How Do We Face the Violence and Deception of Islam?
by Monthir Abdullatif
Missionary to Muslims
News
Items
The
following are news items quoted from newspapers in the last few years:
September
11,2001
In the worst terrorist attack ever against the United States,
hijackers (believed to be connected to Osama Bin Laden’s Islamic terrorist
group) struck at pre-eminent symbols of the nation’s wealth and might by flying
airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing and injuring
thousands of people.
October
19, 1994
A powerful bomb, apparently planted by Islamic militants opposed to
the Arab-Israeli peace negotiations, blew up a crowded bus during the morning
rush hour in the heart of Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 22 people and wounding 48.
July 18,
1994
A huge bomb placed by Muslim extremists exploded, destroying a
seven-story downtown building housing two Jewish groups in Buenos Aires,
Argentina. At least 26 people were killed and 127 were injured.
February
26, 1993
A tremendous underground explosion, believed to be caused by a bomb
placed by Muslim extremists, shook the 110-story towers of Manhattan’s World
Trade Center in New York, killing at least five people, injuring more than a
thousand, and sending tens of thousands of workers fleeing for their lives down
crowded, smoke-filled stairs.
Why Do
Muslim Extremists Act This Way?
Are
Muslims inherently inhumane, savage, and evil? Of course not. Muslims are
ordinary people, just
like
anybody else. They are fathers, brothers, and sons. They could be doctors,
engineers, or lawyers.
They are
your co-workers and your next-door neighbors. Violence is committed by a
minority of
Muslim
extremists.
So, what
goes on in their minds when they act violently? To understand this, one must
understand an important and dangerous Islamic teaching, called “Jihad” (or Holy
War). It is important to understand that not every Arab is a Muslim; not every
Muslim is an Arab; and not every Muslim is an extremist.
We are
not trying to attack a group of people here, nor are we trying to attack a
religion. We are only exposing a teaching in a religion that could have a
serious affect on society. It is also important to know that in exercising
Jihad, Muslim extremists may not think they are trying to maliciously hurt
others, but rather they are only obeying their god’s commandments and, in doing
so, they are assuring themselves a place in paradise.
Jihad (Holy War)
Jihad is one
of many sacred duties Muslims perform. The word “Jihad” is an Arabic word which
means “struggle.” Jihad can mean striving to be a better Muslim, but it can
also mean fighting in the name of Allah (their god). In this sense, Jihad is
the struggle for the cause of spreading Islam, using all means available to
Muslims, including force. This kind of Jihad is often referred to as “Holy
War.”
In
resorting to force, Muslims will not have any problems finding passages in the
Quran (believed by Muslims to be Allah’s word), and the Hadith (Muhammad’s
sayings as recorded by Al Bukhari), that will not only condone violence but
will also demand it.
Jihad in the Quran
Allah
orders Muslims in the Quran to terrorize non-Muslims on his behalf:
• Strike terror (into the
hearts of) the enemies of Allah and your enemies. Surah 8:60.
• Fight (kill) them
(non-Muslims), and Allah will punish (torment) them by your hands; cover them
with shame. Surah 9:14.
• I will instill terror into
the hearts of the unbelievers, smite ye above their necks and smite all their
fingertips off them. It is not ye who slew them; it was Allah. Surah 8:12,17.
• Slay them wherever you catch
them and turn them out from you. They turned you out, for tumult and oppression
are worse than slaughter. Surah 2:191.
Muhammad: an Example
When the
prophet of Islam started preaching his new religion in Mecca, he was
conciliatory to Christians and Jews. He told them, “We believe in what has been sent down to us and sent down to you, our
God is the same as your God. “Surah 29:45. This attitude changed completely
after he gained strength. Allah then tells him to “fight people of the Book (Christians and Jews) who do not accept the
religion of the truth (Islam), until they pay tribute (penalty tax) by hand,
being inferior.” Surah 9:29.
Regarding
Christians and Jews, it seems that Muhammad hated the Jews more. During his
life time, Muhammad devoted much of his efforts to getting rid of the Jews. “You (Jews) should know that the earth
belongs to Allah and his apostle, and I want to expel you from this land (the
Arabian Peninsula), so, i/anyone owns property, he is permitted to sell it,”
Muhanmad
used to send letters to the kings and leaders of the surrounding countries and
tribes,
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inviting
them to surrender to his authority, and to believe in him as the messenger of
Allah. He always ended his letters with the following two words: “Aslem,
Taslam”! Although these two words are derived from the same infinitive Salama,
which is the root of Salem, i.e., “peace,” neither one of them implies the
meaning of “peace.” The sentence means “surrender and you will be safe” or, in
other words, “surrender or face death.” So, where is the meaning of “peace” in
such a religion that threatens to kill other people if they do not submit to
it!
The
popular assertion that Muhammad, and the Muslims immediately after him, acted
only in self-defense is untrue. For example, what need for defense did Muhammad
have in ordering a blind disciple named Umair to stop and kill a woman named
Asma while she slept with her baby at her breast? Her only crime was that she
had criticized Muhammad in a poetic verse.
Muhammad
had many people murdered by request, by command, by implication. Muhammad had
many people killed while they slept. There were no trials, no judgments, no
dialog. If you insulted Muhammad, if you doubted his credibility, or if you
spoke out, you were murdered. Men and women, young and old, were all killed
because of Muhammad’s hatred.
This is
but a small sampling of the hatred and violence that permeates the book of the
Quran and the life of Muhammad. This is contrary to the “peace-loving people”
rhetoric that we are given by the news media, but it does begin the motivation
and the actions we see on television and now in our own backyards.
Facing the Violence and
Deception of Islam
Islam is
the fastest growing religion in the world, partly because it is so popular with
those who despise America and all she stands for.
Most
Muslims are not associated with the horrible people that perpetrate terrorism,
but if we read the Quran, we will discover that Islam is a man-made religion,
full of hatred and venom. The followers of this horrible religion are being led
away from God and salvation at an astonishing pace.
As
Christians we cannot allow any knee-jerk reactions to the horrific acts against
our nation and our people, lest we fall into the same snare that has engulfed
the perpetrators of this crime, ‘for we wrestle
not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places. “Ephesians 6:12.
We need
to understand that the Muslim people are not our enemies. They are our brothers
and sisters that are lost in the snares of the enemy’s trap and need our help.
The Islam
religion was created many hundreds of years after Christ. Muhammad, the Islam
prophet, was born around AD. 570, yet Muslims believe that Islam is the true
religion, dating back to Adam and that the biblical patriarchs were all
Muslims, including Noah, Abraham, Moses, and even the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today we
see evidence that more and more Muslims are putting the Quran’s hatred of
Christians and
Jews
alike into practice. We watch as they train for the “Jihad” by shooting at
targets with the cross of
Christ
painted on chests. There is a major battle to be fought in the months and years
ahead. It is not a
battle of
America against Islam but a battle of good versus evil. I am wary of a people
that embrace a religion based on a book (Quran) filled with hatred while they
proclaim peace.
It is
time for the world to wake up! We demand answers from the Islamic religious leaders.
We are tired of the platitudes and disingenuous “lip service” that is in direct
contrast to their actions. We are appalled by the false claims that the
teaching of Islam does not condone the acts of the terrorists while the Quran
reads like a terrorist manifesto.
We were
asleep to the danger that awoke us on September 11, 2001. We were
sucker-punched, but that only happens once. We are burying our dead and
mourning the loss of family, friends, neighbors, and our citizens. We are
carefully evaluating our position, identifying and targeting our enemies and,
sadly, we have protected our enemies under the often misguided umbrella of
“tolerance.” But we won’t be fooled again. Now is the time for answers. We need
to hear from the Islamic leaders how “Jihad” has become the driving force in
their religion that is supposed to be based on peace and love. And we need to
hear how these “peace-loving” people can reconcile all of these issues and
still claim to be peaceful.
Christian
individuals, ministries, churches, and public officials are publicly exhorting
the American public to offer friendship, neighborliness, and assurance to their
fellow citizens who are Muslims. This is right and just and a good thing. No
one should be persecuted for their religious beliefs.
President
Bush has lent his weight in this by including Muslims in the nation’s
ecumenical service of mourning and by going to Washington’s Islamic Center to
issue a similar statement. Muslim organizations in the United States and in
Islamic countries have, naturally, also issued similar calls. These too are
good.
Perhaps
it is time for us to give Muslims all the rights and privileges that
non-Muslims have in their countries (which are none).
Perhaps
it is time to publicly ask our Muslim friends that have been issuing these
statements, and who have been “serving notice” to us, to explain why in Islamic
countries non-Muslims, both citizens and non-citizens, are being murdered,
maimed, and persecuted with, more often than not, the active collaboration of
the religious and governing authorities.
Perhaps
it is time to hold press conferences, send millions of signatures on petitions
to the President and congress, and to inform all relevant authorities and media
about these Islamic organizations; with names, dates, details, and
documentation of actual cases; of non-Muslims so murdered, maimed, and
persecuted.
Perhaps
it is time to organize high profile information campaigns and seminars, and to
write open letters in newspapers, to get the truth about Islam out to the
public. We need to challenge Islam to live up to its own propaganda. Right now
there are non-Muslims in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran,
all under sentences of death for nothing other than religious beliefs. Let us
see real action, not just empty words.
Perhaps
it is time to have Muslims explain the strange phenomena of their crying
“persecution” and “give us freedom of religion” when they do not allow anything
of the same in their hallowed Islamic
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nations.
Islam so predictably preaches tolerance, peace, and fair play while they are in
the minority. Then once they are in the majority, they oppress freedoms and
persecute other faiths in the name of Islam.
In the
past ten years over a thousand mosques have been opened in America. How many
churches have been allowed to be built in all the Muslim countries of the
world? Can you name one country in the world where an Islamic government is in
control that has a true democratic form of government and full freedom of
religion?
We need
to know that the Islam is a religion of the sword, and has blinded and enslaved
more than one billion people—people for whom Christ died. Jesus Christ loved
the Muslims and died for them (John
3:16).
Our Lord Jesus
Christ taught us to love our neighbor. “Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like
unto it, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” Matthew 22:37-39.
It is not
the Muslims we oppose. No, we love Muslims. Our prayers are directed against
the religious system that denies the life and liberty which are found only in a
personal relationship with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. We have the truth they so desperately need. We do not hate the Muslims.
We hate deception. We do not advocate violence. We advocate love and truth. We
desire peace but will not trade it for compromise. We will reach out to Muslims
but will not deny the sovereignty of Christ and the cross as the only way to
salvation. And we will not turn our backs on our family members who are
suffering and being killed under Islam for their faith and witness in Jesus
Christ. Islam is the dominant force trying to eradicate Jesus Christ in their
nations and neutralize Him worldwide as another “prophet.” We will not
prostitute the gospel for a politically correct peace. Should any of us do
otherwise?
Christians
are tasked by the Lord Jesus to follow the “Great Commission” found in Matthew
28:19:
“Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of
the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you...”
The basic
tenet of the Christian faith is that all people are created in the image of God
and are valuable to Him. The basic tenet of Islam is that some people are
chosen by God to be Muslims and that others are created for hell. Christians
strive to tell others about God’s love and sacrifice for us.
After
September 11, 2001, many Muslims began to recognize the vindictive and
destructive spirit of Islam for what it is and are wanting something better.
They are disillusioned with Muhammad and the Quran, yet believe in the
existence of God. What a golden opportunity you and I have to share the good
news of Jesus Christ! We know that what we have to offer is exactly what Muslim
hearts are yearning for.
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