A PRIMER ON ISLAM

by Barry L. Brumfield

Islam - meaning "the submission to God" is a monotheistic faith, and according to Muslim tradition, one of the Abrahamic religions. Islam is the World's second-largest religion.

Etymology of Islam

In Arabic, Islam from the root 'slm' (silm), to be in peaceful submission; to surrender; to obey; peace; Islam literally meaning "The active willful surrender, submission, obedience, in purity to the will of another (Allah) in complete peace." (understood as submission to God) and is described as a din, meaning "way of life" and/or "religion." Etymologically, it is derived from the same root as, for example, Salam meaning "peace" (also a common salutation). The word Muslim is also related to the word Islam and means one who "surrenders" or "submits" to God. Although both "Islam" and "Muslim" are often pronounced with z sounds, the s should be pronounced not as a z but as a s, like in bliss.

Beliefs

Followers of Islam known as Muslims, believe that God (or, in Arabic, Allah) revealed his direct word for mankind to Muhammad (c. 570-632) and other prophets, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Muslims assert that the main written record of revelation to humankind is the Qur'an, which they believe to be flawless, immutable, and the final revelation of God. Muslims mistakenly believe that parts of the Gospels, Torah and Jewish prophetic books (though originally divine in their nature) have been forgotten, misinterpreted, or distorted by their followers and thus, their original message has been corrupted over time. With that perspective, Muslims view the Qur'an as a corrective of Jewish and Christian scriptures.

Muslims hold that Islam is essentially the same belief as that of all the messengers sent by God to mankind since Adam, with the Qur'an (the one definitive text of the Muslim faith) codifying the final revelation of God. Islamic teaching sees Judaism and Christianity as derivations of the teachings of certain of these prophets - notably Abraham - and therefore acknowledges their Abrahamic roots, whilst the Qur'an calls them People of the Book. Islam has three primary branches of belief, based largely on a historical disagreement over the succession of authority after Muhammad's death; these are known as Sunni, Shi'ite and Kharijite. The basis of Islamic belief is found in the shahadatan ("two testimonies"): la ilaha illa-llahu; muhammadur-rasulu-llahi - "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God." In order to become a Muslim, one needs to recite and believe in these statements. Sunnis further regard this as one of the five pillars of Islam.

Six articles of belief

There are six basic beliefs shared by all Muslims:

1. Belief in God, the one and only one worthy of all worship.

2. Belief in all the Prophets (nabi) and Messengers (rasul) (sent by God).

3. Belief in the Books (kutub) sent by God.

4. Belief in the Angels (malaikah).

5. Belief in the Day of Judgment (qiyamah) and in the Resurrection.

6. Belief in Destiny (Fate) (qadar). (Note that this does not mean one is pre-determined to act or live a certain life. God has given the free will to do and make decisions.)

The Muslim creed in English:

"I believe in God; and in His Angels; and in His Scriptures; and in His Messengers; and in The Final Day; and in Fate, that Good and Evil are from God, and Resurrection after death be Truth.

"I testify that there is nothing worthy of worship but God; and I testify that Muhammad is His Messenger."

The God of Islam is called Allah

The fundamental concept in Islam is the oneness of God (tawhid). This monotheism is absolute, not relative or pluralistic in any sense of the word. God is described in Sura al-Ikhlas, (chapter 112) as follows: Say "He is God, the one, the Self-Sufficient master. He never begot, nor was begotten. There is none comparable to Him."

In Arabic, God is called Allah. The word is etymologically connected to al-ilah "deity", ultimately from Proto-Semitic ilâh-al, and indirectly related to Hebrew El. Allah is also the word used by Christian and Jewish Arabs, translating ho theos of the New Testament and LXX; it predates Muhammad and in its origin does not specify a "God" different from the one worshipped by Judaism and Christianity, the monotheistic religions to which Muhammad's teaching stood in contrast. Some Christians and Orthodox Jews dispute the notion that the God that Muslims worship is the same God described in the Old and New Testaments due to extreme differences in the two teachings.

The implicit usage of the definite article in Allah linguistically indicates the divine unity. Muslims believe that the God they worship is the same as the Judeo-Christian God, i.e., the God of Abraham. However, Muslims reject the Christian theology concerning the unity of God (the doctrine of the Trinity which regards Jesus as the eternal Son of God). Quoting from the Qur'an, sura An-Nisa 171: "O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not "three". Cease! (it is) better for you! Allah is only One God. Far is it removed from His transcendent majesty that he should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient as its defender."

No Muslim visual images or depictions of God exist because such artistic depictions may lead to idolatry and are thus prohibited. A similar position in Christian theology is termed Iconoclasm. Moreover, most Muslims believe that God is incorporeal, rendering any two or three dimensional depictions impossible. Instead, Muslims describe God by the many divine attributes mentioned in the Qur'an. All but one Surah (chapter) of the Qur'an begins with the phrase "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful". These are consequently the most important divine attributes in the sense that Muslims repeat them most frequently during their ritual prayers (called salah in Arabic, and in India, Pakistan and Turkey called "namaaz" (a Persian word)).

The tenets of Islam

There are two main sects in Islam: the Sunni and the Shi'a. Sunni Muslim make up roughly 90% of the Muslim world. Sunni Islam's most fundamental tenets are referred to as the Five Pillars of Islam2, while Shia Islam has a slightly different terminology, encompassing five core beliefs (the "roots of religion") and ten core practices (the "branches of religion"). All Muslims agree on the following statements, which Sunnis term the Five Pillars of Islam, and Shia would consider two of the Roots of Religion and four of the Branches of Religion:

* Shahadah: The Testimony that there is none worthy of worship except God and that Muhammad is his messenger.

* Salah: Establishing of the five daily Prayers (salah).

* Zakat: The Giving of Zakaah (charity), which is one fortieth (2.5%) of the net worth of savings kept for more than a year, with few exemptions, for every Muslim whose wealth exceeds the nisab, and 10% or 20% of the produce from agriculture. This money or produce is distributed among the Muslim poor.

* Sawm: Fasting from dawn to dusk in the month of Ramadan

* Hajj: The Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca during the month of Dhul Hijjah, which is compulsory once in a lifetime for one who has the ability to do it.

The Shia include the following, though some of these beliefs are also considered accurate in Sunni Islam as well:

* The Justice of God ('Adl).

* The Resurrection (Me'ad).

and four of what the Shia call the Branches of Religion:

* Enjoining what is good (Amr-bil-Ma'roof).

* Forbidding what is evil (Nahi-anil-Munkar).

* Striving to seek God's approval (Jihad).

* Paying the tax on profit (Khums).

while two "branches", and one "root", are specifically Shia:

* The belief in the divinely appointed and guided imamate of Ali and some of his descendants (Imamah).

* To love the Ahl-ul-Bayt and their followers (Tawalla).

* To hate the enemies of the Ahl-ul-Bayt (Tabarra).

The Qur'an

The Qur'an is the sacred book of Islam. It has also been called, in English, the Koran and the Quran. Qur'an is the currently preferred English transliteration of the original Arabic word for the Qur'an; it means "recitation". Although it is referred to as a "book", when a Muslim refers to the Qur'an, they are referring to the actual text, the words, rather than the printed work itself.

Muslims believe that the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel on numerous occasions between the years 610 and Muhammad's death in 632. In addition to memorizing his revelations, his followers are said to have written them down on parchments, stones, and other media, so that the entire Qur'an was written down during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad.

Muslims believe that the Qur'an available today is the same as that revealed to Prophet Muhammad and by him to his followers, who memorized his words. Scholars accept that the version of the Qur'an used today was first compiled in writing by the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, sometime between 650 and 656. He sent copies of his version to the various provinces of the new Muslim empire, and directed that all variant copies be destroyed. However, some skeptics doubt the recorded oral traditions (hadith) on which the account is based and will say only that the Qur'an must have been compiled before 750.

There are also numerous traditions, and many conflicting academic theories, as to the provenance of the verses later assembled into the Qur'an. Most Muslims accept the account recorded in several hadith, which state that Abu Bakr, the first caliph, ordered Zayd ibn Thabit to collect and record all the authentic verses of the Qur'an, as preserved in written form or oral tradition. Zayd's written collection, privately treasured by Muhammad's widow Hafsa bint Umar, was used by Uthman and is the basis of today's Qur'an.

Uthman's version organized the revelations, or suras, roughly in order of length, with the longest suras at the start of the Qur'an and the shortest ones at the end. More conservative views state that the order of most suras was divinely set. Later scholars have struggled to put the suras in chronological order, and among Muslim commentators at least there is a rough consensus as to which suras were revealed in Mecca and which at Medina. Some suras (eg surat Iqra) were revealed in parts at separate times.

Because the Qur'an was first written (date uncertain) in the Hijazi, Mashq, Ma'il, and Kufic scripts, which write consonants only and do not supply the vowels, and because there were differing oral traditions of recitation, as non-native Arabic speakers converted to Islam, there was some disagreement as to the exact reading of many verses. Eventually, scripts were developed that used diacritical markings (known as points) to indicate vowels. For hundreds of years after Uthman's recension, Muslim scholars argued as to the correct pointing and reading of Uthman's unpointed official text, (the rasm). Eventually, most commentators accepted seven different readings (qira'at) of the Qur'an as canonical.

The form of the Qur'an most used today is the Al-Azhar text of 1923, prepared by a committee at Cairo university of Al-Azhar.

The Qur'an early became a focus of Muslim devotion and eventually a subject of theological controversy. In the 8th century, the Mu'tazilis claimed that the Qur'an was created in time and was not eternal. Their opponents, of various schools, claimed that the Qur'an was eternal and perfect, existing in heaven before it was revealed to Muhammad. The Ashari theology (which ultimately became predominant) held that the Qur'an was uncreated. However, modern liberal movements within Islam are apt to take something approaching the Mu'tazili position.

Most Muslims regard paper copies of the Qur'an with extreme veneration, wrapping them in a clean cloth, keeping them on a high shelf, and washing as for prayers before reading the Qur'an. Old Qur'ans are not destroyed as wastepaper, but burned or deposited in Qur'an graveyards.

Almost every Muslim has memorized some portion of Qur'an in the original language. Those who have memorized the entire Qur'an are known as hafiz. This is not a rare achievement; it is believed that there are millions of hafiz alive today.

From the beginning of the faith, most Muslims believed that the Qur'an was perfect only as revealed in Arabic. Translations were the result of human effort and human fallibility, as well as lacking the inspired poetry believers find in the Qur'an. Translations are therefore only commentaries on the Qur'an, or "translations of its meaning", not the Qur'an itself. Many modern, printed versions of the Qur'an feature the Arabic text on one page, and a vernacular translation on the facing page


Prophets of Islam

The Qur'an speaks of God appointing two classes of human servants: messengers (rasul in Arabic), and prophets (nabi in Arabic and Hebrew). In general, messengers are the more elevated rank, but Muslims consider all prophets and messengers equal. All prophets are said to have spoken with divine authority; but only those who have been given a major revelation or message are called messenger.

Notable messengers include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses (Musa), Jesus (Isa), and Muhammad, all belonging to a succession of men guided by God. Islam demands that a believer accept most of the Judeo-Christian prophets, making no distinction between them. In the Qur'an, 25 specific prophets are mentioned.

Mainstream Muslims regard Muhammad as the 'Last Messenger' or the 'Seal of the Prophets' based on the canon. However, there have been a number of sects whose leaders have proclaimed themselves the successors of Muhammad, changing and extending Islam, or, whose devotees have made such claims for their leaders. However, most Muslims remain unaffected by those claims and simply regard those said groups to be deviant from Islam.

Islamic Eschatology

Islamic eschatology is concerned with the Qiyamah (end of the world) and the final judgment of humanity. Like Christianity and some sects of modern Judaism, Islam teaches the bodily resurrection of the dead, the fulfillment of a divine plan for creation, and the immortality of the human soul; the righteous are rewarded with the pleasures of Jannah (Paradise), while the unrighteous are punished in Jahannam (a fiery Hell, from the Hebrew ge-hinnom or "valley of Hinnom"; usually rendered in English as Gehenna). A significant fraction of the Qur'an deals with these beliefs, with many hadith elaborating on the themes and details.

Other beliefs of Islam

Other beliefs include the existence of Angels, the Jinns (a species of beings not composed of solid matter, but 'fire') and the existence of magic (the practice of which is strictly forbidden).

Organization within Islam

Religious authority: There is no official authority who decides whether a person is accepted into, or dismissed from, the community of believers, known as the Ummah ("family" or "nation"). Islam is open to all, regardless of race, age, gender, or previous beliefs. It is enough to believe in the central beliefs of Islam. This is formally done by reciting the shahada, the statement of belief of Islam, without which a person cannot be classed a Muslim. It is enough to believe and say that one is a Muslim, and behave in a manner befitting a Muslim to be accepted into the community of Islam.

Islamic law

Sharia: The Sharia is Islamic Law, preserved through Islamic scholarship. The Qur'an is the foremost source of Islamic jurisprudence; the second is the Sunnah (the practices of the Prophet, as narrated in reports of his life). The Sunnah is not itself a text like the Qur'an, but is extracted by analysis of the Hadith (Arabic for "report") texts, which contain narrations of the Prophet's sayings, deeds, and actions of his companions he approved.

Islamic law covers all aspects of life, from the broad topics of governance and foreign relations all the way down to issues of daily living. Islamic law at the level of governance and social justice only applies where the government is Islamic.

According to Islam, the Sharia is divinely revealed. It is understood as protecting five things: faith, life, knowledge, lineage, and wealth. However, it is by no means a rigid system of laws. There are different schools of thoughts and movements within Islam that allow for flexibility. Moreover, Islam is a diverse religion as many cultures have embraced it.

Apostasy and Blasphemy

Apostasy in Islam: Islamic communities, like other religious communities, often exclude apostates and blasphemers from the community of believers.

In orthodox Islamic theology, conversion from Islam to another religion is forbidden and punishable by death. Apostasy is public disloyalty towards Islam by any one who had previously professed the Islamic faith. Blasphemy is showing disrespect or speaking ill of any of the essential principles of Islam. There is no sharp distinction made between these concepts, as many believers feel that there can be no blasphemy without apostasy.

In the period of Islamic empire, apostasy was considered treason, and was accordingly treated as a capital offense; death penalties were carried out under the authority of the Caliph. Today apostasy is punishable by death in the countries of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Yemen, Iran, Sudan, Pakistan, and Mauritania. Blasphemy is also an offence in many of these countries.

In most of these countries, such laws are invoked only sporadically and selectively; convictions tend to be reversed at a higher level, or if not reversed, those convicted may be allowed to leave the country. Some Islamic countries, notably, Saudi, Iran under the Islamic Republic, Afghanistan under the Taliban, and Sudan, have been more willing to enforce laws and punishments against apostasy and blasphemy. In each of these countries Islamist regimes are estimated to have executed, flogged, and imprisoned hundreds or thousands of people believed to be apostates or blasphemers.

Other punishments prescribed by sharia (depending on interpretation) may include the annulment of marriage with a Muslim spouse, the removal of children, the loss of property and inheritance rights, or other sanctions.

Here as elsewhere in Islam, scholars disagree on specific applications of core principles, with some prominently advocating a punitive approach to "exclusionary" issues and others tending to de-emphasize such questions.

Islamic calendar

Islam dates from the Hijra, or migration from Mecca to Medina. This is year 1, AH (Anno Hegira) - which corresponds to 622 AD or 622 CE, depending on the notation preferred (see Common era). It is a lunar calendar, but differs from other such calendars (e.g. the Celtic calendar) in that it omits intercalary months, being synchronized only with lunations, but not with the solar year, resulting in years of either 354 or 355 days. This omission was introduced by Muhammad because the right to announce intercalary months had led to political power struggles. Therefore Islamic dates cannot be converted to the usual CE/AD dates simply by adding 622 years. Islamic holy days fall on fixed dates of the lunar calendar, which means that they occur in different seasons in different years in the Gregorian calendar.

Islamic Sects

There are a number of Islamic religious denominations, each of which has significant theological and legal differences from each other. The major branches are Sunni and Shi'a, with Sufism often considered as a mystical inflection of either Sunni or Shi'a thought.

The Sunni sect of Islam is the largest of the sects (some 80-85% of all Muslims are Sunni). Sunnis recognize four legal traditions (madhhabs): Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanafi, and Hanbali. All four accept the validity of the others and Muslims choose any one that he/she thinks is agreeable to his/her ideas. There are also several orthodox theological or philosophical traditions (kalam).

Shi'a Muslims differ from the Sunni in rejecting the authority of the first three caliphs. They honor different traditions (hadith) and have their own legal traditions. The Shi'a consist of one major school of thought known as the Ithna Ashariyya or the "Twelvers", and a few minor schools of thought, as the "Seveners" or the "Fivers" referring to the number of infallible leaders they recognise after the death of Muhammad. The term Shi'a is usually taken to be synonymous with the Ithna Ashariyya/Twelvers. Most Shi'a live in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon.

Sunni and Shi'a have often clashed. Some Sunni believe that Shi'a are heretics while other Sunni recognize Shi'a as fellow Muslims. According to Shaikh Mahmood Shaltoot, head of the al-Azhar University in the middle part of the 20th Century, "the Ja'fari school of thought, which is also known as "al-Shi'a al- Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah" (i.e., The Twelver Imami Shi'ites) is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought". Al-Azhar later distanced itself from this position.

Another sect which dates back to the early days of Islam is that of the Kharijites. The only surviving branch of the Kharijites are the Ibadhi Muslims. Most Ibadhi Muslims live in Oman.

Wahhabis, as they are known by non-Wahhabis, are a more recent group. They prefer to be called the Ikhwan, or Brethren, or sometimes Salafis. Wahhabism is a movement founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab in the 18th century in what is present-day Saudi Arabia. They classify themselves as Sunni and some claim to follow the Hanbali legal tradition. The major trend, however is the abolition of these 'schools of thoughts' (legal traditions), and the following of a more literalist interperation. Some even regard other Sunni as heretics. They are recognized as the official religion of Saudi Arabia and have had a great deal of influence on the Islamic world due to Saudi control of Mecca and Medina, the Islamic holy places, and due to Saudi funding for mosques and schools in other countries.

Another trend in modern Islam is sometimes called progressive, liberal or secular Islam. Followers may be called Ijtihadists. They may be either Sunni or Shi'ite, and generally favour the development of personal interpretations of Qur'an and Hadith. See: Liberal Islam

One very small Muslim group, based primarily in the United States, follows the teachings of Rashad Khalifa and calls itself the "Submitters". They reject hadith and fiqh, and say that they follow the Qur'an alone. There is also an even smaller group of Qur'an-alone Muslims who claim to represent the authentic teachings of Rashad Khalifa and seem to have split from the Submitters. Most Muslims of both the Sunni and the Shia sects consider this group to be heretical.

Sufism is a spiritual practice followed by both Sunni and Shi'a. Sufis generally feel that following Islamic law is only the first step on the path to perfect submission; they focus on the internal aspects of Islam, such as perfecting one's faith and fighting one's own ego.

Most Sufi orders, or tariqa, can be classified as either Sunni or Shi'a. There are also some very large groups or sects of Sufism that are not easily categorised as either Sunni or Shi'a, such as the Bektashi. Sufis are found throughout the Islamic world, from Senegal to Indonesia.

Religions based on Islam

The following groups consider themselves to be Muslims, but are not considered Islamic by the majority of Muslims or Muslim authorities: (The graph below is used with permission from Barry L. Brumfield. His website is called Israel's Messiah.com.)

Islam - religion

* The Zikris

* The Qadianis (or Ahmadiyya)

The following consider themselves Muslims but acceptance by the larger Muslim community varies:

* The Nation of Islam (African-American Cult)

* The Druze

* The Alawites (Alnusairiya)

The following religions are said by some to have evolved or borrowed from Islam, in almost all cases influenced by traditional beliefs in the regions where they emerged, but consider themselves independent religions with distinct laws and institutions:

* Babism

* Bahá'í Faith

* Yazidi

The claim of the adherents of the Bahá'í Faith that it represents an independent religion was upheld by the Muslim ecclesiastical courts in Egypt during the 1920's. As of January 1926, their final ruling on the matter of the origins of the Bahá'í Faith and its relationship to Islam was that the Bahá'í Faith was neither a sect of Islam, nor a religion based on Islam, but a clearly-defined, independently-founded faith. This seen as a considerate act on part of the ecclesiastical court and in favor of followers of Bahá'í Faith since the majority of Muslims would regard a religion based on Islam as a heresy.

Some see Sikhism as a syncretic mix of Hinduism and Islam. However, its history lies in the social strife between local Hindu and Muslim communities, during which Sikhs were seen as the "sword arm" of Hinduism. The philosophical basis of the Sikhs is deeply-rooted in Hindu metaphysics and certain philosophical practices. Sikhism also rejects image-worship and believes in one God, just like the Bhakti reform movement in Hinduism and also like Islam does.

The following religions might have been said to have evolved from Islam, but are not considered part of Islam, and no longer exist:

* The religion of the medieval Berghouata

* The religion of Ha-Mim

Islam and other religions

The Qur'an contains both injunctions to respect other religions, and to fight and subdue unbelievers. Some Muslims have respected Jews and Christians as fellow "peoples of the book" (monotheists following Abrahamic religions), and others have reviled them as having abandoned monotheism and corrupted their scriptures. At different times and places, Islamic communities have been both intolerant and tolerant. Support can be found in the Qur'an for both attitudes.

The classical Islamic solution was a limited tolerance - Jews and Christians were to be allowed to privately practice their faith and follow their own family law. They were called Dhimmis, and they had fewer legal rights and obligations than Muslims.

The classic Islamic state was often more tolerant than many other states of the time, which insisted on complete comformity to a state religion. The record of contemporary Muslim-majority states is mixed. Some are generally regarded as tolerant, while others have been accused of intolerance and human rights violations. See the main article, Islam and other religions, for further discussion.

Brief History of Islam

Islamic history begins in Arabia in the 7th century with the emergence of the prophet Muhammad. Within a century of his death, an Islamic state stretched from the Atlantic ocean in the west to central Asia in the east, which however was soon torn by civil wars (fitnas). After this, there would always be rival dynasties claiming the caliphate, or leadership of the Muslim world, and many Islamic states or empires offering only token obedience to an increasingly powerless caliph.

Nonetheless, the later empires of the Abbasid caliphs and the Seljuk Turk were among the largest and most powerful in the world. After the disastrous defeat of the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Christian Europe launched a series of Crusades and for a time captured Jerusalem. Saladin however restored unity and defeated the Shiite Fatimids.

From the 14th to the 17th centuries one of the most important Muslim territories was the Mali Empire, whose capital was Timbuktu.

In the 18th century there were three great Muslim empires: the Ottoman in Turkey, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean; the Safavid in Iran; and the Mogul in India. By the 19th century, these realms had fallen under the sway of European political and economic power. Following WWI, the remnants of the Ottoman empire were parceled out as European protectorates or spheres of influence. Islam and Islamic political power have revived in the 20th century. However, the relationship between the West and the Islamic world remains uneasy.

Contemporary Islam

Although the most visible movement in Islam in recent times has been fundamentalist Islamism, there are a number of liberal movements within Islam which seek alternative ways to align the Islamic faith with contemporary questions.

Early shariah had a much more flexible character than is currently associated with Islamic jurisprudence, and many modern Muslim scholars believe that it should be renewed, and the classical jurists should lose their special status. This would require formulating a new fiqh suitable for the modern world, e.g. as proposed by advocates of the Islamization of knowledge, and would deal with the modern context. One vehicle proposed for such a change has been the revival of the principle of ijtihad, or independent reasoning by a qualified Islamic scholar, which has lain dormant for centuries.

This movement does not aim to challenge the fundamentals of Islam; rather, it seeks to clear away misinterpretations and to free the way for the renewal of the previous status of the Islamic world as a center of modern thought and freedom. See Modern Islamic philosophy for more on this subject.

The claim that only "liberalization" of the Islamic Shariah law can lead to distinguishing between tradition and true Islam is countered by many Muslims with the argument that any meaningful "fundamentalism" will, by definition, reject non-Islamic cultural inventions - by, for instance, acknowledging and implementing Muhammad's insistence that women have God-given rights that no human being may legally infringe upon. Proponents of modern Islamic philosophy sometimes respond to this by arguing that, as a practical matter, "fundamentalism" in popular discourse about Islam may actually refer, not to core precepts of the faith, but to various systems of cultural traditionalism.

Demographics of Islam today

Based on the percentages published in the 2005 CIA World Factbook ("World"), Islam is the second-largest religion in the world. According to the World Network of Religious Futurists, the U.S. Center for World Mission, and the controversial Samuel Huntington, Islam is growing faster numerically than any of the other major world religions. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance estimate that it is growing at about 2.9% annually, as opposed to 2.3% per year global population growth. This is attributed either to the higher birth rates in many Islamic countries (six out of the top-ten countries in the world with the highest birth rates have a Muslim majority [1]) and/or high rates of conversion to Islam.

Commonly cited estimates of the Muslim population today range between 900 million and 1.4 billion people (cf. Adherents.com); estimates of Islam by country based on US State Department figures yield a total of 1.48 billion, while the Muslim delegation at the United Nations quoted 1.2 billion as the global Muslim population in Sept 2005.

Only 18% of Muslims live in the Arab world; 20% are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, about 30% in the Indian sub-continental region of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, and the world's largest single Muslim community (within the bounds of one nation) is in Indonesia. There are also significant Muslim populations in China, Europe, Central Asia, and Russia.

France has the highest Muslim population of any nation in Europe, with up to 6 million Muslims (10% of the population[2]). Albania is said to have the highest proportion of Muslims as part of its population in Europe (70%), although this figure is only a (highly contested) estimate (see Islam in Albania). The number of Muslims in North America is variously estimated as anywhere from 1.8 to 7 million.

Major Muslim Countries of the World (% of population)

Country - Muslim (%)
Afghanistan 99
Albania 70
Algeria 99
Azerbaijan 93.4
Bahrain 100
Bangladesh 83
Brunei 67
Burkina Faso 50
Chad 51
Comoros 98
Djibouti 94
Egypt 94
Gambia, The 90
Gaza Strip 98.7
Guinea 85
Indonesia 88
Iran 98
Iraq 97
Jordan 92
Kuwait 85
Kyrgyzstan 75
Lebanon 60
Libya 97
Maldives Sunni Muslim
Mali 90
Mauritania 100
Mayotte 97
Morocco 98.7
Niger 80
Nigeria 50
Oman 75
Pakistan 97
Qatar 95
Saudi Arabia 100
Senegal 94
Sierra Leone 60
Somalia Sunni Muslim
Sudan 70
Syria 90
Tajikistan 90
Tunisia 98
Turkey 99.8
Turkmenistan 89
United Arab Emirates 96
Uzbekistan 88
West Bank 75
Yemen Muslim

Symbols of Islam

Green is commonly used when representing Islam. It is much used in decorating mosques, tombs, and various religious objects. Some say this is because green was the favorite color of Muhammad and that he wore a green cloak and turban. Others say that it symbolizes vegetation. Some say that after Muhammad, only the caliphs were allowed to wear green turbans. In the Qur'an, 18:31, it is said that the inhabitants of paradise will wear green garments of fine silk.

The reference to the Qur'an is verifiable; it is not clear if the other traditions are reliable or mere folklore. However, the association between Islam and the color green is firmly established now, whatever its origins may have been.

* The color green is absent from medieval European coats of arms as during the Crusades, green was the color used by their Islamic opponents.

* In the palace of Topkapi, in Istanbul, there is a room with relics of Muhammad. One of the relics, kept locked in a chest, is said to have been Muhammad's banner, under which he went to war. Some say that this banner is green with golden embroidery, others say that it is black and others think there is no banner in the chest at all.

In early accounts of Muslim warfare, there are references to flags or battle standards of various colors: black, white, red, and greenish-black. Later Islamic dynasties adopted flags of different colors:

* The Ummayads fought under white banners

* The Abbasids chose black

* The Fatimids used green

* Various countries on the Persian Gulf have chosen red flags

These four colors, white, black, green and red, dominate the flags of Arab states.

The crescent and star are often said to be Islamic symbols, but flag historians citations state that they were the insignia of the Ottoman empire, not of Islam as a whole.

(Editor's note: The sword also is an unofficial symbol of Islam. The sword appears prominently on the flag of Saudi Arabia and references to swords and beheading are prominent in the Koran and hadiths. Muhammad is also purported to have said in one of the hadiths: "Paradise is under the shade of swords.")

Notes
1. Shi'a muslims do not believe in absolute predestination (Qadar), since they consider it incompatible with Divine Justice. Neither do they believe in absolute free will since that contradicts God's Omniscience and Omnipotence. Rather they believe in "a way between the two ways" (amr bayn al-'amrayn) believing in free will, but within the boundaries set for it by God and exercised with His permission.
2. The Egyptian Islamic Jihad group claims, as did a few long-extinct early medieval Kharijite sects, that Jihad is the "sixth pillar of Islam." Some Ismaili groups consider "Allegiance to the Imam" to be the so-called sixth pillar of Islam. For more information, see the article entitled Sixth pillar of Islam.

by Barry Brumfield (www.IsraelsMessiah.com)

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References:
* Encyclopedia of Islam
* The Koran Interpreted: a translation by A. J. Arberry, ISBN 0684825074
* Islam, by Fazlur Rahman, University of Chicago Press; 2nd edition (1979). ISBN 0226702812
* The Islamism Debate, Martin Kramer, University Press, 1997
* Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook, Charles Kurzman, Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0195116224
* Progressive Muslims: Oneworld Publications, Oxford, 1986, 1989, 1997. ISB Islam
* The Challenge of Fundamentalism: Political Islam and the New World Disorder, Bassam Tibi, Univ. of California Press, 1998

A PRAGMATIC LOOK AT THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT

by Andrew Stunich

In the late 1940's when the United Nations was analyzing and debating whether a Jewish homeland should be recognized in the Holy Land, debates as to whether it was the Jews or the Arabs that had a superior claim to the land may have made sense. However, decades later such a debate resolves nothing and is counter-productive to any chance that the Arabs will ever accept a negotiated solution. Any possible resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict does not lie in the usual approach of trying to convince others of one side's superior claim to the Holy Land. Both sides have legitimate, historical ties to the land.

Arabs have had a continuous presence in the Holy Land since they conquered the land in the seventh century. The Jews trace their presence in the Holy Land even farther back in time than do the Arabs. Consequently, it is counter-productive to try to resolve the dispute based upon arguments as to whether the Arab or Jewish claim to the land is superior. Such arguments only reaffirm the Arab world view that any claim to the land is a zero sum game that one side must completely win.

That approach inevitably leads to Arab terrorism in a desperate attempt to achieve an impossible "victory." We must shift our analysis of the problem to one that more pragmatically recognizes the present situation and achievable solutions. Israel is much more technologically advanced than its Arab neighbors and has nuclear weapons. Hence, while Arab nations have a larger population and a land mass 650 times the size of Israel, that size and population advantage will never overcome Israel's technological advantage.

Even if the Arabs could eventually challenge Israel militarily, if the Israelis were faced with being overrun by an Arab army, they undoubtably would utilize their nuclear weapons in a last-ditch attempt to avoid what would most certainly be another holocaust. Since Israel cannot realistically be defeated militarily without a resulting cataclysmic devastation of the surrounding Arab countries, Arabs must pragmatically agree to a negotiated solution that acknowledges Israel's right to exist.

Six million Israelis have nowhere else to go. Half of Israel's population is comprised of Jews or the descendants of Jews who were forced to flee Arab lands in the 1940's and 1950's. Many of the rest of the non-Arab Israelis fled a hostile Europe. For those who take an "Arabs have the most valid claim to the land approach," where do they expect the Jews to go? Back to slavery in Egypt, Germany, dhimmi status under Muslim control or the pogroms of Eastern Europe?

The Jews will never voluntarily agree to any such "final solution." It follows that the Arabs, for peace and economic reasons, must come to grips with Israel's existence. Despite the Arab world's extremely valuable oil reserves, the average per capita GDP in Arab countries is $3,700 versus $18,000 for Israel. Arabs can, therefore, prosper from good relations with the industrious Israelis. The only hindrance to peace is extreme Arab anti-Semitism and a culture that cannot accept any concept of pluralism. Nothing else explains the extreme hatred for Israel and the Arab world's zero sum approach.

Present day Israel has never been an independent Arab state. There are at least twenty-one Arab states and only one tiny Jewish state. Eighty percent of Palestine was carved off and turned into Jordan, an Arab state. A small part of what was left was divided into a tiny Jewish state and separate Palestinian area. While the Jews believed that the United Nation's division was unfair, they nonetheless accepted the internationally approved division.

The Arabs rejected the division and attempted to annihilate the nascent Jewish state. After losing a series of wars, the Arabs resorted to terrorism against which Israel must defend itself. The often-expressed belief that Israel must meekly accept certain types of terrorist attacks without attempting to defend itself such as in the situation wherein Hezbollah was allowed to store rockets throughout the Shiite civilian population of Lebanon and to indiscriminately fire those rockets into Israel without Israel trying to destroy the rockets is inherently dependent upon a belief in a zero sum approach based upon a perceived Arab "superior claim" to the land. Such an approach leads to an endless cycle of terrorism and we must move beyond such arguments.

The Israelis have shown a willingness to give up land to allow for an independent Palestinian state. More Arabs will reach the understanding that they must accept something short of a state that replaces present day Israel if so many in the West stop accepting the Arab world's zero sum approach.

The Arabs must, for the love of their children, compromise. As Golda Meir said in 1957: "Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us." That peace can only follow recognition that framing the debate as to who has the stronger historical and religious claims to the land is, literally, a dead end.

Ninety Five Things That Fuel Muslim Extremism

by: Hugh Fitzgerald

"The American presence in Iraq fuels Muslim extremism."

-- a conclusion concluded from the National Intelligence Estimate by many concluders in solemn conclusory conclave assembled.

Ninety-Five Other Things That Also Fuel Muslim Extremism:

1. Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses."
2. The British government's protection of Salman Rushdie.
3. The American coup against Mossadegh in 1953, cited by some Iranians as the direct cause of the takeover of Iran by the Ayatollah Khomeini more than 25 years later.
4. The remarks of Pim Fortuyn about Muslim attitudes toward liberal Dutch mores.
5. The movie by Theo van Gogh about the subjection of women in Islam.
6. The election of Ayaan Hirsi Ali to the Dutch Parliament.
7. Hindus passing by mosques as Friday Prayers end.
8. The failure of Americans in Iraq to sufficiently subdue the Sunni insurgents.
9. The failure of Americans in Iraq to sufficiently subdue the Shi'a militias.
10. The failure of Americans in Iraq to sufficiently subdue the Kurdish desire for independence.
11. The failure of Americans in Iraq to give Baghdad an instant makeover so that it resembles the most prosperous and advanced American city.
12. The failure of Americans to solve every economic problem in Iraq, to make Sunnis and Shi'a friends, to get the oilfields pumping at full capacity, and to make donations even beyond the many tens of billions spent directly on reconstruction in Iraq.
13. The failure of the Americans, in obtaining debt relief from all Infidel creditors for Iraq (but not from any of the Muslim Arab states), to persuade those same Infidel countries to supply another $50-$100 billion.
14. The refusal of the French state to permit the wearing of the hijab.
15. The insistence, by the French state, that texts by Voltaire, Montaigne, Proust, and other writers deemed or perceived to be anti-Islamic by Muslims, be assigned to students, as required reading, by the Ministry of Education.
16. The selling of alcohol by Christians in Basra.
17. The existence of Christians in Basra.
18. The continued functioning of Christian churches in Baghdad.
19. The Copts in Egypt who complain when Muslims attack their churches and other institutions, or kidnap and forcibly convert Coptic girls to Islam.
20. The Filipinos who try to hold private religious services in Saudi Arabia, land on which no non-Muslims should be present in any case.
21. The American airmen who were assigned to bases in Saudi Arabia and who showed insufficient obeisance to their Saudi masters, all daggers and dishdashas, with their sneers of cold command.
22. The obvious superiority of Western economies.
23. The obvious superiority of Western education.
24. The obvious superiority of Western medical care.
25. The obvious superiority of Western artistic achievement.
26. The obvious superiority of Western (fill in here whatever you like).
27. The failure of Muslims living in the countries of Western Europe to have a standard of living equal or superior to that of non-Muslims.
28. The continued refusal of non-Muslims in the West to institute a formalized long-term system of Jizyah, by which Muslims can be supported; they now must make do only with the benefits provided by Infidel taxpayers on a year-to-year basis.
29. The financial support given by the Americans to the Mubarak regime in Egypt that enrages the Muslim Brotherhood.
30. The financial support given by the Americans to successive Jordanian kings and kinglets, which enrages the Muslim Brotherhood.
31. The diplomatic and other support given by the Americans to the corrupt Al-Saud family of "Saudi" Arabia, which enrages Al-Qaeda and its local supporters.
32. The threats by some in the United States to withdraw support from the Mubarak Friends-and-Family Plan, which whips up anti-American sentiment among Egyptian Muslims.
33. The threats by some in the United States to withdraw support from Pakistan if it does not collaborate less meretriciously in the soi-disant "war on terror," which whips up anti-American sentiment among Pakistani Muslims.
34. The temporary withdrawal of Infidel support for the "Palestinians," who deserve to receive Infidel aid of every kind, and permanently.
35. The discussion by some in the West of ways to diminish, in order to prevent further global warming, the use of oil -- which discussion is seen as damaging Arab and Muslim interests, and must therefore be regarded as a deliberate attack on Islam.
36. The reference by Pope Benedict to a 14th century Byzantine emperor's remarks in the course of a scholarly address at Regensburg.
37. The refusal of Pope Benedict to continue to apologize, and his apparent refusal to completely humiliate himself, before Muslims demanding such humiliation.
38. The Israeli "occupation" of Sinai, Gaza, and the West Bank after the Six-Day War.
39. The Israeli "occupation" of Gaza and the West Bank after the Camp David Accords.
40. The Israeli "occupation" of the West Bank after the full withdrawal from Gaza.
41. The Israeli "occupation" of the sacred Arab and Muslim soil on which the only Jewish state was created in 1948.
42. The presence of Jews in the Middle East.
43. The presence of Jews, uncowed, anywhere in the world.
44. The presence of a strong, self-assured community of Christians in Lebanon.
45. The presence of Copts in Egypt, who sometimes act as if they, too, too, have a right to regard Egypt as their land.
46. The refusal of Italian authorities to prosecute, before her death, Oriana Fallaci.
47. The refusal of Italian authorities to ban Dante in schools because of the mention of Muhammad in The Inferno.
48. The refusal of Italian authorities to remove or cover over frescoes in Bologna that depict Muhammad in an unflattering manner.
49. The refusal of the government of Denmark to punish a Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, for daring to exercise the right of free speech.
50. The refusal of Hindus to abandon any claim to ancient sites, where Hindu temples once stood until destroyed by Muslim invaders.
51. The refusal of some Hindus to forget the history of India.
52. The refusal of some European governments to permit Muslim mosques of any size to be built wherever, whenever, and with whatever towering minarets and electronic amplifying equipment, as Muslims believe is their sacred right.
53. The attempts by some Western police to enter mosques where they have found, in the past, false passports and other documents, as well as weapons including guns and explosives, sometimes hidden in false ceilings.
54. The attempt to permit Europeans to continue, even outside Denmark, to exercise the so-called right of free speech, as has happened with Charlie-Hébdo and other French newspapers.
55. The refusal of the University of Geneva to renew the contract of Tariq Ramadan.
56. The public displays of piggy-banks, and of allusions in English pub names such as The Saracen's Head, which may offend Muslims.
57. The discussions by some national authorities in Holland and state authorities in Germany of the need for more stringent qualifications for nationalization, and in some cases the institution of those more stringent qualifications.
58. The single mention by President Bush of the word "islamofascism" -- a word which Muslims all over insisted must never again be repeated by him, and which he never again repeated.
59. The behavior of American soldiers who have on several occasions returned deadly fire coming at them from mosques in Iraq.
60. The behavior of the British police in not notifying Muslim authorities well in advance of any planned raids on any suspected Muslim terrorists in Great Britain; this is a grave offense which has now apparently been rectified in order to win Muslim hearts and Muslim minds.
61. The belief that some in the West continue to hold, that Jews do have a historic as well as religious connection to the part of Dar al-Islam they call Israel.
62. The outrageous way in which Infidels refer to the Prophet Muhammad as if he is not universally regarded as the Perfect Man, uswa hasana, al-insan al-kamil.
63. The mention by Infidels of aspects of Muhammad's life -- such as the Khaybar Oasis attack, the Banu Qurayza decapitation, the murder of Asma bint Marwan, the marriage to nine-year-old Aisha; these are not true, or if true, are not things which Infidels have any right either to discuss or even to know about.
64. The belief of some Infidels that those who give up on Islam, who are apostates and therefore traitors to Islam, could after their act of treason conceivably continue to know anything about Islam, given that Allah clearly takes away from such people all their previous knowledge of Islam at the very moment when they decide to apostasize.
65. The outrageous belief by some Infidels that nonetheless they may have reason to listen to the testimony of ex-Muslims as to the real contents of Islam.
66. The outrageous and insulting mention, by Infidels, of such words as "taqiyya" and "kitman."
67. The outrageous mention, by Infidels, of the word "dhimmi," about which they can not possibly have any accurate conception, and which they have no right to discuss in the first place unless they are Muslims.
68. The outrageous attempt to suggest that people are not born Muslims.
69. The outrageous attempt to suggest that the spread of Islam was ever undertaken through violence, when everyone knows it was a case of sudden mass conversion.
70. The refusal of this or that Infidel religious leader, political figure, writer, artist, comedian, or simply you, or simply I, to exhibit the proper attitude toward Islam, Islam, Islam.
71. The wherewithal provided by OPEC revenues that enables the Saudis, especially, to fund mosques and madrasas worldwide and thereby to naturally increase the numbers of "extremists" in the Lands of the Infidels.
72. The wherewithal of OPEC revenues that pay for an army of Western hirelings, including former diplomats (mostly English and American), former intelligence agents, former and present journalists (especially those covering the Middle East), public relations experts, businessmen eager for contracts in the Gulf, and many other fixers and middlemen. This helps delay the day of new energy policies that could conceivably diminish the OPEC oil revenues that fund the Jihad, and also prevents the unwary from regarding Saudi Arabia as anything other than a "staunch ally."
73. The willingness of journalists to overlook obvious links between the practice of Jihad and the doctrine of Jihad, encouraged by journalists who still do not feel any obligation to learn about Islam. This encourages Muslims to make demands for changes in political and legal institutions in the West, or to insist that outspoken Infidels -- the Pope, Theo van Gogh, Jyllens-Posten -- must stop speaking or writing about Islam. Any such refusal to comply with Muslim demands engenders -- "fuels" -- Muslim "extremism."
74. The refusal of the Buddhists in southern Thailand to stop being Buddhists.
75. The refusal of the Christians in the southern Philippines to submit to the demands to hand over lands to the Muslims of As Sayyaf.
76. The refusal of Christians in Sulawesi to stop holding church services.
77. The refusal of the Israeli government to stop trying to protect ancient archeological sites in Jerusalem, many of which have been severely damaged by the Muslim construction on and deep within the Temple Mount.
78. The refusal of Hindus in India to concede to Muslim demands for the full application of Shari'a to the Muslim community.
79. The refusal of Orthodox priests in monasteries in Bosnia and Kosovo to abandon the monasteries to Muslims who are clamoring to destroy them.
80. The outrageous insistence by the world's Armenians and by many others that Turkey stop denying the mass murder of Armenians by Muslim Turks between 1915 and 1920.
81. The outrageous demands by many Infidel lands that outside forces be brought in to protect the non-Arab Muslims from the Arab Muslims in Darfur, despite the express opposition of both the government of the Sudan and the Arab League.
82. The outrageous demands by some Infidels that Muslims should be permitted to open mosques only on the basis of reciprocity -- that is, on the basis of similar permission being granted to non-Muslims in Muslim lands.
83. The outrageous refusal of some Infidel countries to prevent transmissions of Al Manar and other satellite channels run by terrorist groups.
84. The refusal of many Western countries -- Great Britain, Germany, Canada -- to yield to demands of local Muslims that they be made subject only to the Shari'a and not to the manmade laws of the Infidels.
85. The refusal by Australia to cease contributing troops to help their American allies in Afghanistan and Iraq.
86. The continued existence of Jews.
87. The continued existence of Christians.
88. The continued existence of Hindus.
89. The continued existence of Sikhs.
90. The continued existence of Buddhists.
91. The continued existence of followers of Confucius.
92. The continued existence of agnostics.
93. The continued existence of atheists.
94. Everything.
95. Nothing.

Some, especially in Lutheran lands, may be satisfied with these 95 theses. Others may prefer to round out the polemical embonpoint by adding another five items to the list. Still others may wish to keep adding to the list from the rich profusion of items offered by each day's Jihad news -- items in keeping with the nature and quite unnecessary nurture of the belief-system of Islam. It took very little time to compose this list. It would not take much longer to add another hundred, two hundred, three hundred items to the list of things that "fuel Muslim extremism."

I decided to add the following to the list:

96. Muhammad bobblehead dolls.

THE QURAN ADVOCATES VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWS AND CHRISTIANS

by Andrew Stunich

Contrary to the assertions of Islamic apologists, the Quran does not command respect for Jews and Christians. In fact, it commands Muslims to make war against them until they are subdued and willingly submit to discriminatory taxes and laws. (Quran, chapter 9, verse 29)

While some verses in the Quran do advocate respect toward Jews and Christians, there are other superseding verses that are the epitome of intolerance. The Quran, for example, prohibits Muslims from taking Jews or Christians for friends (chapter 5, verse 51). The Quran also teaches that Jews have been cursed by Allah, David and Jesus (chapter 2, verse 61; chapter 5, verses 78-82), and that Allah was so disgusted with Jews that he transformed them into apes and pigs (chapter 5, verses 60-65; chapter 2, verse 65; chapter 7, verse 166).

The Quran further alleges that Jews and Christians have corrupted their holy books such that they are untruthful, that Jesus was not crucified, and that he was not the Son of God. Despite such disrespectful attacks on Jews and Christians and their most sacred beliefs, when Westerners so much as depict Muhammad in cartoons, even for the sake of humor, the Islamic world erupts in violent, deadly protests. Such a violent double standard is attributeable to Islamic Doctrine and the prevalent Islamic belief that Islam is superior to other religions because it is allegedly God's final revelation. Adding to the deep-seated bigotry is the widespread defamation of other religions and western society in mosques, Islamic schools, and in the Islamic news media.

It gets worse. The Quran also commands the muslim faithful to wage war against Jews and Christians for profit:

“Fight ... the People of the Book (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizya (discriminatory tax against non-Muslims in conquered territories) with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued” (chapter 9, verse 29).

The foregoing verse and similar verses are what led the early Muslims that knew Islam best due to their personal exposure to Muhammad to attack Jewish and Christian tribes in the Arabian Peninsula and to embark on wars of conquest against neighboring empires. Muhammad and the early Muslims beheaded hundreds of Jewish males and sold Jewish women and children into slavery. Muhammad ordered one Jewish leader tortured and killed for not revealing where the Jews had hidden some treasure. Muhammad then shortly thereafter took his widow as a “wife.” Because the Quran teaches that Muhammad is the perfect example for Muslims to follow, many Islamic scholars teach violent intolerance toward Jews and Christians using, inter alia, the verses set forth above.

There are some peaceful verses in the Quran that Islamic apologists use to justify their version of Islam that I derisively refer to as "Disneyland Islam" for naive westerners. The mix of peaceful and intolerant verses causes great confusion to new readers to the Quran. However, the discrepancy is easily resolved when one understands that the discrepancy between the peaceful and violent verses in the Quran resulted as a natural consequence of how it came into existence.

Muhammad never presented his complete revelations at one time as a book that was meant to be consistent. Rather, Muhammad verbally revealed verses sporadically over a period of at least twenty-two years. The verses were revealed to a mostly oral Arab culture based on the circumstances of the time and what Muhammad hoped to accomplish or justify. The complete written Quran was not created until approximately 20 years after Muhammad’s death.

When Muhammad first attempted to convert Jews and Christians to Islam, he did so by alleging he received verses from God that were peaceful and that advocated tolerance. When Muhammad came to power in Medina, his entire approach changed from trying to persuade others to convert solely by voluntary means and he began to reveal the harsher verses of the Quran ordering war against non-Muslims. At first, he hoped to win over Jews and Christians to Islam by persuasion. When they refused to accept him in any significant numbers, the subsequent violent Quranic verses were revealed and those verses were meant to replace the earlier tolerant verses. “When We substitute one revelation for another — and God knows best what He reveals (in stages) — they say, ‘Thou art but a forger’: but most of them understand not” (chapter16, verse 101).

The verse set forth above commanding war against Jews and Christians was one of the last verses revealed by Muhammad and it is difficult to convince fundamentalist Muslims that earlier peaceful verses should guide their behavior and lead to respect for any adherents to other religions.

In addition, because Muslims are taught that Muhammad’s life was a perfect example to live by, his history, as documented in the earliest Muslim source (Ibn Ishaq’s biography of Muhammad) leads to violence as terrorists mimic the life of Muhammad that they are taught was inspired by God.

Islam developed rules based on the Quran and words and deeds of Muhammad that forced Jews and Christians to live under discriminatory laws that were designed to profit from them, humiliate them and severely inhibit their religious freedom. Bat Ye’or is the world’s leading authority as to how Jews and Christians were treated under Islamic rule. Her speech on the topic is available online at www.sullivan-county.com/z/dhimmitude.htm. Bat Ye'or's work has done much to disprove the abundant amount of disinformation set forth by Islamic apologists in order to re-write history so that Islam can be falsely portrayed as a religion of peace.

Respect means allowing adherents of other religions to live in peace as equals. Making war against them until they feel subdued and accept harsh discriminatory laws as the Quran requires is simply one step removed from the Quranic verse that disrespectfully commands Muslims to slay pagans wherever they find them if they will not convert to Islam (chapter 9, verse 5).

REFUSE TO BE A DHIMMI

There is a website located at www.dashboardmohammed.com/store.html that is selling dashboard Muhammad dolls. The dolls are based on one of the cartoon drawings, depicted below, that caused widespread protests and violence. I have always been of the view that the Islamic World does not have the right to curb free speech. Radical Muslims try to do so through violence and threats of violence. If we inundate the Islamic World with our resistence to this form of demanded dhimmi subservience, we may make it too difficult for the Islamic World to erupt in violence to any specific depiction of Muhammad. Assert your First Amendment rights and order a Muhammad doll now. Let the Islamic World know that you refuse to submit to Islam and refuse to accept dhimmi status. Besides, it is great depiction of Muhammad. The bomb in his turban fairly represents the direct correlation between the religion he founded and modern terrorism.

BEYOND LIBERAL VALUES TOWARD TREASON AND THE
UNDERMINING OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY

by Charles R. Martel

Perhaps it is not so wise to always ignore politicians’ moral lapses. Senator Edward Kennedy is a good example. Senator Kennedy is infamous for an incident wherein he drove a car off a bridge into the water and then left his passenger and presumed paramour, Mary Jo Kopeckne, in the car while he failed to alert authorities for hours. It seems logical to conclude that Senator Kennedy’s delayed reporting must have resulted from his desire to sober up and avoid DUI and/or manslaughter charges. No other explanation makes sense. Timely reporting would probably not have saved Ms. Kopeckne, but she was entitled to the chance no matter how slight.

Perhaps Ms. Kopeckne’s fate at the hands of Senator Kennedy is a metaphor for his treatment of the American People from which we can learn an important lesson.

Senator Kennedy’s career was not completely ruined by the incident as one might have assumed it would be at the time. The incident should have served to expose a serious character flaw in Senator Kennedy that kept him off the world stage. Instead, he went on to, arguably, commit even larger mistakes in the service of his country or, perhaps, in the service of his own ambition.

CNS News has reported that in his new book titled, The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism, Paul Kengor, a political science professor at Grove City College, discloses that a “KGB letter written at the height of the Cold War” shows that Senator Edward Kennedy “offered to assist Soviet leaders in formulating a public relations strategy to counter President Reagan's foreign policy and to complicate his re-election efforts.”

CNS News further reported that the letter, dated May 14, 1983, “was sent from the head of the KGB to Yuri Andropov, who was then General Secretary of the Soviet Union's Communist Party.” Apparently, Senator Kennedy suggested strategies to Yuri Andropov as to how he might counter Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy. Senator Kennedy suggested that the leader of much of the then enslaved world directly appeal to the American People via television interviews.

I was stunned to read the foregoing news. Senator Kennedy’s conduct seems to bear a striking resemblance to the age old crime of treason. It is one thing to hold liberal values, I am not immune to such sentiments myself, but to be so consumed by one’s ideology and desire for political power as to try to actively and underhandedly undermine your President’s Cold War strategy in dealing with a man as heartless and cruel as Yuri Andropov not only illustrates the triumph of left-wing ideology over love of country, but the deceitful, underhanded nature of a conniving traitor. Yuri Andropov was partly responsible for the Soviet invasion of Hungary during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution wherein the Soviet Union slaughtered thousands of people for wanting nothing more than to be free of communist slavery and Soviet tyranny.

That Senator Kennedy would offer assistance to such a man as Yuri Andropov in an attempt to thwart legitimate foreign policy goals suggests that the war on terror may well be undermined by Senator Kennedy’s “values” as well. It makes me wonder what aid and comfort he has given to Osama bin Laden and his reprobate minions.

If he has provided some type of assistance similar to his offer to Yuri Andropov, we may never learn of it. We do know, however, that his reckless political rhetoric has hurt the war on terror. Shortly after the terrorism started in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, I opined to a friend that I could see the writing on the wall as to what might happen in Iraq. I stated that bringing about democracy in such a tribal, sectarian society would be difficult. I pointed out that the terrorists would soon realize that the best strategy to avoid the successful implementation of a stable government and democracy would be to adopt a Vietnam strategy. Simply start killing people and the radical American left would commence a relentless campaign to undermine the war and American resolve. That is exactly what happened; however, I do not claim to have been clairvoyant. The strategy was an obvious one to both the terrorists and to the radical American left.

I cannot help but wonder how much encouragement and will to fight on the terrorists felt when they viewed or read reports of the constant undermining of morale and the war by the American left. I believe it has been a significant factor in some of the sectarian violence. Knowing that they only had to simply hold on and let the radical American left work on the American people had to provide tremendous comfort to the terrorists.

The radical American left seems to not understand or to not care that allowing Iraq to become a terrorist state would undermine the war on terror. Whether the United States should have invaded Iraq is irrelevant to the decision as to whether we should prevent it from becoming a safe haven for terrorists. If Iraq becomes a safe haven to plan, prepare, and launch international terrorism, everyone, other than fundamentalist Muslims, lose.

Senator Kennedy has been a champion of the exact approach and rhetoric that seems assured of eventually guaranteeing that Iraq will slide into the fundamentalist, Islamic fold. We should, therefore, at least be thankful that Senator Kennedy never became President. Perhaps Mary Jo Kopechne should be posthumously awarded for her sacrifice. Her death severely damaged Senator Kennedy's reputation and her death is generally regarded as having precluded any potential for Senator Kennedy to become President Edward Kennedy. In light of the latest revelations about Senator Kennedy’s attempt to assist the Soviet Union during the Cold War, it is logical to conclude that Mary Jo Kopechne may have inadvertently accomplished far more for her country than we will ever know.

Finally, it is fascinating that this news about Senator Kennedy seems to have generated such a small amount of interest. To borrow a line from an old song, it is a “mixed up, shook up, bubble gum world” when a national figure can be exposed for having collaborated with the enemy without causing the politician’s ouster from office.

DON'T GO TO CITGO?

by Charles R. Martel

The Venezuelan national oil company, PDVSA, owns Citgo. Citgo is the Venezuelan national oil company's refining and marketing branch. Citgo has become the target of a steadily increasing boycott in the United States due to the outrageous conduct of Venezuela's President, Hugo Chavez.

Many Americans are deeply angered over Hugo Chavez' support of terrorism, his frequent diatribes against and hostility for the United States, and his profligate squandering of Venezuela's oil revenue. If Mr. Chavez stays the course he is on, he will waste Venezuela's oil wealth for his own self-aggrandizement in a vein attempt to accomplish his radical political agenda without accomplishing any long-term boost in Venezuelans' standard of living.

While Venezuela remains saddled with large pockets of grinding poverty, Mr. Chavez has chosen to greatly increase Venezuela’s military budget despite no military threat against the country. He gives foreign aid to anti-American regimes, sells discounted heating oil in the U.S. in order to make a political point, and picks friends around the World solely based upon their hostility to the United States and not based upon Venezuela’s legitimate interests.

Mr. Chavez' level of vitriolic hatred toward the United States is evidenced by his highly offensive United Nations speech wherein he called President Bush "the devil." Such infantile conduct in such a formal setting reveals a deep level of hatred that cannot be controlled. Such unbridled anger and incompetence in a national leader suggests great danger to the United States.

It should not, therefore, come as a surprise that there are reports that Mr. Chavez is training terrorists in Venezuela.

Hundreds of gas stations have already dropped Citgo gasoline and most others would follow if Americans refused to purchase anything from gas stations that sell Citgo products. While we should refuse to give any financial support to those who would harm us, a boycott may well hurt innocent Americans far more than Hugo Chavez.

After initially calling for a boycott of Citgo, I received the following critique of my boycott call and it is an interesting one so I altered this post in response:

"Yours is one of the more eloquent posts I've read on this subject, even though I respectfully disagree with your conclusion to boycott Citgo. Don't you think that boycotting Citgo would harm Americans way before it had even a tiny impact on Chavez? And by Americans, I mean people like Maximo Alvarez (an American) who owns gas stations in Florida. Not to mention his employees and their families. What's that cliche about cutting off one's nose to spite one's face?"

The foregoing comment was sent anonymously, but I do not know why as it is very rational. I agree with the criticism. I originally assumed that gas station owners could just switch suppliers. If not, then perhaps a boycott is not a good idea. I do not want to see any mom and pop businesses placed into distress.

Thank you anonymous.

(Please see my related article posted October 17, 2006, entitled "America Must Depose Hugo Chavez." I also recommend that readers view the linked article above by clicking where it says "Maximo Alvarez.")


by Charles Martel