THE PACIFICATION OF ISLAM

Since the atrocities of September 11, 2001, dueling letters have appeared in many newspapers around the World debating the fundamental nature of Islam, i.e., whether that religion doctrinally promotes peace or strife among the nations. The Truth is that it does both.

For, although the Koran declares: “We sent down the Torah which contains guidance and light … Later, in the footsteps [of the Hebrew Prophets], We sent Jesus, son of Mary, verifying the Torah which had been sent before him, and gave him the Gospels containing guidance and light …” (Koran 5:44-46); it also cautions Muslims (only a few verses later): “O Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians as your friends; they are friends of each other. Whoever of you makes them his friends is one of them! God guides not the people of the Evildoers!” (Koran 5:51). The Koran also declares: “The Jews say: ‘Ezra is the Son of God.’ The Christians say: ‘The Messiah is the Son of God.’ That is the utterance of their mouths, conforming to the [false doctrines of the] unbelievers before them. God assail them! How they are perverted!” (Koran 9:30). Moreover, the Koran also instructs Muslims: “Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the Last Day [i.e., Day of Judgment], nor prohibit what Allah and His Apostle [i.e., Mohammed] have prohibited, nor follow the Religion of Truth [i.e., Islam], including those who have been given the Book [i.e., the Jews and the Christians], until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of [Islam’s] superiority and that they are in a state of subjection [to the Muslims].” (Koran, Sura 9:29); and “O you who believe: Fight those of the unbelievers who are nearby to you and let them find in you harshness; and know that Allah is with those who fulfill [their duty].” (Koran 9:123); and “So fight against them [i.e., non-Muslims] until there is no more strife and the religion of Allah reigns supreme; but if they submit [to you], then surely Allah sees what they do.” (Koran 8:39). Since, for the pious Muslim, all of this is Holy Writ, it is dishonest to claim and dangerous to believe that the belligerent portions of the Koran do not represent authentic Islam.

Yet, Christianity is not doctrinally different. For, although Jesus declares in the Sermon on the Mount: “But I tell you not to resist an evildoer. On the contrary, whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well. … You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: ‘Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven.’” (Matthew 5:39-44); he also adjures his followers via the Parable of the Ten Minas: “‘But these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here, and kill them in my presence.’” (Luke 19:27); and he insists: “‘The Father loves the Son, and has committed everything into his hand. He who believes in the Son has Eternal Life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see Life, but the Wrath of God rests upon him.’” (John 3:35-36). Since, for the pious Christian, all of this is likewise Holy Writ, it is disingenuous for Christian leaders to claim that bygone persecutions, massacres and genocides in the name of Jesus were not perpetrated by true Christians, acting in the name of authentic Christianity.

The most infamous Christian of them all once declared:

"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the Will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the Work of the Lord." 

Adolf Hitler (Mein Kamf [My Struggle], Volume One, Chapter II: Years Of Study And Suffering In Vienna)

"The best characterization is provided by the product of this religious education, the Jew himself. His life is only of this World, and his spirit is inwardly as alien to true Christianity as his nature two thousand years previous was to the Great Founder of the New Doctrine. Of course, the latter made no secret of his attitude toward the Jewish people, and when necessary he even took to the whip to drive from the Temple of the Lord this Adversary of all Humanity, who then as always saw in Religion nothing but an instrument for his business existence. In return, Christ was nailed to the Cross, while our present-day party Christians debase themselves to begging for Jewish votes at elections, and later try to arrange political swindles with atheistic Jewish parties -- and this against their own nation."

Adolf Hitler (Mein Kamf [My Struggle], Volume One, Chapter XI: Nation And Race)

However, after the sequential horrors of World War I and World War II, and especially in light of the Holocaust (which was fueled by Christianity’s strident demonization of the Jewish people for almost two millennia under the spiritual authority of such New Testament passages as Matthew 23:35, 27:1-26 & 28:12-15; and John 7:1, 8:44-47, 11:47-57 & 18:12 - 19:18; and 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16), Christianity dramatically changed its emphasis.

In the wake of the Holocaust and the near destruction of Europe, Christianity evolved into a religion seeking accommodation rather than confrontation. Moreover, in a stunning rejection of Holy Writ, the Catholic Church (via its Second Vatican Ecumenical Council of 1965 commonly known as “Vatican II”) forcefully repudiated the New Testament’s imposition of eternal collective guilt upon the Jewish people for the Roman Empire’s capture, torture and murder of Jesus. That is not to say that there are no longer Christians who harbor hatred or contempt for Jews (as well as for other non-Christians); only that such hatred or contempt is no longer doctrinally justified by any major Sect of, or Movement within, Christianity.

It is telling that the only sovereign Muslim entity which fully participated in World War I, namely, the Ottoman Empire (representing the Islamic Caliphate), transformed itself, in its aftermath, into the constitutionally-secular Republic of Turkey. As Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of Turkey, was a military leader rather than an imam, he did not possess the religious credentials to repudiate any portion of the Koran. Consequently, instead of attempting to recreate a theocratic nation based upon a reformed Koran, he abolished the Caliphate and fashioned a democratic country that guarantied separation of Mosque and State.

Despite that precedent, however, few Muslim nations have chosen Turkey’s path -- and even Turkey has begun to exhibit disturbing signs of atavism. Moreover, the spiritual leaders of those Muslim nations whose educational systems continue to venerate the most belligerent doctrines of the Koran have evinced no inclination to repudiate Holy Writ in order to help create a more peaceful World.

That being the case, the Muslim World will have to suffer its own Great Catastrophe before Islam will be able to evolve in the manner of Christianity.

© Mark Rosenblit

Note: Proof of the veneration accorded by many Muslim elites to the various belligerent doctrines set forth in the Koran (also spelled: Quran or Qur’an) may be found in the overt hostility expressed by them to the educational project -- based upon the various pacific doctrines set forth in the Koran -- created by a Jewish professor at the University of Haifa, with the assistance of Muslim students and scholars. These Muslim elites complain that emphasizing the pacific doctrines of the Koran misrepresents the true nature of Islam. Read on:

ISLAMONLINE.NET (Islam On Line)

Thu. Jul. 3, 2008

Quranet… Israeli Educational Guide

By Dina Rabie, IOL Staff

CAIRO — An Israeli Jewish professor has authored a book and is planning a website that uses verses from the Noble Qur'an as a guide to address problems faced by educational counselors, a move met with suspicion from Muslim scholars.

"The Quranet project is a proposal for a website that will appear in different languages that are spoken throughout the Muslim world," Professor Ofer Grosbard, clinical psychologist at the University of Haifa, told IslamOnline.net in an interview.

"Quranet reveals the beauty of the Qur'an and its respect for human dignity."

"It can serve any Muslim teacher or parent in the world."

Grosbard's website, a demo of it has been published on the Israeli Foreign Ministry, will include verses of the Noble Qur'an to tackle problems faced by guidance counselors.

"The verse is followed by a story to demonstrate how it applies to everyday life, illustrating how the verse can be utilized to convey a message to the child," he said.

The Israeli professor came up with the Quranet idea last year while tutoring a course to a group of Bedouin graduate students of educational counseling.

Grosbard was approached by one of his student saying that the Qur'an would have a much more powerful impact when it comes to counseling psychological problems.

"When I asked her to explain, she said that, in the appropriate context, quotation of a verse from the Qur’an has enormous impact on Muslims."

Grosbard then brought a copy of the Qur'an to the next class and asked his students to identify verses that were related to the types of problems they expect to face.

The students returned with a list of 300 verses that focus on issues such as taking responsibility, respecting others, and telling the truth.

Grosbard then asked the students to make up stories based on these verses. He later added a short psychological-education explanation to each story.

The outcome was a 600-page Hebrew manuscript published in a book in May, addressing 330 questions on issues such as violence, mourning, incest, adolescence, etc.

"That was how Quranet came into being," said Grosbard, who is now planning to translate the book into Arabic and English and upload the texts onto an interactive website.

Suspicion

Grosbard's project has already been met with suspicion in the Muslim world.

"Israel wants to lure Muslims into its trap by interpreting the Qur'an in a way that suits Israeli projects," Sheikh Shawqi Abdel-Latif of the Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) has told Al-Masri Al-Youm newspaper.

Dr. Manae Abdel-Halim Mahmoud, professor of Qur'anic sciences at Al-Azhar University, also blasted the Israeli project.

"Israel only harbors enmity to Islam and Muslims," he said.

"This project aims to tarnish the image of Islam by giving wrong interpretation of the Noble Qur'an."

The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs also rejected the project, saying there was no reason to re-interpret the Qur'an into Hebrew as the Holy Book has been interpreted correctly many times before.

GULFNEWS.COM (Gulf News)

Israeli Quranet web project 'has political agenda'

By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent

Published: August 04, 2008

Riyadh: Saudi scholars, propagators and researchers have warned against the risk of depending on the Israeli Quranet website project which they describe as aimed at interpreting the Quran in a way to serve the political agenda of Israel.

The scholars expressed suspicion over the actual objective of the online Quran interpretation project which was recently launched by Israel's Foreign Affairs Ministry to serve as a "bridge between the Muslim world and the West."

Shaikh Dr. Abdullah Al Mutlaq, member of the Senior Ulema Board in Saudi Arabia, denounced the project, which was developed by 15 Muslim Bedouin academics in Israel as part of their Masters programme in educational counselling, supervised by Jewish professor Dr. Ofer Grosbard and reviewed by three Islamic preachers. The project was also published in book form by Ben Gurion University Publishing House.

Controversy

The project, exhibited at the Israeli Presidential Conference in Occupied Jerusalem in May 2008, aroused wide controversy.

In a statement to Gulf News, Dr. Al Mutlaq stressed that the Israeli Quranet project should not be trusted by Muslims since it is run by Jews who openly show their hatred to Islam and Muslims.

"A Muslim who wants to abide by Islamic teachings should not depend on this website for interpretation of the Holy Quran whatever the case," he said.

He warned that Muslims should not be deceived by Israeli statements that "the Quranet transforms the Quran into a unique and useful educational tool for parents and teachers, and thereby renders the beneficial power of the Quran widely accessible".

"We regard this denounced move as an attempt to create a generation of Muslims who understand the Quran in the way that Israel and U.S. want after misinterpreting the verses of the Quran to serve Israeli Zionist projects in the world", he said.

Abdullah Al Shihri, the prominent Islamic researcher, asked since when had Israel become keen to implant Islamic education in the minds of other nations and to enhance the face of Islam in the West?

"It is our right to be suspicious about the aims of the project which has been denounced by Muslim scholars all over the world," he said.

Al Shihri described the initiative of the Israeli Foreign Ministry to promote the Quranet website as suspicious, noting that Muslims are not in need of other people to interpret their holy book and that the relationship of Muslims with the West does not need middlemen.

Saudi propagator Fahd Al Harbi expressed his conviction that the main aim of those who are behind this project is to divide the Muslim world in a way that serves the Israeli political agenda.

"Otherwise how can we understand the good intentions alleged by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs unless we link this website with political motives," he said.

ENGLISH.AVINY.COM (Martyr Aviny Institution of Culture and Art)

Friday, August 08, 2008

Quranet Website Plot Doomed to Failure

-- Following the news about launching a Quranic website by the Zionist regime under the pretext of linking the Muslim world and the West in recent weeks, it is said that the pilot version of the website has been released as an electronic magazine by Bar Alsab University.

The Israeli foreign ministry has announced that the Quranet will provide services to internet users in Hebrew, Turkish, Persian, English, French and Arabic.

There have been some speculations on the objectives of launching the website by the Israeli regime, and some scholars stress that launching the website is an attempt to reach out to the new generation of Muslims with the aim of nurturing a more lenient and easy-going generation who suit the appetite of American and Israeli politicians.

But a short review of the Islamic history shows that the recent move, which is aimed at producing Zionist-oriented interpretations of the holy Quran, is not something new. From the early days of the advent of Islam, this tactic has been used to hinder the progress of Islam, but this time they have only done it in a modern way.

This old tactic is based on producing fake interpretations which are generally based on personal experiences and viewpoints. Their strategy is to sow seeds of misunderstanding and skepticism among Muslim generations but the tactics are different from time to time.

In an era called the era of dialogue, culture and reasoning, some imperialist colonists and Zionist Capitalists are still obsessed with their outdated mindsets. In an era in which Islam has conquered hearts and minds of billions of people across the globe and has acquired the title of the fastest growing religion in the world, the wretched Zionists and their imperialist allies can't make much of a difference by resorting to old tactics.

Muslims are educated and vigilant today and it is not a wise policy to try to beguile billions of people by spreading lies and forged information while there is an easy access to authentic sources.

Source: Iranian Quran News Agency (IQNA)

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