Meanwhile, shawls are handed out to female visitors, who have a treat in store. For they will be taught how to tie and wear the hijab in the authentic way, from a real Muslim girl, and what’s more, they may get to keep the hijab, a gift from the mosque, and wear it whenever they feel like pretending to be Muslim. “Let me see how I look in the mirror? Wow, I could be in Baghdad, or Tehran. What fun!”
Not only do many people have much to learn about the beliefs practiced from[sic] the Quran, Adlouni said, but many also are mistaken in equating societal or cultural behaviors from Arabic nations with the religion Islam. Guest speaker Joe Bradford, an Islamic scholar based out of Houston, was brought in to explain Islamic customs and the five pillars of the faith, and to answer any questions from those in attendance. Most young visitors wanted to understand how Islam relates to Christianity, and what the Prophet Mohammed taught about Jesus and eternal salvation.
Which “societal or cultural behaviors” in Arab countries does Adlouni think should not be attributed to Islam? Could one of them be female genital mutilation (FGM), which we are often told is only a “cultural practice” having nothing to do with Islam? But this practice does indeed have something to do with Islam, as Robert Spencer has noted:
“Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) (by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the bazr ‘clitoris’ [this is called khufaadh ‘female circumcision’]).” — ‘Umdat al-Salik e4.3
Why is it obligatory? Because Muhammad is held to have said so:
Abu al- Malih ibn Usama’s father relates that the Prophet said: ‘Circumcision is a law for men and a preservation of honour for women.’” — Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 5:75
Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: ‘Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.’” — Abu Dawud 41:5251
“Do not cut severely,” but not “Do not cut.”
What other Muslim practices will be attributed to “societal or cultural behaviors”? The practice of polygamy? After all, non-Muslims too have been polygamous. But as with FGM, Islam specifically recognizes and endorses the practice in a Qur’anic verse:
Quran (4:3) – “Marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; and if ye fear that ye cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only) or (the captives) that your right hands possess.”
Muslims frequently claim that the “misogyny” of Muslim males is a “cultural behavior” unrelated to Islam. Is this true? A Muslim man can “beat” his wife if she is disobedient, not because it is a “cultural practice,” but because Qur’an 4:34 gives him that right. A Muslim woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man not because of some “societal or cultural behavior,” but because of a line in Qur’an 2:282 which says “And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses – so that if one of the women errs, then the other can remind her.” Furthermore, a Hadith reinforces this unequal weighing of testimony, when Muhammad says that the reason for such a rule is “the deficiency in her [woman’s] intelligence.”
Jocelyn Lopez, a Texas A&M freshman, attended the open house with her friends Abby Seifried, a recent Aggie graduate, and Laura Pepper, a junior at A&M. All three are Christians but were intrigued to learn about a faith shared by several other people in their friend groups and hometowns. None of the young women had ever stepped into a mosque before.
“There were definitely a lot of different things I didn’t know about Islam, like how Islam, Christianity and Judaism connect, how many of the prophets are shared,” Lopez said.
What did Jocelyn Lopez learn? She learned that Islam is “one of the three great monotheisms.” She learned that Islam is “one of the three great abrahamic faiths.” She undoubtedly learned that Muslims revere Mary, after whom Sura 19 in the Qur’an is named. She learned that Mary is mentioned more often in the Qur’an than in the New Testament. She learned that there were dozens of prophets who preceded Muhammad, including Adam, Moses, Noah, and many others. She was told that Jesus is “revered” by Muslims and that the Qur’an mentions him as a “prophet” dozens of times, providing accounts of his birth, miracles, and death. She may not have been told that Muslims believe Jesus died a natural death. She may have had cited to her the Qur’anic verse in which Allah proclaims: “O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection” (Quran 3:55). This verse can easily mislead, because “those who follow you” refers only to Muslims, and “those who disbelieve” are the Christians, something Ms. Lopez is not likely to have grasped. And the words “I will take you and raise you to Myself” would seem, to a Christian like Jocelyn Lopez, to be referring to the Resurrection. One can imagine the very words of the Muslim host, designed to appeal to Christians: “Yes, we revere Mary, who has a whole chapter in the Qur’an devoted to her. And we Muslims revere Jesus even more. We believe in the virgin birth, and in Jesus as a great prophet….” The admission that for Muslims, Jesus is not the Son of God, would be passed over quickly. Nor would Ms. Lopez and her Christian friends realize that Muslims claim those who believe Jesus to be the Son of God are guilty of shirk, or polytheism.
The women agreed they feel it important for people of other religious beliefs to spend time with Muslims, educating themselves.
“I love people, and I love knowing what they believe,” Seifried said. “I believe Jesus created the whole world and its people. And I want to know what those people believe in.”
Such naivete hasn’t much of a chance against Muslims well-versed in misleading the Unbelievers. How does spending “time with Muslims” help non-Muslims to “educate themselves”? In this particular instance, there’s the calligraphy, at the mosque, and the visitor’s name in Arabic that he or she gets to keep, and the lessons in hijab etiquette, and if you’re a girl, you are given your very own hijab to wear in the mosque and that you may get to keep, and then there’s all that varied and exotic food to sample, contributing to a cozy atmosphere of fellowship and bonhomie. But how will these visitors be “educating themselves” about Islam? Their Muslim hosts will of course begin by naming, and briefly describe, s-l-o-w-l-y so that everyone can write them down, the Five Pillars of Islam, taking care to stop at each Arabic word, to spell it out and, in discussing it, contribute to the illusion that something significant has been learned. The visitors are excited to hear, and some will write down, the words and their meanings: Shehada (the Profession of Faith), Salat (Prayer, including the Five Daily Prayers), Sawm (Fasting, including Ramadan), Zakat (Charity, though the requirement that the Zakat be given only to fellow Muslims will not be mentioned), and Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca, obligatory once in a Muslim’s life, if he or she can afford it). Time for the usual questions, too. “What exactly do you give up for Ramadan?” “Why do Muslims turn toward Mecca to pray?” “What if a Muslim can’t say all of the Five Daily Prayers?” “How many days do you stay in Mecca for the Hajj”? Questions at that level, but nothing, you can be sure, about how Muslims think of, and how they treat, Unbelievers.
Mac-101 says
So is wearing a hijab is as liberating as burning a bra?
revereridesagain says
No, but burning a hijab would probably just about equate!
(Men don’t understand about bra-burning because they don’t have to wear the things. Believe me, you would.)
Mac-101 says
My wife like to wear a Bra, She didn’t want dem puppies bouncing ALL over da place!
dumbledoresarmy says
Years ago, I went to a mosque open day. And I upset the apple cart, well and truly, because the guy doing the presentation, after claiming, forsooth, that he was honouring Jesus better than Christians did, because he was wearing middle eastern robes like Jesus did…proceeded to assert that Jesus wasn’t crucified. I stood up and told him that Christians believe Jesus *was* crucified – that the crucifixion was a *historic* event, something that really happened – and that plenty of secular historians are quite prepared to agree with them about that. Oh, he was not pleased!
Walter says
Thank you for sharing the truth about Jesus. Sadly no Muslim confessed the second article of the Apostles or Niceness Creed
eduardo odraude says
The Qur’an denies the three core tenets of Christianity: 1) that Jesus was the divine son of God; 2) that he died on the cross; 3) that he was resurrected from the dead.
Islam does not accept Jesus’ distinction between the realm of Caesar and the realm of God. Muhammad became Caesar, or at any rate the ruler of a violent, expansionist, authoritarian theocratic state.
The Qur’an, when it says nothing is in the likeness of Allah, is denying that human beings are made in the image of God.
The Qur’an denies that God has any sons or daughters. For Islam, human beings are only God’s slaves or servants.
The Qur’an teaches Muslims not to follow the golden rule, except among Muslims.
Many other huge differences between Christianity and Islam.
Geoffrey de Brito says
Muhammad declared that Islam is eternally at war with non-believers.
He also declared that, “War IS deceit”…
Geoffrey de Brito says
Rhetorical question:
How can Muslims sincerely honor Jesus when everything he taught is in direct opposition to Muhammad’s teachings and actions?
Answer: they can’t, so they lie…
Observation:
any ideology/theology that relies upon lying to gain converts is inherently false.
Observation:
any ideology/theology that, when deceit fails… relies upon force and coercion IS EVIL.
dan christenen says
These mosque open house arrangements can be compared to a salesman demonstrating vegetable choppers in home sales arrangements.
The home salesman shows the housewives how to chop vegetables using his wonderful machine, costing very little.
The moozzie salesmen present the wonderful Sharia machine to the naive spectators, explaining the advantages and favorable properties of his religious gadgets. Subscription is absolute free, but with small letters you can read that your termination of your subscription is synonymous with your violent death.
Never buy a Sharia machine – not even if you receive money to take it – you’d better buy a vegetable chopper.
Mateen Elass says
Hugh,
Regarding your statement, “She may not have been told that Muslims believe Jesus died a natural death”, unless this is an Ahmadiyya mosque, I believe that most Muslims, whether Sunni or Shi’a, believe that Jesus did not die but was taken up to heaven and remains there in suspended animation or playing Sudoku until Allah sends him back to earth either as Caliph over the endtimes umma (Sunnis) or as the Mahdi’s right-hand man (Shi’as).
Am I missing some nuance in your statement?
FYI says
Exotic food at the mosque?
Lure them in..lure in the easily-deceived and vulnerable…
“mm …That’s a nice culinary odor! It would go well with.. Matzo Balls:you know I could simply MURDER a dish of Matzo Balls…although not literally:I’m not a devout muslim “slaying the unbelievers” wherever I find them am I?Ask your cook for some Matzo balls..it would complement this islamic food ..despite being Jewish Cuisine..I’m sure allah won’t mind…and we know how you muslims feel about that don’t we?Be a dear and rustle up a Matzo ball dish for me in the name of interfaith diversity and mutual respect…inshallah..Say,Do you have chopped liver?Jewish Artichokes?Or should that be… islamic Artichokes?…”
Jay says
This event is beyond frightening on many levels! Muslims invade – they never acclimate or respect
anything but islam! I am sorry to see this going on in Texas and across America!
God save America! God bless Pres Trump! Save American sovereignty!! ????????
Tekyo Pantzov says
Camel-driver cults are so fashionable these days.
revereridesagain says
I would wonder why isn’t there a woman in Texas with sufficient knowledge of the realities of Islam to show up and challenge these snake oil salesmen, but she’d probably hit the same barrier most of us do if there are school officials or other non-Muslims running interference. A few years ago I challenged a speaker from Muslim Students Association with quotes from the MSA’s own mission statement only to be shut down 30 seconds in by the female lesbian rabbi — there are some strange ones in Marxachusetts — sponsoring the event, in a public school no less. You need to show up in numbers, but even that isn’t a guarantee.
I would suggest that it’s potentially more productive to hit them in the issues that could affect any non-Muslim — sharia, for example, which cannot be brushed off as “cultural” — rather than get bogged down in whose prophet was extolled or denigrated, but this was Texas so maybe not. But religious or secular, the level of ignorance and susceptibility to manipulation is scary. People also need to be educated about that, because Islamic propaganda like this is really just a greatly expanded example of cult recruitment techniques.
simpleton1 says
Thanks revereridesagain
Education we need about islam, know your enemy.
Practice as even being a computer chair warrior, makes one research, and learn, to hone your argument.
Even that attempt you had, was still a learning curve for the rest of us.
Yes to have support and set up others being spread out to be helpful.
I learnt a trick a few years ago with a contentious issue, when I stayed with facts, and when they tried to shut me down. I had primed a stranger next to me, that if he thought I was on the right track in my questions, to then comment for them to allow me to continue and ask another question. His voice was heard by some others nearby, and they repeated that.
It was amazing to hear that spread and sweep through the hall, to the “PR’s manager” chagrin that forced them to allow me to continue to make good pointed questions to the speaker, despite him trying to side step the question, the audience bought into and supported my ongoing questions, a few times, which ultimately showed them up.
I think there is a way to get that mosque, followers to admit to Islamic Shari’ah to being more than just 5 pillars.
That is pointing out they do not recognize the UN Human Rights Declaration , but oh so lucky that they have their very own CAIRO DECLARATION of human rights, as worked out by 57 countries of the Organsisation of Islamic Cooperation OIC, with its 1.5 billion followers.
Muslims keep their identity politics in the CAIRO DECLARATION that has some lovely sounding glorious preceding ARTICLES. though the bottom line is to follow the most “perfect man” Mohammad, as shown in his deeds, actions, sayings, and guidance as found in the koran, hadith and sunnah.
So all communiques, public releases, from the ‘Identity’ of “Organization of Islamic Cooperation” also are to follow Islamic Shari’ah as if from the “perfect man”, Mohammad’s perspective, understanding and application as found in koran, hadith, and sunnah though agenda is very stealthy, so as to influence and over ride the UN Human Rights, or any other constitutional set up.
I see you mention a cult, so a good question is what happens to people who change their mind after becoming muslim.
Connect that to any other international incident where some one tries to leave islam.
Then the words of Mohammad’s guidance, deeds and actions.
So just what is “honour killings” about?
Many thanks to RS & HF, the other posters, and many of the commentators.
Guard our free speech, and keep on, making these points to many.
sheliak says
The only thing missing from the mosque presentation is a bolt gun blast in the forehead of attendees as is humanely customary in US slaughterhouses.
elvira says
I am continually amazed st how gullible some people are re islam; islam is PURE hate and oppression, especially towards women. If these women think it is so great, get ready to get your parts cut off as it will happen no matter how they try to hide it or lie. W A K E U P
Bibi hamsash says
I think it is good that they want people outside of their relgion in their house of worship