Faith and Grammar

 

An ancient piece of text in any language written before the development of its grammar is always ambiguous and subject to multiple interpretations.

I asked  an AI chatbot about when the grammars of the languages in which most popular divine books are written were compiled. Here is the answer.

The grammar of the following languages was compiled at different times throughout history:

Greek: The grammar of the Greek language was compiled by ancient Greek scholars and grammarians starting from around the 4th century BCE. The most famous of these works is the "Art of Grammar" by Dionysius Thrax, which was written in the 2nd century BCE.

Latin: The grammar of the Latin language was also compiled by ancient Roman grammarians. One of the earliest Latin grammars is the "Ars grammatica" by Aelius Donatus, which was written in the 4th century CE. However, there were earlier works on Latin grammar as well.

Hebrew: The grammar of the Hebrew language was studied and compiled by Jewish scholars over centuries. One significant work on Hebrew grammar is the "Sefer Yetzirah," written in the early centuries CE. However, the most comprehensive and influential Hebrew grammar work is the "Kitāb al-ʼAyn" by Saadia Gaon, written in the 9th century CE.

Arabic: The grammar of the Arabic language was extensively studied and compiled by Arab linguists and scholars from the 8th century CE onwards. Some of the most notable works on Arabic grammar include "Al-Kitab" by Sibawayh, written in the 8th century CE, and "Al-Kitab fi al-Nahw" by Ibn Hisham, written in the 13th century CE.

Quran on Fire

 Not very long ago when Serbians under the leadership of Radovan Karadzic were having fun and providing amusement to the rest of Europe by way of persecuting Muslims within their reach. Nearly three hundred and fifty thousand Bosnian Muslims were killed in most brutal and heinous exercise of hatred. That's were cut, women were raped, children were brutalised and large groups were put in concentration camps and starved to death.  The Serbs were out to break all records of the Nazis. When one of the commanders was asked why they were doing it, he replied,  "because they don't eat pork. "

Fanatic Christians harbour a deadly hatred of Muslims because they do not eat pork or drink wine or fornicate with siblings. They have the freedom to hate.
But they also believe in heaven and hell, and any any suggestion that they may end up in hell makes them mad. The Bible barons have cleverly edited their books to justify all above actions. The Quran is the only book that still defines sins and warns of eternal life in hell for the transgressors.
Think about a North European young man whose sister has given birth to his child, and he learms that according to Quran they are both destined for hell. He knows no way of repenting or reversing what happened. The only thing he can do is to insult, tear, kick and burn that book. And all his friends who might be in a similar position would cheer and applaud him.
But the story does not end there. If all Christians start believing in th Quran and living shariah-compliant life, serious economic problems would arise.  If all the pork and wine businesses close down, the western economy will collapse.  So it stands to reason that Western leaders and governments tacitly encourage anti-Islamic and anti-quranic stances in their countries.
There may still be many Hitlers and Karadzics hidden behind those noble faces.

Marriage and Divorce in Quran

 

Marriage and Divorce in Holy Qur’an

(English translation: Sahih International by chapter.verse)

4.1. 0 mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.

5.5. This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you, when you have given them their due compensation, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse or taking [secret] lovers. And whoever denies the faith - his work has become worthless, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.

4.25. And whoever among you cannot [find] the means to many free, believing women, then [he may marry] from those whom your right hands possess of believing slave girls. And Allah is most knowing about your faith. You [believers] are of one another. So marry them with the permission of their people and give them their due compensation [i.e., mahr] according to what is acceptable. [They should be] chaste, neither [of] those who commit unlawful intercourse randomly nor those who take [secret] lovers. But once they are sheltered in marriage, if they should commit adultery, then for them is half the punishment for free [unmarried] women. This [allowance] is for him among you who fears affliction [i.e., sin], but to be patient is better for you. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

24.33. But let them who find not [the means for] marriage abstain [from sexual relations] until Allah enriches them from His bounty. And those who seek a contract [for eventual emancipation] from among whom your right hands possess - then make a contract with them if you know there is within them goodness and give them from the wea1th of Allah which He has given you. And do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, to seek [thereby] the temporary interests of worldly life. And if someone should compel them, then indeed, Allah is [to them]. after their compulsion, Forgiving and Merciful.

2.235. There is no blame upon you for that to which you [indirectly] allude concerning a proposal to women or for what you conceal within yourselves. Allah knows that you will have them in mind. But do not promise them secretly except for saying a proper saying. And do not determine to undertake a marriage contract until the decreed period reaches its end. And know that Allah knows what is within yourselves, so beware of Him. And know that Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing.

4.34. Men are in-charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard.  But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.

4.35, And if you fear dissension between the two, send an arbitrator from his people and an arbitrator from her people. If they both desire reconciliation, Allah will cause it between them. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Acquainted [with all things].

4.128. And if a woman fears from her husband contempt or evasion, there is no sin upon them if they make terms of settlement between them - and settlement is best. And present in [human] souls is stinginess. But if you do good and fear Allah - then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.

4.130. But if they separate [by divorce], Allah will enrich each [of them] from His abundance. And ever is Allah Encompassing and Wise.

2.222. And they ask you about menstruation. Say, "It is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure. And when they have purified themselves, then come to them from where Allah has ordained for you. Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves."

2.223. Your wives are a place of cultivation [i.e., sowing of seed] for you, so come to your place of cultivation however you wish and put forth [righteousness] for yourselves. And fear Allah and know that you will meet Him. And give good tidings to the believers.

4. 3. And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one or those your right hands possess [i.e., slaves]. That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice].

4.127. And they request from you, [0 Muhammad], a [legal] ruling concerning women. Say, "Allah gives you a ruling about them and [about] what has been recited to you in the Book concerning the orphan girls to whom you do not give what is decreed for them - and [yet] you desire to marry them - and concerning the oppressed among children and that you maintain for orphans [their rights] in justice." And whatever you do of good - indeed, Allah is ever Knowing of it.

4.129. And you will never be able to be equal [in feeling] between wives, even if you should strive [to do so]. So do not incline completely [toward one] and leave another hanging.  And if you amend [your affairs] and fear Allah - then indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.

4.4. And give the women [upon marriage] their [bridal] gifts graciously. But if they give up willingly to you anything of it, then take It in satisfaction and ease.

60.10. 0 you who have believe, when the believing women come to you as emigrants, examine [i.e., test] them. Allah is most knowing as to their faith. And if you know them to be believers, then do not return them to the disbelievers; they are not lawful [wives] for them, nor are they lawful [husbands] for them. But give them [i.e., the disbelievers] what they have spent. And there is no blame upon you if you marry them when you have given them their due compensation [i.e., mahr]. And hold not to marriage bonds with disbelieving women, but ask for what you have spent and let them [i.e., the disbelievers] ask for what they have spent. That is the judgement of Allah; He judges between you. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.

60.11. And if you have lost any of your wives to the disbelievers and you subsequently obtain [something], then give those whose wives have gone the equivalent of what they had spent. And fear Allah, in whom you are believers.

2:221. And do not marry polytheistic women until they believe. And a believing slave woman is better than a polytheist, even though she might please you. And do not marry polytheistic men [to your women] until they believe. And a believing slave is better than a polytheist. even though he might please you. Those invite [you] to the Fire, but Allah invites to Paradise and to forgiveness. by His permission. And He makes clear His verses [i.e., ordinances] to the people that perhaps they may remember.

4.19. 0 you who have believed, it is not lawful for you to inherit women by compulsion. And do not make difficulties for them in order to take [back] part of what you gave them unless they commit a clear immorality [i.e. adultery]. And live with them in kindness. For if you dislike them - perhaps you dislike a thing and Allah makes therein much good.

4.23. Prohibited to you [for marriage] are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your father's sisters, your mother's sisters, your brother's daughters, your sister's daughters, your [milk] mothers who nursed you, your sisters through nursing, your wives' mothers, and your step-- daughters under your guardianship [born] of your wives unto whom you have gone in. But if you have not gone in unto them, there is no sin upon you. And [also prohibited re] the wives of your sons who are from your loins, and that you take [in marriage] two Sisters simultaneously, except for what has already occurred. Indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful. '

4.24. And [also prohibited to you are all] married women except those your right hands possess. [This is] the decree of Allah upon you. And lawful to you are [all others] beyond these, [provided] that you seek them [in marriage] with [gifts from] your property, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse. So for whatever you enjoy [of marriage] from them, give them their due compensation as an obligation. And there is no blame upon you for what you mutually agree to beyond the obligation. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.

2.226. For those who swear not to have sexual relations with their wives is a waiting time of four months, but if they return [to normal relations] - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

2.227. And if they decide on divorce then indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing.

2.228. Divorced women remain in waiting [i.e., do not remarry] for three periods, and it is not lawful for them to conceal what Allah has created in their wombs if they believe in Allah and the Last Day. And their husbands have more right to take them back in this [period] if they want reconciliation. And due to them [i.e., the wives] is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable. But the men [i.e., husbands] have a degree over them [in responsibility and authority]. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.

2.229. Divorce is twice. Then [after that], either keep [her] in an acceptable manner or release [her] with good treatment. And it is not lawful for you to take anything of what you have given them unless both fear that they will not be able to keep [within] the limits of Allah. But if you fear that they will not keep [within] the limits of Allah, then there is no blame upon either of them concerning that by which she ransoms herself. These are the limits of Allah, so do not transgress them. And whoever transgresses the limits of Allah - it is those who are the wrongdoers [i.e., the unjust].

2.230. And if he has divorced her [for the third time], then she is not lawful to him afterward until [after] she marries a husband other than him. And if he [i.e., the latter husband] divorces her [or dies], there is no blame upon them [i.e., the woman and her former husband] for returning to each other if they think that they can keep [within] the limits of Allah. These are the limits of Allah, which He makes clear to a people who know [i.e., understand].

2.231. And when you divorce women and they have [nearly] fulfilled their term, either retain them according to acceptable terms or release them according to acceptable terms, and do not keep them, intending harm, to transgress [against them]. And whoever does that has certainly wronged himself. And do not take the verses of Allah in jest. And remember the favor of Allah upon you and what has been revealed to you of the Book [i.e., the Qur'an] and wisdom [i.e., the Prophet's sunnah] by which He instructs you. And fear Allah and know that Allah is Knowing of all things.

2.232. And when you divorce women and they have fulfilled their term, do not prevent them from remarrying their [former] husbands if they [i.e., all parties] agree among themselves on an acceptable basis. That is instructed to whoever of you believes in Allah and the Last Day. That is better for you and purer, and Allah knows and you know not.

2.233. Mothers may nurse [i.e., breastfeed] their children two complete years for whoever wishes to complete the nursing [period]. Upon the father is their (i.e., the mothers'] provision and their clothing according to what is acceptable. No person is charged with more than his capacity. No mother should be harmed through her child, and no father through his child. And upon the [father's] heir is [a duty] like that [of the father]. And if they both desire weaning through mutual consent from both of them and consultation, there is no blame upon either of them. And if you wish to have your children nursed by a substitute, there is no blame upon you as long as you give payment according to what is acceptable. And fear Allah and know that Allah is Seeing of what you do.

2.234. And those who are taken in death among you and leave wives behind they, [the wives, shall] wait four months and ten [days]. And when they have fulfilled their term, then there is no blame upon you for what they do with themselves in an acceptable manner. And Allah is [fully] acquainted with what you do.

2.236. There is no blame upon you if you divorce women you have not touched nor specified for them an obligation. But give them [a gift of] compensation - the wealthy according to his capability and the poor according to his capability - a provision according to what is acceptable, a duty upon the doers of good.

2.237. And if you divorce them before you have touched them and you have already specified for them an obligation, then [give] half of what you specified - unless they forego the right or the one in whose hand is the marriage contract foregoes it. And to forego it is nearer to righteousness. And do not forget graciousness between you. Indeed Allah, of whatever you do, is Seeing.

2.240. And those who are taken in death among you and leave wives behind for their wives is a bequest: maintenance for one year without turning [them] out. But if they leave [of their own accord], then there is no blame upon you for what they do with themselves in an acceptable way. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.

2.241. And for divorced women is a provision according to what is acceptable - a duty upon the righteous.

4.15. Those who commit immorality [i.e., unlawful sexual intercourse] of your women - bring against them four [witnesses] from among you. And if they testify, confine them [i.e., the guilty women] to houses until death takes them or Allah ordains for them [another] way.

4.16. And the two who commit it [i.e., unlawful sexual intercourse] among you - punish [i.e., dishonor] them both. But if they repent and correct themselves, leave them alone. Indeed, Allah is ever Accepting of repentance and Merciful.

4.20. But if you want to replace one wife with another and you have given one of them a great amount [in gifts], do not take [back] from it anything. Would you take it in injustice and manifest sin?

4.21. And how could you take it while you have gone in unto each other and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?

4.22. And do not marry those [women] whom your fathers married, except what has already occurred. Indeed, it was an immorality and hateful [to Allah] and was evil as a way.

65.1. 0 Prophet, when you [Muslims] divorce women, divorce them for [the commencement of] their waiting period and keep count of the waiting period, and fear Allah, your Lord. Do not turn them out of their [husbands'] houses, nor should they [themselves] leave [during that period] unless they are committing a clear immorality. And those are the limits [set by] Allah. And whoever transgresses the limits of Allah has certainly wronged himself. You know not; perhaps Allah will bring about after that a [different] matter.

65.2. And when they have [nearly] fulfilled their term, either retain them according to acceptable terms or part with them according to acceptable terms. And bring to witness two just men from among you and establish the testimony for [the acceptance of] Allah. That is instructed to whoever should believe in Allah and the Last Day. And whoever fears Allah- He will make for him a way out.

65.3. And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allahh will accomplish his purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent.

 

65.4. And those who no longer expect menstruation among your women - if you doubt, then their period is three months, and [also for] those who have not menstruated. And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they give birth. And whoever fears Allah- He will make for him of his matter ease.

65.5. That is the command of Allah, which He has sent down to you; and whoever fears Allah- He will remove for him his misdeeds and make great for him his reward.

65.6. Lodge them [in a section] of where you dwell out of your means and do not harm them in order to oppress them. And if they should be pregnant, then spend on them until they give birth. And if they breastfeed for you, then give them their payment and confer among yourselves in the acceptable way; but if you are in discord, then there may breastfeed for him [i.e., the father] another woman.

66. 3. And [remember] when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a statement; and when she informed [another] of it and Allah showed it to him, he made known part of it and ignored a part. And when he informed her about it, she said, "Who told you this?" He said, "I was informed by the Knowing, the Acquainted."

66.4, If you two [wives] repent to Allah, [it is best], for your hearts have deviated. But if you cooperate against him -then indeed Allah is his protector, and Gabriel and the righteous of the believers and angels, moreover, are his assistants.

66.5. Perhaps his Lord, if he divorced you [all], would substitute for him wives better than you – submitting [to Allah], believing, devoutly obedient, repentant, worshipping, and traveling - [ones] previously married and virgins.

 

33.37. And [remember, 0 Muhammad], when you said to the one on whom Allah bestowed favor and you bestowed favor, "Keep your wife and fear Allah," while you concealed within yourself that which Allah is to disclose. And you feared the people, while Allah has more right that you fear Him. So when Zayd had no longer any need for her, We married her to you in order that there not be upon the believers any discomfort [i.e., guilt] concerning the wives of their claimed [i.e., adopted] sons when they no longer have need of them. And ever is the command [i.e.,

decree) of Allah accomplished.

والله اعلم بالصواب

Compiled by Muhammad Nasim, mohnasim@gmail.com), naseemmahnavi.blogspot.com

 

Arabian Lights

The monotheistic God

The Jews according to Torah portray God (Yahweh) as a desert wandering shrewd businessman who made many deals with individuals he thought could build Empires for him and controlled his subjects by making them oppress each other and by causing disasters. 

 Christian concept of God as in Bible (New Testament) is of a Playboy in the Penthouse of heaven who briefly visited the earth to immaculately impregnate Virgin Mary and then left his loved woman and innocent son at the mercy of the Romans. 

 Allah is the Muslims' preferred name for God. It signifies a being that embodies attributes of as many as 99 adjectives. The word Allah carries a sense of purity and majesty not conveyed by the more common word God. After centuries of bickering on its semantics, Muslim scholars , decided that the word Allah is a proper noun, rather than a derivative of the word elah which means sustainer, and collectively represents all the 99 attributes mentioned in the Holy Quran.

Literal Islam

Sometime in early 1970s I watched the Shakespeare play Richard III in a theatre in his home town of

Stratford upon Avon. At the very opening, a character walked on the stage and facing the audience said, "I have chosen to be the villain." I was shocked. It was beyond my comprehension that someone would

voluntarily choose to be a villain. Now I know better.

Urdu translations of the Holy Quran I read in my childhood had marginal notes telling about the

circumstances in which verses were revealed or the incidents to which they referred. It created Awareness of Circumstantial implications of the Quranic injunctions. It was understood that you cannot pick a line from the Quran in isolation and assume it to be a universal statement. If you quote the Quran you should quote the whole passage with the background and explanations. The verse "kill in the path of Allah" has been used by opponents of Islam to propagate that Islam preaches violence and even some misguided Muslims believe that killing the opponents of Islam leads to the path of divine glory. That is a totally wrong impression and a sure way to lose the path of Allah.

The verse was revealed in a situation when Muslims, led by Prophet Muhammad, were travelling towards Makkah to perform a pilgrimage and were stopped by the infidels. It should be noted that the companions of the Prophet were restrained from violence and bloodshed unless allowed by him after receiving a divine revelation. As it happened on that occasion, nobody got killed as a peace formula was found.  In fact, even today all Muslims are restrained from violence and bloodshed unless faced with a situation similar to one for which the exception was made by the Prophet under divine guidance.

Unfortunately many translations of the Holy Quran, especially those in English now in circulation give the literal meaning of the verses without the necessary explanation leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions. Even worse is the case of Islamic madrassas and other organizations established mainly for financial considerations teach their students Arabic language so that they can understand what the Quran says literally without knowing the background and the historical significance of the texts. Not surprisingly, a lot of people are being led astray.

Manuela and the future.

I recently came across the following news item on the social media and got to thinking about faith and prejudice. Let us start either news item:

“http://todaysbreaking.com/world/daughter-of-italian-parliamentarian-converts-her-religion-to-islam/

IN INTERNATIONAL / BY DIGITAL TEAM / ON JUNE 18, 2016 AT 4:07 PM /

Italy : Italians are in shock after the daughter of a parliamentarian announced her conversion to Islam and changed her name to Aysha. Manuela Franco Barbato is a 22 years old student at the Università L’orientale de Napoli. She is the daughter of Franco Barbato, a former parliamentarian representing the ‘Italy of Values’ party.

Her dad told a newspaper “This conversion is not just bad, but terrible because this religion is too harsh, too radical, too rigid. It is a fundamentalist religion.

Manuela Franco Barbato converts to Islam wear Hijab

I am seeing this firsthand, my daughter lives with me. I see it every day. At the time of prayer, she does not even take care of the children and I get angry about it. If a baby cries, it means that he needs something, he needs his mom. I feel a lot of pain for this choice she has made for her life”.

She wrote on facebook “The veil is what Allah has chosen for me, I am proud of the purity of my soul. This is the law of God, who am I to oppose it?”. Her comments were met with a lot of hostility on social media as most Italians have negative views of islam and Muslims.”

The question that has been begging an answer for many years now is, “Why are Italians and all other Christians and Jews so opposed to Islam? Do they know anything about it?”

In reaction to terrorist attacks by depraved Muslims, the leaders of Western countries including USA, UK, France, Germany etc. all reacted with precisely the same rhetoric:

 “We shall not change our way of life.”

That, indeed, is the crux of the matter.  The western antipathy towards Islam is driven by the fear of having to change their life styles if Islam becomes dominant in those regions as predicted by Christian saints such as Nostradamus and Baba Vanga.

There may be some justification for this fear.  If you take wine, pork, fornication and abuse of science out, there is hardly anything left in the western civilization, although the people therein are still precious.

In the USA 77.7% of the population was white in 2013, which is expected to change to 53% by 2050 and if the same trend continues, it would be less than 25% by the end of the 21^st  century and perhaps white men and women will only be found in special reservations by the end of the 22^nd century.

The trend in Europe is even worse.  Population growth rate of Caucasians or white people in almost all European countries is negative and the rate of depletion is growing.  Whereas the deficit is being compensated by immigration in most European countries, Germany, Greece, Poland and Russia have trend of net population decrease. However, the leaders of those countries are in a constant state of denial. They would, for fear of losing votes, not accept that there is something wrong with their way of life.

Now let us suppose that the Western nations (Christian and Jewish people) mange to destroy the Islamic powers in the world and thus thwart the prophecies of Nostradamus and Baba Vanga so that they may continue to live in their chosen way, albeit as a negligible minority, who will dominate the world? Obviously the communist Chinese and the Hindu Indians will. The Hindus, once they taste power will naturally revert to their Aryan originality declaring the white populations as “untouchables” or doing what the German Aryans did in their hay days.

Ref: http://www.nap.edu/read/9599/chapter/4

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Charlie Hebdo and I

“Charlie Hebdo first appeared in 1970 as a successor to the Hara-Kiri magazine, which was banned for mocking the death of former French President Charles de Gaulle.^[10] In 1981 publication ceased, but the magazine was resurrected in 1992.” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hebdo)

The planned act of violence of January 7, 2015 in which 12 people including 9 Charlie Hebdo staff members, one guest and two policemen were gunned down in Paris by two armed assailants was indeed a ghastly crime. It shook the world and some 40 heads of state flew into Paris to condole the incident.  But compared with the carnages that occur frequently in Peshawar and Karachi at the hands of religious fanatics of the same genre. it was a walk in the park. The December, 2014 terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar in which over 130 pupils and teachers were gunned down in cold blood did not seem to cause any stir in the world.

Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 CE in Makkah and Islam started when he was 40 lunar years old or about 609 CE. In the last 1406 years there has not been a single incident in which a Muslim has abused or ridiculed the Bible or the Torah or Jesus or Moses. Their names are taken with respect by all Muslims. In fact Muslims even treat Budha, Confucious and the Hindu avatars with a degree of deference. However the response of the followers of other religions has been disappointing to say the least. There is a whole history behind it.

The ridicule of Prophet Muhammad was started by the Christians, Jews and pagans of Makkah as soon as his message became known. The European compilers of the Bible didn’t shrink from putting in snide remarks about Ismail son of Abraham who is claimed by the Arabs of Makkah to be their forefather. In recent times such western intellectuals as Voltaire and Dante have exceeded all limits of decency in their criticism of Islam and Prophet Muhammad. The illustrations contained in Dante’s Inferno are simply outrageous from any standards.

It seems that Western civilization and decency have become conditioned to such vulgarities against Islam. How come that in a society where people get jailed for denying the Holocaust, mocking the king or queen or the death of a president are not questioned about their activities that clearly incite hatred on the basis of religion and race?

We accept that there is small number of people in the Muslim world who are intellectually locked in the 7^th Century and want to change the world to resemble the state of affairs of that time and efforts are being made to contain the effects of their errant thinking. The question is: are there similar people in the Western world who are intellectually locked in the “middle ages”?  If so, are they a small minority or an overwhelming majority?

The following picture shared on facebook seems to be a fair representation of the popular following of the leaders who assembled in Paris to demonstrate solidarity with vulgarity.

Innocence of Muslims

 

The ghastly conspiracy in the making of the film by above name and the universal anguished response of unsuspecting Muslims to its advertisements on internet raises a number of very significant questions.

1.       How do you classify it? The modern anti-Islamic campaign by bigoted Christians seems to have started around the 15^th century in Europe with the publication of Dante’s Inferno containing extremely objectionable material about Prophet Muhammad and Ali bin Abu Talib followed by a stream of paintings depicting scenesof Christian religious wars against Arab Muslims. They demonstrate elements of both sadism and masochism. In present day jargon it could be called artistic terrorism.

2.       Who is responsible? As far as the latest episode in this twisted crusade is concerned the heinous acts were performed by US citizens on US soil with the aid of US communication companies; and therefore the government of the USA should be held responsible. The lukewarm reaction of the US leadership rejecting the film is neither here nor there. They need to decide whether they are “with us” or “against us.” They need to do something (and more of it) about stopping this menace which occurs every now and then in the NATO territories and France.

3.       What drives the Christian Extremist? The extremist Christian is, in his own way, dedicated to the glory of Christianity and has some distorted knowledge of its basic values. But he is also confused by the vulgar manner in which the venerable personality of Jesus (I’sa) son of Mary (peace be upon them) is often treated in the West. When he studies Islam he realizes that this is where true Christianity lies. It seems logical that he should join Islam. But he cannot rise above the centuries old prejudices nor can he give up his vices and addictions. The result is that he develops an irrational attitude.

4.       Why target Muhammad? If you take out the two basic differences then there is nothing between Christianity and Islam: Muslims do not accept Trinity and Christians do not accept Muhammad’s prophethood and there can be no compromise on that. So the only way the extremist Christian can win in his contorted imagination is by vilifying, abusing and slandering Prophet Muhammad because if it wasn’t for him, Christianity would have dominated the entire world. It does no harm to Muhammad (peace be upon him), but it hurts the Muslims all over the world.

5.        What to do? If you are one of the Christian or Muslim war mongers who believe that a war between Christians and Muslims is inevitable, let the hatred grow. The sooner we get over with it the better. But if, like me, you believe that people of various nationalities, cultures, faiths, skin color and languages can live together in peace and harmony then try to talk sense into the bigots and the extremists wherever they are. If you do it consistently, it has to work.