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When taboos must be broken
01-Feb-2008
Islam, as a religion, is a composite of beliefs and traditions from divergent monotheistic prophets, those who would teach the belief in one God. It is as a social order that Islam distinguishes in creeds and practice from other religions. It is as a social order that Islam is distinct in creed and practice from other religions; it is both a social order and a functional political system. Islam in its development abandoned the initial period of spiritual teachings in favour of strict social and judicial rules for Muslims. To see how this happened, let us take an unbiased look at its development.
The alleged prophecy of Muhammad Ibn Abdullah started with the revelation of the Koran when he was 40 and living in Mecca. He started believing that he was chosen to communicate a divine message to his fellow city dwellers. Thus his prophecy began when in one of his usual meditations in Mount of Hira, near Mecca, he received the first revelation of the Koran delivered by angel Gabriel. The revelation began with the first “Ayah” (verse) of the Koran, to illiterate Muhammad, commanding him to “read with the name of Allah”. In such moments of initial revelation, he was in a kind of trance (ecstasy), with accompanying features, such as perspiring, convulsions, clouding of or loss of consciousness. All those symptoms suggest to some scholars that he was probably epileptic. Perhaps because of excessive suffering in his past, he looked to his unconscious for sources of enlightenment.
The Koran is alleged to be God’s message to mankind. It contains 114 “Surahs” (chapters), which are sub-divided into “Ayah” (verses). The writings of the Koran remained in separate pieces for some 23 years. The doctrine of the Koran emphasises strict “Tawheed” (monotheism). It challenges the pantheism of both ancient Greek and Oriental religions, which prior to Islam had identified God with the forces of nature and with the natural substances within space and time. Tawheed also rejects the Christian Trinity, which claims that God is three persons in one substance. It considers any idea of joining others with God as a “shirk” (an unforgivable sin). Everything is created by God and is limited to divine predestination. Nothing can escape the Divine Laws, including Jinn (an intelligent being created from pure fire) and man (created from earth). However, it incorporates the idea of some ancient Greek philosophers who believed in the primary element (arche) for all that exists. Ancient Greek philosophers were the first to emphasise the rational unity of things by rejecting mythological explanations of the world. The elements of soil from Empedocles and fire from Heraclites (as the first elements of man and Jinn) have also been incorporated into the Koran.
A major part of the Koran consists of commands and warnings for Muslims; a smaller part contains stories, myths, and events also related in other Holy Books (Torah, Bible)--sometimes with some differences in detail. The allegations that the Koran is intact can be very controversial since its characteristics such as repetition, arbitrary succession, and variations in rhythmic style reflect a human collective modification in its origin. Many secular scholars are less than willing to attribute the entire Koran to Muhammad. For many critics, the Koran, taken as whole, is obscure, is both linguistically and conceptually incoherent, and it can be simply argued that the book is the product of belated editing of materials Intended for different purposes. Despite many prudent “Tafsir” (interpretations), the Koran is left untouched by criticism by Muslims. Muslims believe that the Koran is the infallible word of God, it can neither be influenced nor modified by circumstances: refuting one single verse of the Koran means to “condemn” the whole of Islam in its perfection. Muslims’ general belief is that that the righteous Koran can contain no mistake and it cannot be suppressed by any new discovery and can apply to any circumstances with no temporal or geographical border. The origin of the Koran is supposed to be inscribed as God’s eternal word on golden tablets in paradise.
The main taboo in Islam is that no Muslim should be allowed to blame the Koran for contradictions or mistakes. To bear more resemblance to logical commands, some “modern” Muslims attempt to interpret the surahs of Koran differently. Sometimes, the forged interpretations are so controversial that these interpretations are new causes of splits among Muslims. For example, Muhammad Abduh, the founder of modernism in Egypt, interprets Jinn as a microbe (though existence of Jinn with its myths and fables was a traditional belief of the Arab pagans and has been mentioned many times in the Koran as a living being equivalent to man). In another verse, God says, “And I created not the Jinns and humans except they worship me”.
Though religion’s teachings of the creation scenario and any scientific theory are fundamentally incompatible—religious interpretation says it all happened several thousand years ago and took six literal days to complete--some other “modern” Muslims do not deny the whole scheme from the Big Bang, or from the singled-celled organism to homo sapiens, but they grotesquely attempt to patch up the verses of the Koran with established sciences like Evolution, the theory of General Relativity, aerodynamics, and quantum theory to prove that Islam has the final solution for everything.
Muhammad was before the prophecy a reliable businessman (Muhammad-al- amin), working for his wealthy wife, Khadijah. As a prophet in Mecca, he was a sage thinker, a quick speaker, who could invite people to believe in the only God “Allah”. He was decent, humble and generous to the poor, with whom he shared his meal. After 10 years of prophecy, he had to leave Mecca and his migration--“Hijrat”-- to Medina in 622 marks his new career.
In Medina, as a powerful prophet with personal ambitions, Muhammad did not only used and abused the existing traditional norms of society; he s also violated ethical rules of his own religion to achieve his goals. As such, he had the privilege of having more wives than was permitted under his own Islamic law. He even had the controversial right to marry his daughter-in-law, Zainab--she divorced the Prophet’s adopted son (Zaid) to marry Muhammad. As a husband, he had the advantage to arbitrarily treat his wives as he liked.
In his financial exploits, he allowed himself the right to rob caravans (for which other robbers would have been beheaded), or to impose humiliating “Jizya” (taxes charged from non-Muslims) on “Dhimmis” (subjugated Christian and Jewish minorities living in the early Islamic community). He ordered the confiscation of lands and properties from “Dhimmis”, his enemies. He openly claimed that “the spoils of war were made lawful unto me”.
As a political leader he had the right to fight back against his rivals, and was merciless and revengeful toward his enemies and rivals, even so far as to give orders to murder many of them. He was the founder of the first Arab Empire (a Caliphate which became during a long period after the Prophet’s death one of the biggest conquerors in the world at that time). Historically, many believe that Muhammad was a religious and politically prominent leader. He undoubtedly left significant marks on the history of mankind. Many Western scholars, without believing in Muhammad’s prophecy, have confirmed this fact. However, the sources of information about the personal life of Muhammad are reduced to the Koran, “Sirah” (biography of the Prophet) and some part of the Hadiths which are considered as “sahih” (reliable).
Nabuwwat, or Muhammad’s claim of being God’s prophet ((Muhammad-al-rassul-Allah) is one of the pillars of Islam. Almost 100 surahs of the Koran attempt to confirm this claim. If all these surahs were not enough, Islamic scholars have additionally narrated different sayings over different periods and circumstances to endorse the belief on Nabuwwat. The only reason to endorse this belief however remains that the Koran is God’s word delivered to Muhammad; in other words, Nabuwwat or Muhammad’s claim of divine mission is written in the Koran which is allegedly the word of God, transmitted by Muhammad. In a certain logic, this entire puzzle looks like a tricky compromise between God and Muhammad himself, which has been difficult for rational people to believe. Nabuwwat can never be rationally proved, even for some Muslim scholars like the famous rationalist M.Z Razi, quoted by the Iranian writer, Ali Dashti in his book, “23 Saal” (23 years), a reference to the duration of Muhammad’s prophecy.
Another pillar of Islam is the conviction that Muhammad is the final Prophet, and his religion, Islam, is the last and only word of God to follow (Khatam-al-Nabiyin). It is not plausibly clear why an Almighty God should deprive mankind of new prophets to solve new problems in adaptive manners. And why one of these numerous gurus or alleged prophets around the world cannot be a new handpicked prophet by God.
But in the history of Islam, the Koran was often represented beside a sword—swords beside a verse of Koran on the flag of Saudi Arabia still represent this old Islamic symbol. “Seif-al-Islam” (sword of Islam) reminds how it could compensate for the lack of rationality and logic to expand Islam in “dar-al-Islam” (territory of Islam). Only, the effect of this symbiosis of sword / Koran was not rooted in ethics but in a moral failure--when “Dawa” (demand of conversion into Islam or accepting its values, for Muslims and non Muslims alike) cannot alone be enough to convert people to Islam or an Islamic way of life.
Nevertheless, the factor of fear behind this symbiosis impedes Muslims in posing simple questions about the authenticity of Islam, questions many of us may not have learnt to ask. However, the fear resulting from this symbiosis has a long history. The typical warmongering tradition of the clan society of Arabia was used cleverly by Muhammad. He divinised the tradition by calling it “Jihad-fi-sabil Allah” (war for the sake of Allah). Holy Jihad was served by Muhammad and his successors to expand “Islamic ummah” (Islamic society).
For the early Islamic ruling class, jihad was promoted into faith-based use of violence. Islam without the use of violence could never achieve its today’s growth. Among the terrors committed by Muhammad himself, some of them are more characterised because they inspire crimes of political Islam today. According to Ali Dashti, while Muhammad surrounded Mecca in 632, a compromise of capitulation was achieved: Muhammad accepted a peaceful capitulation of Mecca; in exchange of a general amnesty for the population, though excluding certain individuals like Ibn Abdullah, who was one of Muhammad’s early companions and wrote down scripts of Koran for him. He was executed because of having publicly denounced the man-made origin of the Koran. Although Muhammad accepted the peace treaty, on his return from Mecca to Medina, he attacked a group of Bedouins en route and so the treaty was voided. According to the Collection of Bukhari, a famous scholar, the Jewish peot Ka’b Ibn Ashraf, who wrote satirical verses about Muhammad, was killed for it. His voluntary killer was praised by Muhammad.
The above examples explain many acts of atrocity committed by the IRI and Islamists around the world; among which figure the execution of several thousand political prisoners in the massacre of summer, ‘88 in Iran, the death-fatwa against “unbelievers” like the British author, Rushdie, and the Dutch Islam-critical film maker Theo Van Gogh—killed by a radical Muslim in charge of the blasphemy against Islam in his film called “Submission”-- and terror on innocent people.
The worst is that these early Islamic terrors have been promoted into the pattern model for the Constitution and especially for the judicial system of some Islamic countries. With the advent of the IRI and its atrocious methods of repression and violation to the most basic standards of human rights against the people of Iran, we need more rational debates to bring about a new capacity for secular and democratic options to unmask the ills of political Islam. It is only possible when we have courage to break any taboo on public displays of judgement.
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On the Brink
by Abol Danesh (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 05:20 PM PSTQuestion: What do owe have for dinner? And that whether or not there is a breakfast or lunch coming after it for tomorrow...
Divine logic vs. Materialistic logic!!!
by Salar (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 04:49 PM PSTMuhammad the prophet my foot Muhammad is as a prophet as Khomeini is a Imam and khamenei is vali faghih (which if you really follow their line of logic is a deputy of GOD, prophet Muhammad and imams in this world) and the rest of mullah’s are holy and saints. These imbecile figures all come in different shapes and forms but if you really think about it, they have some attributes in common among all of them. They are intellectually deficient, illiterate, delusional, cruel, narcisstic, and hate justice, individual freedom, knowledge, logic, progress and above all humanity.
The God they portray and want everyone else to surrender to is the most cruel and anti-human figure ever created by man's imagination and greed. If you ever study their garbage (hekmat ellahi) you realize the God is the most contradictory entity ever. So contradictory that if you analyze their premises by any formal logic or rational thinking you reach so many contradictions that you conclude such entity can not be as proposed. Just read Shohrevardi’s “Hekmat Eshragh” and Ebneh Arabi or the book “shak“ “doubt” by Ahmad ghazali. This goes to the point that Islamists scholars refute formal logic and replace it with divine logic, which is basically another definition for blind belief and acceptance, hence the sword next to the verses of Koran. The theory goes like this: although God has given us formal logic and reasoning (it’s in god;s creation) but it is only to be applied to materialistic world. God, religion and divinity are outside the realm of materialistic world hence formal logic and reasoning can not be used to scrutinize or analyze it, hence you need divine logic (basically another term for belief, as far as I have observed them trying hard to explain what in the hell it is, how else can you accept the nonsense in fegheh?). They call it horizontal logic (formal logic) vs vertical logic (divine logic), vertical signifying that it can take you to divinity and God. (Notice that even in naming and explaining the differences of these forms of logic they resort to axioms in common reasoning and perception, vertical vs. horizontal, so there they don‘t have any problem using materialistic meanings). This can even be seen in the meaning of the word “aghel” mind which is an instrument by which formal logic and reasoning is performed. The meaning of aghel in Arabic is leash, in particular camel leash, signifying limitation or restrain for performing divine logic. (what is the humanly instrument for performing divine logic? Beats me, probably that would be your ass, or below the stomach since Islam in particular is intensely and mostly concerned about that area of the body).
Ok let me give you a simple example, as Mr Rashidian mentioned in his article there is a verse (like many others) that says “And I created not the Jinns and humans except they worship me”, also Moslems must worship 5 times a day. But no where in Koran or hekmat ellahi, God explains why it needs the worship. What is this need that forced him to create another thing to worship him, isn’t need an attribute of materialistic world? Is need divine and God being an absolute and mighty entity should have this, and why? and mostly importantly why is God not explaining why? (in fegheh and hekmat ellahi, God is said to have no need or in need of anything) Uhh, but this is an analysis by our form of impaired and materialistic logic, divine logic says God is not in the business of explaining why’s, God only says how and you must accept and the sword is the instrument to make you understand and accept.
The Irony is that though God and divinity etc are introduced to us thru materialistic means, ie, other humans (prophets), books (Koran), materialistic attributes and features, we are not allowed to examine and analyze them by the same means. Why? Because as soon as the floodgates are opened God and religion as told by these con artists stand no chance against formal logic and reasoning. So the Sword is there to ensure the flow stays one way on this river and protect the interests of the few benefiting from it.
Rashidian *** Thanks for your article and sheding some light on this issue. if you ever get a chance read Ahmad Ghazali's books "doubt" (not to be mistaken with motehajer azam imam ghazali, shiekh eshragh and ebneh arabi, if you haven't done so already.
jamshid
by Anonymous-haha (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 04:41 PM PST"The fact is that Islam could never produce rational answers to his critics. The same is true with other religions as well. "
there are plenty of rational answers to the critics. Look at Ahmad deedat,zakir naik and plenty of scholars and websites online.
it's not that the muslim world lacks rational answers,it's you- the liberal fascists who refused to accept anything that you deemed not yours.
allahoma salle ala Mohammad va ale Mohammad
by BORN AGAIN MOSLEM (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 04:41 PM PSTAnybody who have visited iranian.com for even a week or two, should know who is Jahansh Rashidian, and what is his mission!
We love Islam and our holly prophet Mohammad.
Jahansha, you are an infinitesimal dirt and Islam
is an Ocean.
Jamshid - and the mighty sword
by Anonymous-haha (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 04:37 PM PSTlook who's talking. the mighty sword sounded like a western-borrowed cliche.any new cliche to puke jamshid?
To begin with, look at what the Hanafi school of thought has to say about blasphemy because you will be outraged that Islam is not as "backward" as you are brainwashed to believe in.
It's one thing to question the sanctity of the Holy Qur'an, it's another thing to pretend that there's no dialogue about Qur'an in the Muslim world.
just look at how you misquote people to prove the "backwardness" of Muslims.
TO: all who practice Islam
by :-0 (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 03:25 PM PSTThe Muslim can ONLY continue to claim to be the BEST of nations if it continues to live by the TRUE teachings of lord.( it's true and sad to say they are not doing what they were told)
And see what happened to that nation because they DID NOT follow those CERTAIN CODES OF CONDUCT!!!
Tazi culture
by Surna (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 03:13 PM PSTDemocracy, our cherished way of life, Muslims have no use for it at all. Muslims believe that Allah’s rule must govern the world in the form of Caliphate: a theocracy. Making mockery of democracy, subverting its working, and ignoring its provisions is a Muslim’s way of falsifying what he already believes to be a sinful and false system of governance invented by the infidels. Reason, if you can, with the Muslims that their belief is an outright rejection of the greatest gift of life: Freedom.
Even if you are correct, then what?
by non believer (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 03:08 PM PSTMirza Reza Kermani was the person who assassinated Nasderedin Shah. It is said that this conversation took place during his trial (I am paraphrasing so my apologies if it is not exactly correct):
.
Judge: Why did you kill the king
Mirza Reza: Because he was Zalem
Judge: So you killed the kings because you decided he was Zalem.
Mirza Reza: Yes, the reason was because he was Zalem.
Judge: So did you have an Anoushiravan e Adel in mind to replace the Nasseredin Shah e Zalem with?
Mirza Reza: Dead silence!
.
Mirza Reza went silent because he hadn't thought of that part. Yes Naseredin Shah was Zalem but he had no idea who the Adel would be to run the country and how.
.
Moral of the story is that our so called "intellectuals" on this side of the world these days have jumped on the bandwagon of bashing Islam, Mohamad, Koran and everything else that an overwhelming majority of Iranians, right or wrong, hold dear. It is fashionable to do so to the point that you are not considered an intellectual if you don't take part in this bashing. But do they have anything to replace this system of belief with? From what i see they offer no alternative.
.
They just want to destroy people's belief system without replacing it with anything. That is not going to work.
.
My advice to these latte sipping "intellectuals" is to go and figure out what they will offer to fill the void left by destroying an entire people's belief system. Then come back and write an article about it. Otherwise, you are just writing drivel.
Re: Rashidian
by jamshid on Fri Feb 01, 2008 03:00 PM PSTA very good article. I enjoyed reading it. I agree with every word.
Notice how in the past, when people were illiterate, if an ordinary citizen questioned an Islamic law, he would be told by other moslems that he cannot question Islam because he does not "know" Islam since he cannot even read the Koran and therefore he does not have a true "understanding" of Islam. Moslems and mullahs backed their claim with violence when it became necessary. Hence "knowledge" of Islam and all interpretations of Islam remained in the hands of a few mullahs who could read Arabic.
Today, we are mostly literate. Koran is translated into many languages, including Farsi. There are even different versions of Farsi translation. Fanatic moslems and mullahs can't use their old excuse that we can't read the Koran therefore we don't know anything.
However, they try in vain to use the same old tired methods of the past. Here are a few sample from this thread alone. Notice the smiliarity of their response in the past and today:
Sepehr: There is so much more to the meaning of the Koran than you will ever know or feel...
Iranian- : You lack deep understanding. You lack a heart and the required logic to fully understand Islam.
You know nothing of God, kindness and justice.
Anyone who believes in Islam will not allow a loser to create false lies about God. They will not sit quiet and take it.
Anonymous-haha: liberal fascists should question their own support for their own beliefs...
you need to wake up from your western brainwashed cacophonies and read more articles and books...
The similarities is astounding! In the past, it was: "you can't read koran therefore you don't know anything, and so shut up." Today we can read the Koran, and so now they changed it to "you don't have a "deep" understanding, and therefore you don't know anything, and so shut up." As everyone can see, their position has degraded substantially, and so they feel "violated".
The fact is that Islam could never produce rational answers to his critics. The same is true with other religions as well. However, unlike other religions, Islam had a convincing solution for its intellectual weakness: The Mighty Sword. And it has been using it for 1400 years.
dear kashi
by Anonymous :) (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 02:49 PM PSTthey came to bring life, light, and salvation to mankind...
they came at different times to emphasize a particular message, even though there were valuable teachings already, but They emphasized something specific at a particular age.
I hate atheists all they do is talk about God
by Sick and tired (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 02:49 PM PSTMr Rashidian and all the other SECULAR MULLAHS who keep writing about Islam and the Prophets and religion and God, you are really stepping on people's nerves.
People have heard enough of these things from your Mullah counterparts at the other end of the spectrum. Will you two groups of fanatics just leave people alone with whatever they want to believe in????????
Your sources
by Arash abu Gorbeh va Mahi (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 02:29 PM PSTCan you please provide your sources for the following statements in your essay, i.e. surah and ayahs of the quran itself, books, essays;
1. The allegations that the Koran is intact can be very controversial since its characteristics such as repetition, arbitrary succession, and variations in rhythmic style reflect a human collective modification in its origin.
2. Many secular scholars are less than willing to attribute the entire Koran to Muhammad.
3. For many critics, the Koran, taken as whole, is obscure, is both linguistically and conceptually incoherent, and it can be simply argued that the book is the product of belated editing of materials Intended for different purposes.
Thank you
who was Muhammad???
by Just a believer (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 02:16 PM PSTAmericans and Europeans have heard a number of stories about Muhammad which they have thought to be true, although the narrators were either ignorant or antagonistic: most of them were clergy; others were ignorant Muslims who repeated unfounded traditions about Muḥammad which they ignorantly believed to be to His praise.
some benighted Muslims made His polygamy the pivot of their praises and held it to be a wonder, regarding it as a miracle; and European historians, for the most part, rely on the tales of these ignorant people.
For example, a foolish man said to a clergyman that the true proof of greatness is bravery and the shedding of blood, and that in one day on the field of battle a follower of Muḥammad had cut off the heads of one hundred men!
This misled the clergyman to infer that killing is considered the way to prove one’s faith to Muḥammad, while this is merely imaginary. The military expeditions of Muḥammad, on the contrary, were always defensive actions: a proof of this is that during thirteen years, in Mecca, He and His followers endured the most violent persecutions. At this period they were the target for the arrows of hatred: some of His companions were killed and their property confiscated; others fled to foreign lands.
Briefly, Muḥammad appeared in the desert of Ḥijáz in the Arabian Peninsula, which was a desolate, sterile wilderness, sandy and uninhabited. Some parts, like Mecca and Medina, are extremely hot; the people are nomads with the manners and customs of the dwellers in the desert, and are entirely destitute of education and science. Muḥammad Himself was illiterate, and the Qur’án was originally written upon the blade bones of sheep, or on palm leaves.
In such a country, and amidst such barbarous tribes, an illiterate Man produced a book in which, in a perfect and eloquent style, He explained the divine attributes and perfections, the prophethood of the Messengers of God, the divine laws, and some scientific facts.
we know that before the observations of modern times—that is to say, during the first centuries and down to the fifteenth century of the Christian era—all the mathematicians of the world agreed that the earth was the center of the universe, and that the sun moved.
The famous astronomer who was the protagonist of the new theory discovered the movement of the earth and the immobility of the sun. 5 Until his time all the astronomers and philosophers of the world followed the Ptolemaic system, and whoever said anything against it was considered ignorant. Though Pythagoras, and Plato during the latter part of his life, adopted the theory that the annual movement of the sun around the zodiac does not proceed from the sun, but rather from the movement of the earth around the sun, this theory had been entirely forgotten, and the Ptolemaic system was accepted by all mathematicians.
But there are some verses revealed in the Qur’án contrary to the theory of the Ptolemaic system. One of them is “The sun moves in a fixed place,” which shows the fixity of the sun, and its movement around an axis. Again, in another verse, “And each star moves in its own heaven.” Thus is explained the movement of the sun, of the moon, of the earth, and of other bodies. When the Qur’án appeared, all the mathematicians ridiculed these statements and attributed the theory to ignorance. Even the doctors of Islám, when they saw that these verses were contrary to the accepted Ptolemaic system, were obliged to explain them away.
It was not until after the fifteenth century of the Christian era, nearly nine hundred years after Muḥammad, that a famous astronomer made new observations and important discoveries by the aid of the telescope, which he had invented.
The rotation of the earth, the fixity of the sun, and also its movement around an axis, were discovered. It became evident that the verses of the Qur’án agreed with existing facts, and that the Ptolemaic system was imaginary.
In short, many Oriental peoples have been reared for thirteen centuries under the shadow of the religion of Muḥammad. During the Middle Ages, while Europe was in the lowest depths of barbarism, the Arab peoples were superior to the other nations of the earth in learning, in the arts, mathematics, civilization, government and other sciences.
When the light of Muhammad dawned, the darkness of ignorance was dispelled from the deserts of Arabia. In a short period of time those barbarous peoples attained a superlative degree of civilization which, with Baghdád as its center, extended as far westward as Spain and afterward influenced the greater part of Europe. What proof of Prophethood could be greater than this, unless we close our eyes to justice and remain obstinately opposed to reason?
The Enlightener and Educator of these Arab tribes, and the Founder of the civilization and perfections of humanity among these different races, was an illiterate Man, Muḥammad.
Was this illustrious Man a thorough Educator or not? A just judgment is necessary.
These
by Anonymous-haha (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 02:11 PM PSTliberal fascists
well said Iranian
by Anonymous-haha (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 02:10 PM PSTThis liberal fascists should question their own support for their own beliefs, eg:self-genocide. In America alone, 15 million babies were aborted since abortion was deemed as women's right.
and jahansha, if you think Muslims are so dumb that they didn't question their Holy book,you need to wake up from your western brainwashed cacophonies and read more articles and books:
//www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Sources/BBd...
are they scribal errors in the Holy Qur'an:
//www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text/Scriba...
Beware!
by Prof. Dr. Danesh (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 01:59 PM PSTBeware of
The unemployed
The Poor
The neglected
The Homeless
For you can perform
Miracle after miracle
Before his eyes
From turning water to wine
All the way to splicing the moon right from the middle in half
And then rejoing them together as one
And still he will not be moved or shaken
Only ready to gut out your heart in blood bath
If you show you have more than what you need
Beyond your immediate need and necessity
For procreation and sustaining the daily life
Beware of the slaughter! Beware!
Wishful thoughts by a loser
by Iranian- (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 01:53 PM PSTJahanshah Rashidian,
You seem to have a good writing ability, decent intellect and a seemingly reasonable argument. But is that really so?
The only problem with it is that you lack deep understanding. You lack a heart and the required logic to fully understand Islam. I am sorry but I also think that you are wicked too.
First, what would the Prophet Mohammad gain by creating Islam? He could have been selling idols like Abu Sofian and become a wealthy and unjust merchant. Why did all good people love him and not the likes of Abu Sofian and Abu Lahab? Because Mohammad was just and kind. Why did he endanger his own life to spread the words of goodness and justice in the world? The book of Quran is the book of God, even though people like you deny it.
You hate Islam because you do not like the Iranian government. You know nothing of God, kindness and justice.
One thing you should know about Islam. Anyone who believes in God and Islam will not allow a loser (in this world and the next) to create false lies about God. They will not sit quiet and take it. I guess that is what you people expect from Muslims, sit quiet and take it, right?
Sepehr T
by Anonymous 4 (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 01:47 PM PSTLet us know the true version and more meaning of the Koran. When you consciously believe in the Koran and its teaching, prove your belief for the "unbelievers"! Here is a free forum.
delusion
by Anonymous 21 (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 01:18 PM PST1400 years Muslims live under the delusion of "Muhammad al-Rasul-Allah"!
God's prophets
by Pouyan (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 01:11 PM PSTThe article implies that there is no a divinty behind any religion and the "prophet" is, mostly, a belated product of mythological exaggeration.
If you find"GOD" you don't need his "Messenger"anymore
by Kashi (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:43 PM PSTFor those who want to comment against or in favor of this article please discuss it with clear references.Don't waste your time and our time by making a vague comment.Personally I like to see real Islamic scholars on the two sides of this issue debate every single questionable matter and let the listeners decide for themselves.If God is WHO he is "supposed to be", HE will like a good discussion and seekers of TRUTH.Above all IF the idea of sending a prophet is to let people know that there is a GOD,then when the individual recognizes GOD ,then he will not need to stick to the "Messenger" at all.That's how I feel.
its just beliefs
by Alborzi (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:40 PM PSTYou see you are applying logic to some thing that is based on beliefs. In fact you can find some form of contradiction in all of the religions. In fact Marxist have many essays on how religion is used to subjugate people. But billions of people find solace in their religion, and if I learned something from my Marxist father, is not to call peoples holy man names.
My idea is to get rid of ME
by Anonymousbidin (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:36 PM PSTMy idea is to get rid of ME style of bathrooms and use American toilets. It is dirty process to tough rear end with hand and tehn serve bread and other things to people in restaurants.
So the people of iran should not follow the backward taharat procedure they inherited from desert people.
In fact the desert people should learn from americans as well.
Toilet paper is the way to go and take shower every day.
To do taharat and clean your rear end with hand and water and tehn use water from Houz or shire aab with no antibacterial soap, can lead to making others sick.
Just remember how many times in USA you get diarhea and how many times you got it when you lived in iran or other places not far from it.
TAHARAT is obsolete so it must go.
Second thing to go is saghfe gacho khaki keh ajor raa negah midarad. Yek zelexelehe koochak tamamash mikonad.
flat roofs were made also for desert people to sleep over roof at nights or have a man to go and do azan.
remember you use gloves to wash dishes but use hand to wash your rear end. so use glove for rear end too.
Aryan culture v.s. Tazi culture
by Surna (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:15 PM PSTJR, you are a true intelectual. I enjoyed reading your articles.
really gone off the deep end
by Sepehr T (not verified) on Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:06 PM PSTYou, sir, have really gone off the deep end.
Your assumptions are egregiously flawed, and you are presenting them as absolute facts!
Let the ones who think you are presenting the truth follow you!
There is so much more to the meaning of the Koran than you will ever know or feel!
That is all.