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The Jew is not My Enemy by Tarek Fatah (Exceprts-III)
Anti-Semitism (hatred for Jewish people) is not a new or unique phenomenon for us Pakistanis. We love to hate the Jews and to blame all our ills on the ugly, hideous, nefarious designs of the Zionist Jews. After all, Jews control the world and it is only because of them that we Muslims are so far behind the rest of the world. It’s all a big conspiracy.
Journalist and Political advocate Tarek Fatah described and analyzed the reasons for this anti-Semitism in his book, “The Jew is Not My Enemy: Unveiling Myths that fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism”. Following are some excerpts from the excellent book by Tarek Fatah.
According to Bernard Lewis, one of the foremost scholars of Islamic history, the anti-Semitic ideas of Christianity first entered the Muslim world because of Islam’s conquest of Europe, which resulted in many Christians converting to Islam. Later, when Europe hit back and colonized the Middle East, its anti-Jewish ideas infiltrated the Arab world. “European anti-Semitism, in both its theological and racist versions, was essentially alien to Islamic traditions, culture, and modes of thought,” writes Lewis. He notes that “prejudices existed in the Islamic world, as did occasional hostility, but not what could be called anti-Semitism, for there was no attribution of cosmic evil. And on the whole, Jews fared better under Muslim rule than Christians did.”
According to Lewis, it was Christian converts to Islam who brought anti-Semitism into the Arab world. Later, Greek Orthodox Christians who found themselves living under Ottoman rule are said to have introduced the notion of the blood libel into the Middle East. “The blood libel was endemic in these parts [Greece] and was brought to the notice of Ottoman authorities through the usual disturbances it caused at Easter time. This was the first time this story became known in Muslim Lands.”
In the mid-1800s, with the rise of European maritime power and the decline of Ottoman Turkey, there was a natural alignment between Christian Arabs and Christian Europeans. This contract brought numerous blood-liberal charges against Jews living in the Ottoman Empire. Very Often, it was business interests, not religion, that were at the root of the conflict. Christian businesses saw Jews as their main competitors in the Middle East, and it was easy to inflame Arab passions against the Jews. Lewis writes that anti-Semitism “was actively encouraged by Western emissaries of various kinds, including consular representatives on the one hand, and priests and missionaries on the other.” A famous example was the 1840 Damascus blood-libel case, in which the French consul backed the Capuchin monks who had accused the Jews of Blood-libel.
By the end of the century, there were calls for Christian-Muslim solidarity against the Jews. Soon, the allegations against the Jews of blood-libel were coming from Muslim quarters, not Christian.
In 1856, another event inside the Ottoman Caliphate caused Islamic clerics to suspect the hidden hand of the kuffar. At the end of Crimean war, Turkey implemented the Reform Act, which gave equal status to all Ottoman subjects, irrespective of religious background, and forbade discrimination against non-Muslims. This was a huge step forward in the Ottoman effort to modernize as a European power and not remain the “sick man of Europe” as the Russians had referred to the six-hundred-year old empire.
The old order, premised on the supremacy of Islam, yet providing protection to Jews and Christians as wards of the state, had stood for more than a millennium. Suddenly, however, Jewish citizens were deemed equal to Muslims, and the Islamist clergy as well as the privileged classes resented this. Murmurs of a Jewish conspiracy began to circulate. A memorandum by an Ottoman official reflects the angst of the Muslim population: “Today we have lost our sacred national rights won by the blood of our fathers and forefathers. At a time when the Islamic community is the ruling community, it has been deprived of the sacred right. This is a day of weeping and mourning for the people of Islam. As for the non-Muslims, this day, when they gained equality with the ruling community, was a day of rejoicing.”
Decades later, when the “Young Turks” overthrew Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1908, their opponents, in order to discredit the supporters of constitutional reform, accused the revolutionaries of being supported by Jews. Even today, the Islamic world is rife with rumors that the father of the modern Turkish republic, Kemal Ataturk, who abolished the caliphate in 1924, was secretly a Jew. While the Ottomans were adjusting to the reality of an awakened and industrialized Europe, and attempting to modernize their society, the doors were meanwhile opening to all sorts of European ideas and philosophies: Nationalism, Marxism and yes, anti-Semitism.
The famous anti-Semitic literature in Arabic appeared in 1869, in the form of the confessions of a Moldavian Rabbi who had converted to Christianity. Members of the Christian Arab community in Beirut published the Arabic translation, which supposedly revealed “the horrors of the Jewish religion.” Later, in 1890, a Christian author, Habib Faris, published a book in Cairo called in The Talmudic Human Sacrifices, accusing the Jews of ritual sacrifices, which were attributed to Talmudic teachings. Jews had lived among Muslims for nearly fourteen hundred years, yet it seems no one in Baghdad, Cordoba or Cairo had heard of these “human sacrifices” until the Europeans came to enlighten us about our cousins. It must be added that the caliph was totally opposed to the distribution of these anti-Jewish texts; authorities closed down publishers and shuttered newspapers to prevent public disorder.
However, the publication that firmly established anti-Semitism in the Muslim consciousness was The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The forgery was the first translated into Arabic by an Arab Christian, and published in Jerusalem in 1926. From Jerusalem’s Christian quarters to the offices of the city’s Mufti was not too far a distance, and soon this piece of fiction became the ideological tool that motivated opposition to the trickle of European Jews who were beginning to settle in British Palestine. The book from Europe gave additional credence to the existing classical tales in Islamic literature about the devious nature of the Jew.
However, it was only after the end of World War II, when the rest of the world had dismissed The Protocols as a fake, that the tract found new life in the Middle East. The Protocols were reintroduced in Cairo in 1951, with a fresh Arabic translation. Defeat of the combined Arab armies in 1948 at the hands of Israel gave fresh impetus to Judeophobia. The baton of anti-Semitism was passed from Europe to the Arab world, and work began to blend the characterization of Jews in The Protocols with their depiction in Islamic literature as untrustworthy sons of pigs and apes. How else could we explain the inability of the combined armies of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to defeat the infant state of Israel?
After all, they argument went, had it not been for the Jewish conspiracy and Jewish control of the UN, the U.S.A, and the U.S.S.R., surely the Arab armies would have won. When asked why God had not intervened to help the Muslims, theologians answered that Muslims were being put through a test by Allah and if we returned to the path of seventh-century Islam, we would see the Jews defeated the way they were in the battle of Khaybar. If proof was needed of the devious and conniving methods of world Jewry, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was produced as evidence.
It was in this climate to despair and failure in the Arab world of the late 1940s that the Islamist movement would discover its Lenin as well as its Trotsky in the same person—a man whose ideas still define the Jihad launched on Western Civilization by Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri.
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13 Responses to "The Jew is not My Enemy by Tarek Fatah (Exceprts-III)"
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I Think Tariq Fateh is A JEW bcaz v MUSLIMS dnt like dem . Dey r our enemies. Shame on Tariq Fateh
Mr. Tariq, this is a first warning for you. Next time, such comment by you will be deleted. We at PTH do not encourage false claims and baseless accusations. Instead of saying anything about the context itself, people like you resort to personal attacks, which is pathetic to say the least. Be warned.
semitic jews are our cousin.we have no problem with them.historically muslim empires always sheltered them.they enjoyed under muslim rule of spain and turkey.yeddish speaking european jews are problem.they are secret instigators of most of the voilence in last 150 years.must be controlled.
when these yeddish speaking jews were descending in middle east,semitic jews of palestine opposed their arrival morethan christian and muslims.they submitted a memorendum signed by nearly all jews of paletine in this regard to gen.balfour,an irish jew and governor of state of palestine.this memorendum is available in archive.
what they were doing in europe are now doing globally.humanity is weak before illumanties.
I hope tajender too takes seriously what the moderator has written here above.
Its a very informative book. Particularly in Indian context, the Arab Palestine dispute is the easiest tool in the hands of Indian politicians of all shades and colours to hoodwink the muslim community.This is for the first time that I have come across a new idea on this issue.
Virendra;
have you actually read the book and is it actually available in India?
No Muslim can deny the word of Quran, will you, TF??
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Quotes from the Qu’ran and Hadith about Jews, Jerusalem and Israel
As an introduction, it should be noted that in general the Qu’ran and Hadith make a distinction between “Children of Israel” and “Jews”. This distinction reflects the history of those two terms.
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The term “Israel” or “Children of Israel” refers to the twelve sons of Jacob and their descendants. Jews almost never referred to themselves collectively as “Jews” until after the 13th century. In the Bible, Prayer Book and Talmud they call themselves “Children of Israel”, “Children of Jacob”, “Israel”, etc. but never “Jews”. The word “Jews” derives from the Roman term “Judea” which described roughly the area allocated to the tribe of Judah including Jerusalem. More specifically it refers to the militant zealots who fought against Rome. According to Josephus, these zealots belonged to a Temple Cult at odds with the Rabbinical Jewish authorities, and a portion of which were Idumean converts to Judaism. In this sense the “Jews” or more properly “Judeans” meant militants. New Testament references to “Jews” follow this pattern, for example Jesus was labeled as “King of the Jews”, i.e. “King of the militants”, not “King of Israel”. After the Islamic conquest “Children of Israel” came to imply the Jewish people who kept the Divinely given commandments, and the “Jews” as those who abandoned or rejected them. Borrowing from European anti-Semitic literature, modern Islamists have stressed only the latter stereotype of evil “Jews”.
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The Qiyamah, Yawmul Deen, (which is also known as the Day of Judgment, Day of Gathering, Day of Meeting God, the Resurrection, and The Great Announcement), is a major theme (and promise), addressed not only in the Qur’an, but also in other religious Scriptures. Though opinions may differ on specifics, there is a more widely spread consensus, that it is connected to a time of momentous upheaval and calamity and, to The End of the World.
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This event that has traditionally been linked to the Day of Judgment, both in the Judeo-Christian traditions and in the Qur’an, is the Return of the Children of Israel to the Holy Land.
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Qur’an 17:104 : And We said unto the Children of Israel after him: Dwell in the land; but when the promise of the Hereafter (wa3’dul akhirati) cometh to pass We shall bring you as a crowd gathered out of various nations.
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Qur’an 59:2 : He it is Who caused those who disbelieved of the followers of the Book (Jews) to go forth from their homes (leave their exile) till the first gathering (Li awalil hashr) you did not think that they would go forth, while they were certain that their fortresses would defend them against Allah; but Allah came to them whence they did not expect, and cast terror into their hearts; they demolished their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers; therefore take a lesson, O you who have eyes!
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Qur’an 17:4 : And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Scripture: Ye verily will experience corruption (exile) in the earth twice, but Ye will then after (thumma) ascend (ta’lunna) to a great height (or station).
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Also according to the Qur’an, Allah chose the Children of Israel above all the nations
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O Children of Israel! call to mind the (special) favour which I bestowed upon you, and fulfil your covenant with Me as I fulfil My Covenant with you, and fear none but Me. [Qur'an, sura 2:40]
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Children of Israel! call to mind the (special) favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you to all other nations (for My Message). [Qur'an, sura 2:47]
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And remember We took your covenant and We raised above you Mount (Sinai) : (Saying): “Hold firmly to what We have given you and bring (ever) to remembrance what is therein: Perchance ye may fear Allah.” [Qur'an, sura 2:63]
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“We [Allah] made a covenant with you [Children of Israel] and raised the Mount [Sinai] above you, saying: ‘Grasp fervently [the Torah] what We [Allah] have given you, and bear in minds its precepts, that you may guard yourselves against evil’”. [Qur'an, sura 2:65]
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And remember We [Allah] made a covenant with the Children of Israel (to this effect): Worship none but Allah; treat with kindness your parents and kindred, and orphans and those in need; speak fair to the people; be steadfast in prayer; and practise regular charity. Then did ye turn back, except a few among you, and ye backslide (even now). [Qur'an, sura 2:83]
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After this it is ye, the same people, who slay among yourselves, and banish a party of you from their homes; assist (Their enemies) against them, in guilt and rancour; and if they come to you as captives, ye ransom them, though it was not lawful for you to banish them. Then is it only a part of the Book that ye believe in, and do ye reject the rest? but what is the reward for those among you who behave like this but disgrace in this life?- and on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous penalty. For Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.[Qur'an, sura 2:85]
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We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of messengers; We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Is it that whenever there comes to you a messenger with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?- Some ye called impostors, and others ye slay! [Qur'an, sura 2:87]
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Those to whom We [Allah] have sent the Book [Torah] study it as it should be studied: They are the ones that believe therein: [Qur'an, sura 2:121]
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O Children of Israel! call to mind the special favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you to all others nations (for My Message).[Qur'an, sura 2:122]
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“When God made a covenant with those [the Children of Israel] to whom the Scriptures were given He said: ‘Proclaim these to mankind and do not suppress them’”. [Qur'an, sura 3:187, "The 'Imrans"]
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“God made a covenant with the Israelites and raised among them twelve chieftains [the princes of the twelve tribes of the twelve sons of Jacob/Israel]“. [Qur'an, sura 5:12, "The Table"]
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“Bear in mind the words of Moses to his people [the Children of Israel]. He said: ‘Remember, my people, the favour which God has bestowed upon you. He [Allah] has raised up prophets among you, made you kings, and given you that [the Torah and the Land of Israel] which He has given to no other nation. Enter, my people, the holy land [of Israel] which God has assigned for you. Do not turn back, and thus lose all’”. [Qur'an, sura 5:20, "The Table"]
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“We [Allah] made a covenant with the Israelites and sent forth apostles among them”. [Qur'an, sura 5:70, "The Table"]
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“We [Allah] divided them [the Children of Israel] into twelve tribes, each a whole community”. [Qur'an, sura 7:159, "The Heights"]
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“We [Allah] sent forth Moses with Our signs, saying: ‘Lead your people [the Children of Israel] out of the darkness into the light, and remind them of God’s favours’. Surely in this there are signs for every steadfast, thankful man. Moses said to his people [the Children of Israel]: ‘Remember God’s goodness to you when He delivered you from Pharoah’s nation, who had oppressed you cruelly, slaughtering your sons and sparing only your daughters. Surely that was a grevious trial by your Lord. For He had declared: ‘If you give thanks, I will bestow abundance upon you: but if you deny My favours, My punishment is terrible indeed’”. [Qur'an, sura 14:6-7, "Abraham"]
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“But it was Our [Allah's] will to favour those [the Children of Israel] who were oppressed in the land [of Egypt] and to make them leaders among men, to bestow on them a noble heritage and to give them power in the land [of Egypt]; and to inflict on Pharoah, Haman and their warriors the very scourge they [the Egyptians] dreaded”.[Qur'an, sura 28:3, "The Story"]
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“We [Allah] gave the Book [Torah] to Moses (never doubt that you will meet him) and made it a guide for the Israelites. And when they grew steadfast and firmly believed in Our revelations, We appointed leaders from among them who gave guidance at Our bidding. On the Day of Resurrection your Lord will resolve their differences for them”. [Qur'an, sura 32:22, "Adoration"]
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“We [Allah] gave the Book [Torah] to the Israelites and bestowed on them wisdom and prophethood. We provided them with wholesome things and exalted them above the nations”.[Qur'an, sura 45:17, "Kneeling"]
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“We sent forth Noah and Abraham and bestowed on their offspring [the Children of Israel] prophethood and the Scriptures [Torah]“. [Qur'an, sura 57:26, "Iron"]
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The Qur’an gives reproof and condemnation to the “Yahudis”, meaning the Jews (or the more accurate term Judeans), and specifically the miltiant inhabitants of Medina.
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Ignominy shall be their portion [the Jews'] wheresoever they are found… They have incurred anger from their Lord, and wretchedness is laid upon them… because they disbelieve the revelations of Allah and slew the Prophets wrongfully… because they were rebellious and used to transgress. [Surah 111, v. 112]
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And thou wilt find them [the Jews] the greediest of mankind….[Surah 11, v. 96]
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Evil is that for which they sell their souls… For disbelievers is a terrible doom.[Surah II, v. 90]
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Taste ye [Jews] the punishment of burning.[Surah III, v. 18 1]
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Proclaim a woeful punishment to those that hoard up gold and silver…. Their treasures shall be heated in the dres of Hell, and their foreheads, sides and backs branded with them. . . . ‘Taste then the punishment which is your due. [Surah IX, v. 35]
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“They [the Jews] are the heirs of Hell…. They will spare no pains to corrupt you. They desire nothing but your ruin. Their hatred is clear from what they say … When evil befalls you they rejoice.” Ibid. [Surah 111, v. 117-120]
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Those who disbelieve Our revelations, We shall expose them to the fire. As often as their skins are consumed We shall exchange them for fresh skins that they may taste the torment.[Surah IV, v. 56]
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Because of the wrongdoing of the Jews…. And of their taking usury … and of their devouring people’s wealth by false pretenses. We have prepared for those of them who disbelieve a painful doom.[Surah IV, v. 160, 161]
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Allah hath cursed them [the Jews] for their disbelief.[Surah IV, v. 46]
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They [the Jews] will spare no pains to corrupt you. They desire nothing but your ruin. Their hatred is clear from what they say, but more violent is the hatred which their breasts conceal.[Surah III, v. 117-120]
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In truth the disbelievers are an open enemy to you.[Surah IV, v. 101]
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And thou seest [Jews and Christians] vying one with another in sin and transgression and their devouring of illicit gain. Verily evil is what they do. Why do not the rabbis and the priests forbid their evilspeaking and their devouring of illicit gain? …. evil is their handiwork.[Surah V, v. 62, 63]
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O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and Christians for friends. [.Surah V, v. 51]
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The most vehement of mankind in hostility [are] the Jews and the idolators.[Surah V, v. 82]
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Fight against such of those [Jews and Christians] … until they pay for the tribute readily, being brought low.[Surah IX, v. 29]
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Allah fighteth against them [the Jews]. How perverse they are![Surah IX, v. 30]
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Believers, many are the rabbis and the monks who defraud men of their possessions… Proclaim a woeful punishment to those that hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it in Allah’s cause…. their treasures shall be heated in the fire of Hell…. [Surah IX, v. 26-34]
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They [the Jews] spread evil in the land …. [Surah V, v. 62-66]
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[The Jews] knowingly perverted [the word of Allah], know of nothing except lies … commit evil and become engrossed in sin. [Surah II, v. 71-85]
sad that the mod doesn’t seem to like difference of opinion..and is too agile at the d key!!
Hear hear….
,,,,,How else could we explain the inability of the combined armies of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to defeat the infant state of Israel?>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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How do you explain the failure of the combined European Christian armies and their allies against the lone=ranger Zangi or Saladin during the Crusades??
Israel was/is not an ‘infant’ state, it is backed by all the pro-Jewish and other powers.On the other hand Arabs are divided and lack unity….hence got defeated.
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The Quran rightly says that the Jews and Christians are friends but enemies of Muslims.
The European anti-semitism, in both its theological and racist version, was essentially alien to Islamic traditions, culture and modes of thought, writes Lewis.
This position is still a reality in the realm of muslim world, and has not altered despite the changing times. The jewish individuals hold esteemed positions in the arab world. This is not to say that muslim communities have become paralysed and are unable to criticise the criminal elements among those who unequivocally support the zionist directed despicable practices of the Israeli leaders in Palestine.
The author of the book needs to improve his thought process so as to come out of his inferiority complex which by the way is not a novelty among muslims of India. Farid Zalari is another victim on the international scene mostly involved in critical analysis of the muslim countries in the service of zionism. Let us not forget that people are muslims and want to remain as muslims because they regard everything about Islam is good and it leaves no space for evil. Those who do not believe in the goodness of Islam have no place in the world of Islam.
Remember, it is not the religion which is on trial( this battle was won thousands of years ago against the infidels), but the individual and groups of people and it is their deeds which we must comment on!!
Rex Minor
to rex
Islam has not won. Why do muslims need armies, street gangs, terror groups, censoring and suppressing the freedom of expression, death punishments against those who leave or wish to leave islam etc. if islam has already won?
Islam has been the biggest loser and the muslims have lost along with it. The muslims are merely trying to cover it up by using armies, street gangs, terror groups, censoring and suppressing the freedom of expression, death punishments etc.
After 1400 years of islam it is still on the defensive. And it tries to defend itself by terrorizing those who expose islam’s defects and deficiencies and not by an honest, peaceful, rational, facts-based debate.
Ahem,
Sorry, mate, you live in a different and ancient world of many Gods and no Gods. I live in the civilised world, with all its weaknesses and ills, but definitely the world where Ibrahimic religion is practiced and worship of statues disappeared thousands of years ago!
I fully agree with your objections against the current rulers of the muslim countries, their practices and denial of freedom to their citizens is also a problem of our times and the so called spring revolution is intended to correct them. I have forecasted several decades for the process to complete. If you were a muslim, I could advise to seek peace with your neighbours, but you are not and therefore a hopeless case. We cannot communicate on such subjects with each other since your faith does not teach you( I guess) to show compassion and care for the next one.
Rex Minor
Rex Minor
to rex
You live in a world of a fake god called allah of Mohammad and kuran. Better to live in a world of many real gods than in a world with a fake god who can only bring forth fascism and self-deceit.
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