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Monday, June 1, 2015

The Reality of Islamic Legitimacy

 Mohammed riding Buraq watches Red Demon tortures Shameless Women by their Breasts – Persia 15th Century    

John R. Houk
© June 1, 2015

As an apologist for Islam the commenter aymedia (Ayad Amin) spins a refutation to the post “First Amendment Assaulted by Sharia in Garland TX”. Although my post was on May 4, 2015 aymedia’s comment was made on May 27, 2015.

Aymedia’s About Page on WordPress indicates his (perhaps her – not sure of language gender) focus is primarily on graphics design:

AYMEDIA; Think different and make a change.

YOUR BRAND in our vocabulary is not only about the visualization of your company’s values but rather a reflection of our unbound spirit and the search for perfection.

Ayad Amin, Graphic Designer

Ayad Amin’s defense of Islam indicates he is more than a graphics design entrepreneur but is also a devout Muslim although self-defined as a Moderate. I have to ask Ayad if his Islamic devotion considers the Quran to be the very words of Allah spoken from the lips of Mohammed to the ears of his followers.

Interspersed through Ayad Amin remarkably peaceful and even-toned comment are my thoughts in bold print.

JRH 6/1/15
****************************
Ayad Amin Comment

I was fascinated by your analogy of Islam and its origins and future revival. I consider myself as a middle class well educated moderate Muslim. I find many of your conservative intakes on Islam and the Koran to be legitimate.
From my own cultural experience within the Islamic society, I found that there is a deep struggle within Muslims derived from the notion of competitiveness between the major religions of the book, Christianity and Judaism. Hence being the perfect believer of God or Allah is the ultimate goal.

Muslims inherently consider Islam as the truthful and legitimate continuity to its predecessors, Christianity and Judaism. Islam considers the 3 religions as one, but conveyed through multiple Apostles. Islam came to being due to the notion that both previous religions have failed in certain points and Islam shall restore the right path.

Blog Editor Thoughts: Muhammad al-Bukhari is the person as the author of the most reliable Hadith. Bukhari’s Hadith is considered by Muslims as second only to the Quran in authority. Al-Bukhari records this tradition about the Torah (Old Testament) of the Jews and the New Testament of Christians:


Narrated Ubaidullah:

Ibn 'Abbas said, "Why do you ask the people of the scripture about anything while your Book (Quran) which has been revealed to Allah's Apostle is newer and the latest? You read it pure, undistorted and unchanged, and Allah has told you that the people of the scripture (Jews and Christians) changed their scripture and distorted it, and wrote the scripture with their own hands and said, 'It is from Allah,' to sell it for a little gain. Does not the knowledge which has come to you prevent you from asking them about anything? No, by Allah, we have never seen any man from them asking you regarding what has been revealed to you!" (Emphasis Mine - Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 92: Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement – USC)

The Quran is consider the words of the Muslim deity Allah spoken to Mohammed and eventually put on paper under a couple of Caliphs after some dispute about which Caliph’s Quran version was the best. Quran 4: 157-158 in three translations says this about Jesus Christ the Redeemer of humanity by His Blood:

4: 157

Sahih International
And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.

Muhsin Khan
And because of their saying (in boast), "We killed Messiah 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allah," - but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but the resemblance of 'Iesa (Jesus) was put over another man (and they killed that man), and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not [i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)]:

Pickthall
And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger - they slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain.

4: 158

Sahih International
Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.

Muhsin Khan
But Allah raised him ['Iesa (Jesus)] up (with his body and soul) unto Himself (and he is in the heavens). And Allah is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise.

Pickthall
But Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah was ever Mighty, Wise.

So Mo told his followers that Jesus is not the Son of God but only the son of Mary, that Jesus never was Crucified to death, BUT that the Muslim deity took Jesus to heaven presumably before death. Ergo, when we Christians tell people (including Muslims) that Jesus was Crucified to death, placed in a tomb a dead man, but raised to life free from returning all the Divinity the Second Person of the Godhead gave up to be incarnated into Mary’s womb to be the perfect man to Redeem humankind from the fallen nature twisted in the first perfect man (Adam) whose human nature was twisted in rebellion to God Almighty. With no Blood there is no Redemption.

Here is the Good News according to the TRUE Word of God:

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary – Luke 1

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”[a]
29 But when she saw him,[b] she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

Luke 23

32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. 33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”[a]

And they divided His garments and cast lots.

44 Now it was[a] about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened,[b] and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’”[c] Having said this, He breathed His last.

52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.

Luke 24

He Is Risen

24 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them,[a] came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly[b] perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”

The Road to Emmaus

13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”
25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.”

46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise[a] from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. (Luke 1: 26-35; 23: 32-34, 44-46, 52-53; 24: 1-7, 13-16, 20-27, 30-31, 33, 36, 46-48 NKJV)

The only person killed here in this Good News is Jesus Christ the Son of God in Divinity and the son of Mary in humanity. BUT death had NO hold on a wrongfully killed perfect man and Jesus defeated Satan then took the keys of hell and of death and the power of the Father Resurrected Jesus bodily yet in a Glorified body. With the Blood shed on Calvary on the Cross, Jesus Christ Redeems all who Believe on the Risen Christ.

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”[
a]

(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first[b]descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) (Ephesians 4: 7-10 NKJV)

13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood,[a] the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled (Colossians 1: 13-21 NKJV)

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11 NKJV)

45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.”[a] The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord[b]from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear[c] the image of the heavenly Man. (1 Corinthians 15: 45-49 NKJV)

17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me,[a] “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. (Revelation 1: 17-18 NKJV)

The greatest controversy is yet to come. Although Islam considers prior religions as rivals, hence they are the ONLY source of legitimacy to this new religion and so without them, Islam would have never saw the light.

Blog Editor: Ayad I understand you are trying to sell me on the Islam is peace concept in a civil manner. The thing is I don’t buy it. The Holy Scriptures of the Bible were written long before Mo was born. It is no controversy that God Himself through the Holy Spirit inspired men to prophesy the will of God which became recorded as Scriptures over thousands of years. Mohammed heard recite from an Angel - allegedly Gabriel – only in the span of Mohammed’s adult life. Granted those Mecca messages peaceful and tolerant; however the recitations Mohammed received from his Medina days onward followed by a life aggression, butchery, booty, sex-slaves and an evolved hatred of Jews and Christians are the works of an insane despot with military cult powers. Islam was born in the darkness and the only light it had in Mecca was wholly extinguished in the darkness of Medina thus illustrating an actual corrupt derivation.

12 But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:12-15 NKJV)

23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.

26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matthew 24:23-27 NKJV)

18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the[a] Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. (1 John 2: 18-19, 22-23 NKJV)

It is clear as you mentioned in “The 6 Major beliefs of Islam, according to the Quran and Muslim tradition: Belief in the revealed books” which are the “Bible” and “Torah”. So for a Muslim, you are obligated to believe in these two books in order to be a true Muslim. If you go back to the beginnings of Islam. One will find great compassionate and brotherly references to the “people of the book”. Especially during the years of the prophet Mohammed and the 4 Rashidoon Khalifas.

Blog Editor: You see Ayad that is simply not true. Muslims may believe the Torah and the Bible are revealed, but the Quran commands Muslims to not trust those two revealed books because the Jews and Christians have corrupted them. The existence of a corrupted Bible is not true. The Bible warns us about false prophets who come around discounting and twisting God’s Word and promoting words that either add or say something different.

The Koraan clearly defines Jesus, Mary (divine virgin though not a prophet) and Moses as divine Apostles. I have never encountered a single Muslim in my life who would dare to insult those specific prophets. Islam specifically prohibits insulting any nabi or rasool of the Jewish or Christian faiths. To this day, it is a common cultural and religious practice by Muslims to visit the tombs of all Christian and Jewish prophets or Apostles in countries like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Egypt, Jordan and Israel.

Whenever a Muslim denies that Christ is the Son of God that died on the Cross out of love to Redeem a humanity separated from God through Adam’s selfish choices that favored Satan – That Muslim has insulted Christians.

Whenever a Muslim denies Abraham’s son through Sarah – Isaac - is the son of Promise not Ishmael the son of Abraham through the slave Egyptian girl Hagar – that Muslim has insulted Jews.

21 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.”

14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.

22 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”

And he said, “Here I am, my son.”

Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

So he said, “Here I am.”

12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Emphasis is Mine - Genesis 21: 1-3, 9-14; 22: 1-3, 6-12, 15-18 NKJV)

CLEARLY God Almighty is referring to Abraham’s seed through Isaac as indicated by the clause that reads “because you have obeyed my voice.”

Prophet Mohammed’s wife Khadija, was a Nestorian [Blog Editor: Christians that believed that Jesus was of two separate persons; viz. “the man Jesus and the divine Son of God, rather than as a unified person.” Most Christians believe Jesus is One unified person as fully God and fully man]. The first writer of Koraan, Waraqa-ibn-Nawfal, his brother in law, was a Nestorian. Omar-bin-Khatab, the second Khalifa after P[rophet] Mohammed, when visiting Jerusalem after conquering the Holy Land, said “I will not pray inside your church, Only because when I die, people may convert it into a mosque”.

The major divergence in the path of Islam only happened after the end of the Rashidoon Khalifas [or Rashidun Caliphate or the first four Rightly Guided Caliphs]. Everything changed in the sense of moderate Islam. The long struggle for power, conquests and wealth of the new lands, had scarred Islamic practice entirely. The long political struggle with the Christian Byzantine Empire was a terminal factor for the Christian faith inside the Muslim lands. And this struggle continued by the not-so-famous Ottoman Empire with its ambitions towards Europe. And this particular ugly Image of Islam which was portrayed in Europe for centuries to follow to this day.

Although I am proud to be a Muslim. Still, I truly believe, and backed by historic evidences, that without the major role of Christianity and Judaism and their scholars and contributions to civil society of Islam, Islam was never to be an empire. If Islam was to stay within the boundaries of the Arabian Desert and had not reached the outposts of the Christian civilization in North Africa, Syria, the Holy land, Mesopotamia and Persia, it would not have continued to this day.

My conclusion is that the tolerance of true Islam to the “people of the book” was behind its survival and this is the irony.

Blog Editor: The “true Islam to the ‘people of the book’” is represented by the actions that every devout Muslim believes is the so-called Prophet Mohammed. How tolerant was Mohammed after fleeing to Medina evolved into domination and conquest of the Arabia Peninsula?

Muhammad’s Actions

Now, from the Muslim perspective using their own writings, let us examine in more detail some specific actions that Muhammad ordered. There are more incidents we could reference (see Appendix B), but for the sake of time and space we have to limit the amount of detailed information. This additional material is presented to facilitate honest evaluation and judgment of Muhammad himself, because it is only by his actions that he can and should be judged.

The following 14 events and incidents (occurring in the last years of Muhammad’s life) will be examined:

1) The killing of Abu Afak.

2) The killing of Asma Marwan.

3) Attack upon the Banu Qaynuqa Jews.

4) The killing of Kab Ashraf.

5) The killing of Abu Rafi.

6) The killing of Ibn Sunayna.

7) Attack against the Banu Nadir Jews.

8) The killing of the Shepherd.

9) Massacre of the Qurayza Jews.

10) The torture killing of Kinana.

11) The killing of a slave Wife and Mother.

12) The slaying of an old woman from Fazara.

13) The killing of Abdullah Khatal and his Daughter.

14) The attack upon Tabuk.

The details of 1-14 can be read at the WikiIslam article (Islam Undressed: Muhammad’s Actions, Speaking Louder than Words; By Vernon Richards; WikiIslam; last modified 12/21/12 09:22 by Sahab.)

Ayad Amin
Architect and Scholar
alhity@gmail.com
____________________________
The Reality of Islamic Legitimacy
John R. Houk
© June 1, 2015
____________________________
Ayad Amin Comment

Edited by John R. Houk
Brackets within any of Ayad’s indicates editing by the Editor.

© Ayad Amin


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