Why the Western urge to ridicule the Prophet?
Over the years there have been repeated incidences of people that have mocked the character of Prophet Muhammad , and in all likelihood there will be people who will continue to do so.
In light of this it is important to understand the history of Western prejudices against Prophet Muhammad .
In the following article excerpted from "Muhammad - A Biography of the Prophet", Karen Armstrong reflects on events that took place when the book "Satanic Verses" caused a crises in Muslim-Western relations.
Ms. Armstrong traces the bitter history of Muslim-Western relations which began with Christian attacks on the character of Prophet Muhammad in Muslim Spain.
It has been difficult for Western people to understand the violent Muslim reaction to Salman Rushdie's fictional portrait of Muhammad in The Satanic Verses. It seemed incredible that a novel could inspire such murderous hatred, a reaction which was regarded as proof of the incurable intolerance of Islam. It was particularly disturbing for people in Britain to learn that the Muslim communities in their own cities lived according to different, apparently alien values and were ready to defend them to the death. But there were also uncomfortable reminders of the Western past in this tragic affair. When British people watched the Muslims of Bradford burning the novel, did they relate this to the bonfires of books that had blazed in Christian Europe over the centuries?
In 1242, for example, King Louis IX of France, a canonised saint of the Roman Catholic Church, condemned the Jewish Talmud as a vicious attack on the person of Christ. The book was banned and copies were publicly burned in the presence of the King. Louis had no interest in discussing his differences with the Jewish communities of France in a peaceful, rational way. He once claimed that the only way to debate with a Jew was to kill him "with a good thrust in the belly as far as the sword will go".1 It was Louis who called the first Inquisition to bring Christian heretics to justice and burned not merely their books but hundreds of men and women. He was also a Muslim-hater and led two crusades against the Islamic world. In Louis' day it was not Islam but the Christian West which found it impossible to coexist with others. Indeed, the bitter history of Muslim-Western relations can be said to have begun with an attack on Muhammad in Muslim Spain.
In 850 a monk called Perfectus went shopping in the souk of Cordova, capital of the Muslim state of al-Andalus. Here he was accosted by a group of Arabs who asked him whether Jesus or Muhammad was the greater prophet. Perfectus understood at once that it was a trick question, because it was a capital offence in the Islamic empire to insult Muhammad, and at first he responded cautiously. But suddenly he snapped and burst into a passionate stream of abuse, calling the Prophet of Islam a charlatan, a sexual pervert and Antichrist himself. He was immediately swept off to goal.
This incident was unusual for Cordova, where Christian-Muslim relations were normally good. Like the Jews, Christians were allowed full religious liberty within the Islamic empire and most Spaniards were proud to belong to such an advanced culture, light years ahead of the rest of Europe. They were often called 'Mozarabs' or 'Arabisers'.
The Christians love to read the poems and romances of the Arabs; they study the Arab theologians and philosophers, not to refute them but to form a correct and elegant Arabic. Where is the layman who now reads the Latin commentaries on the Holy Scriptures, or who studies the Gospels, prophets or apostles? Alas! all talented young Christians read and study with enthusiasm the Arab books.2
Paul Alvaro, the Spanish layman who wrote this attack on the Mozarabs at about this time, saw the monk Perfectus as a cultural and religious hero. His denunciation of Muhammad had inspired a strange minority movement in Cordova whereby men and women presented themselves before the Qadi, the Islamic judge, and proved their Christian loyalty by a vitriolic and suicidal attack on the Prophet.
When Perfectus had arrived in gaol he had been extremely frightened, and the Qadi decided not to pass the death sentence because he judged that Perfectus had been unfairly provoked by the Muslims. But after a few days Perfectus cracked a second time and insulted Muhammad in such crude terms that the Qadi had no option but to apply the full rigor of the law. The monk was executed, and at once a group of Christians, who seem to have lived on the fringes of society, dismembered his body and began to revere relics of their "martyr'. A few days later another monk called Ishaq appeared before the Qadi and attacked Muhammad and his religion with such passion that the Qadi, thinking him either drunk or deranged, slapped him to bring him to his senses. But Ishaq persisted in his abuse and the Qadi could not continue to permit this flagrant violation of the law.
Ninth-century Cordova was not like Bradford in 1988. The Muslims were powerful and confident. They seemed extremely reluctant to put these Christian fanatics to death, partly because they did not seem in control of their faculties but also because they realized that the last thing they needed was a martyr-cult. Muslims were not averse to hearing about other religions. Islam had been born in the religious pluralism of the Middle East, where the various faiths had coexisted for centuries. The Eastern Christian empire of Byzantium likewise permitted minority religious groups liberty to practice their faith and to manage their own religious affairs. There was no law against propaganda efforts by Christians in the Islamic empire, provided that they did not attack the beloved figure of the Prophet Muhammad. In some parts of the empire there was even an established tradition of skepticism and freethinking which was tolerated as long as it kept within the bounds of decency and was not too disrespectful. In Cordova the Qadi and the Amir, the prince, were both loath to put Perfectus and Ishaq to death but they could not allow this breach of the law. But a few days after Ishaq's execution, six other monks from his monastery arrived and delivered yet another venomous attack on Muhammad. That summer about fifty martyrs died in this way. They were denounced by the Bishop of Cordova and by the Mozarabs, who were all extremely alarmed by this aggressive cult of martyrdom. But the martyrs found two champions: a priest called Eulogio and Paul Alvaro both argued that the martyrs were "soldiers of God" who were fighting bravely for their faith. They had mounted a complex moral assault against Islam which was difficult for the Muslim authorities to deal with because it seemed to put them in the wrong.
It is still common for Western people to take it for granted that Muhammad had simply "used" religion as a way of achieving world conquest or to assert that Islam is a violent religion of the sword, even though there are many scholarly and objective studies of Islam and its Prophet that disprove this myth of Mahound. |
The martyrs came from all levels of society: they were men and women, monks, priests, laymen, simple folk and sophisticated scholars. But many seem to have been searching for a clear, distinct Western identity. Some appear to have come from mixed homes, with a Muslim and a Christian parent; others had been urged to assimilate too closely with Muslim culture - they had been given Arab names3 or had been pushed into a career in the civil service - and felt disoriented and confused. The loss of cultural roots can be a profoundly disturbing experience and even in our own day it can produce an aggressive, defiant religiosity as a means of asserting the beleaguered self. Perhaps we should remember the martyrs of Cordova when we feel bewildered by the hostility and rage in some of the Muslim communities in the West and in other parts of the world where Western culture threatens traditional values. The martyr movement led by Alvaro and Eulogio was as bitterly opposed to the Christian Mozarabs as to the Muslims and accused them of being cultural defectors. Eulogio made a visit to Pamplona in neighboring Christendom and came back with Western books: texts of the Latin Fathers of the Church and Roman classical works by Vergil and Juvenal. He wanted to resist the Arabisation of his fellow Spaniards and create a Latin renaissance which looked back with nostalgia to the Roman past of his country as a way of neutralizing the influence of the dominant Muslim culture. The movement fizzled out when Eulogio himself was put to death by the Qadi, who begged him to save his life by making a token submission to Islam - nobody would check his subsequent religious behavior - and not give in to this "deplorable and fatal self-destruction" like the other "fools and idiots".4 But Eulogio merely told him to sharpen his sword.
This curious incident was uncharacteristic of life in Muslim Spain. For the next 600 years members of the three religions of historical monotheism were able to live together in relative peace and harmony: the Jews, who were being hounded- to death in the rest of Europe, were able to enjoy a rich cultural renaissance of their own. But the story of the martyrs of Cordova reveals an attitude that would become common in the West. At that time Islam was a great world power while Europe, overrun by barbarian tribes, had become a cultural backwater. Later the whole world would seem to be Islamic, rather as it seems Western today, and Islam was a continuous challenge to the West until the eighteenth century. Now it seems that the Cold War against the Soviet Union is about to be replaced by a Cold War against Islam.
Eulogio and Alvaro both believed that the rise of Islam was a preparation for the advent of Antichrist, the great pretender described in the New Testament, whose reign would herald the Last Days. The author of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians had explained that Jesus would not return until the "Great Apostasy" had taken place: a rebel would establish his-rule in the Temple of Jerusalem and mislead many Christians with his plausible doctrines.5 The Book of Revelation also spoke of a great Beast, marked with the mysterious number 666, who would crawl out of the abyss, enthrone himself on the Temple Mount and rule the world.6 Islam seemed to fit these ancient prophecies perfectly. The Muslims had conquered Jerusalem in 638, had built two splendid mosques on the Temple Mount and did indeed seem to rule the world. Even though Muhammad had lived after Christ, when there was no need for a further revelation, he had set himself up as a prophet and many Christians had apostatized and joined the new religion. Eulogio and Alvaro had in their possession a brief life of Muhammad, which had taught them that he had died in the year 666 of the Era of Spain, which was thirty-eight years ahead of conventional reckoning. This late eighth century Western biography of Muhammad had been produced in the monastery of Leyre near Pamplona on the hinterland of the Christian world, which trembled before the mighty Islamic giant. Besides the political threat, the success of Islam raised- a disturbing theological question: how had God allowed this impious faith to prosper? Could it be that he had deserted his own people?
The diatribes against Muhammad uttered by the Cordovan martyrs had been based on this apocalyptic biography. In this fear-ridden fantasy, Muhammad was an impostor and a charlatan, who had set himself up as a prophet to deceive the world; he was a lecher who had wallowed in disgusting debauchery and inspired his followers to do the same; he had forced people to convert to his faith at sword point. Islam was not an independent revelation, therefore, but a heresy, a failed form, of Christianity; it was a violent religion of the sword that glorified war and slaughter. After the demise of the martyr movement in Cordova, a few people in other parts of Europe heard their story, but there was little reaction. Yet around 250 years later, when Europe was about to re-enter the international scene, Christian legends would reproduce this fantastic portrait of Muhammad with uncanny fidelity. Some serious scholars would attempt to achieve a more objective view of the Prophet and his religion, but this fictional portrait of "Mahound" persisted at a popular level. He became the great enemy of the emerging Western identity, standing for everything that "we" hoped we were not. Traces of the old fantasy survive to the present day. It is still common for Western people to take it for granted that Muhammad had simply "used" religion as a way of achieving world conquest or to assert that Islam is a violent religion of the sword, even though there are many scholarly and objective studies of Islam and its Prophet that disprove this myth of Mahound.
Excerpted from "Muhammad - A Biography of the Prophet" by Karen Armstrong.
NOTES:
1. John of Joinville, The life of St Louis, trans. Rene Hague and ed. Natalis de Wailly (London, 1955), p. 36.
2. Paul Alvaro , Indiculus Luminosus, quoted in R. W. Southern, Western Views of Islam in the Middle Age (London, 1962), p. 21.
3. Perfectus was probably a Latin version of the Arab name al -Kamil (the Complete One) ; other martyrs were called Servus Dei, which must be a translation of Abdallah (the Slave of God).
4. Paul Alvaro, Vita Eulogii, quoted in Norman Daniel, The Arabs and Medieval Europe (London and Beirut, 1975), p. 29
5. II Thessalonians 1:4 - 8 . The author was not St Paul; the letter was written years after Paul's death.
6. Revelation 19:19
Views: 21019
A good person does not say, do or create any obnoxious story about another person.
The problem lies with the media and muslims, but not Islam. There are a few crazy muslims who utter some stupid things and media sees some food on a platter, and can't wait to put it on the front pages. And than people who do not know history nor the religion speak as if they are some 1400 year old scholars.
Now, the reaction to South Park was bad, but what do you expect. We love our Prophet MUHAMMAD very much and we got to defend his name, NOT by MAKING THREATS, but verbally defending him does not hurt. Again, small group of crazy muslims gets magnified so the ignorant mass cannot distinguish between what we really feel.
Don't you think the world got better things to talk about than this... like fixing the recession which was started by small group of greedy hogs who raped this society and financial system... no, they keep getting richer while the world gets poorer and more ignorant yet the media has time to bury muslims whenever it gets a chance...
"WE are in a sleeping state but we wake up when we die"
We have free speech in the West which is why this website is in the US and not in the Muslim world where the faction fighting sects and governments would censor it. Why do we see renewed threats to Salmon Rushdie after his knighthood? Why do we see an orchestrated reaction to cartoons in Denmark? Why do we see death threats over the bad taste in the South Park program? Why do we see people threatened in the Middle East if they attempt to persuade others about religion as this very website does here in the US?
It is because Islam is an intolerant religion that does not respect free speech and yet believes that its piety can dictate to the rest of the world what they can say. You cannot. Your piety makes no demands upon me as I don't believe any of your religion or any other. And you have no right to expect the West to set aside its principle political beliefs because you are "offended."
This is what Armstrong should have written about instead of her usual apologies for Islam, condemn the West, pity narrative for which I have nothing but well earned contempt.
And this is typical of all Karen Armstrong articles. Her titles are always positive - but the content of her articles always end up in mocking the prophet by asking questions in a negative way and never answering them. In this way, she reinforces the Christian/Western stereotypes.
And most Muslims because of the Western name purchase her books.
The online protest against Cartoons
You know that in the two World Wars of the last century, Religion played no role in killing all those millions who died. Apart from this, Comrade Stalin massacred millions in Ukraine alone, besides in other places. Was it religion? And how many did Pol Pot kill in Cambodia? Over 2 million people. And think of all the human beings massacred by the Americans in different parts of the world: Vietnam, Philippines, Korea, Chile, Nicaragua and so on and on... Religion played little role there.
If you make an objective study, you can see that the role of Religion in wars is unimportant in comparison. And even where religion is in the dock, we can see that it was actually the greed, the madness or the arrogance of certain persons who put on the garb of religion that caused those wars, rather than Religion itself which invariably teaches people to strive for peace.
You may be right in saying that people with religion kill. But people without religion also kill. So what we need to do is to urge the people to accept some philosophy (as you do not like the word, religion) that persuades them to be peaceful. Islam, though terribly misunderstood, stands for Peace.
Also it is true that Religion demands restraint, which is in a way curtailment of freedom. But tell me, can we claim to be cultured or civilized beings, if we do not exercise restraints in our day to day life?
Thank you very much.
As far as the reaction to the cartoons go, let God take care of those who mock him. I think he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself and would be offended by anyone presuming to kill in His Name.
If we have truly submitted to God, and certain people choose to denigrate His prophet(s), should we retaliate like animals? Surely God will decide what punishment (if any) these people will face. Many of these "Muslims" who have been publicly acting out in Muhammed's name come across as Mohammedans, as opposed to Muslims. The reason why ANY prophet shouldn't be depicted is because human beings have a tendency to follow other human beings rather than God. Clearly even without depictions, most people who call themselves Muslim have put Muhammad on a pedestal that he himself would not have wanted to be on. We argue over Abu Bakr and Ali, Aisha and Fatima, when in the end, NONE of it has to do with GOD.
Since none of the people burning down churches, embassies and even other mosques have chosen to follow the behaviour outlined in the Koran, why do they call themselves Muslim? In their blind allegiance to Muhammed, they haven't even followed his examples and teachings for facing adversity. Rather they have created a cultural/ethnic icon - ignoring everything that came before him. They make fun of Christianity, but don't realize that they've fallen into all of the same traps.
If a Christian website were to put together various historical instances where Muslim communities victimized Christians, and used it as "proof" that Muslims are to blame for poor Muslim/Christian relations and violence, would that be fair? Of course not! It is just as easy to find cases where Muslims have brutalized Christians and others, particularly in recent history. That should concern us more then a handful of cartoons.
In the recent fall-out, Muslims have burnt down churches, murdered a priest and some Muslims have even made disgusting comments about Jesus and Mary (pbut). This sickens me to the core, and this concerns me more than what some stupid right-wing paper decides to print. The recent responses have done nothing to indicate that Islam is a religion of peace, a religion of knowledge or a religion of tolerance. In fact, they have shown how we have allowed some of our communities to fall into absolute ignorance, where teachings about tolerance and peace have no relevance. If the global Muslim community had responded in the way that Muhammed (pbuh) responded to adversity, we would have set a wonderful example for others to follow. Instead we have proven that the cartoons are a more accurate portrayal of the modern Muslim community than the actions and lessons of Muhammed (pbuh) himself.
Is that Islam?
The more we worship "things and people" the more we feel betrayed when someone talks negative about them. God is the only one needs to be worshipped and He does not need our help to fight on his behalf. If what people say is not true then don't take it to heart. If what they say is true and it causes pain, then change.
True leaders care for "all" mankind. Christians and Jews and Sabians are all Muslims (Submissive to God)according to Quran, therefore I do not care about anyone who says that they are infidel or kafar, for that is not true.
If someone eats what ever they want but you can not do that, it does not mean what they eat is bad. It is only bad for you because
a)It is not common for you,
b)You are "weak" to consume that food because of your belief.
THE BEST ANSWER TO CRITICISM IS TO BE STRONG AND TO RESPOND BACK IN LOVE AND NOT TO REACT IN ANGER OR VIOLENCE.
Saiid
the prophets came to save the whole humanity. Why can't the sick minds of the world ridicule one another and leave the benefactors of humanity free of slander and take lessons from their lives.
Point out fiction plz, Salman might have interpreted things different fron traditional views, but he doesnt say Muhammed did things he didnt do, or didnt do things he did.... for instance.
"Indeed, the bitter history of Muslim-Western relations can be said to have begun with an attack on Muhammad in Muslim Spain."
I dont know how anyone can take her seriously after this gem! This just says sooooo many things about her.
"This incident was unusual for Cordova, where Christian-Muslim relations were normally good."
This is not only false, but often spewed by propagandists. Christian-Muslim relations were terrible, Muslim-Jew relations were better than they ever were, but Muslim-Christian??? Do some honest research plz! If all Spainiards loved Islam/Arabs so much there wouldn't be a classification of them amongst the society at large. Mozarabs/Arabizers refers to a certain select group of people.
Also, take into account of all those years of Islamic/Arabic rule, youd think that all these Spanish people who love Islam/Arabs would have treated them better than to torture, kill, and expell them with such vivaciousness as they did to free themselves of the yolk of islamic rule. No, i'm willing to go as far as to say the Christian Spanish hated them.
"The diatribes against Muhammad uttered by the Cordovan martyrs had been based on this apocalyptic biography."
...But the truth is they did it because they were EXTREMELY steamed off!
Examples abound!
PROPHET MOHAMMAD (PBUH) WAS NEVER A PROPHET OF WAR. HE WAS ALWAYS A PROPHET OF PEACE. HE WAS ALWAYS PUSHED TO WAR BY THOSE WHO WANTED TO OPPOSE HIM TO INFORCE THEIR BELIEFS UPON HIM. WAR WAS ALWAYS THE LAST RESORT FOR HIM.
say it was sponsort by muslim (like the us sponsored iraqi press).
so I will definetely buy this book form Karen Armstrong and hope
to find more historical and religious background to discuss with my
non-muslim neighbours.
With that being said, never bluntly generalize anything. I tend to believe that Islam is perfect and muslims are not. Most religions, constitutions and idealogies from the beginning of time considered themselves perfect and no man or group can be, so why people are so constantly suprised at institutions failing their ideals is beyond me. Man is not perfect, the only thing that inspires us to be is these perfect ideals. So people like this can ridicule or demean, but have no idea what it takes to do good for the world and sustain it. Thats what Islam is about. Its not easy and the problem cant be simplified by generalizing and denouncing. If you think you can do it better JC, Mrs Armstrong, 1 million critics go ahead. And if you think the world is perfect now, think again. Its always easy to criticize from the bench.
- Rashad
"God can never change a people until they first change what is in themselves"
Quran 13:11
"The opinions expressed herein contain positions and viewpoints that are not necessarily those of IslamiCity. These are offered as a means for IslamiCity to stimulate dialogue and discussion in our continuing mission of being an educational organization."
Yet, look what they state in introducing the article:
"In light of this it is important to understand the history of the Western bigotry against Prophet Muhammad" (peace be upon him).
I am from the West, and a soldier in the U.S. Army, and I try to follow the words of the Prophets (peace be upon them) as closely as I can on a daily basis. This author brings up events centuries ago. "Muslims" riot against images? Huh? Who are the true infidels? You make violence against people over a cartoon? Do you think God needs your help in dealing with those who mock one of the prophets? The Arab and "Palestinian" Worlds have created more misunderstanding and spite of Islam than the West could ever do. The hypocrisy of the Arab and Palestinians is beyond reasoning. I can remember the siege of the Church of Nazareth in 02'. Why were the Tanzim in there? Can you imagine if a Christian had done that to a site of Islam? There would be bombings everywhere. I disassociate myself, as many Christians do on their fanatics, from these infidels who think they do the work of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He does not need you. You are incomparable to Him.
Why should we trust one may ask? Those who are so dumbed down and ignorant can only be so narrow not to recognize that those Muslims who blow themselves up represent a minority. We know that Christianity (and all religions) can be misused and misrepresented, but intelligent people look beyond the immediate and realize that many did not share those racist feelings that kept African-Americans in a state of oppression.
Muslims number over 1 billion people across this globe and it's the fastest growing religion in the world. A great number of those who convert are among the Christians. This demonstrates that in spite of all the negative press that Islam receives, there are countless people who are able to see the value and beauty of Islam.
It is a tiny minority who are discarding the teachings of Islam that get's all the press. To know Prophet Muhammad (upon him be peace) is to love him. He returned aggression with patience and forgiveness. There are too many instances to site where the Prophet forgave and overlooked those who fought against him. Karen Armstrong highlights a prejudice that has infected the Western psyche for over 1000 years. She hopes that by self-examination the Western mind will learn more about the Prophet, thereby bringing about a healing of the soul and dialogue among civilizations.
Comparisons that start and end with the Christian evils of the Middle Ages, are really meaningless. Most Christians would acknowlege the ills of the past, and pray that we never return to them. But this urge to kill, kill, burn, burn, and even behead in the name of Allah or the Prophet will only lead to more and more blood.
It is important for people to express thier concern, even thier outrage over such things, but reasonable men and women must condemn vilents actions just as I condemn many actions of my own government. Most importantly, no credible western leader will even attempt to justify the horrors of war and murder by invoking the name of Jesus. And I sincerly hope that all "people of the book" would stand against anyone who seeks to justify or condone war and murder by invoking the name of one holy diety or another.
John please explain to me how it is that these 'countries' which you refer to are keeping the arabs alive? Is it the bombing and invasion of Iraq ? Is it the occupation of Kuwait where hundreds of American soldiers are still stationed and which America refuses to withdraw? Maybe it was the sanctions on Iraq during the time of Saddam Hussain which in fact killed more children than Saddam ever did. And yet he is the terrorist! If you are referring to the arabs living in America and who have made America thier home well have you not heard the saying "Don't bomb my home and i will not live in yours"!?
C'mon John. Any fool knows Sept 11 was not committed by your enemy Arabs. Do the research and stop living in ignorance. The Bush administration had everything to gain from that dreadful day where as the Arabs had everything to loose. Why would they do it?
its people like you I feel sorry for.Did you forget what your people did for the last hundred of years.
slavery,colinising, world wars(1 and 2)esc.
you live in a stolen land, and you lecturing us.
Its high time People should realise this and open their senses and think that Muslims from all over the world are reacting to these cartoons that means it was a WRONG ACT!!! Simple
Quran 16:125
Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful exhortation; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.
Although you have set up yourself for failure, you have still made some good points. I am a Muslim and I love Islam because of the way it explains life, the universe, and what lies beyond. Now, I urge you to look at Islam as a faith and not at the so called "Muslims." Many of those who kill and maim innocent individuals no matter what their faith is are not Muslim. It is so easy these days to associate killers and terrorists with Islam. Most of the Shiites and Sunnis who are killing one another in today's Iraq are condemned to go to Hell as our cherished Koran clearly states. Those killers are animists who have no faith or a degree of morality. They are plainly wild beasts who are hopeless and always take their vengeance under the banner of our cherished faith. After all said, I should enlighten you that Muslims are the originators of today's Western wealth and comfort. Do not illusion yourself into thinking that the West is Christian; it is not. The West is as Christian as it is Muslim. No only this, but also I should draw your attention to the fact that Islam is the fastest growing faith in the world and particularly in the US. If you do not believe this, then do some research! I would highly recommend for you to listen to Vincent Cornell of the University of Arkansas who has recently offered some facts about Islam and Muslim World and especially our Prophet. I invite you to go to:
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/faceoftheprophet/index.shtml
How sad!
The first thing the christians should do is to follow their religion properly atleast according to bible(If they found an uncorrupted version). Follows the dos and donts of the bible.
All the acts what present christians do in todays world is also against the corrupted version of bible.
Read the bible directly but not the translated versions or commentaries and have anxiousness in your heart to acquire a right religion. Then only you encounter a true religion.
Atleast what all human biengs can do is to have anxiousness in ones heart and mind for the true religion then i am sure god will not let you down and award you the true religion so that your life ater death is in peace and paradise.
for anxious people, they may encounter true religion in a day, month,or years... but they will be awarded.
Rest god knows well.
Hussain Mohiuddin
so why do we not get upset when Jesus is called bad thing.But I would ask all Muslim's not to play into the hand of the west who will only say "look I said that is what they would do be violet"
Islam needs to have a restructuring - an overhaul. Islamic nations treat people of other nations like criminals; while you blow up the buildings of nations that produce a haven for you. You blow up their buildings, speak of genocide and still demand more, all the while these countries have provided a better life for you and you fellow muslims?? While arabic countries treat "outsiders" or foreigners" like anti-humans. Imagine what it would be like for muslims to live ...let's say in arabia. They would kill each other off. Islamists have killed incocent people because they are JEALOUS!!
just a bit of venting their. I would actually really like to talk live with someone about this; not healthy for either one of us to post message after message. Real talk would be good. There should be a Muslim / Western Chat Room. A lot of good could be done there.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
jc