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Tired of all the media "propaganda"?

Portrayals of Muslems as "terrorists""

The 9/11 myth?

Forget what you see on TV...in the news...

Let's set the record straight!
Imam Tammam Adi Ph.D of the Islamic Cultural Center, Eugene, Oregon, tackles widespread misconceptions and stereotypes about Muslims and Islam and the sets out the reality.

Allah: Just means God in Arabic, the same God we all worship. (Unless it's NOT an Islamic God)

jihad: Often mistranslated "holy war," especially against the West, the more accurate Arabic meaning is "struggle." (Islamic definition of struggle: KILL ANYTHING NOT ISLAMIC!) Jihad is the struggle to control one's lower instincts. Jihad also means to use a fair war to give a nation freedom of religion if all other means fail. Islam's main proclamation is "No compulsion in religion" Koran 2:255. The Afghani Mujahideen (those who do jihad) fought against the atheist Russians to keep their freedom of religion. Unfortunately, chaos ensued.

extremism: "We made you a nation that should take the middle way in all its affairs before all humanity . . ." (2:143) "God does not love the excessive ones." (6:141)

suicide "martyrdom": "Do not kill yourselves." (4:29). Self-killers are condemned to hell. Even killing oneself to end extreme pain is unacceptable. Some radical sects, considered non-Muslim by most, view suicide-killing as legitimate.

martyrdom: A martyr (Arabic shaheed=witness) is somebody who dies as a witness for goodness or a witness against evil. A martyr testifies before God about the evil-doers that killed him/her and about the goodness his/her death creates in society.

terrorism: The punishment for those who wreak havoc is extremely harsh (5:33-34). Terrorism has as little to do with Islam as burning a cross to terrorize a black family has to do with Christianity. Terrorism is often done by haters of Islam, peace and justice to sabotage good Muslims causes such as peace settlements, democracy movements and modernization. No Islamic teaching supports terrorism.

on killing innocent people: "And do not kill the soul that God gave sanctity to except by law." (17:33) The Koran tells us that killing one person is like killing all humanity. (Isn't that the Islamic "point"?)

family values: Husbands and wives serve each other. Muslim families cherish traditional family values and close relations with the extended family. Women may work and own businesses, but the husband alone has the duty to provide for the family. Children are expected to take care of their parents when they get old. (Unless they are killed for adopting "non-Muslem" ways)

treatment of women: Misinformation about this subject has fanned much of the hatred about Muslims. Here is what we are really taught: (1) Paradise is under the "feet" of the mother; (2) a good wife is half a man's religion, (3) men are ordered to "treat them in good ways," (Koran 4:19) and that, in the words of the Prophet Mohammed in his last sermon, (4) "the best of you is the one that is best to his wife." (but it's OK to beat the sh*t outa' them...stone them...ect...)

four wives: Islam was the first religion to limit the number of wives. But the taking of more than one wife was meant to happen only when there was social necessity, such a during war times when there were a large number of widows and orphans. A husband is required to treat each wife with absolute fairness and equality and to have only one wife if he doubts he can be fair. Polygamy is illegal in America and, according to Islam, Muslims are bound by American law.

scarves for women: This is based on a verse in the Koran. "And let them spread their scarves over their shirt openings and not show their natural adornment . . ." (24:31) If Muslim women choose not to cover their head, there is no Islamic law punishing them or coercing them. Styles of dress are cultural and vary according to culture throughout the Islamic world. (unless you want to push it...say, for a US Drivers ID?)

female genital mutilation: (ouch!) This is found in some African countries and is a very painful tribal practice passed down to the present day. It is not based on Islamic teaching. Many Muslim women, such as the wife of the late Anwar Sadat, are working hard to eliminate the practice. ( "tasteful" piercings are OK)

Deviations from the Islamic norm are cultural or political biases not based on Islam.

See...it's kinda like blaming ALL Baptists...for the acts of, say, Southern Baptists?
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

quote:
Originally posted by CageTheElephant:
Tired of all the media "propaganda"?

Portrayals of Muslems as "terrorists""

The 9/11 myth?

Forget what you see on TV...in the news...

Let's set the record straight!
Imam Tammam Adi Ph.D of the Islamic Cultural Center, Eugene, Oregon, tackles widespread misconceptions and stereotypes about Muslims and Islam and the sets out the reality.

Allah: Just means God in Arabic, the same God we all worship. (Unless it's NOT an Islamic God)

jihad: Often mistranslated "holy war," especially against the West, the more accurate Arabic meaning is "struggle." (Islamic definition of struggle: KILL ANYTHING NOT ISLAMIC!) Jihad is the struggle to control one's lower instincts. Jihad also means to use a fair war to give a nation freedom of religion if all other means fail. Islam's main proclamation is "No compulsion in religion" Koran 2:255. The Afghani Mujahideen (those who do jihad) fought against the atheist Russians to keep their freedom of religion. Unfortunately, chaos ensued.

extremism: "We made you a nation that should take the middle way in all its affairs before all humanity . . ." (2:143) "God does not love the excessive ones." (6:141)

suicide "martyrdom": "Do not kill yourselves." (4:29). Self-killers are condemned to hell. Even killing oneself to end extreme pain is unacceptable. Some radical sects, considered non-Muslim by most, view suicide-killing as legitimate.

martyrdom: A martyr (Arabic shaheed=witness) is somebody who dies as a witness for goodness or a witness against evil. A martyr testifies before God about the evil-doers that killed him/her and about the goodness his/her death creates in society.

terrorism: The punishment for those who wreak havoc is extremely harsh (5:33-34). Terrorism has as little to do with Islam as burning a cross to terrorize a black family has to do with Christianity. Terrorism is often done by haters of Islam, peace and justice to sabotage good Muslims causes such as peace settlements, democracy movements and modernization. No Islamic teaching supports terrorism.

on killing innocent people: "And do not kill the soul that God gave sanctity to except by law." (17:33) The Koran tells us that killing one person is like killing all humanity. (Isn't that the Islamic "point"?)

family values: Husbands and wives serve each other. Muslim families cherish traditional family values and close relations with the extended family. Women may work and own businesses, but the husband alone has the duty to provide for the family. Children are expected to take care of their parents when they get old. (Unless they are killed for adopting "non-Muslem" ways)

treatment of women: Misinformation about this subject has fanned much of the hatred about Muslims. Here is what we are really taught: (1) Paradise is under the "feet" of the mother; (2) a good wife is half a man's religion, (3) men are ordered to "treat them in good ways," (Koran 4:19) and that, in the words of the Prophet Mohammed in his last sermon, (4) "the best of you is the one that is best to his wife." (but it's OK to beat the sh*t outa' them...stone them...ect...)

four wives: Islam was the first religion to limit the number of wives. But the taking of more than one wife was meant to happen only when there was social necessity, such a during war times when there were a large number of widows and orphans. A husband is required to treat each wife with absolute fairness and equality and to have only one wife if he doubts he can be fair. Polygamy is illegal in America and, according to Islam, Muslims are bound by American law.

scarves for women: This is based on a verse in the Koran. "And let them spread their scarves over their shirt openings and not show their natural adornment . . ." (24:31) If Muslim women choose not to cover their head, there is no Islamic law punishing them or coercing them. Styles of dress are cultural and vary according to culture throughout the Islamic world. (unless you want to push it...say, for a US Drivers ID?)

female genital mutilation: (ouch!) This is found in some African countries and is a very painful tribal practice passed down to the present day. It is not based on Islamic teaching. Many Muslim women, such as the wife of the late Anwar Sadat, are working hard to eliminate the practice. ( "tasteful" piercings are OK)

Deviations from the Islamic norm are cultural or political biases not based on Islam.

See...it's kinda like blaming ALL Baptists...for the acts of, say, Southern Baptists?


"this is crap and I am Baptist
I haven't heard that much distortion about the Islam however if you wish to defend Islam then possibly you should condemn those radical factions of Islam that are in Jihad with the west. It wasn't Christian fanatics that are going around the world killing innocent people in the name of religion. If I'm wrong please cite examples. It is the Religion of Islam that 100% of the terrorist attacks are coming from. Even if it is a fringe group or a radical group it is still members of Islam and that being the case it should be Islam or other Muslim's that overly condemn the killings and attacks. Otherwise you are condoning the attacks.

It seems that the only condemnation that comes from the religion of Islam is against others who tend to attack members of the religion, that are radical and that have declared Jihad upon the West. There certainly is a void of condemnation against the members of Islam who carry out these attacks and a failure of the other members of the religion to prevent such attacks from within.

Where are the lies?
quote:
Originally posted by gbrk:
I haven't heard that much distortion about the Islam however if you wish to defend Islam then possibly you should condemn those radical factions of Islam that are in Jihad with the west. It wasn't Christian fanatics that are going around the world killing innocent people in the name of religion. If I'm wrong please cite examples. It is the Religion of Islam that 100% of the terrorist attacks are coming from. Even if it is a fringe group or a radical group it is still members of Islam and that being the case it should be Islam or other Muslim's that overly condemn the killings and attacks. Otherwise you are condoning the attacks.

It seems that the only condemnation that comes from the religion of Islam is against others who tend to attack members of the religion, that are radical and that have declared Jihad upon the West. There certainly is a void of condemnation against the members of Islam who carry out these attacks and a failure of the other members of the religion to prevent such attacks from within.

Where are the lies?



Define 'terrorism'. It isn't the Muslims that have army bases throughout the world.
My dear gb,

Not all terrorists are Muslim. Most, yeah, but not all. The problem comes when people think they have god's mandate to kill other people.


There have been, and continue to be, Christian terrorists. To wit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Resistance_Army

Need I mention Northern Ireland? How about the highly Christian Ku Klux Klan?

There's enough to go around. The problem is religion. When you can make up a god, you can make him say anything you want him to say. Including racist, tribal, political, religious, ethnic, and other abominations that deserve cleansing.
Billy Joe,

Please don't call the KKK Christian, unless you mean the Satanic version.


quote:
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.[1] White supremacy, as with racial supremacism in general, is rooted in ethnocentrism and a desire for hegemony.[2] White supremacy has frequently resulted in anti-black and antisemitic violence. Different forms of white supremacy have different conceptions of who is considered white, and not all white supremacist organizations agree on who is their greatest enemy.[3]

White supremacist groups can be found in most countries and regions with a significant white population, including North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Latin America. The militant approach taken by white supremacist groups has caused them to be watched closely by law enforcement officials. Some European countries have laws forbidding hate speech, as well as other laws that ban or restrict some white supremacist organizations.

In the United States, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is the group most associated with the white supremacist movement. Many white supremacist groups are based on the concept of preserving genetic purity, and do not focus solely on discrimination by skin color.[9] The KKK's reasons for supporting racial segregation are not primarily based on religious ideals, but some Klan groups are openly Protestant. The KKK and other white supremacist groups like Aryan Nations, The Order and the White Patriot Party are considered Anti-Semitic.[9]
@cagetheelephant,well said.
Please don't portray those muslims who are killing innocent people as exemplary muslims.I condemn that,but at the same time,you can't turn a blind eye to those muslims who are being killed mercilessly in palestine and iraq.

To understand what exactly is Islam,read the quran.Don't judge relegion by its people.
quote:
Originally posted by Billy Joe Bob Gene:
My dear gb,

Not all terrorists are Muslim. Most, yeah, but not all. The problem comes when people think they have god's mandate to kill other people.


There have been, and continue to be, Christian terrorists. To wit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Resistance_Army

Need I mention Northern Ireland? How about the highly Christian Ku Klux Klan?

There's enough to go around. The problem is religion. When you can make up a god, you can make him say anything you want him to say. Including racist, tribal, political, religious, ethnic, and other abominations that deserve cleansing.


billy joe,

Let me remind you; loose lips sink ships.

Let the record show.I'm not pleased with your insensitivity to groups of American citizens or their allies.

If you are trying to show the muslim you might not totally reject an opportunity to march with his drummer it will be well received.
Fitzgerald, in his translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Stanza 59, used this language with respect to Islam:

The Grape that can with Logic absolute
The Two-and-Seventy jarring Sects confute:
The sovereign Alchemist that in a trice
Life's leaden metal into Gold transmute.
- The Rubaiyat (st. 59),
(FitzGerald's translation)

In the reference to the "Two and seventy Jarring Sects," Fitzgerald/Khayyam recognize that Islam is not some unitary, singular belief system, but is divided into sects, and not only sects, but "jarring sects," i.e. divisions that have serious quarrels with each other. An old Arabic proverb puts it this way: "He is a Muslim who says he is a Muslim."

The initial post in this string contains the following bland and scholarly statement from the apologist Imam who is apparently purporting to speak for only those he considers true Muslims:

"Deviations from the Islamic norm are cultural or political biases not based on Islam."

Listen up, Imam! Whether you consider one or another or some other sect of Islam to be the authentic version matters not a whole lot. Those who are blowing up innocent people in marketplaces and along highways and getting into airplanes with homemade bombs with the intent of killing scores of other innocent people in exchange for unlimited sexual favors from forty virgins--those particular maniacs call themselves Muslims and they ARE Muslims, since they derive their doctrines from the same book you use--they just interpret it differently from the way you say you do.

I don't care which of the "two and jarring sects" you attach yourself to, Imam Tammam Adi, and I don't give a flying fig whether YOU consider any of the other sects as genuine or not. The FACT is that there ARE Muslims out there who want me dead or enslaved and neither prospect is very attractive to yours truly. I truly dig life and freedom.

The next thing you need to do, Imam, is to publicly and unqualifiedly denounce the violent terroristic acts of those whose alleged "[d]eviations from the Islamic norm are cultural or political biases not based on Islam." Denounce them by name and by sect and publicly condemn their actions and distance yourself from them with specificity and particularity instead of just making some generalized statement that "Deviations from the Islamic norm are cultural or political biases not based on Islam."

One more thing, Imam. You say, "Allah: Just means God in Arabic, the same God we all worship." Nope. Not so, Imam. The God of Christians (with some very few exceptions among fringe minority sects) is a Trinitarian God, which Islam rejects. Jesus Christ, who properly claimed to be one with his Father and equal with God ("the Word was God"), is not accorded that status by Islam. He is recognized in Islam as a prophet, but not as a member of the Godhead. That, Imam, constitutes a HUGE difference between the Allah that Muslims worship and the God of Christianity and you need to go back and take Comparative Religion 101 and get yourself straightened out on that matter.
Last edited by beternU

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