I had an interesting experience yesterday morning. I am a Missouri Synod Lutheran by creed, so when I heard that a former Muslim was going to be speaking at out church, teaching Adult Sunday School and delivering the sermon for this last Sunday, I will admit I was skeptical.
We were visited by an ordained Lutheran pastor named Reverend Karim, who was born a Muslim. This man moved to America to get an education and fell in love with a Christian woman whom he intended to marry. He was forestalled in his efforts by a Christian mother who would not accept her daughter marrying a Muslim. Thinking that he could convince her mother of his good intentions, but remain in his Muslim faith, he began attending Lutheran bible classes and over time realized the differences between the God that Christians and Jews recognize and the one that Muslims call Allah.
As I have stated before, I have read the Qur’an in an attempt to know more about the ideology that we are facing. I have worked with Muslims in the past who seemed to be genuinely kind and loving people. I have talked with them and read of the differences between the Greater Jihads and the Lesser Jihad. So I have always made the assumption that overall, Islam is not a violent religion, but it has been twisted to serve the needs of the extreme radicals in the faith. There are good teachings in the Qur’an about self struggle in an effort to be more God-like; these are typically seen as the first nine levels of jihad, the Greater Jihad. This defines a struggle within man against the Great Satan, or the sin that is within us all. The Lesser Jihad is the one of the sword. This has become the battle cry for these radical Islamic fascist who desire a caliphate state in every Muslim country and whose goal is world wide domination through Islam. I have always believed that these radicals were not part of the mainstream faith and had been corrupted by evil to turn their religion in to something horrible.
I was apparently wrong.
Reverend Karim opened our eyes to some of the true teachings of Islam. Through out the lesson during our Adult Sunday School, he illustrated some of the more violent teachings of Islam. These were not just the ones who called for the unfaithful to be slaughtered. These were teachings that give husbands the right to abuse their wives if they become rebellious or speak out against them. One example of the treatment of women was Qur’an 4:34 “… and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them;” This verse gives the husband the power over their wives to beat them until they obey. Another prime example of the violence in the religion is in the way they deal with a thief, Qur’an 5:38 “And (as for) the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned, an exemplary punishment from Allah; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.” They do this even unto their children. If a child were to steal out of hunger, a true Muslim would not show compassion and feed the child; they would sever his hand at his wrist to drive home the lessons of Allah.
Others deal directly with how they handle non-believers. Qur’an 13:40, “And We will either let you see part of what We threaten them with or cause you to die, for only the delivery of the message is (incumbent) on you, while calling (them) to account is Our (business).” Another example is, Qur’an 7:97-99, “What! Do the people of the towns then feel secure from Our punishment coming to them by night while they sleep? (98) What! Do the people of the towns feel secure from Our punishment coming to them in the morning while they play? (99) What! Do they then feel secure from Allah's plan? But none feels secure from Allah's plan except the people who shall perish.”
I have pointed out before aspects of the so called Religion of Peace that were definitely not peaceful in any way. Still, I always assumed that we were seeing a small sect or radical ideology formed from a basically peaceful religion. Over the hours I heard this man speak yesterday and through the questions that he fielded, I began to change that view. The thing that worried me the most was his analogy about how many Christians read the Bible on a regular basis. He said that Islam is no different from Christianity in one aspect. About 10~15% of Christians regularly read the Bible and have a solid understanding of most of its teachings for themselves. The rest learn though their culture, family and services what they know of their religion. In this, he says, Muslims are no different. Only small percentages actually read and study the Qur’an as they should. Only about the same 10~15% actually understand the all the concepts in the book and follow its teachings. This is the element we are facing in what we consider to be radical Islam, the ones who actually follow the teachings of the Qur’an.
He warned us that this was not a struggle of Christianity or Judaism against Islam, but it was a struggle of everything non-Islamic against Islam. Yesterday he told us that in the coming days ahead we would see Islam lash out at all religions in all reaches of the Earth. This morning when I was driving to work, I heard the developing news coming out of Thailand. Buddhism is considered to be one of the most peaceful religions on Earth. Today in Thailand, Buddhist are arming themselves and forming militias in a response to more than 2,000 of them being slain at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. Thailand has a strong Muslim population in the south and the Thailand government has begun gearing itself up to protect against a civil war. Thailand officials have stated that they believe it is the intent of al-Qaeda and other Islamic terrorist organizations within the country, to destabilize the region and foster a civil war between the religious factions. Sounds like a fairly similar tactic to the current situation in Iraq. This is the perfect example of how understanding and enlightenment mean nothing in the face of these radical Islamic groups. Buddhists are some of the most non-belligerent people on the planet who completely focus on enlightenment and understanding. When they are running for their guns, you know you have a problem.
This is the enemy that we face. This is the religion of Islam.
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