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Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Muslim panel answers questions from readers

Sep 9, 2006 8:28 pm By Robert Spencer

A taqiyya-fest from the Gwinnett Daily Post (thanks to Twostellas):

A lot of your questions concerned the Muslim view of women. M. J. O”Rourke of Savannah asked: “What do Muslims believe about the rights of women?”

Soumaya Khalifa, the female member of the group, said women enjoy special status. “A woman cannot be married off to someone of whom she disapproves. She is not required to spend any money that she brings into the marriage. That is the husband’s responsibility.”

Yousef Burke said Muslim women are required to dress modestly, but so are men. In a dig at Western culture, the panelists said Muslims look at women who are uncovered as “oppressed” because they are valued as “sex symbols” rather than for their intellect.

Mansour Ansari wanted you to know that four Muslim countries have had female prime ministers: Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Jabari Alexander said a female currently heads up the Islamic Society of North America. All the panelists said there is nothing in the Quran that justifies treating women as second-class citizens.

Khalifa, Ansari, and Burke don’t seem to have mentioned the fact that rather than regarding women as human beings equal to men, the Qur’an likens a woman to a field (tilth), to be used by a man as he wills: “Your women are a tilth for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilth as ye will” (2:223). It declares that a woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man: “Get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her” (2:282). It allows men to marry up to four wives, and have sex with slave girls also: “If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice” (4:3). It rules that a son’s inheritance should be twice the size of that of a daughter: “Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females” (4:11). Worst of all, the Qur’an tells husbands to beat their disobedient wives: “Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them” (4:34). It allows for marriage to pre-pubescent girls, stipulating that Islamic divorce procedures “shall apply to those who have not yet menstruated” (65:4).

Now, if they had mentioned that there were some elements of the Qur’an that made things difficult for women in Islamic societies, and that these needed to be rejected, they would be sincere reformers. But when they don’t mention them to infidels who almost certainly don’t know that they’re there at all, they’re just leaving a false impression.

Deanna Cox of Sugar Hill asked the panel to define “infidel.” Amin Tomeh claimed there is no such word in Islam. The panelists say the term “infidel” has its origin in Christianity, when Pope Urban urged Crusaders to kill “infidels.”

Tomeh said if any Muslim refers to a Jew or a Christian as an infidel, “They don’t know what they are talking about. God will judge those who judge others.”

Isn’t an “infidel” someone without the faith — an unbeliever?

“The Jews call ‘Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah’s curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!” — Qur’an 9:30

“They indeed have disbelieved who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary.” — Qur’an 5:17

All the panelists said Muslims should be tolerant of other faiths and vice versa. Soumaya Khalifa, who operates the Islamic Speakers Bureau, said she has spoken in both synagogues and Christian churches and believes Jews, Christians and Muslims to be “96 to 97 percent together” on many issues and concerns.

Ansari says Muslims, Jews and Christians are “of the book,” meaning they all believe in the same God. Tomeh said Saudi Arabia has no basis in the Quran to prevent people from practicing whatever religion they choose.

That’s true. But there is this hadith, in which Muhammad says: “I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim” (Muslim 19.4366). It would have been nice if Ansari had mentioned this and explained why it should be rejected, and current Saudi laws revised.

Fred Hahn of Roswell asked if a Muslim can leave the faith and accept another religion. Yes, said the panel. Tomeh said the Quran has ample references for allowing people to believe what they want, and that if “God wanted everyone to be of one religion, he would have created that religion.”

Did Tomeh mention the hadith in which Muhammad says: “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him” (Bukhari 9.84.57)? If not, why not? After all, apostasy is a death penalty offense in many places in the Islamic world today, so obviously many accept that hadith. Why not address this?

After all that, they reassure questioners that they would side with America in a war against the Islamic world. In light of their record on these other questions, that’s perhaps not as reassuring as it could or should be.

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