Another entry in the Worst-Ever Article on Islam contest: "Islam: What Catholics Should Know" comes to us, unfortunately, from American Catholic.Org, with thanks to Andrei Rublev.
As time progresses, we Catholics are going to rub shoulders more and more with Muslims, those who follow the Islam religion. After all, there are 1.2 billion Muslims, compared to about 1.5 billion Christians, one billion of whom are Catholic. The Muslims we hear most about in the news are fundamentalists who in no way represent the Muslims living in our communities.
Unless you happen to live next door to Mike Hawash.
Our challenge as Catholics is to get to know more about our Muslim brothers and sisters. As the bishops at Vatican II wrote, "Although in the course of the centuries many quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Muslims, this sacred Synod urges all to forget the past and to strive sincerely for mutual understanding."
Did you hear that "mutual"? It's funny how Christians are always called upon to understand — and good heavens, not to Misunderstand — Islam, but everyone seems to assume that Muslims have no trouble at all understanding Christianity, and Western society, for that matter. No one seems to notice that there is no mutuality in all these calls for understanding and dialogue.
Who was Mohammed?Unlike Christians, who believe that Jesus was the Son of God and an indivisible part of God, Muslims believe that the Holy Prophet Mohammad (570-632) was a man and that he followed Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus as the last of the great prophets to receive divine revelation. A Muslim believes in the revelation of God through the Quran that was given to Mohammad. For a Muslim, the Quran is God's Word....
"A Muslim believes in the revelation of God through the Quran that was given to Mohammad." That sounds as if this Catholic publication is endorsing the Qur'an as a revelation of God. Read on.
Mohammad was also acutely aware of the unjust distribution of wealth and the plight of the poor, the masses of people who had no access to the necessities of food, clothing and shelter in the harsh climate of the desert where everything was scarce.
Ah! Muhammad was just like Jesus, ministering to the poor and
healing the sick! Running soup kitchens and clothing dispensaries! Funny how this doesn't seem to show up in his earliest biographies.
When Mohammad was 40 years old he experienced a profoundly life-changing mystical experience. Through the mediation of the angel Gabriel, Muslims believe, Mohammad received the first in a series of revelations, which came to him over a period of 23 years. His wife and cousin encouraged him to speak more widely of what he saw and to recite the inspired vision to others. Mohammad tested the authenticity of his revelations with prayer and fasting. It was two years before he went public with his profound religious experience. Those who heard him were "caught up" in his enthusiasm and the truthfulness of the transmission that came in full poetic, graceful Arabic that was beyond his personal capacity to compose or contrive.
This is beginning to sound more than a little like an Islamic proselytization tract. The lack of "Muslims believe that..." qualifiers is a hallmark also of far too many American textbooks when they treat of Islam. Yet these qualifiers are there in spades when they speak of Christianity. This is because textbook manufacturers allow Islamic groups to vet their materials on Islam, and those groups turn them into Islamic come-ons -- but no Christian groups are accorded the same privileges.
In the last years of Mohammad's life and shortly after his death in 632, Islam spread with lightning speed throughout the Middle East. By the end of the eighth century, Islam had reached central Asia and India and had spread across Mediterranean Africa and into Spain and France.
Gee Teacher, how'd it spread so fast, do you think? Well, little Billy, the people must have flocked to it, because everyone got caught up in the enthusiasm and truthfulness of Muhammad. Yeah, sure, that's it. What's that, Billy? Jihad? "Paradise is under the shades of swords" (Sahih Bukhari, 4:52:73)? What are you, some kind of Islamophobe?
Mohammad's death was sudden. The instability that resulted led to many years of struggle and dissension among his followers-particularly between those who followed Mohammad's son-in-law Ali (known as Shiites) and those who wished another follower, Abu Bakr, to be leader (a branch of Islam that became known as Sunni)...
History is just a hop, skip and a jump. You don't have to land on anything you don't want to see.
The Quran, a revelation of GodThe central place of the Quran in the life of the devout Muslim cannot be exaggerated. The Quran, as revealed to Mohammad and recited by him and then recited through the centuries to our present day, is received by Muslims as the Word of God. Since God is One and God speaks through this scripture there is no doubt about its authenticity, authority and place in the heart and on the lips of every Muslim. For Christians, there are obvious parallels in seeing Jesus Christ as the Word of the Father...
So then should Christians accept the Qur'an the way they accept Jesus Christ? This is just another in a long laundry list of articles by Christians that distort the truth about Islam. However, the fact that it comes from a mainstream American Catholic site makes it a cause for particular concern. Read it all.
Vatican's power and wealth will eventually have to be used to defend itself against the Muslim horde. For now they are engaging in pc Catholocism and they do not even realize it.
Don't count on the church. I know that I'm not going to make myself popular around here by saying this but christians fear secularism more than they do islam. The problem we face nowadays is a lack of reason, I don't look to the church for reason. In Holland we can't have a sound discussion on islamic schools because getting rid of those means we probably have to get rid of christian schools as well. There are ways around it but it's complicated. Besides, christians don't seem interested in helping us getting rid of islamic schools eventhough a muslim spokesman recently said in a discussion that christian schools need to be transformed into muslim schools when the majority of the students is muslim. This 'interfaith dialogue' isn't helping either. Christians and jews flock to the muslim places of worship but very rarely do muslims go to church to learn about Jesus or what christianity stands for. It's true that christians don't understand islam at all, the sad thing is it's publications like the ones mentioned in the article above that cause the confusion. Christians are doing it themselves, digging their own grave along with the rest of the dhimmis. I even read an article recently by a christian saying that if Europe were to become islamic christians will have to accept is as just another cross to bear. Christians, the ones I know of, are not on our side. Maybe you call yourself a christian but the church simply doesn't care.
In a previous post, Spencer references Al Sina, who said among other things:
The reason I am against Islam is not because it is a religion but because it is a political ideology of imperialism and domination in the guise of religion. - Al Sina
Because Islam does not follow the Golden Rule, it attracts violent people. - Al Sina May 2005
Hear, hear Mr Sina! Hear, Hear!
More new stuff at: http://muslimsandme.blogspot.com/
What'd I tell you guys? A lot of Christians have taken this love your enemy stuff to the point where it becomes not only love your enemy BUT HATE YOURSELF ALSO!
Leveller,
If the Church is more afraid of Secularism than Islam the last thing that they should do is the go round saying that two people who contradict each other ie Mohammed and Jesus are equally true, because by logical reasoning, conscious or subconscious, if two statements that contradict each other possess the same degree of truth, then they must both by false, hence this is encouraging people to be either atheists or agnostics.
This is insane!
I have written to one of the editors.
This is my letter to: http://www.americancatholic.org/Feedback/default.asp
Gentlemen,
I have read your article " Islam: What Catholics Should Know ", and I cannot tell you how outraged I am!
For 1400 years Islam has spread by the sword, killing all who oppose it and offering a life of subjugation for those who accept it.
How can you endorse a religion that requires death for any Muslim who converts to Christianity?
How can you endorse a religion that calls for death to any who attempt to convert a Muslim to another religion?
How can you speak so glowingly of a religion that believes reason must give way to revelation? Your article on Islam is a travesty, filled with misleading information and partial truths!
How can you endorse a religion that does not even recognize the golden rule?
How can you endorse a religion that claims all other religions are not only false, but that they must be destroyed?
How can you endorse a religion that believes men are inherently superior to men?
How can you endorse a religion that approves of physical abuse of a wife?
For the Catholic church to speak in reverent terms of Islam is pure Catholic dhiminnitude, and amounts to attempted Catholic suicide!
Please tell me your article was written by a Muslim and not a dhimmi Catholic!
Please tell me that you will publish an article written by a non Muslim about Islam and discuss at least the issues I have raised.
I guess what I have to say is that I believe your article on Islam is misleading and irresponsible in light of what little I have written above.
I am not the best writter but look at
this paragraph.
"The pillar of almsgiving is not only because a just society requires equity but also because earthly prosperity is the sacrament whereby God is mediated from heaven to earth. Jewish and Muslim roots establish a “this-worldly” goal of economic well-being as the proof of God’s blessings. Muslims also have these riches continuing in a heavenly realm. Muslims believe that God wants his people to prosper and to live in rich abundance. Therefore, grace is not invisible, but instead visible through family, offspring, property, security and good order."
Obviously the Catholic who wrote this is so
in love with Islam that he never caught the error.
He really meant Jewish and Christian roots.
Elephsnt!
Worse than those understanding logic. Are
those that don't. True many who understand
logic will see this as proof the church no
longer really believes in Jesus. But those
that want to blieve in something can easily
fall for this argument.
One either the catholic church is right
or Islam is right. Islam says only by
being islamic can I get to heaven. The last
pope. And even on Meet The Press a spokeman
for the church indicated that many noncatholics
can get to heaven. If islam is so great
and if catholic leaders say they can get to
heaven. Then many will say why be catholic.
Since even catholic leaders see the good in
Islam it mist be a better faith. The only
safe way catholic approved is convert to islam
and get to heaven. Know I don't belive this
but I know several christians who do think Islamic
people belive in Jesus and our god.
Wake up it is not our god!! Is the curch dead!!
Mr. Spencer:
Please tell us you're going to submit an answer to this.
CGW
I not only second the motion by CGW, I recommend that everyone, and I mean everyone, write in civil terms why they are upset or outraged by this article.
The email link to the editor is: http://www.americancatholic.org/Feedback/default.asp
As an educator, I recently reviewed some proposed textbooks on World Studies. I have seen for myself the prejudice in favor of Islam and against Christianity. Could this be, at least in part, the result of Susan Douglass's impact upon our nation's textbooks? Why is this national consultant, who has association with the Wahhabi-oriented Islamic Saudi Academy, allowed to influence textbooks?
Type the name Susan Douglass into your browser and see what pops up.
By the way, one has to read the textbooks closely. The bias is insidious and easy to overlook in a casual perusal.
Thank you Jihadwatch,
I will forward a copy of your professional deconstruction to my non-dhimmi mother, who had sent a copy of this incredibly disgusting newsletter to me last week.
When my mother first encountered this newsletter at her church, she immediately asked the priest if he had read the Koran. He said he did not. She then pointed out that her son had read the Koran and found it to be full of agressive and hateful passages. He responded that these had to be studied "in context." (!!!!!)
Fortunately, the local archbishop had nothing to do with this (My mother made inquiries to this effect, bless her soul).
There is clearly a war of ideas in the Catholic church. Let us pray that the election of Ratzinger has tilted the consensus in our favor.
The new Pope has a good sense of what Islam is all about, and what is being threatened by Christian misunderstanding or indifference to the menace of Islam. It is not for nothing that Scott Appleby, and all the Scott Applebys of this world, find his ascension so deplorable. For Pope Benedict stands in the way of the kind of "dialogue" and "understanding" that the doctors of al-Azhar, or the smiling plausible Tariq Ramadan (even going so far as to call for a temporary "moratorium" on death-by-stoning in Islam, until "conditions" are more propitious), have in mind.
Who wrote this article in American Catholic? And after what study of Islam, or listening to what "helpful" Muslim adviser? Was it written after consulting John Esposito of the "Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding"? Who was involved? These things do not come out of the ether. Who is on the editorial board. Who, connected to this magazine, has read Mark Durie's essay on "The Muslim Jesus" in "The Myth of Islamic Tolerance" by Robert Spencer?
Another dhimmi gem from the newsletter:
"...in spite of these deep doctrinal differences with Christianity, all Muslims honor the monotheistic traditions of Christianity and Judaism because we worship the One God."
"Was it written after consulting John Esposito of the 'Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding'?"
At this point, I should like to remind everyone that John Esposito considers himself to be a "devout" Catholic, and Georgetown (like Notre Dame, the university that invited Tariq Ramadan) is a Catholic university (my mother also indicated that the local dhimmi priest did not appear to be happy with the election of Ratzinger).
Are we headed for a showdown in the Catholic church?
I repeat my previous post!
Write a damn letter to their editors!
http://www.americancatholic.org/Feedback/default.asp
Quit whining and do something constructive! For Gods people!
Stand up and be counted!
WatchfulEye:
I have written several articles about what the Council of Islamic Education is doing to our schools:
http://www.6thcolumnagainstjihad.com/Authors.htm
I apologise that the text in my last article (article #4) is a bit tedious and dense, but it does make an attempt to outline the rather large support network of leftist corporate sponsors, Islamists, and fellow travellers connected with the CIE.
The best we can do is give these facts as much publicity as possible. Moderately leftist foundations like Carnegie and Packard might be persuaded to back out if they were made more aware of the CIE's real agenda.
BillR,
I'm in. I am also providing those gravediggers with a link to this website.
Leveller,
You wrote:
"...[A] muslim spokesman recently said in a discussion that christian schools need to be transformed into muslim schools when the majority of the students is muslim." I believe you, but could you furninsh me the citation.
Thanks! Hope you check back and find this comment.
Hugh, Bill R., Andrei Rublev....
I agree. I suggest we all write a letter to the editor. Bill R., may we have permission to use the points you have written in our own article?
I would also like to offer this website, (Mr. Spencer might want to link it here), of Mark A. Gabriel, http://markagabriel.com/
He's an ex-muslim and author of a number of informative books.
Andrei Rublev:
Thank you for responding to my comment. Over the last few weeks, I have been working my way through some of your articles.
Guess you might say that I've started speaking out, much of the time online but not exclusively so. I might get into some trouble one day, but so be it. I can no longer ignore the threats of subversive Islamist ideology.
The events of 9/11 opened my eyes to many things I had forgotten, but I said, "What can I do?" What set me off, so to speak, and urged me to start "doing something" to get the word out, was my chance discovery last summer of a book entitled "Servants of Allah." I found it in the public library, checked it out, and, once home, noticed the bookplate as to who had donated the material. CAIR! I had some time before learned the realities of that organization. I visited the CAIR website and learned the details of their library project.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Saudi Academy continues to operate in Northern Virginia. Ugh!
BillR,
I've sent my letter. I hope others are doing the same. Take this publication to task for publishing such rot!
Leveller,
Sorry to dominate this thread, but I have to respond to this one:
"Don't count on the church. I know that I'm not going to make myself popular around here by saying this but christians fear secularism more than they do islam. The problem we face nowadays is a lack of reason, I don't look to the church for reason. ... Christians, the ones I know of, are not on our side."
By suggesting that you will get hammered for belittling the role of Christians for fighting Islam, you are also assuming that many of the non-dhimmi commentators on this website are Christians! I call this "cognitive dissonance."
You criticize Christians for their "irrational" fear of secularism, but so-called "secular humanist" society is for the most part even more comtemptious of logic than Judeo-Christian society! Just check out any leftist forum and you will enter a dark topsy-turvy world that sees no moral distinction between minutemen in America and terrorists in Iraq. In effect, secularists like George Mason, Cubed, Mentat, and yourself (despite your little mistake) are the exception, not the rule. Much of what Christians fear is today's secular society is not reason, but nihilism.
Just try to imagine who would be leading American if the Evangelical Christians had not voted. You may rightly criticize them for not always listening to reason, but their sense of right and wrong is far better than that of your typical secularlist West European who views George Bush and Ariel Sharon as the "real terrorists."
jawa:
Permission? To use my tiny bit of knowledge?
For Gawds sake man! Take all you want, we'll make more!
Whatever we do, we have to become more proactive and far less passive in our efforts.
Humor is a tool when it comes to these Allahbots - Allahisms drive them insane with rage! I not only expect their rage, I encourage it!
WatchfulEye:
Post your letter here for all to see!
Your thoughts may give others inspiration and motivation to become more active and less passive.
BillR:
I didn't save a copy of the letter. [Shame on me!] But my letter went something like what follows below. You will see that I decided to use a theological argument; others may not feel comfortable with that type of argument, but should flood the church with reasonable arguments of any ilk. My words are strong, but I've just about had it with dhimmitude, wherever I find it.
I cannot believe what I just read in your publication.
You are espousing heresy under your banner! Your article makes the following disturbing statement: "A Muslim believes in the revelation of God through the Quran that was given to Mohammad. For a Muslim, the Quran is God's Word." This statement is in direct contradiction to Revelation 22:19B, which states "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." You are in danger of judgment!
Furthermore, elsewhere in the article, you imply that Christianity and Islam worship the same God. Allah and the God are NOT THE SAME BEING! You are denying the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and are too close to inferring an alternate plan to salvation.
I am saddened by what I perceive to be a betrayal of the Christian faith in the pages of a Catholic publication.
"Our challenge as Catholics is to get to know more about our Muslim brothers and sisters."
I'm all for understanding Islam and Muslims, but that is not the challenge facing Catholics vis a vis Islam. Our challenge is to abolish Dhimmitude once and for all - to end the persecution of our co-religionists in the Islamic world.
BillR,
I've sent my letter! I hope every one else will too!!
This is the beginning of the letter that I e-mailed to AmericanCatholic.org-
Dear AmericanCatholic.org,
Regarding your article " Islam: What Catholics Should Know ", I respectfully submit that your organization needs to learn more about Islam. Islam is a misogynistic and violent religion. That's harsh, but it is true. Here's some research on Islam which you can VERIFY for yourself with the web links provided: The research on Islam in this email covers four areas: 1) the harsh treatment of women in Islam, 2) lying and deception are allowed in Islam and I have the proof from Islamic holy books, 3) despite popular opinion, Allah of Islam is NOT the God of the Holy Bible, and 4) some of the violence of Muhammad and Islam is exposed.
Sincerely,
an American Christian
*******
Each one of us needs to become a teacher of Islam to educate people about the truth of Islam.
When will the Christians stop appeasing the unappeasable. Look at history of last 1400, Koran's most important message is to convert the non-muslims or kill him. Look at India, they tried to appease the muslims and the muslims took away half the country in 1947 by demanding a partition based on religious lines. Christians are next in line and may not learn before it is too late.
By the way, ask muslims when will they allow Christians to openly pray and build churches in their own countries (specially Saudi Arabia), just like they are allowed to build mosques and openly pray in western countries.
What next, a glowing tribute to that 'other monotheism', Satanism?
It, too, only worships one Deity. ("Demon est deus inversus"*, in their creed.)
This reads like a Sunday School tract pile of pabulum, only written by a mad mullah with ulterior motives.
No hard facts at all, just candycanes and sugarplums and "spread like lightning" allegorical afflatus.
Spread like a swung sword would have been at least a little truthful. But I guess they didn't want to scare anybody.
Whatever happened to the 'prophet' raping a 9 year old?
How is that like Jesus raising one from the dead?
BILLR- Good letter. Flood the thudheads with outrage over this specious, suicidal slop!
*"The Devil is only God standing on his head."
Dhimmi Catholics Downunder:
http://www.cathnews.com/news/503/121.php
Right on Vishal, but you know, too many Indians lament the creation of Pakistan (East & West) but if the old Mogul/British geographical notion of India was carried through post independence, there would almost be a Muslim majority in India right now, India would certainly be a dictatorship and the nation would be at the general economic level of today's Bangladesh. Don't view the British partition of India as a national calamity; I think in the long run it saved most Indian Hindus from a lot of grief.
Plus, if you try to look at Indian history with calm neutrality, you will find that most of the celebrated Muslim leaders were worse than the British anyway. They would think nothing of slaughtering entire cities, whereas the British were never guilty of such crimes. Also the famous "Muslim" resistance against the British has been grossly exaggerated. The most famous battle was probably the siege/battle of Seringapatanam in 1799 against Tipu Sultan "the tiger of Mysore" and persecutor and mass murderer of Indian Christians http://www.christiansofkerala.com/3.htm . I could never find out what the true British losses were during this battle, as the history books were silent on the matter. So I looked it up in British military dispatches from 1799 - I found the answer to be 36! The hype surrounding this "warrior king" is just the normal Islamic bullshit. Reading Islamic websites that touch upon this topic, you would think he had killed 36,000.
At the famous battle of Plassey in 1758, against the Muslim tyrant Siraj Ud Dowla, the British lost but one soldier. The Muslims let India down badly. The Muslims' incessant civil wars made the country weak and colonisation inevitable. You're better off without them. They built the Taj Mahal, yes, but was one building worth over 600 years of agony?
Right to the end, in 1946 in Calcutta, the Muslims let the country down. Muslim police stood by and let their "Muslim Brothers" kill thousands of Hindus.
........................
The Hindus in Bengal were in the minority and the province was governed by a self-indulgent and dishonest politician called S. H. Suhrawardy of the Muslim League. During the famine of 1943 he had been the minister in charge of food distribution and it was widely believed he profited greatly from the hardship of fellow Bengalis. He harboured a desire to set Bengal up as an independent nation and even went so far as to openly declare such aspirations in Delhi, although it must be stated that such notions were largely the products of his own personal self interest rather than that of a heart-felt Bengali nationalism. Despite being a member of the Muslim League Working Committee he was constantly at odds with Jinnah and was well known for having a private army of thugs who attacked and harassed his opponents. Because Congress and the Muslim League were not taking his threats to form a separate nation state seriously, he decided to use his hooligans and their underworld connections to whip up demonstrations in his favour.
On the morning of the 16th August 1946 angry mobs moved out of Muslim areas to protest against British proposals to form an all-Indian interim Government, (despite Nehru having offered Mr. Jinnah, five portfolios in a Cabinet of 14). Hindu men, women and children were apprehended on the street, abused then murdered. The disturbances were too well timed and dispersed to have been the actions of out-of-control hooligans - in some areas rioters were even transported to the scene of action in hired conveyances. Suhrawardy had declared the day a public holiday, knowing full well that the day off would not be observed by Hindu shopkeepers, who by keeping their shops open identified themselves as being non-Muslims. The criminal and radical elements in the crowd attacked the stores, murdered their occupants and looted their wares, soon the emaciated low-class Muslims from the foulest Calcutta slums got into the act and a riot ensued of such severity that it took on the proportions of a civil war.
Hindus and Sikhs needed nobody to urge them to seek revenge: ‘Sikhs began demonstrating this morning,’ ran a front page article in The Sydney Morning Herald ‘… and clashed with Moslems in a residential area. Many of them carried swords and were blowing on conch shells.’ Meanwhile as the pal of smoke lingered over the city Suhrawardy triumphantly addressed a rally. As soon as the British police arrived the murderous crowds would scatter, only to regroup in another area, or they would simply reappear when the British left.
Michael Edwards, author of many books on India, was visiting Calcutta at that time and he wrote: ‘fires glowed on either side of the road and the bodies of men, women and children, hideously mutilated, squelched under the wheels of the bus. The hot air smelt of fire and blood, and the mad yelling of the mob echoed in the alleys.’
As all have suspected, the Islamic Society of North America is included on Mary Margaret Funhttp://monasticdialog.com/links.phpk's list of interfaith members.,
Big surprise....