My latest in PJ Media:
If you’re concerned about the implications for the geopolitical scene, as well as for the Church, of the conversion of Hagia Sophia to a mosque, relax: in a piece by the prominent Turkish moderate Muslim Mustafa Akyol, the New York Times is here to tell you that what’s happening is un-Islamic. And while it is good that Akyol is advocating for tolerance and pluralism in Islam, as is so often the case with expositions of how – properly understood! – Islam is really peaceful, tolerant, and cuddly, Akyol’s premises are false, and thus unlikely to convince any Muslims who think that the conversion of Hagia Sophia to a mosque is a good thing that it ought to be kept as a museum, or even turned back into a cathedral.
For example, Akyol claims that “The Prophet Muhammad and his small group of believers saw the earlier monotheists — Jews and Christians — as allies.”
Is that so? As with many other points he makes, Akyol is relying here on his readers’ ignorance of the Islamic source material. Akyol is almost certainly aware of the hadith containing these notorious orders from Muhammad: “I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.” (Sahih Muslim 19.4366) But Akyol also almost certainly knows that virtually every single person who reads his New York Times article will not be aware that Islamic tradition ascribes this decidedly intolerant statement to Muhammad.
Akyol also praises Muhammad’s tolerant stance toward the Christians of Najran in southern Arabia, noting that Muhammad “signed a treaty with them, which read: ‘There shall be no interference with the practice of their faith. … No bishop will be removed from his bishopric, no monk from his monastery, no priest from his parish.’”
Well, that’s just wonderful. But it leads to the inevitable question: where is that community now? Why didn’t the local Muslims follow Muhammad’s famously magnanimous example, honor the treaty he signed, and allow the Christians to continue to live there? Why did they instead expel them, such that there is now no trace of the fact that there was ever a Christian community there at all? According to the historian Philip K. Hitti, author of the seminal History of the Arabs, the caliph Umar expelled the Christians from Najran in the mid-seventh century so as to fulfill Muhammad’s expulsion order. Akyol doesn’t mention the expulsion order at all, so he is freed from the obligation of explaining why Umar and his men thought it their duty to follow that, and not to honor Muhammad’s treaty.
There is much more. Read the rest here.
mortimer says
Nice try, NYT, but your guess would be acceptable only if you had no data to go on. However, on the contrary, we have VOLUMINOUS data about the conduct of Mohammed, as well as the conduct of his most pious followers when dealing with those they conquered. Part of Islamic conquest is the HUMILIATION of those conquered by Islam.
It is NOT ok for NYT to guess what Mohammed would do, because we DO know what Mohammed DID. Islam’s number one place of worship is a perfect place to begin an explanation; the Kaaba is an Islamicized pagan temple that was stolen from its pagan owners. Islam begins with theft of a religious building.
MOHAMMED STOLE THE KAABA (the temple of Dhu Shara and Uzza) and REPURPOSED it as the center of Islam. This is what Muslims did in Constantinople … they stole the biggest temple in the town and turned it into a Muslim place of worship … in imitation of Mohammed.
Mohammed made a career out of destroying the temples and religious art of other religions in Arabia.
Erdogan was clearly and consciously imitating Mohammed by stealing Hagia Sophia the second time.
Islam is not able to separate the mosque from the state, because they are one.
Islam is a political religion or a religious polity. Either way, Mohammed was intolerant and Erdogan is imitating Mohammed.
Wellington says
Seconded, mortimer.
Though of course this will be lost on the fools now running the NYT.
So much is.
Grace says
Just another example of the decent of the New York Times from a viable news organization to the liner on the bottom of my bird cage. If you want to conquer a country without firering a shot you corner all the cable and news outlets. It’s not what you print that assures victory, it’s what you are forbidden to print. Unfortunately, this along with censorship by social of media of conservative conversation will hurry the demise of the Republic if we don’t wake up.
gravenimage says
The NYT has been in descent a long time. During the 1930s they whitewashed Stalin’s pogroms.
curious george says
Mortimer & Wellington
+1
gravenimage says
+1
CogitoErgoSum says
All treaties that Muhammad and the Muslims had with the Christians and other non-Muslims were proclaimed null and void by Allah in Surah 9 of the Koran, the second to last Surah in chronological order of “revelation.”
Per verse 9:29 any treaty from that time onward between Muslims and the non-Muslim “People of the Book, ” such as Christians, were only to be if those people accepted the superiority of the Muslims to rule over them and to submit tribute to the Muslims in return for being allowed to keep their own religion. According to Muhammad the Muslim version of Jesus would return someday and do away even with the Jizya and ALL people would have to become Muslims or die.
mortimer says
All Muslim treaties have a ten year expiry date built into them which is not explained to the dirty kufaar.
Erdogan has declared war on the ‘People of the Book’ as well as the Hindus in India. He’s chosen some substantial enemies so Allah can come to his rescue.
Erdogan is political pied piper like Hitler. He is leading Turks into a disaster.
CogitoErgoSum says
I don’t see how they can justify even the 10-year expiry but if they think whatever they do helps the cause of Islam, not matter how dirty a trick it seems, they will do it.
gravenimage says
Muhammed did indeed break the treaty well before ten years has elapsed–really, just as soon as he has consolidated his power in Medina–a couple of years. He only agreed to ten years on paper to give his enemies a false sense of security.
AleX says
“For example, Akyol claims that “The Prophet Muhammad and his small group of believers saw the earlier monotheists — Jews and Christians — as allies.”
Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.
gravenimage says
Not only did Muhammed enslave and slaughter Jews and Christians, but his last call was for their full cleansing from the Arabian peninsula.
Martin says
Zakir Naik – Turning Hagia into Mosque is Permissible Because It’s on Land Conquered by Muslims
[…]if Muslims conquer a land as the Ottomans did, they are permitted to use it as they wish
Naik said that Islamic scholars who criticize Turkish President Erdogan’s decision issue Islamic verdicts that do not follow the Quran and the Sunnah in order to garner support from the non-Muslim countries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXywNwzMxq4
Martin says
SUNDAY JULY 19 2020 – Erdogan visited Hagia Sophia following reconversion into mosque
Next Friday, July 24 – big midday prayer in and around Hagia Sophia………
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9tvcCMUaXI
Martin says
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBd30SCMSlw
Martin says
Jordanian Professor Ahmad Nofal Justifies Erdogan’s Decision to Turn Hagia Sofia into a Mosque
“…. Atatürk was in fact a Greek Dönmeh Jew not even a Turk …. ”
“…when the Arabs liberate Palestine, they will not leave the synagogues intact, but they will uproot them and throw them into the sea along with the Jews.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT0jqyIVuBY
mortimer says
Martin, that is a speculation, not a fact and Nofal should not state it as a fact if he wants to present himself as a scholar. Scholars who looked into that claim don’t find solid evidence. We do know who Ataturks parents were and where they were from.
Nofal shows his raging anti-Semitism, a sadly common vice among Muslims.
The fabricated ‘fact’ that Ataturk had some Jewish heritage is supposedly the reason to hate everything Ataturk did. Without Ataturk, Turkey would still be living in the Middle Ages.
Extra stupid.
SAFI says
I think Martin was quoting, not endorsing the claim. In any case this is what many turkish and other islamists have been saying for many decades about Ataturk, that he was a “secret” Jew and/or british agent who secretly conspired with the west to abolish the caliphate and demolish islam…
gravenimage says
Agreed, SAFI.
E T says
Just ANOTHER manic Muslim.
Martin says
Erdogan invites Heads of State to attend first prayer in Hagia Sophia on July 24
The Turkish president has even invited Heads of State to attend the first official prayer in Hagia Sophia on Friday after its conversion into a mosque.
According to a report by real.gr, citing information from the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Qatar are expected to attend the first prayer service, while many more have been reportedly invited, without making it clear how many and which Heads of State have been invited.
Of course, Turkish officials such as MHP chairman Devlet Bahçeli, ministers, members of the ruling AKP and MKYK members will be present among the nearly 1,500 people expected to be at the monument.
orthodoxtimes(dot)com/erdogan-invites-heads-of-state-to-attend-first-prayer-in-hagia-sophia-on-july-24/
==========================================================
Turkey invites Pope Francis to Hagia Sophia
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State, Pope Francis to visit Hagia Sophia Anadolou Agency reported.
According to Ibrahim Kalin, spokesperson for the Turkish presidency, Turkey has invited everyone to the mosque, including Pope Francis.
greekcitytimes(dot)com/2020/07/21/turkey-invites-pope-francis-to-hagia-sophia/
mortimer says
Mustafa Akyol is making a career out making up his own facts. Mohammed did not TAKE FRIENDS AND ALLIES from Jews and Christians, because the Koran says in 14 verses not to do that.
“O you who have believed, do NOT take the Jews and the Christians as allies (awliya=an intimate friend or ally). They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.” – Koran 5:51
Humiliation is part of Islamic dominance of kafirs.
– Ahmad Sirhindi a Sufi scholar (1564-1624) wrote : “The honour of Islam lies in INSULTING kufr and kafirs. One who respects the kafirs dishonours the Muslims… The real purpose of levying jiziya on them is to HUMILIATE THEM to such an extent that they may not be able to dress well and to live in grandeur. They should constantly remain terrified and trembling. It is intended to hold them under contempt and to uphold the honour and might of Islam.” – from ibn Taymiyya, “Book of Emaan”: “… true believers show animosity and hatred towards disbelievers and never support them.”
Mustafa Akyol is creating his own whitewashed Islamic texts, but they do not harmonize with the Koran, Sira or hadiths … the Islamic Trilogy.
Akyol differs from Allah and Mohammed, so his ideas are un-Islamic.
owensgate says
I just wonder, by what authority the NYT is able to print “Facts” about islam. Perhaps, being Satanic, they have a “direct link” to Satanic facts? [“All the News that’s Fake to Print”]
E T says
I am wondering why Joe Biden is saying more Islam needs to be taught in American schools.
gravenimage says
He means we need even more whitewash of this violent creed.
mortimer says
Mustafa Akyol is not an idiot, but he wishes Islam were not so much like Islam. But Mustafa Akyol has no right to redesign Islam in his own image. How can he re-design something that is ‘eternal, perfect and complete’.
If Mustafa Akyol would only admit that Islam has intrinsic flaws that cannot be fixed (because it’s eternal), then he could admit that Islam is imperfect and of human origin. He could then abandon Islam with confidence.
There is nothing within Islam that is worth salvaging. Millions of Muslims are walking away from Islam every year because ISLAM IS UNFIXABLE.
I hope Mr Akyol will acquire the GUTS to leave Islam too.
gravenimage says
I think this is more Taqiyya from Akyol than anything else–he so often aims this stuff at Infidels, and not at his own violent coreligionists.
nicholas william tesdorf says
Muhammad would have been the first one through the doors and waving his sword about in Hagia Sophia. The NYT continues its conversion from a reporting service into a major fictional organ.
Wellington says
The “matter” of Mohammed and his faux religion aside, the first five words in the title of this article speaks volumes in and of themselves, to wit, “New York Times Falsely Claims….”
A “standard feature” of the NYT—and on sundry subjects. What a despicable excuse for a newspaper the NYT has become. It has been a devolution in the making for many decades. And said newspaper regularly descends to new lows even when you think that its going lower couldn’t possibly be accomplished—yet it is.
James Lincoln says
Wellington says,
“What a despicable excuse for a newspaper the NYT has become. It has been a devolution in the making for many decades.”
I agree 100%.
I have a question:
Approximately when did it start to make the transition from quality journalism to the dreadful rag it has now become?
Wellington says
Right upfront, during the LBJ Presidency, James. From about 1967-1968 onward.
But, and a big BUT here, the NYT has had a complicit side with the forces of darkness for even longer than this. It whitewashed Soviet terrorism under Stalin via such a journalist as Walter Duranty.
James Lincoln says
Much thanks for the info, Wellington.
gravenimage says
Grimly true, Wellington. Hugh Fitzgerald has referred to the publication as the “New Duranty Times” for just this reason.
jewdog says
Did you know that Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian? That shows just what a humane person he really was. And Josef Stalin’s collectivization programs helped feed millions of starving peasants who were being oppressed by wealthy “billionehs”, as Bernie would put it. And if it wasn’t for Genghis Khan, we might not have Chinese takeout today…
mortimer says
Sorry, jd, I now you want to re-write history so that Hitler can be rehabilitated, but no … Hitler was a fake vegetarian. His personal cook ratted him out in her memoirs. Whenever she cooked sausage, she noticed that Der Fuehrer ate every tasty morsel.
We don’t actually know anything about Mohammed for sure, because all the stories about him come from books written more than 200 years following his death. Many of those stories contradict other stories of the literature. It looks like ‘Mohammed’ was anything any of his followers wanted him to be. They made up legends about Mohammed to validate whatever practice was going on in their society or government at the time.
Michael Copeland says
What can be said is that Arab story-tellers are 98% unreliable. When Bukhari collected from fellow Arabs the stories – Hadith – about – Mohammed he rejected 98% of them as unreliable.
OTTER says
There is ‘Islam’ according to the New York Times and time here is Islam which is practiced.
No amount of sophisticated makeover by lying apologists can ever obscure the reality of practiced Islam.
Islam is what Muslims do and Erdogan did what he had to as a Muslim.
SAFI says
Is this the same guy who wrote a book a few years ago claiming that FGM and other signature items of islamic barbarism have nothing to do with Islam and are just “cultural” things that the muslims picked up from the pre-islamic societies they conquered? Or am I just confusing him with a different turkish ‘moderate’?
gravenimage says
Yes–Akyol regularly whitewashes Islam.
Expat88 says
I have been to Najran (and everywhere else in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), and can personally attest to zero Christians or even any ancient Christian artifacts being present there. Despite the MANY guest workers in the Kingdom from many different religious backgrounds, NO accommodations are made for non-Muslims to practice their faith. In fact it can be downright dangerous to even practice in private in small groups. If it is discovered, the religious police can raid the place used for worship, arrest the worshippers, abuse them, take them to jail, and even deport them.
gravenimage says
Grimly true.
Jayell says
“New York Times Falsely Claims Muhammad Would Deplore Conversion of Hagia Sophia to a Mosque”
So are we now going to see the NYT contending for the Booker prize? It’s certainly achieved a most amazing output of fiction in recent years.
E T says
If Obama can get the Nobel Prize, anything is possible. Do you still get a prize in a Crackerjack box?
E T says
Is it still OK to mention CRACKERjacks or am I a bad racists?
Jayell says
Not sure what ‘Crackerjack’ means in the US, but here in the UK it used to be a children’s show on BBC TV where they spent half the time playing silly games. The prizes were a special pencil for the winners and a cabbage for the losers. If the NYT would have been getting anything out of a ‘Crackerjack’ prize box here, it looks like they’d have had enough to open a greengrocer’s store.
gravenimage says
Jayell, in the US Crackerjack is a caramel popcorn treat with peanuts enjoyed mostly by children. It has inexpensive little prizes in it. The product is over a century old.
Here’s a picture of a package:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d4/Cracker_Jack_bag.JPG/220px-Cracker_Jack_bag.JPG
MykeJohn says
Taqqiya on the podium to give non-muslims a false sense of security.
ELI says
Probably good to show the plurality of opinions on this (so jihadwatchers can at least scream taqqiya)
Memri vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaCLowL8Wh8
gravenimage says
Well, that’s nice. Of course, Ahmad Karima does lie when he said that the “Prophet” Muhammed never destroyed the works of other faiths.
OLD GUY says
Islam is the lie and its followers are just a tool to continue the lie.
If you promote islam as a “religion” of love and peace you have turned your head to the violence of islam against non islamic followers and the brutality of islam against its own followers through child marriages, rape, honor killing, wife beating, and slavery.