Act of Faith held on February 6, 1481

Religious fanaticism and fundamentalism of all times

In the United States of America lots of people cry “murder and fire” and say Muslims are killing so many Christians in the hope to exterminate the Christian Faith. Their fear is ungrounded. Those Americans do forget it are not “The Muslims” but just fanatical Islamic terrorists, like the world also knows of such Christian fundamentalists. They also overlook that Daesh/ISIS/ISIL kills more Muslims than it kills Christians, so they do much more damage to the Islamic faith than to Christian faith.

Lots of Christians have forgotten what the crusaders and soldiers of the inquisition have done of damage to many people cross Europe and Asia. They where of the same breed as Al-qaeda, Daesh, Boko Haram, and contemporary fundamentalist Muslims and fundamentalist Christians and fundamentalist Buddhists.

In the thirteenth century Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX established the dreaded institution to combat heretical groups and gave an easy instrument or weapon in the hands of rivals so that they could kill the ones standing in competition and to get their treasures, enabling them to enrich their own convent or cleric group.

Those in charge of the inquisition were so violently we can not imagine how lots of innocent people had to suffer greatly. The severity of both the questioning and the punishment is not so far off from the techniques used today in Africa and the Middle East. Like today those charged had no rights granted and those who came in the defence of the accused made them selves vulnerable and next prey of the inquisitors. Those who “snitched” on them could do so secretly. A victim was not permitted to challenge the witnesses against him or her.

In the country where for 7 centuries people of Jewish-, Christian- and Muslim- faith could live in peace and wealth under Muslim rulership,beautiful constructions where made and science developed magically. The Muslim Empire extended from North Africa to the Chinese border and in all the regions the people where allowed to have their own religion and where appreciated for their own craftsmanship.  Thanks to the Moors we also got citrus, avocado and other exotic crops which quickly spread across Europe. The Moors also introduced universal literacy and whilst the Greek philosophers were not wanted or allowed by the Papists in Spain they could be freely read.

During the 12th century, scholars from all over Europe flocked to the great libraries at Toledo to translate (into Latin) classical Greek and Arabic texts. These scholars would introduce a new approach to knowledge, based on rational inquiry, that would inspire the founding of prestigious universities at Oxford, Paris and elsewhere.

The wealth of the south was a thorn in the eye and Christian armies from northern Spain managed slowly to retake Moorish cities from their Muslim rules. By 1250, only Grenada at the southern tip of Spain remained under Muslim rule.

IsabellaofCastile03.jpg

Isabella I Queen of Castile wife of Ferdinand II of Aragon

File:Torquemada.jpg

Grand Inquisitor Tomás de Torquemada

When the Queen of Castille, Isabella married the king of Aragon (her second cousin Ferdinand) their armies  succeeded to seize Grenada so that Spain could be unified in 1479. But they where not so at ease and were almost paranoid with fear of revolt. This made them highly susceptible to the whispers of the queen’s confessor, the Dominican Tomas de Torquemada. Of Jewish origin himself, he told her that Christianized Jews were secretly practising their Hebrew faith and corrupting good Christians. Isabella horrified and frightened asked the pope for permission to establish the inquisition in Spain, which was granted.

In his capacity as grand inquisitor, Torquemada reorganized the Spanish Inquisition, which had been set up in Castile in 1478, establishing tribunals at Sevilla (Seville), Jaén, Córdoba, Ciudad Real, and, later, Zaragoza. For him all sorts of ‘other behaviour’ where good to make some one suspicious and to torture people. Not only so called crimes of heresy and apostasy but also sorcery, sodomy, polygamy, blasphemy, usury, and other offences where punished hard. Our Christian brothers who like Jews and Muslims only believed in the One True God became now also persecuted in the south of Europe.

Torquemada’s implacable hostility to the Jews probably exercised an influence on the decision of Ferdinand and Isabella to expel from their dominions all Jews who had not embraced Christianity. Under the edict of March 31, 1492, more than 40,000 Jews left Spain.

In all cases of doubt torture was authorized in order to obtain evidence and under continuous sadistic torture, suspects incriminated other people. These in turn accused almost anyone they could think of just to please their captors and win a reprieve from their torment. Every confession added to the alarm of the Catholic king and queen, suggesting widespread corruption of the Christian faith.

The first Spanish “Auto da fe” (meaning “Act of Fait.)” was held on this day February 6, 1481, when six men and six women, who refused to repent of alleged backsliding, were burned at the stake. They were but the first. 13,000 “heretics” were tried in the first twelve years of the Spanish Inquisition. The number of burnings of so called “heretics” at the stake during Torquemada’s tenure has been estimated at about 2,000. Dressed in a penitent’s gown, they were marched in processionals to the stake and urged to repent even as they were bound for the ordeal. Those who confessed were strangled before the fire was lit. Those who refused to admit wrongdoing, or who defiantly clung to their “heresies” were burned alive.

The Spanish Inquisition ran for 327 years and was not abolished until 1808, during the brief reign of Joseph Bonaparte. In those three centuries, close to 32,000 people perished in the flames. About 300,000 others were forced to make some kind of reconciliation with the church. Even the 1808 “end” to the Spanish Inquisition wasn’t really the end. Incredible as it may seem, King Ferdinand VII re-established the dreadful apparatus in 1814! Six years later, revolution swept it away, but that did not mean all hostility against other believers than Roman Catholics had gone.

Today in several countries we see again some people who call themselves ‘Christian’ to stand up and demanding to fight against those who belief differently than them. Mainly from North America are messages or text spread with false messages, trying to have others believe that Europe is totally invade by Muslims who molest or attack European women.

The apparatus of the inquisition which was not restricted to Europe got exported it to the new world by Spain, where Mexican and Peruvian authorities burned men and women to death, starting in the sixteenth century. Portuguese priests also operated an inquisition in South America, Goa, India. and today there are fundamentalist preachers and neo-Nazis who cry for a new religious war against those who do not have the same faith as they.

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Additional reading

  1. Inquisition also bad for Jews
  2. A dialogue about the earth moving and spinning around the sun
  3. Not true or True Catholicism and True Islam
  4. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #1 Christian Reform
  5. Anti-church movements and Humanism
  6. Propaganda war and ISIS
  7. Is the practice of religious freedom in danger in the United States of America
  8. Mean voices on the Internet and free speech

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Related

  1. Christian fundamentalists are driving our country into the Dark Ages…
  2. Ashamed to be muslim
  3. How Not to Be Muslim
  4. Obama “Muslims must be cherished and nurtured…
  5. Will the Antichrist be a Muslim?
  6. The Racists Are Complaining About Muslim Indoctrination In Their Schools — Reblog
  7. Love, Hate and Other Filters – A Muslim girl faces Islamophobia, love and her Dreams
  8. Political Islam And The Pearl Clutching Of Moderate Muslims
  9. Whoa ! I didn’t know ! Damn ! !
  10. Hidden History: When Muslims Ruled in Europe
  11. Nobody Expects The Spanish Inquisition…
  12. The Weekly History Thread
  13. The Gospel is the answer. There is no other.
  14. Tomás de Torquemada: Grand Inquisitor During the Spanish Inquisition
  15. The Spanish inquisition had its roots in 1250s – ended in 1834 – almost 500 years timeline

A world with or without religion

Last week Europe was shaken like the world got a shock in 2001.

European newspapers could fill their pages with the recent and potential terrorist attacks in France. Analysts, experts, and commentators take time and space to discuss and debate the facts, often with skewed and confused perspectives on Islam, and offer a variety of political and emotional responses.

Since the Wednesday January 7 terrorist attacks on the satirical magazine, there has been not only a sharp increase in anti-Muslim attacks in France, but in many countries, again lots of people are saying that it would be better not having any religion and than we would have more peace. Those claiming it would be better without religions do seem to forget it is not the religions which brings the fighting under people. In case there was no religion and in case people had no faith in certain higher values than life provides at the moment, it even could be that there would be more fighting going on in the world.

Would people seriously think that there would not have any terrorist attacks against the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo or against the Jewish supermarket in Paris, when it would not have been Jewish but would have been part of a certain political group or certain chain?

Eurobarometer Poll 2005 Percentage of those wh...

Eurobarometer Poll 2005 Percentage of those who agreed to the statement that “there isn’t any sort of God, spirit, or life force”. Colour enhanced from the original: contrast -0.5; gamma 0.7. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When you take away religion you still have people who can think differently over certain matters. Atheism would not guarantee that they all would agree with each other. Having no religion shall not take away the differences in political thinking and shall still give, and perhaps even more, reason to disagree and react heavenly to other political parties. Have a look at how many different political opinions and how many different political parties there are in the world.

Interior Ministries would have much more work with different opposing groups, who would not mind to try to get rid of the others, no matter at what cost, because they would know a human life having no value when it is done with.So, by taking care of other opinions they shall be happy to be the only ruler and would not fear anything but the strongest human being, and therefore shall try to do everything to become the strongest themselves.

Now with ethics still playing a role and with people led by their faith to organise their life, people shall feel restricted in what they are allowed to do or in what can be done. With not ethics their shall be no boundaries.  For those who think when people do not belief in The God or any gods, the world would be safe of fightings, I would like to tell them that atheism in a certain way is also a religion and when it can not be considered like that it is at least also a faith.

In atheism there are also many thoughts, like there are many denominations in Christendom or in any other religion.

When there would not exist religion people would, as they did, find it out. It is true there would not be Islamophobia or Judaism fear, but still homophobia, racism would still exist. Even having no gods around people would create themselves high persons and idols, like they still do today. Even people who do not believe in God or gods call their idol ‘god’. Just look at the titles they give in the world of sport and how many gods can not be found under the footballers, tennis players and boxers.

Please also do not forget that ‘god’ is a tittle, meaning a higher person or being an important person. In the Bible we do find several called god. Angels are called god in the Holy Scriptures, but also Pharaoh, Moses, Apollo, Zeus and others. Some even think because Thomas at one point says “my god” think he is taking Jesus as his god and as God. Those readers do not see or hear the “and” before “my god” and do not understand Thomas is speaking to one person about that one person and about an other person, the God of Jesus, the God of Abraham, Who is the God of gods.

In this world when there would be no religion we also would see various god-men around the world, with whatever title the people then would give them or whatever word may be used in their language to denote such a figure. Everywhere in the world of religious and non-religious people we can find human beings who seem to be having this delusion that they have special powers or abilities that promote them to a pedestal that is higher than that of us mere mortals.

thinks that’s what makes them excel in their line of business. He also thinks it is good to have faith in a guide/teacher/guru and have a direction in life. I also believe it is very important that children have a good example they can look up at and follow. Teachers or educators or leaders in a youth or adult movement have helped many a men realize their potential (in movies, mythology, and real life).

Throughout the ages the world has seen many inspirational teachers, gurus, masters of with, inspirational thinkers, who stimulated others to think for themselves and to make a real quest in life.

Every age has got its master or people where others looked at or wanted to follow. Jeshua, the Nazarene (also called the Christ) was also such a man who got a lot of followers though others did not like that at all. Mahatma Gandhi and Luther King also were preachers of peace who did not want to create a new religion, like Jesus did not want to do that.

India has always been a very fruitful region for spiritual leaders. Also in this century a new special guru has found attention.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Insan, as he calls himself (you can’t miss the mass appeal there) happens to be this socio-religious (and I think political as well) leader in India that has a huge following. His ‘fans’ claim that he is a do gooder who is trying to rid youth of the nation from the evil clutches of drugs. He carries out blood donation drives, and his many followers unquestioningly tread on the path illuminated by him. Why should anybody have a problem with such a man who is working for the society? {The God Complex & An Exercise in Absurdity}

This man who is born Gregory House frequently referred to overt acts of philanthropy and generosity as underlying symptoms of a disease.

In his vitriolic style, he mocked people for having the “God Complex”, while it can be debated that he had one too. {The God Complex & An Exercise in Absurdity}…

But then, he decides to make a movie and star in it as a (super)hero. The promotional trailers of MSG-Messenger of God are on the telly and some people like me who are on a highway to hell by India’s religious standards are having a good laugh. His fans have come out all guns  blazing on various social media platforms, silencing the detractors and rooting for their babaji. They counter the arguments by asking questions that are only beaten in absurdity by the movie itself. {The God Complex & An Exercise in Absurdity}

We also love to live a moving picture show, loving to see a better world for us than we can find in this real world. Have a look at Facebook, and you will understand what I mean. There you can find a beautiful example how people present themselves differently than they really are. Also there they love to show others how they can interact and build themselves an empire of friends and activities wherewith they can show off.

Those supporting the movie (most of whom are followers of the baba) innocently question that when other movies can show miraculous escapes and stunt scenes, why can’t Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s movie show him performing miracles?

Second. more important question is that when other movies get away with questioning religion in the name of ‘freedom of expression’, shouldn’t the makers of MSG be allowed to have their freedom too?

The last few days it was all about that freedom in Europe. Having received a big slap in the face we had to cry out loud our anguish at our hurt community. In which way were we to be pushed or to be allowed to go? Where is it that we want to go with our society and ow do want propaganda, brainwashing, infiltration allow our lives to direct?

After the Great War, lots of people thought never such a cruelty would come over them again, but soon World War II was on their doorstep. After that calamity the West soon recovered and thought it was now safe. But on September 11, 2001 the dream of the Western World was demolished by the crash of three air-planes. The material world of successful accomplishments could experience the deadliest attack ever launched on American soil, leaving them asking again:

Why did God permit such a thing to happen?

and

How can human beings be capable of such diabolical savagery in the name of religion?

2015 January 11 in remembrance of 2001 September 11 again an Islamic terrorist act on symbols of the Western society and its freedom - Attack on Charlie Hebdo mazazine in Paris, France

2015 January 7 in remembrance of 2001 September 11 again an Islamic terrorist act on symbols of the Western society and its freedom – Attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, France

On Wednesday January 7, 2015 it was again of the same sort. Once more the West was attacked, fired in the middle of their weak heart.  Again there were people who said it was done in the name of their god, though in the Abrahamic religions there is no such God who would agree with such violence. Others said it was the fault of the religions, but they seem to forget in case there were no religions there still would be other groups fighting each other.

Lots of people do accept opposition from one or the other side but not from certain other sides. But also to be questioned is how much and in which way do we want to accept opposition.

In case there where no religions and no people believing in The God, a god or gods, they would have favouritisms for certain civic believes or political ideas.

Already from the beginning of mankind people sought ways to live with others and to form communities. Therefore different systems where thought of. The different opinions how to make the best of life would also trigger differences to have people arguing and even coming to fight with each other. Economical and political factors would be there to have people coming against each other and even being prepared to kill others for it. History can proof that.

To say therefore that religions are the cause of such misery is doing injustice to those religious people. Most of them look for ways to come at peace with each other in respect of certain values which they consider very important for making a good working human society. They mostly have ethics which they want to give priority to material or personal gain.

What we see from those who claim to be fighting for Allah is that they mostly do not follow the Words of that Allah and even do not mind killing other followers of that God. Boko Haram and ISIS are very good examples of that letting the world see that they are not afraid to rape and kill children, women and men, who also believe in their God. those jihadists also have no scruples to bomb mosques, temples of worship for Allah, and to burn Holy Scriptures like the Quran.

Those people who terrorise others misuse religion to bring more reason to frighten others for what they are doing. The jihad-fighters want people to believe that the Quran justifies their actions. Others do want to believe them and do want to believe others

Islam’s “victorious-with-terror” prophet (Hadith, Bukhari 2977) commands Muslims to mimic his example (Qur’an Sura 33:21) by ruthlessly pursuing non-Muslims (Sura 4:104, 48:29) to “terrorize” them (Sura 3:151, 8:12, 8:57-60), to “siege and slay them” (Sura 4:89, 33:57-61), to “murder” and to maim (Sura 5:33; Hadith, Tabari 9:69) in order that they be “subdued” and “destroyed” by Allah at the hands of Muslims for the cause of Islam (Sura 2:244, 4:76, 8:39, 9:14, 29-30, 9:38-39, 9:111, 61:10-12). Yet when the light of truth is shone upon the horror that is Islam the willingly ignorant still choose to remain in the dark, for to expose pure evil is to expose a monster they’d rather not see … {The Ghost Of Charlie Hebdo And The Purple Beret}

Many do not want to show true respect for those who believe in certain values and in certain elements which are above our human intellect, like spiritual beings and The God of gods.

Pope Francis I, who has urged Muslim leaders in particular to speak out against Islamic extremism, went a step further when asked by a French journalist about whether there were limits when freedom of expression meets freedom of religion. The leader of the Roman Catholics insisted that it was an “aberration” to kill in the name of God and said religion can never be used to justify violence.
But he said there was a limit to free speech when it concerned offending someone’s religious beliefs.

“There are so many people who speak badly about religions or other religions, who make fun of them, who make a game out of the religions of others,”

he said.

Religious or not, we all should see what happens in the context, of how human beings act. We should see that even without religions we would have agitators and “provocateurs”. They often are not interested in ethics and what a majority wants. They want to push their believes and their wants on others. They just want to have power over the rest of the world.

In the wake of the Paris attacks, the Vatican has sought to downplay reports that it is a potential target for Islamic extremists, saying it is being vigilant but has received no specific threat. Francis I said he was concerned primarily for the faithful, and said he had spoken to Vatican security officials who are taking “prudent and secure measures.”

In many countries it is the unbalance of one group opposite the other that creates problems. In France for example we can see that 5 million Muslims account for 10 to 12 percent of the country’s total population (the largest Muslim population in Europe) and Jews (478,000) are outnumbered by its Muslims 10 to 1. The extreme right party National Front receiving 4,712,461 votes in the 2014 European Parliament election, finishing first with 24.86% of the vote and 24 of France’s 74 seats, should give a clear sign of the danger that could come up to France even when those Jews would not be religious Jews and the Muslims would not exist but still be from foreign origin. The Algerians, Moroccans a.o. North Africans and Turkish people would face the same danger as now with their own religions.

Reburied in Har HaMenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem the Jewish cell phone salesman Ilan Halimi got a garden named after him in Paris where he was kidnapped on 21 January 2006 by a group called the Gang of Barbarians and subsequently tortured, over a period of three weeks, resulting in his death.

Without religions we also would have headlines about the hatred between people and could find articles about unspeakable murders like the one of the French Jewish man of Moroccan descent Ilan Halimi in 2006 which heralded a sharp turn back to Europe’s most notorious hatred, at the hands of its newest population. More than 1,000 people marched through the streets of Paris, demanding justice for Halimi, on Sunday February 26, 2006. Initially buried in the Cimetière parisien de Pantin near Paris his funeral in Paris drew a large Jewish crowd. It could not stop the violence against Judaic people. There have been thousands of attacks on French Jews and Jewish sites in the years since Halimi was killed.

We should know that not only

nationalism is a foundational aspect of French life. Old nationalist allegiances have made it hard for well-meaning Muslim immigrants to integrate into society, as they have no direct ties to Metropolitan France. They live largely among themselves in banlieues, whose customs and norms closely resemble those of the inhabitants’ countries of origin—not those of their new home. {The Existential Necessity of Zionism After Paris: a commentary Editorial}

America’s premier monthly magazine of opinion and a pivotal voice in American intellectual life “Commentary” does see the problem of our European community. Also when there would be no religions we would have people from all sorts of places in the world gathered in our regions. After the second world war we had great dreams of a united world. In the postwar age we needed workforce to build up the country again and invited people from other continents to work for us. The doctrine of multiculturalism, the idée fixe of postwar Europe, has not only a strange relationship with French nationalism:

Though it would seem nationalism’s ideological opposite, multiculturalism offers rosy-cheeked cover to France’s deep unwillingness to allow anyone without centuries-old roots to become “French.” Nominally, according to the postmodern ideal of multiculturalism, no one culture is more virtuous than another.

And so the anti-Western, anti-Semitic Islamism practiced by France’s most dangerous citizens is not to be vilified, but rather understood and, ultimately, tolerated. As a matter of daily reality, however, multiculturalism allows the French to keep the Muslims separate—and unequal. And it allows some in France to entertain the belief that Jews, too, can never be French. {The Existential Necessity of Zionism After Paris: a commentary Editorial}

Several may wonder now what France and its neighbour countries are going to do now they seem to be caught between the deadly reality of radical Islam and the potential manifestation of a neo-fascist revival. In case there would have been no religion there was still the matter of all those ‘foreigners’ and all those ‘coloured’ living in Europe, the same as in America you could find immigrants and coloured people.

In Europe we notice that there has come a certain pressure on many, who have seen in the economical crisis and the political evolution a similar situation as in the 1930s. Therefore many religious as well as non-treligious Jews have chosen to go to their promised Holy Land. Last year, a record-high 7,000 French Jews immigrated to the Jewish state — more than double the year before. The Jewish Agency, which oversees immigration of Jews to Israel, now estimates that some 15,000 French Jews will make aliyah in 2015.

In case there would have been no thought or no idea of a god or gods and no religions, people would have invented something to classify the different groups and ideas between the many different folks. Those classification would be there like we already classify the continents with different names and can find in each of them a multitude of political parties, which have nothing to do with religion. We can see between those political parties there are also battles going on the same as their is competition between economical forces.

With or without God, people would find enough time, arguments, money and weaponry to make their differences hard.

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You may also find to read:

  1. About what happened in France: , Being Charlie 2, Being Charlie 3, Being Charlie 4, Being Charlie 5, Being Charlie 6, Being Charlie 7, Being Charlie 8, Being Charlie 9, Being Charlie 10, It’s beautiful to watch the spread of #JeSuisCharlie across the world, Where do we stand in the backdrop of Charlie Hebdo Massacre ?, Charlie Hebdo, offensive satire and why ‘Freedom of Speech’ needs more discussion
  2. 2013 Lifestyle, religiously and spiritualy
  3. Religious Practices around the world
  4. Are you religious, spiritual, or do you belong to a religion, having a faith or interfaith
  5. Faith because of the questions
  6. Looking to the East and the West for Truth
  7. Science, belief, denial and visibility 1
  8. Science and God’s existence
  9. Exceptionalism and Restricting Laws
  10. Economic crisis danger for the rise of political extremism
  11. Zionism comments and the place of Jerusalem in the world
  12. Anti-Semitism ‘on the rise’ in Europe
  13. Immigration consternation
  14. Green Claims in Europe
  15. Arson attack carried out on Stevenage Central Mosque
  16. Religion, fundamentalism and murder
  17. Christian fundamentalism as dangerous as Muslim fundamentalism
  18. Muslim Grooming (Rape) Gangs and Sharia
  19. ISIS, Mosul Dam and threatening lives of those who want to live in freedom
  20. Condemning QSIS or the self-claimed Islamic state ruler, al- Baghdadi their extremist ideologies and to clarify the true teachings of Islam
  21. Europe and much-vaunted bastions of multiculturalism becoming No God Zones
  22. Subcutaneous power for humanity 5 Loneliness, Virtual and real friends
  23. Do we have to be an anarchist to react
  24. Apartheid or Apartness #1 Suppression and Apartness
  25. Occupy South African Embassies
  26. Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
  27. Morality, values and Developing right choices
  28. Classes of people and Cronyism
  29. Economics and Degradation
  30. How do you define religion?
  31. Atheists, deists, and sleepers
  32. Where is the edge
  33. Materialism, would be life, and aspirations
  34. Misleading world, stress, technique, superficiality, past, future and positivism
  35. Why Think There Is a God? (3): Why Is It Wrong?
  36. Christian values and voting not just a game
  37. Sharing a common security and a common set of values
  38. Not true or True Catholicism and True Islam
  39. Leaving the Old World to find better pastures
  40. Migrants to the West #1
  41. Migrants to the West #2
  42. Migrants to the West #3
  43. Migrants to the West #5
  44. Migrants to the West #6
  45. Migrants to the West #8 Welbeing
  46. Migrants to the West #10 Religious freedom
  47. Economic crisis danger for the rise of political extremism
  48. Quran versus older Holy Writings of Divine Creator
  49. Quran can convert to Christianity
  50. Liberal and evangelical Christians
  51. With Positive Attitude
  52. Stand Up
  53. Helping against or causing more homophobia
  54. Reflect on how much idolizing happens
  55. Martin Luther King’s Dream Today

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Additional reading

  1. Pope on Charlie Hebdo: There are limits to freedom of expression when faith is insulted
  2. Krauthammer: Obama: Charlie who?
  3. Of tweets, twits and the factually deficient
  4. Pope Says He’d Punch Someone Who Insulted His Mother
  5. Invention of religion

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  • What the Charlie Hebdo terrorists have won so far (bangordailynews.com)
    Although French police have hunted down and killed the suspects in Wednesday’s Charlie Hebdo attack, the terrorists have, on at least two levels, already won: They’ve scared a number of powerful news organizations into submission, and they’ve stoked European Islamophobia, whose rise will help militant Islamists recruit more supporters.
  • Anti-Islam Rallies Growing in Germany (guardianlv.com)
    After the attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper offices in France last week, anti-Islam rallies in Germany are seen to be growing rapidly. The rallies are being held by a group known as Pegida, which means in English: Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident.Pegida is a right wing organization in Germany that is holding protests in various cities to fight against the growing influence of Islam in the everyday life of the country. The organization claims that the influence of Islam is slowly destroying the European culture. They also are against certain immigration practices, asylum seekers, and they want the “protection of Judeo-Christian culture” for the Western world.Although the protests in Germany have been taking place for some time, the number of attendees has been rather small in the past. On October 20 of last year, the first rally only had about 350 people present. At a meeting on January 5, there were 18,000 protestors there. Once the killings at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper offices had taken place, the number of participants has grown greatly.
  • Hypocrisy Abounds: Free Speech as Cover for Islamophobia (truthdig.com)
    A magazine that most people outside France had never heard of before Jan. 7 now has legions of followers and fans around the world. The dominant narrative that has emerged from the horrific massacre of 10 staffers of Charlie Hebdo (plus police officers and hostages) is that the very foundation of freedom itself was attacked last week in Paris, and that the best way to fight Islamic fundamentalism is to uphold the ethos of Charlie Hebdo’s irreverence and satire. After all, in seeing their own values embodied in Charlie Hebdo, holders of “Je Suis Charlie” signsseem to be positioning themselves on the “right” side of freedom and democracy.
  • Anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant rallies grow in Europe (thestar.com)

    A grassroots anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant movement is continuing to move across Europe in wake of the terror attacks that hit Paris last week.

    A crowd of nearly 25,000 attended an anti-Muslim rally in Dresden on Monday. For the last several months, the German group Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or PEGIDA, has been holding the demonstrations, calling for stricter controls on asylum rules and tighter immigration policies.

    Germany, along with northern European countries, is experiencing massive influxes of migrants from conflict zones in the Middle East and North Africa. Vast numbers of Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis and others caught up in war, persecution and poverty are all trying to settle in wealthier European countries to begin new lives.

  • A dying Western culture is the problem (thecommentator.com)
    The German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “We need to say that right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism should not be allowed any place in our society.” That was the German Chancellor’s response to Pegida, the burgeoning movement in Germany against what its supporters see as the relentless Islamisation of Europe.Ms Merkel’s comment was a politician’s slur. The problem for Angela Merkel is that it’s not Pegida that is anti-Semitic, but large numbers of Europe’s Muslims. This is a truth that the EU political establishment refuses to acknowledge, even when its own bureaucrats produce the hard evidence.For example, a 2003 European Union study on anti-Semitism found that Europe’s anti-Semites were not the usual stereotypical suspects (white, skin-headed Nazis), but Muslim gangs. The report was suppressed — Europe’s PC politicians did not like the findings — and only became public when details were leaked to the Jerusalem Post.But who needs a study to show who the anti-Semites are? You can hear it and see it on Europe’s streets.
  • ‘Charlie Hebdo’: why jihad came to Paris (irishtimes.com)
    Nearly 1,300 years have passed since Charles Martel turned back the Islamic invasion at Tours, and there was a historic resonance to the policeman’s words.
    +
    Amid the blur of stained glass, incense and candles inside the cathedral, Fr Emmanuel Da alluded to the atrocity. “Whatever his religion, whatever his culture, a human being is your brother, and violence is a prison,” he preached. “Harming one brother with homicidal violence is harming God. There is no act more repugnant to God than homicide.”
  • Charlie Hebdo Attack Could Induce Spread Of Anti-Muslim Sentiments In Europe (eurasiareview.com)
    Elmas stated that Turkey stands as one of the most exemplary countries in terms of showing that Islam can coexist with the values of democracy, rule of law, etc. Here, Elmas underlined that Turkey should continue to cooperate with the EU and that the two parties would greatly benefit from identifying and acting upon the lowest common denominator between them when it comes to the issue.
  • European Powers Implement Police State Measures in Wake of Charlie Hebdo Attack (gunnyg.wordpress.com)
    Governments throughout Europe have responded to the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in France by moving quickly to push through a raft of anti-democratic measures. They are exploiting the shock and confusion generated by the event in Paris to take actions… European Powers Implement Police State Measures in Wake of Charlie Hebdo Attack
  • Timeline of European terror attacks (seattletimes.com)
    A gun assault on the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo Wednesday was the deadliest terrorist attack in France’s recent history. Some other terror attacks in Western Europe:

Koran tegenover veel oudere Heilige Geschriften

Ontevreden moslims boos over de wereld

Ik begrijp dat er heel wat moslims heel boos kunnen worden als ze kijken naar de “moderne wereld“, hoe deze evolueert en hoe de mensen zich durven te gedragen. Ook zij die zich Christen of Jood noemen zouden neerdunkend moeten kijken op sommige gebeurtenissen.

Als men de decadentie van onze westerse samenleving bekijkt is het niet verwonderlijk dat diepgelovigen zich hiertegenover ergeren en het op de duur als ontoelaatbaar aanschouwen dat er niet gereageerd zou worden op zulke levenswijze.

Ik kan het met hen eens zijn dat we misschien terug naar een decadente tijd gaan zoals wij reeds eerder in de geschiedenis andere periodes van teloorgang van zeden en gebruiken hebben gezien. Wij treffen botsingen aan van generaties en zien dat er teruglopende prestaties plaatsgrijpen en dat er een vermindering is van ethiek. Ook in onze tijd treffen wij nu een verval aan, zoals in de goede zeden of de kunst.
Dat verval of de morele degeneratie van een groep mensen, heeft meer dan eens plaats gegrepen in de menselijke geschiedenis, altijd aan het einde van een ‘hoge cultuur’. Maar dit staat niet toe dat de islamieten hun woede omzetten in agressie tegen de westerse publiek. Met behulp van terreur, marteling en verkrachting als middel om mensen te bekeren tot hun geloof is een volstrekt onaanvaardbaar iets en ook een onnuttige zaak daar zij enkel zal uitdraaien op een valse bekering. Van zulke bekeringen kan er niets goeds voor de islam voorkomen. Integendeel zal het meer kwaad dan goed kunnen doen. Dat hebben wij al kunnen zien in het christendom, waar men in de afgelopen eeuwen veel geprobeerd heeft om de heidense bevolking tot Christus te brengen, maar door het forceren van de conversie op hen konden ze veel heidense gebruiken en tradities overbrengen in de christelijke godsdienst, waardoor deze minder zuiver werd en een hele reeks doctrines tot het christelijk geloof bracht en meerdere stromingen met verscheiden leerregels deed ontstaan.

Kort menselijk bestaan

1° European verbcular language Quran 1647

Koran vertaling naar een Europese taal, het Frans in1647

Het leven is zeer kort en daarin krijgen we veel te leren, te verwerken en worden overladen met een hele boel materiaal om te lezen. Een van de belangrijkste boeken die ik vond dat ik moest lezen in mijn leven, waren boeken die door velen als heilige boeken worden beschouwd.
Een van die heilige boeken kon ik niet lezen in de originele Arabische taal en moest daarom uitkijken naar meerdere vertalingen, die ik met belangstelling en vertrouwen gelezen en vergeleken heb. Sommige van die vertalingen waren gemakkelijk te lezen en te volgen, anderen waren heel moeilijk. Maar van alle van deze vertalingen zijn er nog die zeggen dat we niet die vertalingen kunnen lezen en volgen, omdat we alleen de oorspronkelijke taal zouden moeten lezen, namelijk het Arabisch.

Voor mij zou dit heel vreemd zijn, omdat de mensen die dat ook zeggen, beweren dat zij er zeker van zijn dat hun boek het Woord van God is. Maar als alleen mensen die Arabisch kunnen spreken en begrijpen in staat zouden zijn om dat Woord van God te lezen, zou dit dan niet inhouden dat die god dan de andere mensen iets te kort doet? Zou deze God dan niet de kans geven aan die mensen om ook Zijn Woord te leren kennen en om dat door te geven aan andere mensen? Zou een God van liefde Zijn heilig Woord voor mensen die geen kennis van het Arabisch hebben onthouden?
Is Het Woord van de Schepper dan niet voor al Zijn schepselen?

Alzeggend Woord voor allen die godsbewustzijn willen hebben

Is het ook niet zo, dat de God der goden Zijn woord vertelt aan de wereld dat alle mensen worden gemaakt op basis van een enkele man en een vrouw, en dat Deze God/Allah de mens onderverdeelde in rassen en stammen, zodat zij elkander zouden herkennen. Is het ook niet opgetekend in de Schrift, dat in Gods ogen, de meest geëerde van die mensen degenen zijn die het Woord van God willen leren kennen? Staat Hij juist niet open voor hen die Zijn Woord willen bestuderen en meer inzicht willen krijgen in het Plan van die Schepper?

049.013 يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
049.013 O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).

Al-Qur’an, 049.013 (Al-Hujraat [The Private Apartments, The Inner Apartments])

Text Copied from DivineIslam’s Qur’an Viewer software v2.913

O, mensdom! Wij hebben u uit man en vrouw geschapen en Wij hebben u tot volkeren en stammen gemaakt, opdat gij elkander moogt kennen. Voorzeker, de godvruchtigste onder u is de eerwaardigste bij Allah. Voorwaar, Allah is Alwetend, Alkennend. (Soera 49:13).

O menschen! waarlijk, wij hebben u uit een mannelijk en een vrouwelijk wezen geschapen, en wij hebben u in volkeren en stammen verdeeld, opdat gij elkander zoudt kennen. Waarlijk, de achtingwaardigste uwer in Gods oog, is de vroomste, en God is wijs en alwetend.(49:13)

English: An Ilkhanid Koran with Persian transl...

Een Ilkhanid Koran met Perzische vertaling tussen de lijnen. (Foto credit: Wikipedia)

Als ik denk aan de vele keren dat ik de koran las en herlas kreeg ik toch de indruk dat de woorden van de oude joodse en christelijke geschriften werden samengebracht en nog eens werden uitgelegd, soms in een andere volgorde, maar nog steeds hetzelfde bleken te willen vertellen. Had ik het mis om deze indruk te krijgen en te begrijpen dat volgens de koran onderwijs, religieus pluralisme van vitaal belang is voor de sociale orde en vooruitgang te krijgen? Had ik het mis om de indruk te wekken dat, op dezelfde manier waarop Jezus sprak over agape liefde, dat de Koran ons ook kwam te vertellen dat God wil dat mensen die tolerantie opbrengen voor anderen? Hebben de woorden van de profeet Mohammed ook niet hetzelfde te vertellen over de houding die we naar anderen moeten aannemen? Zou de kennis van de Koran ook niet de sleutel tot verdraagzaamheid bieden? Indien de zogenaamde voltooier van het monotheïstische geloof dat volgens de islam is begonnen met Adam en daarna werd geherintroduceerd door Nuh (Noach), Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Mozes), Isa (Jezus) en de overige profeten werkelijk een Boodschapper van God is, zou deze profeet dan ook niet in diezelfde lijn blijven voort prediken en al de voorgaande gezegden van de Allerhoogste hoogachten?

Verschil koesteren

Zijn er niet veel van de leerkrachten in de islam, die ons leren dat de Koran de verschillen viert tussen de mensheid, en niet alleen een geloofsgemeenschap instrueert, maar de gehele mensheid leert om goede daden te verrichten,de goede zeden en moraal leert te behouden, en aanmaant in vrede te leven met elkaar.

In de afgelopen jaren van het lezen (meerdere malen) van de Koran kreeg ik toch de indruk dat in de verscheidene kampen dit boek geweld werd aangedaan. Ik had, als ik mij goed herinner toch de indruk dat die woorden in dat boek herhaaldelijk gericht waren tot de mensheid als geheel en de wereld vertelde hoe we ons moeten gedragen, hoe we moeten proberen om ons eigen karakter te vormen, en hoe we onszelf aan anderen moeten presenteren. Een aantal geleerden van de oude islamitische school beweren ook dat de Koran  mensen naar rechtvaardigheid leidt, en hen morele en spirituele waarden ingeeft. Die vroegere islamitische wijzen verwijzen de Islamieten of Mohammedanen zich naar daden van aanbidding en de islamitische wet te richten.
Ze zeggen ook dat:

De Koranische boodschap van diversiteit en samenleven de hoeksteen is van het islamitische principe voor een rechtvaardige en harmonieuze samenleving. Zo is religieus pluralisme, volgens de het onderwijs van de koran, van vitaal belang voor de sociale orde en vooruitgang, en biedt het de sleutel tot tolerantie: “Er is geen dwang in de godsdienst (2: 256);

“Je hebt je religie en ik heb de mijne.” (109: 6).

Opgezet tegen elkaar vanwege misverstanden

Folio from a Koran, Abbasid dynasty, Near East...

Folio van een Koran van de Abbasiden dynastie, het Nabije Oosten en Noord-Afrika. Inkt en kleur op perkament, 23,9 × 33,3 cm. Een deel van de Al-Fath Sura (48) verzen: 27-8. (Foto credit: Wikipedia)

Vanwege de hedendaagse moeilijkheden in het Oosten en in Noordelijk Afrika is er een verzuring ontstaan. De onderlinge ruzies waarbij de godsdienst als wapen gebruikt wordt heeft verschillende moslims, joden en christenen hun houding doen veranderen en gaat er heel wat verkeerd onder elkaar. Wegens de toenemende negatieve houding tegenover elkaar, vond ik het belangrijk om de woorden uit die drie monotheïstische godsdiensten samen te brengen en onder een loep te vergelijken. Met een opzet van neutraliteit wil ik die teksten onder de ogen van onze lezers brengen en hen ook vragen om er onbevooroordeeld naar te kijken. Persoonlijk durf ik dan ook nog mijn christelijke Christadelphian standpunt voor te leggen.

Graag zal ik de Koran verzen vergelijken met wat wij in de Bijbelvertalingen kunnen vinden. De Islamisten die bezwaren hebben aan een vertaling van de Koran verzoek ik dan naar de Arabische versie te kijken en naar de Arabische versie van de Bijbel en de vertaling daarvan.
Deze verzen naast elkaar leggend hoop ik dat wij en zij meer duidelijkheid kunnen krijgen in wat er werkelijk in die Heilige Geschriften geschreven staat.

Iedereen moet een idee krijgen van wat er werkelijk in die heilige boeken geschreven staat zodat zij ook kunnen nagaan waar mensen afwijken van wat er in die Heilige Geschriften staat, ook al beweren zij die te volgen..
Die Geschriften zijn: De Thora ook gespeld als Tora/Torah (Mozaïsche Wet / Tawraat) ook wel bekend als de Pentateuch, de Nevie’iem of Profeten, de (Aleph) Kethuvim/Ketoeviem of Hebreeuwse Geschriften, Bet- Kethuvim of Messiaanse of Griekse Geschriften (Nieuwe Testament met de evangeliën of Injil/Indjil (openbaring aan de profeet aan Isa/Jeshua/Jezus/Jesus gegeven), Apostolische Geschriften of brieven van de apostelen (epistels) en de Openbaring van Johannes de apostel) en de veel later geschreven Koran, die door velen ook wordt gezien als het woord van de “Heer van de Heren” of het “Woord des Heer des Heren”, dat Allah geopenbaard heeft aan Zijn “Boodschapper Mohammed (vrede en zegeningen van Allah zij met hem)”, om de mensheid voort uit de duisternis naar het licht te brengen.

In geval we het woord van Allah, God, kunnen vinden in dat boek dat ook “de recitatie” wordt genoemd, zoals het gepresenteerd wordt, als God de Almachtige Die mondeling geopenbaard zou hebben aan de profeet Mohammed in de 7 ° eeuw CE, moeten die woorden  in harmonie en complementair zijn met de vorige woorden van de Goddelijke Schepper.

De vorige geschriften niet het eliminerend

Veel mensen lijken te vergeten dat de Koran de vorige geschriften, die bekend staan als het Woord van God niet uitsluit. Het boek dat we nu vaak vermeld horen in het nieuws en waar veel van die terroristische groepen over schreeuwen, namelijk de Koran (Quoran/Quran) bevestigt de Boeken die ervoor kwamen, namelijk de bovenvermelde Tawraat of Tawrat (Torah) en de Indjil (Evangelie). Velen lijken niet te begrijpen dat de Koran er ook eigenlijk een getuige van is, zoals Allah zegt:

005,048 وأنزلنا إليك الكتاب بالحق مصدقا لما بين يديه من الكتاب ومهيمنا عليه فاحكم بينهم بما أنزل الله ولا تتبع أهواءهم عما جاءك من الحق لكل جعلنا منكم شرعة ومنهاجا ولو شاء الله لجعلكم أمة واحدة ولكن ليبلوكم في ما آتاكم فاستبقوا الخيرات إلى الله مرجعكم جميعا فينبئكم بما كنتم فيه تختلفون

Al-Qur’an, 005.048 (Al-Maeda [The Table, The Table Spread])

005.048 To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;

Tekst Overgenomen uit DivineIslam’s Qur’an Viewer software v2.913 (Engels interpretatie van het koranvers):

مَا آتَاكُمْ ۖ فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ ۚ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ

Wij hebben u ook het boek, den Koran, gezonden, met waarheid, bevestigende de schrift, welke te voren was geopenbaard en dat haar voor verminking behoedt. Richt dus tusschen hen, overeenkomstig hetgeen God heeft geopenbaard, en volgt hunne begeerten niet, door van de waarheid af te dwalen, die u is geworden. Ieder uwer hebben wij eene wet gegeven en een open weg. En indien het Gode had behaagd, zou hij zeker één volk van u hebben gemaakt; maar hij heeft uwe getrouwheid willen beproeven, nopens de inachtneming van hetgeen hij u heeft gegeven. Streeft er dus naar, elkander in goede daden te overtreffen. Gij zult allen tot God terugkeeren en dan zal hij u datgene verklaren, waarover gij getwist hebt.(5:48)

En Wij hebben u het Boek (de Koran) met de waarheid geopenbaard vervullende hetgeen daarvََoor in het Boek (de Bijbel) was (verkondigd) en als bewaker daarover. Richt daarom tussen hen naar hetgeen Allah heeft geopenbaard en volg hun boze neigingen niet tegen de waarheid die tot u is gekomen. Voor iedereen bepaalden Wij een wet en een weg. En indien Allah had gewild zou Hij u allen tot één volk hebben gemaakt, maar Hij wenst u te beproeven met hetgeen Hij u heeft gegeven. Wedijvert dus met elkander in goede werken. Tot Allah zult gij allen terugkeren, dan zal Hij u datgene mededelen, waarover gij van mening verschilt.

Dezelfde of een andere god sprekend

Wanneer het de God van Mozes is die spreekt tot de favoriete profeet en boodschapper Abu al-Qāsim Muhammad ibn’Abd Allah ibn’Abd al-Moettalib ibn Hashim, beschouwd als de grondlegger van de religie van de islam en voor de moslims over de hele wereld geaccepteerd als de laatste van de profeten van God, over het heilige boek dat Koran (Quran) dan zou het diezelfde waarheid moeten verkondigen als die boeken die vóór hem werden opgetekend als het Woord van God. De Koran zou deze boeken dan moeten bevestigen en Muhaymin (betrouwbaar in hoogheid en een getuige) zijn over die oude geschriften.

Bahá’í-wereldcentrum in Haifa.

Volgens Sahih al-Bukhari, werd de Koran gereciteerd onder Levantijnen en Irakezen, en werd het ook besproken door christenen en joden, voordat het werd gestandaardiseerd. Er zijn ook een aantal niet-islamitische groepen die de Koran als heilig aanschouwen, zoals de Bahà’i en Druzen. Unitarische Universalisten kunnen ook inspiratie zoeken uit de koran.

Als een van de meest verguisde figuren uit de geschiedenis van het Westen van de 7de eeuw tot vrij recente tijden heeft Muhammad of Mohammed, ook veel controverse ondervonden, en zijn, door de eeuwen heen, zijn leven, daden en gedachten besproken door aanhangers en tegenstanders.

De verovering door de kruisvaarders van Jeruzalem in 1099

Omdat in het verleden er personen waren die proberen om het geloof tot de anderen te brengen en daarbij een heleboel agressie gebruikt hebben, is er een angst gekomen aan beide zijden voor de andere gelovigen in de Goddelijke Schepper. De kruistochten en inquisitie staan bekend als een verschrikking voor anders gelovigen dan de Katholieken en heden ten dage lijkt het alsof er een nieuw soort kruistochten aan de gang is met de Moslims nu als strijders.

Volgelingen van valse profeten en valse leraren

Vlag van de Islamitische Jihad Beweging in Palestina met Koran vers in de banner

Door godsdienstige verschillen of gelegitimeerd door godsdienstige argumenten zijn er in de geschiedenis meerdere valse leraren geweest, die de kans mooi zagen om hun leerstellingen te gebruiken om mensen tegen elkaar op te zetten.
Vandaag liggen zo de termen “heilige oorlog” of “jihad” op vele lippen. Op de vlag van de Islamitische Jihad Beweging in Palestina kan men zo een vers uit de Koran terugvinden: “En degenen die de jihad doen voor ons, zullen we begeleiden naar onze wegen. En God is met hen die goed doen. ”

Strijdlustige Taliban in Herat, juli 2001

Vandaag is het zelfs uitgegroeid tot een groter probleem, met groepen als die welke inspiratie vinden bij Osama bin Laden, Al Qaida, de Moslimbroederschap, Moedjahedien, de Harakat al-Jihad of Palestijnse Islamitische Jihad (PIJ), Hezbollah, Harakat al-Jihad al-Islami, Hamas, Boko Haram, de Taliban, en dichter bij ons de Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Beweging en andere jihadisten die beweren dat hun wereldwijde jihad is gebaseerd op de Koran en hun strijd berust op “goddelijk gebods ethiek.” De leiders van die groeiende groepen doen aanspraak op het gezag van de religieuze tekst juist te interpreteren. Net als we sommige conservatieve christenen vinden die de Bijbel geschriften zeer letterlijk opnemen en geen rekening houden met de spreektaal van de vroegere schrijvers, vinden wij ook bij de islamieten volgelingen van Muhammad of Mohammed die geen rekening houden met de zegswijze van de oude taal. Die de islamitische predikers zijn echt er van overtuigd ‘dat zij alleen’ de waarheid zien en dat anderen hen zouden moeten volgen, omdat zij de ‘zuivere islam’ prediken.

Logo of Boko Haram.svg

جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد People Committed to the Prophet’s Teachings for Propagation and Jihad

De ‘zuivere islam’, die deze leraren prediken, is een geloof

“om Allah Azzawajal te behagen door de islam te dienen binnen de middelen die Hij heeft geschonken aan de wereld” Insha Allah “”.

Ze zeggen dat hun gids de Speech van Allah Azzawajal is zoals het is opgenomen in de Koran en hun voorbeeld is in de authentieke Soennah van Mohammed sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa salaam

“Zoals die door de Sahaabah radiallaahu ‘anhoem en de rechtschapen dienaren van Allah Azzawajal gepraktiseerd wordt, door hen die in hun edele voetsporen hebben gevolgd.”

De Kafirs en Kaffers

Velen van hen die door de Saoedische soennieten betaald worden aanschouwen veel andere islamitische groepen als ‘kafir’ (كافر) welk vergelijkbaar is alsof ze “ongelovige” zouden zijn. In het Nederlands betekent het niet-gelovige, niet-mohammedaanse, en de variant ‘kaffer’, is een scheldwoord dat de betekenis heeft van boer, boerenpummel, lomperd, schooier, schoelje, ragamuffin schelm, schurk,; eikel; bastaard, lomp persoon; boor; lomp; ongelovige.

Ik geloof dat om de ware, vreedzame islam, te begrijpen wij best we ook de Koran moeten lezen en er inzicht in krijgen door er kennis in te verwerven. Alleen door ook hun heilig boek werkelijk onder de loep te nemen kunnen wij de die moslimbroeders beter te woord staan over hun Heilige Schrift. Door kennis van de Koran te hebben kunnen wij ook diegenen die er misbruik van maken of de woorden verdraaien er op wijzen en terecht wijzen. Te veel zien wij dat er mensen zijn die de ene of andere groep verwerpen maar eigenlijk hun leerstellingen niet kennen.

Brabbeltaal ten opzichte van niet begrepen bewoordingen

Title page of the first German translation of ...

Titelpagina van de eerste Duitse vertaling van de Koran in 1772: “De Turkse Bijbel, of de eerste Duitse vertaling van de Koran uit het Arabische origineel” door professor M. David Friederich Megerlin 1772 (Foto credit: Wikipedia)

We moeten ons ervan bewust zijn dat de grote meerderheid van de moslims in de hele wereld vandaag de dag, geen Arabisch spreken noch voldoende kennis er van hebben, zodat zij ook net als wij afhankelijk zijn van vertalingen. Het grootste gevaar is dat veel van die moslims niet durven om een ​​vertaling te gebruiken, maar koranverzen in het Arabisch reciteren, zonder echt te weten wat ze zeggen, een beetje zoals een aantal decennia geleden in Europa in de Katholieke Kerken, waar de priester sprak in het Latijn, terwijl de meerderheid in de kerk niet echt wist wat hij werkelijk zei. In bepaalde moskeeën wordt er zo ook in het Arabisch gepredikt en weet een deel van de moskeegangers niet echt wat hij zegt. Voor het uitleggen van die teksten kan de prediker dan ook van alles zeggen en de mensen doen geloven geloven wat hun denominatie wil dat ze geloven. Dat is ook wat we vandaag zien gebeuren met de verschillende islamitische groepen. Ik ken gezinnen in mijn straat die getrouwde kinderen hebben in twee verschillende islamitische groepen die elk van de ander zegt dat zij totaal verkeerd zijn en slechte moslims zijn. Maar geen van hen is bereid om de zaken te bespreken of om te kijken naar een Nederlandse Koran vertaling. De vraag is of zij wel degelijk de Koran lezen, zoals wij die vraag ook naar Christenen kunnen stellen. Hoevelen lezen werkelijk regelmatig de Bijbel?

Met het prevelen van gebeden komt men niet echt verder in het begrijpen van de Heilige Geschriften als er ook niet daadwerkelijk de inzet is om meer van de tekst te leren kennen en te begrijpen. Persoonlijk heb ik nog onvoldoende Islamitische diensten kunnen vergelijken en predikers hun ‘kudde’ horen toespreken. Wel heb ik al diensten gezien waar iemand in het Arabisch sprak maar de meesten die tal niet machtig genoeg waren om alles goed te verstaan.

Spreken met elkaar

De volgelingen van de profeet Jezus moeten alle kansen waarnemen om over hun geloof te spreken. Zij, in de groeiende islamisering van onze wereld, moeten anderen laten zien wat Jezus predikte, en hoe hij de vorige woorden van zijn hemelse Vader verduidelijkte. In geschriften van de profeet Muhammad wordt hier trouwens naar verwezen (openbaring van Isa = Openbaring van Jeshua/Jezus/Jesus). Het is waar dat het niet Jezus zelf was die zijn woorden heeft opgetekend noch de Woorden van zijn vader heeft opgeschreven, maar Mohammed liet ook de schriftelijke vastlegging van zijn berichten door anderen verrichten. Beiden staan gekend als profeten en hun woorden moeten ook zo als meldingen van profeten met elkaar worden vergeleken. Alleen door te erkennen wat de ander leest in zijn Heilige Schrift is er een mogelijkheid om tot een goed begrip te komen. Maar door de woorden van de geschriften en de woorden van de predikers te vergelijken kan ook worden aangegeven waar bepaalde islamitische predikers fout gaan en zelfs zo ver gaan om de zaken in strijd met de Koran aan te leren.

Daarom is het belangrijk met enige kennis van de Koran die mensen er op te wijzen waar bepaalde moslims verkeerd gaan of afdwalen en hen terug te brengen op het juiste pad, plus aan beide, niet-gelovige, gelovige in een of andere god, jood, christen en moslim een idee te geven van wat bedoeld wordt in dat geschreven woord en een beeld te geven wat er degelijk in bepaalde geschriften staat. Om dit mogelijk te maken, zal ik een vergelijking van de Koran en de Bijbel presenteren en soms de verzen van beide boeken bespreken.

Net als in het christendom zijn er veel menselijke schrijvers of theologische geleerden die ideeën en scholen in de Islamitische godsdients teweeg gebracht hebben. Zoals in het Christendom we veel tradities kunnen vinden, kunnen wij ook in islamitische gezinnen meerdere tradities vinden die eigenlijk niet in overeenstemming zijn met wat er in de Heilige Geschriften staat. Hiervoor kunnen wij ook een aantal boeken van de traditionele commentaren onder ogen nemen, om licht te werpen op de verschillende passages uit de Koran. Ik zal ook daar durven om een ​​blik op hen te nemen en nodig moslims en christenen uit om hun commentaar of inzicht ook daarop te geven op al die verzen, traditionele scholing en commentaren.

A qur'an from the 9th century. It is an allege...

Een koran uit de 9de eeuw. Het is een vermeende 7e eeuw origineel van de editie van de derde kalief Uthman (Uthman Koran), maar dit is omstreden, omdat het is geschreven in kufic. De Koran is bewaard in de kleine Telyashayakh moskee in Tasjkent. (Foto credit: Wikipedia)

Door te kijken naar de Koran en de Bijbel, naast elkaar, kunnen moslims en christenen tot het beter begrijpen van elkaar komen, geloof ik. Maar het zal ook de mogelijkheid geven om beter in staat te zijn om tot meer duidelijkheid te komen wat de jihadisten aanhalen en waarom – en misschien zullen wij hierdoor ook wel makkelijker een weg vinden hoe zulke fundamentalistische denkers te woord te staan,  hen te begrijpen, maar ook wat we kunnen en moeten doen om ze te weerstaan​​.

Door die hun geloof aan anderen op te dringen en dit zelfs te willen doen door middel van geweld, ondergaat de islamitische gemeenschap meer schade dan dat het haar ten goede zou komen. Het is ook geen hulp voor de islamitische gemeenschap dat de meeste islamitische leraren zichzelf verstoppen of niet openlijk reageren tegen die valse leraren in de islamitische wereld. Door hun stilzwijgen zijn heel veel mensen in het westen beginnen te geloven dat die woorden en daden van die fundamentalisten echt worden gepromoot in de Koran. Veel mensen beginnen te geloven dat wat die vechters beweren te doen voor het goede doel van het geloof is gebaseerd op de Koran. Maar dat is niet zo. Zeer veel van die dingen die ze doen zij  zelfs verboden volgens de Koran.

 

Vergelijken van de Koran, joodse en christelijke Heilige Geschriften

Vele christenen willen de relatie van de grote verhalen verteld in de joodse en christelijke geschriften niet zien. Daarom zou het niet slecht zijn om de centrale religieuze tekst van de islam, waarin moslims geloven dat een openbaring van God te vergelijken (Arabisch: الله, Allah) met het Boek van de boeken van het christendom. Om die reden wilde ik ook een aantal islamitische leraar de vrijheid geven om uit te leggen hoe de moslims de koran hoofdstukken (soera’s genoemd) en zijn verzen of verzen interpreteren. Hoewel na maanden geduld en velen aangesproken te hebben kon ik toch niemand bereid vinden om dat te doen. Dit geeft mij alleen de keuze om het zelf te doen. Om Christenen zowel als moslims te laten zien wat de Bijbel en de Koran zeggen, ofwel hetzelfde, of iets anders, begin ik hier op dit platform met de vergelijking van beide geschriften en wil ik zo laten zien wat de Goddelijke Schepper, Allah, de Allerhoogste God der goden  Zijn schepselen wilde doen horen, begrijpen en laten volgen.

In de hoop een manier te vinden waar we in vrede kunnen leven volgens de Wil van Allah, de Allerhoogste God, de Almachtige, de Elohim Hashem Jehovah.

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English readers may find:

Public not informed enough about Jihad terrorism in Belgium

Quran versus older Holy Writings of Divine Creator

 

English: Some translations of the Quran by the...

Sommige vertalingen van de Koran door de Ahmadiyya Moslim Jamaat op de Frankfurter Buchmesse 2009 (Foto credit: Wikipedia)

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Aanvullende lectuur:

  1. Rond God de Allerhoogste
  2. Onze God ook deze van de moslims
  3. Boek der boeken en groot meesterwerk
  4. Schepper en Blogger God 12 Het Oude en Nieuwe Blog 2 Blog voor elke dag
  5. Woord van God
  6. Geïnspireerd Woord
  7. Mondelinge of schriftelijke overlevering en aantal auteurs
  8. Boek der boeken, de Bijbel
  9. Het schrijven van de Pentateuch
  10. Kroniekschrijvers en profeten #4c Latere of Kleine Profeten
  11. Ongelezen bestseller
  12. Het belang van het lezen van de Schrift
  13. Order of Bible Books – Volgorde Bijbelboeken – Liste des livres de la Bible
  14. Oude spreekwijzen kennen om de Bijbel te begrijpen
  15. Vertrouwen, Geloof, Roepen en Toeschrijving aan Jehovah #3 Stem van God #2 Instructies en Wetten
  16. Vertrouwen, Geloof, Roepen en Toeschrijving aan Jehovah #3 Stem van God #3 Ernstig te nemen zegenende stem
  17. Vertrouwen, Geloof, Roepen en Toeschrijving aan Jehovah #4 Vergankelijkheid #1 WelvaartTwee staten van bestaan voor God
  18. Vertrouwen, Geloof, Roepen en Toeschrijving aan Jehovah #4 Vergankelijkheid #2 Zuiverheid
  19. Vertrouwen, Geloof, Roepen en Toeschrijving aan Jehovah #4 Vergankelijkheid #3 Behaging in Volhouding
  20. Missionaire hermeneutiek 5/5
  21. Hermeneutiek om uit te dragen #8 Tegenspraak
  22. Wat betreft On religion and science
  23. Religie en samenleving één geheel
  24. Fragiliteit en actie #11 Horen
  25. De maatschappij weerspiegelen
  26. Materialisme, “would be” leven en aspiraties #6Hoe de rijken de wereld regeren
  27. Materialisme, “would be” leven en aspiraties #7
  28. Kinderen leren atheïsme
  29. Tegenstroom voor Terreur of omringende angst
  30. Woede en vertrouwen
  31. Breivik geen enkeling
  32. Rellen en Oude Geschriften
  33. Rellen in Frankrijk en BelgëKritiek op Israël niet gelijkstellen met antisemitisme
  34. De nacht is ver gevorderd 2 Studie 1 Zijn het de laatste dagen? 1 IntroDe nacht is ver gevorderd 3 Studie 1 Zijn het de laatste dagen? 2 Wat betekent dit alles?
  35. Wat betreft Wees de beste…
  36. Virussen van onze maatschappij
  37. Moslims, Christenen en Gratis Heilige Boeken
  38. Is Islamfobie uitgevonden door fundamentalistische regimes
  39. Nieuwkomers, nieuwelingen, immigranten, allochtonen en import
  40. Voor- en nadelen van internetspiritualiteit
  41. Ademen om les te geven
  42. Elke man zijn werk is altijd een portret van zichzelf
  43. Moslims, Christenen en Gratis Heilige Boeken
  44. Graven in woorden, theorieën en artefacten
  45. Feestdagen, consumeren en besparen

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For English readers to remember:

I do understand that many Muslims may be very angry when they look at the “modern world”, seeing the decadence of our western society.
In Christendom, where in the past centuries many tried to bring the heathen populations to Christ but by forcing conversion on them allowed them to bring heathen uses or traditions into the Christian religion, making it less pure and bringing lots of umbilical doctrines to the Christian faith.
By wanting to push faith onto others by force, the Islamic community is undergoing more damage than receiving good.

Lots of people start believing that what those fighters claim to be for the good cause of faith and based on the Quran, is really based on what is written in the Quran. But that is not so. Lots of things they do are forbidden by the Quran.
Noble QuranLots of Christians do not want  to see the relationship of major narratives recounted in the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Therefore it would not be bad to compare the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God (Arabic: الله‎, Allah) with the Book of books of Christianity.

Lot of teachers in Islam teach that the Quran celebrates the differences amongst humankind, and instructs not only one faith group, but all of humanity to do good deeds, remaining good manners and morals, and to live in peace with each other.

The Quranic message of variety and coexistence is the cornerstone of the Islamic principle for a just and harmonious society. Thus religious pluralism, according to the Quranic teaching, is vital for social order and progress, and provides the key to tolerance: “There is no compulsion in religion (2:256); “You have your religion and I have mine.” (109:6).

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Find also to read:

  1. Creator and Blogger God 8 A Blog of a Book 2 Holy One making Scriptures Holy
  2. Corruption in our translations !
  3. Created to live in relation with God
  4. Being Religious and Spiritual 3 Philosophers, Avicennism and the spiritual
  5. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #3 Of the earth or of God
  6. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #4 Mozaic and Noachide laws
  7. Palestine, Israel, God’s people and democracy
  8. Mocking, Agitation and Religious Persecution
  9. Migrants to the West #1
  10. Migrants to the West #2
  11. Migrants to the West #3
  12. Migrants to the West #4
  13. Migrants to the West #5
  14. Migrants to the West #6
  15. Christian fundamentalism as dangerous as Muslim fundamentalism
  16. Public not informed enough about Jihad terrorism in Belgium
  17. Islamic State forcing the West to provide means for Kurdistan

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Additional reading:

  1. Pentateuch
  2. Full text: bin Laden’s ‘letter to America’
  3. Fears as young Muslims ‘opt out’
  4. About Pure Islam
  5. New segiment – [Today’s Hadith . #1]
  6. Critique of Pure Islam

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  • The Mysterious Moderate Muslim (americanthinker.com)
    Islamic values are codified in the Koran. The idea that some Muslims might interpret those values in a moderate way is like saying there’s such a thing as jihad lite. There’s no getting around the fact that a central tenet of the Koran is mass murder – whether through the directive to kill infidels (non-believers), apostates (those who leave Islam), or hypocrites (Muslims who don’t practice their religion appropriately). In other words, most of civilization is fair game for slaughter. What, pray tell, would be a moderate version of that?
  • The Sword of the Quran: a Treatise on Religious Violence in Islam (heavenboundpkay.wordpress.com)
    Islamic militancy is rooted in divinely mandated blood-lust. Many would object, and yet it is more evident now than ever to the world that the Quran provides the theological and ideological framework within which bigotry, brutality and bloodshed is not sanctified but demanded from the faithful.It is more shameful to know that the words of this book are mostly inspired by the thoughts of the man Muhammad who was a brutal conqueror, marauding towns, and laying cities to waste, massacring men, enslaving their children and usurping their properties. He actually inspired his followers to battle when they felt it was not right to, promising them captured humans as commodities – slaves; and threatening them with Hell if they would not oblige. Muhammad allowed his men to rape women captured in battle, sometimes on the same day that their husbands were slain like wayward livestock.
  • Destroying churches part of ‘Islamic doctrine’ (wnd.com)

    A campaign by ISIS, also known as Islamic State, to destroy churches across Mosul, one of the ancient seats of Christianity where the faith has been practiced for 2,000 years, complies with the teaching of the Quran, according to several analysts.

    The ISIS army of Islamic terrorists has been marching across Iraq, destroying Christians and evidence of their faith for months now. ISIS is blamed for the destruction of about 45 churches in Mosul.

  • Former Muslim Tells Obama How It Really Is With Islam and ISIL (pjmedia.com)
    A former Muslim, the son of a Moroccan imam, posted a video this week called “A Message to President Obama From a Former Muslim,” in which he outlines both the dangers and motivations behind radical Islam.“Brother Rachid,” as he calls himself, says sarcastically that he does not disclose his full name because Islam is “the religion of peace.”  He begins, “Dear Mr. President, with all due respect, sir, I must tell you that you are wrong about ISIL.” Rachid explains that his father is an Imam and he spent more than twenty years studying Islam. He said the president was wrong when he said that ISIL speaks for no religion. “I can tell you with confidence that ISIL speaks for Islam,” he said. “Allow me to correct you, Mr. President. ISIL is a Muslim organization.” He noted that even the name suggests ISIL is an Islamic movement.Brother Rachid, who has said that he converted to Christianity after listening to Trans World Radio broadcasts into Morocco, now preaches Christianity via an Arabic satellite TV program, which is broadcast throughout the Middle East. He explained to President Obama in his video that ISIS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, holds a PhD in Islamic studies.”I doubt you know Islam better than he does. He was a preacher and an Islamic leader in one of the local mosques in Baghdad. ISIL’s 10,000 members are all Muslims. None of them are from any other religion. They come from different countries and have one common denominator — Islam.”
  • Top Guantanamo Detainees Release Statement Defending 9-11 Attacks on America (thegatewaypundit.com)
    Many thanks to God who revealed the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran, and may God praise his messenger, the prophet Mohamed, so that he causes mercy to the two realms. Also, may God praise the prophet’s household, his entire companionship, and his followers until judgment day.With regards to these nine accusations that you are putting us on trial for; to us, they are not accusations. To us they are badges of honor, which we carry with pride. Many thanks to God, for his kind gesture, and choosing us to perform the act of Jihad for his cause and to defend Islam and Muslims.Therefore, killing you and fighting you, destroying you and terrorizing you, responding back to your attacks, are all considered to be great legitimate duty in our religion. These actions are our offerings to God. In addition, it is the imposed reality on Muslims in Palestine, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, in the land of the two holy sites [Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia], and in the rest of the world, where Muslims are suffering from your brutality, terrorism, killing of the innocent, and occupying their lands and their holy sites. Nevertheless, it would have been the greatest religious duty to fight you over your infidelity. However, today, we fight you over defending Muslims, their land, their holy sites,and their religion as a whole.
  • SHOCK: For First Time Ever Pope to Allow Reading of Quran and Islamic Prayers at Vatican This Sunday! (libertynews.com)
    The Muslim world is finding much to rejoice about in a confusing and quite shocking decision made by the Pope. The Pope will allow Muslims to read from the Quran and chant Islamic prayers from the Vatican in a move said to promote peace.
  • Islam Condemns Terrorism (ireport.cnn.com)
    I am a member of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. We are Muslims who believe in the Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the only Islamic organization to believe that the long-awaited Messiah has come in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) of Qadian, India. Ahmad claimed to be the metaphorical second coming of Jesus of Nazareth and the divine guide, whose advent was foretold by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad.
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    The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes that God sent Ahmad, like Jesus, to end religious wars, condemn bloodshed and reinstitute morality, justice and peace.   The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the leading Islamic organization to categorically reject terrorism in any form. More than a century ago, Ahmad emphatically declared that the doctrine of violent jihad goes against the teachings of the Holy Quran and the practice of Muhammad. The Holy Quran says, “Whosoever killed a person – unless it be for killing a person or for creating disorder in the land – it shall be as if he had killed all mankind.” ( Ch.5: v. 33)
  • Former imam: God saved me from torture after Christian conversion (catholicnewsagency.com)
    “The holy Quran converted me to Christianity,” said Mario Joseph, a former imam who shared the story of his conversion and subsequent persecution with the HM Television program “Changing Tracks,” broadcast by the EUK Mamie Foundation run by the Home of the Mother religious community.
  • The Ice Bucket competitor: Can the Quran Challenge go viral? (religionnews.com)
    Issam Bayan, a 26-year-old student and professional Islamic singer, came up with the idea as a way to awaken Muslim piety, just as the Ice Bucket Challenge raised awareness and well over $30 million for ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative condition also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease..While the #QuranChallenge has no specific cause, Bayan, who lives in Germany, said he wanted to make it available to all Muslims regardless of their financial ability to make a contribution. In an email interview, he said the benefits for this challenge are the rewards that a Muslim receives for reciting the Quran.
  • Muslims are crucifying Christians who refuse to convert to the Religion of Peace (wdtprs.com)
    Won’t convert?  Won’t pay your fine for being an infidel? You have 4 punishments options: public execution (Qatl), crucifixion (Salb) and amputation of one hand and one foot from opposite sides (Yuqata’ Aydihim wa-Arjulihim) or exile (Nafy).
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    To the awe of its readership, a recent Daily Mail article reports that the “jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Levant [ISIL],” [ISIS] which is currently entrenched in Raqqa, Syria, “publicly crucified two Syrian rebels in northeastern Syria in revenge for a grenade attack on members of their group.”While the Daily Mail is to be commended for exposing these barbaric acts-along with posting photos of the crucified-it nonetheless minimized their significance, in two important ways: 1) by repeatedly saying things like “even al-Qaeda is distancing itself from ISIL,” and so implying that the act of crucifixion is some wild aberration that even the poster-child of jihadi terror, al-Qaeda, wants nothing to do with it; and 2) ignoring the much “sexier” story that Christians in Syria are also being crucified simply for refusing to embrace Islam (as opposed to the rather mundane but politically more correct story of Islamic jihadis crucifying each other in the context of vendetta killings).

 

Quran versus older Holy Writings of Divine Creator

Non-Arabic speaking people

Life is very short and in it we get a lot of material to read. One of the more important books I got to read in my life were books which are considered by many as Holy Books.
One of those Holy Books I could not read in the original Arabic and had to trust several translations, which I read and compared with interest. Some of those translations were easy to read and follow, others were very difficult. But of all of them, some would say we may not read and follow those translations, because we only should read the original language: Arabic.

For me this would be very strange, because the people who say that also are sure their book is the Word of God. But when only people who can speak and understand Arabic would be able to read that Word of God, would this God not give the other people the chance to get to know His Word? Would a God of love withhold His Holy Word for people who have no knowledge of Arabic?

A Word of the Creator for all His creatures

Is there also not that God of gods Who tells the world that all people are created from a single man and a single woman, and made into races and tribes so that they should recognise one another. Is also not written in those Scriptures that in God’s eyes, the most honoured of those people are the ones most mindful of Him: God is all knowing, all aware. (Sura 49:13)?
Front of the Quran

Front of the Quran (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I remember the many times I read and reread the Quran/Koran I got the impression words from the Old Jewish and Christian writings were brought together and were once more explained, sometimes in a different order, but still telling the same. Was I wrong to get the impression that according to Quranic teaching, religious pluralism is vital for social order and progress? Was I wrong to have the impression that, in the same way Jesus spoke about agape love, and telling us that God wants to see people who have tolerance for others? Did the words of the prophet Muhammad also not tell about the attitude we should take unto others? Would the knowledge of the Quran also not provide the key to tolerance?

Celebrating difference

العربية: القرآن في متحف التاريخ الطبيعي في نيو...

العربية: القرآن في متحف التاريخ الطبيعي في نيويورك (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Are there not a lot of teachers in Islam who teach us that the Quran celebrates the differences amongst humankind, and instructs not only one faith group, but all of humanity to do good deeds, remaining good manners and morals, and to live in peace with each other.
I in the previous years of reading (several times) the Quran, that those words repeatedly addressed humanity as a whole and told the world how we should behave, how we should try to form our own character, and how we should present ourselves to others. Several of the old Muslim school taught that the Quran directs people towards justice, moral and spiritual values, and addresses Muslims specifically when referring to acts of worship and Islamic law.

They also say that:
The Quranic message of variety and coexistence is the cornerstone of the Islamic principle for a just and harmonious society. Thus religious pluralism, according to the Quranic teaching, is vital for social order and progress, and provides the key to tolerance: “There is no compulsion in religion (2:256); “You have your religion and I have mine.” (109:6).

Set up against each other because of misunderstandings

Because of the difficulties by different Muslims, Jews and Christians and their attitude going wrong against each other, I found it important to compare the words from those three monotheist religions together under one loop of neutrality and to look at them from my Christian Christadelphian viewpoint.

Bibles using Lord instead of NameBringing these verses next to each other should give an idea of what is really written in those Holy Books: The Torah (The Law/Tawraat) also known as the Pentateuch, the Nevi’im or (Hebrew) Prophets, the (Aleph) Kethuvim or Hebrew Writings, (Bet-)Kethuvim or Messianic or Greek Writings (New Testament with its Gospels or Injeel/Injil, Apostolic Writings or Epistles and the Revelation of Saint John the apostle) and the much later written Quran, which is by many also considered to be the word of the “Lord of the Worlds”,

which Allah revealed to His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), to bring mankind forth from darkness into light.

In case we can find the word of Allah, it is God, also in “the recitation” as presented, Who verbally revealed, to the prophet Muhammad in the 7°century CE, those words should be in unison and complementary with the previous words of the Divine Creator.

Not eliminating previous scriptures

Lots of people seem to forget that the Quran does not eliminate the previous writings, known as the Word of God. The book we often hear about in the news and where many of those terrorist shout about, namely the Quran (Quoran/Koran) confirms the Books which came before it, the Tawraat (Torah) and Injeel (Gospel).Many do not seem to understand the Quran is a witness over them, as Allah says

005.048 وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَمُهَيْمِنًا عَلَيْهِ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ عَمَّا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنْكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنْهَاجًا وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلَكِنْ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَا آتَاكُمْ فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ
005.048 To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;

Al-Qur’an, 005.048 (Al-Maeda [The Table, The Table Spread])

Text Copied from DivineIslam’s Qur’an Viewer software v2.913(English interpretation of the Quranic Verse):

Same or different god speaking

When it is the God of Moses speaking to the favoured prophet Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim, considered to be the founder of the religion of Islam and accepted by Muslims throughout the world as the last of the prophets of God, about the Holy Book that Quran (Quran/Koran)) in truth should confirm those books that came before it and Muhaymin (trustworthy in highness and a witness) over it (old Scriptures).

According to Sahih al-Bukhari, the Quran was recited among Levantines and Iraqis, and discussed by Christians and Jews, before it was standardized. There are also some non-Muslim groups who view the Quran as holy, such as Baha’is and Druze. Unitarian Universalists may also seek inspiration from the Quran.

Being one of the most-reviled figures in the history of the West from the 7th century until quite recent times Muhamad has encountered also a lot of controversy, his life, deeds, and thoughts having been debated by followers and opponents over the centuries.

Because in the past those trying to bring faith unto others having used quite often a lot of aggression, there has come a fear on both sites for the other believer in the Divine Creator.

Followers of false prophets and false teachers

Flag of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine. The organization’s banner leads from a verse in the Qur’an “And those who do jihad for Us, we shall guide them to our paths. And God is with those who do good.”

Today it even has become a bigger problem, having groups like those which foud inspiration in Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, Mujahideen, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Harakat al-Jihād or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hezbollah, Harakat al-Jihad al-Islami,  Harkat-ul-Mujahideen- al-IslamiHamas, Boko Haram, Taliban, closer to us the Mirza Ghulam Ahmad movement, and other jihadists who claim their global jihad is grounded in Quranic “divine command ethics.” The leaders of those growing groups claim authority to interpret the religious text. Like we can find some Christians taking the Bible writings very literally and not taking the old language in mind, those Islamic preachers do the same with an almost literal reading of their sacred scripture. They are really convinced ‘they alone’ see the truth and others should have to follow them, who are following “pure Islam.

The “Pure Islam,” those teachers present, is a faith
“to please Allah Azzawajal by serving Islam within the means He has bestowed upon the world “Insha Allah””.
They say their guide is the Speech of Allah Azzawajal as it is contained in the Qur’an and their example is in the authentic Sunnah of Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam
“as practiced by the Sahaabah radiallaahu ‘anhum and the righteous servants of Allah Azzawajal who have followed in their noble footsteps.”

The Kafirs and kaffers

Many of them paid by the Saudi Sunnis consider lots of other Muslim groups as ‘Kafir’ (كافر) which would be similar to calling them “disbeliever”. In Dutch it means non-believer, non-Mohammedan, and its variant ‘kaffer‘, invective, which has the meaning of peasant, ragamuffin rascal, scoundrel; peasant bastard; jerk; bastard, boorish person; boor; uncouth; infidel.

I do believe that in order to understand the true, peaceful Islam, we also should read the Quran and by having knowledge of that book, we also should be more able to speak to those Muslim brothers about their Holy Writing and about the matters spoken off in the Holy Scriptures the Bible.

Gabble over non-understandable words

1° European verbcular language Quran 1647We must be conscious that the great majority of Muslims around the world today, do not speak Arabic, and they too like we have to depend on translations. The greatest danger is that many of those Muslims dare not to take a translation but recite Quran verses in Arabic without really knowing what they say, a little bit like some decennia ago in Europe in the Catholic Churches, the priest speaking in Latin, with the majority in church not knowing what he really was saying. This way the preacher can say anything and make them believe anything what their denomination wants them to believe. That is also what we see happening today with the different Muslim groups. I know families in my street who have children married to two different Islamic groups, each saying the other is totally wrong and a bad Muslim. But none of them is willing to discuss the matters or to look at a Dutch  Koran translation.

Speaking to each other

The followers of the prophet Jesus should take all opportunities to speak about their faith. They, in the growing Islamization of our world should let others see what Jesus preached and how he made the previous words of his heavenly Father clear. It is true Jesus did not write down his nor his Father‘s Words, but Muhammad left also the written recording of his messages to others. Both those prophets words should be compared with each other. Only by recognising what the other reads in his Holy Scriptures there can come an understanding but can also be shown where certain Muslim preachers go wrong and even go so far to teach matters contrary to the Quran.

Therefore to show people where certain Muslims went or go astray and to bring them back on the right path, plus to give both, non-believer, believer in One or a god, Jew, Christian and Muslim an idea of what is written and meant in certain scriptures, I shall present a comparison of the Quran and Bible and sometimes discuss the verses of both books.

As in Christendom there have been many human writers or theological scholars who brought ideas and schools. As in Christendom we can find many traditions in Islamic families and may find several books of traditional commentaries, to shed light on various passages. I also shall dare to have a look at them and invite Muslims and Christians to give their commentary or understanding on all those verses, traditional schooling and commentaries.

By looking at the Quran and the Bible, next to each other, Muslim and Christian can come to understanding each-other better, I do believe. But we all shall be able to come to see more clearly what makes the jihadists tick — and also perhaps understand what we can and must do to resist them.

In the hope to find a way were we can live in peace according to the Will of Allah, the Most High Almighty God, The Elohim Hashem Jehovah.

 

from Smithsonian :Folio from a Koran :9th-10th...

from Smithsonian :Folio from a Koran :9th-10th century :Abbasid dynasty :Ink and color on parchment :H: 22.5 W: 29.7 cm :Egypt :Purchase, F1929.71 The verses are from sura (chapter) 22, entitled al-Hadj (Pilgrimage) and include a discussion of the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Hadj is one of the five principal duties of every Muslim. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Find also to read:

  1. Creator and Blogger God 8 A Blog of a Book 2 Holy One making Scriptures Holy
  2. Corruption in our translations !
  3. Created to live in relation with God
  4. Being Religious and Spiritual 3 Philosophers, Avicennism and the spiritual
  5. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #3 Of the earth or of God
  6. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #4 Mozaic and Noachide laws
  7. Palestine, Israel, God’s people and democracy
  8. Mocking, Agitation and Religious Persecution
  9. Migrants to the West #1
  10. Migrants to the West #2
  11. Migrants to the West #3
  12. Migrants to the West #4
  13. Migrants to the West #5
  14. Migrants to the West #6
  15. Christian fundamentalism as dangerous as Muslim fundamentalism
  16. Public not informed enough about Jihad terrorism in Belgium
  17. Islamic State forcing the West to provide means for Kurdistan

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Additional reading:

  1. Pentateuch
  2. Full text: bin Laden’s ‘letter to America’
  3. Fears as young Muslims ‘opt out’
  4. About Pure Islam
  5. New segiment – [Today’s Hadith . #1]
  6. Critique of Pure Islam

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