Islam? A better religion for minorites

remember when you point your finger, three more are pointing back at you...

They're not civilized, period.

Thanks for supporting my posts by giving a parctical example of how a corrupt faith can corrupt and darken any human heart and fill it with evil and hate. Welcome to my IGNORE list:

54. "The Jews are strictly forbidden to cheat their brothers and it is considered cheating already if one-sixth of the value has been taken away from him. Whoever has cheated his brother has to return it to him. Naturally all that only holds the Jew, to cheat a goy he is permitted and he is not permitted to return to him what he cheated him out of. Because the Bible says: 'Thou shalt not cheat thy next brother,' but the non-Jews are not our brethren, but as mentioned above, worse than [SIZE="2"]dogs[/SIZE]." - Aruch Choszen Hamiszpat 227. (TALMUD)

76. "The Akum (non-Jew) is like a [SIZE="2"]dog[/SIZE]. Yes, the scripture teaches to honor the the [SIZE="2"]dog[/SIZE] more than the non-Jew." Ereget Raschi Erod. 22 30 (TALMUD)

80. "If you eat with a Gentile, it is the same as eating with a [SIZE="2"]dog[/SIZE]." Tosapoth, Jebamoth 94b (TALMUD)



And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the [SIZE="2"]dogs[/SIZE]." [Matthew 15:26]

What does the Koran say about mingling with Infidels?

TESTAMENT FROM AN EX-MUSLIM


((And don't forget to check out this eye-opener of a site, showing the "greatness" of Islam throughout the entire world.....))

TheReligionofPeace.com - Islam: Making a True Difference in the World



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An “Apostate” Speaks
By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | Monday, January 07, 2008

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Abul Kasem, an ex-Muslim who is the author of hundreds of articles and several books on Islam including, Women in Islam. He was a contributor to the book Leaving Islam – Apostates Speak Out as well as to Beyond Jihad: Critical Views From Inside Islam.

[Due to obvious security issues, a
photo of Mr. Kasem is not available]

FP: Abul Kasem, welcome to Frontpage Interview.

Kasem: Thank you. I am pleased to be interviewed by Frontpage magazine.


FP: Tell us a bit about your spiritual and intellectual journey.


Kasem: Born in Bangladesh, I attended the secular schools as well as underwent strict religious discipline, and digested religious preaching. Taught by my father, during my childhood, I learned the basic Qur’an without understanding a single word, because like almost all Muslims of Bangladesh, my father did not know the meaning of Arabic words. He only knew how to read the Qur’an in Arabic, and recite it. When I was nine, a typical Mulla taught me the Islamic rituals (like prayer, ablution, fasting), and how to recite the Qur’an correctly. He also taught us that Muslims are the only inheritors of the earth, that we must never mix with the non-Muslims, we must hate them, humiliate them verbally, and if possible, physically.


In high school, I discovered a world beyond Islam. I met a few Hindus and two Christians. I found them extremely polite, peace-loving, sincere, and affable. Unfortunately, communal riots broke out in India and Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan ). One of my Hindu friends was brutally murdered by Islamist fanatics. This was a life-changing experience, as I witnessed the mutilated dead bodies of my friend, his parents, and siblings. When I discussed this with a few Muslim gentlemen (moderate Muslims) they told me that the Hindus deserved to be killed; there should not be any Hindus in our Muslim land. Further, I learned from them that in Islam, there is a great reward for killing the non-Muslims.


In a few years our struggle for autonomy took the shape of a Liberation Movement, seeking freedom from economic and political domination of West Pakistan , which was a strict Islamic country. In 1971 the Islamic Army of Pakistan let loose a genocide, killing around 3 million Bengalis, and raping around 250,000 Bengali women. Local Islamists helped their barbarity in every way. They justified their actions by Qur’an, ahadith, and Sharia laws. After independence, I talked about it with a local Imam. He took out a Qur’an, read a few verses, and told me the genocide and mass-rape was a hundred percent Islamic-sanctioned. He said the Bengali Muslims have deviated widely from the real Islam, and as such, they deserve Allah’s punishment, and the Pakistani army did just that to purify us. Shocked, I decided to read the theological sources of Islam.


What I discovered horrified me. It was beyond my comprehension that a religion, touted to be the religion of peace could contain such blood-curdling, terrifying, barbaric verses, cultures, and laws to entice the entire Islamic community to slaughter the infidels and the not-so-good Muslims. Access to authentic books and Internet gave me more freedom to learn and express. I was greatly impressed by the writings of many honest critics of Islam.


FP: So share with us a bit of what you discovered in Islam.


Kasem: Ok, here is a bit of my education:


Prophet said- we will go to attack them (i.e. the infidels) and they will not come to attack us.–Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.435.

Prophet allowed rape of war-captives.–Sahih Bukhari, 3.46.718.

Muslim soldiers had sex with the captive women in the presence of their husbands and “some were reluctant to do so”.–Sunaan Abu Dawud 11.2150.

One can have sexual intercourse with a captive woman after she is clear of her period and/or delivery. If she has a husband then her marriage is abrogated after she becomes a captive - Sahih Muslim 8.3432.

Ali (Muhammad’s son-in-law) had sex with booty captive women. Muhammad presented him with the captive woman (to have sex).–Sahih Bukhari 5.59.637.
Women are domestic animals; beat them.–Tabari, vol.ix, pp. 9.112-114.

Muhammad’s culture of killing was widespread and wild. Muslims killed Umm Qirfa, “a very old woman” by tying her legs with a rope attached to two camels driven in opposite directions thus tearing her body (Ibn Ishak, pp.664-665).

Umm Qirfa was torn from limb to limb by four camels (Rodinson, p.248).
Allah likes beheading—Kais cut off the head of al-Aswad and shouted ‘Allah is great’.–Baladhuri, p.161.

Prophet said spears were his livelihood–Sahih Bukhari Vol-4 Chapter 88.

Muhammad ordered a Muslim woman to breastfeed a man. She protested but ultimately had to do so– ibn Majah, 3.1943.

Muhammad ordered a Muslim woman to breastfeed a bearded man.–Sahih Muslim, 8.3428.

Allah says that a woman must sexually satisfy her husband even when on top of a camel.–Ibn Majah, 3.1853.

Muhammad ordered the murder of Asma bt. Marwan, a Jewish poetess when she was suckling her babies.–Ibn Ishaq, p.676, ibn sa’d, vol. ii, p.30-31.

Muhammad ordered the assassination of Abu Afak, a 120-year-old man of Medina.–Ibn Ishaq, p.675, ibn Sa’d, vol.ii, p.31.

Muhammad conducted ethnic cleansing of Banu Quaynuqa Jews from Medina.–Tabari, vol.vii, p.85.

Muhammad hired a professional killer to assassinate Ka’b b. al-Ashraf, a poet of Medina.–Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.369.

The messenger of Allah said, “Whoever of the Jews falls into your hands, kill him.” So Muhayyish b. Masud killed his friend and business-partner Ibn Sunaynah- Tabari, vol.vii, p.97-98.

Muhammad’s death squad murdered Abu Rafi, a critic of Muhammad in Medina.–Tabari, vol.vii, p.103, Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.371.

Muhammad’s death squad assassinated Sufyan ibn Khalid.–Ibn Ishaq, p.664-665, ibn Sa’d, vol.ii, p.60.

Muhammad did ethnic cleansing of B. Nadir Jews from Medina.-Tabari, vol. vii, p.158-159, Heykal, ch. B. Nadir, Sahih Bukhari, 3.39.519.

Muhammad beheaded between 600-900 Jews of B. Qurayzah who did not fight Muslilms but were attacked, and they surrendered unconditionally–Tabari, vol.viii, ch. B. Qurayzah; Heykal, ch. the Campaign of Khandaq and B. Qurayzah, ibn Ishaq, ch. B. Qurayzah.
Arabs are the chosen people of Allah; Allah resembles an Arab.–ibn Sa’d, vol.1, p.2.

Allah favours Arab racism—prophet is to be of Quraysh stock and of white complexion (ibn Sa’d, vol.1, p.95-96, Sahih Muslim, 20.4483.

Shafi Law m4.2 The following are not suitable matches for one another:
(1) a non Arab man for an Arab woman (O: because Prophet said: Allah has chosen the Quraysh Arabs as His agent to rule the world (Islamic Caliphate).–Sahih Bukhari, 4.56.704.

Whoever says Muhammad was black must be killed.–Ash-Shifa, Tr. Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley, p.375.

Muhammad approved killing of women and children of the pagans because they (the children) are from them (i.e. the pagans)…(Sahih Bukhari 4.52.256).

Muhammad blessed Jarir for conducting the genocide (including the children) at Dhu Khalasa.–Sahih Bukhari, 4.52.262

Muhammad had a black slave; he traded in slaves.–Sahih Bukhari, 9.91.368 and Kasasul Ambia of Ibne Kathir Vol 3 page 112 – Bangla translation by Bashiruddin.

Muhammad traded slaves for beautiful, young, and sexy women, such as Saffiya.–Sunaan Abu Dawud, 2.2987, 2991.

Muhammad’s hired killer assassinated Al-Yusayr b. Rizam and a party of Khaybar Jews at al-Qarqara.–Ibn Ishaq, p.665-666.

Muhammad forced jizya of Zoroastrians—several cases.–Tabari, vol.viii, p.142, Sunaan Abu Dawud, 19.9038.

The gratuitous destruction of pagan temples and their idols.–several references: ibn Ishaq, ibn Sa’d, Tabari: ch: The occupation of Mecca .
Killing of polytheists is laudable–Muhammad said.–Tabari, vol.ix, p.76.

Muhammad’s marauding troops conducted genocide at Jurash, Yemen.–Tabari, vol.ix, p.88-89.

Killing infidels is fun.–Tabari, vol.vii. p.65.

Muhammad ordered to kill the apostates; if somebody (Muslim) discards his religion, kill him)–Sahih Bukhari, 4.52.260.

Blood of animal is very dear to Allah.–Ibn Majah, 4.3126.

The Prophet said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.–Sunaan Abu Dawud, 11.2142.

The Prophet said: - People ruled by a woman will never be successful.–-Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.709.

Majority of women are in hell.–Sahih Bukhari 1.6.301.

A woman must keep her sexual organs ready for service at all times (Ihya Uloom Ed-Din of Ghazali, Tr. Dr Ahmad Zidan, vol.i, p.235)

Wife can’t leave home.–Shafi’i law m10.4.

If a woman claims to be having her period but her husband does not believe her, it is lawful for him to have sexual intercourse with her.–Shafi’i law e.13.5

Support of a divorced wife is for 3 months.–Shafi’i Law m11.10.

Instant divorce is allowed for husbands. No support to a such divorced wives from that moment - Many references.
No reason is required to divorce one’s wife/s (Many references, Sharia the Islamic Law –Dr. Abdur Rahman Doi, p.173).

It is unlawful for women to leave the house with faces unveiled, whether or not there is likelihood of temptation. It is unlawful for women to be alone with a marriageable man.–Shafi’i Law m2.3.

Muhammad said, “No nation prospers over which a woman rules.”–Ihyya Uloom Ed-din of Ghazali, Tr. Fazl-Ul-Karim, p.2.35.

If Muhammad wanted anyone to prostrate before another, he would have ordered a woman to prostrate before her husband.–Ibid, p.2.43.

A woman, a slave and an unbeliever is not fit to be a moral police.–Ibid, p.2.186.

Muhammad said,” A woman is the string of the devil.”–Ibid, p.3.87.

A woman is the best coveted of things to a man. He takes pleasures in penetrating his genital organ into female vaginal canal. Thus, vagina is the most coveted thing in a woman.–Ghazali, p.3.162.

A woman is a servant and the husband is the person served.–Hedaya, the Hanafi Law manual, p.47

You can enjoy a wife by force.–Hedaya, p.141

Full dower is the payment for the delivery of woman’s person. Booza meaning Genitalia arvum Mulieris.–Hedaya, p.44.

Women are your (men) prisoners; treat them well, if necessary beat them but not severely.–Tirmidhi, 104.

When a woman goes out, the devil looks at her; so conceal a woman.–Tirmidhi, 928.

In paradise, there is a market of rich, beautiful and ever-young women; they will be pleased whoever buys them.–Tirmidhi, 1495.

Women are stupid.–Ibn Majah, 5.4003.

The best Muslims had the largest number of wives.–Sahih Bukhari, 7.62.7.

Allah regards the unbelievers (non-Muslims) as slaves in the hands of the Muslims.–The Qur’an 16:75.

Allah made Muhammad wealthy through conquests (raid, plunder, war).–Sahih Bukhari, 3.37.495.

Muhammad’s main source of livelihood was the money from the Jizya tax on infidels.–Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.351.

Provisions set by Allah and Muhammad are binding to all Muslims: there are no alternatives.–The Qur’an, 33:36.

Obeying Muhammad is obeying Allah.–The Qur’an, 4:80.

Muhammad’s booty is Allah’s booty, which was how Allah made Muhammad rich.–The Qur’an, 59:6-7

Muhammad was the ONLY Prophet who killed somebody by his "noble hand". The person killed was Ubayy b. Khalaf, at the battle of Uhud - page 600 Umdat Al Salik.



These are only few of the thousands of documents that sized and shaped my journey through Islam.


FP: All of this definitely doesn't bring a sense of tanquility and peace to one's heart.

While we are on these themes, can you explain something to me?


In many cases, when I have a conversation with various Muslims, the following happens: the issue of Islam is brought up and I am immediately informed that I don’t know what I am talking about – and this occurs before I have even said anything. Then when I ask about the violent verses that mandate war against unbelievers (i.e. Suras 9:5, 9:29 etc.) I am informed that this is not even in the Koran. I am then informed that Muhammad did not even as much as touch the hair on a person’s head. I respond that Muhammad was a military man. I am then told that this is absolutely not true. I then relate the words of the verses I am referring to and am then told I have a false translation. I describe the translation, that it is a Koran translated by a renowned and respected Muslim that all Muslims trust (i.e. Abdullah Yusuf Ali), and the Muslim I am speaking with just keeps shaking his head.


Mr. Kasem, this happens to me a lot. What exactly is going on here? Are many Muslims playing some kind of game with the unbelievers they speak with or do the majority of them actually have no idea what is in the Koran and are also, for some bizarre reason or another, indifferent to what it actually says? (I am obviously not referring to upstanding and genuine Muslim reformers such as Thomas Haidon who are honest about the teachings within Islam that need to be reinterpreted/nullified in order for there to be a real Islamic reformation).



Kasem: I guess these discussions must have been with some cunning Islamists living in infidel territory, perhaps in the USA , Canada or UK . It is no surprise that the same Islamists, if in an Islamic Paradise, will make a complete U-turn and will tell that verses 9:5 and 9:29 are alive and kicking well.


This tactic of denial, translation problem, context, misconception and so on, is an age-old method used by the conniving Islamists to save skin. In Islamic language this is known as taqiyya (telling lies) and kitman (adopting deception). When Muslims are weak, verses 3:28 and 16:106-107 of the Qur’an (that is Allah) tell Muslims to adopt these techniques to save themselves from the infidels. They are even allowed to deny their Islamic faith and told to criticise Islam, if need be. Muhammad had adopted this policy to assassinate his critics. In the event of killing of Ka’b Ashraf Muhammad’s assassins befriended Ka’b, criticised Muhammad and Islam, then, when they had the confidence of Ka’b, they took him out of his house, pretended to hug him, and beheaded him amidst slogan of Allahu Akbar.


Please note that a few hijackers of 9/11 even drank beer and whisky in pubs, and had girl-friends to sleep with, just before they went on their mission to kill infidels. In the book Masterminds of Terror (Yusri Fouda and Nick Fielding, Penguin Australia , 2003, p.120) we read that Al-Qaeda trains the jihadists how to drink alcohol and mix with the Christians and emulate their lives. Many jihadists are encouraged to drink alcohol—just to make sure they blend well in the infidel territories and raise no suspicion.


No wonder, we note the modern Islamists adopt the same technique in confounding the west.


Let us briefly review verse 3:8, the foundation of Islamic taqiyya and kitman.


This verse tells the Muslims not to take unbelievers as friends; caution is necessary to befriend the unbelievers.


On the exegesis of this verse ibn Kathir, the most eminent tafsir writer of the Qur’an writes that: do not befriend the deniers (i.e., the non-Muslims), even if they are among the closest relatives. In case of danger, Allah allows Muslims to show friendship to the disbelievers outwardly, but never inwardly. The taqiyya is allowed until the Day of Resurrection. Allah has reserved unremitting torment for those who give their support to His enemies, and those who have enmity with His friends.


In simple language, ibn Kathir says it is all right to tell lies/ adopt deception for the sake of Islam.


Therefore, it is no surprise that Muhammad’s ardent supporters are simply repeating the Islamic history. This cunning, sophisticated, and sly Islamists will go to any extent to secure the confidence of the gullible western infidels. This is how Islam is advanced in an enemy territory—where Islamists do not have the military might to kill the infidels en-masse. Just note how their tactic s will change when they are strong in number, about ten percent of population (this is what is happening in France ) and they have a recruitment of Islamist terrorists, having set up terror cells.


I hope you now understand why the Islamists living in the West are so adapt in telling lies and adopting deception.


In this connection it might be appropriate to examine the true meanings of verses 9:5 and 9:29 .


In verse 9:5 Allah tells the Muslims that after the four sacred months (Rajab, Zulqad, ZulHajj, Muharram) have passed, slay (fight and kill) the pagans wherever they are found.


Ibn Kathir writes that this means, the earth in general. That means this verse is not meant only for the Meccans pagans; it applicable all around the globe, even today.


Echoing ibn Kathir, Jalalyn and ibn Abbas further say: Do not wait until you find them, seek and besiege them in their areas and forts, gather intelligence about them in various roads and fairways and force them to Islam. If they do not embrace Islam, then kill them. This verse allowed Muslims to fight the non-Muslims until they embrace Islam. These verses allowed fighting people unless and until, they embrace Islam and implement its rulings and obligations. Allah mentioned the most important aspects of Islam here, including what is less important. If they repent and become believers then forgive them.

There, in the above paragraph, we read the true spirit of Islam, as per the immortal exegetes of the Qur’an.

According to the most Qur’an scholars this verse (9:5) is known as the verse of the sword (ayat saif); this verse alone cancels about 124 verses that espouse mercy, tolerance and forgiveness to the pagans.


My suggestion to the ill-informed western enquirer would be to tell the Islamists those few lines of ibn Kathir, Jalalyn, and ibn Kathir.


Let us understand verse 9:29, in the language of Islam.


This verse ( 9:29 ) says: Fight those who do not believe in Allah, or in the last Day, or in the halal food. Unbelieving people of the Book (Jews and Christians) pay jizya tax with submission (humiliation); if they do not pay jizya tax or convert to Islam then kill them.


The verse is so clear and unambiguous. However, to be sure, let us read what ibn Kathir says.


Ibn Kathir writes that this is the compensation for the loss of revenue from the prohibition of the non-Muslims entry in Mecca ; imposition of jizya was the compensation to make up for the loss of revenue to the Muslims. This verse stipulates that the Muslims fight, i.e. kill the people of the Books if they do not pay the jizya tax; Muslims should disgrace, humiliate and belittle the Jews and the Christians.


According various Islamic sources this verse abrogates 2:109, 60:8-9.


Lastly, I must tell the simple-minded infidels who have a dialogue with these clever Islamists that these people are simply taking advantage of the ignorance of the gullible non-Muslims, who have been brain-washed by the PC media that Islam is peace—similar to other religions.


The vast majority of Muslims (especially non-Arab background) have very little idea about the severity and barbarism of the Qur’an. As such, these Islamists take full advantage of this ignorance and try to convert killing verses into kissing verses, and hateful verses into loving ones.


This is why it is important to read and understand the Qur’an, ahadith, sunna, and sharia. These fundamental sources of Islam are the most potent weapons to confront the Islamists living in the west.


FP: While I am sure some of these Muslims are thinking they are deceiving me, I have definitely met many of the Muslims you just described who truly do not know about the severity and barbarism of the Koran. In any case, let’s move on.


What was your contribution to Leaving Islam – Apostates Speak Out about?


Kasem: In the book Leaving Islam—Apostates Speak out I contributed an essay, titled Islamic Terrorism and the Genocide in Bangladesh. In this article I described what I witnessed and experienced during the genocidal occupation of Bangladesh by the Islamic Military of Pakistan. I depicted how I escaped certain death from army firing, from the university dormitory where the Pakistan army had killed a number of my university mates. I consider myself extremely lucky to survive and tell the world the severity of Islamic genocide. My article also provides the reasons why I have left Islam, and become an apostate.


FP: Why do you think the efforts at an Islamic Reformation are suffering such huge obstacles? The effort of moderate Muslims to make any real ground in developing a counter-jihad strategy appears to be failing, no? How come? Or are my assumptions misplaced?


Kasem: The answer is very simple. Islam cannot be reformed. Muhammad himself has banned any reformation to Islam.


Reforming Islam is not a new idea. From time to time Islamist Scholars have attempted to reform Islam. They have failed. You might have heard of the group called Mutazzilites. Their sincere attempt to reform Islam in or around the ninth and tenth century had failed miserably. Many such Mutazillites faced severe Islamic punishment for bringing innovation (bidah) in Islam. Introducing innovation in Islam is a serious crime, according to Ghazali. Whoever, brings in such a reform is subject to Islamic punitive measure, which is death.


Today, Islam is fossilized in the seventh century Bedouin Arab customs upon which Muhammad had founded Islam.


Under such draconian measures who dares to reform Islam?


Now I come to the topic of Moderate Muslims. To have moderate Muslims, there must be moderate Islam.


Then the question will be: Is there such a thing as moderate Islam? For the existence of moderate Islam/Muslims, there must be a ‘moderate’ Qur’an, since the life force of Islam is the Qur’an. If the Qur’an cannot be ‘moderated’ (i.e., a moderate Qur’an) then how is it possible to have a moderate Islam, and consequently moderate Muslims?

What we perceive as the so-called moderate Muslims may be classified into three groups:

The first group--the vast majority, probably around 90% of global Muslims, are Muslims by name only. They have no idea about the contents of the Qur’an, ahadith and Sharia. It is a misnomer to term them as moderate Muslims. Strictly speaking, if we go by the Qur’an, they are not Muslims at all. According to Sharia law, they might even be sentenced to death for not adhering strictly to Islam.

The second group, I would call them pretend Muslims. They are probably around 5% of all Muslims. They occasionally go to mosques on Fridays and on Eid days and sometimes pray and fast at home. These Muslims are also hypocrites. When the dark side of Islam is illustrated to them, they are disturbed, become defensive and justify the evil nature of Islam by alluding to historical contexts. This is simply nonsense, as the Qur’anic verses are valid for eternity and must be acted upon by Muslims at all times. These so-called moderate Muslims discover in Islam what Islam is not meant to be. They resort to twisted meanings of those numerous brutal verses, and attempt to transform them into loving and kissing ones. How can we call this group of Muslims moderate?

The third group (another 4% of Muslims) is the Islamists who have no guts to blow themselves up but resort to intellectual Jihad and academic and philosophical terrorism. They are the spiritual foundations of the real Islamist terrorists. They regularly visit mosques, organize Islamic seminars, and send e-mails to gullible non-believers and design Islamic websites. Many of them are Imams in mosques. They are diehard ritualists—never missing a single prayer, always patronizing halal eateries (while living in infidel lands), soliciting funds and Zakat (Islamic alms) money to finance Jihad in Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, Kashmir and so on. They exhort other not-so-good Muslims to hate the non-Muslims. So, you see, there is no such true thing as moderate Muslims.

These fake ‘moderate’ Muslims are similar to the spectators in a stadium. They cheer (in silence) the jihadists who are combating the infidels in the arena. Therefore, it is foolhardy to depend upon these ‘moderate’ Muslims to reform and regain Islam from the hands of the extremists. ‘Moderate’ Muslims and the jihadists (extremists) are just the two faces of the same coin. They are the same—one group is in silent actions, the other group is in violent actions.


Therefore, I regret to say that your use of the ‘moderate’ Muslims to develop a counter jihad approach is truly misplaced. The current policies of the western governments to appease the ‘moderate’ Muslims, extolling Islam as a religion of ‘peace’, and hunting the jihadists to stop Islamist terrorism is just wrong. This policy is bound to failure.


So long as the Muslims are energized, motivated, and instructed according to the core scriptures of Islam, there will be no end to Islamist terrorism.


Please remember that terrorism is just a tactic employed by the jihadists to advance their agenda, which is to conquer the globe and enforce Islamic laws. You might laugh or pooh-pooh such a chutzpah of the Islamists. But bear in mind that Islamists have unshakeable belief in the ultimate victory of Islam through terror. They have already conquered the Muslim world and now want to conquer the West. It is because Muhammad himself has declared that Islam will be victorious through terror and plunder (see Bukhari Hadis, 1.7.331).


FP: Can you expand a bit on the theological roots of Islamist terrorism?


Kasem: I have already mentioned that Islamist terrorism is the direct application of the Qur’an, Sunna, ahadith, and Sharia. Let me demonstrate from the Qur’an that Islamist terrorism is rooted in the theology of Islam.

Islam is at perpetual war with the non-Islamic world (the Qur’an 4:76, 60:4). Those who read the Qur’an and ahadith (Muhammad’s deeds and traditions) and want to emulate them cannot but be terrorists. They must hate the non-Muslims, humiliate them, distrust them, deceive them at every opportunity, and kill them when the situation is appropriate. This is the stipulation of the central doctrine of Islam. A Muslim who does not emulate this cardinal premise of Islam is not a Muslim at all. The Qur’an says that Allah has purchased the lives of Muslims (9:111-112) in exchange for booty and Paradise so that that they are obliged to sacrifice their lives or become martyrs (like suicide bombing) when they go on a killing mission (5:94). This is a business contract with Allah. Allah strictly binds all Muslims with this contract. That is why the Qur’an stands solidly behind the Islamist terrorists. They are simply fulfilling their contract with Allah. These terrorists are not an aberration of Islam. They are, in reality, Islam as it was during Muhammad’s time, and as it should be, and not what the not-so-good Muslims think Islam to be—a religion of peace and unbound love for humanity.

Killing, assassination, terrorism and bloodshed are the DNA codes of Islam. Even if the whole world converts to Islam, the true Muslims will continue perpetrating bloodshed. If they don’t get the blood of infidels, they kill one another. This is the legacy of 1400 years of Islamic rule. The best example is Pakistan, (or Iraq) where 97% of the population is Muslim, yet there is bloodshed of Muslims by Muslims. Look at the recent assassination of Bhutto. Previous to that, a Pakistani suicide bomber killed at least fifty Muslims (worshippers) while they were praying in a mosque on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. This is the stark proof that violence and killing are inseparable from Islam.

Terrified, many non-Muslims often ask: what do the Islamist terrorists want?


They want to convert the entire world into an Islamic Paradise. There is no surprise in this. During his days, Muhammad had asked the Muslims to terrorize the world until Islam rules supreme (Quran 3:85, 5:3, 5:33). Qur’an exhorts the Muslims to keep fighting (with swords, not spiritually) until they perfect the world through Islamic purification and domination (Qur’an 9:5, 9:29, and 9:33). In reality, it means imposing on the non-Muslims (or the non-Arabs) the Arabic and Bedouin culture (also known as Islam) by force, murder and terrorism. Even Caliph Umar had admitted that Bedouins are the raw materials of Islam (reference: History of the Arabs by Phillip K. Hitti).


FP: How do we most effectively combat this threat?

Kasem: Islamic terrorism is not going to end soon—not at least before a few more 9/11s, Madrids, Balis, 7/7s take place. Its demise will depend upon how resolute the world becomes in the coming days. As long as there are PC politicians, and as long as the world depends upon the so-called moderate Muslims to extinguish this menace, nothing will happen, rest assured on this.

The world must not follow this path of least resistance. This method will only ensure the defeat in the hands of the clever and cunning Islamist terrorists and their supporters, the so-called moderate Muslims. America, UK, Australia, the forefront nations in the fight against terror have limited resources. They are spending billions of dollars to face this challenge. This cannot go on forever. These nations will soon get tired, their money exhausted, their population will soon rebel and refuse to send their children to join the army and be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan for a cause that has very little to do with their lives. Soon, there will be loud voices in these nations to pull out. The Islamists are just waiting for this moment. Their war on the unbelievers cost them next to nothing. Mind you, life is so cheap in Islam. With one suicide bomber they kill hundreds and thousands of people. Do your math and you will realize why the Islamists are capable of carrying out their act for decades, if not for centuries. We must recognize that the real enemy is not the terrorists. Rather, it is Islam. As long as the world does not internalize and comprehend this truth, and as long as wrong, PC policies are pursued this war will continue and the defeat of the non-believers is guaranteed.

Just think if we could convince the suicide bombers that there are no 72 virgins waiting in Paradise to provide them with unlimited sexual orgy. Just think if we could convince the Islamists that Islam is barbaric, false, and imperialistic.

The bottom line is: The focus of war should be shifted from Iraq or Afghanistan to Islam. No doubt, it is necessary to fight this war militarily, but it should also be fought doctrinally. It is an ideological war. We need to expose Islam to the world. This will force the so-called vast majority of the not-so-good Muslims to discard, at least the violent part of it. They would remain contented with the ritual part of Islam, like prayer, fasting etc. These rituals do not harm others. When this happens, the Jihadists will find it extremely difficult to recruit new suicide bombers and Islamist killers. That is how Islamist terrorism should be fought. It will take time.

FP: Quite a task we have in front of us.

Abul Kasem, thank you for joining us and thank you for your courage to tell the truth.


Kasem: Thank you.

The Development of a Jihadist's Mind
By Tawfik Hamid
The Jerusalem Post | Tuesday, January 22, 2008

What occupies the mind of a jihad-driven Muslim? How is such fervor planted in young and impressionable believers? Where does it originate? How did I - once an innocent child who grew up in a liberal, moderate and educated household - find myself a member of a radical Islamic group? These questions go to the root of Islamic violence and must be addressed if free societies are to combat radical Islam. To further this aim, I will explore the psychological development of a jihadi's mind through my own firsthand experience as a former member of a Muslim terrorist organization.

I was born in Cairo to a secular Muslim family. My father was an orthopedic surgeon and an agnostic at heart; my mother was a French teacher and a liberal. Both considered Islam to be, primarily, an integral part of our culture. With the exception of my father, we would fast on Ramadan. Even though my father was not religious, he understood our need to fit into the community and never forced his secular views on us. He espoused diverse philosophical ideas but encouraged us to follow our own convictions. Most importantly, he taught my brother and me to think critically rather than to learn by rote.

I never had any doubt, however, that we were Muslim - that Allah was our creator, Muhammad his messenger and the Koran our book. I believed that if I performed good deeds, I would be admitted to paradise where I could satisfy all my personal desires. I also knew, alternatively, that my transgressions would be punished by eternal torture in hell. I absorbed these beliefs largely from the surrounding environment rather than from my parents; they were shared by most children around me.

I attended the private Al-Rahebat primary school in the area of Dumiat, which is about 200 kilometers north of Cairo, when I was six years old. Though managed by Christian nuns, the school was supervised by the Egyptian government and required its Muslim students to attend classes on Islam.

Before each Islamic lesson began, the teacher would dismiss the Christian students, who were then obliged to linger outside the room until the lesson was over. Adding salt to the Christian children's wounds, many Muslim pupils would tease them for their faith - telling them that they would burn in hell eternally because they ate pork and were "infidels." This made a strong impression on me. I felt sorry for the Christians, sensing that they must be hurt by being treated as an inferior minority in an Islamic society. In my short life it was the first time I perceived that my Christian friends were not my equals. My parents had never suggested that we were superior to Christians, and I counted many among my friends. We used to play hide-and-seek and other games together.

Not only Christian children in the school were persecuted, however; non-practicing Muslims were scorned as well. Observant Muslim children would gather around those who did not fast during Ramadan and sing, "You who eat or drink during Ramadan are the losers of our religious... the black dog will tear apart your guts." Such treatment of Christians and nonpracticing Muslims encouraged us to think that nonbelievers were inferior creatures and that it was right to hate them - they did not follow Islam and the Prophet Muhammad and, therefore, deserved to be tortured in hell forever. Though my secular upbringing prevented these thoughts from entirely dominating my mind at the time, other children were affected even more.

Beginning of a Dream
When I was nine, I learned the following Koranic verse during one of our Arabic lessons: "But do not think of those that have been slain in God's cause as dead. Nay, they are alive! With their sustainer have they their sustenance. They are very happy with the reward they received from Allah [for dying as a shahid] and they rejoice for the sake of those who have not joined them [i.e., have not yet died for Allah]" (Koran 3:169-70).

It was the first time I was exposed to the concept of shahid (martyr), and naturally, I began to dream of becoming one. The thought of entering paradise very much appealed to me. There I could eat all the lollipops and chocolates I wanted, or play all day without anyone telling me to study.

What made the concept of shahid even more attractive was its power to quell the fear I experienced as a young boy - for we were taught that if we were not good Muslims (especially if we did not pray five times a day), a "bald snake" would attack us in the grave. The idea of dying as a martyr provided a perfect escape from the frightening anguish of eternal punishment. Dying as a shahid, in fact, was the only deed that fully guaranteed paradise after death.

In secondary school I watched films about the early Islamic conquest. These films promoted the notion that "true" Muslims were devoted to aggressive jihad. While jihadi seeds were thereby planted in my mind, they did not yet seriously influence my personality or behavior. I was mostly occupied with schoolwork and such hobbies as sports, stamp collecting, chess and music. My father actively encouraged my brother and me to participate in ordinary activities. In fact, we were members of an exclusive private club where we pursued our hobbies and favorite sports. In my early years of high school, I was also - as many teenagers are - preoccupied with sex and hobbies. A variety of religious and cultural constraints made it virtually impossible to experience sexual activity, however.

During my last year of high school, I began to ponder seriously the concept of God while reading about the molecular structure of DNA in a biology book.

These thoughts prompted me to learn more about Islam and to devote myself to serving Allah. I remember one particularly defining moment in an Arabic language class when I was sitting beside a Christian friend named Nagi Anton. I was reading a book entitled Alshaykhan by Taha Hussein that cited the Prophet Muhammad's words: "I have been ordered by Allah to fight and kill all people [non-Muslims] until they say, 'No God except Allah.'" Following the reading of this Hadith, I decisively turned toward Nagi and said to him, "If we are to apply Islam correctly, we should apply this Hadith to you." At that moment I suddenly started to view Nagi as an enemy rather than as a longtime friend.

What further hardened my attitude on this matter was the advice I received from many dedicated Muslim fellow students, who warned me against befriending Christians. They based their counsel on the following verse: "O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends: They are but friends to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them [for friendship] is of them [an infidel]. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust" (Koran 5:51).

In view of this verse and the previous one, I felt obliged as a Muslim to limit my relationships with my Christian friends. The love and friendship I once felt for them had been transformed into disrespect, merely because I wished to obey the commandments of my religion. The seductive ideas of my religious studies had diluted the influence of my secular upbringing. By restricting my contact with Christians, I felt that I was doing a great deed to satisfy Allah.

First Encounters with Jamaah Islamiyah
My high test scores enabled me to gain admission to the medical school at Cairo University in the late 1970s. At the time Islamism was proliferating rapidly. This was due in part to the money and textbooks Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi sect donated to promote Salafi Islam, but, more importantly, Islamism gained adherents because Egyptians attributed the growing wealth of Saudi Arabia to its strict practice of Salafism. We enviously lamented, "Look how Allah has blessed the Saudis with money and oil because they apply Shari'a." We believed that our economic problems would be solved if we did the same - just as Allah had blessed the Saudis, He would bless us.

At medical school I met members of Jamaah Islamiyah, an Islamic organization then approved by both the Egyptian government and the university, though later classified as a terrorist organization. Jamaah built a small prayer room in our medical school that later developed into a mosque with an associated library. The mosque was behind the physiology and biochemistry departments, and members of Jamaah came there daily before science classes to lecture us on Islam. They warned us about the punishments awaiting us after death if we did not follow Islam strictly and were effective in advancing Islamism among many of the students, including me.

Our fear of being punished after death was exacerbated by our work in the cadaver room, where we dissected dead bodies. Seeing death regularly during anatomy and physiology courses made us feel that the life of this world was meaningless compared to "real" life after death. Jamaah Islamiyah impressed that idea on us by citing the following Koranic verse: "Those who desire the life of the present and its glitter, to them we shall pay [the price of] their deeds therein, without diminution... [yet] it is they who, in the life to come, shall have nothing but the fire - for in vain shall be all good things that they have done in this [world], and worthless all that they ever did" (Koran 11:15-16). Indeed, the preachers used a range of verses to warn those who did not follow Muhammad and Islam rigorously that they would suffer in hell forever.

Studying the anatomy and physiology of the human body increased my belief in a creator and made me more enthusiastic about my faith. The rising power of Jamaah Islamiyah inside the medical school was another critical factor in fostering my religious zealotry and that of my fellow students. Once Jamaah Islamiyah became influential, it prohibited such social events as listening to music, which it deemed un-Islamic. Female students were separated; they were not allowed to sit with males. Students were afraid to defy the group's hostile decrees. Its control reached the point where Christian professors were threatened. I will never forget when they attacked an anatomy professor, Dr. Edward, because he asked Jamaah leaders to end their "mandatory" daily sermon so that he could start his anatomy class. Jamaah Islamiyah's control of our medical school gradually limited our rights. Its members exploited the lack of restrictions on their conduct to deprive everybody else of freedom.

Inside Jamaah Islamiyah
During my first year of medical school, a Jamaah member named Muchtar Muchtar invited me to join the organization. Muchtar was in his fourth year, and Jamaah had given him the title amir (prince or caliph) - a designation taken from early Islamic writings that is associated with the Islamic caliphate or amir almomenin (prince of the believers). I accepted his invitation, and we walked together to Jamaah's mosque for noon prayers. On the way there Muchtar emphasized the central importance in Islam of the concept of al-fikr kufr, the idea that the very act of thinking (fikr) makes one become an infidel (kufr). (In Arabic both words are derived from the same three root letters but have different meanings.) He told me, "Your brain is just like a donkey [a symbol of inferiority in the Arab culture] that can get you only to the palace door of the king [Allah]. To enter the palace once you have reached the door, you should leave the donkey [your inferior mind] outside." By this parable, Muchtar meant that a truly dedicated Muslim no longer thinks but automatically obeys the teachings of Islam.

Initially, I thought that I would experience an ordinary prayer session like those in other mosques. But before the prayers began, the participants were required to stand shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot. The leading cleric, Muhammad Omar, personally checked our arrangement for 15 minutes to make sure that there were no gaps between our shoulders or feet. The reason for this exercise became apparent when Omar recited the following verse: "Truly Allah loves those who fight in His cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure" (Koran 61:4). This militaristic attitude during prayers was the first step in preparing me for the concept of jihad against "the enemies of Allah," the non-Muslims.

Following the prayers, members of Jamaah welcomed me and introduced me to a "brother" named Magdi al-Mahdi, who advised me to start reading Salafi books. I followed his advice and became immersed in those texts. After a few months of listening to Jamaah's belligerent religious sermons and reading the materials they recommended, my personality was utterly transformed. I started to grow my beard. I stopped smiling and telling jokes. I adopted a serious look at all times and became very judgmental toward others. Bitter debates with my family ensued. My behavioral and intellectual transformation greatly alarmed my father. My mother was also concerned; she said that the Koran should be understood in a more moderate manner and advised me to stop reading Salafi materials.

Salafi teachings expressly forbid acting on sexual desire. They prohibit a man from touching any woman or even looking at one. Speaking to a woman on a personal level is not permitted. To be alone with a woman without relatives present, it is believed, would "invite Satan to be the third person." Women became for members of Jamaah, therefore, forbidden creatures. But while relations with women were strictly proscribed, the erotic passages in Salafi writings simultaneously aroused in us a powerful sexual desire. This dilemma led us to conclude that dying for Allah provided our only hope for satisfying our lust, because that lust could be satisfied only in paradise. It is not surprising that Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders sent letters to their suicide murderers that described to them the hur, or white ladies awaiting them in paradise.

In addition to its severe prohibitions governing sexual conduct, Salafi Islam also strictly limits most artistic expression, which it considers to be satanic. Music involving string instruments is haram (forbidden). Songs, especially romantic ones, are prohibited as well. It is haram to listen to a woman's singing voice. Even drawing is restricted. Such harsh prohibitions suppressed my ability to appreciate beauty and prepared my mind to accept the inhuman elements in Salafi doctrine. By way of contrast, it is interesting to note that Sufi Muslims enjoy music, singing and dancing, and they rarely, if ever, engage in terrorism.

Unfortunately, I followed Salafi Islam. My hatred toward non-Muslims increased dramatically, and jihadi doctrine became second nature to me. My goal of being a physician and healing the sick grew tainted, infected by my strong wish to subjugate non-Muslims and impose Shari'a.

Meeting Ayman al-Zawahiri
At one afternoon prayer session, an imam I had never met before gave a sermon. He was one of the fiercest speakers I had ever heard. His passion for jihad was astonishing. He advocated complete Islamic dominance, urging us to pursue jihad against non-Muslims and subdue them to Shari'a - the duty of every true Muslim. His rhetoric inspired us to engage in war against the infidels, the enemies of Allah. He particularly condemned the West for the freedom of its women. He hated the fact that Western women were permitted to wear what they pleased, to work and to have the same opportunities as men.

He dreamt of forcing the West to conform to a Taliban-style system in which women were obliged to wear the Islamic hijab, were legally beaten by men to discipline them and were stoned to death for extramarital sex. After the imam's speech my friend, Tariq Abdul-Muhsin, asked me if I knew this speaker. When I said I did not, Tariq told me that he was Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri and, because I was a new member of Jamaah, offered to introduce us.

Zawahiri was exceptionally bright, one of the top postgraduate students in the medical school. We called him by his title and first name - Dr. Ayman.

He came from a well-known, highly-educated and wealthy family. As was customary for Jamaah members, he wore a beard and dressed occasionally in the Pakistani style of the Taliban. He disapproved of Egypt's secular government; he wanted Egypt to follow Shari'a law and Coptic Christians to be made dhimmis - second-class citizens submissive to Islam. To disparage secular Arab governments, he cited the following verse: "For they who do not judge in accordance with what God has bestowed from on high are, indeed, infidels" (Koran 5:44).

When I met him, Zawahiri welcomed me affectionately. He spoke quietly, gazing intently at me through his thick glasses. With a serious expression he placed his hand on my shoulder and said, "Young Muslims like you are the hope for the future return of khilafa [caliphate or Islamic global dominance]." I felt a great sense of gratitude and honor. I wanted to please him by contributing to his "noble" cause. Throughout my membership in Jamaah, I would meet with Zawahiri on six more occasions. He did not have much time to spare, however, for he was deeply involved in several Islamist organizations.

One of Zawahiri's significant achievements was to personalize jihad - that is, to have transformed it from a responsibility of the umma, the Islamic collective, to a duty of Muslim individuals. His goal is to spread the empire of Islam through the actions of individual radical Muslims, each of whom is incited to wage a personal jihad. This allows young Muslims to carry out suicide bombings without the endorsement of the collective body.

Zawahiri and his fellow jihadis base their philosophy on the verse that states, "Then fight in Allah's cause - you are held responsible only for yourself - and rouse the believers [to fight]" (Koran 4:84).

The Distortion of My Mind
Within several months I was invited to travel to Afghanistan to join other young Muslims in training for jihad. It was fairly common to be recruited after the end of Friday prayers. Volunteering to train in Afghanistan was very simple: I only needed to register my name in certain mosques, and organizers would carry out all the logistical and financial arrangements. I was excited to go because I believed that I would be fulfilling "the command of Allah" to wage jihad. It seemed the easiest way to guarantee my salvation in the afterlife and to attain my purpose in life.

We viewed both the Soviets and the Americans as enemies. The Soviets were considered infidels because they did not believe in the existence of God, while the Americans did not follow Islam. Although we planned to fight the Soviets first, our ultimate objective was to destroy the United States - the greatest symbol of the infidel's freedom. My personal dream was to be an Islamic warrior, to kill the enemies of Islam, to smite their necks in accordance with the Koranic verse that read, "When ye meet the unbelievers smite at their necks" (Koran 47:4).

We considered the Prophet Muhammad to be our role model. The Koran commanded us to follow in his footsteps: "Ye have indeed in the messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern [of conduct] for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the final day, and who engages much in the praise of Allah" (Koran 33:21).

Salafi Islamic texts demonstrate Muhammad's uncompromising nature. They encourage devout Muslims to emulate the prophet's deeds and to accept and defend his actions in even the harshest passages. When confronted by outsiders, however, these same Muslims insist that such stories are misinterpreted because they are taken out of context - though they rarely, if ever, provide the context. This self-protective denial effectively paralyzes further criticism by the West. Meanwhile, these texts are taught and understood in a very literal way by both the young members of Jamaah and many other Muslims.

I was not allowed to question any established teaching of Salafi ideology. The Salafists consider any criticism of Islamic texts as redda (apostasy) punishable by death and eternal damnation. Out of simple fear, then, I attempted to idolize Muhammad and to emulate him as he is portrayed in the Sunna. The fear of such harsh punishment deters most other Muslims from criticizing Salafi teaching as well.

I increasingly felt at ease with death because I believed that I would either defeat the infidels on earth or enjoy paradise in the afterlife.

Jihad against non-Muslims seemed to me to be a win-win situation. The following verse, commonly cited by Jamaah members, validated my duty to die for Allah: "Allah has purchased the believers, their lives and their goods. For them [in return] is the garden [of paradise]. They fight in Allah's cause, and they slay and are slain; they kill and are killed... it [paradise] is the promise of Allah to them" (Koran 9:111).

I passed through three psychological stages to reach this level of comfort with death: hatred of non-Muslims or dissenting Muslims, suppression of my conscience and acceptance of violence in the service of Allah. Salafi religious indoctrination played a major role in this process. Salafists promoted our hatred for non-Muslims by emphasizing the Koranic verse that read, "Thou wilt not find any people who believe in Allah and the last day loving those who resist [i.e. do not follow] Allah and His messenger" (Koran 58:22).

Salafi writings also helped me to suppress my conscience by holding that many activities I had considered to be immoral were, instead, halal - that is, allowed by Allah and the prophet. My conscience would normally reject polygamy, for example, because of the severe psychological pain it would cause my future wife. Salafi teaching encourages polygamy, however, permitting up to four wives as halal: "Marry women of your choice, two or three or four" (Koran 4:3). I accepted such ideas - ideas that contradicted my moral outlook - because I came to believe that we cannot negotiate with God about his commandments: "He cannot be questioned for His acts, but they will be questioned [for theirs]" (Koran 21:23).

Once I was able to suppress my conscience, I was open to accepting violence without guilt - the third psychological stage. One Salafi method of generating this crucial attitude is to encourage violence against women, a first step in developing a brutal mentality. Salafists emphasize the following text: "Men are superior to women because Allah has given them more preference than to women, and because they financially support them. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part you fear that they do not obey you, admonish them, avoid making sex with them [as a form of punishment], and beat them; but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means [of annoyance]: For Allah is most high, great [above you all]" (Koran 4:34).

A mind that accepts violence against women is much more likely to be comfortable murdering hated infidels and responding to the verse that reads: "O prophet, strive hard [fight] against the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh with them. Their abode is hell, an evil refuge indeed" (Koran 9:73). It is clear that the three psychological stages in Salafism that I have described are deeply interconnected.

Hesitation and New Understanding
As I considered attending a terrorist training camp, however, my conscience reasserted itself. The habit of critical thinking that my parents had instilled in me when I was growing up began to undermine the violent indoctrination to which I had been subjected. If I had taken the next step toward jihad, I might well have become a terrorist killer. Instead, I experienced an intense inner struggle that felt like an earthquake shaking my principles. I realized that harming innocent people is immoral and that a religious ideology pledging war on nonbelievers must be bankrupt.

It is unfortunate and disastrous that the theological underpinnings of Salafism are both powerful and prevalent in the approved, traditional Islamic books. These texts teach, moreover, that the Koran's later, more violent passages abrogate its earlier, peaceful ones. This concept, called nasikh wa-l-mansukh, has effectively diminished the influence of the peaceful verses.

When I discussed the implications of the violent passages with a few Sufi clergy, they suggested that one "should be good and peaceful to all mankind" and that "the understanding of the violent verses will be clarified on the day of judgment." These views were not based on rigorous Islamic eschatology, however, or on an objective analysis of the religious books.

They merely embodied a desired perception of Islam. My secular parents offered the same tolerant perspective, insisting that Islam is a religion of peace. But for me both responses were unsatisfactory because they suffered from the same problem - they were not theologically grounded. My difficulty was not resolved, and I continued to live with a complex dilemma.

My crisis of conscience was mostly internal, but I did share some of my doubts with my mother. On one occasion a fellow medical student named Abdul Latif Haseeb started a conversation with me about religion. We discussed whether it was right to kill apostates or stone women to death, as well as whether Muhammad could be considered a pedophile because he married the seven-year-old Aisha. We weighed the merits of declaring war on non-Muslims to spread Islam and agreed that it should be rejected because it is condoned only by supplemental Salafi books rather than by the Koran itself.

Haseeb belonged to a sect known as Koranist, which strictly adhered to the teachings of the Koran but rejected other writings. This opened my eyes. I was impressed that my new friend disagreed with many Salafi teachings. I also realized that Haseeb was not alone in his beliefs; his father and several mutual acquaintances shared the same ideas. They relied on new interpretations of the Koran and spurned the traditional Salafi textbooks.

They accepted and tolerated different views within Islam and, in most circumstances, had a peaceful analysis of the verses.

Haseeb invited me to join the sect, and I accepted his invitation in order to examine the Koranists' ideas more thoroughly. Though not without problems, the sect possessed at least some rigor and was more moderate than Salafism. It provided me with a protected sanctuary that allowed me to keep my identity as a Muslim while giving me the flexibility to reinterpret Koranic verses in a nonviolent way. The group counted among its members the liberal peace activist Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, whom I met on one occasion.

Mahmoud was later murdered in Sudan by exponents of Salafi doctrine for the crime of "apostasy" because his teaching clashed with theirs. I eventually built on the Koranists' ideas in developing a fresh understanding of the Koran that is compatible with the values of human rights and modernity.

Combating Salafi Islam
By immersing myself in Salafi ideology, I was better able to judge the impact of its violent tenets on the minds of its followers. Among the more appalling notions it supports are the enslavement and rape of female war prisoners and the beating of women to discipline them. It permits polygamy and pedophilia. It refers to Jews as "pigs and monkeys" and exhorts believers to kill them before the end of days: Say: "Shall I tell you who, in the sight of God, deserves a yet worse retribution than these? Those [the Jews] whom God has rejected and whom He has condemned, and whom He has turned into monkeys and pigs because they worshiped the powers of evil: these are yet worse in station, and farther astray from the right path [than the mockers]" (Koran 5:60). Homosexuals are to be killed as well; to cite one of many examples, on July 19, 2000, two gay teenagers were hanged in Iran for no other crime than being gay.

These doctrines are not taken out of context, as many apologists for Islamism argue: They are central to the faith and ethics of millions of Muslims, and are currently being taught as part of the standard curriculum in many Islamic educational systems in the Middle East as well in the West.

Moreover, there is no single approved Islamic textbook that contradicts or provides an alternative to the passages I have cited. It has thus become clear to me that Salafi ideology is what is largely responsible for the so-called "clash of civilizations." Consequently, I have chosen to combat Salafism by exposing it and by providing an alternative, peaceful and theologically rigorous interpretation of the Koran.

My reformist approach naturally challenges well-established Salafi tenets, and leads Muslims who follow Salafi Islam to reject me. Why? I have not altered the Koran itself. My system is simply one of inline commentary, in which dangerous passages are flagged and reinterpreted to be nonviolent. I have added these inline interpretations to key Koranic passages and examples of the commentary are freely and easily available.

For over 15 years I have tried to preach my views in mosques in the Middle East, as well as to my local community in the West, but have faced the unwavering hostility of most Salafi Muslims in both regions. Muslims who live in the West - who insist to outsiders that Islam is a "religion of peace" and who enjoy freedom of expression, which they demand from their Western hosts - have threatened me with murder and arson. I have had to choose between accepting violent Salafi views and being rejected by the overwhelming majority of my fellow Muslims.

I have chosen the latter.
Even though radical Islam began to reassert itself in the 1970s, it did not become widely pervasive until quite recently. In the early 1990s many people were intrigued by my ideas, and only a few militants threatened me with violence. One day, after I gave a peaceful Friday sermon, I walked home with a friend. To my surprise, several men ran up and threw stones at us from behind to intimidate me from returning and speaking in their mosques. As time has passed, this violent and threatening behavior has become more common: Dr. Wafa Sultan in the US, Abdul Fatah in Egypt and many others have received and continue to receive death threats. Recently, Dr. Nawal al-Sadawi, a liberal Muslim thinker and women's rights activist, was forced to flee Egypt because of her public statements. Dr. Rashad Khalifa was murdered in the United States after he published his own reinterpretation of the Koran which was less violent than was traditional.

In Egypt, Dr. Faraq Fuddah was shot to death after publishing condemnations of Jihadists. Egyptian Nobel Prize winner Najib Mahfouz was stabbed in the neck for writing his novel, Awlad Haretna, perceived by Salafists as blasphemous. The list goes on. Still, the majority of members in many Muslim communities have adopted the violent teachings of the Islamists.

Salafi indoctrination operates through written words and careful coaching. It is enormously seductive. It rapidly changed me into a jihadi. Salafi sacred texts exert a powerful influence on millions of Muslim followers throughout the world, and terrorism is only one symptom of the Salafi disease. Salafi doctrine, which is at the root of the West's confrontation with Islamism, poses an existential threat to us all - including Muslims.

Indeed, Salafism robs young Muslims of their soul, it turns Western communities against them, and it can end in civil war as Muslims attempt to implement shari'a in their host countries. A peaceful interpretation of Islam is possible, but the Salafi establishment is currently blocking moderate theological reform. The civilized world ought to recognize the immense danger that Salafi Islam poses; it must become informed, courageous and united if it is to protect both a generation of young Muslims and the rest of humanity from the disastrous consequences of this militant ideology.

First published on April 6, 2007 and reprinted with permission from Current Trends (Center on Islam, Democracy and the Future of the Muslim World), published by Hudson Institute's Center on Islam, Democracy and the Future of the Muslim World.

Well.....if I were to pick a religion based on my race, I'd go with Hitler's natural-selection Aryanism, just because it would protect me better than any other. BUT -- and thank God -- religion isn't about race, or a matter of one's SHOPPING AROUND. What a ridiculous notion. It's too bad many Black Muslims chose Islam for that very reason.:no:

I like how you guys bash Islam but the vast majority of you have never really talked in-person to a muslim. It's probably not good to base your prejudice from what you see on TV.

Most people like that have Muslim texts to back up their accusations. If not all Muslims follow the Koran, that doesn't make what it says invalid.

there is just as much killing if not more in the bible, jews are required to kill other jews who work on the sabbath but we both know this doesn't happen. If a religious texts commands killing the believer is not always going to abide by the command, this goes for all religions.

I've talked to a few. Who cares? Most are scum. You still don't get it, FF -- I am a devout Western Christian Nationalist. Pound'm.

so by talking to "a few" you have concluded that "most" are scum? and how exactly did you come to this conclusion?

you know what other people where highly nationalistic? The Germans under the Nazi Party, they were some really nationalistic people. It's okay to like your country but when you elevate it to a god-like status there are some inevitable problems.

That's apparently interpreted as something that belongs in the past and is no longer relevant. Not so w/ the Koran and extremists.

OH REALLY!??

I read a lot, FF. Islam is garbage soaked in human blood and entrails. And of course there's the age-old question of HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW ANY BETTER????????:rollinglaugh::rollinglaugh:

FF, you're a muckraker.

Okay, what's with the unrelated pictures. Please explain.

You said the christian violence was in the past, so i felt the need to bring you up to speed.

You dodging the question?

[SIZE="4"]Oh No you Di'dnt[/SIZE]