciating painful death due to starvation?

Every month 5000 children die in this cruel, inhuman way and the world does not even take notice.

Are they any less worthy of our attention than the 5000 people who died on September the 11th?

Do you know the psychological impact of being in Afghanistan at present when every moment of the day is like playing a game of Russian Roulette? When you have no idea when the next bomb will ‘accidentally’ miss its target and destroy your home? When you have nowhere to run because the borders are sealed? Besides an entire city in Afghanistan has no electricity and water as a result of the destruction of its infrastructure. This alone will cause countless deaths over the coming weeks. The refugee crisis is mounting and there are several hundred thousand refugees who have nowhere to go since all borders have been sealed.

“We will never see the smoke, and the fire, we never smell the blood, we never see the terror in the eyes of children, whose nightmares will now feature screaming missiles from unseen terrorists, known only as Americans” Martin Kelly (see Rogue State)

“It is a scandal in contemporary international law, that while “wanton destruction of towns , cities and villages ” is a war crime of long standing , the bombing of cities from airplanes goes not only unpunished but virtually unaccused.

Air bombardment is state terrorism, the terrorism of the rich. It has burned up and blasted apart more innocents in the past six decades than have all the antistate terrorists who ever lived.

Something has benumbed our consciousness against this reality. In the United States we would not consider for the presidency a man who had once thrown a bomb into a crowded restaurant , but we are happy to elect a man who once dropped bombs from airplanes that destroyed not only restaurants but the buildings that surrounded them. I went to Iraq after the Gulf War and saw for myself what the bombs did ; “wanton destruction” is just the term for it.”

-C.Douglas Lummis, political scientist. ( as quoted in “Rogue State”, William Blum )

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

The Human Rights Foundation intends to inform the public about many issues which are not given prominence in the mainstream media. We indend to further inform people of the facts relating to the crisis which will enable people to make an informed decision. We need your support and help in this regard. You can assist in one or more of the following ways:

a) Assist to distribute information, newsletters and pamphlets in your local area to inform people about the true situation. Please call us if you wish to set up a local sub-chapter of an anti-war coalition in your area. ( Act Now to Stop War and End Racism – A.N.S.W.E.R )

b) Assist by supporting the collections for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

c) Participate in a “National Conference on Human Rights” in which various organizations will be asked to deliberate over a period of 2 days to prepare a comprehensive well formulated plan of action to assist towards ending what amounts to shameful atrocities against the innocent Afghan population.

THE WAR ON ISLAM

The Book entitled “The War on Islam” by Enver Masud is a required read for any person who wishes to obtain facts about US foreign policy and actions of the US which you will not find on CNN or the mainstream news media. The Human Rights Foundation wishes to thank the author of the Book Enver Masud of the Wisdom Fund based in the USA for permission to print a special limited South African version of the latest edition of his book. His earlier version of this book is available in the U.S. for $ 18 plus shipping (Total of R 300 approx). We are pleased to announce that the Human Rights Foundation has secured the rights to publish this book which will be made available FREE in South Africa. We intend to publish 5000 copies of this book. Donations to defray the costs of printing the book and costs for these adverts would assist the Human Rights Foundation in continuing its activities which have until now been funded solely from our own private resources.

This book is also available in electronic format and the electronic version is also available free for non-commercial personal use. The web address at which this book can be downloaded is at http://www.twf.org

In this advert below we have publish key excerpts verbatim from the Book “War on Islam” to give the reader a good idea of the wealth of information contained in the book. The book will give answers to the following questions:

a) What is the track record of the United States in regard to respect for Human Rights?

b) Is this war being fought for the purpose of democracy and freedom or is there another motive?

c) Is the use of “secret evidence” by the United States acceptable in terms of the rights of the accused?

d) What is the record of Human Rights violations of the United States? Who is in fact the worlds worst violator of Human Rights and who can be called the Super Rogue state?

e) What are the real motives for US foreign policy?

f) What has been the US position on the formation of the International Criminal Court? Why is the US so concerned about the establishment of the ICC? Have any senior US officials ( past and present ) been found guilty of war crimes and who are these people?

g) What influence does Israel have on US policy?

The book “War on Islam” will give you answers to the above and many other questions. Please call us at

(012) 336-600 ext. 6425 if you wish to receive a free copy of the book “War on Islam” or if you wish to provide assistance in any way. We welcome any support in our struggle for world peace and justice for all.

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Chairman – Human Rights Foundation