Ivory tower mind games versus reality. My latest in FrontPage:
By the time you read this, the world may have been convinced by Javad T. Hashmi, a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University, that Islam is a religion of peace, and that Christianity is the real violent religion. Tomorrow, Hashmi and I are scheduled to debate the question “Religion of Peace? Is Islam More Violent Than Christianity?” You can watch here at 1PM Eastern tomorrow to see whether or not Hashmi succeeds in demonstrating that, as that sage imam Pope Francis memorably put it a few years ago, “authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.” Meanwhile, however, Muslims around the world are weighing in on this question themselves.
In Pakistan on Friday, a Sri Lankan man was tortured and burned alive for blasphemy after he was accused of throwing Qur’an verses into a dustbin. The crowd chanted “Gustakh-e-nabi ki ek hi saza, sar tan se juda sar tan se juda,” which means: “The only punishment for one who insults the prophet, the head separated from the body, the head separated from the body.” There has been no record of Christians burning anyone alive for blasphemy recently. While Hashmi or others of his mindset may argue that this did happen in the past, there is a reason why we don’t see Christian mobs baying for blood and murdering accused blasphemers today: there is actually no earthly penalty for blasphemy taught in the Christian scriptures or by any of the leading Christian authorities.
Islam, in contrast, mandates death for blasphemy. Death is prescribed for those who mention “something impermissible about Allah, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), or Islam” (‘Umdat al-Salik, o11.10), and such laws are based upon passages in the Hadith and Sira in which Muhammad orders the murders of people who have insulted him.
These included Abu Afak, who was over one hundred years old, and the poetess Asma bint Marwan. Abu Afak was killed in his sleep, in response to Muhammad’s question, “Who will avenge me on this scoundrel?” Similarly, Muhammad on another occasion cried out, “Will no one rid me of this daughter of Marwan?” One of his followers, Umayr ibn Adi, went to her house that night, where he found her sleeping next to her children. The youngest, a nursing babe, was in her arms. But that didn’t stop Umayr from murdering her and the baby as well. Muhammad commended him: “You have done a great service to Allah and His Messenger, Umayr!” (Ibn Ishaq, 674-676)
Then there was Ka’b bin Al-Ashraf. Muhammad asked: “Who is willing to kill Ka’b bin Al-Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His Apostle?” One of the Muslims, Muhammad bin Maslama answered, “O Allah’s Apostle! Would you like that I kill him?” When Muhammad said that he would, Muhammad bin Maslama said, “Then allow me to say a (false) thing (i.e. to deceive Kab).” Muhammad responded: “You may say it.” Muhammad bin Maslama duly lied to Ka’b, luring him into his trap, and murdered him. (Sahih Bukhari, volume 5, book 59, number 369)
There is no record of Jesus issuing similar commands about those who insulted him.
In other news, five Muslims in Australia stabbed a woman for the crime of dating a Christian man. The attackers were members of the victim’s own family, enraged because Islamic law forbids Muslim women to marry non-Muslim men. The Qur’an allows Muslim men to marry “chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you” (5:5), that is, “the people of the book,” who are primarily Jews and Christians. A Muslim woman, however, may not marry a Christian man. The reason for this is supremacist: the Muslim community must always grow at the expense of the non-Muslim community. This woman violated this rule; in the eyes of her family, she had to be punished. The Qur’an directs that a woman who is feared to be disobedient can be beaten (4:34).
There could be stories somewhere of Christians who attacked members of their own family for dating someone they didn’t like. However, this violence is not backed, as it is in Islam, by what is considered to be divine law.
Meanwhile, over in London, Muslims screaming “Free Palestine” spit at Hanukkah party bus, pounded on the windows, and threatened passengers. Some will maintain that they’re just enraged by Israel’s perceived injustices in “Palestine,” and that if Israel makes certain concessions, peace will reign. However, as an Egyptian imam, Muhammad Hussein Ya’qoub, made clear in 2009, Muslim hatred of Jews had nothing to do with Israel and everything to do with the Qur’an: “If the Jews left Palestine to us, would we start loving them? Of course not. We will never love them. Absolutely not. The Jews are infidels—not because I say so, and not because they are killing Muslims, but because Allah said: “The Jews say that Uzair is the son of Allah, and the Christians say that Christ is the son of Allah. These are the words from their mouths. They imitate the sayings of the disbelievers before. May Allah fight them. How deluded they are.” [Qur’an 9:30] It is Allah who said that they are infidels….You must believe that we will fight, defeat, and annihilate them, until not a single Jew remains on the face of the Earth.”
Nonetheless, it may be that Dr. Hashmi will succeed tomorrow in stymieing my attempts to explain all this, and will establish once and for all that Islam is peaceful. That would be wonderful, really, if he can succeed in convincing the angry young men in ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, and all the rest. But unless and until he does, his efforts are essentially an intellectual game, a demonstration of how a Harvard intellect can make you believe all manner of things that go against the evidence of your lying eyes. I may not prevail in the debate tomorrow, but whether I do or do not, the reality is unfortunately all too clear.
Henry Dillon Mansfield says
I wasn’t raised in a religious household, always believing it much more likely that dinosaurs roamed the Earth millions of years ago than any creation myth.
The area was strongly Christian, although Jews and Muslims were present as minorities, and both mixed freely without much of a problem.
Now, my interpretation of the U.S. Constitution is that people are free to believe what they wish, but the moment those beliefs affect me MY rights kick in. The implicit threat of riots and terrorism if some groups don’t get everything they wish is very real and destabilizing, weak leaders only encourage it. Feckless media aids and abets them both along every step of the way, as Jihad Watch has chronicled so well.
Knowledge of this affects the way I’ll be voting for as long as I live.
Anjuli Pandavar says
Perhaps, if there should be an awkward silence somewhere along the way, Dr Javad T. Hashmi might care to explain whether the PhD he is a candidate of is the same PhD as the one that already adorns his name. If not, then perhaps he could enlighten us as which PhD he already has and which PhD he is currently a candidate of. If he is currently completing his second PhD, then he has my best wishes for a successful viva.
Steve says
He is a medical doctor and a PhD student of Islamic studies.
Anjuli Pandavar says
Then I wish him well.
And thank you.
Jim Austin says
“…(T)here is a reason why we don’t see Christian mobs baying for blood and murdering accused blasphemers today: there is actually no earthly penalty for blasphemy taught in the Christian scriptures or by any of the leading Christian authorities.”
No?
Leviticus 24:16 “And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.” (KJV)
There is indeed a reason why we don’t see Christian mobs baying for blood and murdering accused blasphemers today. Christianity went through a Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment where reason has supplanted many of the doctrines found in Christianity. Outside the Westboro Baptist Church, few Christians can be found insisting on implementing many of the horrendous passages found in their scripture.
Moslems went through a similar period where during their golden age, they led the world in science, math, literature and civilized behavior. That was during the brief period they embraced reason. However, that period ended when Moslems explicitly repudiated reason and went diving into their own dark age where they show every intent on staying.
Robert Spencer says
Clearly you have no understanding of Christian doctrine. The Leviticus passage is part of the Mosaic Law that is considered abrogated from the very earliest period of Christianity; the fact that Christianity does not consider the Mosaic Law to be still valid is discussed at great length in Acts and Paul’s Epistles. The idea that Christians believed in killing blasphemers until the Renaissance and Enlightenment is post-modern ahistorical twaddle without a shred of truth to it.
somehistory says
Good answer, Mr. Spencer.
somehistory says
When Christ was being arrested….illegally, to be put on trial, also illegally.. a mob met Him and proceeded to grab The Lord and Master.
His Apostle Peter reached out with his sword and cut of the ear of one of those taking Jesus.
Jesus commanded Peter to “return” his sword to its place and promptly healed the man’s ear.
Christians are commanded to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, to do things as He did them, to think as He thinks, to follow the “Law of Love,” and to “Do to others as you wish them to do to you.” This includes speaking Truth.
mozlums lie. mozlums are taught violence, hence, moxlums learn violence and the *example* they follow was written to be a mass-murdering, raper of children; one who ordered others to murder on his behalf, and seek to avenge him for any and all perceived slights to his person. The fake ‘prophet’ mozlums worship was nothing but a slime, sleaze, liar, thief, traded in humans for sex, and profited from the torture, grief and pain of others as he taught hatred and ‘do to others before they can do to you what you don’t wish to be done.’ They follow this rule even when they know that the other person will do them no harm. They “bite the hands that feed them.”
mozlums copy their ‘fake prophet’ and do as he was said to have done, and what he is said to have commanded to be done to those they hate. But, when these things are revealed, they must try to shift the blame….as all psychopaths do…onto others, and so they blame Christians, making the lying claims that Christians are more violent and bloodthirsty than mozlums ever even thought about being.
mozlums follow satan…the “father of the lie,” and the “one having the means to cause death,” and “the thief” who “comes to steal, kill and destroy.”
The proof that mozlums lie about Christians is seen by examining history, the Bible and present events happening all over the world.
A simple test: compare the **Example** of Christianity, Jesus Christ, Whom Christians are commanded to follow
with
the “fake prophet” **example** followed by mozlums.
An honest person will recognize the Truth and admit that Christians who follow Jesus are not killers or rapists or haters.
An honest person will admit that mozlums are taught the exact opposite and devout mozlums follow what they are taught.
livingengine says
I see none of the commenters here have remarked on Dr. Hashmi’s claim that he is Danios.
Very strange that he would say that since Danios said several times he is not a Muslim.
somehistory says
Some commented about that on the other thread where the debate video can be played.
Grainne O'Malley says
You are so right,Robert. Christianity is a religion of Peace…..Of course it was distorted down through the centuries for political and institutional reasons but the core message of Christ is: FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY/LOVE.” FORGIVE THOSE WHO PERSECUTE THEE AND LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF “. It’s a hard act to follow but it is the opposite of Islam which is an idiology of submission, misogyny and often death.
Thank you for your calm reasoned argument. You are so brave to speak out when others are too cowardly.
Pirate Queen from the West of Ireland