How the Bible Led Me to Islam: The Story of a Former Christian Youth Minister - Joshua Evans
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Hamza Yusuf Speaks on Aisha's Marriage
The much respected scholar confirms that Aisha was not playing with dolls whilst living with Prophet Muhammad. It is sad to see ignorant people who have deception and malice in their hearts want to distort facts in order to slander Prophet Muhammad and insult Muslims.
Monday, 23 November 2009
Jesus was Not Gay
Jesus Was Not Gay by Yahya Snow
There is no evidence showing Jesus to be gay
The claim that Jesus was gay is based on no evidence whatsoever; hence is intellectually flawed from the beginning. Jesus never said he was gay, nor did he ever commit a homosexual act, the fact remains there is no evidence for Jesus being gay, none whatsoever.
Suffice to say, in academic circles it is the responsibility of the claimant to bring evidence for his claim; quite simply the one making such claims about Jesus has no evidence whatsoever. Therefore to claim he was gay would be a claim which lacks any evidence and thus is dismissed as unscholarly and essentially this claim is designed to incite reaction provoke and aggrieve those who hold Jesus as a holy individual (namely Muslims and Jesus) and ultimately challenge people’s attitudes towards homosexuality, especially those within conservative religious groups
This does lead to the question as to what basis they make their claim upon. Well, quite simply they build their claim upon the silence of Jesus, (i.e. he never claimed he was not gay) and the fact he never got married or had a relationship with a woman.
So from the outset you can see their claims are based on nothing but mere conjecture on their part, nothing substantial at all.
Nevertheless there is evidence that Jesus was not gay. To show this evidence I will employ a methodically rational approach in highlighting the fact Jesus was not gay.
Asking a man whether he is gay or not
If you see a person on the street and you want to ascertain whether he is gay or not you have a few routes you can take in order to find out what sexual persuasion the person is of.
The first route is the most direct and possibly the quickest; simply ask the man. Nobody asked Jesus this question. Jesus lived in a community, as well as during a time, in which homosexuality was not something which was discussed and frowned upon greatly, thus asking a man whether he was gay would have been an insult and even taboo. So, in order, to show Jesus was not gay we can use alternative reasoning.
Does the man have a wife?
The second way of finding out whether a man is gay or not is to check if he has a wife or girlfriend. If this is the case then this would surely show he is not gay. Now we know Jesus did not take a wife nor did he have any such relationship with a woman. So we must employ alternative reasoning as this method yields no benefit to out purpose.
However, before moving on to the next line of reasoning, as a way of side note; many people find it unusual that Jesus did not marry and the claimants try to use this to support their “gay” claim. This simply shows their lack of deep understanding concerning the life of Jesus.
Reasons why Jesus never married
Jesus was thought to have been amongst the Essenes who were strict Jews who practiced abstinence of all sexual relations or as Pliny described them as people who “abjure sexual love”. Thus they avoided sexual lust of any kind (i.e. avoided marriage etc) and focussed on spirituality and learning making them ascetics. Concerning Jesus; “it appears as if he was educated under the hard discipline of the Essene teachers” thus it is of no surprise that Jesus followed ways which avoided any sexual feelings and never married.
So this helps explain the lack of marriage on the part of Jesus, so it is unfair for the claimants to try and dishonestly capitalise on this and suggest homosexuality. Would they suggest homosexuality of the Pope or nuns due to their avoidance of marriage (abstinence), of course not, thus it is unfair to do this with the example of Jesus. The fact that Jesus was not a man of material means meant he could not support a wife coupled with the information of Jesus being similar to the Essenes in mindset concerning avoiding marriage provides powerful reasons behind Jesus not marrying.
The views of Jesus concerning gays and homosexuality
Going back to our methodology of reasoning, given that the man is single and we cannot ask him directly whether he is gay; what else can we do to find out whether the man is gay? Well we could always be indirect and ask him concerning his views on homosexuals and homosexuality. Thus any views opposing homosexuality would be enough to indicate the man is not gay as he must be taken at face value. Jesus he was anti-homosexuality.
Jesus did not agree with homosexuality and he opposed it and condemned it. As we know, Jesus was an honest man who was not afraid to stand up for his beliefs thus we know we can take Jesus at face value. Now, we must realise that Jesus could not have been gay as he did not support homosexuality. One may ask for references concerning Jesus’ views.
Jesus promotes marriage between man and woman as natural and as the only legitimate union. Jesus is reported to have said:
4"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'
5 and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?
6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (Matthew 19: 4-6)
If that is not sufficient then there is further (and even stronger) evidence of Jesus opposing the idea of homosexuality. Jesus is reported to have said:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)
So, we see through this quotation that Jesus was supporting the Law; we also know Jesus was an expert and a teacher of the Law. So what does the Law say about homosexuality? We can get the answer from Leviticus which reports:
" 'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. (Leviticus 18:22)
In fact Leviticus:
" 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. (Leviticus 20:13)
Thus we realise that the Law teaches us that homosexuality is an abomination, it is a sin. As Jesus supported the Law we can clearly say Jesus did not support homosexuality at all. The Law also supports the death penalty for homosexual sex. Jesus hates the act of homosexuality and supports the death of those involved. Therefore Jesus could not have been a homosexual.
Further evidence shows Jesus not to be gay
Of course there is other evidence supporting this and showing to us that Jesus was not gay. Assuming you wanted to find out if an individual was gay but could not speak to that individual you could always ask his relatives and friends.
The relatives and friends of Jesus never claimed he was gay rather they considered him to be a holy man and wise. We must remember that people in those days did not consider homosexual people as pious, holy or wise thus we realise from this that Jesus was not gay as he was thought to be a holy and wise man. This is also shown by Josephus, the Jewish historian who described him as “a wise man” [1].
We can also note that the enemies of Jesus never accused Jesus of being homosexual despite their hatred towards Jesus and their desire to slander him and sway people away from his teachings. What we can infer from all this is that nobody who knew Jesus or knew of him thought he was gay even amongst those who hated him.
Based on all this overwhelming evidence pointing to the fact that Jesus was not gay we can safely say that the “gay” claim against Jesus is unscholarly and untrue.
Christians and Muslims do not believe Jesus to be gay either
Finally it is important to mention those who believe in Jesus, the Christians (Trinitarians and Unitarians) and the Muslims. What do these groups believe concerning Jesus? Well, the Trinitarian Christians do not view Jesus as a homosexual, whilst the Unitarians and Muslims would have similar beliefs in believing he was a Prophet like all other Prophets, i.e. heterosexual and not homosexual. In fact Muslim sources teach us that Jesus will get married when he returns and even procreate (i.e. he will have children). [2] [3]
Summary of the evidence proving Jesus was not gay
1. There is no evidence of Jesus being gay.
2. Jesus never claimed to be gay.
3. Jesus opposed homosexuality. He did not agree with it and considered it a sin.
4. The friends and family of Jesus did not believe he was gay.
5. Even the enemies of Jesus never claimed he was gay despite their hatred of Jesus.
6. Christians (Unitarians and Trinitarians) and Muslims do not believe him to be gay
7. Muslims believe Jesus will marry and have children, thus he thought of as heterosexual.
Conclusions
In the light of such reasoning and evidence we can dismiss the “gay” claim as fanciful and based on mere conjecture as it lacks any truth or evidence to it whatsoever. The evidence in fact points to the fact that Jesus was not gay.
It is intellectually dishonest on the part of those who make the “gay” claims or use such claims to try and pursue their personal agenda. I would appeal to them to be factual and avoid such baseless claims; it reflects poorly upon them.
Disclaimer
In the way of a disclaimer; this article was not written due to homophobia or to upset any gay people. This article sets out to do academic and intellectual justice to the memory of Jesus as it appears people with less than sincere intentions have began to use their claims concerning Jesus in order to pursue insincere personal agendas.
Note: all Biblical quotes are from the NIV Bible.
References
[1] Jewish Antiquities, Flavius Josephus, Wordsworth Editions Limited 2006 pg 780
[2] Mishkat al-Masabih, 3:47
[3] Ibn Al Jauzi in Kitab al Wafa
There is no evidence showing Jesus to be gay
The claim that Jesus was gay is based on no evidence whatsoever; hence is intellectually flawed from the beginning. Jesus never said he was gay, nor did he ever commit a homosexual act, the fact remains there is no evidence for Jesus being gay, none whatsoever.
Suffice to say, in academic circles it is the responsibility of the claimant to bring evidence for his claim; quite simply the one making such claims about Jesus has no evidence whatsoever. Therefore to claim he was gay would be a claim which lacks any evidence and thus is dismissed as unscholarly and essentially this claim is designed to incite reaction provoke and aggrieve those who hold Jesus as a holy individual (namely Muslims and Jesus) and ultimately challenge people’s attitudes towards homosexuality, especially those within conservative religious groups
This does lead to the question as to what basis they make their claim upon. Well, quite simply they build their claim upon the silence of Jesus, (i.e. he never claimed he was not gay) and the fact he never got married or had a relationship with a woman.
So from the outset you can see their claims are based on nothing but mere conjecture on their part, nothing substantial at all.
Nevertheless there is evidence that Jesus was not gay. To show this evidence I will employ a methodically rational approach in highlighting the fact Jesus was not gay.
Asking a man whether he is gay or not
If you see a person on the street and you want to ascertain whether he is gay or not you have a few routes you can take in order to find out what sexual persuasion the person is of.
The first route is the most direct and possibly the quickest; simply ask the man. Nobody asked Jesus this question. Jesus lived in a community, as well as during a time, in which homosexuality was not something which was discussed and frowned upon greatly, thus asking a man whether he was gay would have been an insult and even taboo. So, in order, to show Jesus was not gay we can use alternative reasoning.
Does the man have a wife?
The second way of finding out whether a man is gay or not is to check if he has a wife or girlfriend. If this is the case then this would surely show he is not gay. Now we know Jesus did not take a wife nor did he have any such relationship with a woman. So we must employ alternative reasoning as this method yields no benefit to out purpose.
However, before moving on to the next line of reasoning, as a way of side note; many people find it unusual that Jesus did not marry and the claimants try to use this to support their “gay” claim. This simply shows their lack of deep understanding concerning the life of Jesus.
Reasons why Jesus never married
Jesus was thought to have been amongst the Essenes who were strict Jews who practiced abstinence of all sexual relations or as Pliny described them as people who “abjure sexual love”. Thus they avoided sexual lust of any kind (i.e. avoided marriage etc) and focussed on spirituality and learning making them ascetics. Concerning Jesus; “it appears as if he was educated under the hard discipline of the Essene teachers” thus it is of no surprise that Jesus followed ways which avoided any sexual feelings and never married.
So this helps explain the lack of marriage on the part of Jesus, so it is unfair for the claimants to try and dishonestly capitalise on this and suggest homosexuality. Would they suggest homosexuality of the Pope or nuns due to their avoidance of marriage (abstinence), of course not, thus it is unfair to do this with the example of Jesus. The fact that Jesus was not a man of material means meant he could not support a wife coupled with the information of Jesus being similar to the Essenes in mindset concerning avoiding marriage provides powerful reasons behind Jesus not marrying.
The views of Jesus concerning gays and homosexuality
Going back to our methodology of reasoning, given that the man is single and we cannot ask him directly whether he is gay; what else can we do to find out whether the man is gay? Well we could always be indirect and ask him concerning his views on homosexuals and homosexuality. Thus any views opposing homosexuality would be enough to indicate the man is not gay as he must be taken at face value. Jesus he was anti-homosexuality.
Jesus did not agree with homosexuality and he opposed it and condemned it. As we know, Jesus was an honest man who was not afraid to stand up for his beliefs thus we know we can take Jesus at face value. Now, we must realise that Jesus could not have been gay as he did not support homosexuality. One may ask for references concerning Jesus’ views.
Jesus promotes marriage between man and woman as natural and as the only legitimate union. Jesus is reported to have said:
4"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'
5 and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?
6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (Matthew 19: 4-6)
If that is not sufficient then there is further (and even stronger) evidence of Jesus opposing the idea of homosexuality. Jesus is reported to have said:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)
So, we see through this quotation that Jesus was supporting the Law; we also know Jesus was an expert and a teacher of the Law. So what does the Law say about homosexuality? We can get the answer from Leviticus which reports:
" 'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. (Leviticus 18:22)
In fact Leviticus:
" 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. (Leviticus 20:13)
Thus we realise that the Law teaches us that homosexuality is an abomination, it is a sin. As Jesus supported the Law we can clearly say Jesus did not support homosexuality at all. The Law also supports the death penalty for homosexual sex. Jesus hates the act of homosexuality and supports the death of those involved. Therefore Jesus could not have been a homosexual.
Further evidence shows Jesus not to be gay
Of course there is other evidence supporting this and showing to us that Jesus was not gay. Assuming you wanted to find out if an individual was gay but could not speak to that individual you could always ask his relatives and friends.
The relatives and friends of Jesus never claimed he was gay rather they considered him to be a holy man and wise. We must remember that people in those days did not consider homosexual people as pious, holy or wise thus we realise from this that Jesus was not gay as he was thought to be a holy and wise man. This is also shown by Josephus, the Jewish historian who described him as “a wise man” [1].
We can also note that the enemies of Jesus never accused Jesus of being homosexual despite their hatred towards Jesus and their desire to slander him and sway people away from his teachings. What we can infer from all this is that nobody who knew Jesus or knew of him thought he was gay even amongst those who hated him.
Based on all this overwhelming evidence pointing to the fact that Jesus was not gay we can safely say that the “gay” claim against Jesus is unscholarly and untrue.
Christians and Muslims do not believe Jesus to be gay either
Finally it is important to mention those who believe in Jesus, the Christians (Trinitarians and Unitarians) and the Muslims. What do these groups believe concerning Jesus? Well, the Trinitarian Christians do not view Jesus as a homosexual, whilst the Unitarians and Muslims would have similar beliefs in believing he was a Prophet like all other Prophets, i.e. heterosexual and not homosexual. In fact Muslim sources teach us that Jesus will get married when he returns and even procreate (i.e. he will have children). [2] [3]
Summary of the evidence proving Jesus was not gay
1. There is no evidence of Jesus being gay.
2. Jesus never claimed to be gay.
3. Jesus opposed homosexuality. He did not agree with it and considered it a sin.
4. The friends and family of Jesus did not believe he was gay.
5. Even the enemies of Jesus never claimed he was gay despite their hatred of Jesus.
6. Christians (Unitarians and Trinitarians) and Muslims do not believe him to be gay
7. Muslims believe Jesus will marry and have children, thus he thought of as heterosexual.
Conclusions
In the light of such reasoning and evidence we can dismiss the “gay” claim as fanciful and based on mere conjecture as it lacks any truth or evidence to it whatsoever. The evidence in fact points to the fact that Jesus was not gay.
It is intellectually dishonest on the part of those who make the “gay” claims or use such claims to try and pursue their personal agenda. I would appeal to them to be factual and avoid such baseless claims; it reflects poorly upon them.
Disclaimer
In the way of a disclaimer; this article was not written due to homophobia or to upset any gay people. This article sets out to do academic and intellectual justice to the memory of Jesus as it appears people with less than sincere intentions have began to use their claims concerning Jesus in order to pursue insincere personal agendas.
Note: all Biblical quotes are from the NIV Bible.
References
[1] Jewish Antiquities, Flavius Josephus, Wordsworth Editions Limited 2006 pg 780
[2] Mishkat al-Masabih, 3:47
[3] Ibn Al Jauzi in Kitab al Wafa
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Muslim Radio Talk Show is Launched
Sami Zaatari of Muslim-Responses launches a new Islamic radio talk show. Please support it.
Comming this Friday, 7-9 eastern standard time, midnight GMT. Show can be listened to live at:
www.harmonybroadcasting.com
First topic of discussion is Islamophobia
Sami's YouTube site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpHAyV2xIJE
Comming this Friday, 7-9 eastern standard time, midnight GMT. Show can be listened to live at:
www.harmonybroadcasting.com
First topic of discussion is Islamophobia
Sami's YouTube site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpHAyV2xIJE
Friday, 13 November 2009
Islam-Watch Refuted on Honor Killings
Refutation of Syed Kamran Mirza’s Article entitled: “Honor Killing” is Absolutely Islamic!
Having already corrected other misleading work from Syed Kamran Mirza concerning Islam I have come across further work of his which requires correction. I do understand he presented much of his work about 10-15 years ago and a lot of it is still in circulation on the internet and it will be physically difficult for him to correct and retract his shoddy and misleading scholarship on Islam, nevertheless; I urge him to correct his work as it error-laden.
This particular piece of Mirza’s work (“Honor Killing” is Absolutely Islamic!), which is to be discussed, is equally shoddy and misleading.
Prior to coming across Mirza’s claims on honor killings I had already produced a small piece of writing which illustrated the fact that honor killings are not allowed in Islam. This work, God-Willing, will be appended into appendix 1 at the end of the article.
Despite the false accusation of honor killings being allowed in Islam is not as widespread amongst critics of Islam it is still a dangerous misconception which is becoming more common due to the desperation of certain critics. It does not surprise me that Mirza made this claim as he has a history of unorthodox and bizarre claims against Islam.
Before beginning, it is important to illustrate to the reader that honor killings are not allowed in Islam. The best way to highlight this is by searching Islamic Law to find any requirement for honor killings. This search clearly indicates that there is nothing in Islamic Law which allows honor killings. Therefore honor killing is not sanctioned by Islam thus highlighting the falsehood in Mirza’s claims. To be more thorough I will offer the opinion of the Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, on this issue:
“There is no such concept in Islam that is called “honor killing”. Islam holds every soul in high esteem and does not allow any transgression upon it. It does not allow people to take the law in their own hands and administer justice, because doing so will be leading to chaos and lawlessness. Therefore, based on this, Islam does not permit such killings.” [1]
So Mirza is in a pickle here and is clearly incorrect with his bold assertion; “Honor Killing is Absolutely Islamic”. OK, having established Mirza has no authority and is clearly wrong let us look at some other aspects of his article.
Mirza arrogantly claims “very often civilized people do blame Islam as the precursor of this dreadful act. Most others do not agree with this notion at all; and they try to put the blame on the tribal/cultural practice, and do not consider Islam is anyway responsible for it” [2]
Mirza suggests it is the civilised people who blame Islam for this practice; thus inferring the uncivilised do not blame Islam for the practice of honor-killings. Well Mirza ends up with egg on his face as I have clearly demonstrated (with Islamic authority) that honor killings are not Islamic therefore Mirza should correct himself by claiming it is the ignorant who blame Islam for honor killings and not the civilised whilst it is the educated ones who do not blame Islam for honor killings.
Staying on the same subject Mirza begins to attack non-Muslims who are unwilling to be as unscholarly as he is; “Most Muslim apologists and also some gullible westerners want to argue that the ‘so called “honor killing” is not Islamic and it’s a tribal/cultural vice.’ This statement is utterly untrue and only a wish full covers up”. [2]
Well, I suggest Mirza puts his campaign of propaganda aside and re-research Islam rather than attacking Islam with preconceived ideas. This way he will not look quite so biased against Islam, unscholarly and arrogant.
If Mirza’s arrogance has not shocked you, his ignorance will certainly shock you; Mirza goes on to claim “And this kind of cruel killings to save family honor had happened, still happening, and will remain to happen—only to a Muslim family. Honor killings happen only to some designated Muslim nations” [2]
Absolutely amazing! After this comment I am certain, even the most ardent supporter of Mirza (critic of Islam) will begin to doubt Mirza’s claims and reliability. Mirza only needs to read a few news articles to realise honor killings occur in Sikh, Hindu and Christian communities too. In fact it is a big issue amongst the Hindu and Sikh communities and occurs all over the planet.
However prior to Mirza’s shocking attempt to convince us that honor killings are an exclusive activity of Muslims Mirza contradicts himself by writing “Honor killing is a manifestation of global phenomenon in general and Muslim nations in particular.” [2]
Mirza further contradicts himself by claiming “However, some very rare, sporadic case of such killing might have happened in other society or people of other religion” [2]. Thus it appears Mirza was either undecided or was shoddy in editing.
Mirza proceeds to give nine distinct stories of honor killings within the Muslim community, as Mirza has a habit of being unreliable and not having enough time to painstakingly check Mirza’s information I will not comment. However, it should not be taken as a denial that honor killings occur in the Muslim community; they do occur but they are un-Islamic, i.e. not allowed in Islam therefore the Muslim committing the crime of honor killing is contravening (going against) Islamic teachings.
Mirza tries to present a further case against Islam by stating “Had it been the tribal/cultural practice, ‘honor killing’ would exist amongst the Arabs only. But honor killing does happen amongst the non-Arab Muslims also. Also Arabs belonged to all religions (Muslims, Christians, Jews, Bhai etc.) would practice honor killing with equal prevalence. Fact of the matter is—no Arab Christians, Jews or Bahai etc do practice this uncivilized act at all.” [2]
In fact Claire Murphy’s (BBC News) statement corrects and educates Mirza and shows Mirza that other cultures and religious communities have the same problem of honor killings; “It is widely agreed that the root and cause of honour killing is a complex, historical phenomenon which has no justification in Islam's holy book, the Koran, and which has also been known to occur elsewhere in the world and among other religions.” [3]
So Mirza fails with this attempt to convince the reader. Mirza finally, somewhat half-heartedly, quotes irrelevant English translations from Muslim sources (the Quran and aHadith). Mirza presents these quotes and he too seems to realise that even these quotes do not prove his ideas and in order to save face and retain a little credibility he entitles his list of quotes with; “Dictums of Quran and Hadiths which may dictate/incite honor killing”
Note the word “may”; this seems very incompatible with Mirza’s bold assertion in the title of his work, “Honor Killing is Absolutely Islamic!”
It appears as though, even Mirza’s fertile imagination could not even attempt to manipulate the quotes he presented to try and back up his assertion which wrongly claims honor killings are Islamic. The fact still remains not one of Mirza’s quotes are supporting honor killings and thus rendering his quoting irrelevant. I get the feeling Mirza knew this too, sadly he was not too quick to come forward and admit this.
To give Mirza further food for thought we can add comments from Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hanooti:
“In Islam, there is no place for unjustifiable killing. Even in case of capital punishment, only the government can apply the law through the judicial procedures. No one has the authority to execute the law other than the officers who are in charge.” [1]
Note: “Honor” is an American spelling, the English spelling is “honour”, and I have endeavoured to use the American spelling as Mirza used the American spelling despite my preference of the English spelling.
Appendix 1
Link to a short piece indicating honour killings are forbidden in Islam:
http://thefactsaboutislam.blogspot.com/2009/08/honor-killings.html
References
[1] Fatwa Bank, Islamonline, Honor Killing from an Islamic Perspective. (http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543392)
[2] Honor Killing” is Absolutely Islamic! By Kamran Syed Mirza, 01 Jul, 2005 (Updated 16 Jan, 2008)
[3] Jordan's dilemma over 'honour killings' By Claire Murphy, BBC News Online, Wednesday, 10 September, 2003, 11:59 GMT 12:59 UK
Having already corrected other misleading work from Syed Kamran Mirza concerning Islam I have come across further work of his which requires correction. I do understand he presented much of his work about 10-15 years ago and a lot of it is still in circulation on the internet and it will be physically difficult for him to correct and retract his shoddy and misleading scholarship on Islam, nevertheless; I urge him to correct his work as it error-laden.
This particular piece of Mirza’s work (“Honor Killing” is Absolutely Islamic!), which is to be discussed, is equally shoddy and misleading.
Prior to coming across Mirza’s claims on honor killings I had already produced a small piece of writing which illustrated the fact that honor killings are not allowed in Islam. This work, God-Willing, will be appended into appendix 1 at the end of the article.
Despite the false accusation of honor killings being allowed in Islam is not as widespread amongst critics of Islam it is still a dangerous misconception which is becoming more common due to the desperation of certain critics. It does not surprise me that Mirza made this claim as he has a history of unorthodox and bizarre claims against Islam.
Before beginning, it is important to illustrate to the reader that honor killings are not allowed in Islam. The best way to highlight this is by searching Islamic Law to find any requirement for honor killings. This search clearly indicates that there is nothing in Islamic Law which allows honor killings. Therefore honor killing is not sanctioned by Islam thus highlighting the falsehood in Mirza’s claims. To be more thorough I will offer the opinion of the Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, on this issue:
“There is no such concept in Islam that is called “honor killing”. Islam holds every soul in high esteem and does not allow any transgression upon it. It does not allow people to take the law in their own hands and administer justice, because doing so will be leading to chaos and lawlessness. Therefore, based on this, Islam does not permit such killings.” [1]
So Mirza is in a pickle here and is clearly incorrect with his bold assertion; “Honor Killing is Absolutely Islamic”. OK, having established Mirza has no authority and is clearly wrong let us look at some other aspects of his article.
Mirza arrogantly claims “very often civilized people do blame Islam as the precursor of this dreadful act. Most others do not agree with this notion at all; and they try to put the blame on the tribal/cultural practice, and do not consider Islam is anyway responsible for it” [2]
Mirza suggests it is the civilised people who blame Islam for this practice; thus inferring the uncivilised do not blame Islam for the practice of honor-killings. Well Mirza ends up with egg on his face as I have clearly demonstrated (with Islamic authority) that honor killings are not Islamic therefore Mirza should correct himself by claiming it is the ignorant who blame Islam for honor killings and not the civilised whilst it is the educated ones who do not blame Islam for honor killings.
Staying on the same subject Mirza begins to attack non-Muslims who are unwilling to be as unscholarly as he is; “Most Muslim apologists and also some gullible westerners want to argue that the ‘so called “honor killing” is not Islamic and it’s a tribal/cultural vice.’ This statement is utterly untrue and only a wish full covers up”. [2]
Well, I suggest Mirza puts his campaign of propaganda aside and re-research Islam rather than attacking Islam with preconceived ideas. This way he will not look quite so biased against Islam, unscholarly and arrogant.
If Mirza’s arrogance has not shocked you, his ignorance will certainly shock you; Mirza goes on to claim “And this kind of cruel killings to save family honor had happened, still happening, and will remain to happen—only to a Muslim family. Honor killings happen only to some designated Muslim nations” [2]
Absolutely amazing! After this comment I am certain, even the most ardent supporter of Mirza (critic of Islam) will begin to doubt Mirza’s claims and reliability. Mirza only needs to read a few news articles to realise honor killings occur in Sikh, Hindu and Christian communities too. In fact it is a big issue amongst the Hindu and Sikh communities and occurs all over the planet.
However prior to Mirza’s shocking attempt to convince us that honor killings are an exclusive activity of Muslims Mirza contradicts himself by writing “Honor killing is a manifestation of global phenomenon in general and Muslim nations in particular.” [2]
Mirza further contradicts himself by claiming “However, some very rare, sporadic case of such killing might have happened in other society or people of other religion” [2]. Thus it appears Mirza was either undecided or was shoddy in editing.
Mirza proceeds to give nine distinct stories of honor killings within the Muslim community, as Mirza has a habit of being unreliable and not having enough time to painstakingly check Mirza’s information I will not comment. However, it should not be taken as a denial that honor killings occur in the Muslim community; they do occur but they are un-Islamic, i.e. not allowed in Islam therefore the Muslim committing the crime of honor killing is contravening (going against) Islamic teachings.
Mirza tries to present a further case against Islam by stating “Had it been the tribal/cultural practice, ‘honor killing’ would exist amongst the Arabs only. But honor killing does happen amongst the non-Arab Muslims also. Also Arabs belonged to all religions (Muslims, Christians, Jews, Bhai etc.) would practice honor killing with equal prevalence. Fact of the matter is—no Arab Christians, Jews or Bahai etc do practice this uncivilized act at all.” [2]
In fact Claire Murphy’s (BBC News) statement corrects and educates Mirza and shows Mirza that other cultures and religious communities have the same problem of honor killings; “It is widely agreed that the root and cause of honour killing is a complex, historical phenomenon which has no justification in Islam's holy book, the Koran, and which has also been known to occur elsewhere in the world and among other religions.” [3]
So Mirza fails with this attempt to convince the reader. Mirza finally, somewhat half-heartedly, quotes irrelevant English translations from Muslim sources (the Quran and aHadith). Mirza presents these quotes and he too seems to realise that even these quotes do not prove his ideas and in order to save face and retain a little credibility he entitles his list of quotes with; “Dictums of Quran and Hadiths which may dictate/incite honor killing”
Note the word “may”; this seems very incompatible with Mirza’s bold assertion in the title of his work, “Honor Killing is Absolutely Islamic!”
It appears as though, even Mirza’s fertile imagination could not even attempt to manipulate the quotes he presented to try and back up his assertion which wrongly claims honor killings are Islamic. The fact still remains not one of Mirza’s quotes are supporting honor killings and thus rendering his quoting irrelevant. I get the feeling Mirza knew this too, sadly he was not too quick to come forward and admit this.
To give Mirza further food for thought we can add comments from Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hanooti:
“In Islam, there is no place for unjustifiable killing. Even in case of capital punishment, only the government can apply the law through the judicial procedures. No one has the authority to execute the law other than the officers who are in charge.” [1]
Note: “Honor” is an American spelling, the English spelling is “honour”, and I have endeavoured to use the American spelling as Mirza used the American spelling despite my preference of the English spelling.
Appendix 1
Link to a short piece indicating honour killings are forbidden in Islam:
http://thefactsaboutislam.blogspot.com/2009/08/honor-killings.html
References
[1] Fatwa Bank, Islamonline, Honor Killing from an Islamic Perspective. (http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543392)
[2] Honor Killing” is Absolutely Islamic! By Kamran Syed Mirza, 01 Jul, 2005 (Updated 16 Jan, 2008)
[3] Jordan's dilemma over 'honour killings' By Claire Murphy, BBC News Online, Wednesday, 10 September, 2003, 11:59 GMT 12:59 UK
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Christian Claims about Ahmed Deedat's Death and Stroke
Sharia Law against terrorism
Christians having dreams and converting to Islam
Learn about Islam
It has come to my attention that a group of corrupt Christians on the internet are focussing their hateful and deceitful propaganda on Sheikh Ahmed Deedat.
Ahmed Deedat, for those of you who do not know, was a self learned scholar of comparative religion and a debater for Islam who resided in South Africa. Yes, he was a Muslim who was familiar with Christianity and thus debated many Christians and proved to be highly successful in his ministry to Christians, so much so that he gained approbation, love and friendship all over the world from both Muslims and non-Muslims.
His charismatic oratory skills were gripping and perhaps he would be remembered best for coupling these oratory skills (and charisma) with piercing and coherent arguments.
He has of course passed away (in 2005) but it does appear as though a smear campaign against Deedat has begun on the internet. I do feel this smear campaign must be addressed as the perpetrators are looking to poison the well of discussion.
Deedat, before his death, had a stroke and was paralysed to the extent that he could not speak and communicated using his eyelids. This was seen, by the Muslims, as a test from Allah. Indeed Deedat had accomplished so much prior to this but continued in his work even whilst paralysed.
The reason why I mention this is due to this small group of Christians on the internet making deceptive claims about Deedat.
Their first claim is that Deedat prayed to God to mute whoever was wrong and a liar after his debate with the Christian evangelist named Anis Shorrosh. There is no evidence for this claim despite all the Deedat-Shorrosh debate being documented on video. So this claim is dismissed as a lie.
In fact Muslims could do the same thing and claim that Shorrosh prayed and asked God to have the authorities arrest and jail the one who is wrong. Anis Shorrosh was arrested an imprisoned after his debate with Deedat [1].
Or Muslims could claim the infamous Christian evangelist Jimmy Swaggart (who also debated Deedat) prayed to God to ask whoever was wrong to be humiliated by caught in a high profile sex scandal [2]. Swaggart was caught in a sex scandal and was humiliated in public.
Of course it would be absurd to claim these allegations against Shorrosh and Swaggert as there is no evidence for these claims. This is the reason why Muslims do not do this whilst these Christians have moved into the realms of deception by making false claims of this nature against Deedat.
It seems, Deedat (even after his death) is still being used to point out errors to Christians as these Christians claim to have the Holy Spirit (which Christians believe to be God) inside them whilst claiming Muslims are misguided. Interestingly enough Muslims are refraining from lying about Deedat’s opponents whilst these Christians are lying about Deedat. Surely the guided ones would refrain from lying? Surely if these Christians really had a Holy Spirit within them they would not lie about Deedat. Thus it seems Allah (God) is showing these Christians some truth and wisdom through Deedat, whether they are too blind to see it lies with them.
The other claim these Christians make is that of God punishing Deedat for speaking out against Christianity by paralysing him.
This claim is another fanciful claim based on no evidence at all and is somewhat contradictory to Christian teachings. Their premise is that Deedat sinned due to him speaking against the Trinity and the Bible and thus he was “punished” by paralysis.
Firstly the Muslim belief is that those who are paralysed or struck by a severe illness are to be honoured and looked after and not to be labelled as sinners. This is a test that Allah (God) sends to these individuals and indeed a test to the healthy so we can aid and support these people without stigmatising these people as sinners or unworthy souls.
In Islam, disabled people are indeed equal to those who are able-bodied. This I believe to be a fine teaching indeed, a teaching many Christians could benefit from too.
So we realise that this group of Christians who label Deedat as a “sinner” being “punished” by paralysis are insulting all those who have been paralysed, lost functions of any body part or struck with a sever/debilitating illness. The question is; is this pious and pure behaviour on the part of the Christians? Surely not!
Surely the Muslim belief offers more comfort to the paralysed, ill, elderly and infirm whilst this group of Christians insult and offer discomfort to these people. Again, it seems to me that Allah (God) is using Deedat to teach these Christians more wisdom and truth, whether they choose to remain blind and unreceptive to this truth and wisdom is down to them.
Also, Hitler was a great sinner, Why did God not send paralysis on him as a “punishment”? Do these Christians believe God approved of Hitler’s actions?
Also let us look at the friends of Jesus, his sincere companions and followers were terrorised and oppressed by the Romans during and after the ministry of Jesus. Do these same Christians believe that God was punishing them for sins? Interestingly enough Paul was one of those who were oppressing these sincere followers of Jesus. This is food for thought for the Christians.
However, to completely dispel any doubts and thoroughly refute this group of Christians who have resorted to arguments based on bigotry against paralysed and severely ill people we can look to pious Biblical figures and see their plight.
John the Baptist, according to the Christian belief, was imprisoned and later beheaded. Muslims do not consider this to be a punishment from God and believe John the Baptist to be a truly respected Prophet of God. Do the Christians really believe God was punishing John the Baptist? Surely this was a test for John the Baptist and a test for his followers and those around him. This was no punishment. So if this was not a punishment from God then surely the condition of Deedat was not a punishment from God but a test.
We can also look at the view that Isaac went blind in his later years. Surely these Christians do not believe God was punishing the well respected Isaac? Well, if they do not believe that about Isaac then why would they believe it about Deedat? It seems these Christians are operating a double standard. Their hypocrisy and inconsistencies are being highlighted through Deedat, again it is down to them to accept this criticism and correct their selves.
My message to these Christians to correct their deceptive ways will be further strengthened by "A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed--without remedy." (Proverbs 29:1)
Further food for thought goes to babies who are born with paralysis or other health implications. Do these Christians and Christians in general really believe God is punishing these innocent babies? Surely God is not punishing these babies so why do these Christians argue against Deedat in this fashion.
Christians regularly claim God loves every body; the question has got to be where is the love and compassion of these Christians who insult the memory of Deedat and hurt his living family members and friends (both Muslim and non-Muslim).
It may come as no surprise to those familiar with the Biblical sayings of Jesus that Deedat and those who believed Jesus to be a Prophet are the target of evil lies as Jesus is reported to have said;
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me”. (Matthew 5:11)
In fact I put it to you that God loves Sheikh Ahmed Deedat more than he loves these Christians who are making such deceptive claims.
All Biblical Quotes are from the New International Version of the Bible
References
[1] News report concerning Shorrosh’s arrest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SndHKXLR17k
[2] BBC article on the Swaggart scandal:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/21/newsid_2565000/2565197.stm
By Yahya Snow
Feedback: yahyasnow@hotmail.com
***CONVERSIONS TO ISLAM***
http://thefactsaboutislam.blogspot.com/search/label/Conversions
***ANOTHER INTERNET HOAX AGAINST MUSLIMS***
http://thefactsaboutislam.blogspot.com/2010/09/mass-muslim-marriage-and-rape-of.html
Tags: silenced muted curse cursed,
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