Imam Husain And His Martyrdom
Abdullah Yusuf Ali | Thursday, December 10th, 2009
Preface
The following pages are based on a report of an Address which I delivered in London at an Ashura Majlis on Thursday the 28th May, 1931 (Muharram 1350 A.H.), at the Waldorf Hotel. The report was subsequently corrected and slightly expanded. The Majlis was a notable gathering, which met at the invitation of Mr. A. S. M. Anik. Nawab Sir Umar Hayat Khan, Tiwana, presided and members of all schools of thought in Islam, as well as non-Muslims, joined reverently in doing honour to the memory of the great Martyr of Islam. By its inclusion in the Progressive Islam Pamphlets series, it is hoped to reach a larger public than were able to be present in person. Perhaps, also, it may help to strengthen the bonds of brotherly love which unite all who hold sacred the ideals of brotherhood preached by the Prophet in his last Sermon.
A. Yusuf Ali.
Imam Husain And His Martyrdom
Sorrow as a Bond of Union
I am going to talk this afternoon about a very solemn subject, the martyrdom of Imam Husain at Kerbela, of which we are celebrating the anniversary. As the Chairman has very rightly pointed out, it is one of those wonderful events in our religious history about which all sects are agreed. More than that, in this room I have the honour of addressing some people who do not belong to our religious persuasion, but I venture to think that the view I put forward today may be of interest to them from its historical, its moral and its spiritual significance. Indeed, when we consider the background of that great tragedy, and all that has happened during the 1289 lunar years since, we cannot fail to be convinced that some events of sorrow and apparent defeat are really the very things which are calculated to bring about, or lead us towards, the union of humanity.
How Martyrdom healed divisions
When we invite strangers or guests and make them free of our family circle, that means the greatest outflowing of our hearts to them. The events that I am going to describe refer to some of the most touching incidents of our domestic history in their spiritual aspect. We ask our brethren of other faiths to come, and share with us some of the thoughts which are called forth by this event. As a matter of fact all students of history are aware that the horrors that are connected with the great event of Kerbela did more than anything else to unite together the various contending factions which had unfortunately appeared at that early stage of Muslim history. You know the old Persian saying applied to the Prophet:
Tu barae wasl kardan amadi;
Ni barae fasl kardan amadi.
“Thou camest to the world to unite, not to divide.” That was wonderfully exemplified by the sorrows and sufferings and finally the martyrdom of Imam Husain.
Commemoration of great virtues
There has been in our history a tendency sometimes to celebrate the event merely by wailing and tribulation, or sometimes by symbols like the Tazias that you see in India, – Taboots as some people call them. Well, symbolism or visible emblems may sometimes be useful in certain circumstances as tending to crystallise ideas. But I think the Muslims of India of the present day are quite ready to adopt a more effective way of celebrating the martyrdom, and that is by contemplating the great virtues of the martyr, trying to understand the significance of the events in which he took part, and translating those great moral and spiritual lessons into their own lives. From that point of view I think you will agree that it is good that we should sit together, even people of different faiths, – sit together and consider the great historic event, in which were exemplified such soul-stirring virtues as those of unshaken faith, undaunted courage, thought for others, willing self-sacrifice, steadfastness in the right and unflinching war against the wrong. Islam has a history of beautiful domestic affections, of sufferings and of spiritual endeavour, second to none in the world. That side of Muslim history, although to me the most precious, is, I am sorry to say, often neglected. It is most important that we should call attention to it, reiterated attention, the attention of our own people as well as the attention of those who are interested in historical and religious truth. If there is anything precious in Islamic history it is not the wars, or the politics, or the brilliant expansion, or the glorious conquests, or even the intellectual spoils which our ancestors gathered. In these matters, our history, like all history, has its lights and shades. What we need especially to emphasise is the spirit of organisation, of brotherhood, of undaunted courage in moral and spiritual life.
Plan of discourse
I propose first to give you an idea of the geographical setting and the historical background. Then I want very briefly to refer to the actual events that happened in the Muharram, and finally to draw your attention to the great lessons which we can learn from them.
Geographical Picture
In placing before you a geographical picture of the tract of country in which the great tragedy was enacted, I consider myself fortunate in having my own personal memories to draw upon. They make the picture vivid to my mind, and they may help you also. When I visited those scenes in 1928, I remember going down from Baghdad through all that country watered by the Euphrates river. As I crossed the river by a bridge of boats at Al-Musaiyib on a fine April morning, my thoughts leapt over centuries and centuries. To the left of the main river you have the old classic ground of Babylonian history; you have the railway station of Hilla; you have the ruins of the city of Babylon, witnessing to one of the greatest civilisations of antiquity. It was so mingled with the dust that it is only in recent years that we have begun to understand its magnitude and magnificence. Then you have the great river system of the Euphrates, the Furat as it is called, a river unlike any other river we know. It takes its rise in many sources from the mountains of Eastern Armenia, and sweeping in great zig-zags through rocky country, it finally skirts the desert as we see it now. Wherever it or its interlacing branches or canals can reach, it has converted the desert into fruitful cultivated country; in the picturesque phrase, it has made the desert blossom as the rose. It skirts round the Eastern edge of the Syrian desert and then flows into marshy land. In a tract not far from Kerbela itself there are lakes which receive its waters, and act as reservoirs. Lower down it unites with the other river, the Tigris, and the united rivers flow in the name of the Shatt-al-Arab into the Persian Gulf.
Abundant water & tragedy of thirst
From the most ancient times this tract of the lower Euphrates has been a garden. It was a cradle of early civilisation, a meeting place between Sumer and Arab, and later between the Persians and Arabs. It is a rich, well watered country, with date-palms and pomegranate groves. Its fruitful fields can feed populous cities and its luscious pastures attract the nomad Arabs of the desert, with their great flocks and herds. It is of particularly tragic significance that on the border of such a well-watered land, should have been enacted the tragedy of great and good men dying of thirst and slaughtered because they refused to bend the knee to the forces of iniquity. The English poet’s lines “Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink” are brought home forcibly to you in this borderland between abundant water and desolate sands.
Kerbela and Its Great Dome
I remember the emotion with which I approached Kerbela from the East. The rays of the morning sun gilt the Gumbaz-i-Faiz, the great dome that crowns the building containing the tomb of Imam Husain. Kerbela actually stands on one of the great caravan routes of the desert. Today the river city of Kufa, once a Khilafat capital, is a mere village, and the city of Najaf is famous for the tomb of Hazrat Ali, but of little commercial importance. Kerbela, this outpost of the desert, is a mart and a meeting ground as well as a sacred place. It is the port of the desert, just as Basra, lower down, is a port for the Persian Gulf. Beautifully kept is the road to the mausoleum, to which all through the year come pilgrims from all parts of the world. Beautiful coloured enamelled tiles decorate the building. Inside, in the ceiling and upper walls, there is a great deal of glass mosaic. The glass seems to catch and reflect the light. The effect is that of rich coruscations of light combined with the solemnity of a closed building. The tomb itself is in a sort of inner grill, and below the ground is a sort of cave, where is shown the actual place where the Martyr fell. The city of Najaf is just about 40 miles to the South, with the tomb of Hazrat Ali on the high ground. You can see the golden dome for miles around. Just four miles from Najaf and connected with it by a tramway, is the deserted city of Kufa. The mosque is large, but bare and practically unused. The blue dome and the Mihrab of enamelled tiles bear witness to the ancient glory of the place.
Cities and their Cultural Meaning
The building of Kufa and Basra, the two great outposts of the Muslim Empire, in the 16th year of the Hijra, was a visible symbol that Islam was pushing its strength and building up a new civilisation, not only in a military sense, but in moral and social ideas and in the sciences and arts. The old effete cities did not content it, any more than the old and effete systems which it displaced. Nor was it content with the first steps it took. It was always examining, testing, discarding, re-fashioning its own handiwork. There was always a party that wanted to stand on old ways, to take cities like Damascus readymade, that loved ease and the path of least resistance. But the greater souls stretched out to new frontiers – of ideas as well as geography. They felt that old seats were like dead wood breeding worms and rottenness that were a danger to higher forms of life. The clash between them was part of the tragedy of Kerbela. Behind the building of new cities there is often the burgeoning of new ideas. Let us therefore examine the matter a little more closely. It will reveal the hidden springs of some very interesting history.
Vicissitudes of Mecca and Medina
The great cities of Islam at its birth were Mecca and Medina. Mecca, the centre of old Arabian pilgrimage, the birthplace of the Prophet, rejected the Prophet’s teaching, and cast him off. Its idolatry was effete; its tribal exclusiveness was effete; its ferocity against the Teacher of the New Light was effete. The Prophet shook its dust off his feet, and went to Medina. It was the well-watered city of Yathrib, with a considerable Jewish population. It received with eagerness the teaching of the Prophet; it gave asylum to him and his Companions and Helpers. He reconstituted it and it became the new City of Light. Mecca, with its old gods and its old superstitions, tried to subdue this new Light and destroy it. The human odds were in favour of Mecca. But God’s purpose upheld the Light, and subdued the old Mecca. But the Prophet came to build as well as to destroy. He destroyed the old paganism, and lighted a new beacon in Mecca – the beacon of Arab unity and human brotherhood. When the Prophet’s life ended on this earth, his spirit remained. It inspired his people and led them from victory to victory. Where moral or spiritual and material victories go hand in hand, the spirit of man advances all along the line. But sometimes there is a material victory, with a spiritual fall, and sometimes there is a spiritual victory with a material fall, and then we have tragedy.
Spirit of Damascus
Islam’s first extension was towards Syria, where the power was centred in the city of Damascus. Among living cities it is probably the oldest city in the world. Its bazaars are thronged with men of all nations, and the luxuries of all nations find ready welcome there. If you come to it westward from the Syrian desert, as I did, the contrast is complete, both in the country and in the people. From the parched desert sands you come to fountains and vineyards, orchards and the hum of traffic. From the simple, sturdy, independent, frank Arab, you come to the soft, luxurious, sophisticated Syrian. That contrast was forced on the Muslims when Damascus became a Muslim city. They were in a different moral and spiritual atmosphere. Some succumbed to the softening influences of ambition, luxury, wealth pride of race, love of ease, and so on. Islam stood always as the champion of the great rugged moral virtues. It wanted no compromise with evil in any shape or form, with luxury, with idleness, with the seductions of this world. It was a protest against these things. And yet the representatives of that protest got softened at Damascus. They aped the decadent princes of the world instead of striving to be leaders of spiritual thought. Discipline was relaxed, and governors aspired to be greater than the Khalifas. This bore bitter fruit later.
Snare of Riches
Meanwhile Persia came within the Muslim orbit. When Medain was captured in the year 16 of the Hijra, and the battle of Jalula broke the Persian resistance, some military booty was brought to Medina – gems, pearls, rubies, diamonds, swords of gold and silver. A great celebration was held in honour of the splendid victory and the valour of the Arab army. In the midst of the celebration they found the Caliph of the day actually weeping. One said to him, “What! a time of joy and thou sheddest tears?” “Yes”, he said, “I foresee that the riches will become a snare, a spring of worldliness and envy, and in the end a calamity to my people.” For the Arab valued, above all, simplicity of life, openness of character, and bravery in face of danger. Their women fought with them and shared their dangers. They were not caged creatures for the pleasures of the senses. They showed their mettle in the early fighting round the head of the Persian Gulf. When the Muslims were hard pressed, their women turned the scale in their favour. They made their veils into flags, and marched in battle array. The enemy mistook them for reinforcements and abandoned the field. Thus an impending defeat was turned into a victory.
Basra and Kufa: town-planning
In Mesopotamia the Muslims did not base their power on old and effete Persian cities, but built new outposts for themselves. The first they built was Basra at the head of the Persian Gulf, in the 17th year of the Hijra. And what a great city it became! Not great in war and conquest, not great in trade and commerce, but great in learning and culture in its best day, – alas! also great in its spirit of faction and degeneracy in the days of its decline! But its situation and climate were not at all suited to the Arab character. It was low and moist, damp and enervating. In the same year the Arabs built another city not far off from the Gulf and yet well suited to be a port of the desert, as Kerbela became afterwards. This was the city of Kufa, built in the same year as Basra, but in a more bracing climate. It was the first experiment in town-planning in Islam. In the centre was a square for the principal mosque. That square was adorned with shady avenues. Another square was set apart for the trafficking of the market. The streets were all laid out intersecting and their width was fixed. The main thoroughfares for such traffic as they had (we must not imagine the sort of traffic we see in Charing Cross) were made 60 feet wide; the cross streets were 30 feet wide; and even the little lanes for pedestrians were regulated to a width of 10.5 feet. Kufa became a centre of light and learning. The Khalifa Hazrat Ali lived and died there.
Rivalry and poison of Damascus
But its rival, the city of Damascus, fattened on luxury and Byzantine magnificence. Its tinsel glory sapped the foundations of loyalty and the soldierly virtues. Its poison spread through the Muslim world. Governors wanted to be kings. Pomp and selfishness, ease and idleness and dissipation grew as a canker; wines and spirituous liquors, scepticism, cynicism and social vices became so rampant that the protests of the men of God were drowned in mockery. Mecca, which was to have been a symbolical spiritual centre, was neglected or dishonoured. Damascus and Syria became centres of a worldliness and arrogance which cut at the basic roots of Islam.
Husain the Righteous refused to bow to worldliness and power
We have brought the story down to the 60th year of the Hijra. Yazid assumed the power at Damascus. He cared nothing for the most sacred ideals of the people. He was not even interested in the ordinary business affairs of administration. His passion was hunting, and he sought power for self-gratification. The discipline and self-abnegation, the strong faith and earnest endeavour, the freedom and sense of social equality which had been the motive forces of Islam, were divorced from power. The throne at Damascus had become a worldly throne based on the most selfish ideas of personal and family aggrandisement, instead of a spiritual office, with a sense of God-given responsibility. The decay of morals spread among the people. There was one man who could stem the tide. That was Imam Husain. He, the grandson of the Prophet, could speak without fear, for fear was foreign to his nature. But his blameless and irreproachable life was in itself a reproach to those who had other standards. They sought to silence him, but he could not be silenced. They sought to bribe him, but he could not be bribed. They sought to waylay him and get him into their Power. What is more, they wanted him to recognise the tyranny and expressly to support it. For they knew that the conscience of the people might awaken at any time, and sweep them away unless the holy man supported their cause. The holy man was prepared to die rather than surrender the principles for which he stood.
Driven from city to city
Medina was the centre of Husain’s teaching. They made Medina impossible for him. He left Medina and went to Mecca, hoping that he would be left alone. But he was not left alone. The Syrian forces invaded Mecca. The invasion was repelled, not by Husain but by other people. For Husain, though the bravest of the brave, had no army and no worldly weapons. His existence itself was an offence in the eyes of his enemies. His life was in danger, and the lives of all those nearest and dearest to him. He had friends everywhere, but they were afraid to speak out. They were not as brave as he was. But in distant Kufa, a party grew up which said: “We are disgusted with these events, and we must have Imam Husain to take asylum with us.” So they sent and invited the Imam to leave Mecca, come to them, live in their midst, and be their honoured teacher and guide. His father’s memory was held in reverence in Kufa. The Governor of Kufa was friendly, and the people eager to welcome him. But alas, Kufa had neither strength, nor courage, nor constancy. Kufa, geographically only 40 miles from Kerbela, was the occasion of the tragedy of Kerbela. And now Kufa is nearly gone, and Kerbela remains as the lasting memorial of the martyrdom.
Invitation from Kufa
When the Kufa invitation reached the Imam, he pondered over it, weighed its possibilities, and consulted his friends. He sent over his cousin Muslim to study the situation on the spot and report to him. The report was favourable, and he decided to go. He had a strong presentiment of danger. Many of his friends in Mecca advised him against it. But could he abandon his mission when Kufa was calling for it? Was he the man to be deterred, because his enemies were laying their plots for him, at Damascus and at Kufa? At least, it was suggested, he might leave his family behind. But his family and his immediate dependants would not hear of it. It was a united family, pre-eminent in the purity of its life and in its domestic virtues and domestic affections. If there was danger for its head, they would share it. The Imam was not going on a mere ceremonial visit. There was responsible work to do, and they must be by his side, to support him in spite of all its perils and consequences. Shallow critics scent political ambition in the Imam’s act. But would a man with political ambitions march without an army against what might be called the enemy country, scheming to get him into its power, and prepared to use all their resources, military, political and financial, against him?
Journey through the desert
Imam Husain left Mecca for Kufa with all his family including his little children. Later news from Kufa itself was disconcerting. The friendly governor had been displaced by one prepared more ruthlessly to carry out Yazid’s plans. If Husain was to go there at all, he must go there quickly, or his friends themselves would be in danger. On the other hand, Mecca itself was no less dangerous to him and his family. It was the month of September by the solar calendar, and no one would take a long desert journey in that heat, except under a sense of duty. By the lunar calendar it was the month of pilgrimage at Mecca. But he did not stop for the pilgrimage. He pushed on, with his family and dependants, in all numbering about 90 or 100 people, men, women and children. They must have gone by forced marches through the desert. They covered the 900 miles of the desert in little over three weeks. When they came within a few miles of Kufa, at the edge of the desert, they met people from Kufa. It was then that they heard of the terrible murder of Husain’s cousin Muslim, who had been sent on in advance. A poet that came by dissuaded the Imam from going further. “For,” he said epigramatically, “the heart of the city is with thee but its sword is with thine enemies, and the issue is with God.” What was to be done? They were three weeks’ journey from the city they had left. In the city to which they were going their own messenger had been foully murdered as well as his children. They did not know what the actual situation was then in Kufa. But they were determined not to desert their friends.
Call to Surrender or Die
Presently messengers came from Kufa, and Imam Husain was asked to surrender. Imam Husain offered to take one of three alternatives. He wanted no political power and no revenge. He said “I came to defend my own people. If I am too late, give me the choice of three alternatives: either to return to Mecca; or to face Yazid himself at Damascus; or if my very presence is distasteful to him and you, I do not wish to cause more divisions among the Muslims. Let me at least go to a distant frontier, where, if fighting must be done, I will fight against the enemies of Islam.” Every one of these alternatives was refused. What they wanted was to destroy his life, or better still, to get him to surrender, to surrender to the very forces against which he was protesting, to declare his adherence to those who were defying the law of God and man, and to tolerate all the abuses which were bringing the name of Islam into disgrace. Of course he did not surrender. But what was he to do? He had no army. He had reasons to suppose that many of his friends from distant parts would rally round him, and come and defend him with their swords and bodies. But time was necessary, and he was not going to gain time by feigned compliance. He turned a little round to the left, the way that would have led him to Yazid himself, at Damascus. He camped in the plain of Kerbela.
Water cut off; Inflexible will, Devotion and Chivalry
For ten days messages passed backwards and forwards between Kerbela and Kufa. Kufa wanted surrender and recognition. That was the one thing the Imam could not consent to. Every other alternative was refused by Kufa, under the instructions from Damascus. Those fateful ten days were the first ten days of the month of Muharram, of the year 61 of the Hijra. The final crisis was on the 10th day, the Ashura day, which we are commemorating. During the first seven days various kinds of pressure were brought to bear on the Imam, but his will was inflexible. It was not a question of a fight, for there were but 70 men against 4,000. The little band was surrounded and insulted, but they held together so firmly that they could not be harmed. On the 8th day the water supply was cut off. The Euphrates and its abundant streams were within sight, but the way was barred. Prodigies of valour were performed in getting water. Challenges were made for single combat according to Arab custom. And the enemy were half-hearted, while the Imam’s men fought in contempt of death, and always accounted for more men than they lost. On the evening of the 9th day, the little son of the Imam was ill. He had fever and was dying of thirst. They tried to get a drop of water. But that was refused point blank and so they made the resolve that they would, rather than surrender, die to the last man in the cause for which they had come. Imam Husain offered to send away his people. He said, “They are after my person; my family and my people can go back.” But everyone refused to go. They said they would stand by him to the last, and they did. They were not cowards; they were soldiers born and bred; and they fought as heroes, with devotion and with chivalry.
The Final Agony; placid face of the man of God
On the day of Ashura, the 10th day, Imam Husain’s own person was surrounded by his enemies. He was brave to the last. He was cruelly mutilated. His sacred head was cut off while in the act of prayer. A mad orgy of triumph was celebrated over his body. In this crisis we have details of what took place hour by hour. He had 45 wounds from the enemies’ swords and javelins, and 35 arrows pierced his body. His left arm was cut off, and a javelin pierced through his breast. After all that agony, when his head was lifted up on a spear, his face was the placid face of a man of God. All the men of that gallant band were exterminated and their bodies trampled under foot by the horses. The only male survivor was a child, Husain’s son Ali, surnamed Zain-ul-’Abidin – “The Glory of the Devout.” He lived in retirement, studying, interpreting, and teaching his father’s high spiritual principles for the rest of his life.
Heroism of the Women
There were women: for example, Zainab the sister of the Imam, Sakina his little daughter, and Shahr-i-Banu, his wife, at Kerbela. A great deal of poetic literature has sprung up in Muslim languages, describing the touching scenes in which they figure. Even in their grief and their tears they are heroic. They lament the tragedy in simple, loving, human terms. But they are also conscious of the noble dignity of their nearness to a life of truth reaching its goal in the precious crown of martyrdom. One of the best-known poets of this kind is the Urdu poet Anis, who lived in Lucknow, and died in 1874.
Lesson of the Tragedy
That briefly is the story. What is the lesson? There is of course the physical suffering in martyrdom, and all sorrow and suffering claim our sympathy, —- the dearest, purest, most outflowing sympathy that we can give. But there is a greater suffering than physical suffering. That is when a valiant soul seems to stand against the world; when the noblest motives are reviled and mocked; when truth seems to suffer an eclipse. It may even seem that the martyr has but to say a word of compliance, do a little deed of non-resistance; and much sorrow and suffering would be saved; and the insidious whisper comes: “Truth after all can never die.” That is perfectly true. Abstract truth can never die. It is independent of man’s cognition. But the whole battle is for man’s keeping hold of truth and righteousness. And that can only be done by the highest examples of man’s conduct – spiritual striving and suffering enduring firmness of faith and purpose, patience and courage where ordinary mortals would give in or be cowed down, the sacrifice of ordinary motives to supreme truth in scorn of consequence. The martyr bears witness, and the witness redeems what would otherwise be called failure. It so happened with Husain. For all were touched by the story of his martyrdom, and it gave the deathblow to the politics of Damascus and all it stood for. And Muharram has still the power to unite the different schools of thought in Islam, and make a powerful appeal to non-Muslims also.
Explorers of Spiritual Territory
That, to my mind, is the supreme significance of martyrdom. All human history shows that the human spirit strives in many directions, deriving strength and sustenance from many sources. Our bodies, our physical powers, have developed or evolved from earlier forms, after many struggles and defeats. Our intellect has had its martyrs, and our great explorers have often gone forth with the martyrs’ spirit. All honour to them. But the highest honour must still lie with the great explorers of spiritual territory, those who faced fearful odds and refused to surrender to evil. Rather than allow a stigma to attach to sacred things, they paid with their own lives the penalty of resistance. The first kind of resistance offered by the Imam was when he went from city to city, hunted about from place to place, but making no compromise with evil. Then was offered the choice of an effectual but dangerous attempt at clearing the house of God, or living at ease for himself by tacit abandonment of his striving friends. He chose the path of danger with duty and honour, and never swerved from it giving up his life freely and bravely. His story purifies our emotions. We can best honour his memory by allowing it to teach us courage and constancy.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Child Abuse in Islam
Child Abuse in Islam
by Mumin Salih
13 Jan, 2009
Muslims are not the only people, who pass on their religious beliefs to children; this is a standard practice all over the world. But Islam is a very demanding religion even to adults and assumes total control of its adherents’ lives. Resulting from the mass immigration of Muslims to Western countries, millions of Muslim children now live in the West and their number is bound to increase. This situation creates a dilemma, to which the West is either oblivious or in denial: whilst Muslim children enjoy full protection of the Western laws, and, at the same time, they have to abide by Islamic laws. This article will shed some light on some practices that are forced upon Muslim children living in the West, which amount to "child abuse" of one form or another.
Definition of a child
The transition between childhood and adulthood is a gradual process, associated with both intellectual and sexual maturity. The medical profession, as I am told, considers childhood to extend up to the age of sixteen. However, the demarcation-line between childhood and adulthood remains slightly different in different countries of the world. In most of the Western world, children are considered to have reached their adulthood at the age of eighteen.
In Islam, the separation line between childhood and adulthood is based on sexual maturity. In general, boys are considered to have reached adulthood when they grow pubic hair or show other signs of sexual maturity. In case of girls, the onset of menstruation is considered to signal that they have reached their adulthood. When Prophet Mohammed committed the mass-slaughter of the Jews of Bani Qurayza by killing all the adult males (the rest, women and children were taken as slaves), he used the growth of pubic hair as a mark of adulthood of young boys.
In modern civilized standard, Mohammed’s marriage to Aysha, and his having sex with her at the age of nine, is a crime, called pedophilia. However, Muslims call it an ordinary marriage, even a Sunnah to be emulated by Muslims for all times. They even justify it on the supposition that girls in hot countries tend to reach sexual maturity faster than in cold countries of the West. Without any evidence, Muslims assume that Aysha had a menstruation before her marriage and conclude that Mohammed had sex with an adult, aged nine! This justification by Muslims is an indication of what they understand as maturity; it is simply sexual maturity and has nothing to do with the mind.
The Islamic definition of maturity means that many children, particularly girls as young as nine years of age, may be treated as adults, because their menstrual cycles start early. Reaching adulthood is an important turning point in the lives of those children and involves fundamental changes in all aspects of their lives because it affects their religious duties such as performing prayers and fasting.
Indoctrination
Muslims teach their children about the Satan, hell and paradise from the moment they start to communicate with them. These teachings are used as a means to discipline the children and encourage them to be obedient to parents. One of the first words Arab children learn is ‘haram’ meaning forbidden by Allah; indeed, it is one of the most commonly used words by the Arabs. From my own experience as an Arab, the peril of being burnt in hellfire was a real nightmare; it was used an intimidation tool by my elder relatives round the clock to make me listen to them, eat food, wash hands, do work, stop playing or go to bed.
As a child, I had a troubling feeling of guilt because I appeared to be doing wrong things most of the time. I had to struggle to suppress my worries that, unless I work very hard for the rest of my life, my ‘hasanat’ (good doings) vs. ‘sayaat’ (sins) balance may send me to hell. I was not the only child to have such concerns; other children had similar qualms, which we occasionally discussed with each other! Childhood is about playing and having fun with no worries whatsoever. However, Muslim children, even from the preschool age, have a great deal to worry about this life and the life after this. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to figure out that children do not go to hell anyway in Islam; it was, however, a little too late, because I had already grown up.
One of the most irrational things a Muslim child has to do is to memorize the Quran by heart. I consider myself to be lucky, because, in my days, we were only expected to memorize only a few chapters from the Quran, albeit from the last pages of the Koran that are in the difficult Meccan-style language. Nowadays, thanks to the resurgence of Islamic awareness, children are increasingly required to remember the whole Quran by heart! Memorizing an entire book, often in a foreign language and without understanding it, affects the child’s abilities to comprehend anything else. This memorizing ritual says it all about the Muslims' intellectual reasoning: read everything but understand nothing.
Ibadat: Prayers and Fasting
In theory, all ibadat, like prayers and fasting, are obligatory only to mature Muslims. However, parents are required, not only to teach, but also to force their children to perform those ibadat. According to Bukhari and Muslim and all other hadith books, Mohammed’s order is crystal clear in this regard: “teach your children how to pray from the age of seven, and beat them (if they don’t do it well) at the age of ten”.
Fortunately for me, my parents were not that keen and they did not beat me at all. However, an increasing number of Muslim parents nowadays do beat their children if they don’t pray. Only a few months ago, I heard of a Muslim professional with high level of education and good social standing, who was applying this Islamic rule on all his children. He was caught only when his eleven-year-old son suffered from serious injuries. The real shock, however, is that he is not alone, all strict Muslims would not hesitate to do it and they get away with it.
Young Muslim children in western schools perform prayers and do fasting, which can harm them. The schools do not only allow the children to suffer because of this practice but they also encourage it by providing the special time and special facilities. Soon, the fasting month of Ramadan will fall in the summer months with its long days, in some countries that means about eighteen hours of starvation! I know a Muslim who performs all five daily prayers in the mosque, which is about twenty minutes drive, he wakes up early in the morning to start his journey to the mosque, accompanied by his 14 years old son!
Do the western child protection organizations have the courage to protect these children from such suffering?
Child play
Muslim children are not allowed to join the others and enjoy the fun of playing with dolls or figures because Islam prohibits images of humans or animals. They are not allowed to watch popular children cartoons like the notorious Micky mouse, against which many fatwas have been issued. In Saudi Arabia, they discourage children from committing the sin of painting human or animal figures unless they draw a line across the neck as a sign that the figure has no life in it!
Hijab and the Islamic outfit
Muslim chastity training of little girls
Muslim women suffer because of Hijab although they wouldn’t admit it. It is a religious stigma that tells the others everything about her beliefs without even talking to her and works like a declaration that the bearer has to be treated differently. Hijab and Islamic dress produces an isolated and psychologically traumatized woman because it denies women their own feminine instincts of showing their hair and beauty.
It is common to see young Muslim girls with hijab and full Islamic outfit even in the primary schools. Those young children suffer unconsciously because of their Islamic dress. They become aware of their sexuality from an early age and look at the other males as sexual predators. In addition to the psychological damage, the Islamic dress is an unhealthy dress. During the summer months, hijab and the rest of the Islamic dress are uncomfortable and can become embarrassingly smelly because of the excessive sweating. Recently, there have been many reports about the high incidence of the bone disease (rickets) in Muslim women because of their lack of exposure to sunlight which is essential to produce vitamin D, the lack of which causes bone disease.
Violence and Suicide bombing
Hezbullah trains children as martyrs
Muslim children are indoctrinated to believe they are victims of world conspiracy that aims to eliminate them. They are regularly fed on the horrific and disturbing scenes of injuries, blood and death that even adults cannot watch. These children have learned Quranic verse 2:120 that tells them all about this secret world conspiracy: “.. the Jews and the Christians will never be happy about you unless you follow them...”
Having told the Muslims that everyone in the world hates them, the Quran now emphasises in a number of places that Muslims must never trust or befriend the others, like this verse 4:89 “ ....take them and kill them wherever you find them and choose no friends or helpers from them..”
The Quran repeats its orders in a dozen places; the message is important and clear: never trust the unbelievers no matter how nice they may appear to you, even if they were close family members. Verse 9:23 leaves no doubt about the gravity of this message of hate: “...O believers, do not take your fathers or brothers as allies and friends if they prefer to disbelieve...”
Do not be friendly with your father or brothers! So much for the family values in Islam.
Muslim children are often indoctrinated from an early stage to aspire to become martyrs; they have sometimes been used as suicide bombers. Hamas has pioneered the practice of using
Horrible torture of Shiite children to commemorate the
death of Husyan, Muhammad's grandson
young children as frontline soldiers during the Palestinian intifada. The Iranian clerical regime have created child-martyrs brigade. The basic human instinct, the civilized human responsibility, is to protect children during conflicts and wars; but the Islamists have reversed this natural human propensity and responsibility for pushing children to the front lines armed with stones, and sometimes explosive belts, to kill and be killed.
The shia Muslims mourn the death of Al Imam Al Hussain on ashoura day by going to the streets and start beating their chests. They use tools such as knives and swords to self inflict injuries and cause bloodshed, the scenes of blood and sufferings are not for the weak hearted. Shia children do not only see all this but sometimes they are also made to participate in it.
Child Abduction
Muslims’ marriages to non Muslims are always fragile marriages because they are built on lies. Most of these relations tend to involve North African or Asian Muslims. Of course, it is always a Muslim husband and a non Muslim wife, because it cannot happen the other way round. Also it is almost always a dark skinned Muslim who marries a white woman, because those Muslims consider white skin on a woman as a sign of beauty. Muslim families may love to see one of their sons bringing home a white European woman; this is often seen as a good achievement. In theory, the non Muslim wife can keep her religion but her children must be raised as Muslims. In any case there is usually tremendous pressure on her to convert sooner rather than later. Conversion makes it easier for the family to tame a stranger woman with a different culture. The typical scenario involves projecting Islam as a religion of peace and good family values that is based on the Quran, which is the unchanged words of Allah. The Quran is described to her as a book of amazing miracles and language beauty but it is a misfortune that she doesn’t speak the language to enjoy all those wonderful beauties!
A converted wife is easier to adapt to Muslims’ culture and easier to control using her new religion as a means of discipline. A converted woman soon discovers the lies and the marriage falls apart, which reflects badly on the children because they must be separated from their mother. The Islamic law very strictly ‘protects’ children from being raised by infidels and requires their separation from their mothers. This is a tragedy that is happening everyday all over the world.
The above are only some of the Islamic practices that would normally provoke outrage in the west and described as child abuse. The western countries have already accepted those children in their countries and are under moral obligation to protect them from the practices of Islam. The alternative is to raise children with a jaundiced view of the world who may grow up only to become suicide bombers.
by Mumin Salih
13 Jan, 2009
Muslims are not the only people, who pass on their religious beliefs to children; this is a standard practice all over the world. But Islam is a very demanding religion even to adults and assumes total control of its adherents’ lives. Resulting from the mass immigration of Muslims to Western countries, millions of Muslim children now live in the West and their number is bound to increase. This situation creates a dilemma, to which the West is either oblivious or in denial: whilst Muslim children enjoy full protection of the Western laws, and, at the same time, they have to abide by Islamic laws. This article will shed some light on some practices that are forced upon Muslim children living in the West, which amount to "child abuse" of one form or another.
Definition of a child
The transition between childhood and adulthood is a gradual process, associated with both intellectual and sexual maturity. The medical profession, as I am told, considers childhood to extend up to the age of sixteen. However, the demarcation-line between childhood and adulthood remains slightly different in different countries of the world. In most of the Western world, children are considered to have reached their adulthood at the age of eighteen.
In Islam, the separation line between childhood and adulthood is based on sexual maturity. In general, boys are considered to have reached adulthood when they grow pubic hair or show other signs of sexual maturity. In case of girls, the onset of menstruation is considered to signal that they have reached their adulthood. When Prophet Mohammed committed the mass-slaughter of the Jews of Bani Qurayza by killing all the adult males (the rest, women and children were taken as slaves), he used the growth of pubic hair as a mark of adulthood of young boys.
In modern civilized standard, Mohammed’s marriage to Aysha, and his having sex with her at the age of nine, is a crime, called pedophilia. However, Muslims call it an ordinary marriage, even a Sunnah to be emulated by Muslims for all times. They even justify it on the supposition that girls in hot countries tend to reach sexual maturity faster than in cold countries of the West. Without any evidence, Muslims assume that Aysha had a menstruation before her marriage and conclude that Mohammed had sex with an adult, aged nine! This justification by Muslims is an indication of what they understand as maturity; it is simply sexual maturity and has nothing to do with the mind.
The Islamic definition of maturity means that many children, particularly girls as young as nine years of age, may be treated as adults, because their menstrual cycles start early. Reaching adulthood is an important turning point in the lives of those children and involves fundamental changes in all aspects of their lives because it affects their religious duties such as performing prayers and fasting.
Indoctrination
Muslims teach their children about the Satan, hell and paradise from the moment they start to communicate with them. These teachings are used as a means to discipline the children and encourage them to be obedient to parents. One of the first words Arab children learn is ‘haram’ meaning forbidden by Allah; indeed, it is one of the most commonly used words by the Arabs. From my own experience as an Arab, the peril of being burnt in hellfire was a real nightmare; it was used an intimidation tool by my elder relatives round the clock to make me listen to them, eat food, wash hands, do work, stop playing or go to bed.
As a child, I had a troubling feeling of guilt because I appeared to be doing wrong things most of the time. I had to struggle to suppress my worries that, unless I work very hard for the rest of my life, my ‘hasanat’ (good doings) vs. ‘sayaat’ (sins) balance may send me to hell. I was not the only child to have such concerns; other children had similar qualms, which we occasionally discussed with each other! Childhood is about playing and having fun with no worries whatsoever. However, Muslim children, even from the preschool age, have a great deal to worry about this life and the life after this. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to figure out that children do not go to hell anyway in Islam; it was, however, a little too late, because I had already grown up.
One of the most irrational things a Muslim child has to do is to memorize the Quran by heart. I consider myself to be lucky, because, in my days, we were only expected to memorize only a few chapters from the Quran, albeit from the last pages of the Koran that are in the difficult Meccan-style language. Nowadays, thanks to the resurgence of Islamic awareness, children are increasingly required to remember the whole Quran by heart! Memorizing an entire book, often in a foreign language and without understanding it, affects the child’s abilities to comprehend anything else. This memorizing ritual says it all about the Muslims' intellectual reasoning: read everything but understand nothing.
Ibadat: Prayers and Fasting
In theory, all ibadat, like prayers and fasting, are obligatory only to mature Muslims. However, parents are required, not only to teach, but also to force their children to perform those ibadat. According to Bukhari and Muslim and all other hadith books, Mohammed’s order is crystal clear in this regard: “teach your children how to pray from the age of seven, and beat them (if they don’t do it well) at the age of ten”.
Fortunately for me, my parents were not that keen and they did not beat me at all. However, an increasing number of Muslim parents nowadays do beat their children if they don’t pray. Only a few months ago, I heard of a Muslim professional with high level of education and good social standing, who was applying this Islamic rule on all his children. He was caught only when his eleven-year-old son suffered from serious injuries. The real shock, however, is that he is not alone, all strict Muslims would not hesitate to do it and they get away with it.
Young Muslim children in western schools perform prayers and do fasting, which can harm them. The schools do not only allow the children to suffer because of this practice but they also encourage it by providing the special time and special facilities. Soon, the fasting month of Ramadan will fall in the summer months with its long days, in some countries that means about eighteen hours of starvation! I know a Muslim who performs all five daily prayers in the mosque, which is about twenty minutes drive, he wakes up early in the morning to start his journey to the mosque, accompanied by his 14 years old son!
Do the western child protection organizations have the courage to protect these children from such suffering?
Child play
Muslim children are not allowed to join the others and enjoy the fun of playing with dolls or figures because Islam prohibits images of humans or animals. They are not allowed to watch popular children cartoons like the notorious Micky mouse, against which many fatwas have been issued. In Saudi Arabia, they discourage children from committing the sin of painting human or animal figures unless they draw a line across the neck as a sign that the figure has no life in it!
Hijab and the Islamic outfit
Muslim chastity training of little girls
Muslim women suffer because of Hijab although they wouldn’t admit it. It is a religious stigma that tells the others everything about her beliefs without even talking to her and works like a declaration that the bearer has to be treated differently. Hijab and Islamic dress produces an isolated and psychologically traumatized woman because it denies women their own feminine instincts of showing their hair and beauty.
It is common to see young Muslim girls with hijab and full Islamic outfit even in the primary schools. Those young children suffer unconsciously because of their Islamic dress. They become aware of their sexuality from an early age and look at the other males as sexual predators. In addition to the psychological damage, the Islamic dress is an unhealthy dress. During the summer months, hijab and the rest of the Islamic dress are uncomfortable and can become embarrassingly smelly because of the excessive sweating. Recently, there have been many reports about the high incidence of the bone disease (rickets) in Muslim women because of their lack of exposure to sunlight which is essential to produce vitamin D, the lack of which causes bone disease.
Violence and Suicide bombing
Hezbullah trains children as martyrs
Muslim children are indoctrinated to believe they are victims of world conspiracy that aims to eliminate them. They are regularly fed on the horrific and disturbing scenes of injuries, blood and death that even adults cannot watch. These children have learned Quranic verse 2:120 that tells them all about this secret world conspiracy: “.. the Jews and the Christians will never be happy about you unless you follow them...”
Having told the Muslims that everyone in the world hates them, the Quran now emphasises in a number of places that Muslims must never trust or befriend the others, like this verse 4:89 “ ....take them and kill them wherever you find them and choose no friends or helpers from them..”
The Quran repeats its orders in a dozen places; the message is important and clear: never trust the unbelievers no matter how nice they may appear to you, even if they were close family members. Verse 9:23 leaves no doubt about the gravity of this message of hate: “...O believers, do not take your fathers or brothers as allies and friends if they prefer to disbelieve...”
Do not be friendly with your father or brothers! So much for the family values in Islam.
Muslim children are often indoctrinated from an early stage to aspire to become martyrs; they have sometimes been used as suicide bombers. Hamas has pioneered the practice of using
Horrible torture of Shiite children to commemorate the
death of Husyan, Muhammad's grandson
young children as frontline soldiers during the Palestinian intifada. The Iranian clerical regime have created child-martyrs brigade. The basic human instinct, the civilized human responsibility, is to protect children during conflicts and wars; but the Islamists have reversed this natural human propensity and responsibility for pushing children to the front lines armed with stones, and sometimes explosive belts, to kill and be killed.
The shia Muslims mourn the death of Al Imam Al Hussain on ashoura day by going to the streets and start beating their chests. They use tools such as knives and swords to self inflict injuries and cause bloodshed, the scenes of blood and sufferings are not for the weak hearted. Shia children do not only see all this but sometimes they are also made to participate in it.
Child Abduction
Muslims’ marriages to non Muslims are always fragile marriages because they are built on lies. Most of these relations tend to involve North African or Asian Muslims. Of course, it is always a Muslim husband and a non Muslim wife, because it cannot happen the other way round. Also it is almost always a dark skinned Muslim who marries a white woman, because those Muslims consider white skin on a woman as a sign of beauty. Muslim families may love to see one of their sons bringing home a white European woman; this is often seen as a good achievement. In theory, the non Muslim wife can keep her religion but her children must be raised as Muslims. In any case there is usually tremendous pressure on her to convert sooner rather than later. Conversion makes it easier for the family to tame a stranger woman with a different culture. The typical scenario involves projecting Islam as a religion of peace and good family values that is based on the Quran, which is the unchanged words of Allah. The Quran is described to her as a book of amazing miracles and language beauty but it is a misfortune that she doesn’t speak the language to enjoy all those wonderful beauties!
A converted wife is easier to adapt to Muslims’ culture and easier to control using her new religion as a means of discipline. A converted woman soon discovers the lies and the marriage falls apart, which reflects badly on the children because they must be separated from their mother. The Islamic law very strictly ‘protects’ children from being raised by infidels and requires their separation from their mothers. This is a tragedy that is happening everyday all over the world.
The above are only some of the Islamic practices that would normally provoke outrage in the west and described as child abuse. The western countries have already accepted those children in their countries and are under moral obligation to protect them from the practices of Islam. The alternative is to raise children with a jaundiced view of the world who may grow up only to become suicide bombers.
Quranic Contradictions & Bewilderment of the Muslim Mind
Quranic Contradictions & Bewilderment of the Muslim Mind
by Mumin Salih
21 Feb, 2009
There is nothing new about the existence of contradictions in the Quran. Both Muslim scholars and former Muslims are aware of this issue; the only difference is that Muslim scholars call it ‘apparent contradictions’, because they believe they have explanations for all of them. However, ordinary Muslims are largely unaware of this subject; and the minority, who are aware of it, have been led to believe that it is just another ploy brought about against Islam by its enemies. With a stigma like that, the whole issue becomes, from the Muslims’ point of view, invalid and not worth looking at.
I became aware of some of the Quranic contradictions decades ago, when I started to step away from the darkness of Islam. Once I freed my mind, and read the Quran with critical eye, all those contradictions and errors of all kinds started to become a focus of my attention and increasingly clear to me.
Islam was never irrelevant to me; I always had an interest in my religion from the time I was in high school. It may sound strange that my interest in Islam remarkably increased once I started doubting it. By the time I became convinced that Islam was not the religion, I was not an average Muslim; my knowledge in Islam was remarkably broad and deep compared to others. I continued my readings and research about Islam even after I left it; I still do.
I read the testimonies of Ali Sina, Abul Kasem, MA Khan and many others who left Islam; their stories echoed mine. None of us rushed to leave Islam. Instead, all of us did extensive research to find the carefully hidden truth. And yes, it was hard and shocking that some of us left Islam with tears, while others went through phases of depression. There is no religion that controls its followers like Islam, a fact that only former Muslims can fully comprehend.
It is this extensive research about Islam, which we did in the past and continue doing, which makes me believe that the only people, who know Islam well, are the ones, who left it. We do not want to be called ‘ulema’ or Islamic scholars; we leave that honour to Muslims, but we are the people, who know Islam inside out. None of us can recite the Quran by heart, as Muslim scholars do, and none of us will even try that wasteful mental activity, but we fully understand what is in the Quran.
There are days, sometimes weeks, of researching and amending before we publish our articles on this site, to make sure that we give the reader the truth as best as humanly possible. Our articles on Islam come with a lifelong guarantee: if you find a fault, we will apologise and convert to Islam. If Muslims find any inaccuracies in any material that we publish about Islam, they would be from our sources: the Quran, sunna and other recognized Islamic books.
Currently, Abul Kasem is publishing his series on contradictions in the Quran. I read some of them with amazement; I never realized that the Quran has so many of them. I am sure Abul Kasem, as well as other critical readers of the Quran, are equally surprised at the sheer number of them. This is why the author (Abul Kasem) as well as the editors of FFI sought others’ opinions (including mine) regarding Kasem's articles in this series. This is a credit to them; it only indicates the high level of scrutiny behind every published article. Muslims, predictably, are outraged by any suggestion that the Quran may harbor contradictions. I, therefore, advised Kasem to omit some of contradictions, because, I thought, they are not conclusive.
Verses 41:11 and 21:30 carry with them this sort of less than conclusive contradiction. Both verses describe the creation of the universe; one verse claims that the sky was a smoke, the other claims that the sky was joined with the earth. Of course, scientifically both claims are utter rubbish, but when the Quran makes a mistake why it doesn’t stick to it? I suggested to Abul Kasem not to include this contradiction on the basis that it might be a different stage of creation. This is like accepting a below-normal answer from a child, because he is too young.
My concern here is why do we have to lower our standard when it comes to the Quran? We would reject this from a student or anyone else, but why do we accept it from Mohammed (transmitter of the Quran)?
41:11
Allah designed the sky as a smoke; He rose towards the smoke, asked the smoke and the earth (i.e. earth was already created) whether they would come together willingly or unwillingly (the smoke is the steam of water—ibn Abbas).
Contradiction: 21:30 says heavens and the earth were joined together as one solid mass, then Allah separated them.
Verses 41:37 and 12:100 also carry with them one of those less-than-convincing contradictions: one verse asks people not to worship others than Allah, while the other asks some people to worship Joseph! I suggested not including this contradiction in the series, lest some Muslims come up with a claim that prostrating is not the same as worshipping; it can be a sign of respect. But would Islamic clerics be happy, if they see a Muslim prostrating to another person?
41:37
The sun and the moon are the signs of Allah, but do not worship them; prostrate only to Allah who has created them.
Contradiction: 12:100 says Allah allowed Joseph’s brethren and his parents to prostrate before Joseph.
Abul Kasem’s series raises the question:
Why, when it comes to the Quran, we always have to shelf the rules and give all kinds of exceptions?
Why do we have to go into disagreements and different interpretations, whenever we read the Quran?
If we mortals can write clear and straight forward articles, why cannot Allah?
Debating Muslims
I do not normally get involved in planned and lengthy debate with Muslims, but it is unavoidable for me to defend the views expressed in my articles. Occasionally, I receive polite emails from Muslims, who wish to correct ‘my misunderstanding’ of the Quran. Their politeness soon proves to be a mask that conceals their hatred. It is striking, but not at all surprising, how little those Muslims know about the Quran or Islam. When the debate is about a confusing verse, they say the verse is crystal clear and the confusion is in my mind, but of course they disappear once I point out that tafseer books had many different interpretations to that verse, which only means the verse was not clear even to those highly reputable scholars. Such Muslims, who do not speak Arabic at all and hardly any good English, suggest to me to learn more to improve my knowledge of the Quran.
Debating Arab Muslims is even more depressing, because it exposes the masked illiteracy among the Arabs. The standard of writing amongst Arabs is getting worse and worse; and it is those people, who write to us, with broken sentences, to say there are no contradictions or errors in the Quran. The great Wafa Sultan, who is a talented Arabic writer, once wrote that the Arab writers do not read what they write; otherwise they wouldn’t submit their articles for publication. How true! Articles in Arabic newspapers shamelessly appear with errors of all kinds, a sign of the low respect to their readers. This is the kind of people, who claim that the Quran is free from errors or contradictions.
What do Muslims think?
Some Muslim scholars are aware of the existence of contradictions and mistakes in the Quran. This is why, they wrote many, rather more contradicting and confusing, books to justify them. This fact establishes a common platform that we, Muslims and non-Muslims, agree on, albeit, giving it different names: contradictions vs. apparent contradictions. I find it difficult to believe that a person with integrity can read about the details of Mohammed’s murders and crimes and still remains a Muslim, let alone justify them. Even today, I keep wondering whether those Muslim scholars, who write books about Mohammed, really believe what they write. However, many of those Muslim scholars make their living from marketing Islam, and some did so well that they have become celebrities. Others had their moral code completely thrown into disarray by Islamic brainwashing. However, the vast majority of ordinary Muslims have no idea at all about those contradictions.
It is for the sake of those Muslims, who have never been told the truth, and for the sake of clarity and academic objectivity, that we need to publish these contradictions. The contradictions may be less obvious in some verses than in others; some may appear as inconsistencies or uncertainties. Muslims are welcome to refute them with convincing clarifications, and we will be happy to change our minds about them.
The Quran does not only contain contradictions, it is also filled with errors of all kinds, but this is outside the scope of this subject. I understand, and fully accept, that Muslims believe their book contains no errors or contradiction whatsoever, which I also used to believe. What is not acceptable is to see an error, and defend it, despite being unable to refute it.
Why the Quran contains so many contradictions?
It is unlikely that Mohammed could have included errors in the Quran deliberate. The Quran was revealed over a long period of time, about 23 years. This, on its own, can explain many of the contradictions and repetitions. It is possible that Mohammed (or Allah?) simply forgot the exact wording of the earlier verses. It is also possible that some of the verses were added or changed at a later stage. The Quran was written on primitive material using primitive Arabic script, where many letters have similar appearance, which also can provide an explanation to this confusion. We also must keep in mind the possibility that the Quran had multiple authors.
The Quran was not an important part of the Arabic culture during the first half of Mohammed’s career as a prophet. Mohammed was branded as insignificant mad person and nobody took him or his alleged revelations seriously, just like we do not take seriously any insignificant person, who preaches in the streets.
It is interesting to know why the Quran has so many errors and contradictions, but it is essential that we expose them. It is time for Muslims to admit their existence and reach the inevitable conclusion that the Quran is manmade and Mohammed was a liar.
by Mumin Salih
21 Feb, 2009
There is nothing new about the existence of contradictions in the Quran. Both Muslim scholars and former Muslims are aware of this issue; the only difference is that Muslim scholars call it ‘apparent contradictions’, because they believe they have explanations for all of them. However, ordinary Muslims are largely unaware of this subject; and the minority, who are aware of it, have been led to believe that it is just another ploy brought about against Islam by its enemies. With a stigma like that, the whole issue becomes, from the Muslims’ point of view, invalid and not worth looking at.
I became aware of some of the Quranic contradictions decades ago, when I started to step away from the darkness of Islam. Once I freed my mind, and read the Quran with critical eye, all those contradictions and errors of all kinds started to become a focus of my attention and increasingly clear to me.
Islam was never irrelevant to me; I always had an interest in my religion from the time I was in high school. It may sound strange that my interest in Islam remarkably increased once I started doubting it. By the time I became convinced that Islam was not the religion, I was not an average Muslim; my knowledge in Islam was remarkably broad and deep compared to others. I continued my readings and research about Islam even after I left it; I still do.
I read the testimonies of Ali Sina, Abul Kasem, MA Khan and many others who left Islam; their stories echoed mine. None of us rushed to leave Islam. Instead, all of us did extensive research to find the carefully hidden truth. And yes, it was hard and shocking that some of us left Islam with tears, while others went through phases of depression. There is no religion that controls its followers like Islam, a fact that only former Muslims can fully comprehend.
It is this extensive research about Islam, which we did in the past and continue doing, which makes me believe that the only people, who know Islam well, are the ones, who left it. We do not want to be called ‘ulema’ or Islamic scholars; we leave that honour to Muslims, but we are the people, who know Islam inside out. None of us can recite the Quran by heart, as Muslim scholars do, and none of us will even try that wasteful mental activity, but we fully understand what is in the Quran.
There are days, sometimes weeks, of researching and amending before we publish our articles on this site, to make sure that we give the reader the truth as best as humanly possible. Our articles on Islam come with a lifelong guarantee: if you find a fault, we will apologise and convert to Islam. If Muslims find any inaccuracies in any material that we publish about Islam, they would be from our sources: the Quran, sunna and other recognized Islamic books.
Currently, Abul Kasem is publishing his series on contradictions in the Quran. I read some of them with amazement; I never realized that the Quran has so many of them. I am sure Abul Kasem, as well as other critical readers of the Quran, are equally surprised at the sheer number of them. This is why the author (Abul Kasem) as well as the editors of FFI sought others’ opinions (including mine) regarding Kasem's articles in this series. This is a credit to them; it only indicates the high level of scrutiny behind every published article. Muslims, predictably, are outraged by any suggestion that the Quran may harbor contradictions. I, therefore, advised Kasem to omit some of contradictions, because, I thought, they are not conclusive.
Verses 41:11 and 21:30 carry with them this sort of less than conclusive contradiction. Both verses describe the creation of the universe; one verse claims that the sky was a smoke, the other claims that the sky was joined with the earth. Of course, scientifically both claims are utter rubbish, but when the Quran makes a mistake why it doesn’t stick to it? I suggested to Abul Kasem not to include this contradiction on the basis that it might be a different stage of creation. This is like accepting a below-normal answer from a child, because he is too young.
My concern here is why do we have to lower our standard when it comes to the Quran? We would reject this from a student or anyone else, but why do we accept it from Mohammed (transmitter of the Quran)?
41:11
Allah designed the sky as a smoke; He rose towards the smoke, asked the smoke and the earth (i.e. earth was already created) whether they would come together willingly or unwillingly (the smoke is the steam of water—ibn Abbas).
Contradiction: 21:30 says heavens and the earth were joined together as one solid mass, then Allah separated them.
Verses 41:37 and 12:100 also carry with them one of those less-than-convincing contradictions: one verse asks people not to worship others than Allah, while the other asks some people to worship Joseph! I suggested not including this contradiction in the series, lest some Muslims come up with a claim that prostrating is not the same as worshipping; it can be a sign of respect. But would Islamic clerics be happy, if they see a Muslim prostrating to another person?
41:37
The sun and the moon are the signs of Allah, but do not worship them; prostrate only to Allah who has created them.
Contradiction: 12:100 says Allah allowed Joseph’s brethren and his parents to prostrate before Joseph.
Abul Kasem’s series raises the question:
Why, when it comes to the Quran, we always have to shelf the rules and give all kinds of exceptions?
Why do we have to go into disagreements and different interpretations, whenever we read the Quran?
If we mortals can write clear and straight forward articles, why cannot Allah?
Debating Muslims
I do not normally get involved in planned and lengthy debate with Muslims, but it is unavoidable for me to defend the views expressed in my articles. Occasionally, I receive polite emails from Muslims, who wish to correct ‘my misunderstanding’ of the Quran. Their politeness soon proves to be a mask that conceals their hatred. It is striking, but not at all surprising, how little those Muslims know about the Quran or Islam. When the debate is about a confusing verse, they say the verse is crystal clear and the confusion is in my mind, but of course they disappear once I point out that tafseer books had many different interpretations to that verse, which only means the verse was not clear even to those highly reputable scholars. Such Muslims, who do not speak Arabic at all and hardly any good English, suggest to me to learn more to improve my knowledge of the Quran.
Debating Arab Muslims is even more depressing, because it exposes the masked illiteracy among the Arabs. The standard of writing amongst Arabs is getting worse and worse; and it is those people, who write to us, with broken sentences, to say there are no contradictions or errors in the Quran. The great Wafa Sultan, who is a talented Arabic writer, once wrote that the Arab writers do not read what they write; otherwise they wouldn’t submit their articles for publication. How true! Articles in Arabic newspapers shamelessly appear with errors of all kinds, a sign of the low respect to their readers. This is the kind of people, who claim that the Quran is free from errors or contradictions.
What do Muslims think?
Some Muslim scholars are aware of the existence of contradictions and mistakes in the Quran. This is why, they wrote many, rather more contradicting and confusing, books to justify them. This fact establishes a common platform that we, Muslims and non-Muslims, agree on, albeit, giving it different names: contradictions vs. apparent contradictions. I find it difficult to believe that a person with integrity can read about the details of Mohammed’s murders and crimes and still remains a Muslim, let alone justify them. Even today, I keep wondering whether those Muslim scholars, who write books about Mohammed, really believe what they write. However, many of those Muslim scholars make their living from marketing Islam, and some did so well that they have become celebrities. Others had their moral code completely thrown into disarray by Islamic brainwashing. However, the vast majority of ordinary Muslims have no idea at all about those contradictions.
It is for the sake of those Muslims, who have never been told the truth, and for the sake of clarity and academic objectivity, that we need to publish these contradictions. The contradictions may be less obvious in some verses than in others; some may appear as inconsistencies or uncertainties. Muslims are welcome to refute them with convincing clarifications, and we will be happy to change our minds about them.
The Quran does not only contain contradictions, it is also filled with errors of all kinds, but this is outside the scope of this subject. I understand, and fully accept, that Muslims believe their book contains no errors or contradiction whatsoever, which I also used to believe. What is not acceptable is to see an error, and defend it, despite being unable to refute it.
Why the Quran contains so many contradictions?
It is unlikely that Mohammed could have included errors in the Quran deliberate. The Quran was revealed over a long period of time, about 23 years. This, on its own, can explain many of the contradictions and repetitions. It is possible that Mohammed (or Allah?) simply forgot the exact wording of the earlier verses. It is also possible that some of the verses were added or changed at a later stage. The Quran was written on primitive material using primitive Arabic script, where many letters have similar appearance, which also can provide an explanation to this confusion. We also must keep in mind the possibility that the Quran had multiple authors.
The Quran was not an important part of the Arabic culture during the first half of Mohammed’s career as a prophet. Mohammed was branded as insignificant mad person and nobody took him or his alleged revelations seriously, just like we do not take seriously any insignificant person, who preaches in the streets.
It is interesting to know why the Quran has so many errors and contradictions, but it is essential that we expose them. It is time for Muslims to admit their existence and reach the inevitable conclusion that the Quran is manmade and Mohammed was a liar.
Women in the Words of Prophet Muhammad
Women in the Words of Prophet Muhammad
by Dr. Sami Alrabaa
14 Mar, 2009
I am really proud of Islam. We all should be proud of Islam. It has released women into freedom! Islam is such a tolerant and merciful religion. Therefore, never forget to repeat ad nausea “Peace be upon Him” every time you mention the Prophet’s name. Here is the proof:
Women who pass by a praying man annul his prayer:
Narrated 'Aisha: The things which annul prayer were mentioned before me (and those were): a dog, a donkey and a Woman. I said, "You have compared us (women) to donkeys and dogs. By Allah! I saw the Prophet praying while I used to lie in (my) bed between him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I disliked to sit and trouble the Prophet. So, I would slip away by the side of his feet." (Book #9, Hadith #493)
A Jew also annuls the prayers of a man:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: Ikrimah reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas, saying: I think the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: When one of you prays without a sutrah, a dog, an ass, a pig, a Jew, a Magian, and a woman cut off his prayer, but it will suffice if they pass in front of him at a distance of over a stone's throw. (Book #2, Hadith #0704)
Prophet Muhammad discriminates even against black dogs:
Abu Dharr reported: The Messenger of 'Allah (may peace be upon him) said: When any one of you stands for prayer and there is a thing before him equal to the back of the saddle that covers him and in case there is not before him (a thing) equal to the back of the saddle, his prayer would be cut off by (passing of an) ass, woman, and black Dog. I said: O Abu Dharr, what feature is there in a black dog which distinguish it from the red dog and the yellow dog? He said: O, son of my brother, I asked the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as you are asking me, and he said: The black dog is a devil. (Book #004, Hadith #1032)
Women are not allowed to travel alone:
(38) Narrated Ibn 'Umar: The Prophet said, "A Woman should not travel for more than three days except with a Dhi-Mahram (i.e. a male with whom she cannot marry at all, e.g. her brother, father, grandfather, etc.) or her own husband.)" (Book #20, Hadith #192)
(40) Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "It is not permissible for a Woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel for one day and night except with a Mahram." (Book #20, Hadith #194)
Women are not allowed to mourn as long they want. Why only four months and ten days? Only Allah knows:
(49) Narrated Zainab bint Abi Salama: When the news of the death of Abu Sufyan reached from Sham, Um Habiba on the third day, asked for a yellow perfume and scented her cheeks and forearms and said, "No doubt, I would not have been in need of this, had I not heard the Prophet saying: "It is not legal for a Woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for more than three days for any dead person except her husband, for whom she should mourn for four months and ten days." (Book #23, Hadith #370)
Non-Muslims are also subjugated to the “law” of Shari’a:
(54) Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar : The Jews brought to the Prophet a man and a Woman from amongst them who have committed (adultery) illegal sexual intercourse. He ordered both of them to be stoned (to death), near the place of offering the funeral prayers beside the mosque." (Book #23, Hadith #413)
A woman is allowed to fast only with permission from her husband:
The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: No woman should observe fast when her spouse is present (in the house) but with his permission. And she should not admit any (mahram) in his house, while he (her husband) is present, but with his permission. And whatever she spends from his earnings without his sanction, for him is half the reward. (Book #005, Hadith #2238)
As a man if you see an alien woman, rush immediately to your wife and have intercourse with her to repel the devil in that woman:
Jabir reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) saw a woman, and so he came to his wife, Zainab, as she was tanning a leather and had sexual intercourse with her. He then went to his Companions and told them: The woman advances and retires in the shape of a devil, so when one of you sees a woman, he should come to his wife, for that will repel what he feels in his heart. (Book #008, Hadith #3240)
Jabir heard Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) say: When a woman fascinates any one of you and she captivates his heart, he should go to his wife and have an intercourse with her, for it would repel what he feels. (Book #008, Hadith #3242)
Women are solely beauty, status, and believers. Their brains are insignificant:
Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: A woman may be married for four reasons: for her property, her status. her beauty and her religion, so try to get one who is religious, may your hand be besmeared with dust. (Book #008, Hadith #3457)
Women are crooks and useless creature
AbuHuraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: woman is like a rib. When you attempt to straighten it, you would break it. And if you leave her alone you would benefit by her, and crookedness will remain in her. A hadith like this is reported by another chain of narrators (Book #008, Hadith #3466)
A woman who commits adultery must be stoned to death. She sacrifices her life for Allah:
Imran b. Husain reported that a woman from Juhaina came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and she had become pregnant because of adultery. She said: Allah's Apostle, I have done something for which (prescribed punishment) must be imposed upon me, so impose that. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) called her master and said: Treat her well, and when she delivers bring her to me. He did accordingly. Then Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) pronounced judgment about her and her clothes were tied around her and then he commanded and she was stoned to death. He then prayed over her (dead body). Thereupon Umar said to him: Allah's Apostle, you offer prayer for her, whereas she had committed adultery! Thereupon he said: She has made such a repentance that if it were to be divided among seventy men of Medina, it would be enough. Have you found any repentance better than this that she sacr ficed her life for Allah, the Majestic? (Book #017, Hadith #4207)
Women are simply bad luck, bad omen:
'Umar b. Muhammad b. Zaid reported that he heard his father narrating from Ibn 'Umar that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had said. If bad luck is a fact, then it is in the horse, the woman and the house. (Book #026, Hadith #5526)
Narrated Sa'd ibn Malik: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no hamah, no infection and no evil omen; if there is in anything an evil omen, it is a house, a horse, and a woman. (Book #29, Hadith #3911)
Women are breeding machines:
Narrated Ma'qil ibn Yasar: A man came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: I have found a woman of rank and beauty, but she does not give birth to children. Should I marry her? He said: No. He came again to him, but he prohibited him. He came to him third time, and he (the Prophet) said: Marry women who are loving and very prolific, for I shall outnumber the peoples by you. (Book #11, Hadith #2045)
A woman is an unavoidable evil, and marrying a woman is like buying a slave:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If one of you marries a woman or buys a slave, he should say: "O Allah, I ask Thee for the good in her, and in the disposition Thou hast given her; I take refuge in Thee from the evil in her, and in the disposition Thou hast given her." When he buys a camel, he should take hold of the top of its hump and say the same kind of thing. (Book #11, Hadith #2155)
If you incite a slave against their master, you are not a good Muslim:
Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Anyone who incites a woman against her husband or a slave against his master is not one of us. (Book #12, Hadith #2170)
Islam makes it difficult for women to divorce:
Narrated Thawban: The Prophet (peace be_upon_him) said: If any woman asks her husband for divorce without some strong reason, the odour of Paradise will be forbidden to her. (Book #12, Hadith #2218)
If you want to free a slave, free first the men, then the women:
Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: Al-Qasim said: Aisha intended to set free two slaves of her who were spouses. She, therefore, asked the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) about this matter. He commanded to begin with the man before the woman. The narrator Nasr said: AbuAli al-Hanafi reported it to me on the authority of Ubaydullah. (Book #12, Hadith #2229)
Forced marriage and forced divorce:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: A woman embraced Islam during the time of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him); she then married. Her (former) husband then came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: Apostle of Allah, I have already embraced Islam, and she had the knowledge about my Islam. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) took her away from her latter husband and restored her to her former husband. (Book #12, Hadith #2231)
No prostitution in Islam:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no prostitution in Islam. If anyone practised prostitution in pre-Islamic times, the child will be attributed to the master (of the slave-woman). He who claims his child without a valid marriage or ownership will neither inherit nor be inherited. (Book #12, Hadith #2257)
According to the latest report of the International Labor Organization in Geneva/Switzerland, (2008) Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam, and country that applies the Shari’s law, is one of the countries which has the highest rates of prostitution in the world. It is all clandestine.
The son of a slave woman consummated by a free man is not allowed to inherit anything:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) decided regarding one who was treated as a member of a family after the death of his father, to whom he was attributed when the heirs said he was one of them, that if he was the child of a slave-woman whom the father owned when he had intercourse with her, he was included among those who sought his inclusion, but received none of the inheritance which was previously divided; he, however, received his portion of the inheritance which had not already been divided; but if the father to whom he was attributed had disowned him, he was not joined to the heirs. If he was a child of a slave-woman whom the father did not possess or of a free woman with whom he had illicit intercourse, he was not joined to the heirs and did not inherit even if the one to whom he was attributed is the one who claimed paternity, since he was a child of fornication whether his mother was free or a slave. (Book #12, Hadith #2258)
Lottery in Islam:
Narrated Zayd ibn Arqam: Three persons were brought to Ali (Allah be pleased with him) when he was in the Yemen. They and sexual intercourse with a woman during a single state of purity. He asked two of them: Do you acknowledge this child for this (man)? They replied: No. He then put this (question) to all of them. Whenever he asked two of them, they replied in the negative. He, therefore, cast a lot among them, and attributed the child to the one who received the lot. He imposed two-third of the blood-money (i.e. the price of the mother) on him. This was then mentioned to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and he laughed so much that his molar teeth appeared. (Book #12, Hadith #2263)
A woman whose husband dies must not use any make-up, neither dress up as she pleases. The same does not apply to the man:
Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu'minin: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A woman whose husband has died must not wear clothes dyed with safflower (usfur) or with red ochre (mishq) and ornaments. She must not apply henna and collyrium. (Book #12, Hadith #2297)
Weird story:
Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: No woman of Banu Qurayzah was killed except one. She was with me, talking and laughing on her back and belly (extremely), while the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) was killing her people with the swords. Suddenly a man called her name: Where is so-and-so? She said: I I asked: What is the matter with you? She said: I did a new act. She said: The man took her and beheaded her. She said: I will not forget that she was laughing extremely although she knew that she would be killed. (Book #14, Hadith #2665)
Discrimination among animals. Kill only black dogs:
Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: The Prophet of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) ordered to kill dogs, and we were even killing a dog which a woman brought with her from the desert. Afterwards he forbade to kill them, saying: Confine yourselves to the type which is black. (Book #16, Hadith #2840)
Expressing emotions is forbidden:
Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) cursed the wailing woman and the woman who listens to her. (Book #20, Hadith #3122)
A woman is not allowed to give gifts to anybody without the permission of her husband:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: It is not permissible for a woman to present a gift (from her husband's property) except with the permission of her husband. (Book #23, Hadith #3540)
What if a woman has cancer in her private parts and needs an operation?
Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A man should not look at the private parts of another man, and a woman should not look at the private parts of another woman. A man should not lie with another man without wearing lower garment under one cover; and a woman should not be lie with another woman without wearing lower garment under one cover. (Book #31, Hadith #4007)
Strict sex-segregation in terms of clothes:
Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) cursed the man who dressed like a woman and the woman who dressed like a man. (Book #32, Hadith #4087)
Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: Ibn AbuMulaykah told that when someone remarked to Aisha that a woman was wearing sandals, she replied: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) cursed mannish women. (Book #32, Hadith #4088)
Using perfume is also forbidden in Islam:
Narrated AbuMusa: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If a woman uses perfume and passes the people so that they may get its odour, she is so-and-so, meaning severe remarks. (Book #33, Hadith #4161)
Justice a la Islam:
Narrated Wa'il ibn Hujr: When a woman went out in the time of the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) for prayer, a man attacked her and overpowered (raped) her. She shouted and he went off, and when a man came by, she said: That (man) did such and such to me. And when a company of the Emigrants came by, she said: That man did such and such to me. They went and seized the man whom they thought had had intercourse with her and brought him to her. She said: Yes, this is he. Then they brought him to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). When he (the Prophet) was about to pass sentence, the man who (actually) had assaulted her stood up and said: Apostle of Allah, I am the man who did it to her. He (the Prophet) said to her: Go away, for Allah has forgiven you. But he told the man some good words (AbuDawud said: meaning the man who was seized), and of the man who had had intercourse with her, he said: Go, you’re free. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) also said: He has repented to such an extent that if the people of Medina had repented similarly, it would have been accepted from them. (Book #38, Hadith #4366)
Arbitrariness:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: A woman was my wife and I loved her, but Umar hated her. He said to me: Divorce her, but I refused. Umar then went to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and mentioned that to him. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Divorce her. (Book #41, Hadith #5119)
After all this, is still there anyone out there who claims that Islam is not a “tolerant faith”? We all should convert to Islam to later meet Prophet Muhammad and his followers in Paradise. I look forward to that! Don’t you?!
by Dr. Sami Alrabaa
14 Mar, 2009
I am really proud of Islam. We all should be proud of Islam. It has released women into freedom! Islam is such a tolerant and merciful religion. Therefore, never forget to repeat ad nausea “Peace be upon Him” every time you mention the Prophet’s name. Here is the proof:
Women who pass by a praying man annul his prayer:
Narrated 'Aisha: The things which annul prayer were mentioned before me (and those were): a dog, a donkey and a Woman. I said, "You have compared us (women) to donkeys and dogs. By Allah! I saw the Prophet praying while I used to lie in (my) bed between him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I disliked to sit and trouble the Prophet. So, I would slip away by the side of his feet." (Book #9, Hadith #493)
A Jew also annuls the prayers of a man:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: Ikrimah reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas, saying: I think the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: When one of you prays without a sutrah, a dog, an ass, a pig, a Jew, a Magian, and a woman cut off his prayer, but it will suffice if they pass in front of him at a distance of over a stone's throw. (Book #2, Hadith #0704)
Prophet Muhammad discriminates even against black dogs:
Abu Dharr reported: The Messenger of 'Allah (may peace be upon him) said: When any one of you stands for prayer and there is a thing before him equal to the back of the saddle that covers him and in case there is not before him (a thing) equal to the back of the saddle, his prayer would be cut off by (passing of an) ass, woman, and black Dog. I said: O Abu Dharr, what feature is there in a black dog which distinguish it from the red dog and the yellow dog? He said: O, son of my brother, I asked the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as you are asking me, and he said: The black dog is a devil. (Book #004, Hadith #1032)
Women are not allowed to travel alone:
(38) Narrated Ibn 'Umar: The Prophet said, "A Woman should not travel for more than three days except with a Dhi-Mahram (i.e. a male with whom she cannot marry at all, e.g. her brother, father, grandfather, etc.) or her own husband.)" (Book #20, Hadith #192)
(40) Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "It is not permissible for a Woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel for one day and night except with a Mahram." (Book #20, Hadith #194)
Women are not allowed to mourn as long they want. Why only four months and ten days? Only Allah knows:
(49) Narrated Zainab bint Abi Salama: When the news of the death of Abu Sufyan reached from Sham, Um Habiba on the third day, asked for a yellow perfume and scented her cheeks and forearms and said, "No doubt, I would not have been in need of this, had I not heard the Prophet saying: "It is not legal for a Woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for more than three days for any dead person except her husband, for whom she should mourn for four months and ten days." (Book #23, Hadith #370)
Non-Muslims are also subjugated to the “law” of Shari’a:
(54) Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar : The Jews brought to the Prophet a man and a Woman from amongst them who have committed (adultery) illegal sexual intercourse. He ordered both of them to be stoned (to death), near the place of offering the funeral prayers beside the mosque." (Book #23, Hadith #413)
A woman is allowed to fast only with permission from her husband:
The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: No woman should observe fast when her spouse is present (in the house) but with his permission. And she should not admit any (mahram) in his house, while he (her husband) is present, but with his permission. And whatever she spends from his earnings without his sanction, for him is half the reward. (Book #005, Hadith #2238)
As a man if you see an alien woman, rush immediately to your wife and have intercourse with her to repel the devil in that woman:
Jabir reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) saw a woman, and so he came to his wife, Zainab, as she was tanning a leather and had sexual intercourse with her. He then went to his Companions and told them: The woman advances and retires in the shape of a devil, so when one of you sees a woman, he should come to his wife, for that will repel what he feels in his heart. (Book #008, Hadith #3240)
Jabir heard Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) say: When a woman fascinates any one of you and she captivates his heart, he should go to his wife and have an intercourse with her, for it would repel what he feels. (Book #008, Hadith #3242)
Women are solely beauty, status, and believers. Their brains are insignificant:
Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: A woman may be married for four reasons: for her property, her status. her beauty and her religion, so try to get one who is religious, may your hand be besmeared with dust. (Book #008, Hadith #3457)
Women are crooks and useless creature
AbuHuraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: woman is like a rib. When you attempt to straighten it, you would break it. And if you leave her alone you would benefit by her, and crookedness will remain in her. A hadith like this is reported by another chain of narrators (Book #008, Hadith #3466)
A woman who commits adultery must be stoned to death. She sacrifices her life for Allah:
Imran b. Husain reported that a woman from Juhaina came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and she had become pregnant because of adultery. She said: Allah's Apostle, I have done something for which (prescribed punishment) must be imposed upon me, so impose that. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) called her master and said: Treat her well, and when she delivers bring her to me. He did accordingly. Then Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) pronounced judgment about her and her clothes were tied around her and then he commanded and she was stoned to death. He then prayed over her (dead body). Thereupon Umar said to him: Allah's Apostle, you offer prayer for her, whereas she had committed adultery! Thereupon he said: She has made such a repentance that if it were to be divided among seventy men of Medina, it would be enough. Have you found any repentance better than this that she sacr ficed her life for Allah, the Majestic? (Book #017, Hadith #4207)
Women are simply bad luck, bad omen:
'Umar b. Muhammad b. Zaid reported that he heard his father narrating from Ibn 'Umar that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had said. If bad luck is a fact, then it is in the horse, the woman and the house. (Book #026, Hadith #5526)
Narrated Sa'd ibn Malik: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no hamah, no infection and no evil omen; if there is in anything an evil omen, it is a house, a horse, and a woman. (Book #29, Hadith #3911)
Women are breeding machines:
Narrated Ma'qil ibn Yasar: A man came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: I have found a woman of rank and beauty, but she does not give birth to children. Should I marry her? He said: No. He came again to him, but he prohibited him. He came to him third time, and he (the Prophet) said: Marry women who are loving and very prolific, for I shall outnumber the peoples by you. (Book #11, Hadith #2045)
A woman is an unavoidable evil, and marrying a woman is like buying a slave:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If one of you marries a woman or buys a slave, he should say: "O Allah, I ask Thee for the good in her, and in the disposition Thou hast given her; I take refuge in Thee from the evil in her, and in the disposition Thou hast given her." When he buys a camel, he should take hold of the top of its hump and say the same kind of thing. (Book #11, Hadith #2155)
If you incite a slave against their master, you are not a good Muslim:
Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Anyone who incites a woman against her husband or a slave against his master is not one of us. (Book #12, Hadith #2170)
Islam makes it difficult for women to divorce:
Narrated Thawban: The Prophet (peace be_upon_him) said: If any woman asks her husband for divorce without some strong reason, the odour of Paradise will be forbidden to her. (Book #12, Hadith #2218)
If you want to free a slave, free first the men, then the women:
Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: Al-Qasim said: Aisha intended to set free two slaves of her who were spouses. She, therefore, asked the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) about this matter. He commanded to begin with the man before the woman. The narrator Nasr said: AbuAli al-Hanafi reported it to me on the authority of Ubaydullah. (Book #12, Hadith #2229)
Forced marriage and forced divorce:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: A woman embraced Islam during the time of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him); she then married. Her (former) husband then came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: Apostle of Allah, I have already embraced Islam, and she had the knowledge about my Islam. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) took her away from her latter husband and restored her to her former husband. (Book #12, Hadith #2231)
No prostitution in Islam:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no prostitution in Islam. If anyone practised prostitution in pre-Islamic times, the child will be attributed to the master (of the slave-woman). He who claims his child without a valid marriage or ownership will neither inherit nor be inherited. (Book #12, Hadith #2257)
According to the latest report of the International Labor Organization in Geneva/Switzerland, (2008) Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam, and country that applies the Shari’s law, is one of the countries which has the highest rates of prostitution in the world. It is all clandestine.
The son of a slave woman consummated by a free man is not allowed to inherit anything:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) decided regarding one who was treated as a member of a family after the death of his father, to whom he was attributed when the heirs said he was one of them, that if he was the child of a slave-woman whom the father owned when he had intercourse with her, he was included among those who sought his inclusion, but received none of the inheritance which was previously divided; he, however, received his portion of the inheritance which had not already been divided; but if the father to whom he was attributed had disowned him, he was not joined to the heirs. If he was a child of a slave-woman whom the father did not possess or of a free woman with whom he had illicit intercourse, he was not joined to the heirs and did not inherit even if the one to whom he was attributed is the one who claimed paternity, since he was a child of fornication whether his mother was free or a slave. (Book #12, Hadith #2258)
Lottery in Islam:
Narrated Zayd ibn Arqam: Three persons were brought to Ali (Allah be pleased with him) when he was in the Yemen. They and sexual intercourse with a woman during a single state of purity. He asked two of them: Do you acknowledge this child for this (man)? They replied: No. He then put this (question) to all of them. Whenever he asked two of them, they replied in the negative. He, therefore, cast a lot among them, and attributed the child to the one who received the lot. He imposed two-third of the blood-money (i.e. the price of the mother) on him. This was then mentioned to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and he laughed so much that his molar teeth appeared. (Book #12, Hadith #2263)
A woman whose husband dies must not use any make-up, neither dress up as she pleases. The same does not apply to the man:
Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu'minin: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A woman whose husband has died must not wear clothes dyed with safflower (usfur) or with red ochre (mishq) and ornaments. She must not apply henna and collyrium. (Book #12, Hadith #2297)
Weird story:
Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: No woman of Banu Qurayzah was killed except one. She was with me, talking and laughing on her back and belly (extremely), while the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) was killing her people with the swords. Suddenly a man called her name: Where is so-and-so? She said: I I asked: What is the matter with you? She said: I did a new act. She said: The man took her and beheaded her. She said: I will not forget that she was laughing extremely although she knew that she would be killed. (Book #14, Hadith #2665)
Discrimination among animals. Kill only black dogs:
Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: The Prophet of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) ordered to kill dogs, and we were even killing a dog which a woman brought with her from the desert. Afterwards he forbade to kill them, saying: Confine yourselves to the type which is black. (Book #16, Hadith #2840)
Expressing emotions is forbidden:
Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) cursed the wailing woman and the woman who listens to her. (Book #20, Hadith #3122)
A woman is not allowed to give gifts to anybody without the permission of her husband:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: It is not permissible for a woman to present a gift (from her husband's property) except with the permission of her husband. (Book #23, Hadith #3540)
What if a woman has cancer in her private parts and needs an operation?
Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A man should not look at the private parts of another man, and a woman should not look at the private parts of another woman. A man should not lie with another man without wearing lower garment under one cover; and a woman should not be lie with another woman without wearing lower garment under one cover. (Book #31, Hadith #4007)
Strict sex-segregation in terms of clothes:
Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) cursed the man who dressed like a woman and the woman who dressed like a man. (Book #32, Hadith #4087)
Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: Ibn AbuMulaykah told that when someone remarked to Aisha that a woman was wearing sandals, she replied: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) cursed mannish women. (Book #32, Hadith #4088)
Using perfume is also forbidden in Islam:
Narrated AbuMusa: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If a woman uses perfume and passes the people so that they may get its odour, she is so-and-so, meaning severe remarks. (Book #33, Hadith #4161)
Justice a la Islam:
Narrated Wa'il ibn Hujr: When a woman went out in the time of the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) for prayer, a man attacked her and overpowered (raped) her. She shouted and he went off, and when a man came by, she said: That (man) did such and such to me. And when a company of the Emigrants came by, she said: That man did such and such to me. They went and seized the man whom they thought had had intercourse with her and brought him to her. She said: Yes, this is he. Then they brought him to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). When he (the Prophet) was about to pass sentence, the man who (actually) had assaulted her stood up and said: Apostle of Allah, I am the man who did it to her. He (the Prophet) said to her: Go away, for Allah has forgiven you. But he told the man some good words (AbuDawud said: meaning the man who was seized), and of the man who had had intercourse with her, he said: Go, you’re free. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) also said: He has repented to such an extent that if the people of Medina had repented similarly, it would have been accepted from them. (Book #38, Hadith #4366)
Arbitrariness:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: A woman was my wife and I loved her, but Umar hated her. He said to me: Divorce her, but I refused. Umar then went to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and mentioned that to him. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Divorce her. (Book #41, Hadith #5119)
After all this, is still there anyone out there who claims that Islam is not a “tolerant faith”? We all should convert to Islam to later meet Prophet Muhammad and his followers in Paradise. I look forward to that! Don’t you?!
From Mohammed to Ayn Rand
From Mohammed to Ayn Rand
by David Swindle
15 Apr, 2009
From Front Page Magazine on April 14, 2009
Whether it’s a religion or a political movement, the most effective critics are always those who were once believers. Whether it’s David Horowitz dissecting the American Left, Bart Ehrman challenging fundamentalist Christianity, or Ayaan Hirsi Ali critiquing Islam, those that have been on the inside can cut the deepest.
Not all critics write academic tomes. Ex-Muslim cum Objectivist Bosch Fawstin's new book will contain several essays explaining his challenging, often controversial views on Islam and the War on Terror. But as a cartoonist, Fawstin is the ideal person to make the definitive anti-Jihad superhero: Pigman. For the past several years, cartoonist he has been posting images of the characters from his upcoming graphic novel The Infidel on his blog. As the time grew near to begin releasing The Infidel in serial form Bosch realized he had created enough images to warrant a separate book. ProPiganda: Drawing the Line Against Jihad is a collection of the images that have appeared on his blog.
I recently got the opportunity to ask Fawstin some questions about ProPiganda and The Infidel.
DS: Where did ProPiganda, your upcoming graphic novel The Infidel, and Pigman come from? What life experiences led you to develop the ideas you express in ProPiganda and to create this character and this art?
BF: The Infidel came from my desire to respond to 9/11 through my art. While I'm not a soldier, I want retribution against those who had a good day on 9/11. My Muslim background played a part in my desire to take on this subject, and having left Islam years before 9/11 helped me fully absorb the truth about it with no problem. I had initially planned to write and draw a Captain America story, but I realized that there would be no way in hell that Marvel Comics would allow me to say what I had to say about Islam, nor would they allow me to have Cap do what needed to be done to this enemy. I then stepped back and started thinking about what would be the perfect hero to fight against Jihad. Enter Pigman. The Infidel's hero is Killian Duke, who leaves Islam after 9/11 and creates Pigman, the jihadist's worst nightmare. Pigman is an ex-Muslim who fights jihad, wearing pigskin leather to exploit the enemy's pigotry. Salaam Duka, Killian's twin brother, on the other hand, falls back into Islam in response to the atrocity, breaking their bond for good. I've spent over three years developing this story while researching all things Islam, and my blog has been a way to get myself out there while I work on The Infidel. After realizing that I had over a hundred pieces of art, along with a few essays, I decided to collect it all in a 'remastered' collection I call ProPiganda: Drawing the Line Against Jihad.
DS: As an ex-Muslim creating a graphic novel about an ex-Muslim who creates an anti-Jihad superhero is there an autobiographical element to The Infidel? Are characters inspired by you and people you know?
BF: Yes, clearly there is that, and what came to me during the writing of the story was that, in a sense, I've split myself in two with the twins, with Killian representing my best, and Salaam my worst. It's more complex than that, but their responses to the attacks tell you who they are more than anything else. Pigman is also a big part of me, the part that wants to see the enemy get what's coming to them. Initially, the Pigman character was mainly a trigger that sets off the brother's conflict, since I was more interested in showing what kind of man would create such a character as Pigman in this PC world we're living in. But Pigman has become such a big part of the book that his own story echoes Killian's, though on a far larger scale as he battles his archenemy, SuperJihad.
DS: What prompted you to abandon Islam? Could you discuss the circumstances behind that decision?
BF: I didn't so much abandon Islam as fade away from it, and I didn't have much faith to lose to begin with. It's tough to say you've left something if you've never really embraced it. Hugh Fitzgerald is right in saying "the atmospherics of Islam" can affect even the least devout Muslim in a detrimental way. A strong thrust within Islam is to see any and all things outside of Islam as worthless, most particularly non-Muslims. When we did go to mosque there was never any real sense that something important was taking place. The majority of us who were involved in this pretense had no idea what to do, unless we followed the imam's prayer moves (and many in attendance were fooling around anyway). "Islam" was the name of the thing that was held as 'the good' in my household, and it was that vagueness which helped keep it at bay. It was only when I started taking morality seriously that I realized Islam had nothing to offer me.
DS: You say that Islam had nothing to offer you. What did you find that did? What are the schools of thought and who are the thinkers who have most influenced you and your work?
BF: I found Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, first by watching the film version of The Fountainhead, and then by reading her novels and nonfiction works. I felt at home reading her work. It was the first time in my life that I saw the concept of morality being taken seriously outside of religion. A morality that was based in reality and had more to say about life on earth, freedom and the individual than anything I had read before. It was only fitting that my favorite storyteller in comics, Frank Miller, was also influenced by her work, as was another favorite of mine, Steve Ditko, who has spent most of his career expressing Objectivist ideas through his work.
DS: Now that we know a bit more of the background behind your work lets discuss some of the specific pieces in ProPiganda and the ideas they depict. One of the most challenging, interesting illustrations in the book is the “They Say We Say” image on page 43. It's an illustration of a point you elaborate on in the book's essays: the enemy is Islam, the so-called moderate Islam of the West is not really true Islam at all. This strikes me as one of the most important ideas in the book. It's also one of the most controversial. Could you elaborate on this idea for those new to your work?
BF: They say Islam, we say anything but Islam, leaving the troubling impression that the enemy's religion is something other than Islam. There is no "Political Islam" or "Totalitarian Islam" that is distinguishable from Islam itself. Islam is normatively political and totalitarian. We have evaded the true meaning of Islam in the name of respect for religion. But we cannot avoid the consequences of doing so. Mohammed was a Muslim and his religion was Islam; he was not an Islamist practicing Islamism. He was a Muslim who practiced Islam and engaged in its violent Jihad, forcing Islam into a world it failed to get into on merit. And any Muslim who is peace-loving and tolerant is by implication condemning their violent, intolerant "prophet" and the means by which their religion was spread. How Islam spread tells us exactly what Islam means. When the moral standard for an entire culture is a bad guy who crossed the line as a way of life, it explains why his most devout followers are the most violent among Muslims. We can try our best to stay clear of Islam, but Muslims have proven that they will never keep Islam to themselves unless they are forced to. It is a faith that sanctions any evil against those who are not part of it. Our not calling this evil by its name, Islam, is sanctioning it and leaving ourselves at the mercy of those who will stop at nothing to bury all we hold dear.
DS: This understanding of Islam would represent a pretty fundamental shift in the American approach to the War on Terror. Currently US policy from the President down has held that Islam is not the enemy, that Islamic terrorists represent a perversion of Islam, and that the US is not engaged in a war with Islam. The ideas of ProPiganda turn that approach on its head, flipping each proposition 180 degrees: Islam is the enemy, Islamic terrorists are merely acting as Mohammad did, and that we actually are fighting a war against Islam. What implications would such a shift in ideas yield toward how the United States deals with this threat? In one of your essays you challenged President Bush for his "quarter-assed response to 9/11." Would it simply be a matter of getting more aggressive? Do we need to fight the War on Terror Pigman style?
BF: If 2,996 American politicians were murdered on 9/11, do you think Washington would have been interested in exonerating Islam and allowing this enemy to kill again? We all know the answer. Our politicians are so disconnected from the American people, that they now do everything but their job. If they can't defend us, they're good for nothing. They think that their job in this war is to win hearts and minds that already belong to Islam. And while they dispassionately wage a war on "terror", not jihad, they allow the two greatest state sponsors of jihad terrorism, Saudi Arabia and Iran, to remain in business. For now, our government goes big on us and small on jihad, while telling us that we are not fighting a war against Islam, even though Islam is fighting a war against us.
Ayn Rand said, "To fear to face an issue is to believe that the worst is true." And the worst is true about Islam, which is why no one in our government challenged Bush's famous anti-reality check, "Islam means peace." We have gone from the terribly named "War on Terror" to the now even more euphemistic "Overseas Contingency Operation," while the enemy has stuck with the same jihad for over a thousand years.
Those who've sworn to defend us have decided that there are more important things to them than defending us. As I wrote in my introduction to ProPiganda, "Our leaders have decided that, while the protection of America is optional, the defense of Islam is absolute." Our government has waged war the way the enemy wages peace and has never given the enemy a reason to end jihad. This enemy has been out for blood for over a thousand years. Obama, following in Bush's compassionate war mode, is hoping that the enemy tires in the face of our unused power. But they will never tire of spilling our blood; this is what they do, what they've always done, and they have always counted on their savagery to help them overcome all odds against those they conquered. So yes, we need to fight the War on Jihad, Pigman style. Above all, we need to follow the truth to wherever it may lead in order to show us what must be done. We need to terrify the enemy by saying and doing the once unthinkable against them and all they hold dear. You will see what I mean in The Infidel.
DS: I'd like to continue this discussion and this point through bringing up another image from ProPiganda and then posing a two-part question. On page 81 you have an image of PigMan along with the phrase "Can't Bring Gray to a Black and White Fight," clearly an influence from your Objectivist philosophy. The impression I get from Propiganda and your comments is a vision of the necessity to wage a brutal, unrelenting war against the Muslim world. If you'd like to clarify this, perhaps with specifics that would be great. Do we need to invade and occupy Saudi Arabia and Iran? Nuke Mecca? Assassinate Ahmadinejad? What are we talking here?
One of the ideas that I've written about a fair amount is that people do and think intolerable things (jihad in this discussion) for two primary reasons. The first is out of malevolence or evil. The second is out of ignorance -- they just haven't been educated yet. When we're dealing with evil we need to attack it PigMan style. However, when we're dealing with ignorance we need to seduce and persuade. My impression of the Muslim world is that there are many -- particularly our counterparts in Generations X and Y -- who are entirely reachable and persuadable. They don't need the brutality of PigMan but the opportunity to learn what American values and American freedom are really all about. And given the choice between Islam and freedom they'll choose the latter. And I see a value in trying to reach out to them. Do you agree? Disagree? Am I bringing gray to a black and white fight?
BF: First thing, it is the Muslim world that is waging a "brutal, unrelenting war against" us. They are forcing us to do things we don't want to do and it's up to them how ugly it's going to get. I will show how I think a superpower ought to respond to those who attack it in The Infidel. Regarding Muslims who are mere sheep to their jihadist wolves, those killed by us in the line of fire are the full responsibility of jihadists who habitually hide among civilians. About those Muslims who may be, as you put it, "entirely reachable and persuadable," if they do exist at all in any great number, their full liberation will only come in a post-jihad world. But today, when Muslims are given the choice between Islam and freedom, they choose Islam. They did so in elections in Iraq, Afghanistan and "Palestine." A "Palestinian" terrorist even thanked America for giving them the weapon of democracy after his terrorist group was voted in by those who celebrated 9/11. In any given culture, there is always a small minority of evil people. In the Islamic world, however, that small minority established Islamic rule and holds power to this day.
DS: The final image I'd like to discuss is perhaps my personal favorite from ProPiganda. It's "Comeuppance" on page 56 and features an image of Pigman beating a Muslim husband who protests "But the Koran says I can beat her." His wife stands smiling in the background. Then you quote a verse from the Koran which claims men are superior to women and justifies domestic abuse. Like many elements of superhero comics it's an escapist fantasy, expressing a desire to liberate the millions of oppressed Muslim women from a truly misogynistic society. Is this particular critique of the Muslim world one we can look forward to seeing explored more in The Infidel? And has your research into Islam given you any insights on the religion’s misogynist tendencies?
BF: I deal with Islam's inherent hostility towards women in the book in a number of ways, mainly through a female character who has been a victim of it her entire life and who, like Killian, saves herself from Islam after 9/11. Having saturated myself with all things Islam these past few years, I've come to believe that Mohammed understood the power women had over him and men in general and that he wanted to do whatever he could to keep that truth from women. He even told his wives that when he peered into hell, the majority of its inhabitants were women. When asked by one of his wives why that was, he answered, "Because they did not listen to their husbands!"
Women are considered a necessary evil in Islam since they are the only way to deliver male Muslims into the world. I was shocked as a teenager to see that the reaction to the birth of a girl in my family was the same as if someone had died. It was mainly Muslim women who responded this way, no doubt because they understood too well the mistreatment these girls likely would receive. For others, it could have been that Islam got to them so deeply that they really did believe women were just no damn good. Islam has pitted men against women and the Islamic culture's humanity has been crippled by it, to absolutely no one's benefit, no matter what male Muslims believe. In general, I think Muslim women have more power over Muslim males than does Islam itself; and this fact is to be covered up at all times. Literally.
All men understand how much we need women, but Muslim men seem to see this need as a threat, as if their need makes them dependent and therefore weak in the face of women, most especially beautiful ones. So when Mohammed got really desperate to spread Islam, he went for the hard sell and told his dupes that if they threw their lives away for his ideology, they'd be guaranteed 72 slavish virgins to do with as they please. Misogynists killing and dying for women, only in Islam.
DS: What were the books that influenced your understanding of Islam, politics, and comics?
BF: I've read dozens of books on Islam and its jihad, and also books on fanaticism and violence, but I'll just mention the ones that most come to mind:
Why I Left Islam by Ibn Warraq
Stealth Jihad by Robert Spencer
The Man Who Warned America by Murray Weiss
Islamikaze by Raphael Israeli
The Sword of the Prophet by Serge Trifkovic
The Legacy of Jihad edited by Andrew Bostom
Jihad in the West by Paul Fregosi
The True Believer by Eric Hoffer
Violence by James Gilligan
There are also dozens of writers who've written articles about the threat we face, such as Yaron Brook, James David Lewis, Lee Harris, Hugh Fitzgerald, Raymond Ibrahim, Bassam Tibi, V.S. Naipaul, Bat Ye'Or, Ali SIna, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Wafa Sultan, Steve Vincent, Theodore Dalrymple, Phillis Chesler, Mark Steyn, Nancy H. Kobrin, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, David Pryce Jones, Bruce Thornton, Amber Pawlik, Robert Tracinski, Martha Crenshaw, Vernon Richards. There are more, but I don't know how much space you have.
Anything by Ayn Rand, my favorite writer.
In comics, my favorite artist of all time is Alex Toth. My favorite comic book writer is Frank Miller.
My favorite comic books/graphic novels are:
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli
Batman: Year One by Miller & Mazzuchelli
DS: Bosch, I appreciate you taking the time to explain your ideas further. When will we be able to buy The Infidel? And do you have any plans for future projects?
BF: The Infidel #1 will be released in late July, with all the chapters to be later collected in a one volume graphic novel. Unless, of course, a publisher gives me an offer I can't refuse and publishes it as the book I intend it to be. As for future projects, Pigman has become such a big part of The Infidel that I can definitely see a Pigman series at some point. I have a number of story ideas, but one that has stuck with me for years is one I had in mind as a follow up to my first graphic novel, Table for One, but then 9/11 hit and things changed. It's a mind travel story that has stayed with me for years and something so different from my work so far that I can't wait to see it myself. Thanks for the opportunity to reach an audience I've been a part of for a good number of years.
by David Swindle
15 Apr, 2009
From Front Page Magazine on April 14, 2009
Whether it’s a religion or a political movement, the most effective critics are always those who were once believers. Whether it’s David Horowitz dissecting the American Left, Bart Ehrman challenging fundamentalist Christianity, or Ayaan Hirsi Ali critiquing Islam, those that have been on the inside can cut the deepest.
Not all critics write academic tomes. Ex-Muslim cum Objectivist Bosch Fawstin's new book will contain several essays explaining his challenging, often controversial views on Islam and the War on Terror. But as a cartoonist, Fawstin is the ideal person to make the definitive anti-Jihad superhero: Pigman. For the past several years, cartoonist he has been posting images of the characters from his upcoming graphic novel The Infidel on his blog. As the time grew near to begin releasing The Infidel in serial form Bosch realized he had created enough images to warrant a separate book. ProPiganda: Drawing the Line Against Jihad is a collection of the images that have appeared on his blog.
I recently got the opportunity to ask Fawstin some questions about ProPiganda and The Infidel.
DS: Where did ProPiganda, your upcoming graphic novel The Infidel, and Pigman come from? What life experiences led you to develop the ideas you express in ProPiganda and to create this character and this art?
BF: The Infidel came from my desire to respond to 9/11 through my art. While I'm not a soldier, I want retribution against those who had a good day on 9/11. My Muslim background played a part in my desire to take on this subject, and having left Islam years before 9/11 helped me fully absorb the truth about it with no problem. I had initially planned to write and draw a Captain America story, but I realized that there would be no way in hell that Marvel Comics would allow me to say what I had to say about Islam, nor would they allow me to have Cap do what needed to be done to this enemy. I then stepped back and started thinking about what would be the perfect hero to fight against Jihad. Enter Pigman. The Infidel's hero is Killian Duke, who leaves Islam after 9/11 and creates Pigman, the jihadist's worst nightmare. Pigman is an ex-Muslim who fights jihad, wearing pigskin leather to exploit the enemy's pigotry. Salaam Duka, Killian's twin brother, on the other hand, falls back into Islam in response to the atrocity, breaking their bond for good. I've spent over three years developing this story while researching all things Islam, and my blog has been a way to get myself out there while I work on The Infidel. After realizing that I had over a hundred pieces of art, along with a few essays, I decided to collect it all in a 'remastered' collection I call ProPiganda: Drawing the Line Against Jihad.
DS: As an ex-Muslim creating a graphic novel about an ex-Muslim who creates an anti-Jihad superhero is there an autobiographical element to The Infidel? Are characters inspired by you and people you know?
BF: Yes, clearly there is that, and what came to me during the writing of the story was that, in a sense, I've split myself in two with the twins, with Killian representing my best, and Salaam my worst. It's more complex than that, but their responses to the attacks tell you who they are more than anything else. Pigman is also a big part of me, the part that wants to see the enemy get what's coming to them. Initially, the Pigman character was mainly a trigger that sets off the brother's conflict, since I was more interested in showing what kind of man would create such a character as Pigman in this PC world we're living in. But Pigman has become such a big part of the book that his own story echoes Killian's, though on a far larger scale as he battles his archenemy, SuperJihad.
DS: What prompted you to abandon Islam? Could you discuss the circumstances behind that decision?
BF: I didn't so much abandon Islam as fade away from it, and I didn't have much faith to lose to begin with. It's tough to say you've left something if you've never really embraced it. Hugh Fitzgerald is right in saying "the atmospherics of Islam" can affect even the least devout Muslim in a detrimental way. A strong thrust within Islam is to see any and all things outside of Islam as worthless, most particularly non-Muslims. When we did go to mosque there was never any real sense that something important was taking place. The majority of us who were involved in this pretense had no idea what to do, unless we followed the imam's prayer moves (and many in attendance were fooling around anyway). "Islam" was the name of the thing that was held as 'the good' in my household, and it was that vagueness which helped keep it at bay. It was only when I started taking morality seriously that I realized Islam had nothing to offer me.
DS: You say that Islam had nothing to offer you. What did you find that did? What are the schools of thought and who are the thinkers who have most influenced you and your work?
BF: I found Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, first by watching the film version of The Fountainhead, and then by reading her novels and nonfiction works. I felt at home reading her work. It was the first time in my life that I saw the concept of morality being taken seriously outside of religion. A morality that was based in reality and had more to say about life on earth, freedom and the individual than anything I had read before. It was only fitting that my favorite storyteller in comics, Frank Miller, was also influenced by her work, as was another favorite of mine, Steve Ditko, who has spent most of his career expressing Objectivist ideas through his work.
DS: Now that we know a bit more of the background behind your work lets discuss some of the specific pieces in ProPiganda and the ideas they depict. One of the most challenging, interesting illustrations in the book is the “They Say We Say” image on page 43. It's an illustration of a point you elaborate on in the book's essays: the enemy is Islam, the so-called moderate Islam of the West is not really true Islam at all. This strikes me as one of the most important ideas in the book. It's also one of the most controversial. Could you elaborate on this idea for those new to your work?
BF: They say Islam, we say anything but Islam, leaving the troubling impression that the enemy's religion is something other than Islam. There is no "Political Islam" or "Totalitarian Islam" that is distinguishable from Islam itself. Islam is normatively political and totalitarian. We have evaded the true meaning of Islam in the name of respect for religion. But we cannot avoid the consequences of doing so. Mohammed was a Muslim and his religion was Islam; he was not an Islamist practicing Islamism. He was a Muslim who practiced Islam and engaged in its violent Jihad, forcing Islam into a world it failed to get into on merit. And any Muslim who is peace-loving and tolerant is by implication condemning their violent, intolerant "prophet" and the means by which their religion was spread. How Islam spread tells us exactly what Islam means. When the moral standard for an entire culture is a bad guy who crossed the line as a way of life, it explains why his most devout followers are the most violent among Muslims. We can try our best to stay clear of Islam, but Muslims have proven that they will never keep Islam to themselves unless they are forced to. It is a faith that sanctions any evil against those who are not part of it. Our not calling this evil by its name, Islam, is sanctioning it and leaving ourselves at the mercy of those who will stop at nothing to bury all we hold dear.
DS: This understanding of Islam would represent a pretty fundamental shift in the American approach to the War on Terror. Currently US policy from the President down has held that Islam is not the enemy, that Islamic terrorists represent a perversion of Islam, and that the US is not engaged in a war with Islam. The ideas of ProPiganda turn that approach on its head, flipping each proposition 180 degrees: Islam is the enemy, Islamic terrorists are merely acting as Mohammad did, and that we actually are fighting a war against Islam. What implications would such a shift in ideas yield toward how the United States deals with this threat? In one of your essays you challenged President Bush for his "quarter-assed response to 9/11." Would it simply be a matter of getting more aggressive? Do we need to fight the War on Terror Pigman style?
BF: If 2,996 American politicians were murdered on 9/11, do you think Washington would have been interested in exonerating Islam and allowing this enemy to kill again? We all know the answer. Our politicians are so disconnected from the American people, that they now do everything but their job. If they can't defend us, they're good for nothing. They think that their job in this war is to win hearts and minds that already belong to Islam. And while they dispassionately wage a war on "terror", not jihad, they allow the two greatest state sponsors of jihad terrorism, Saudi Arabia and Iran, to remain in business. For now, our government goes big on us and small on jihad, while telling us that we are not fighting a war against Islam, even though Islam is fighting a war against us.
Ayn Rand said, "To fear to face an issue is to believe that the worst is true." And the worst is true about Islam, which is why no one in our government challenged Bush's famous anti-reality check, "Islam means peace." We have gone from the terribly named "War on Terror" to the now even more euphemistic "Overseas Contingency Operation," while the enemy has stuck with the same jihad for over a thousand years.
Those who've sworn to defend us have decided that there are more important things to them than defending us. As I wrote in my introduction to ProPiganda, "Our leaders have decided that, while the protection of America is optional, the defense of Islam is absolute." Our government has waged war the way the enemy wages peace and has never given the enemy a reason to end jihad. This enemy has been out for blood for over a thousand years. Obama, following in Bush's compassionate war mode, is hoping that the enemy tires in the face of our unused power. But they will never tire of spilling our blood; this is what they do, what they've always done, and they have always counted on their savagery to help them overcome all odds against those they conquered. So yes, we need to fight the War on Jihad, Pigman style. Above all, we need to follow the truth to wherever it may lead in order to show us what must be done. We need to terrify the enemy by saying and doing the once unthinkable against them and all they hold dear. You will see what I mean in The Infidel.
DS: I'd like to continue this discussion and this point through bringing up another image from ProPiganda and then posing a two-part question. On page 81 you have an image of PigMan along with the phrase "Can't Bring Gray to a Black and White Fight," clearly an influence from your Objectivist philosophy. The impression I get from Propiganda and your comments is a vision of the necessity to wage a brutal, unrelenting war against the Muslim world. If you'd like to clarify this, perhaps with specifics that would be great. Do we need to invade and occupy Saudi Arabia and Iran? Nuke Mecca? Assassinate Ahmadinejad? What are we talking here?
One of the ideas that I've written about a fair amount is that people do and think intolerable things (jihad in this discussion) for two primary reasons. The first is out of malevolence or evil. The second is out of ignorance -- they just haven't been educated yet. When we're dealing with evil we need to attack it PigMan style. However, when we're dealing with ignorance we need to seduce and persuade. My impression of the Muslim world is that there are many -- particularly our counterparts in Generations X and Y -- who are entirely reachable and persuadable. They don't need the brutality of PigMan but the opportunity to learn what American values and American freedom are really all about. And given the choice between Islam and freedom they'll choose the latter. And I see a value in trying to reach out to them. Do you agree? Disagree? Am I bringing gray to a black and white fight?
BF: First thing, it is the Muslim world that is waging a "brutal, unrelenting war against" us. They are forcing us to do things we don't want to do and it's up to them how ugly it's going to get. I will show how I think a superpower ought to respond to those who attack it in The Infidel. Regarding Muslims who are mere sheep to their jihadist wolves, those killed by us in the line of fire are the full responsibility of jihadists who habitually hide among civilians. About those Muslims who may be, as you put it, "entirely reachable and persuadable," if they do exist at all in any great number, their full liberation will only come in a post-jihad world. But today, when Muslims are given the choice between Islam and freedom, they choose Islam. They did so in elections in Iraq, Afghanistan and "Palestine." A "Palestinian" terrorist even thanked America for giving them the weapon of democracy after his terrorist group was voted in by those who celebrated 9/11. In any given culture, there is always a small minority of evil people. In the Islamic world, however, that small minority established Islamic rule and holds power to this day.
DS: The final image I'd like to discuss is perhaps my personal favorite from ProPiganda. It's "Comeuppance" on page 56 and features an image of Pigman beating a Muslim husband who protests "But the Koran says I can beat her." His wife stands smiling in the background. Then you quote a verse from the Koran which claims men are superior to women and justifies domestic abuse. Like many elements of superhero comics it's an escapist fantasy, expressing a desire to liberate the millions of oppressed Muslim women from a truly misogynistic society. Is this particular critique of the Muslim world one we can look forward to seeing explored more in The Infidel? And has your research into Islam given you any insights on the religion’s misogynist tendencies?
BF: I deal with Islam's inherent hostility towards women in the book in a number of ways, mainly through a female character who has been a victim of it her entire life and who, like Killian, saves herself from Islam after 9/11. Having saturated myself with all things Islam these past few years, I've come to believe that Mohammed understood the power women had over him and men in general and that he wanted to do whatever he could to keep that truth from women. He even told his wives that when he peered into hell, the majority of its inhabitants were women. When asked by one of his wives why that was, he answered, "Because they did not listen to their husbands!"
Women are considered a necessary evil in Islam since they are the only way to deliver male Muslims into the world. I was shocked as a teenager to see that the reaction to the birth of a girl in my family was the same as if someone had died. It was mainly Muslim women who responded this way, no doubt because they understood too well the mistreatment these girls likely would receive. For others, it could have been that Islam got to them so deeply that they really did believe women were just no damn good. Islam has pitted men against women and the Islamic culture's humanity has been crippled by it, to absolutely no one's benefit, no matter what male Muslims believe. In general, I think Muslim women have more power over Muslim males than does Islam itself; and this fact is to be covered up at all times. Literally.
All men understand how much we need women, but Muslim men seem to see this need as a threat, as if their need makes them dependent and therefore weak in the face of women, most especially beautiful ones. So when Mohammed got really desperate to spread Islam, he went for the hard sell and told his dupes that if they threw their lives away for his ideology, they'd be guaranteed 72 slavish virgins to do with as they please. Misogynists killing and dying for women, only in Islam.
DS: What were the books that influenced your understanding of Islam, politics, and comics?
BF: I've read dozens of books on Islam and its jihad, and also books on fanaticism and violence, but I'll just mention the ones that most come to mind:
Why I Left Islam by Ibn Warraq
Stealth Jihad by Robert Spencer
The Man Who Warned America by Murray Weiss
Islamikaze by Raphael Israeli
The Sword of the Prophet by Serge Trifkovic
The Legacy of Jihad edited by Andrew Bostom
Jihad in the West by Paul Fregosi
The True Believer by Eric Hoffer
Violence by James Gilligan
There are also dozens of writers who've written articles about the threat we face, such as Yaron Brook, James David Lewis, Lee Harris, Hugh Fitzgerald, Raymond Ibrahim, Bassam Tibi, V.S. Naipaul, Bat Ye'Or, Ali SIna, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Wafa Sultan, Steve Vincent, Theodore Dalrymple, Phillis Chesler, Mark Steyn, Nancy H. Kobrin, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, David Pryce Jones, Bruce Thornton, Amber Pawlik, Robert Tracinski, Martha Crenshaw, Vernon Richards. There are more, but I don't know how much space you have.
Anything by Ayn Rand, my favorite writer.
In comics, my favorite artist of all time is Alex Toth. My favorite comic book writer is Frank Miller.
My favorite comic books/graphic novels are:
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli
Batman: Year One by Miller & Mazzuchelli
DS: Bosch, I appreciate you taking the time to explain your ideas further. When will we be able to buy The Infidel? And do you have any plans for future projects?
BF: The Infidel #1 will be released in late July, with all the chapters to be later collected in a one volume graphic novel. Unless, of course, a publisher gives me an offer I can't refuse and publishes it as the book I intend it to be. As for future projects, Pigman has become such a big part of The Infidel that I can definitely see a Pigman series at some point. I have a number of story ideas, but one that has stuck with me for years is one I had in mind as a follow up to my first graphic novel, Table for One, but then 9/11 hit and things changed. It's a mind travel story that has stayed with me for years and something so different from my work so far that I can't wait to see it myself. Thanks for the opportunity to reach an audience I've been a part of for a good number of years.
Muhammad's Camel-Urine Therapy...
Muhammad's Camel-Urine Therapy...
by Lennard James
23 May, 2009
A friend emailed me this comic, which I share with you with some thoughts of mine…
Seriously? Muhammad actually ordered his followers to drink camel pee?? That's news to me! I looked up the hadith to verify what it actually says. And guess what? See it for yourself: here's the full hadiths:
Narrated Abu Qilabah:
Anas said, “Some people of ‘Ukl or ‘Uraina tribe came to Medina and its climate did not suit them. So the Prophet ordered them to go to the herd of (Milch) camels and to drink their milk and urine (as a medicine)...
Hmmmm interesting…. Muhammad ordered a tribe to drink camel milk-n-pee smoothie as remedy to cure their aversion to dryness?
Don't you get it? Let's see what the Wikipedia has to say.
According to Wikipedia, the urine therapy was a form of alternative medicine in several ancient cultures.
See! Now is what I call ‘Alternative Medicine’. This was just as silly and kooky then, as it is now???
People are advised against drinking urine because it might—besides just being plain old gross—give them rashes (so caution is very necessary, please don’t take this as serious stuff!). Or, as in the case of the ‘Ukl/‘Uraina tribes, it might even cause….urine madness!!! (A New threat to mankind’s extinction, other than the weird viruses that plague us…).
The hadith continues, "So they went as directed and after they became healthy, they killed the shepherd of the Prophet and drove away with all the camels."
‘Hahahahah… good riddance to cleaver thinkers!’ The pee-drinkers turned into pee-zombies and killed a guy. Then they chased away the camels, which is dumb, considering that’s where their “medication” is coming from??? Now how did the good prophet react to all of this? With vengeance, of course!
"...The news reached Muhammad early in the morning and he sent his men (sahibahs) in their hot pursuit and they were captured and brought at noon. Muhammad then ordered to cut off their hands and feet (and it was done), and as well their eyes were branded with heated pieces of iron rods. They were put in ‘Al-Harrah’ and when they asked for water; no water was given to them”, till they died of extreme thirst!!!
Did you catch all of that? One more time, in bulleted form:
• Mojo had the tribe captured.
• Mojo had their hands and feet cut off.
• Mojo branded their eyes with hot iron rods.
• Mojo dumped them in Al-Harrah (a large volcanic field near the Jordanian border)…
• Thirst… with no water! So they can’t even make more piss to drink.
Wow! Just wow!!! And in case you’re thinking maybe Muhammad wasn’t such a nice guy after all, the hadith ends with some good old-fashioned enabling:
Abu Qilabah said, “Those people committed theft and murder, became infidels after embracing Islam and fought against Allah and His Apostle.”
It’s never Muhammad’s fault when he has to torture and murder someone. He always has a justification: it’s their fault, it’s always their fault!
Anyway, here’s what seems more likely to me. Muhammad told the tribe to drink the “medicine” and they believed him... They believed him enough to drink warm camel milk (desert, remember???) mixed with warm camel pee. This did nothing for their climate woes, and they realized just how crappy Muhammad was! They got pissed (no pun intended…), killed the shepherd and chased away the camels in revenge. And you know the rest...
And with that, I’m off to make a pee-milkshake to cure my aching butt cheeks. I had one of those killer workouts yesterday that left everything from the waist down sore. Hurt real bad... need a real good Mojo remedy...
by Lennard James
23 May, 2009
A friend emailed me this comic, which I share with you with some thoughts of mine…
Seriously? Muhammad actually ordered his followers to drink camel pee?? That's news to me! I looked up the hadith to verify what it actually says. And guess what? See it for yourself: here's the full hadiths:
Narrated Abu Qilabah:
Anas said, “Some people of ‘Ukl or ‘Uraina tribe came to Medina and its climate did not suit them. So the Prophet ordered them to go to the herd of (Milch) camels and to drink their milk and urine (as a medicine)...
Hmmmm interesting…. Muhammad ordered a tribe to drink camel milk-n-pee smoothie as remedy to cure their aversion to dryness?
Don't you get it? Let's see what the Wikipedia has to say.
According to Wikipedia, the urine therapy was a form of alternative medicine in several ancient cultures.
See! Now is what I call ‘Alternative Medicine’. This was just as silly and kooky then, as it is now???
People are advised against drinking urine because it might—besides just being plain old gross—give them rashes (so caution is very necessary, please don’t take this as serious stuff!). Or, as in the case of the ‘Ukl/‘Uraina tribes, it might even cause….urine madness!!! (A New threat to mankind’s extinction, other than the weird viruses that plague us…).
The hadith continues, "So they went as directed and after they became healthy, they killed the shepherd of the Prophet and drove away with all the camels."
‘Hahahahah… good riddance to cleaver thinkers!’ The pee-drinkers turned into pee-zombies and killed a guy. Then they chased away the camels, which is dumb, considering that’s where their “medication” is coming from??? Now how did the good prophet react to all of this? With vengeance, of course!
"...The news reached Muhammad early in the morning and he sent his men (sahibahs) in their hot pursuit and they were captured and brought at noon. Muhammad then ordered to cut off their hands and feet (and it was done), and as well their eyes were branded with heated pieces of iron rods. They were put in ‘Al-Harrah’ and when they asked for water; no water was given to them”, till they died of extreme thirst!!!
Did you catch all of that? One more time, in bulleted form:
• Mojo had the tribe captured.
• Mojo had their hands and feet cut off.
• Mojo branded their eyes with hot iron rods.
• Mojo dumped them in Al-Harrah (a large volcanic field near the Jordanian border)…
• Thirst… with no water! So they can’t even make more piss to drink.
Wow! Just wow!!! And in case you’re thinking maybe Muhammad wasn’t such a nice guy after all, the hadith ends with some good old-fashioned enabling:
Abu Qilabah said, “Those people committed theft and murder, became infidels after embracing Islam and fought against Allah and His Apostle.”
It’s never Muhammad’s fault when he has to torture and murder someone. He always has a justification: it’s their fault, it’s always their fault!
Anyway, here’s what seems more likely to me. Muhammad told the tribe to drink the “medicine” and they believed him... They believed him enough to drink warm camel milk (desert, remember???) mixed with warm camel pee. This did nothing for their climate woes, and they realized just how crappy Muhammad was! They got pissed (no pun intended…), killed the shepherd and chased away the camels in revenge. And you know the rest...
And with that, I’m off to make a pee-milkshake to cure my aching butt cheeks. I had one of those killer workouts yesterday that left everything from the waist down sore. Hurt real bad... need a real good Mojo remedy...
Does the Quran Sanction Wife Beating?
Does the Quran Sanction Wife Beating?
by Mohammad Asghar
24 May, 2009
It is a question that has vexed many minds. Muslims claim that the Quran does not sanction such a brutal act against the women. Critics of Islam say that it does sanction harsh punitive measures against, and beating of, wives, who defy their husbands and do ugly things that they are not at all supposed to do. In this connection, they cite verse 4:34 of the Quran, which reads:
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).” (Trans. by Abdullah Yusuf Ali).
The translation of the same verse by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall reads:
“Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.”
A close reading of both the translations draws our attention to one important point, it being: Yusuf Ali’s translation has the words “the husband’s” in it, but Pickthall’s translation does not. That Ali has added this word in a parenthesis proves the fact that it does not exist in the Arabic version of the verse and that he has added it to his translation in order to hide a truth of gigantic proportion. We shall discuss this truth momentarily.
We find that Allah has mainly done the following three things through the Quran:
(1) prohibited idols worshipping;
(2) retained certain Pagan practices that were to His liking;
(3) abolished certain social practices of the pagans, which He disliked, and
(4) introduced some customs or practices that were not present among them, but He wanted them to follow them in their lives after they became Muslims.
We have stated the above facts so that the readers can easily understand what we are going to state in the following paragraphs of this narrative.
In the pre-Islamic days, the eldest sons of the Pagans inherited their fathers’ widows with the flocks and the tents. Incest between sons and stepmothers thus was not only lawful but obligatory.’1 Since this pagan practice was highly obnoxious, Muhammad retained it in the Quran to subtly, systematically and effectively avenge the betrayals, insults and hardships the women in the homes of his grandfather and uncle had inflicted on him, when he was living with them. With this intention in his mind, he had Allah reveal verses, permitting all Muslim men to punish all the women under their control, be they their mothers, sisters, wives and daughters. One verse reads:
“Your wives are as a tilth unto you: So approach your tilth when or how ye will: But do some good act for your souls beforehand; and fear Allah, and know that ye are to meet Him (in the Hereafter) and give these (good) tidings to those who believe.” [Q 2:223]
The translator was dishonest here. He intentionally rendered nisaa as “wives” rather than “women” to mislead the Muslims and other readers of the Quran. The word “nisaa” in the verse includes wives, slave-girls, and all other women over whom men exert financial control.
Effectively permitting the Muslim men to rape their women (“Approach your tilth “where,2 when or how ye will”), but only after doing some good to compensate for the heinous crime they are about to commit, Allah also told His beloved followers what we read in verse 4:34, quoted above.
Though this verse has received notoriety due to the notion that it allows the Muslim men to beat their “wives,” but hardly anyone has truly understood its true meaning and implications. To make our contention clear, we emphasize the following:
This verse, 4:34, is part of a Sura that is titled “Women,” or “An-Nisaa” in Arabic.
The word ‘husbands” is not in the original; instead, we find “men” in it.
The word “wives,” or azwajaka in Arabic, is not in the original either; instead, we see :Nissa” or “women.”
This verse has no connection with those that precede and follow it. In other words, it is not contextual and the instruction it contains stands on its own.
Keeping these facts in mind, what do we find in the verse? It says that the Muslim men are the protectors and maintainers of women, as they support them financially (and in Muhammad’s time and in many parts of the third world today, men commonly support their fathers, mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters, if they cannot support themselves). Therefore, women under the men’s patronage should obey them and guard what Allah wants them to guard (that is, their private parts). But if men simply “fear” disloyalty and bad behavior from their women, they must first warn them. If they still feel fear, they must refuse to sleep with them. And if their fear persists, the men must beat them. However, if the women “return to obedience” — presumably, extinguish the fear — then the men must not seek “means of annoyance,” — presumably, further punishment — against them.
Question is: Could Allah have given such an open and obnoxious permission to men to beat, and not to have sex with, those women who depend on them for their survival?
We leave the question to the readers’ imagination for an answer. But as far as we are concerned, we are sure this instruction came from the mind of a sick man, who not only consigned his Pagan blood relatives, including his father and mother, to the fire of Hell, he also permitted the Muslim men to beat, and have sex with, all the women they support with their means.
Notes:
1. R. V. C. Bodley, The Messenger, p. 226.
2. The Quran, 2:222.
by Mohammad Asghar
24 May, 2009
It is a question that has vexed many minds. Muslims claim that the Quran does not sanction such a brutal act against the women. Critics of Islam say that it does sanction harsh punitive measures against, and beating of, wives, who defy their husbands and do ugly things that they are not at all supposed to do. In this connection, they cite verse 4:34 of the Quran, which reads:
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).” (Trans. by Abdullah Yusuf Ali).
The translation of the same verse by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall reads:
“Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.”
A close reading of both the translations draws our attention to one important point, it being: Yusuf Ali’s translation has the words “the husband’s” in it, but Pickthall’s translation does not. That Ali has added this word in a parenthesis proves the fact that it does not exist in the Arabic version of the verse and that he has added it to his translation in order to hide a truth of gigantic proportion. We shall discuss this truth momentarily.
We find that Allah has mainly done the following three things through the Quran:
(1) prohibited idols worshipping;
(2) retained certain Pagan practices that were to His liking;
(3) abolished certain social practices of the pagans, which He disliked, and
(4) introduced some customs or practices that were not present among them, but He wanted them to follow them in their lives after they became Muslims.
We have stated the above facts so that the readers can easily understand what we are going to state in the following paragraphs of this narrative.
In the pre-Islamic days, the eldest sons of the Pagans inherited their fathers’ widows with the flocks and the tents. Incest between sons and stepmothers thus was not only lawful but obligatory.’1 Since this pagan practice was highly obnoxious, Muhammad retained it in the Quran to subtly, systematically and effectively avenge the betrayals, insults and hardships the women in the homes of his grandfather and uncle had inflicted on him, when he was living with them. With this intention in his mind, he had Allah reveal verses, permitting all Muslim men to punish all the women under their control, be they their mothers, sisters, wives and daughters. One verse reads:
“Your wives are as a tilth unto you: So approach your tilth when or how ye will: But do some good act for your souls beforehand; and fear Allah, and know that ye are to meet Him (in the Hereafter) and give these (good) tidings to those who believe.” [Q 2:223]
The translator was dishonest here. He intentionally rendered nisaa as “wives” rather than “women” to mislead the Muslims and other readers of the Quran. The word “nisaa” in the verse includes wives, slave-girls, and all other women over whom men exert financial control.
Effectively permitting the Muslim men to rape their women (“Approach your tilth “where,2 when or how ye will”), but only after doing some good to compensate for the heinous crime they are about to commit, Allah also told His beloved followers what we read in verse 4:34, quoted above.
Though this verse has received notoriety due to the notion that it allows the Muslim men to beat their “wives,” but hardly anyone has truly understood its true meaning and implications. To make our contention clear, we emphasize the following:
This verse, 4:34, is part of a Sura that is titled “Women,” or “An-Nisaa” in Arabic.
The word ‘husbands” is not in the original; instead, we find “men” in it.
The word “wives,” or azwajaka in Arabic, is not in the original either; instead, we see :Nissa” or “women.”
This verse has no connection with those that precede and follow it. In other words, it is not contextual and the instruction it contains stands on its own.
Keeping these facts in mind, what do we find in the verse? It says that the Muslim men are the protectors and maintainers of women, as they support them financially (and in Muhammad’s time and in many parts of the third world today, men commonly support their fathers, mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters, if they cannot support themselves). Therefore, women under the men’s patronage should obey them and guard what Allah wants them to guard (that is, their private parts). But if men simply “fear” disloyalty and bad behavior from their women, they must first warn them. If they still feel fear, they must refuse to sleep with them. And if their fear persists, the men must beat them. However, if the women “return to obedience” — presumably, extinguish the fear — then the men must not seek “means of annoyance,” — presumably, further punishment — against them.
Question is: Could Allah have given such an open and obnoxious permission to men to beat, and not to have sex with, those women who depend on them for their survival?
We leave the question to the readers’ imagination for an answer. But as far as we are concerned, we are sure this instruction came from the mind of a sick man, who not only consigned his Pagan blood relatives, including his father and mother, to the fire of Hell, he also permitted the Muslim men to beat, and have sex with, all the women they support with their means.
Notes:
1. R. V. C. Bodley, The Messenger, p. 226.
2. The Quran, 2:222.
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