Islam's double Standard

[Sirach14]

Bash jews and Christians, but don’t touch Islam.

washtimes.com/commentary/20050604-091915-4840r.htm

 

[Saint_Andrew]

Hello

The only thing I can say about it that the people of Islam belief seem to be more sensitive than the rest of us, sometimes too sensitive.

God Bless
Saint Andrew.

 

[Franze]

Interesting article, I hope it opens the muslim´s hearts.

 

[Matt25]

islamonline.net/askaboutislam/display.asp?hquestionID=6055

Mike -

• Is it real that Muslims hate and attack Christians just because they want to force the Qur’an on them?

Thank you for your question.

Actually I find it a bit strange, because it reflects misconceptions contrary to what I would expect to find. Most people think that Muslims hate Jews, not Christians, as you think.

In order to answer your question, I must clarify that there is a difference between what Islam says Muslims should do and what individual Muslims actually do. Just as you will find among Christians, Jews, and others those people who do not follow what their religion teaches, so, too, you will find Muslims who do not follow the teachings of Islam. This may be due to their ignorance of the correct understanding of the Qur’an and Sunnah, or it may be due to their personal weaknesses and prejudices.

Your first question is whether Muslims hate Christians because they want to force the Qur’an on them. This assumes that Muslims hate Christians. Again, you will find that there are some Muslims who do hate Christians, but this is not what Islam teaches. Muslims are to respect both Christians and Jews as being People of the Book, that is, people who received revelation from God before the time of Prophet Muhammad.

Muslims are not allowed to force the Qur’an on Christians or others. This is clear in the Qur’an in words that mean:
{There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error…} (Al-Baqarah 2:256)

    The Qur’an gives guidance in how to deal with the People of the Book. It reads what means:*{And the Jews will not be pleased with thee, nor will the Christians, till thou follow their creed. Say: Lo! the guidance of Allah [Himself] is Guidance. And if thou shouldst follow their desires after the knowledge which hath come unto thee, then wouldst thou have from Allah no protecting friend nor helper.}* (Al-Baqarah 2:120)

    The Qur’an also reads:*{And they say: Be Jews or Christians, then ye will be rightly guided. Say [unto them, O Muhammad]: Nay, but [we follow] the religion of Abraham, the upright, and he was not of the idolaters. Say [O Muslims]: We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto Us and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob. and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, add that which the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered.}* (Al-Baqarah 2:135-136)

Then another verse reads what means:{Thou wilt find the most vehement of mankind in hostility to those who believe [to be] the Jews and the idolaters. And thou wilt find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe [to be] those who say: Lo! We are Christians. That is because there are among them priests and monks, and because they are not proud.} (Al-Ma’idah 5:82)

    **When Islam spread outside the Arab Peninsula, the Muslims did not force anyone to adopt their religion. Following the orders of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his successors, they did not destroy churches, monasteries, synagogues, or even pagan temples.** The Muslims established their rule based on the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah of the prophet Non-Muslims were allowed to keep their religions and personal status laws and even their own criminal laws for crimes committed among themselves.

Islam teaches us to try to live in peaceful coexistence with those of other faiths. Muslims are not to attack others unless they are attacked first. The Qur’an says what means:{Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not, aggressors.} (Al-Baqarah 2:190)

    The Qur’an also reads what means:*{Allah forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not out from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal justly with them. Lo! Allah loveth the just dealers.}* (Al-Mumtahana 60:8)

    I don’t know whether, in asking your question, you are referring to a particular incident that you heard of. I have not heard of Muslims attacking Christians for the purpose of imposing the Qur’an on them. Sometimes there are conflicts or even full-scale wars that appear to be for religious reasons because the two sides are divided along religious lines. But, in fact, these are usually struggles for economic or political power.

 

[Matt25]

islamonline.net/askaboutislam/display.asp?hquestionID=6055

Muslims are ordered to invite others to Islam in this way stated in the Qur’an. The Qur’an reads what means:{Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and reason with them in the better way. Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who go aright.} (An-Nahl 16:125)

As for your question about the Jews, I repeat, Muslims are to respect them for being People of the Book. When the Qur’an does criticize the Jews **who did not follow God’s commands,** the expression *{among them there are some…}* is always there, so that the good are not condemned along with the bad. When Muslims ruled by Islamic Law, Jews - and others - were free to practice their religion and flourished.

The fighting you see today in the Middle East is not about religion, but about economic and political power. We must always distinguish between Zionists — many of whom are even atheists — and Jews, many of whom oppose Zionism.
Let me ask you this: If a lot of foreigners moved into your country and then, instead of living peacefully among you, took over the government, forced you out of your homes, cut most of the water going to you, gave you no voice in the government, searched you whenever you entered a house of worship, humiliated you in numerous ways, threatened you with guns and tanks, and so on, wouldn’t you—the original residents—be angry and fight back in any way you could? And if those foreigners who took over happened to be of a different religion than the original residents, would the fighting be because of the religious differences? Possibly, but not necessarily. Remember that in the case of Palestinians, not all of them are Muslims.

In sum, while you may see individual Muslims who hate Christians and Jews, the Qur’an does not teach us to hate them. Muslims are to treat Jews and Christians—indeed, all people—with respect, kindness, and justice while making their closest friends and allies among fellow Muslims. Only if the others begin hostilities may Muslims fight back.

Salam.

islamdenouncesterrorism.com/people_of_the_book_the_muslims.html

It is evident there are ample grounds for an alliance between the “People of the Book” and Muslims. This is also very evident in the Koran. In the relevant verses of the Koran, there is a significant difference between the People of the Book and the idolaters. This is especially emphasized in the area of social life. For example, it is said concerning the idolaters:** “(they) are unclean, so after this year they should not come near the Masjid al-Haram (Kaaba).”** (Surat at-Tawba: 28) Idolaters are people who obey no divine law, have no moral precepts and who are capable of committing every kind of degrading and perverse action without hesitation.

But while they basically rely on God’s revelation, the People of the Book have moral precepts and know what is lawful and what is not. For this reason, if one of the People of the Book cooks some food, it is lawful for Muslims to eat it. In the same way, permission has been given for a Muslim man to marry a woman from among the People of the Book. On this subject God commands:

Today all good things have been made lawful for you. And the food of those given the Book is also lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. So are chaste women from among the believers and chaste women of those given the Book before you, once you have given them their dowries in marriage, not in fornication or taking them as lovers. But as for anyone who disbelieve, his actions will come to nothing and in the hereafter he will be among the losers. (Surat al-Mai’da: 5)

These commands show that bonds of kinship may be established as a result of the marriage of a Muslim with a woman from the People of the Book, and that those on each side of the union can accept an invitation to a meal. These are the fundamentals that will ensure the establishment of equitable human relationships and a happy communal life. Since the Koran enjoins this equitable and tolerant attitude, it is unthinkable that a Muslim could take an opposing view.

 

[gilliam]

How to you address all those women who are trying to get their children back from Saudi Arabia?

And all the Christians who are being pursecuted in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states?

 

[Franze]

Matt24, allow me to laugh, what a joke this links!

 

[Matt25]

gilliam:

How to you address all those women who are trying to get their children back from Saudi Arabia?

And all the Christians who are being pursecuted in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states?

If Christians do not always behave as they should why do you expect Muslims to be different? The point is that those who persecute Christians in the name of Islam are as untrue to their faith as those Serbs who carved crosses into the chests of Bosnian Muslims are to theirs.

If you visit Islamic websites you will see them assert that Christians are necessarily Crusaders who murdered Muslims in the past and do so today in Chechnya and elsewhere. They are wrong persecuting people is false to both Christian and Muslim faiths, as the Catholic hierarchy has clearly and frequently said.

Those who assert that either Islam or Christianity are intrinsically murderous or persecuting are lying.

“Then [we refer] to the adorers of God according to the conception of monotheism, the Muslim religion especially, deserving of our admiration for all that is true and good in their worship of God.”
**Paul VI, Ecclesiam Suam 107, August 6, 1964 **

                                             http://www.uniya.org/images/spacer1x1.gif "But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place among whom are the Muslims: these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."
          **Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium 16, November 21, 1964**

                                             http://www.uniya.org/images/spacer1x1.gif "The Church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth (Cf. St. Gregory VII, Letter III, 21 to Anazir [Al-Nasir], King of Mauretania PL, 148. 451A.), who has spoken to men. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God's plan, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own. Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet, his Virgin Mother they also honor, and even at times devoutly invoke. Further, they await the day of judgment and the reward of God following the resurrection of the dead. For this reason they highly esteem an upright life and worship God, especially by way of prayer, alms-deeds and fasting.

“Over the centuries many quarrels and dissensions have arisen between Christians and Muslims. The sacred Council now pleads with all to forget the past, and urges that a sincere effort be made to achieve mutual understanding; for the benefit of all men, let them together preserve and promote peace, social justice and moral values.”
Second Vatican Council, Nostra Aetate 3, October 28, 1965
http://www.uniya.org/images/spacer1x1.gif

 

[Matt25]

Franze:

Matt24, allow me to laugh, what a joke this links!

Actually its Matt25 as in~

31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, ***
33*** and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. ***
34*** Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ***
35*** for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ***
36*** I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ ***
37*** Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? ***
38*** And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?
39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ ***
40*** And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ ***
41*** Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; ***
42*** for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
44 Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ ***
45*** Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew Chapter 25

 

[gilliam]

Matt25:

If Christians do not always behave as they should why do you expect Muslims to be different?

OK, I’ll buy that. Can you name me any major Islamic peace and/or human rights movement in the 20th or 21st century?

 

[Matt25]

gilliam:

OK, I’ll buy that. Can you name me any major Islamic peace and/or human rights movement in the 20th or 21st century?

Can you name a Christian one?

 

[Franze]

Matt25:

Can you name a Christian one?

San Egidio movement, focolars, Caritas,Manos Unidas and others helps a lot of people. In the protestant world for example the Salvation´s army

 

[gilliam]

Franze:

San Egidio movement, focolars, Caritas,Manos Unidas and others helps a lot of people. In the protestant world for example the Salvation´s army

Not to mention Pax Christi

 

[jjwilkman]

catholic charities throughout the world.
st vincent de paul society.
catholic services don’t even ask what your religion is (or isnt)

 

[Matt25]

Franze:

San Egidio movement, focolars, Caritas,Manos Unidas and others helps a lot of people. In the protestant world for example the Salvation´s army

These are charities, there are many Muslim charities. Almsgiving is a religious obligation for Muslims

 

[Matt25]

gilliam:

Not to mention Pax Christi

Pax Christi is a wonderful organisation but scarcely a major one, membership is only in the low thousands and it is scarcely mainstream… yet. I do know it doesnt slander Islam though.

 

[Thea]

gilliam:

Not to mention Pax Christi

and Jubilee Action

cnaf.org.uk/profile/jubilee.htm

 

[gilliam]

Matt,

I see you can’t answer this question. I’ll ask it again:

Can you name me any major Islamic peace and/or human rights movement in the 20th or 21st century?

 

[gilliam]

Matt25:

These are charities, there are many Muslim charities. Almsgiving is a religious obligation** for Muslims**

If I am not mistaken, from Muslims to Muslims is a religious obligation. Not from Muslims to infidels. If I am not mistaken the Muslim charities give overwhelmingly to Muslims in need. Not primarily to Christians in need, or anyone else. Unlike many Christian charities that give to everyone in need.

I keep thinking of Catholic Charities who will give to just about anyone who asks, even those who speak out against the Catholic Church. You won’t find its kind in Islam.

 

[tom.wineman]

The real test.

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Go live in say Saudi Arabia as an openly devote Christian woman. Maybe do a little proselytizing.

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Hold on to your head.