With 1.2 million views on YouTube, the video ‘What is the Qur’an: A Christian Reads the Qur’an’ is easily the most viewed video from the Emir-Stein Center, yet it is also the shortest, at only 3 minutes and 51 seconds. While I expected an impartial introductory video with no need for deceit, this was not what I found.
Dr. Garry Wills begins by explaining that the Qur’an is a set of revelations from God. He never uses the word ‘claims’ and refers to Muhammad as Prophet. He details how Judaism, Christianity and Islam all affirm that there is one God, ignoring the huge differences between the God of Christianity and the God of Islam, and emphasizes that Jews, Christians and Muslims are all set apart as ‘People of the Book’. This is an interesting choice of words, as the Qur’an calls only Jews and Christians People of the Book. Unity between the three religions’ religious texts is also impossible. The Bible disproves Islam, which forces Islam to claim that the Bible is corrupted. Muslims cannot revere the texts or appreciate them in any way, contrary to what the Emir-Stein Center would have you believe. And this is aside from all the huge changes in divine law that the Qur’an presents in comparison to the Gospel message.
Wills then goes on to say: ‘We believers in One God are on the same team as it were, and should protect one another’s place of worship, listed in the Qur’an as Monasteries, Churches, Synagogues and Mosques.’ Wills seems to suggest the Qur’an tells us to protect those four places. In reality, it simply lists them as places of worship: ‘And were it not that Allah checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is much mentioned. And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.’ (22:40) The ‘name of Allah is mentioned’ in these places, but in light of the Qur’an’s other teachings about how Jews and Christians teach falsehood and must be converted, killed, or subjugated, this is essentially irrelevant. If Muslims do not engage in jihad war with ‘infidels’, Allah reveals the following in Surah 8:73: ‘And those who became infidels are friends one to another. If you do not do this, there will be sedition in the land and a big vandalizing’. A verse later in Surah 8:74, the reward is set out: ‘And those who believed and emigrated and performed jihad for the sake of Allah, and those who gave asylum and helped, those are the true believers; they will receive forgiveness and generous provisions’.
Who are infidels according to Allah? We can see this in Surah 5:72-73, where Allah decrees: ‘Infidels, indeed, are those who said, “Surely Allah is the Christ, son of Mary.” And the Christ said, “O children of Israel, serve Allah, my lord and your lord.” Surely whoever partners with Allah, so indeed, Allah forbids him the garden. And his abode is the fire, and the unjust will have no helpers. Infidels, indeed, are those who said, “Surely Allah is the third of three.” And there is no god except one god, and if they do not refrain from what they are saying, a painful torment will touch those who became infidels among them.’ Jews and Christians, the ‘infidels’ that Muslims are commanded to engage in war against and kill or subjugate, are also described in Surah 98:6: ‘Surely those who became infidels, from the People of the Book and polytheists, will abide in the fire of hell forever. Those are the worst of the creatures’. Surah 98:7 reads: ‘Surely those who believed and did good deeds, those are the best of the creatures’.
Dr. Wills then says that ‘Muhammad is the seal of the Prophets; not as cancelling former covenants, but as confirming them’. Let’s ignore the fact that the Qur’an completely reverses what the Bible says about God’s will regarding unbelievers and concentrate on the logical repercussions of this statement. Unless Wills says that according to Islam, Biblical texts are not corrupted, which would disprove Islam, he has to argue that they are corrupted. But if this is the case, how can Muhammad uphold any of the scripture? When it is all written off as corrupted and hence irrelevant for today, with the Qur’an being the only perfect and uncorrupted scripture, Muhammad is upholding nothing but his own word.
Wills says that the Qur’an includes more poetry than legislation, and while this is partly true, it isn’t true in the way Wills would have us believe. The entire Qur’an is poetical and was revealed in a very flowing form, but the entire Qur’an is also considered in Islam to be the direct, perfect, unchangeable, perfectly preserved word and command of Allah. It is all divine legislation. The only way to argue against this would be by invoking the doctrine of abrogation (cf. Qur’an 2:106), which holds that some of the revealed scripture is now irrelevant and hence not entirely divine command.
While the Qur’an does not set ethical norms, it does set ethical commands. Wills’ point is the same here, but when we remember that God always what is defines good and bad. The ethical standards of Christianity and Islam are good by their own standards; the commands of God are always good by definition. Yet according to Allah, what we see in Surah 5:38 is good: ‘the male thief and the female thief, so cut off their hands, a reward of what they earned as a punishment from Allah’, but it is not good by the standards Wills is trying to establish.
Wills details how the Qur’an stress mercy in dealing with God’s fellow creatures, but this is remarkably devious. Allah is merciful to those who surrender; Allah does not love anyone else, and in some cases deliberately seals their hearts. Usama Dakdok writes: ‘True Muslims do not seek peace if they have the upper hand (See also verses 4:104 and 47:35). Allah proves true believers by allowing them to be martyrs’. We see this in Surah 4:139-141: ‘And do not be weak, and do not grieve; and you have the upper hand if you were believers. If a wound has touched you, so indeed, a wound like it has also touched the people before. And such are the days we alternate between the people. And that Allah may know those who believed, and he takes martyrs from among you. And Allah does not love the unjust. And that Allah may purify those who believed and destroy the infidels’.
According to Wills, in Islam ‘force is allowed only for self-defence and never as a way of spreading religion’. This is just a bald-faced lie. Wills says he has studied the Qur’an for years. If that is true, he must be aware that the Qur’an commands killing in over 70 verses. Such verses include 2:193, ‘And engage in war with them until there be no sedition and the religion be to Allah. So if they desist, so there will be no transgression except on the unjust’ and Surah 2:244, ‘And engage in war for the sake of Allah, and know that Allah is hearing, knowing’. You can see various Islamic groups very carefully undertake the will of Allah in a very thorough documentary film called ‘Art Of Imposture’ on my website, narrated by Usama Dakdok and created by ‘NTAuthority’, showing exactly the justification for every such action.
Wills adds: ‘Dealings with non-Muslims should be meticulously fair and never extortionate’. This contradicts Allah in Surah 9:29: ‘Engage in war with those who do not believe in Allah nor in the last day. Nor forbid what Allah and his messenger forbid, nor believe in the religion of the truth among those who have been given the book until they pay the jizya out of hand and they are subdued’. This hardly seems ‘meticulously fair’; it extorts money out of non-Muslims in exchange for their right to live. Even though Wills insinuated that non-Muslim houses of worship were held as equally sacred in Islam, non-Muslims who do not pay this second-class citizen religious tax are not allowed in the mosque, as we see in Surah 9:18: ‘Surely only those who believed in Allah and the last day and perform the prayer and bring the legal alms and fear no one except Allah can visit the mosques of Allah, so perhaps those will be among the guided’.
While acknowledging Islam’s allowance of polygamy, although equating it to the teachings of other religions in order to legitimise it, Wills claims that ‘women are highly honoured’ in Islam, even retaining dowry rights if divorced, ‘carving out an area of women’s right unparalleled in the 7th century’. In reality, women are not highly honoured in Islam; they are held as half as intelligent as men (Surah 2:282), as essentially property when married (Surah 4:24). They also must be veiled (Surah 24:31, 33:59) and child marriage is permissible (Surah 65:4). In Surah 4:34. Allah commands: ‘Men are in charge of women by what Allah preferred some of them above the others and by what they spend out of their money. So good [women] are obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah has guarded. And of whom you fear rebellion, so preach to them and separate from them in the beds and scourge them. So if they obey you, so do not seek a way against them.’ Arguing that Islam honours women by any regular standards, the standards Emir-Stein appeals to, is facile. Nowhere in the Qur’an is a woman allowed to divorce her husband. Islam did carve out an unparalleled area of woman’s rights, but this ‘area’ has been as an unprecedented oppressor for women for centuries, not as a great example for women’s equal rights.
Wills claims that the Qur’an is a book of many levels and great depths, with the video showing co-existence (false), ecology (irrelevant), mercy (Islamic mercy; so by Biblical and even Western secular standards false), ethics (Islamic ethics; so by Biblical and even Western secular standards false), forgiveness (false), prophets (false), women’s rights (false) and justice (Islamic justice; again by Biblical as well as Western secular standards false), all without any substance to those claims.
He finishes by saying ‘even non-Muslims can learn from it, as Pope Francis has proclaimed’. I agree with this and would suggest everyone read a good translation of the Qur’an, however, you will not learn any virtue from this book. You will only learn surrender, hate and subjugation, directly from Allah.
MykeJohn says
Wow, is Dr. Garry Wills in a sort of Freudian slip or while we were not watching some rewards find a new haven of rest or playing the useful idiot?
mortimer says
Garry Wills cannot be considered a scholar. He is determined propagandist who ignores the significant anomalies that prove Islam to be false. He completely swallows the contradictory ‘traditional narrative’ of Islam uncritically. There are so many contradictions in the primary Islamic source texts that ‘something else’ must be happening … something very political. The ‘traditional narrative’ cannot possibly be true. The historical critique of Islam is showing that spiritually has been intentionally exploited for a political agenda.
Wills has whitewashed Islam. He ignores and covers up Islam’s remarkably violent and discriminatory history. I cannot imagine such a self-delusion. The 164 jihad verses and their explanation in the hadiths, Sira and commentaries … as well as Islamic history … all explain the violent and aggressive intent of the Koran.
Gary Wills self-deception cannot be explained. The Koran contains no Golden Rule, but it does contain many messages of hate.
Gary Wills should consider the following statistics.
There are over 400 references in the Koran to hate, over 300 references in the Koran to Allah and FEAR, but there are only 49 references to love. Of these love references, 39 are negative such as the 14 negative references to love of money, power, other gods and status.
Three verses command humanity to love Allah and only 2 verses are about how Allah loves a believer. There are 25 verses about how Allah does NOT love kafirs (disbelievers).
This leaves 5 verses about love. Of these 5 verses, 3 are about loving kin or a Muslim brother. One verse commands a Muslim to give money for the love of Allah. This leaves only one quasi-universal verse about love: give what you love to zakat-charity and even this is contaminated by dualism since Muslim zakat-charity only goes to other Muslims. There are OVER 400 teachings of HATE directed against all disbelievers: Jews, Christians, Idolaters and Kafirs.
So much for love, Dr. Wills. HATE and FEAR are what Allah demands in the Koran.
The question I and everyone who read the primary sources are all asking is ‘Why does Dr Wills whitewash Islam?’ Certainly, Dr. Wills knows that the Sira and hadiths do not depict Mohammed as benign, but as a vicious warlord and playboy.
mortimer says
* important correction: Garry Wills cannot be considered a scholar of ISLAM … (important distinction) WILLS is obviously A GREAT AMERICAN SCHOLAR AND PROFESSIONAL HISTORIAN … but he let’s us down in this talk. He has not read the voluminous literature that describes and is an inseparable part of the Islamic view of the meaning of the Koran. He makes his own view of the Koran and states it as fact. This is merely spontaneous. It is inexplicable coming from an historian.
Wills seems to be unaware of the Sira, hadiths and tafsirs or of Sharia law manuals.
It is not simply a matter of reading the Koran and then trying to figure it out on its face meaning. I think Wills has ignored the historical context of the Koran and the later explanations of it by leading, well-educated Muslims.
Wills is producing a ‘puff piece’ of the Koran. But WHY?
Wills book and this talk are not consistent with being an historian. What is the real story behind this?
gravenimage says
Good posts, Mortimer. Also re Zakat–this also goes to fund Jihad terror.
Cornelis Jacobus Baay says
You 100% right. Thank you.
Seth says
Yet another grifter.
mortimer says
Yes, Seth. It looks bad. Wills WAS a very fine historian. His book on the ‘meaning’ of the Koran is not a scholarly view of Islam. This talk sounds just like a whitewashing Muslim pamphlet.
(Bull*** alarm bells going off!)
warren raymond says
The guy was born 1934, that means he is 86 years old.
There’s no point trying to reason with him.
If he writes crap for money what does that make of the rest of his work?
mortimer says
Wills seems to have taken most of his book from pamphlets about Islam that are handed out by Muslim “dawagandists” on the street. The phrases he uses to whitewash Islam are very similar to what I have read in them. They make Islam seem as mellow as Buddhism and as peaceful as Quakers. I have read dozens of such whitewashing pamphlets.
Wills could have written his book in one afternoon merely by quoting such pamphlets.
What is going on with Wills? This former historian has jumped ship.
gravenimage says
He has been slinging whitewash for Islam for some years now.
“…Wills says it’s important not to mistake Islamic terrorism for Islam itself. ISIS and other jihadist groups, he explains, are not indicative of the true nature of Islam. He debunks a number of misconceptions by discussing what the Qur’an actually has to say about holy wars and Sharia Law.”
https://www.gpb.org/news/2017/11/13/religious-scholar-garry-wills-on-what-islam-actually-about
He does not actually say what Islam does teach in this article–no surprise there. His book on the Qur’an is pure Da’wa.
https://www.amazon.com/What-Quran-Meant-Why-Matters/dp/1101981024
Mitch Kumstein says
I guess Dr Wills ignores the Hadith and Sira which are key to understanding the cult of Islam as a supremacist ideology..additionally the origins of the Koran cast doubt on the originality of the documents.
gravenimage says
He ignores the Qur’an, as well–which is utterly savage all by itself.
mortimer says
PLEASE FORENSICALLY AUDIT EMIR STEIN CENTER, SAN JOSE, CA
WHO IS ISMAEL NASS-DUCE? WHO IS HIS EMPLOYER??? SOMEONE IN QATAR?
Emir Stein Center Ismael Nass Duce Owner
Emir-Stein Center is a California Domestic Corporation filed on January 29, 2019. The company’s filing status is listed as Active and its File Number is C4239133.
The Registered Agent on file for this company is Ismael Nass-Duce and is located at 1712 Euclid Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709. The company’s mailing address is 1712 Euclid Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709.
The company has 1 principal on record. The principal is Ismael Nass-Duce from Berkeley CA.
Billed on Linded-in as Ismael Nass-Duce
Ismael, Owner, EngineersWhoWrite
https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/11/17/palo-alto-mosque-opens-its-doors-to-people-of-all-faiths/
Nass-Duce said his organization has experts who cover numerous topics connected to the major religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. He applauds the senior center being proactive in wanting to find out more about Islam in such troubled times.
“We have a speakers’ bureau with members who talk with police, hospitals, churches and all kinds of interfaith groups,” said Nass-Duce. “Our (San Jose based) group does not teach religion. We are only trying to educate people about other faiths. And these days that can be critically important.”
gravenimage says
Ismael Nass-Duce is also a member of the Islamic Network Group, which has among other things pretended that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam. More Taqiyya.
OTTER says
Why is the world so eager to submit to Islam and find virtue in its evil and hate? Beats me.
Jack Cade says
Robert, please do your best to formally debate this evil moron.
James Lincoln says
Jack,
Dr. Garry Wills would never agree to it…
mortimer says
Some deep deception is going on at Emir-Stein Center. Ismael Nass-Duce (owner) should be investigated to find out who his boss is.
Emir-Stein is a disinformation psy-op, but which country is doing it?
gravenimage says
This is located in the US–not far from me in California. But I don’t know if they have links to foreign Da’wa artists–it would not surprise.
Ade Fegan says
Has this clown ever actually read the rag ?
CogitoErgoSum says
God is Truth and would not tell one group of people (in Greek) that Jesus is God’s beloved Son and then a few centuries later tell another group of people (in Arabic) that it is beneath God’s dignity to have a Son. GOD IS NOT A LIAR. This man and all others who believe that Allah of the Muslims is the same God of the Christians and Jews must believe that God is a liar. I refuse to believe in such a god and choose to believe the words in the Bible when we are told that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and He and His Father are one with the Holy Spirit. This is what I believe to be the truth. You must decide for yourself – but do not be like the man in the video and believe that lying is a characteristic of God.
James Lincoln says
Was Dr. Garry Wills paid off by some muslim brotherhood front group?
Or is he just plain ignorant?
mortimer says
‘Cui bono?’, Mr. Examiner. Follow the money. Dr Garry Wills is one of the leading American scholars, intellectuals and a former Jesuit.
Wills is not ignorant of what he is doing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Wills
You are an intelligent man. What option remains?
I do not believe Wills is the author of the speech that he read from the teleprompter. Only a believing Muslim could have written those words. The speech was a declaration of Islamic faith.
Keys says
mortimer –
Karen Armstrong, as you probably aware, has made similar benign statements, and written approvingly, about Islam and Mohammad.
Both were probably paid well to do so, in my opinion, but certain types of threats are possible too, or both.
Wills and Armstrong as “tools” for Islam ! Probably picked by a powerful Muslim “boss” for their prominence and ridiculous popularity.
Wish I could give them a dose of truth serum to make public what they are not saying.
x says
Wills is not a Christian. If he were, he would find the truth.
Wills is not a Christian. If he were, he would tell the truth.
Wills is not a Christian. If he were, he would be saved.
For this reason, pity him.
mortimer says
Dear x, we should look at the actions without being too judgmental. I find Dr Wills’ participating in this propaganda outfit to be VERY ALARMING!
Emir-Stein is unquestionably hired by some Islamic government to spread soothing disinformation about Islam. However, it’s wasted money. It’s easy to see what is going on.
They exploded their credibility by hiring Dr. Wills to read their script. A proper historian would never write such a piece of undisguised propaganda. Emir-Stein Center should be thoroughly investigated.
Martin Gardner in “The Strange Case of Garry Wills” states there is a “mystery and strangeness that hovers like a gray fog over everything Wills has written about his faith”.[
FYI says
Perhaps these academics might like to consider these..
The Golden rule is MISSING in islam:WHY is it missing when it is defined in the Gospel as the meaning of the law of Moses{Matthew 7 v 12}?
Where is the Holy Spirit in islam?
{see koran 5:116.allah has MARY in the Trinity.Note the Holy Spirit is missing}
Where is the First Chief Commandment of God Deut 6:4-9 ?
Where is the Second Chief Commandment of God lev19:18?
{impossible in islam.Jews are hated koran 2:65,Christians and ‘polytheists’ are hated koran 98;6}
Why does islam have a Doctrine of Hate{al walaa wal baraa}?
{which clearly violates Lev 19:18}
Where is Genesis1:27 in islam{people made in the spiritual image of God.the koran classifies Jews and Christians as INFERIORS koran 98:6}
Why does the koran NOT conform to the Law of Moses{the 2 chief laws+Exodus 20 decalogue}but gives freedom to violate them thus defeating the purpose of the Torah?
James says
Man there are a lot of people in this world who have absolutely no reading comprehension, The Koran is clear as a bell in what it says. It is not a mystical document like the Christian testaments. There is only one story in the Koran which one might consider mystical, and that story is the one about Mohamed and the camel rider. That’s it. It is written in clear, open text, no need for interpreters, unlike the Bible.
anthony says
you gotta kidding me, how about Sulaiman and his flying carpet, Al Khidr who lives forever because he drinks from the water of al hayat, the fountain of youth, Sulaiman and this army of jinns and birds…and no need interpreters ????
You do need interpretation/tafsir to understand the Quran, just give you example…
surah at tahrim, chapter 66..
1 O Prophet! Why holdest thou to be forbidden that which Allah has made lawful to thee? Thou seekest to please thy consorts. But Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
…www.quranwow.com, Yusuf Ali translation
How in the world you know what this verse talking about without looking at the tafsir ??
You tell me
gravenimage says
Certainly, the savagery and calls for violence from Islam are quite clear.
Demetrio says
Have never heard muslim propaganda that’s so blatant from a non-muslim. He must be getting paid a lot to spew this.
Wellington says
Just as Wills got Ronald Reagan deeply wrong (in his 1987 work, Reagan’s America: Innocents at Home), so has he gotten Islam deeply wrong. Just another useless intellectual.
They’re all over the place nowadays and, as JFK observed, he had rarely ever met an intellectual “with both feet on the ground.” Or, as originated in America, and a credit to America even though so many sophisticated Europeans have deprecated it, the term “egghead” to describe most intellectuals is DOA (Dead On Accurate). Wills is no exception to this American rule of thumb.
gravenimage says
Yes–Wills posed as a Conservative at one time, as well. But more recently he was slavering over Obama.
gravenimage says
What is the Qur’an and what does it teach? A rebuttal of Dr. Garry Wills
………………..
So Wills uncritically accepts the vicious Qur’an as a revelation from God?
How can he do so and claim to be a Catholic, or any sort of Christian? This despite Catholic journalist John L. Allen Jr. considering Wills to be “perhaps the most distinguished Catholic intellectual in America over the last 50 years” as of 2008.
Wills also at one time claimed to be a Conservative, but he has long since jettisoned this, as well.
And while this fool may believe he is on the “same team” as Muslims, pious Muslims want to murder him and all other Christians who do not submit to Islam.
The claim that the Qur’an is all about the love of nature and ecology is utter claptrap, as well–has this idiot even read this vicious tome? Equally ludicrous is the claim that Islam ensures women’s rights–in fact, the only woman with any rights in the texts of Islam is Khadija, who made her career *before* the oppressive horrors of Islam were imposed.
Worse yet, the claim that the savage Qur’an is ethical could not be more false–its constant message is to humiliate and murder Infidels, including Christians, until they submit. The claim that Islam is not spread by violence is especially laughable–that’s exactly what the vicious “Prophet” Muhammed did.
But Will *is* right about one thing–Infidels can indeed learn from reading this barbaric tome, and seeing just what Islam has in store for us.
Another excellent expose by Isaac Marshall.
Wellington says
Excellent comment, gravenimage.
Long ago I gave up on Wills. Very overrated.
gravenimage says
Thank you, Wellington.
anthony says
Don’t burn the Quran but read it and we all will know the mind of 7th century Arabian Beduoin !
Heaven full of virgins!!!
Surah ar rahman..
56 In them will be (Maidens), chaste, restraining their glances, whom no man or Jinn before them has touched;-
And sex….
Surah Ya Seen..
55 Verily the Companions of the Garden shall that Day have joy in all that they do;
…www.quranwow.com, Yusuf Ali translation
Good luck with the reading
gravenimage says
Yes–every Infidel should read this ugly book.
anthony says
Gary is a closet muslim, propagating da’wa to gullible non-muslim audience !
So you all also need to read the Quran to see if what he says is true or just da’wa !
Feel sorry for Gary
Ivan says
Is this guy an idiot or has he not understood what is happening in the world today?
OLD GUY says
Check his bank account and where his money comes from. That usually explains these idiots view on islam and muslims.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Uh-oh! At 2:00 in the video, the world is spinning backwards! (Didn’t Superman do that once?)