Why I'm Worried About Islam But Not Christianity

Wednesday

First let me say right up front: I am not a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, a Hindu, or a Buddhist, and I never have been. Neither were my parents. But whenever I talk about Islam to people here in America they almost always bring up Christianity. They compare Christianity with Islam, basically implying that I am criticizing Islam but Christianity is just as bad. Even Christians say this to me.

People who know nothing about Islam try to defend it just because they think of Islam as the underdog (an impression orthodox Muslims have carefully created), and good citizens everywhere instinctively want to defend any group (especially an underdog group) against discrimination or "racism" (even though Islam is not a race).

While Islam looks like other religions westerners are familiar with — Judaism and Christianity — and portrays itself as such, it is profoundly different in important ways.

In response to my statement, "Islam makes the attainment of political goals a religious duty," somebody said to me recently, "Christianity is a political religion too." Below is my answer to him.

This is why I'm worried about Islam's relentless encroachment far more than Christianity's:

  • Plenty of people in America and Europe are already aware of the political dangers of Christianity, and have long ago taken steps to prevent it from taking over governments.
  • In contrast, very few people in America and Europe know about the dangers of Islam, and, in fact, people are so reflexively against Christianity, they tend to favor Islam and give it the benefit of the doubt. When I talk to people about the most basic principles of Islam, I am often shocked at how little people know about this religion.
  • Some Christians have political goals, just as some dog fanciers have political goals.
  • But Islam is different in an important way: Muslims have a religious duty to work for political goals — it is a form of devotion and worship — and Muslims don't get to choose what goals they should strive for; the goals have been decreed by Allah. Mohammad was against living in monasteries or living a contemplative life. Muslims do not meditate. The way to show devotion to Allah is to fight for Islam. Literally (and politically).
  • As far as I know, no Christians have expressed any desire to kill me. And it would have no doctrinal support from the New Testament if they had.
  • Many Jihadis have openly expressed the desire to kill all Americans, many Americans have already been killed by them, and they have plenty of doctrinal support from the Qur'an to justify this killing.
  • When Christians kill, it can only be in spite of Christian teachings.
  • When a Jihadi kills, it is likely because of Islamic teachings, and they will tell you so openly and proudly.
  • Christians sometimes push for the spread or protection of Christian ideas.
  • Jihadis push to do away with hard-earned freedoms and replace the laws of free countries with a repressive, backward system (Shari'a law). It is a religious duty for a Muslim to relentlessly strive for the establishment of Shari'a wherever they are. Allah considers "man-made" governments (democracies, for example) to be illegitimate. The only legitimate laws are Allah's.
  • Christian morality insists they tell the truth to all people.
  • Islam's morality insists they tell the truth to fellow Muslims but to lie to non-Muslims if it can further the political goals of Islam.
  • Christians voluntarily try to follow Jesus's example, and he was peaceful and kind.
  • Muslims must follow Mohammad's example (it says so 91 times in the Qur'an they must do so) and Mohammad tortured and killed people.
  • For sinning, Jesus advocated forgiveness.
  • For sinning, Mohammad advocated stoning and beheading.
  • Jesus encouraged his followers to turn the other cheek when people criticized Jesus.
  • Mohammad encouraged his followers to assassinate people who criticized Mohammad. Several people who had criticized Mohammad or Islam were killed by Mohammad's followers with Mohammad's consent and approval. One was even assassinated at his request for the sin of criticizing Islam.
  • According to Christianity, the guaranteed way of getting into heaven is to believe Jesus died for your sins. 
  • According to Islam, the only way for a man to guarantee his passage to heaven is to die while fighting for Islam. By the way, these points I'm making about Islam are not a twisting of Mohammad's teachings; they are not an "interpretation" of Islamic doctrine. Well-read Muslims would agree with my statements. This is all based on mainstream Islamic theology.

Those are the main reasons I am more worried about Islam than Christianity. I used to think Islam and Christianity were very similar, but they are not. Why is Islam so different? The reason is historically interesting.

All other major religions were started within an already-existing state. Islam is an historical exception to this rule.

Any organized government will, of course, put a stop to violent uprisings of a rebellious political group. Christianity arose within the Roman Empire, for example. If Christianity had been a militant or political uprising — if Christianity had tried to take over the government — Rome would have killed or imprisoned all the followers. Probably many military or political religions did start up then, but we've never heard of them. They couldn't get off the ground.

But Islam arose in Arabia when there was no central ruling power. The whole area was comprised of individual tribes. Under those circumstances, the most efficient way to gain converts was by force. And that's how Islam came to be.

Mohammad borrowed many ideas from both Judaism and Christianity, and that's why it bears a superficial similarity to familiar religions. But it is fundamentally different. The circumstances of its time and place of origin led to teachings that were written down and declared sacred, and those teachings now rule 1.3 billion people.

Mohammad's life itself is an example of the principle (that when you don't have power, you cannot promote violence). When Mohammad first started Islam, he was one man with no political power surrounded by many others with their own religions and lots of power. He could not be belligerent or start any wars, so he used persuasion. In the first half of his career, using his persuasive skills, he gained 150 converts. In the second half of his career, he used warfare more and more as he gained numerical and financial strength. Using the "conversion by the sword" method, he gained tens of thousands of converts in the same amount of time. Converting by force is a more effective method if you can get away with it, especially if you can reinforce it with total control of government and the law.

Mohammad created a complete system that rules every aspect of life. But in order to make the system work, Islam must be the law of the land. It doesn't work, for example, to cover all your women so Muslim men are not sexually tempted by their bodies or faces if half the women in the country are not Muslims and walk around in shorts. For the system to work, every woman must be covered. And for that to happen, the government has to follow Shari'a law.

Mohammad used force to gain converts, and all his decrees and justifications for his actions were written down in the Qur'an, which are now memorized and studied by over a billion people, many of whom take the teachings to heart. The result is a powerful, unrelenting push for Islamic political power all over the world. Their percentage of the world's population keeps increasing.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

If you like this article, send it to people who give you the Christianity comparison. Read it several times and use the specific answers next time someone makes the comparison in a conversation. And if you can think of any other good answers, please leave them in the comments to this article for others to use.

41 comments:

Damien 2:24 PM  

Citizen Warrior,

Robert Spencer of Jihadwatch wrote a book called "Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't," Have you heard of it? If not and you'd like to read it, they are selling the book over at Amazon and other retailers. Its very interesting and It shows the differences between the two faiths very clearly. I own a copy and I think I have read most of it.

Citizen Warrior 3:33 PM  

I've heard about the book but haven't read it yet. Are there any differences that you can remember that I neglected? I'd love it if you would add them.

Damien 4:08 PM  

Citizen Warrior,

For one thing Christianity is actually compatible with the separation of Church and state, and some people believe the Bible even supports the notion. Remember one of things Jesus said, "Render onto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and God the things that are God's." Some people interpret that as support for the idea of separation of church and state. Another difference is that there is no inherent antisemitism in Christianity like there is in Islam. Groups like Christian_Identity take vague Bible quotes out of context to support their hatred, while many mainstream Christians today will tell you that Jesus was a Jew and according to mainstream Christian theology Jesus was the son of God. On the other hand there's plenty of clear cut antisemitic hate filled passages in the Qur'an.

There are other differences between Islam and Christianity, but I think you might want to read Robert's book. He goes into a lot of detail.

Anonymous 4:25 AM  

As I stated before to you, I am interested to understand that you believe that Christianity is more a force for good in the world than Islam, by the very fact that the former is a gospel of love, whereas the latter is often one of violence. You are right in line with Christ's teaching which advocates love, not force,to gain adherents. It is true that, during the early centuries of Christianity, Christianity became a state religion of the Roman empire, and even today, in some Western societies, it is endorsed by governments, yet it remains, among evengelical Christians, a ministry of free will and devotion to Jesus Christ personally, and never a devotion to any particular governmenttal system.

The Bible is clear that, juzt prior to His return to this earth to set up His kingdom rule from Jerussalam, a great anti-christ movement will sweep the earth. There are those who believe that this is Islam, which increasingoly is seeking to take over political rule, and has become the religion of Islamic states governed by Sharia law. In reality it is but one form of this anti-christ movement. When Jesus Christ returns He will deal with all those who have opposed His Lordship, overcoming them during His 1,000 year reign, then finally consigning them to what the Bible calls the lake of fire at the great white throne judgment.

Thank you for your insights into Islamic radicalism, which is really a core issue of devout Muslims, and not just the thinking of a splinter group in Islam which is carrying out Jihad.

Respectfully,
Robert Overstreet/watchman

Damien 2:11 PM  

watchman,

I can't speak for Citizen Warrior, but I can give you a good reason why I would consider Christianity better than Islam. Try to find any remotely mainstream Christian leader around today, who calls for the mass murder or subjugation of anyone who doesn't accept Jesus. Where are the respect Christian leaders who call for violent overthrow of all non Christian governments? Where all the cries for blood, regardless of the violence against unbelievers in the book of revelation? Note that I am all talking about mainstream twentieth and twenty first century Christianity, not Christianity in the middle ages, or CHRISTIAN_RECONSTRUCTIONISM or CHRISTIAN_IDENTITY. When was the last time a Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, or Alan Keys, called for violence and theocracy?

Citizen Warrior 2:59 PM  

Even if you're talking about Christian's past, Islam kills more people every year than the total killed by the Inquisition in its entire 350 year reign.

Compare Wikipedia's info about the Inquisition with the daily attacks in the name of Islam happening now.

Damien 3:06 PM  

Citizen Warrior,

You just made an excellent point.

Unknown 12:10 AM  

"According to Christianity, there is no guaranteed way of getting into heaven. "

That statement is incorrect.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved you and your household. (go look it up for chapter and verse)

Jesus on the cross told the thief after he asked Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom, Jesus said unto him "today you will be with me in paradise". Jesus saved him because he believed that Jesus was the son of God.

Anonymous 4:53 AM  

I highly recommend the book "Faith, Reason, And The War Against Jihadism" by George Weigel, as a "must read" for any serious student of evangelical thought. It clearly exposes the intent of Islamic terrorism in the world today.

Watchman

Citizen Warrior 3:20 AM  

From an article entitled, Are Judaism and Christianity as Violent as Islam?:

Old Testament violence is an interesting case in point. God clearly ordered the Hebrews to annihilate the Canaanites and surrounding peoples. Such violence is therefore an expression of God's will, for good or ill. Regardless, all the historic violence committed by the Hebrews and recorded in the Old Testament is just that—history. It happened; God commanded it. But it revolved around a specific time and place and was directed against a specific people. At no time did such violence go on to become standardized or codified into Jewish law. In short, biblical accounts of violence are descriptive, not prescriptive.

This is where Islamic violence is unique. Though similar to the violence of the Old Testament—commanded by God and manifested in history—certain aspects of Islamic violence and intolerance have become standardized in Islamic law and apply at all times. Thus, while the violence found in the Qur'an has a historical context, its ultimate significance is theological. Consider the following Qur'anic verses, better known as the "sword-verses":

"Then, when the sacred months are drawn away, slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent, and perform the prayer, and pay the alms, then let them go their way."

"Fight those who believe not in God and the Last Day, and do not forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden – such men as practise not the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book – until they pay the tribute out of hand and have been humbled."

Citizen Warrior 3:22 AM  

More from the article, Are Judaism and Christianity as Violent as Islam?:

As with Old Testament verses where God commanded the Hebrews to attack and slay their neighbors, the sword-verses also have a historical context. God first issued these commandments after the Muslims under Muhammad's leadership had grown sufficiently strong to invade their Christian and pagan neighbors. But unlike the bellicose verses and anecdotes of the Old Testament, the sword-verses became fundamental to Islam's subsequent relationship to both the "people of the book" (i.e., Jews and Christians) and the "idolaters" (i.e., Hindus, Buddhists, animists, etc.) and, in fact, set off the Islamic conquests, which changed the face of the world forever. Based on Qur'an 9:5, for instance, Islamic law mandates that idolaters and polytheists must either convert to Islam or be killed; simultaneously, Qur'an 9:29 is the primary source of Islam's well-known discriminatory practices against conquered Christians and Jews living under Islamic suzerainty.

In fact, based on the sword-verses as well as countless other Qur'anic verses and oral traditions attributed to Muhammad, Islam's learned officials, sheikhs, muftis, and imams throughout the ages have all reached consensus—binding on the entire Muslim community—that Islam is to be at perpetual war with the non-Muslim world until the former subsumes the latter. Indeed, it is widely held by Muslim scholars that since the sword-verses are among the final revelations on the topic of Islam's relationship to non-Muslims, that they alone have abrogated some 200 of the Qur'an's earlier and more tolerant verses, such as "no compulsion is there in religion."[9] Famous Muslim scholar Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) admired in the West for his "progressive" insights, also puts to rest the notion that jihad is defensive warfare:

In the Muslim community, the holy war [jihad] is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and the obligation to convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force ... The other religious groups did not have a universal mission, and the holy war was not a religious duty for them, save only for purposes of defense ... They are merely required to establish their religion among their own people. That is why the Israelites after Moses and Joshua remained unconcerned with royal authority [e.g., a caliphate]. Their only concern was to establish their religion [not spread it to the nations] … But Islam is under obligation to gain power over other nations.

Modern authorities agree. The Encyclopaedia of Islam's entry for "jihad" by Emile Tyan states that the "spread of Islam by arms is a religious duty upon Muslims in general … Jihad must continue to be done until the whole world is under the rule of Islam … Islam must completely be made over before the doctrine of jihad [warfare to spread Islam] can be eliminated." Iraqi jurist Majid Khaduri (1909-2007), after defining jihad as warfare, writes that "jihad … is regarded by all jurists, with almost no exception, as a collective obligation of the whole Muslim community." And, of course, Muslim legal manuals written in Arabic are even more explicit.

Citizen Warrior 3:25 AM  

More from the article, Are Judaism and Christianity as Violent as Islam?:

When the Qur'an's violent verses are juxtaposed with their Old Testament counterparts, they are especially distinct for using language that transcends time and space, inciting believers to attack and slay nonbelievers today no less than yesterday. God commanded the Hebrews to kill Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—all specific peoples rooted to a specific time and place. At no time did God give an open-ended command for the Hebrews, and by extension their Jewish descendants, to fight and kill gentiles. On the other hand, though Islam's original enemies were, like Judaism's, historical (e.g., Christian Byzantines and Zoroastrian Persians), the Qur'an rarely singles them out by their proper names. Instead, Muslims were (and are) commanded to fight the people of the book—"until they pay the tribute out of hand and have been humbled" and to "slay the idolaters wherever you find them."

The two Arabic conjunctions "until" (hata) and "wherever" (haythu) demonstrate the perpetual and ubiquitous nature of these commandments: There are still "people of the book" who have yet to be "utterly humbled" (especially in the Americas, Europe, and Israel) and "idolaters" to be slain "wherever" one looks (especially Asia and sub-Saharan Africa). In fact, the salient feature of almost all of the violent commandments in Islamic scriptures is their open-ended and generic nature: "Fight them [non-Muslims] until there is no persecution and the religion is God's entirely." Also, in a well-attested tradition that appears in the hadith collections, Muhammad proclaims:

"I have been commanded to wage war against mankind until they testify that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; and that they establish prostration prayer, and pay the alms-tax [i.e., convert to Islam]. If they do so, their blood and property are protected."

This linguistic aspect is crucial to understanding scriptural exegeses regarding violence. Again, it bears repeating that neither Jewish nor Christian scriptures—the Old and New Testaments, respectively—employ such perpetual, open-ended commandments.

Citizen Warrior 3:29 AM  

More from the article, Are Judaism and Christianity as Violent as Islam?:

Latin American and non-Muslim Asian countries also have their fair share of oppressive, authoritarian regimes, poverty, and all the rest that the Muslim world suffers. Yet, unlike the near daily headlines emanating from the Islamic world, there are no records of practicing Christians, Buddhists, or Hindus crashing explosives-laden vehicles into the buildings of oppressive (e.g., Cuban or Chinese communist) regimes, all the while waving their scriptures in hand and screaming, "Jesus [or Buddha or Vishnu] is great!" Why?

There is one final aspect that is often overlooked—either from ignorance or disingenuousness—by those who insist that violence and intolerance is equivalent across the board for all religions. Aside from the divine words of the Qur'an, Muhammad's pattern of behavior—his sunna or "example"—is an extremely important source of legislation in Islam. Muslims are exhorted to emulate Muhammad in all walks of life: "You have had a good example in God's Messenger." And Muhammad's pattern of conduct toward non-Muslims is quite explicit.

Sarcastically arguing against the concept of moderate Islam, for example, terrorist Osama bin Laden, who enjoys half the Arab-Islamic world's support per an Al-Jazeera poll, portrays the Prophet's sunna thusly:

"Moderation" is demonstrated by our prophet who did not remain more than three months in Medina without raiding or sending a raiding party into the lands of the infidels to beat down their strongholds and seize their possessions, their lives, and their women.

In fact, based on both the Qur'an and Muhammad's sunna, pillaging and plundering infidels, enslaving their children, and placing their women in concubinage is well founded. And the concept of sunna—which is what 90 percent of the billion-plus Muslims, the Sunnis, are named after—essentially asserts that anything performed or approved by Muhammad, humanity's most perfect example, is applicable for Muslims today no less than yesterday. This, of course, does not mean that Muslims in mass live only to plunder and rape.

But it does mean that persons naturally inclined to such activities, and who also happen to be Muslim, can—and do—quite easily justify their actions by referring to the "Sunna of the Prophet"—the way Al-Qaeda, for example, justified its attacks on 9/11 where innocents including women and children were killed: Muhammad authorized his followers to use catapults during their siege of the town of Ta'if in 630 C.E.—townspeople had refused to submit—though he was aware that women and children were sheltered there. Also, when asked if it was permissible to launch night raids or set fire to the fortifications of the infidels if women and children were among them, the Prophet is said to have responded, "They [women and children] are from among them [infidels]."

Citizen Warrior 3:30 AM  

More from the article, Are Judaism and Christianity as Violent as Islam?:

Does this mean that no self-professed Christian can be anti-Semitic? Of course not. But it does mean that Christian anti-Semites are living oxymorons—for the simple reason that textually and theologically, Christianity, far from teaching hatred or animosity, unambiguously stresses love and forgiveness. Whether or not all Christians follow such mandates is hardly the point; just as whether or not all Muslims uphold the obligation of jihad is hardly the point. The only question is, what do the religions command?

Damien 9:45 AM  

Citizen Warrior,

You could make your last five comments into their own thread.

Citizen Warrior 12:28 PM  

I thought about that, Damien, but because a lot of people have linked to this page, and use it to share just this kind of information, I decided to put all the information connected to one link.

Citizen Warrior 12:32 PM  

Worth reading on this topic: IS CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISM THE SAME AS ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM?

Citizen Warrior 9:17 PM  

I just got this email:

I just read "Why I'm worried about Islm but not Christianity". Very well written and accurate.

Muhammad claimed in the Hadith to be the nearest of all people to Jesus. I suppose if we erase the entire New Testament and claim Don Corleone as Jesus Christ, Muhammad's self description would be accurate.

Looking forward to your reply,

John Steinreich

Citizen Warrior's note: John is the author of a book entitled, "THE WORDS OF GOD?--The Bible, the Qur'an and How They Are Lived in the Post 9/11 World"

Anonymous 3:45 PM  

While i agree with your view about Islam being more dangerous to democratic freedoms than Christianity because the former is more explicit in its intolerance than the later,it is naive to think that Christianity is a religion of peace because is not, those whom often talk about the love of Christ often omit to mention the darker and perverse aspects of this individual, for example, it must be stressed that Jesus threatens those who reject him with brutal and sadistic punishment at his return, so the biblical revenge of Jesus and his
hell make look the Nazis like fairy tale characters. The brutal, bloodthirsty and barbaric verses for the Old Testament can be used to justify violence and as a matter of fact have been used for that purpose(rememeber for example the brutal killings commited by the portuguese soldiers of Christ against the hindu and buddhist "infidels" from Sri Lanka), so is easy for a fanatic christian to make a mutatis mutandi case between the modern infidels and ancient canaanites.Christian fanatics are as dangerous as muslim fanatics, read Christianity Unveiled from the Enlightement author D Holbach to really know what Christianity is all about,it is a totalitarian cult like Islam(thinking otherwise is wishful thinking), it is thanks to people like D Holbach, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson and other free thinking philosophers that we in the West enjoy our cherished freedoms. Christianity an his sister religion Islam are dangerous for human kind because they promote the belief in a cruel god, and as Thomas Paine said "belief in a cruel god makes a cruel men". I support your just cause warning and educating us about the dangers of Islam, but please do not betray those men that exposed their lifes fighting against christian totalitarism,i think that is horrible that some extremist right wing christians are using this kind of info about Islam to promote their own perverse anti democratic agenda to limit democartic freedoms,and i would like to tell all christian extremist fearmongers that the fact that freedom loving people like me reject the perverse islamic agenda does not make us allies of yours in your deranged crusade to control and influence the political and legal institutions in the west. I am against all forms of religious fundamentalism, i stand for the fundamental human rights and for democratic freedoms.

Anonymous 7:12 PM  

We need a factually based and logicly valid futuristic vision of what life would be like for a muslim in an Islamic one world global state .

Damien 11:41 PM  

Anonymous,

A global Islamic State? You mean describe what the World would be like under a one world government run by the Saudis or the Taliban, or the Iranian Mullah's?

borachio 6:35 AM  

Religious people generally don't voice opinion about the "religion" of islam because they see and fear that getting rid of one "religion" opens up their particular belief system for similar critique. This fear overcomes all thoughts of human rights, moral behavior and logical thought.

Anonymous 1:38 AM  

Excellent blog post/article. The concise, point-by-point comparisons that cut right to the chase will make it a useful resource document to cite or reference in later discussions. That the writer isn't a Christian with an agenda to promote or defend Christianity, or any religion whatsoever, for that matter, enabled this piece to be written from a perspective of objectivity that I've not read in any other writers' comparisons of the two religions.

Good work. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Anonymous 3:56 AM  

Please let your readers see these scripts from the second holy book of Jews the TALMUD , let them judge and compare :

Sepher Ikkarim III c 25: "It is permitted to take the body and life of a gentile."

Coschen Hamischpat, Hagah 425: "It is the law to kill anyone who denies the Torah. The Christians belong to the denying ones of the Torah."

Bammidber raba c 21 & jalkut 772: "Every Jew who spills the blood of the godless (non-Jews), is doing the same as making a sacrifice to God."

Citizen Warrior 2:56 PM  

Another article on the same topic:

Comparing Christianity and Islam

Anonymous 9:32 AM  

People lose sight of the fact that no religion is a political system that runs the state. Islam is not a true religion as we know them because it is not just faith in a belief. It is the government/political system that rules the country. It is ruler, laws and judiciary without appeal. There is only the religious leaders who control everthing and everyone. It is a theocratic dictatorship that no non-muslim who has experienced freedom would choose. It is a throwback to primitive times.

Anonymous 9:48 PM  

Citizen warrior.i've seen in one of your article that you have classified the surahs in chronological order.how did you do it and can you provide us with this order thanks

Citizen Warrior 1:31 PM  

Here's something on the chronological order of the Koran:

http://www.citizenwarrior.com/2010/07/chronological-order-of-quran.html

Anonymous 2:48 PM  

I'm a Christian and I get this all the time. My religion has calmed down a lot since the Enlightenment. Islam has not and will not.

Citizen Warrior 12:25 AM  

Someone just emailed this comment:

Here is a response that I have read about how Christians kill innocent people too.

RESPONSE: Some Christians have killed innocent people. That is true. The difference is that Christians killed DESPITE what Jesus taught. Muslims kill BECAUSE of what Muhammad taught!

Anonymous 1:18 PM  

The quotations allegedly from the Talmud, up above, are from books that don't exist or are quotations that don't exist. For example, there's no such thing as "Sepher Ikkarim." And I don't mean just "there isn't one transliterated precisely that way but maybe you could find it if you tinker with the spelling a little (like changing "sepher" to "sefer")"; I mean there's no book like that at all. These non-existent quotes were made up by neo-Nazis. -- Bradamante

Anonymous 1:58 PM  

I do not think Muslims are violent because of the Prophet Muhammad's teachings, but rather because of a Clash of the Cultures, because the West/Europe has colonised much of the world and exploited its people, its land and its resources, and also due to a severe misunderstanding of the rest of the world by both Muslims and Christians. Both peoples have often thought of each other as superior due to human beings' narcissistic nature and the fear of the unknown. Palestinian terrorists do not attack Jews because of their Muslim upbinging but rather because of having constantly had their land, resources and property taken away, and their families and friends murdered or horribly injured. For a Palestinian, Jews or jewish symbols, such as menorahs, the Star of David etc, remind him of atrocities commited by the State of Israel and Zionists. They symbolise things which he trully wishes had not happened. This is why many young Palestinians become terrorists, to avenge the deaths of their loved ones.

Citizen Warrior 2:49 PM  

There are many disaffected and previously-colonized people in the world. But orthodox Muslims fight in the way Muhammad fought non-Muslims.

And there are plenty of active jihadists who are wealthy or were born in Western countries. But they are following the teachings of Islam. I suggest you read the Koran cover to cover. Then you will see. We're not making this stuff up.

Anonymous 5:21 AM  

Mathew 26:52 (NIV) - "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword."
i dont understand why people are even becoming muslims when its so much more of an intelegent route to take in life to be peaceful, i dont understand how people can have the desire to join a religion where you are voluntarily giving up your freedom, and causing suffering to others its barbaric. mind boggling.

Citizen Warrior 12:40 AM  

In another article by Raymond Ibrahim, he answers the question many have asked: "What if Islam had a Reformation like the Christian's Protestant Reformation?" In answering it, he exposes a lot of the important differences between Islam and Christianity:

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/islams-protestant-reformation-part-2/

Raymond Ibrahim’s dual-background — born and raised in the U.S. by Coptic Egyptian parents born and raised in the Middle East — has provided him with unique advantages, from equal fluency in English and Arabic, to an equal understanding of the Western and Middle Eastern mindsets, positioning him to explain the latter to the former.

More about Ibrahim: http://www.raymondibrahim.com/about/

Anonymous 6:37 PM  

One answer to someone who asserts that Christianity and Islam are morally equivalent:

If you are a Christian, point that out to them and ask the person if they feel safe repeating their point about Islam and Christianity to you. If they repeat their idea, ask them if they would have done that if you had identified yourself as a Muslim.

(Like as not, they would not because they are afraid of Muslims. However, they may never have thought of how one can insult Christianity to Christians without risking life and limb, but are certainly taking a risk if one says anything negative about Islam to a Muslim.)

Citizen Warrior 11:30 PM  

Great answer. Thank you.

Anonymous 12:08 AM  

These articles are excellent and deserve the widest dissemination possible. Has anyone sent them to some of the conservative columnists who seem to be missing the point? Senators, representatives, local officials, school board members, all should see this material (I haven't read everything yet). We need to get this stuff to the opinion-makers and those who can actually make policy changes.

Andrew 6:39 PM  

Interesting article, but a minor correction, the "guarantee" of salvation in Christianity is only applicable to Protestantism. In Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism, the only way to be sure of salvation is to die a martyr, or more precisely, to be given the option to give up Christianity or die, and to choose death. Sounds more similar to Islam, except you can't be seeking to kill or persecute people, but rather you have to be the recipient of the violence without resisting.

Anonymous 5:59 PM  

Actually the guarantee in Christianity for salvation is not only applicable in Protestantism, I know that Catholicism also believes this. There is also definitely no decree that states one must die to be saved, although Jesus used a phrase like that in one of his parables. But these should never just be taken literally and should always be analyzed for a deeper meaning.

Anonymous 1:45 AM  

"If Christianity had been a militant or political uprising — if Christianity had tried to take over the government — Rome would have killed or imprisoned all the followers."

The Romans did view Christians as a political threat and did everything they could to kill and imprison them for the first three centuries (the last great Roman state persecution of Christians was in the year 303). Christians were considered threatening not because they tried to seize political power but because they refused to participate in the Emperor cult (to bow down before statues of the emperor and worship him as a god). This was seen as rebellion against the state - divisive behaviour. The resulting formal accusation against Christians was that they were atheists (!), a crime punishable by death in pagan Rome.

The reason that the bestial violence against Christians (torture, mass executions and forcing Christian girls into brothels) did not work to stamp out the faith was the new Christian idea that Christ had conquered death itself and that those who followed him without fear would have eternal life. This faith in salvation of the individual soul was new and exhilarating. Not least for women and slaves who had little to lose, and for the first time received a message that they had something to win, something precious that would be their own. For the first time they were told that they WERE something precious. Before Christianity, a slave was not even regarded as human - a Roman phrase for a slave was "a speaking tool" (instrumentum vocale).

It is hard for us today to appreciate the mental impact of such a shift in consciousness, but the people then certainly did. It is probably the single most important factor in the original success of Christianity.

It is a historical fact that whereas islam was spread by the means of violent men, Christianity was for its first three centuries spread by the physically powerless - women, slaves, and children - by their enduring torture and death as fearlessly as their teacher, Jesus, had done.

Read up on the Christian martyrs - thrown to lions in circus as a public spectacle, burned alive as garden torches as Nero's parties, etc.

And if you think this is just legendary stuff, be aware that it is still practised, even by children:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3598413/Christian-girl-burned-alive-ISIS-told-mother-forgive-lay-dying-arms.html

Article Spotlight

One of the most unusual articles on CitizenWarrior.com is Pleasantville and Islamic Supremacism.

It illustrates the Islamic Supremacist vision by showing the similarity between what happened in the movie, Pleasantville, and what devout fundamentalist Muslims are trying to create in Islamic states like Syria, Pakistan, or Saudi Arabia (and ultimately everywhere in the world).

Click here to read the article.


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