The religion of false peace

kw: book reviews, nonfiction, religion, islam, muslims

A friend suggested that I read Muslim: What You Need to Know about the World's Fastest Growing Religion, by Hank Hanegraaf. It led to a shift in my attitude, in two directions. We'll get to that…

Muslim examines Islam from a Biblical Christian perspective, and a sympathetic treatment of Jewish concerns. I recommend that every Christian and Jew read it. For one thing, "The peoples of the Book" are stated targets for Muslim abuse, conquest, and annihilation. But even the more, you may not be a Christian or a Jew, but if you are not a Muslim, the intention of the Muslim world is to bring all the earth under Sharia law. (Note, I leave out the apostrophes in words derived from Arabic. I can seldom remember where most of them go). Thus I recommend this book to every non-Muslim.

The author discusses the person of Muhammad, his character, and his principal actions; the Quran and how it originated; Sharia law; the principle of the Caliphate; and how the beliefs and practices of Islam square with the Bible.

To me Chapter 3 is crucial, "Sharia is State, and State is Sharia". I confess that I had fallen prey to the misleading propaganda of Islamists, and of President Obama (whom I now consider to be much more a friend of Muhammad than a "Christian"). I thought that "radical Islam" was an aberration, not supported by the Quran. I thought that the things Muslims believed were comparatively innocuous, and no threat to the rest of the world. In each case I was wrong.

Mr. Hanegraaf presents extensive quotes from the Quran, backed up by many quotes from the hadith (historical writings about Muhammad and the Quran, with many interpretations of Quran passages).

• He shows that Islam is far from peaceable, that Jihad is definitely commanded against all non-Muslims. Contrary to many English-language apologetical articles stating that Jihad is primarily an "inner struggle", the great majority of jihadist texts in all Muslim literature, and particularly the Quran, explicitly demand the military subjugation of everyone, particularly Jews and Christians, and requires that any who will not submit by quoting "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet" and paying a poll tax must be killed.
• He shows that Islam is not just a religion, it is a political system that is entirely theocratic. The statement "Sharia is state and state is Sharia" encompasses it. No "right thinking" Muslim will submit to any other legal system except as a temporary measure to gain favor until that system can be overthrown.
• He presents several passages, and indicates that many more exist, in which Muhammad is given permission by Allah to engage in behaviors that other Muslims were forbidden, or that most people find abhorrent. Chief among these is his marriage, in his fifties, to a six-year-old girl, and his consummation of the relationship only three years later. Others permit slavery, particularly the taking of women as sex slaves.
• The Sunni-Shia schism is outlined in an Appendix. It is rooted in the murder of Muhammad by either one or two of his wives. It is known that Muhammad was poisoned. But who did it? According to Sunni tradition, it was a Jewish woman: Muhammad led the slaughter of some Jews, and he himself killed the husband of the most beautiful of the women. Then he raped the woman and later made her his wife. She poisoned a bowl of broth, after which Muhammad suffered greatly for about three years and then died. But according to Shia tradition, two wives conspired together, and one of them was Ashia, the "baby bride" mentioned above.
• He compares the compilation of Biblical books with that of the Quran. Thousands of early copies of Bible manuscripts exist, but none of the originals. The discipline of Literal Criticism compares all the copies of each passage so as to determine which variation is closest to the original. Interestingly, I have a book that details all the important variations in New Testament manuscripts, and none impinges on the meaning of critical doctrines of the Christian faith. As to the Quran, Caliph Uthman ordered a massive project to gather all copies of the Quran. Once his scholars had put together a definitive copy, he had all other manuscripts burned. All copies since then have been from this "official" document. This is behind the contention of Muslims that the Quran is pure, that no variations exist. Apparently, though, from other sources I've read, a number of manuscripts that were never sent to Uthman do exist. But there is no Literal Criticism for the Quran, nor could there be.

A second turn in my thinking was a welling up of enormous pity for Muslims. I think we all have heard stories of how safe it is to go about in Saudi Arabia or one of the Emirates, for example. This is generally true, though a colleague of mine was beheaded on the street in Riyadh because he wore shorts to exercise, running in public. The reason for such peacefulness is Sharia law, which is terrifying. The beheading just mentioned was carried out on the spot, by a Saudi who saw my friend running by; he just whipped out his sword and did the deed. The populace in these countries is totally subjugated by such draconian laws and practices.

In its way, Islam can be a paradise…for a man. It is much more likely to be a hell on earth for a woman. Women who want the high extremity of "protection" that Islam offers are OK with it. But the slightest infraction can be met with beating, by her husband, and if continued, her life is at risk.

I am reminded of Medieval Cathlocism, which was similarly totalitarian. In a similar fashion, the leaders lived in luxury and the populace was kept in utter subjection to their whims. The church leaders and the royalty cynically ignored the tenets of the religion that they used (and abused) to subjugate the population, but they delighted in the willing submission of many, who truly believed the religion. If anything, Islam is even more onerous, and their leaders, equally cynical.

These are just a few things I learned from reading Muslim. I suspect Muslims don't like any of them to be known by a non-Muslim. The matters discussed in the book are not hearsay. Every item is backed up by quotes from the Quran and the pertinent hadith. A few times there are citations from the biography by Sahih, but those are always backed up by references from the Quran.

What does all this mean to a non-Muslim? If you happen to live in an Islamic country, it means that, while your life may not be in danger today, one day when the political circumstances allow, your life may depend on your willingness to accept Sharia, say the "Muhammad prayer" and pay a poll tax for non-Muslims. Do or die. Countries that are currently non-Muslim may become so in the future. This is the intent of the leadership of every Islamic country, every mosque. They will not rest until no religion but Islam is to be found anywhere on Earth.

Don't take my word for it. Read Muslim for yourself.