The below following article "Muhammad, Islam, and Terrorism" was written
nearly two and a half years before the terror attack of September 11th, 2001. This tragedy
has shown again how important it is to understand the reasons and dynamics fuelling
Islamic terrorism. Determining the right response is not easy. But some kinds of response
are definitely wrong. This article is quite detailed, but even if you do not read the complete
article, please make sure you read our concluding remarks.
This article shows the basis for radical, fundamentalist Islam. This is not the only Islam there is.
Note also, that this article is linked under the heading of "
Understanding Islamic Terrorism",
not under the title of "Understanding Islam". Apart from many peaceful Muslims who are
themselves unaware of the material presented below, there are also educated, moderate
Muslims who do not agree with such terrorist acts and interpret these passages of the
Qur'an and these precedents in the life of Muhammad differently. They would not interpret
them as justifying atrocities as committed by Islamic terrorist groups. The problem is that
those Muslims who oppose the radicals are themselves in danger and fear of becoming
the target of the radicals in Islam. Ignoring the "violent passages" in the Qur'an and Muslim
traditions will not be the solution. The Islamic community has to confront the terrorists in their
midst in word and deed, by bringing them to justice and by opposing their interpretation of Islam,
if they believe it is not the true interpretation. We call for all Muslims to unmistakenly distance
themselves from terrorist acts AND by giving the real meaning of these passages and precedents
presented below, to confront and excommunicate those who hold this violent Islam to be the
only true Islam. As long as the Muslim community does NOT confront and stop them, they
cannot complain that "the non-Muslims are misrepresenting Islam" and are biased and islamophobic.
The below article draws the strongest possible conclusions from the sources, but it deals with the
historical sources. Muslims who disagree with the conclusions, need to enter a discussion on
those sources that are the foundations of Islam. We are willing to engage in this discussion
and link from here to Muslim responses.
However, it remains true, that what follows below exposes the basis for this kind of radical Islam
that has shown the world its deadly determination. It is not just in the imagination of some
people who "hate Islam".
The webmaster of Answering Islam being author of the introductory paragraphs above
and the concluding remarks at the bottom of the page,
welcomes your response.
There are a couple of Muslim responses to this article.
Read the below article first, before you read may their responses, so that you can
evaluate properly whether their reaction is really an answer of substance or not.
MUHAMMAD, ISLAM, AND TERRORISM
by Silas
INTRODUCTION
The actions of Islamic terrorist
groups operating throughout the world are well known. Islamic terrorists have bombed and destroyed buildings, planes,
and vehicles. Additionally, during the
last 20 years, Muslim terrorists have targeted and murdered tens of thousands
of males, females, adults, and children.
All over the world, in Kenya, Algeria, Indonesia, Egypt, Iran, France,
South America and America, etc., Muslim terrorists have attacked and murdered
those they felt were a threat to their aims.
No one has been spared by these treacherous people.
Not surprisingly, examination of the
websites that deal with terrorism show that about one half of all terrorist
groups in the world are Islamic in nature.
Why are these groups Islamic? What does the religion of Islam have to do
with terrorism? Is there a link between
the two? How do these groups justify
murdering civilians based upon Islamic values?
Are terrorism and murder actually allowed under Islam?
This article examines the basis for Islamic
terrorism found within Islam. Starting
with Muhammad and reviewing his teachings and his actions, and then visiting
what other Muslims have taught, the fundamentals of Islamic terrorism will be
examined.
NOTES
1) My comments or source references will be in
[ ] type brackets. Other writers comments will be in the ( ) type brackets.
2) When I talk about terrorist actions, I am
talking about motive and action. Crime
exists in every society, and I am not including all crimes as examples of
terrorism. I am focusing on the violent
actions Muslims carry out in the name of Islam.
For example, in Egypt some years ago, a Muslim man murdered an American
woman. He killed her then robbed
her. His motive was greed, not the
furtherance of Islam. I would not call
that an Islamic terrorist action. On
the other hand, Muslims who carry out bombings, like the ones in Kenya and Tanzania
- in which hundreds of innocents died,
do so because they feel they are attacking their enemies and have Allah's
sanction to do so. That is a terrorist
action.
Additionally, there are many kinds
of terrorists who engage in violence.
There are political terrorists operating in South America, there are
terrorists who murder doctors who perform abortion. There are Communist terrorists, capitalist terrorists, right wing
terrorists, left wing terrorists, etc.
In America, there are gangs who operate like terrorists. However, in this
writing, I am focusing on terrorism based upon what Muhammad taught and
did. I am focusing on Muslims, who for
the sake of Islam, commit violent acts of terrorism. But I want all readers to know that I note
that there are many non-Muslim terrorists operating in the world. Some of these other terrorists are every bit
as vicious as Muslim terrorists.
3) A "terrorist" is defined as
"one who engages in acts of terrorism". "Terrorism" is defined as "the unlawful use or
threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against
people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or
governments, often for ideological or political reasons."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MUHAMMAD'S
EARLY ACTIONS AND TEACHINGS
When Muhammad started out preaching
his religion of Islam he was not violent. He was persecuted for preaching his religious ideas - Islam - and
denigrating the pagan religions of the Meccans. Some of Muhammad's followers were tortured. Things were so bad for him and his few
followers that he sent many of them to Abyssinia [Ethiopia] for refuge. Eventually, he and his followers moved north
to a city called Yathrib [Medina], where some members of two Arab tribes wanted
Muhammad to be their prophet.
BEGINNING
OF MUHAMMAD'S VIOLENCE
Just prior to Muhammad's leaving for
Medina, he received a
"revelation" allowing him to fight the Meccans. He knew that in Medina, he had a group of armed
men who would support him. Furthermore,
in Medina, would be more distant from the Meccans and their attempts to oppress
or kill him. The following is from
"The Life of Muhammad", page 212, by A. Guillaume, which is a
rendering of Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasulallah", a biography of Muhammad
written by an early Muslim scholar [1].
"THE APOSTLE RECEIVES THE ORDER
TO FIGHT
The apostle had not been given
permission to fight or allowed to shed blood before the second Aqaba [a place
where a pledge was made between Muhammad and his followers from Medina].
He had simply been ordered to call men to God and to endure insult and forgive
the ignorant. The Quraysh [a leading group of Meccans] had persecuted his
followers, seducing some from their religion and exiling others from their
country. They had to choose whether to give up their religion, be maltreated
at home, or to flee the country, some to Abyssinia, others to Medina.
When Quraysh became insolent towards
God and rejected His gracious purpose, accused His prophet of lying, and ill
treated and exiled those who served Him and proclaimed His unity, believed in
His prophet and held fast to His religion, He gave permission to His apostle to
fight and to protect himself against those who wronged them and treated them
badly......[a]
The meaning is "I have allowed
them to fight only because they have been unjustly treated while their sole
offense against men has been that they worship God. When they are in the ascendant they will establish prayer, pay
the poor-tax, enjoin kindness, and forbid iniquity, i.e., the prophet and his
companions all of them." Then God sent down to him: "Fight them
so that there be no more seduction," [b] i.e. until no believer is seduced
from his religion. "And the religion is God's,", i.e. Until God alone
is worshipped."
END OF QUOTE
[Note: two passages from the Quran are referenced: [a] Sura 22:39-41, which I did not quote,
and [b] Sura 2:193]
Two critical
points here:
1) in Mecca, where Muhammad was weak, he
attacked no one. He only preached his
religion and insulted the Meccan's religions.
But it was just prior to his leaving for Medina, where he had a limited
amount of armed men to support him, that he received this
"revelation" and began to use violence to further his desires. Islamic history
shows that as Muslims grew in power their forms of violence changed from
criminal terrorism to outright warfare.
2) At the end of the quote, it says that
Muslims are to fight those who do not worship Allah.
I also comment on Ibn Ishaq's
work. When reading this passage from
Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad is made to appear to be long suffering and primarily
fighting in self defense, and that up until just before Muhammad's departure,
the Meccan persecution was tolerable, but that it became so bad that Muhammad
was finally given permission to fight back.
The problem with this is that
Muhammad had been severely persecuted prior to this and that Muslims had been
abused well before their departure. In
other words, the quoted passage is apologetic work on Ibn Ishaq's part. Earlier, well before the Treaty of Aqaba,
things were so bad for Muhammad that he went to a town called Taif to seek
their help and protection [Guillaume, op cit, page 192]. The Taifians rejected and abused him. Things were so bad for Muhammad in Mecca,
Muhammad had to beg three men for their protection [Guillaume, op cit, page
194].
In Mecca, Muhammad continued to
proclaim himself as a prophet and he was abused all the more. He never received any
"revelations" to fight at that time.
Eventually, good fortune fell into
Muhammad's lap and just as in Adolph Hitler's case, his persistence paid
off. A group of feuding Arabs in Medina
accepted him as their prophet. They
hoped he could help them maintain peace.
They eventually made a pledge to support Muhammad in war against the
Quraysh [Guillaume, op cit, page 205].
Now Muhammad knew he had an able and armed following. It was only when
he had a following who could defend themselves, and his people were migrating
north to Medina, and that he knew he was going to leave town, that suddenly
"Allah" gave Muhammad his "revelation" to fight. Muhammad's circumstances changed, and Muhammad's
Allah changed with them. Muhammad went
from being only a "warner" to being an aggressor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MUHAMMAD'S
EARLY TERRORIST ACTS
After moving to Medina, Muhammad
began to have conflict with the Jews and pagans in the area. I'll focus on several incidents, not
necessarily in chronological order, that illustrate Muhammad as a terrorist.
The first
terrorist incident involves Muhammad's command to his followers to "kill
any Jew who comes under your power".
From
Guillaume, op cit, page 369:
"The apostle said, "Kill
any Jew who falls into your power."
Thereupon Muhayyisa b. Masud leapt upon Ibn Sunayna, a Jewish merchant
with whom they had social and business relations, and killed him. Huwayyisa was not a Muslim at the time
though he was the elder brother. When
Muhayyisa killed him Huwayyisa began to beat him, saying, 'You enemy of God,
did you kill him when much of the fat on your belly comes from his wealth?' Muhayyisa answered, 'Had the one who
ordered me to kill him ordered me to kill you I would have cut your head
off.'"
END OF QUOTE
This story
is also supported in the Sunan of Abu Dawud, Book 13, Number 2996:
Narrated
Muhayyisah: The Apostle of Allah
said: If you gain a victory over the
men of Jews, kill them. So Muhayyisah
jumped over Shubaybah, a man of the Jewish merchants. He had close relations with them. He then killed him. At
that time Huwayyisah (brother of Muhayyisah) had not embraced Islam. He was older than Muhayyisah. When he killed him, Huwayyisah beat him and
said: O enemy of Allah, I swear by
Allah, you have a good deal of fat in your belly from his property.
END OF QUOTE
This murder was committed upon
Muhammad's command. Note that this Muslim murderer would have killed a family member
at the drop of a hat. Muhammad was no better than a bigoted criminal boss, ordering his men
to wantonly murder Jewish people. Hitler did this. Muhammad's command to murder Jews
puts him in the same category as Hitler, and others who have persecuted Jews throughout history.
A quote from an Islamic scholar -
Wensinck writes in his, "Muhammad and the Jews of Medina" [2], page
113:
"It is remarkable that
tradition attributes Muhammad's most cruel acts to divine order, namely the
siege of Qaynuqa, the murder of Kab, and he attack upon Qurayzah. Allah's conscience seems to be more elastic
than that of his creatures."..... Ibn Ishaq and
al-Waqidi report that the prophet said the morning after the murder (of Kab
Ashraf), "Kill any Jew you can lay your hands on.".
This incident is also documented in
Tabari's History [3], page 97 of volume 7.
This
shows that Muhammad had unsuspecting people, those who even had good relations
with Muslims, murdered in cold blood because they were Jewish. There was no justification to murder these
Jews other than they were not Muhammad's followers. These actions were the work of Muhammad's terrorists committing
murder.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The second terrorist incident
involves another one of Muhammad's requests:
this one for his men to murder an old Jewish man named Abu Afak. Abu Afak was 120 years. Abu Afak had urged his fellow Medinans to
question Muhammad.
From
Guillaume, op cit., page 675:
SALIM B. UMAYR'S EXPEDITION TO KILL
ABU AFAK
Abu Afak was
one of the B. Amr b. Auf of the B. Ubayda clan. He showed his disaffection when the apostle killed al-Harith b.
Suwayd b. Samit and said:
"Long have I lived
but never have I seen
An assembly or
collection of people
More faithful to their
undertaking
And their allies when
called upon
Than the sons of Qayla
when they assembled,
Men who overthrew
mountains and never submitted,
A rider who came to them
split them in two (saying)
"Permitted",
"Forbidden", of all sorts of things.
Had you believed in
glory or kingship
You would have followed
Tubba
[NOTE: the Tubba was a ruler from Yemen who invaded
that part of what is present Saudi Arabia:
the Qaylites resisted him]
The apostle said, "Who will
deal with this rascal for me?"
Whereupon Salim b. Umayr, brother of B. Amr b. Auf, one of the
"weepers", went forth and killed him. Umama b. Muzayriya said concerning that:
You gave the lie to
God's religion and the man Ahmad!
[Muhammad]
By him who was your
father, evil is the son he produced!
A "hanif" gave
you a thrust in the night saying
"Take that Abu Afak
in spite of your age!"
Though I knew whether it
was man or jinn
Who slew you in the dead
of night (I would say naught).
END OF QUOTE
Additional information is found in
the Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, (Book of the Major Classes) by Ibn Sa'd, Volume
2, [4], page 32:
Then occurred the
"sariyyah" [raid] of Salim Ibn Umayr al-Amri against Abu Afak, the
Jew, in [the month of] Shawwal in the beginning of the twentieth month from the
hijrah [immigration from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD], of the Apostle of
Allah. Abu Afak, was from Banu Amr Ibn
Awf, and was an old man who had attained the age of one hundred and twenty
years. He was a Jew, and used to
instigate the people against the Apostle of Allah, and composed (satirical)
verses [about Muhammad].
Salim Ibn Umayr who was one of the
great weepers and who had participated in Badr, said, "I take a vow that I
shall either kill Abu Afak or die before him.
He waited for an opportunity until a hot night came, and Abu Afak slept
in an open place. Salim Ibn Umayr knew
it, so he placed the sword on his liver and pressed it till it reached his
bed. The enemy of Allah screamed and
the people who were his followers, rushed to him, took him to his house and
interred him.
END OF QUOTE
From a contemporary Muslim scholar -
Ali Dashti's "23 Years: A Study of
the Prophetic Career of Mohammad", [5], page 100:
"Abu Afak, a man of great age
(reputedly 120 years) was killed because he had lampooned Mohammad. The deed was done by Salem b. Omayr at the
behest of the Prophet, who had asked, "Who will deal with this rascal for
me?" The killing of such an old
man moved a poetess, Asma b. Marwan, to compose disrespectful verses about the
Prophet, and she too was assassinated."
Prior to listing all of the
assassinations Muhammad had ordered, Ali Dashti writes on page 97:
"Thus Islam was gradually
transformed from a purely spiritual mission into a militant and punitive
organization whose progress depended on booty from raids and revenue from the
zakat tax."
REVIEW
Here another man was murdered upon
Muhammad's command. This man was 120 years old. He was no physical threat to Muhammad and he did not urge people
to commit violent acts against Muhammad or the Muslims. There was no discussion with Jewish leaders,
there was no dialogue with Abu Afak; it was just an outright murder of another
one of Muhammad's critics. Abu Afak
urged the people who lived in Medina to doubt and leave Muhammad. Abu Afak found that Muhammad's sayings were
strange and dictatorial. He chided the
Arabs who put their faith in Muhammad.
Muhammad heard of this and viewed the 120 year old man as a threat to his
credibility, not to his life. Nowhere
does it say that Abu Afak urged his fellow Arabs to attack or harm Muhammad. Yet for speaking
his mind, for the benefit of his friends, this man was murdered by Muhammad.
The last statement in Umama b.
Muzayriya's verse reveals something though:
"Though I knew whether it was
man or jinn
Who slew you in the dead of night (I
would say naught)."
This statement displays that the
Muslims knew exactly what they were doing.
They knew it was cold-blooded murder that they were committing upon
Muhammad's request. They wanted to keep
it secret, they wanted to hide their evil deeds from the populace at
large. That's why Umama said he
wouldn't reveal who murdered Abu Afak.
When I think of what type of people
order their followers to commit murder, I only can think of organized crime
bosses or corrupt political figures.
Saddam Hussein comes to mind.
How would an Iraqi be treated if he spoke out about Saddam? Amnesty International just reported that
over 1500 political prisoners were executed in Iraq last year.
Or take the Ayatollah Khomenni. His fundamentalist Islamic regime had other
dissident Iranians murdered all over the world. These murderous Muslims represent exactly what Muhammad was all
about. They follow Muhammad's
methodology: kill those who are a
threat to your credibility and power over others.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The third incident involves
Muhammad's request for his men to murder a woman named Asma b. Marwan.
Quoting from
Guillaume, pages 675, 676.
UMAYR B.
ADIYY'S JOURNEY TO KILL ASMA D. MARWAN
"She was of B. Umayyya b.
Zayd. When Abu Afak had been killed she
displayed disaffection. Abdullah b.
al-Harith b. Al-Fudayl from his father said that she was married to a man of B.
Khatma called Yazid b. Zayd. Blaming
Islam and its followers she said:
"I despise B. Malik and
al-Nabit
and Auf and B. al-Khazraj.
You obey a stranger who is none of
yours,
One not of Murad or Madhhij. {1}
Do you expect good from him after
the killing of your chiefs
Like a hungry man waiting for a
cook's broth?
Is there no man of pride who would
attack him by surprise
And cut off the hopes of those who
expect aught from him?"
Hassan b.
Thabit answered her:
"Banu Wa'il and B. Waqif and
Khatma
Are inferior to B. al-Khazraj.
When she called for folly woe to her
in her weeping,
For death is coming.
She stirred up a man of glorious
origin,
Noble in his going out and in his
coming in.
Before midnight he dyed her in her
blood
And incurred no guilt thereby."
When the apostle heard what she had
said he said, "Who will rid me of Marwan's daughter?" Umayr b. Adiy al-Khatmi who was with him
heard him, and that very night he went to her house and killed her. In the morning he came to the apostle and
told him what he had done and he [Muhammad] said, "You have helped God and
His apostle, O Umayr!" When he
asked if he would have to bear any evil consequences the apostle said, "Two
goats won't butt their heads about her", so Umayr went back to his people.
Now there was a great commotion
among B. Khatma that day about the affair of bint [girl] Marwan. She had five sons, and when Umayr went to
them from the apostle he said, "I have killed bint Marwan, O sons of Khatma. Withstand me if you can; don't keep me
waiting." That was the first day
Islam became powerful among B. Khatma; before that those who were Muslims
concealed the fact. The first of them
to accept Islam was Umayr b. Adiy who was called the "Reader", and
Abdullah b. Aus and Khuzayma b. Thabit.
The day after Bint Marwan was killed the men of B. Khatma became Muslims
because they saw the power of Islam."
{1} The note reads "Two tribes of Yamani
origin."
END OF QUOTE
And from Ibn
Sa'd's, "Kitab Al-Tabaqat Al-Kabir" [op cit] volume 2, page 31.
"SARIYYAH OF UMAYR IBN
ADI"
Then (occurred) the sariyyah of
Umayr ibn adi Ibn Kharashah al-Khatmi
against Asma Bint Marwan, of Banu Umayyah Ibn Zayd, when five nights had
remained from the month of Ramadan, in the beginning of the nineteenth month
from the hijrah of the apostle of Allah.
Asma was the wife of Yazid Ibn Zayd Ibn Hisn al-Khatmi. She used to revile Islam, offend the prophet
and instigate the (people) against him.
She composed verses. Umayr Ibn
Adi came to her in the night and entered her house. Her children were sleeping around her. There was one whom she was suckling. He searched her with his hand because he was blind, and separated
the child from her. He thrust his sword
in her chest till it pierced up to her back.
Then he offered the morning prayers with the prophet at al-Medina. The apostle of Allah said to him: "Have you slain the daughter of
Marwan?" He said: "Yes.
Is there something more for me to do?" He [Muhammad] said:
"No two goats will butt together about her. This was the word that was first heard from
the apostle of Allah. The apostle of
Allah called him Umayr, "basir" (the seeing).
END OF QUOTE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCUSSION
Let's sum this up and put it in
perspective.
Muhammad had al-Harith b. Suwayd b.
Samit killed. This upset Abu Afak, so
he spoke out against it. So, likewise,
Muhammad had Abu Afak murdered. This
offended Asma b. Marwan and she spoke out against that evil deed. She encouraged her fellow tribesmen to take
action against Muhammad. When Muhammad
heard of what she had said, he had her killed also.
At first glance, this order to kill
Asma might seem justifiable. Asma was
calling for someone to kill Muhammad.
It is understandable for Muhammad to be bothered by that.
But let's look deeper at the event
and examine the context of Asma's relationship to her tribe.
1) First of all, Asma has seen Muhammad in
action. She had seen him for what he
was, a cold blooded murderer. Of course
she spoke out against a murderer.
Second, her tribe was not under Muhammad's rule. Perhaps they had a treaty with Muhammad,
perhaps not. Either way, this woman was
free to speak her mind. If a treaty
existed, and she was out of line, Muhammad could have complained to her tribe's
leaders, and they could have commanded her to be silent or dealt with the
situation.
2) What's more noteworthy about this event
is that after she was murdered, Muhammad said "Two goats won't butt their
head about her", meaning no one will care about her death. (Well except her children and her
family).
Also note, that there were already
people from her tribe who had become Muslims.
Certainly these people were not going to listen to her.
The point is this: if no one really cared about her being
murdered, then no one really cared about what she had to say. Her people also knew about Muhammad having
Abu Afak murdered, and they didn't care about that either. Even in that light, no one would take her
serious enough to listen to her urgings to murder Muhammad, who was the leader
of a powerful group of people. None of
her people were willing to put their lives on the line for her words.
The bottom line is that Asma b.
Marwan was not a legitimate threat to Muhammad. She didn't scare him, she was not the leader of her tribe, and
she had little or no influence. She was
little more than a nuisance to him. Yet
Muhammad had her murdered, again, in cold, premeditated blood.
And one
wonders why Muhammad didn't kill her himself?
It was always easier for Muhammad to have someone else do his killing.
Put the shoe on the other foot. Throughout the Mideast, there are Muslims
who call America the Great Satan. These
Muslims have called for the violent destruction of America. Frequently great
crowds have gathered to chant "death to America, death to Reagan, or Bush,
or etc.". At times these people have even murdered Americans. Now, if America, or Reagan, or Bush, etc.
were to use Muhammad's standards, they would engage in killing quite a few
Muslims. They would have used Islamic
standards on the Muslims. But we know
that the chanting of a crowd of hot-heads does not necessitate the use of
violence against them. There are better
ways to deal with critics and criticisms.
Frequently, in the passion of youth, people do and say things they don't
intend to act out, or are not able to carry out. Given time, people can change, and pursue peaceful dialog. But if one applied Muhammad's standards,
American would be justified in bombing Tehran; Israel would be justified in
wiping out hundreds of thousands of Arab Muslims.
The only conclusion is that this
lady troubled Muhammad and he wanted her silenced. Again, like Abu Afak, she was murdered in the night while she
slept.
What type of people murder those
that sleep? Criminals.
ADDITIONAL
OBSERVATIONS
1) What alarms me the most about Islam is
its disposition to violence and use of violence as a standard of God's will.
Umayr is a perfect example of
this. Here is a Muslim man, a friend of
Muhammad's, acting upon Muhammad's request and going into a woman's home under
the cover of night. He comes upon the
woman, sleeping in her bed with her child, and murders her by plunging a sword
through her body.
Afterwards, Muhammad tells the man
that he has "helped God and his apostle". If Allah were really threatened by this woman, I think He could
have killed her Himself, don't you?
Does God need men to sneak around in the night and murder sleeping
women?
2) What kind of religion is Islam
really? Soon after Umayr murdered Asma,
he went to her family and mocked them!
He was laughing in their faces that he had murdered their mother and
that they were powerless to do anything about it! Here is the quote again:
"She had five sons, and when
Umayr went to them from the apostle he said, "I have killed bint Marwan, O
sons of Khatma. Withstand me if you
can; don't keep me waiting."
3) Finally, similar to observation #1,
look at the power of Islam. Here is the
quote:
"That was the first day Islam
became powerful among B. Khatma..... The day after Bint Marwan was killed the
men of B. Khatma became Muslims because they saw the power of Islam."
So then, the power of Islam is to go
about and murder sleeping women in the night, and get away with it? Does "might make right" ring true
in Islam? Is it "he who has the
biggest sword is from Allah? The only
people I know who respect that kind of power are criminals. Criminals who go out in the night and murder
people while they sleep.
We know
that there are good and bad in all religions, but this case is different. This event reflects upon the man who started
Islam: Islam is built upon Muhammad's
words and deeds. We see here that
Muhammad had a woman brutally murdered.
She was killed because she spoke out against him, and she was merely a
nuisance.
The fourth incident involves a Muslim man who murdered his own slave. From the
Hadith of Abu Dawud [6].
Book 38, Number 4348:
Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas:
A blind man had a slave-mother who used to abuse the Prophet and disparage him.
He forbade her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she did not give up her
habit. One night she began to slander the Prophet and abuse him. So he took a
dagger, placed it on her belly, pressed it, and killed her. A child who came
between her legs was smeared with the blood that was there. When the morning
came, the Prophet was informed about it.
He assembled the people and said: I adjure by Allah the man who has done this
action and I adjure him by my right to him that he should stand up. Jumping
over the necks of the people and trembling the man stood up.
He sat before the Prophet and said: Apostle of Allah! I am her master; she used
to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I
rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls
from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to abuse and disparage
you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her.
Thereupon the Prophet said: Oh be witness, no retaliation is payable for her
blood.
END OF QUOTE
Here we see here that Muhammad allowed people to
murder others just for insulting him. Here, a slave woman, who was used as a
concubine by her Muslim master, paid for her criticism of Muhammad with her
life. Note here that one man murdered his own slave, who was the
mother of two of his children!
A slave lady made fun of Muhammad and was brutally
murdered and that action received Muhammad's sanction. Now then, was that slave a threat? Were
Muslims going to leave Islam because of a slave woman's criticism? Of course
not. Muhammad could not long tolerate any personal criticism; he didn't want
his credibility undermined, so he allowed his followers to murder anyone who
expressed different views.
Oh, by the way, before we move on, let me continue to quote from Abu Dawud. The
note #3800 states:
"This shows that even if a Jew of any non-Muslim abuses the Prophet he
will be killed. This is held by al-Laith, al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, and Ishaq."
When Jesus said His followers had to hate their families, even their own lives
to follow Him, everyone knew He meant it as a comparison.... Jesus also
commanded people to honor their fathers and mothers. But Muhammad allowed his
followers to even murder members of their own families!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The fifth incident involves another Muslim man named Amr Umayya, who was sent
out by Muhammad to murder Muhammad's enemy Abu Sufyan, (Guillaume, op cit, and
page 673). However, their assassination attempt failed. As he returned home, he
met a one-eyed shepherd. The shepherd and the Muslim man both identified
themselves as members of the same Arab clan. Prior to going asleep, the
shepherd said that he would never become a Muslim. Umayya waited for the
shepherd to fall asleep, and thereafter:
"as soon as the badu was asleep and snoring I got up and killed him in a
more horrible way than any man has been killed. I put the end of my bow in his
sound eye, then I bore down on it until I forced it out at the back of his
neck."
Umayya returned and spoke with Muhammad. He relates......."He [Muhammad]
asked my news and when I told him what had happened he blessed me".
So, Muhammad blessed one of his men who murdered a
one-eyed shepherd while he slept. Another person who didn't want to
follow Muhammad, another murder in Islam's name. Muhammad's trail of blood
continued to grow.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sixth incident involves the actions of Muslims who were sent out by
Muhammad on a raid against the Fazara tribe. The Muslims were initially
defeated by the Fazara. The wounded Muslim leader swore vengeance. After he
recovered he went out and attacked the Fazara again. One very old woman was
captured. Here is the account from Guillaume, op cit, and page 665:
"....and Umm Qirfa Fatima was taken prisoner.
She was a very old woman, wife of Malik. Her daughter and Abdullah Masada were
also taken. Zayd ordered Qays to kill Umm Qirfa and he killed her cruelly (Tabari,
by putting a rope to her two legs and to two camels and driving them until they
rent her in two.)
END OF QUOTE
Here, Muhammad's companions went out and attacked people, took some prisoners,
then committed some brutal atrocities against their captives. These men were so destitute of basic human values, that they
ripped an old woman in half by using camels! When one reads of the horrible
things some Serbs have done, one is offended. But I wonder how many Muslims know
that Muhammad himself did and sanctioned such things. Muhammad was every bit as
brutal as the Nazis.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 7th incident involves another slave woman who was murdered, upon Muhammad's
command because she had mocked Muhammad some time earlier.
From Guillaume, op cit, page 550, 551:
"Another [to be killed] was Abdullah Khatal of B. Taym b. Ghalib. He had
become a Muslim and the apostle sent him to collect the poor tax in company
with one of the Ansar. He had with him a freed slave who served him. (He was
Muslim). When they halted he ordered the latter to kill a goat for him and
prepare some food, and went to sleep. When he woke up the man had done nothing,
so he attacked and killed him and apostatized. He
had two singing-girls Fartana and her friend who used to sing satirical songs
about the apostle, so he ordered that they should be killed with him."
END OF QUOTE
Let's stop here and examine this paragraph. Muhammad ordered that a man who
apostatized, and his two slave girls, be killed. Khatal was ordered to be
killed not because he killed his male slave, a Muslim, but because he
apostatized. Islamic law does not allow a Muslim man to be put to death for
killing a slave. Muhammad also ordered two slave girls to be killed for singing
satirical songs about him. They sung satirical songs about Muhammad probably at
least a year or more earlier. Now, after Muhammad conquered Mecca, it was his
time to pay those slave girls back. These slave girls were not threats to
Islam, or to the new Islamic State. They were only slave girls. They were
ordered to be executed only because they sang a silly song about Muhammad. Page
551 finishes the story of the slave girls:
"As for Ibn Khatal's two singing girls, one was killed and the other ran
away until the apostle, asked for immunity, gave it to her."
Needless to say, if the second slave girl didn't ask for "immunity",
Muhammad would have had her murdered also.
How do you feel when you hear of various Serbians murdering Bosnian and Kosovo women?
Yet Muhammad did exactly that – he had women murdered just for making fun of him.
If a Muslim justified Muhammad's murder of slave girls, then by their standards, they have
to justify what is happening in Kosovo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEW
We see that Muhammad had many people murdered. By
request, by command, by implication, Muhammad had many people murdered, many
killed while they slept. There were no trials, no judgments, no dialog. If you
insulted Muhammad, if you doubted his credibility and if you spoke out, you
were murdered. Men and women, young and
old, all were killed because of Muhammad's hatred toward those who spoke out
against him.
Here is a summary of the 7 terrorist murders committed upon Muhammad's requests
or efforts:
1) Ibn Sunayna, a Jewish man who was murdered because he was simply a Jew
2) Abu Afak, a 120-year-old man, murdered while he slept
3) Asma Marwan, mother of 5 children, murdered while she slept
4) A slave woman, mother of two children, murdered while she slept
5) A one-eyed shepherd, murdered while he slept
6) A very old woman, literally ripped in half by Muslims who captured her on a
raid.
7) A slave girl, who was murdered because she poked fun at Muhammad.
I will add that there were many more people who suffered a similar fate. I
choose not to list them here because of space limitations.
Make no
mistake about it: Muhammad was a terrorist. Today's Muslim terrorists follow
his actions. Like prophet, like followers; today's Muhammadan terrorists commit
their acts based upon what Muhammad did.
Many Muslims are peace-loving people
and are thoroughly disgusted about the acts of Islamic terrorism.
Most Muslims do not know these historical facts about their own prophet.
But Muslim terrorists are usually well-educated in Islam. They are pious people.
Spiritual leaders. And they do what they do and how they do it following the
example of their prophet.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTIONS
1) What kind of man was Muhammad that he would have peaceful Jews, a 120 year
old man, a mother of 5 children, slave girls, etc. murdered because they
disagreed or criticized him?
2) Is it right to murder others simply because they disagree with your, or even
mock you? Why couldn't Muhammad handle some criticism? Do people who disagree
with others deserve to be murdered, in cold blood, in the night, secretly,
while they sleep? Don't corrupt politicians or organized criminals do that?
3) Isn't this type of action similar to the actions of Muslim terrorists today?
They operate secretly, they kill unsuspecting people, and they murder without
law or justice. They kill those who merely disagree or even verbally oppose
them.
4) Are these "Islamic" values compatible with our values in America?
Should Americans who criticize Muhammad expect to have their freedom of speech
threatened, or should they live in fear of being killed for speaking their
mind? Remember, Muslims in America have already begun to murder Americans for
the sake of Islam.
5) If Muhammad put this system in place, i.e., the murdering of people who
disagree and criticize him, how does it affect Islamic society? How does it
relate to what we have seen done in Islamic societies such as Algeria, Iran,
Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Sudan? The end result has been brutal massacres,
murders, tortures, etc. This is all traceable to Muhammad's actions.
6) If Muhammad were alive today, and we knew of the people he had murdered,
what would you say? Wouldn't we want to see this type of man pay for his
crimes, put in jail for life, or even executed? Who feels sorry for that white
racist who was sentenced to death for dragging that black man and killing him?
Yet Muhammad had a man tortured then murdered, just to get money. Muslims are
commanded to follow Muhammad's "lifestyle" and Islamic law. Murdering
others, in Islam's name is part of that style and system.
7) Don't we have the right to judge Muhammad according to the best moral
standards we know of? He claimed to be the last prophet of God. He claimed his
system was God's final system for all mankind. So by our standards, don't you
think that what Muhammad did was terribly wrong? If our standards are better
than his, then how does his self-asserted "prophethood" really rate?
Why should our standards eclipse those of God's final prophet?
8) Doesn't this sound exactly like what some Serbians have done?
Yet Muhammad did the same things. The Kosovars were killed simply because they were
not Serbians. This is exactly what Muhammad ordered when he urged his follower to murder
the Jews.
9) Why couldn't Muhammad murder her himself? Why is it that every time Muhammad
wanted someone killed, he always got someone else to do his killing?
10) Look at this dark side of Islam. This is the Islam Muhammad practiced. When
the founder of a religion has to have powerless women murdered in the night for
opposing him, how can that religion be described?
11) Where are "human rights" now in Islam? If Muhammad denied freedom
of speech to others, how does that reflect upon Islam and what we see occurring
in the Islamic world today?
12) Why is it that the more fundamentalist Muslim nations become, the more
oppressive they are toward all basic human rights?
Take the Taliban for instance. They have been great fighters. But once in
power, they began to oppress the populace, and specifically, women. Initially,
they said it was only temporary, but it has continued to get worse, not better
for Afghani women as time proceeded. Here is a website that deals with their
oppression:
http://www.rawa.org/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TERRORISM
IN THE QURAN
Muhammad taught his followers to oppress or kill non-Muslims. Generally, Jews
and Christians were allowed to live as such, provided they paid a special tax.
This tax is Jizya, a tax revenue given to the Muslims to make up for revenues they
lost from no longer dealing in pagan activities. If the Jews and Christians
refused to pay this extortion tax they would have to convert to Islam or be
killed. Non Jews or Christians (idolaters or pagans) had to convert to Islam or
be killed. Generally they didn't have the option of paying the tax. Here is the
verse that teaches Muslims to oppress Jews and Christians:
"Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do
they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the
religion of truth, (which is Islam that abolishes all other religions ) of the
people of the Book, (meaning the Jews and the Christians ) until they pay the
Jizya (the tax imposed upon them) with willing submission and feel themselves
subdued. (with humiliation and submission to the government of Islam.) 9:29
." (Commentary in parenthesis is from the Tafsir Al-Jalalein. i.e.,
Al-Jalalein Interpretation of the Koran.)
The order to kill Christians and Jews is in that
verse. It is clear that Muhammad ordered his
followers to fight those Christians and Jews to convert them or pay the Jizya,
and if they don't convert or pay, do you think that he told the followers to
let them go in peace? It is very clear: convert... or pay with submission ... or
die.
The background for this is found in "The Life of Muhammad", op cit,
page 620,
"...."until they [the Jews and Christians] pay the poll tax out of
hand being humbled", i.e. as a compensation for what you fear to lose by
the closing of the markets. God gave them compensation for what He cut off from
them in their former polytheism by what He gave them by way of poll tax from
the people of Scripture."
Muhammad told his followers to attack the Jews and Christians. If they humble
themselves and submit to the Muslims, but choose to remain Christian or Jewish,
then they would have to pay the Muslims. Again, Muhammad's circumstances
changed - Allah changed. Now Muhammad was an extortionist.
Also note that the tax levied upon the Christians
and Jews was not to support the state in general affairs, it was to compensate
the Muslims. Muhammad was exactly like Mafia crime boss, making others pay for
"protection".... except, the Christians and Jews really needed
protection from the Muslims!
Here is the verse in the Quran that teaches Muslims to attack and kill pagans:
"When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find
them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. If they
repent and take to prayer and render the alms levy, allow them to go their way.
God is forgiving and merciful." Sura 9:5
The background for this verse is found in "The Life of Muhammad", op
cit, page 617-619. Note my comments are in [ ] type brackets, and that it is a
very long passage, so I have only quoted part of it:
"A discharge came down, [Muhammad received a supposed revelation from
God], permitting the breaking of the agreement between the apostle and the
polytheists that none should be kept back from the temple when he came to it,
and that none need fear during the sacred months. That there was a general
agreement between him and the polytheists; meanwhile there were particular
agreements between the apostle and the Arab tribes for specified terms. And
there came down about it and about the disaffected who held back from him in
the raid on Tabuk, [a Christian town Muhammad attacked, and forced them to pay
him], .....So travel through the land for four months and know that you cannot
escape God and that God will put the unbelievers to shame. And a proclamation
from God and His apostle to men on the day of the greater pilgrimage that God
and His apostle are free from obligation to the polytheists, i.e., after this
pilgrimage. So if you repent it will be better for you; and if you turn back
know that you cannot escape God. Inform those who disbelieve, about a painful
punishment except those polytheists with whom you have made a treaty.
.....If one of the polytheists, i.e. one of those whom I have ordered you to
kill, asks your protection, give it him so that he may hear the word of God;
then convey him to his place of safety.
END OF QUOTE
Basically, Muhammad had an agreement with a number of Arab tribes. Some were
peaceful with him, others disliked him. "Allah" gave Muhammad a
"revelation" allowing him to break his word, the
"agreement" with the pagan Arabs and attack them after the four
sacred months were over.
Once again, Muhammad had
gained power, and things changed. Now Muhammad was permitted to lie, i.e.,
break his agreement, and make war upon the pagans. Muhammad's circumstances
changed - Allah changed again.
Note that in the last quoted paragraph, it is supposed to be God telling the
Muslims to go out and kill people. Some of these people had gotten along
peacefully with the Muslims. But because they didn't follow Muhammad, they were
going to be attacked.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISLAMIC
TERRORISM UPON MUSLIMS WHO LEAVE ISLAM
Muhammad was not content to conquer by force, or kill those who merely opposed
him verbally. Muhammad also taught that Muslims who leave the Islamic faith are
to be murdered as well. Here are some quotes from Bukhari's collection of
Hadith. Remember, Bukhari's Hadith is the second most important writing in
Islam, following the Quran.
Bukhari, volume 9, #17
"Narrated Abdullah: Allah's Messenger said, "The blood of a Muslim
who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am
His Messenger, cannot be shed except in three cases: in Qisas (equality in
punishment) for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse
and the one who reverts from Islam (Apostate) and leaves the Muslims."
Bukhari volume 9, #57
Narrated Ikrima, "Some atheists were brought to Ali and he burnt them. The
news of this event, reached Ibn Abbas who said, "If I had been in his
place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's messenger forbade it, saying,
"Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire)." I would have
killed them according to the statement of Allah's Messenger, "Whoever
changed his Islamic religion, then kill him."
Bukhari volume 9, #64
Narrated Ali, "Whenever I tell you a narration from Allah's messenger, by
Allah, I would rather fall down from the sky, then ascribe a false statement to
him, but if I tell you something between me and you, (not a Hadith), then it
was indeed a trick (i.e., I may say things just to cheat my enemy). No doubt I
heard Allah's messenger saying, "During the last days there will appear
some young foolish people, who will say the best words, but their faith will
not go beyond their throats (i.e. they will leave the faith) and will go out
from their religion as an arrow goes out of the game. So, wherever you find
them, kill them, for whoever kills them shall have reward on the Day of
Resurrection."
Not only did Muhammad teach that Muslims are to
murder those who have left Islam, "wherever you find them", he
further taught that a Muslim who commits this type of murder will be doing
God's service and be rewarded!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RECENT MUSLIM WRITINGS ON ISLAM AND TERRORISM
Several Muslims have written about the reasons they are allowed to wage war.
From "The Quranic Concept of War", by Pakistani Brigadier S.K. Malik,
it says, [in the preface]
"But in Islam war is waged to establish supremacy of the Lord only when
every other argument has failed to convince those who reject His Will and work
against the every purpose of the creation of mankind."
"Many Western Scholars have pointed their accusing fingers at some of the above
verses in the Quran to be able to contend that world of Islam is in a
state of perpetual struggle against the non-Muslims. As to them it is a sufficient
answer to make... that the defiance of God's authority by one who is His slaves
exposes that slave to the risk of being held guilty of treason and as such a
one, in the perspective of Islamic law, is indeed to be treated as a sort of
that cancerous growth on that organism of humanity....
It thus becomes necessary to remove the cancerous
malformation even if it be by surgical means, in order to save the rest of
humanity."
END OF QUOTE
The Muslim writer states that those who reject
Islam are viewed as a cancerous growth to be violently removed, i.e., murdered.
And, note that the Muslim writer basically agrees with the "Western
Scholars" that say that Islam is indeed "in a state of perpetual
war", with non-Muslims.
In viewing what has happened in Algeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, etc. it
appears that Islam is the cancerous growth that has caused such death to the
world.
ISLAMIC TERRORISM IN THE WORLD TODAY
There are a fair amount of websites that document the actions and intentions of
the many Islamic terrorist groups operating throughout the world today. As true
Muslims, these people will use violence against anyone who hinders their aims
or offends their religious beliefs. Here is a partial listing of a number of
websites I've seen on the internet.
http://www.emergency.com/cntrterr.htm
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http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1997report/
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.hri.org/docs/USSD-Terror/97/mideast.html
overview of Middle East terrorism
------------------------------------------------------------------
yearly overview
http://www.hri.org/docs/USSD-Terror/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.terrorism.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------
http://polisci.home.mindspring.com/ptd.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://polisci.home.mindspring.com/ptd_incidents_1998.html
62 documented incidents - 31 by Muslims
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http://polisci.home.mindspring.com/ptd_middle_africa.html
listing of Mid-east Muslim terrorist groups
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.ict.org.il/
international terrorism group
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISLAMIC
TERRORISM IN AMERICA TODAY
Here are
some summaries of Islamic terrorism in America or against Americans
#1) Osama bin Laden, one of the Islamic
world's leading terrorists was behind the bombing of the American Embassies in
Kenya and Tanzania. Twelve Americans
were killed and there were hundreds of other deaths due to the bombings. Bin Laden has declared open season on
American civilians, women and children included. He says Islamic scholars have allowed the targeting of civilians
because their taxes support the American military, therefore, they too are at
war with Bin Laden's Islamic goals.
Bin Laden was interviewed by a
Muslim journalist, and the interview appears in the Jan 11, 1999 issue of
Newsweek. Here are some excerpts:
QUESTION: "Why have you asked Muslims to target
civilian Americans all over the world?
Islam prohibits its followers from killing civilians in war?"
BIN
LADEN: "If the Israelis are
killing small children in Palestine and the Americans are killing the innocent
people in Iraq, and if the majority of the American people support their dissolute
president, this means the American people are fighting us and we have the right
to target them.
QUESTION: "All Americans?"
BIN
LADEN "Muslim scholars have issued
a fatwa [a religious order] against any American who pays taxes to his government. He is our target, because he is helping the
American war machine against the Muslim nation.
Below is an
excerpt from ABC news.
ABCNEWS.com (on Osama bin Laden - edited for length)
His fatwa
was clear: Americans must die, within the next few weeks.
U.S. troops
will leave Saudi Arabia when Islamic terrorists "send the bodies of
American troops and civilians home in wooden boxes and coffins," Osama Bin
Ladin vowed in an exclusive interview with ABC NEWS Correspondent John Miller.
"We don't differentiate between those dressed in military uniforms and
civilians. They are all targets in this fatwa."
Bin Ladin
recently convened a meeting of fundamentalist extremists and sponsors of
terrorism. More than 150 clerics named themselves the "International
Islamic Front for the Jihad against Jews and Crusaders," and issued a
variety of fatwas. But Bin Ladin's is the one that most concerns U.S. security
analysts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#2) Bombing the World Trade Center in New
York
On February 26, 1993, Muslim
terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in New York City, killing 6 people and
injuring over 1000 more. It was found
that these terrorists were tied in with a Muslim cleric named Sheik Omar Abd
al-Rahman, who was also accused of terrorist actions in Egypt. Omar preached that the United States is a
den of evil and fornication and regularly called upon Muslims to attack their
enemies.
#3) In June 1993 eight Muslims were arrested
by the FBI. There were reportedly
planning bombings targeting the United Nations headquarters, FBI offices, and
the Holland and Lincoln tunnels, as well as several assassinations.
#4) In Jan. 1993, a Pakistani Muslim shot and
killed several CIA employees outside of the CIA headquarters. He fled to Pakistan. Later he was apprehended and returned to
America for trial. The day after he was
found guilty, Pakistanis in Pakistan murdered four American businessmen - probably
as revenge for our judicial system finding their comrade guilty.
#5) An arrested Hamas terrorist in Israel
told authorities that Hamas leaders in held a workshop in Chicago where Hamas
inductees were taught how to make car bombs.
#6) Last year, a Muslim who converted to
Christianity was attacked and his home was firebombed by Muslims in Minnesota.
#7) On November 4th, 1979, Muslims in Iran
took many American Embassy employees hostage.
There were held for 444 days.
Some died in captivity. They
were released around the time Ronald Reagan became president.
#8) Here is another foiled terrorist attempt in
America....
Palestinian
Guilty in Subway Plot
NEW YORK
(AP) - A Palestinian who said he wanted to kill as many Jews ``as I could
take'' was convicted today of plotting to blow up a busy subway station. Gazi
Ibrahim Abu Mezer, who faces life in prison, jumped to his feet after the
verdict was read and shouted ``Allahu Akbar! (God is great)'' as he held up the
Koran, the Muslim holy book. The federal jury acquitted a second Palestinian,
Lafi Khalil, of plotting the suicide-bombing. Last Monday, testifying against
his lawyers' wishes, Abu Mezer said he had planned to ``martyr'' himself and
kill ``as many (Jews) as I could take.''
#9) In Nov., 1989, a Palestinian Muslim and
his wife, murdered their own 14 daughter.
Their daughter had not lived according to their view of Islam. Finally, the father and mother assaulted the
girl. The mother held the girl down
while the father stabbed her to death.
Unknown to this Muslim family, this man was under investigation by the
FBI, and a bug had legally been planted in the house. The entire murder was called on tape. As the girl struggled and begged her mother to help her, the
father said in Arabic, "Die, die quickly, die quickly”.
This murder is written about in
People magazine, 1/20/92.
#10) Even in America's military there are Muslim
who are charged with aiding the terrorists who have murdered American
citizens. The following is from a
recent news article:
NEW YORK
(Reuters) - A former U.S. Army sergeant was indicted
Wednesday for allegedly participating in a conspiracy led by Saudi exile Osama
bin Laden to kill Americans abroad.
Ali
Mohamed, 46, was charged with acting with others including bin Laden's group al
Qaeda to plan the murders of U.S. military personnel stationed in Saudi Arabia
and Somalia and last August's bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya,
and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Bin Laden, a fugitive,
was indicted last year for the attacks. The charges filed Wednesday allege that
in September Mohamed lied to a Manhattan federal grand jury investigating al
Qaeda's role in last year's African bombings.
According to information from the U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Center,
Mohamed was in the reserves at the time of some of the alleged offenses. He
joined the
reserves in
1989 after a term of active duty and left the reserves in 1994. Mohamed, a former major in the Egyptian
Army, was granted a visa to enter the United States in 1985 and became an
American citizen. According to U.S. Army Reserve he enlisted in the U.S. Army
in 1986 and was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C.
The indictment charges that at least
as early as 1989, bin Laden and others made efforts to recruit U.S. citizens
including Mohamed to travel in the Western world to help al Qaeda carry out
operations. It is also charged that as
early as 1990 Mohamed provided military and intelligence training for al Qaeda
in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan. The indictment further alleges that
Mohamed, with others, helped bin Laden in 1991 to move from Peshawar, Pakistan,
to Sudan. The indictment charges that
bin Laden, an exiled Saudi multi-millionaire, issued a fatwa, or religious
decree, calling for the killing of U.S. citizens and financed the embassy
bombings and other attacks on Americans.
It is alleged that al Qaeda functioned both on its own and through other
organizations that operated under its umbrella, including the Al Jihad group
based in Egypt and the Islamic Group that was led by Sheik Omar Abdel
Rahman. The sheik was convicted in 1996
for a plot to bomb New York City landmarks and kill political and religious figures.
The indictment accuses Mohamed of
sending a document about Abdel Rahman's trial to another defendant in Kenya for
delivery to bin Laden. Court papers do not describe the document, sent from
California in 1995. Another part of the
indictment alleges that Mohamed traveled to Nairobi in 1994 using a fake
Egyptian passport. He then showed his U.S. passport to enter the U.S. embassy
there. The indictment alleges that the
same year he met members of al Qaeda and reviewed files ``concerning possible
terrorist attacks'' against the embassy in Nairobi and other places in Nairobi,
including the building housing the U.S.
Agency for International Development and British, French and Israeli
targets. It is further charged that
Mohamed discussed targets in countries other than Kenya. According to the
indictment as of August of last year, Mohamed had documents about surveillance
and explosives and ``the planning of terrorist operations and the structuring
of a terrorist group into different cells.''
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fortunately,
America is not a hotbed of Islamic terrorism.
Not yet anyway. Unfortunately, Muslim terrorists are at work
all throughout the world. Violence is
part and parcel with Islam. Here is
just a small sampling of some of the Islamic terrorist actions that have
occurred in the last 15 years.
ISLAMIC
ACTIONS OF TERRORISM TODAY IN THE WORLD
FRANCE -
Several years ago, Muslim terrorist began bombing innocent French
civilians. Here is one article:
TERROR
Campaign widens; Bomb in Paris Subway
Chicago,
IL., July 25, 1995 --At least four (4)people were killed and another 35 wounded
in an afternoon terror attack that took place today in the Paris Saint-Michel
underground station, near the Latin quarter. Police officials are investigating
and wouldn't immediately comment, but French Prime Minister Alain Juppe is
quoted by the Reuters News service as saying that he believes that "there
is a very strong suspicion of a (terrorist) attack".
These attacks were similar to
bombings carried out by Muslim terrorists in France in 1986, in which dozens of
people were killed.
ALGERIA
Approximately 100,000 people have
been killed in Algeria during the last 7 years or so. Below is one story from one of the survivors of an Islamic
terrorist attack. The Muslim terrorists
are not responsible for all the deaths; the Algerian police and Army have also
killed many. However, the Muslim
terrorists frequently target civilians, children, and those who are unable to
defend themselves. I've read one
account where Muslim terrorists stabbed to death 4 French nuns.
Islamic
guerrillas hold captive brides hostage to terror
By Martin Regg Cohn Toronto Star Middle East
Bureau
BLIDA,
Algeria - In the dead of night, in the name of Islam, four terrorists burst
into the
home of
17-year-old Salima Amina Zenagui.
Accusing her
of loose morals, the Islamic fundamentalists ordered Zenagui to cover her
auburn hair with a hijab head-scarf. Then they abducted her at gunpoint to
their underground hideout, where the teenager was forced to marry a terrorist
twice her age.
After a
religious wedding ceremony, he raped her - with a warning that any resistance
would mean certain death. The bleeding
didn't stop for 15 days. The mental torture, and the physical cruelty,
continued for another five months.
During the long nights and endless days, Zenagui slowly lost her sanity.
And the will to live.
Zenagui is
one of thousands of young women and teenage girls believed to have been
kidnapped by fundamentalist terrorists during Algeria's five-year Islamic
insurgency. Forced into so-called temporary marriages that are a religious
license to rape, their screams are soon silenced.
Most of the
victims have their throats slit, their bodies dumped in wells like the one
discovered last week in Bentalha, just outside Algiers. Police were drawn by
the stench of death to the 40-metre-deep well, where they found about 30 badly
decomposed corpses of women and girls believed to have been abducted and raped
after a massacre in the area a month ago.
Known as
"zawaj al mutaa", or "marriage of pleasure,'' the controversial
practice is disdained by mainstream Muslims today. It dates from Islam's early
years, when fighters in a holy war helped themselves to single women during
periods of hardship or isolation.
Zenagui
believes her captors were fundamentalist terrorists from the GIA, who
rationalize rape as a way of motivating their men to sacrifice themselves for
Islam. Even as they mistreat their captive women, they worship their God. In their hideout, Zenagui watched them pray
toward Mecca five times a day. They read the Koran, Islam's holy book, and
often played inspirational cassette tapes about the Prophet Mohammed.
Many of the
insurgency's 100,000 victims perished in these killing fields.
ARGENTINA
In March 1992, Muslim terrorists
blew up the Israeli embassy in Argentina, killing 29 people.
On July 18, 1994 a car bomb blew up
the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association, killing nearly one hundred people.
ENGLAND
In August, 1994 two car bombs blew
up in London, one at the Israeli Embassy and another at a Jewish charity
shop. An Iranian expatriate by the name
of Manoucher Motamer indicated that Iran was responsible for the bombings.
JAPAN
In July, 1991, a Muslim murdered
Hitoshi Igarashi the Japanese man who translated "The Satan Verses"
into Japanese. He was stabbed to death
in Tokyo. A Muslim living in Britain -
Abdul Quddus, who is a senior vice president of Britain's Muslim league, said,
"The attacks are justified because people translating the book are also
insulting the faith."
INDONESIA
The Voice of the Martyrs Magazine
writes that, "around 280 churches have been burned, demolished, stoned,
attached and closed since 1991 in Indonesia (Sept 1996 issue). [That number is up to around 500 churches
today.] The article continues,
"The June 9, 1996 attack in Surabaya, the second largest city in the
country was the worst yet as 10 churches were simultaneously by Muslim
mobs." The article further records
that 5,000 Muslims took part in the riots.
Again, these actions are not the
work of a few select terrorists. They
are the work of normal Muslims. They
know that Islam is fundamentally violent, and as Muslims they exercised their
faith to attack and destroy Churches.
It was their type of Jihad for Allah.
ITALY
A Muslim stabbed, but failed to
kill, Ettore Capriolo, the man who translated "The Satanic Verses"
into Italian. The attack occurred in
Milan Italy.
EGYPT
In Sept 1991, in Imbaba, a district
of Cairo, hundreds of Muslims attacked the minority Christians there, burning
down a church with a Pastor's wife inside.
Other churches were attacked, and Christians were beaten. The government had to send in 3000 troops to
stop the Muslims from continuing to attack the Christians.
During the last 8 years in Egypt,
hundreds of Coptic Christians have been murdered by Muslims in Egypt. Even worshippers in church have been sprayed
by Muslims welding automatic weapons.
CAIRO, Egypt
(CNN) -- At least 60 people were killed on Monday when unidentified gunmen
opened fire at the world famous temple site of Luxor in southern Egypt,
according to the interior ministry. The
death toll makes it the deadliest attack on tourists in Egypt.
Authorities said tourists from
Egypt, Switzerland, Germany and Japan were among those killed in the attack,
which took place about 300 miles (500 km) south of Cairo. State television issued a brief statement
saying "attackers hit a number of foreigners, Egyptians and policemen who
exchanged fire with them," and the statement added that
six
attackers were killed in the shoot-out with police.
A spokesman
for a travel agency in Luxor was quoted as saying that the gunmen opened fire
indiscriminately on tourists after the tourists got off a bus and were about to
enter a temple in the morning.
The
assailants later left an empty tour bus, which they had apparently hijacked in
an escape attempt, and reportedly fled toward the desert and nearby
mountains. One hijacker was shot to
death at the shooting scene and the other five were killed in a later
shoot-out, according to the interior ministry.
The authorities have canceled all flights in and out of Luxor as a
security precaution.
There was no
immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but Muslim extremists have
repeatedly targeted tourist spots in recent years in an attempt to hurt one of
the country's key industries and destabilize the government.
A L S O :
List of
fatal attacks on visitors in Egypt since 1992
Prior to
Monday, attacks by Muslim militants had killed 34 international tourists in the
past five years. Overall, about 1,100 people have been killed since 1992, when
the extremists launched their campaign aimed at ousting President Hosni
Mubarak.
NIGERIA
In Oct. 1991, thousands of Muslims
attacked Christian churches, businesses, and homes in Kano, Nigeria. Kano is in northern Nigeria, which is
predominately Muslim. It was estimated
that 300 Christians were murdered by Muslim mobs. Muslims were upset because Christian evangelists had been
converting Muslims in the region to Christianity.
PAKISTAN
When the
Muslims in Pakistan found a torn up Quran in a mosque, 30,000 Muslims attacked
the only majority Christian town (Shanti Nagar) in Pakistan and destroyed half
of it! Churches were burned,
businesses were destroyed, and women and girls were raped. The army had to come in to stop the
Muslims. A worldwide outcry against the
action prompted Pakistan's Prime Minister Sheriff to help re-build the
Christian homes, churches, businesses that were destroyed.
This action was not the work of an
organized terrorist group, rather it was a display of real Islam. There was no Bin Laden leading this effort,
there was no Hamas or Hezbollah orchestrating the action, it was ordinary
Muslims, 30,000 of them, attacking a Christian village, because they thought
that some Christian had torn up a Quran.
When Muhammad got offended, he
murdered.... today, Muslims get offended, they murder. It is motivated by one and the same evil
satanic spirit - the same dark spirit that appeared to Muhammad which caused
him to attempt suicide - the same malevolent spirit that then talked him out of
killing himself.... it had better plans for him. The same demonic spirit that had him massacre 800 Jewish men and
adolescent boys, then enslave their women and children. These Jews had never clashed swords with
Muhammad or his men until he attacked them.
It had a thirst for blood, and during Muhammad's last 10 years, the
blood flowed.
Not only have Muslims attacked
non-Muslims in Pakistan (Hindus have also been attacked and murdered in
Pakistan), but they religious strife between Sunni and Shia Muslims there has
taken the lives of hundreds during the last few years. Bombings of each other's mosques and gun
fights outside of Mosques have taken place.
Even inside of the Mosques, people have been shot.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are many more stories to be
found; all over the world, Muslim terrorists, operating for Islam's sake, are
attacking, bombing, and murdering those they feel inhibit their aims. Visit the already mentioned websites for
more details on the actions of Islamic terrorists worldwide.
One writer, Samuel Huntington,
commenting on Islam and the rest of the world states wrote in "The Clash
of Civilizations",
"Violence
also occurs between Muslims, on the one hand, and Orthodox Serbs in the
Balkans, Jews in Israel, Hindus in India, Buddhists in Burma and Catholics in
the Philippines. Islam has bloody
borders."
The French philosopher Renan said,
"Muslims are the first victim of Islam". This is true. Muslims
loosen much of their desire for blood upon their Muslim brethren... it's the
spirit of Islam. Those that are not
Muslim enough are the first to feel the blades of Islam. However, many non-Muslims are also it's
victims. Innocents are murdered by Muslims,
and the Muslims are not slaking their efforts in developing more sophisticated
methods of using terror against those who are not of their ilk.
Violence is integral to Islam.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW DO MOST
MUSLIMS LIVING IN AMERICA FIT IN?
Most Muslims are not
terrorists. Many of them reject the
actions of their Muslim brethren around the world. Unfortunately, since Islam teaches world domination, these
moderate Muslims rarely raise their voices in protest. If the Israelis bomb Hezbollah camps in
Lebanon, Muslims in New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles will organize a mass
demonstration. But getting Muslims to
condemn the terrorist actions of their brethren, say of those in Sudan, Egypt,
Algeria, Afghanistan, Iraq is like pulling teeth. While the Muslims world wide continually condemn Israel, few
Muslims have ever raised their voices in protest over Saddam Hussein's
genocidal war upon the Kurds. Why has
Bin Laden failed to help the Kurds?
Instead, reports on Bin Laden now show that he is working together with
Saddam Hussein. Israel has never killed
that many Muslims, but Muslims often turn a blind eye to violent acts when it
is Muslim on Muslim violence.
What does
the future for Islam in America hold?
One thing I am certain of; it holds terrorism. I've studied Islamic viewpoints on America. The majority of Muslims today view America
as the last great wall that stops Islam.
In their mind, America must be destroyed or brought down, by any means
necessary. This is what motivated Sheik
Rahman to blow up the New York towers.
This is what motivates Muslims throughout America to speak of a day when
America will fall to Islam's power.
Make no mistake about it, Muslims have murdered Americans in America,
and will continue to do so. It is not a
question of "if", it is a question of "when again", because
"when" has already started.
Once again I say, not all Muslims in
America are terrorists. Many of them
are good people. But the seeds of terrorism are planted deep within the
theology of Islam. This theology, when
free to grow and blossom, shows itself in the actions normal Muslims, in Muslim
countries take when they feel that Islam is challenged. The previously mentioned mob attack in
Pakistan, and the attacks of the Muslim mobs in Nigeria and Indonesia, are
examples of Muslim - Islamic violence - mob mentality. And as was demonstrated in "Not Without
My Daughter", who knows when a peaceful, liberal or moderate Muslim will
turn to fundamentalism and embrace the violence of Islam?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONCLUSION
Muhammad was a terrorist. Based upon Muhammad's actions and teachings,
Islam justifies terrorism. Today,
Muslims use that justification to attack and murder those who differ from
them. Muslim terrorists follow in
Muhammad's footsteps.
Jesus condemned those who murdered
without repentance ...."Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic
arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves
and practices falsehood"
Revelation 22:15. Muhammad
falls into that category.
Jesus said in John 8:44 that Satan
was a murderer from the beginning, and that those who sought to murder Him were
Satan's children. As soon as he could,
Muhammad began to have people murdered.
Today, Muhammad's children do the same works.
Jesus taught that one day people
would murder Christians thinking they would be doing service to God. Today, in Muslim countries, like Iran for
instance, Muslims murder ex-Muslims who have become Christians. And in other countries, they attack and
threaten others.
Jesus taught to love your enemies,
to pray for those who persecute you.
Jesus didn't send his disciples out to murder people in the night,
Muhammad did. Take the example of
Christ and the Samaritans opposition to Jesus.
"As the time approached for Him
to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he set messengers on ahead, who went
into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did
not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this,
they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy
them?" And he said, "You do
not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to
destroy men's lives, but to save them."
And they went to another village."
Luke 9:51-56
Muhammad would have ordered his men
to attack the Samaritan village, then kill or enslave the people, and take all
their possession as plunder. After
Muhammad gained power, he sent his armies out to attack non-Muslims.
Who then really brought God's
message of His love for mankind? Who
really taught peace?
Surely, this
man Muhammad was not from God. Instead,
Muhammad is one of the false prophets Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:11 -
"and
many false prophets shall arise and deceive many".
The author welcomes feedback, questions, critical or supportive responses via email.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REFERENCES
1 "The Life of Muhammad", by
A. Guillaume, pub. by Oxford Univ. Press.
2 "Muhammad and the Jews of
Medina", by Weinsnick, page 113:
3 Tabari's History, page 97 of volume 7
4 "Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir",
(Book of the Major Classes), by Ibn Sa'd, translated
by S. Moinul Haq, published by the Pakistan
Historical Society.
5 "23 Years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of
Mohammad", by Ali Dashti, pub.
by Mazda.
Translated by F.R.C. Bagley.
6 "Sunan Abu Dawud",
translated by Ahmad Hasan, pub by Al-Medina Publications.
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terrorism.htm
5/20/99
The endless cycle of violence in Israel, of attack and counter attack between Palestinians
and Israelis has shown that this cannot be the way to peace. Both sides feel they have
to take revenge because every time innocent lives on their own side have been killed.
There are institutional and personal aspects of response.
Governments have the God-given duty to keep peace and order in the society,
and this includes explicitly the punishment of criminals. The guilty need to be
punished. The networks of Islamic terrorism need to be fought. But the western
countries need to make very sure, they are only punishing the guilty and are not
sacrificing innocent lives in blind revenge. We cannot lower our own standards
of what is right because the enemy of radical Islamic groups does not have these
standards himself and will without hesitation sacrifice innocents. The western world
needs to show even in the executed punishment that it has different moral values.
Many Islamic countries are in horrible condition and the majority of the population
are destitute and already suffering under their governments and systems. Killing
those people is not fitting for a nation who seeks to uphold justice and human
rights but will only have the effect to radicalize more Muslims and fuel the cry
for revenge from their side.
Many Middle Easterners in the USA are Christians who have left or fled the Middle
East because in Islamic societies they were either directly persecuted or at best
second class citizens. They have come to the West because they were longing for
freedom and are absolutely loyal citizens, ready to defend their country as much as
any other American. It would be a horrendous injustice to attack them verbally
or physically just because they look Middle Eastern.
There are more than six million Muslims living in the USA today. They are largely
normal people with hopes and fears, who just want to make a living, who work hard
and honest to bring bread on the table and to allow their children to go to college.
They also want to live in peace and would never think of committing terrorist acts.
Most of them are themselves in utter shock as result of these atrocities. They have
done nothing to deserve the hatred of other Americans. They are not guilty, and
it is the duty of any upright, freedom loving person to stand up for them, even to
give them shelter in their own homes, should others threaten to make them
victims of self-appointed revenge.
The greatness of a society built on Christian values shows itself when it will
not discriminate for any reason on the basis of race, culture or religion, even
when attacked by some people from one specific group. America wants
to be a champion of human rights around the world, and needs to make sure,
she holds herself accountable to the same standards.
For Christians particularly, we have the command of our Lord to love our neighbor
as ourselves; any neighbor, not only those who are like us. But we are called to
particularly care for those who are disadvantaged or discriminated against
and to stand up for those who can't defend themselves. And at this time this
might well include Muslims in our neighborhood who are faced with and might
suffer from unreflected anger of other Americans.
I have agonized about the question whether I really should give this article a place
on the "Answering Islam" web site and even more to link it so prominently from
the front page at this time. I have done so, because thousands of people are asking
questions where this Islamic terrorism is coming from. And they need to get answers
that they will never get from the Muslims who appear in the media. What happened
was not an isolated incident of a couple of mad men. The problem is much deeper
and it is here to stay. And before any cure can be found, there needs to be the
correct diagnosis.
However, I know that nearly every Muslim reading this article will be offended
deeply. This is not my intention, but with the hundreds of messages I am getting
now, and because I have a job and am handling Answering Islam in my spare time,
I had no chance to write something new or do major revisions of this above
article. The information is needed now. Therefore I have released it, even in a
less than ideal form.
Muslims are raised from early childhood to revere the prophet Muhammad and
to honor him highly. They are commanded to hold his honor more dear than
their own lives or those of their family members. Even "secular" Muslims who do not
practice Islam, who hardly ever perform the daily prayers and live a thoroughly
non-religious life will usually respond immediately when confronted with any
critique of the person of Muhammad. Any critical remark about Muhammad is
worse than an insult to their own person. This is religiously and culturally
conditioned. Therefore, I plead for sensitivity in the use of this information
on the level of personal encounter.
Do not use it for accusing and attacking Muslims in personal confrontation.
It will destroy relationships. In many Islamic countries the death penalty is
executed on those who insult Muhammad. In western countries, where this
is not possible, it is still going to cause intense conflict if used as direct attack.
However, I am firmly convinced, all Muslims eventually need to deal with the
history and sources of their religion. I think it is fair to calmly ask them to
give their personal response on the teaching of the Quran regarding war
against unbelievers, and about the example that Muhammad has set in dealing
with critics of his person in his own life. But it might be best to postpone such
questioning for some time, until the emotions have calmed down somewhat.
Nobody who feels attacked or pressured (and Muslims feel this way now, due to
the black color Islam is painted in everywhere these days), will be open to ponder
even sincere questions, but build up inner or outer defense walls, or even explode
in anger. Nothing is won by pressing this issue NOW with your personal
Muslim friends, neighbors, co-workers, or aquaintances. Now we need to stand
united with Muslims who are in shock just as everyone else and in opposition
to this terror and support them in their opposition, without attacking the very
foundation of their life.
Introductory and concluding comments written and revised several times during September 12 - 15, 2001.