When the rabbis in Indiana decided to publish their letter demanding that a billboard listing charges against Muhammad be taken down, what were they thinking?
Did they think that these charges could not have been true, because no religion could regard as its Perfect Man and supreme moral authority someone who was guilty of rape, assassination, slavery, torture, and mass murder?
Or was it that they blindly relied on Muslims who assured them, indignantly, that all such charges were false?
Or did they think, whatever the truth — in case they uneasily suspected that at least some of those charges were true — that it was imperative to rally round their “Muslim brothers” who, as they saw it, were “under attack,” and needed the support of their “Jewish brothers,” because these charges about Muhammad were “just like” what happened to the Jews before World War II? This insistence that “Muslims are the new Jews” — a formula which some Muslims, and their apologists in the West have been pushing — is both preposterous and disgusting.
It would have been better had the rabbis decided to take, in turn, each of those statements on the billboard and to see if there was support for them in the relevant Islamic texts, instead of simply dismissing them. And then, once they had discovered that every single statement on that billboard is backed up by verses or passages in the Qur’an, Hadith, and Sira, even if they were reluctant to declare that awful truth, one would at least hope they would have had the decency to keep a telling silence.
The Board of Rabbis in Indiana can still redeem themselves from their thoughtless denunciation of that truth-telling billboard in Indiana that so enraged Muslims. They can now redeem themselves, but without having to embarrassedly admit how wrong they had been, or to come into direct conflict with their “Muslim brothers.” Instead of commenting on the truth or falsehood of the billboard’s claims, which clearly they are in no position to do, they could call for a public debate; it would go something like this:
We, rabbis in Indiana, believe that the people behind the billboard in question should be asked to come forth, identify themselves, and offer what evidence they have, if any, of their charges, which ought not to have been made without citing authority. And if they do so, they should be willing to engage in open debate about those matters. We know that our Muslim brothers are doubtless eager to engage in such debate, to be given the opportunity to discuss these charges they regard as absurd. That debate should prove much more enlightening than mere denunciation. We have complete confidence that our Muslim sisters and brothers will be able to convincingly refute every charge made against the Prophet Muhammad. We are certain they will want to use this debate as a teaching moment, to hold up for inspection and analysis the fantastical claims made about the Prophet Muhammad by those responsible for this bigoted billboard.
Muslims could try to back out of such a public debate on the grounds that they won’t dignify these scurrilous charges, but that would leave the impression of their being reluctant for other reasons. They have, after all, denounced the ad as “untruthful and lacking context,” without giving any details as to what was “untruthful” and what “lacked context.” Now’s their chance to do so.
“‘It’s just a group of cowards who are not even ready to put their name behind [the billboard],’ said Rita Shahid, executive director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana.” But now, taking up the challenge of the rabbis, those putative “cowards” are ready to declare themselves, and say that not only do they welcome the chance for a public discussion, but they will rent an auditorium for that purpose, and would like to invite Muslims to publicly debate the truth or falsehood of the six claims made on the billboard. Meanwhile, they can declare their intention to immediately put up, before the debate, a second billboard, consisting only of Qur’anic quotes, so that the contents of that second billboard might also be discussed. Here is what might ideally appear on that second billboard, as a little florilegium of murder and hate:
“And kill them wherever you overtake them.” Qur’an 2:191
“Fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers.” Qur’an 9:123
“And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them.” Qur’an 9:5
“And whoever desires other than Islam as religion – never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.” Qur’an 3:85
“The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah’; and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?” Qur’an 9:30
“Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land.” Qur’an 5:33
“Those who disbelieved will have cut out for them garments of fire. Poured upon their heads will be scalding water.” Qur’an 22:19
“O Prophet, urge the believers to battle. If there are among you twenty steadfast, they will overcome two hundred. And if there are among you one hundred steadfast, they will overcome a thousand of those who have disbelieved because they are a people who do not understand.” Qur’an 8:65
“Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers.” Qur’an 3:28
“When your Lord inspired to the angels, ‘I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip.'” Quran 8:12
Now those quotes, too, will have been pressed into the public consciousness, not just by the physical billboard, but by all the stories about it. The more Muslims complain about the second billboard, the more attention those quotes will get, which is precisely what they wish to avoid. If Muslims still refuse to engage in such a public debate with that “we won’t dignify by our presence these scurrilous charges” excuse — thereby disappointing their “Jewish brothers” — that could well be taken by many as an admission that there is evidence to support at least some of the charges on the first billboard, and evidence, too, that it’s impossible to explain away the disturbing Qur’anic passages on the second billboard. The indignant Muslims will be damned if they show up — for they cannot possibly prevail in such a public debate (look at how many Muslims have slithered away from debating Robert Spencer) — and damned if they don’t, for such unwillingness should prompt doubts about their own assertions.
One hopes that those rabbis who were so quick off the mark to support their “Hoosier sisters and brothers who are Muslim” will begin to recognize that they have a responsibility, as they presume to instruct others, to find out if there is anything to support those charges made against Muhammad on that first billboard. It’s not hard to find such evidence, in the Qur’an, the Hadith, the Sira, and in the tafsir of Ibn Kathir, and the history of Al-Tabari. And then there is the textual evidence, on the second billboard, for what Islam inculcates, which also needs to be discussed, and not just in Indianapolis.
One wishes to ask those rabbis in Indiana and all the other non-Muslim clergy, too, all busily engaged in interfaith outreach, stout defenders of the faith (that faith always being Islam), with “Coexist” bumper stickers on their cars, and “wherever you are from, I’m glad that you’re my neighbor” signs, in English, Spanish, and Arabic, on their front lawns: on what basis do you presume to speak with authority about Islam, to assure us of its peaceful, gentle, tolerant nature, and of the hideous unfairness of those who would impugn the perfection of the Prophet Muhammad?
All we can ask of you — is it really too much? — is to start seriously studying Islam, instead of relying on what your Muslim “Hoosier sisters and brothers” tell you. Read the Qur’an, with a commentary, and the most important Hadith from the most authoritative collections, and parts of the Sira. At some point, if you really apply yourselves, you will begin to grasp the essence of Islam — the violence, the inculcated hatred for Infidels, the duty of conducting Jihad until the whole world is subjugated to Islam — and then you will inevitably see that faith in a different, more disturbing light. No one is asking for mea-culpas, or is trying to silence you, but merely suggesting that, as Wittgenstein famously insisted: “Whereof we do not know, thereof we should not speak.” And when once your mental vessel is freighted with knowledge, you should speak about Islam, this time in an informed, and therefore quite different, vein, again.
mortimer says
Comments about Islam from Maimonides (great sage of Judaism, forced to flee Islamic Cordoba in 1148AD):
“… on account of our sins God has cast us into the midst of this people, the nation of Ishmael [that is, Muslims], who PERSECUTE us (Jews) SEVERELY, and who devise ways to HARM us and to DEBASE us…. NO NATION HAS EVER DONE MORE HARM TO ISRAEL. NONE HAS MATCHED IT in debasing and humiliating us. None has been able to reduce us as they have…. We have borne their imposed degradation, their lies, their absurdities, which are beyond human power to bear…. We have done as our sages of blessed memory have instructed us, bearing the lies and absurdities of Ishmael…. In spite of all this, we are not spared from the FEROCITY of their WICKEDNESS and their OUTBURSTS at any time. On the contrary, the more we suffer and choose to CONCILATE them, the more they choose to ACT BELLIGERENTLY toward us…”
Message to Indiana rabbis : APPEASEMENT AND CONCILATION WILL NOT WORK WITH A SUPREMACIST.
Yohanan says
1. It may sound like pollyanna appeasement for 16 midwestern social justice rabbis to emphasize interfaith solidarity and “to repudiate reference” to a massacre of Jews early in the Koran. Although they should know history , they put their faith in interfaith and a little self-deception. However as I live in Israel and not in the diaspora, I won’t criticize further their pragmatic stance not to stir up various anti-Jewish tendencies.
2. Googling their names – one can learn that half of the these rabbis do not serve temples, synagogues or congregations but work in education or chaplaincy. None of the 16 are Orthodox or serve Orthodox synagogues. (Orthodox means more traditional, as in literate ritual and wider literacy in Hebrew language and sources.) A little comment on their congregational affiliations. Most belong to the “Reform” Jewish movement (which calls itself “Liberal” in UK or “Progessive” in Israel); one or two of the rabbis have “Conservative” affiliation (the Conservative movement is a bit folkier, more traditional); others to “Reconstructionist” or to “transdenominational”. (First I heard of the various movements, organizations, wings or branches of the American Jewish community called denominations, but assimilation is a process.)
3. BTW google surf also included info on two little events of anti-semitic nature in Indiana Jewish history:
* Congregation B’nai Jacob, Fort Wayne, IN history reports: “On the morning of April 16, 1960, our beautiful new synagogue was defiled with swastikas. It was discovered by a member – a Nazi Holocaust survivor, the numbers tattooed on his arm. Doors were broken, locks smashed, money stolen, destruction was everywhere. On that infamous day, the Christian ministers of Fort Wayne donned blue jeans and sweat shirts and tried to scrub the red swastikas that had been spray painted on our desecrated outside brick walls. This remarkable show of brotherhood was picked up … and we made the national news.”
“Temple Adath B’nai Israel” in Evansville, IN. Four months ago, in late February, someone fired a gun into an empty children’s classroom. Ref: Richard Gootee. “Rabbi: Community will stand up to fear after act of hate”. Evansville Courier & Press. Feb. 28, 2017 http://www.courierpress.com/story/news/2017/02/28/law-enforcement-investigating-act-hate-evansville-temple/98528494/
JackGalt says
Kind of sounds like the Rabbis may be in agreement with who the perfect man is…
Herbert J Smith says
Exactly as it is.
mortimer says
Can a rabbi find one error or inaccuracy on the billboard?
When criticisms are valid, factually accurate and fairly presented, it is called an ‘exposé’.
Each and every fact on the billboard may be confirmed from Islamic primary source texts written by pious Muslims. The information is stated without commentary.
The only ‘opinion’ on the sign is the word ‘rapist’. However, Islam doesn’t have the concept of ‘rape’, since raping one’s own slave is not CALLED rape in Islam, even though it is rape in fact.
Emilie Green says
The rabbis said, “We know that our Muslim brothers are doubtless eager to engage in such debate, to be given the opportunity to discuss these charges [the 6 billboard points] they regard as absurd.”
Yeah, sure they are. How then to explain Muslims declining debate, time and again, when Robert offers opportunity for debate. Muslims run away, yelling ad hominems over their shoulder as they flee.
And the reason that they aren’t quite as eager as the rabbi believes is that Robert, like this billboard, exposes the truth of Mo and Islam.
Hugh Fitzgerald says
That was my fiction. I imagined those rabbis studying the texts, realizing they had made a terrible error, and without wanting to admit it, at least would attempt to maneuver Muslim spokesmen–making it hard for them to slither away, as they so often do with Robert Spencer — into a public debate where, of course, the truth of those six charges made against Muhammad would soon become evident. As to the second billboard with its Qur’an quotes, merely getting those quotes into the public consciousness — and newspaper reports, including those labelling them as obviousy made up or minsunderstood, would be of great value.
Malcolm (South Afric) says
The leftest saint mohammad of mecca and islams perfect man
Mohammed’s harem was a model of diversity. Although other Muslims were restricted to four wives (not including slave girls), Mohammed himself was allotted by Allah an unrestricted number of wives for his own purposes (33:50).
Among his
fifteen wives were included his daughter-in-law, Zeinab (Zaid divorced her to please the Prophet – an arrangement approved by Allah himself in Sura 33:37-38); a 17-year-old Jewish girl, Safiyyah, whose husband had just been beheaded for not revealing the location of his treasure to Mohammed; and his favorite wife, Aisha, whom Mohammed married when she was six years old, consummating the marriage when she turned nine. Outside the regular wives, an Egyptian slave girl, Maria, caused temporary protests because of her nightly trysts with Mohammed, until Allah in Sura 66:1-3 reassured the wives.
Malcolm (South Afric) says
Part 2. The leftest saint mohammad of mecca and islams perfect man
Mohammed did not tolerate dissent or opposition very kindly. The poet ʻAṣmāʼ bint Marwān, the poet Ka’b bin al-Ashraf, and two other poets, were murdered for criticizing him. To avenge a hijacking he sent his adopted son Zaid, who tied a female gang member between two camels to tear her apart. The Jewish Qurayzah tribe, towards the end of Mohammed’s life, was particularly resistant. Mohammed’s forces responded by decapitating 600-800 men in front of their women and children, and then raping the widows. Mohammed took one young newly-created widow, Reihana, to bed the same night. She refused his offer to become a wife, but became one of his concubines.
marina says
Islam’s perfect man also captured and married Safiyah after killing her husband and father.
marina says
Sorry you already mentioned it . Didn’t see at first.
marina says
The rabbis should pressure their pet mudslimes to have an open debate to clear their prophet’s name against such allegations
IQ al Rassooli says
As USUAL with MOST American and European Jews, they make the most asinine and irresponsible comments in support of Muslims that betray their obscene degrees of Stupidity, Irrationality and Self Destruction
Let me point t out the OBVIOUS to these Holier than Thou MORONS~
1 The sign does not mention Muhammad
2 The sign does not mention Islam
3 It mentions only ‘the perfect man’
4 On what logical basis had these Sharia ignorant rabbis concluded that it meant Muhammad and come to the defense of Muslims?
5 It is obvious that these sanctimonious but clueless rabbis do not know that the most VIRULENT verses in Muhammad’s Quran and Sunna (the foundations of Sharia) target JEWS
6 That according to Sharia, Jews are the worst ENEMIES of Muslims
7 Muslims have never and will NEVER come to the aid of Jews if the events were reversed
The most intelligent and brilliant item regarding the authors of this billboard is the total LACK of any association to Islam, Muhammad or Muslims yet it was Muslims who OBJECTED in the first place because they KNOW that the attributes mentioned therein are the very characteristics mentioned in Hadiths about Muhammad
Billboards like this should be put up in every major city in the USA and no judge (sane one) could find it ISLAMOPHOBIC!
The BEAUTY of this billboard is that it conveys the TRUTH about Muhammad without mentioning his despicable name and hence cannot be taken to court as Hate speech, Racism or Incitement. PRICELESS!
I sincerely hope Pamela Geller will use SIMILAR ones on trains, tubes and buses.
IQ al Rassooli
Kafir & Proud!
JKoly says
Surveys of muslims are showing that the vast majority hate Jews. They want to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth. A Star of David in muslim neighborhoods in Paris is asking to be spit on and a bit like holding a crucifix up to the Vampire (crucifixes too come to think of it!). Can these American Jews be so blatantly ignorant?
Santosha says
Hugely in denial. Jews are such a tiny minority. How can they go up against the behemoth of Islam? So they pretend that Islam preaches love and tolerance like the other true religions ; they pretend that Muslim share the same basic values as the Judeo- Christian culture ( and Hindus and Buddhist and Taoist and Baha’i ) – despite ALL evidence to the contrary.
Manny says
“This insistence that “Muslims are the new Jews” — a formula which some Muslims, and their apologists in the West have been pushing — is both preposterous and disgusting.”
More likely is that Muslims are the new Nazis. Liberal Jews are so benighted.
WPM says
+1
Laine says
Muslims are also the old Nazis or at least their allies. Their highest authority visited Hitler to ally with him and no doubt give him lessons from 14 centuries of unadulterated antisemitism.
It’s strange that in the huge Holocaust industry the Muslim chapter gets no play at all, is it not? Jews should be WARNING others about what Muslims do to non-Muslims instead of organizing Welcome Wagons for them. Are rabbis really so ignorant of their own and Islamic history or is something else going on here?
common sense says
The most basic Rabbi education includes study of Talmud and the codes of Jewish law taking 3-6 years to complete. Orthodox Rabbi undergo much more intensive training and education. Unless these Rabbi are some kind of cracker- jack online grads to get to their inordations…THEY KNOW THE TRUTH, about Islam. They know Shariah law is not the same as Jewish law. They purposely apologize to and coddle Islam’s pig headed prophet.
Laine says
But why? What’s in it for them or their congregations that they’re misleading?
blitz2b says
No doubt… These Jewish sell outs are the leftist imbeciles that hate the nation of Israel, probably still swooning from Hilary’s loss.
Jim says
Sadly, this is not true. I was shocked, myself, to learn that at seminaries for the more liberal branches of Judaism, they do not study the foundations of Judaism. So the graduates themselves have no knowledge or understanding of what got updated and loosened up to arrive at their current curriculum and beliefs. They really are ignorant.
Gary says
“We know that our Muslim brothers are doubtless eager to engage in such debate.”
WHAT?!!! Attempt to “debate” a muslim about their “Perfect Man” and they get bent outta shape and downright hostile and aggressive!
Question them on why they remain silent in the face of constant Islamic Terrorism, women’s rights, gay rights, ect..ect..ect…, and they’ll shout you down.
These Rabbi’s are clearly drinking the cool-aid.
blitz2b says
The Rabbis write “…to come forth, identify themselves, and offer what evidence they have, if any, of their charges, which ought not to have been made without citing authority….”
What part of the facts on the billboard do these Rabbis have doubts about?
Every single one of these can be verified from authentic Islamic sources and not from mere speculation or the summation of orientalists or Christians.
So Is this letter a kind of Jewish tongue in cheek to make Muslims think about the character of their so called prophet? Honestly which Muslim in their right mind would want to debate anyone about those facts knowing full well that they are the truth?
Even a chimp can point to passages from Islamic sources, so what exactly are the Rabbis trying to prove?
saturnine says
A billboard with Qur’an quotes won’t have nearly the same impact. People will breezily dismiss it, thinking “the bible has violent passages too”.
No, just like the plans to the Death Star revealed its critical vulnerability, the Perfect Man billboard is brilliant because it precisely targets Islam’s exhaust port: the character of its founder.
IRONKRAFT says
Considering top Rabinical Scholars, such as Rabbi Goldschmidt, have deemed it a good thing, in his: “Jews and Muslims are natural allies in Europe” rant, and Barberra Lerner-Specter, proudly boasting that Jews are at the forefront of mass immigration into Europe, I think it best for Caucasian peoples, to demand both alien communities leave our shores, and take their mutual hatred of White folks, and Christians well away.
We need true freedom, peace and prosperity, not “minority rule” in our lands.
Jim says
Hey, Ironkraft, all it takes is a small group of looney leftist rabbis to bring out the KKK in you. The overriding operative principle here being “leftist”, not “Jew”. Those guys are NOT top rabbinical scholars (see my earlier entry) Your remark is out of line!
Carolyne says
I repeat what said yesterday. I do not see the name “Mohammed” or the words “Islam” or “Muslim” anywhere on this billboard. So unless it is true, how do these Rabbis and how do the Muslims even know to whom it refers?
It takes one to know one.
Lon Spector says
A Jew would vote for Hitler if he had the Democratic (D) before his name.
Dacritic says
Debate? Are you serious, Hugh? Muslims are famous for branding names of critics of Islam without engaging in debates… or even quotes.
Sorry, just kidding. On the serious side, please make sure this article of yours reaches the right channels.
No Fear says
I am pretty sure the behaviours of Mohammed described on the billboard are found in Quran, Hadith and Sirat (except for “beheaded 600 jews in one day” which is described in Mohammed’s earliest biography and is not a canonical text of Islam). So how can any muslim protest against their own source texts? They should be proudly telling the world of the achievements of their “excellent” Mohammed. The billboard does that for them.
LaLa says
I thank God for the people or person responsible for putting up the billboard. Well done!!! Well Done!!!
Keep putting them up all across this great land of ours, maybe the ignorant will finally research Islam and see it’s true colors.
Michael Copeland says
The rabbis are in error.
They claim the billboard is “denigrating” the prophet of Islam.
Where?
How?
They expose their own ignorance.
Infovoyeur says
Some say people should know the realities about Islam because so much info is available now.
First, the info spectrum is a confusing jungle needing motivation, research-skills, fair-mindedness, and more. (Punctuated with emotional resistance at the hideous realities involved).
Second, motivation. It’s Saturday noon. Would you want to (A) be athletic in the P.M., then dinner with friends and an activity afterward? Or (B) attend a seminar on the approaching threat to all we hold vital in civilization?
LR says
I think it’s rather simple…I think they were afraid it might actually trigger outrage, and maybe even some violence from the Muslim community…Isn’t that what we are all afraid of now?
No one publishes Mohammed cartoons anymore…Terrorism works.
The Rabbis are simply acting out our collective appeasement.