What is the fascination with the moon in Islam? And why are hillal sightings important? (See http://www.hilalsighting.org/ ). Maybe this could be a future topic for the blog…

Thanks for your time regarding this question.

Our first clue about the dualism is in the Koran, which is actually two books, the Koran of Mecca (early) and the Koran of Medina (later). The insight into the logic of the Koran comes from the large numbers of contradictions in it. On the surface, Islam resolves these contradictions by resorting to “abrogation”. This means that the verse written later supersedes the earlier verse. But in fact, since the Koran is considered by Muslims to be the perfect word of Allah, both verses are sacred and true. The later verse is “better,” but the earlier verse cannot be wrong since Allah is perfect. This is the foundation of dualism. Both verses are “right.” Both sides of the contradiction are true in dualistic logic. The circumstances govern which verse is used.

No wonder these imams can just make up new rules arbitrarily, if you’re using the logic of the koran, it’s all “right”. Sheesh. What a freaking mess.

You can say…it is a bit of an epiphany for one to truly move from being a dhimmi to a non-dhimmi………

Thanks also for hightlighting the link to this article/interview:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=%7B6AA49466-2575-491F-B712-CEA90FCCCD0D%7D

Very explosive stuff, and very illuminating.

Please keep up the good work.

I commend the posters as well with their great questions….truly interesting stuff.

Do I think it will cause a major change in Islam — if a drastically different version of the Qur’an appears? Almost certainly not. Because it will just be denounced as a Zionist forgery etc.

Robert Spencer on January 14, 2008 at 7:25 AM

That, is what I was afraid you’d say. My husband is still of the mindset that something like this will, over time, cause a revolution of Islam in some enlightened way. From everything I’ve read and heard so far, I don’t think they want to be enlightened… especially the men.

Would that be correct, Mr. Spencer?

He explained to his students that earthquakes were caused by tectonic shifts, or whatever it is, and they countered, No, you’re quite wrong, earthquakes are caused by the will of Allah.

Robert Spencer on January 13, 2008 at 6:46 PM

Mr. Spencer

I was quite surprised about your friend who taught in Pakistan, and how his students said that it was Allah’s will concerning earthquakes. I have a friend from the Pakistan/Western India border who I have worked exclusively with on seismic anomalies and he has similar stories about muslim students and their interesting rigidity since he is also a professor.

Now with that said, I have a question concerning this, and of course this is your opinion. But if muslim students are going to school to learn about science and so on, yet they will take science or any other terminology as only a back seat concerning their qu’ran. Then what is the point of schooling for them if the whole of Islam feels this way? Is this to infiltrate society as a whole?

Maybe I am babbling. It just seems that if they are so wrapped up with Islam and have no use for anything other then islam, makes me think and ponder. Or maybe I just answered my own question.

Thank you for publishing and making this easier to understand for people like myself. This is always interesting and insightful.

A Muslim who believes that Allah commands stoning would consider this an example of how the Christians have corrupted the actual message of Jesus, because they would refuse to believe the idea that Jesus’ message could contradict Muhammad’s.–Robert Spencer on January 14, 2008 at 7:28 AM

Please, based upon the Koran, delineate what will be sold in the Iranian movie of their Islamic Jesus.

The movie’s producer must be preaching to Hollywood’s choir in claiming his peaceful intentions to show Islam’s solidarity behind Jesus, supposedly promoting the brotherhood of all mankind prior to the second coming. Unless I’m mistaken, scripture does not mention peace greeting the second coming.

If I understand correctly, for Islam, there is no use resisting, as all will be converted or destroyed. There is no doctrinal/social amalgamation since Islam is not going to change from perfect (corrupt) inception throughout all time. In their domain, it must be conversion and renunciation of any difference from Islam.

I have a general question in reference to the Islamic perception of Heaven and Hell: Does Islam teach, as the Bible does, that there are “waiting places” (Paradise/Tartaros) or places where souls are reserved until judgement; or do they teach that the soul goes directly to its reward (Heaven/Hell)? If so, what are these waiting places called?

After death the soul is in the state of Barzakh (برزخ) — see Qur’an 23:99-100. The dead will be conscious in the grave and will be questioned by two angels, Munkar and Nakeer. The pious Muslims will answer easily, but unbelievers will be confounded by their questions. He will see his good deeds and the torments of the damned, which will begin in the grave for unbelievers.

Is Jesus was a Muslim……

……Why then, do we not see “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” anywhere in Islam?

A Muslim who believes that Allah commands stoning would consider this an example of how the Christians have corrupted the actual message of Jesus, because they would refuse to believe the idea that Jesus’ message could contradict Muhammad’s.

And I was wondering what Robert thinks of it. Eh Robert? The revived Quran venture? The films that Anton Spitaler had hidden and claimed lost…? Do you think they could change the way Muslims interpret their religion? Could it cause a revolution in Islam and change it in a good way? What do you think about that whole thing?

It’s all fascinating. I’d love to see what they contain. Ibn Warraq has done a lot of great work on alternate Qur’an texts and readings, and has a book coming out about it soon. Do I think it will cause a major change in Islam — if a drastically different version of the Qur’an appears? Almost certainly not. Because it will just be denounced as a Zionist forgery etc.

I have a general question in reference to the Islamic perception of Heaven and Hell: Does Islam teach, as the Bible does, that there are “waiting places” (Paradise/Tartaros) or places where souls are reserved until judgement; or do they teach that the soul goes directly to its reward (Heaven/Hell)? If so, what are these waiting places called?

And that is, indeed, how Islam views all the Biblical prophets. They, like Muhammad, taught Islam – it was their followers who corrupted their teachings to create modern Judaism and Christianity.

Here’s one for the Muslim “scholars” to chew on.

Is Jesus was a Muslim……

……Why then, do we not see “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” anywhere in Islam?

Cuz, you know, Islam is so kind and forgiving towards females, after all…

As always, Mr. Spencer, I cannot thank you enough for what you do. Your courage is a bright beacon of light in a depressing sea of Western ideological cowardice.

Entelechy on January 13, 2008 at 1:36 PM

I just read that article today Entel.

And I was wondering what Robert thinks of it. Eh Robert? The revived Quran venture? The films that Anton Spitaler had hidden and claimed lost…? Do you think they could change the way Muslims interpret their religion? Could it cause a revolution in Islam and change it in a good way? What do you think about that whole thing?

Those who want a more readable version of some of these Quranic fairy tales can go here, and enjoy

Re the she-camel, the traditional Islamic story is that the unbelievers challenged the prophet Salih to perform a specific miracle: make a she-camel, 10 months pregnant appear miraculously from the rocks.

Allah did this, splitting open a rock, from which the camel came forth. Some stories say that this camel produced enough milk for the entire people of Thamud. So many of the people came to believe in Allah. But the hardened unbelievers began plotting to kill the camel. Salih heard about it, and issued the warning in 11:64. But they killed the camel anyway, and Thamud was subsequently destroyed by Allah.

But ultimately, of course, it is a subjective and impossible challenge…

Exactly! That is no challenge at all. What criteria for perfection is being used? And who is doing the judging? For instance, in my humble opinion, Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica is perhaps the most perfect and influential book ever written (including the ol’ Bible). Why would this book not qualify?

Don’t answer – rhetorical question.

I have been amazed that such a primitive (by our standards)culture as the Mayans (they did not have horses or the wheel)in Mexico were able to figure out such amazing things. While other cultures, such as the Arabians, never did.

Does the story about Noah’s drowning son also parallel Muhammad? Are there any stories or legends regarding apostacy in Muhammad’s family or clan?

I didn’t mean that Noah is identical to Muhammad in every detail. I meant that the Qur’an tells the story of Noah in such a way as to make it parallel Muhammad’s experiences: he has the absolute truth and the warning of fearful punishment, and the unbelievers scoff — but their ruin is certain.

Anyway, Muhammad’s only son died in infancy. There is no parallel to that part of this story of Noah.

And yes, dentalque is right, above.

Can you elaborate on this portion of Sura 11? I am curious to know what this is really addressing.

This is the Qur’anic challenge. This is the foremost miraculous claim in Islam: the idea that the Qur’an is perfect and inimitable, and that the unbelievers will not be able to produce anything like it. This challenge also appears in sura 10 and, if my memory serves me right, sura 2.

See http://www.suralikeit.com for attempts to take up the challenge. But ultimately, of course, it is a subjective and impossible challenge: the true believer will never acknowledge that anything produced by an unbeliever, no matter how profound and faithful to Qur’anic style, is “like” the Qur’an.

Are these examples of why there seems to be a lack of scientific curiosity in the Islamic World? I would say that it was left to the West to discover that the Earth was inclined 23 ½ degrees on its axis and that combined with the annual path around the sun causes the days to grow shorter and the reverse. But even, by our standards, a primitive society, yet unencumbered by such rigidity as the Qur’an, the Mayans in Central America were able to figure this out as well. Or is the verse just a metaphor attributing to God for why things are the way that they are?

Your question may best be answered by a story I recall from an American who taught in Pakistan for awhile. He explained to his students that earthquakes were caused by tectonic shifts, or whatever it is, and they countered, No, you’re quite wrong, earthquakes are caused by the will of Allah. So in other words, yes, there is a certain dogmatic rigidity that I believe can be fed by the idea of the absolute sovereignty of Allah and the perfection of the Qur’an — one can begin to assume that no other book and no other knowledge is needed.