Sombody asked Dr. Ali Sina :
Is Islam as bad as depicted in your website? How come most of my Muslims friends are moderate and nice people?
Here is the answer by Dr. Ali Sina :
My simple answer is yes Islam is as bad as we depict it to be. Please do not mistake “Islam” with “Muslims”. Muslim people are mostly good people. They are our families, friends and kin folks. Now, if any of them wants to practice true Islam, then they will become terrorists in today’s standards. You see, Islam is a belief-system. it is an ideology that calls for Islam to reign supreme. Our site is against Islam, not against Muslims. We are against hate and against using violence against anyone, and that includes Muslims.
Now, Islam as a belief-system is a supremacist ideology. If you say that to a Muslim person, they will deny it mostly because they do not know their holy text. This is like any other religion. Take most Christians that tell you they are Christians, you will find out quickly that most of them do not know their Bible that much. The same applies to Muslims, most of them do not know much about the Qur’an, Hadith, or Sirat. So, when you tell them Islam is a supremacist religion, they’ll deny that. If you use their holy text to show them that, they’ll say you are taking things “out of context”.
Now, I just claimed that Islam is a bigoted supremacist religion, without using any evidence. Let me just give you some of the evidence. I invite anyone to study Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an, and its supplements (books of Hadith and Sirat) and you will find much more evidence. Here is partial evidence:
a. In a free society, one is free to change his religion. In Islam, a Muslim who leaves Islam (becomes an atheist, agnostic, believer in another religion) is punished by death. This is the punishment for apostasy. You see, Islam considers itself the only true religion. All other beliefs are at fault. Islam aims at asserting its “truth” by force, threats, and killing of “renegades”. Other religions may believe their way is the only right way, but you do not see them going after those who leave the faith with the sole purpose of killing them. Can you see how supremacist Islam is?
b. In a free society, all individuals are treated equally with regard to their taxation system. Not so in Islam. There is a tax system for Muslims, and another for Non-Muslims. There is a special protection tax for non-Muslims called “Jizya”. Non-Muslims pay it just to be able to live there. Non-Muslims are not allowed, in an Islam-proper society to run for office, or have any important positions in the government or Military. Such positions are available only for Muslims. Can you see how supremacist and evil Islam is?
c. Islam assumes rights for itself not available for others. Let us say, you want to marry a Muslim girl. As a man, you have to convert to Islam, otherwise, you won’t be allowed to marry her. On the other side, if a MUslim man wants to marry a non-Muslim girl, he can, and the kids are Muslims by law.
d. Islam is also a misogynistic religion. In Qur’an 4:34 a man can beat his wife in certain situations. The woman cannot do the same to the man. A man can marry up to 4 women (plus he can have more as a right-hand procession). A woman can’t do the same. A woman inherits half of what her brother gets

The same old recycled nonsense in less presentable packaging.
What are Ali Sina's academic credentials that enable him to know the Qur'an more than other muslims. The man is just a pompous ignoramus fresh of the streets of Iran. Abeg find a better Islamophobe to quote.
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not...

Abuamam:
The same old recycled nonsense in less presentable packaging.
What are Ali Sina's academic credentials that enable him to know the Qur'an more than other muslims. The man is just a pompous ignoramus fresh of the streets of Iran. Abeg find a better Islamophobe to quote.
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not...

IS what the man said truth or lies?

iamodenigbo1:
IS what the man said truth or lies?

The best lies are those which incorporate elements of truth, ie half-truths.
All the best liars know that.

Abuamam:


The best lies are those which incorporate elements of truth, ie half-truths.

sift out the lies,I just want to learn

Abuamam:
The same old recycled nonsense in less presentable packaging.
What are Ali Sina's academic credentials that enable him to know the Qur'an more than other muslims. The man is just a pompous ignoramus fresh of the streets of Iran. Abeg find a better Islamophobe to quote.
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not...

is that the best you can come up with?

chinedumo:

My simple answer is yes Islam is as bad as we depict it to be. Please do not mistake “Islam” with “Muslims”. Muslim people are mostly good people. They are our families, friends and kin folks. Now, if any of them wants to practice true Islam, then they will become terrorists in today’s standards. You see, Islam is a belief-system. it is an ideology that calls for Islam to reign supreme. Our site is against Islam, not against Muslims. We are against hate and against using violence against anyone, and that includes Muslims.
Now, Islam as a belief-system is a supremacist ideology. If you say that to a Muslim person, they will deny it mostly because they do not know their holy text. This is like any other religion. Take most Christians that tell you they are Christians, you will find out quickly that most of them do not know their Bible that much. The same applies to Muslims, most of them do not know much about the Qur’an, Hadith, or Sirat. So, when you tell them Islam is a supremacist religion, they’ll deny that. If you use their holy text to show them that, they’ll say you are taking things “out of context”.
Now, I just claimed that Islam is a bigoted supremacist religion, without using any evidence. Let me just give you some of the evidence. I invite anyone to study Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an, and its supplements (books of Hadith and Sirat) and you will find much more evidence

[ quote]
Here is partial evidence:
a. In a free society, one is free to change his religion. In Islam, a Muslim who leaves Islam (becomes an atheist, agnostic, believer in another religion) is punished by death. This is the punishment for apostasy. You see, Islam considers itself the only true religion. All other beliefs are at fault. Islam aims at asserting its “truth” by force, threats, and killing of “renegades”. Other religions may believe their way is the only right way, but you do not see them going after those who leave the faith with the sole purpose of killing them. Can you see how supremacist Islam is?
b. In a free society, all individuals are treated equally with regard to their taxation system. Not so in Islam. There is a tax system for Muslims, and another for Non-Muslims. There is a special protection tax for non-Muslims called “Jizya”. Non-Muslims pay it just to be able to live there. Non-Muslims are not allowed, in an Islam-proper society to run for office, or have any important positions in the government or Military. Such positions are available only for Muslims. Can you see how supremacist and evil Islam is?
c. Islam assumes rights for itself not available for others. Let us say, you want to marry a Muslim girl. As a man, you have to convert otherwise, you won’t be allowed to marry her. On the other side, if a MUslim man wants to marry a non-Muslim girl, he can, and the kids are Muslims by law.
d. Islam is also a misogynistic religion. In Qur’an 4:34 a man can beat his wife in certain situations. The woman cannot do the same to the man. A man can marry up to 4 women (plus he can have more as a right-hand procession). A woman can’t do the same. A woman inherits half of what her brother gets.[ unquote]


MY RESPONSE:
All the above points to the author's perception. I dont say every Muslim is a scholar, but we are familiar enough with sources of Islamic law to refute that perception. It is the ignorant who are extreme and they are a vast minority. The Qur'an and many hadith, point to the dangers of going to extremes. As for the belief in 'supremacy', every belief system asserts that their way is true. Why is Islam singled out?
His attached evidence is wrong because :

a. There is no compulsion in Religion... according to the Qur'an. Islam is considered by muslims to be the true religion... obviously, but we are not asked to force non muslims to convert. For example, it is non muslims that discriminate against muslims; eg hijab wearers in work places or schools. Islam is not even emphatic about converting non muslims. That is why we do not preach in public transport or knock on your door, or hold "Islam for Africa" crusades in areas dominated by other religions. Mostly, we just want to be left alone to practice our faith.
As for apostasy, Islam treats it as State treason, not as an insult to Islam. If an apostate decides to turn his back on God privately, it is his affair. Where he starts to publicly incite others to rebellion against the Islamic State, which is based on Islamic law, then it becomes State affair. What missionary groups fail to point out is that people do convert to other religions and are ignored by muslim authorities. They are only noticed when those same groups use the converts for propaganda and pay them to publish nonsense. A kind of in-your-face provocation. Then they publicise the resulting rulings to show that Islam is supremacist.
It is useful to note that the death sentence for apostates is also found in other religions. The death sentence for treason is practically found in all governments worldwide.

b. The 'dhimmis'; literally 'people of the pact' ; are taxed on a fixed tax basis; the jizyah. This is because the normal state tax; the zakah; is a religious obligation and non Muslims cannot be forced to pay it. The jizyah is neither a form of humiliation nor a tool for subjugation. Non muslim males of working age were required to pay the Jizya. Older non muslims, and the poorer ones were compensated by the Islamic state.
The reasons behind non conscription of non muslims into armies or high posts was that in early Islam, war was being fought between Christian and Muslim armies, and there would have been loyalty issues. For the same reason, a president today must be a citizen of his country. Then, countries were divided along religious authority, not colonial boundaries.
It is significant to note that, in peaceful times, many non muslim officials had high positions.

c. Islam teaches a muslim woman to be obedient to her husband, as a principle of faith. If her husband were to be non muslim, she is placed in an impossible position. He might want sexual intercourse during Ramadhan fast, or want her to serve pork or alcohol, or even to convert her to a false belief. She then has two options;
1. To disobey her husband, thereby disobeying God.
2. To obey her husband, thereby disobeying God.
You see the problem?

d. This is an oft-repeated, laughable claim. Islam teaches us to love, honour and respect our women. The prophet (saw) stated repeatedly: (free translation)

-"The best amongst you in faith is he who is best to his wife"
- "Paradise lies under your mothers' feet"
- "Women are under Allah's guardianship, so treat with them with full consciousness of their Guardian's presence"
- "Whoever has 3 (or 2) daughters and cares for/ brings them up correctly, we will be this close in Paradise"

I can go on for hours.

The issue of unequal inheritance goes hand in hand with that of financial responsibility. Under Islamic law, the 'brother ' gets double the inheritance, and ALL responsibility for living expenses. The sister can bank the money for ever, and no one can force her to use it.

The 4 Wives issue is common sense . What would paternity situations look like if a woman married 4 husbands? How do 4 husbands provide for one household? Remember that men are unlikely to be in excess of women. Men die more in war and from normal work stress. Polyandrymakes no sense. Polgyny does in certain conditions. Also, remember that Islam does not state that having more than one wife is better. It just permits doing so to a maximum limit of four.

So you see, it is not Islam that teaches bad practices, it is the action of those who act in the name of Islam, while misinterpreting its tenets that are at fault.

Abuamam:


[ quote]
Here is partial evidence:
a. In a free society, one is free to change his religion. In Islam, a Muslim who leaves Islam (becomes an atheist, agnostic, believer in another religion) is punished by death. This is the punishment for apostasy. You see, Islam considers itself the only true religion. All other beliefs are at fault. Islam aims at asserting its “truth” by force, threats, and killing of “renegades”. Other religions may believe their way is the only right way, but you do not see them going after those who leave the faith with the sole purpose of killing them. Can you see how supremacist Islam is?
b. In a free society, all individuals are treated equally with regard to their taxation system. Not so in Islam. There is a tax system for Muslims, and another for Non-Muslims. There is a special protection tax for non-Muslims called “Jizya”. Non-Muslims pay it just to be able to live there. Non-Muslims are not allowed, in an Islam-proper society to run for office, or have any important positions in the government or Military. Such positions are available only for Muslims. Can you see how supremacist and evil Islam is?
c. Islam assumes rights for itself not available for others. Let us say, you want to marry a Muslim girl. As a man, you have to convert otherwise, you won’t be allowed to marry her. On the other side, if a MUslim man wants to marry a non-Muslim girl, he can, and the kids are Muslims by law.
d. Islam is also a misogynistic religion. In Qur’an 4:34 a man can beat his wife in certain situations. The woman cannot do the same to the man. A man can marry up to 4 women (plus he can have more as a right-hand procession). A woman can’t do the same. A woman inherits half of what her brother gets.[ unquote]


MY RESPONSE:
All the above points to the author's perception. I dont say every Muslim is a scholar, but we are familiar enough with sources of Islamic law to refute that perception. It is the ignorant who are extreme and they are a vast minority. The Qur'an and many hadith, point to the dangers of going to extremes. As for the belief in 'supremacy', every belief system asserts that their way is true. Why is Islam singled out?
His attached evidence is wrong because :

a. There is no compulsion in Religion... according to the Qur'an. Islam is considered by muslims to be the true religion... obviously, but we are not asked to force non muslims to convert. For example, it is non muslims that discriminate against muslims; eg hijab wearers in work places or schools. Islam is not even emphatic about converting non muslims. That is why we do not preach in public transport or knock on your door, or hold "Islam for Africa" crusades in areas dominated by other religions. Mostly, we just want to be left alone to practice our faith.
As for apostasy, Islam treats it as State treason, not as an insult to Islam. If an apostate decides to turn his back on God privately, it is his affair. Where he starts to publicly incite others to rebellion against the Islamic State, which is based on Islamic law, then it becomes State affair. What missionary groups fail to point out is that people do convert to other religions and are ignored by muslim authorities. They are only noticed when those same groups use the converts for propaganda and pay them to publish nonsense. A kind of in-your-face provocation. Then they publicise the resulting rulings to show that Islam is supremacist.
It is useful to note that the death sentence for apostates is also found in other religions. The death sentence for treason is practically found in all governments worldwide.

b. The 'dhimmis'; literally 'people of the pact' ; are taxed on a fixed tax basis; the jizyah. This is because the normal state tax; the zakah; is a religious obligation and non Muslims cannot be forced to pay it. The jizyah is neither a form of humiliation nor a tool for subjugation. Non muslim males of working age were required to pay the Jizya. Older non muslims, and the poorer ones were compensated by the Islamic state.
The reasons behind non conscription of non muslims into armies or high posts was that in early Islam, war was being fought between Christian and Muslim armies, and there would have been loyalty issues. For the same reason, a president today must be a citizen of his country. Then, countries were divided along religious authority, not colonial boundaries.
It is significant to note that, in peaceful times, many non muslim officials had high positions.

c. Islam teaches a muslim woman to be obedient to her husband, as a principle of faith. If her husband were to be non muslim, she is placed in an impossible position. He might want sexual intercourse during Ramadhan fast, or want her to serve pork or alcohol, or even to convert her to a false belief. She then has two options;
1. To disobey her husband, thereby disobeying God.
2. To obey her husband, thereby disobeying God.
You see the problem?

d. This is an oft-repeated, laughable claim. Islam teaches us to love, honour and respect our women. The prophet (saw) stated repeatedly: (free translation)

-"The best amongst you in faith is he who is best to his wife"
- "Paradise lies under your mothers' feet"
- "Women are under Allah's guardianship, so treat with them with full consciousness of their Guardian's presence"
- "Whoever has 3 (or 2) daughters and cares for/ brings them up correctly, we will be this close in Paradise"

I can go on for hours.

The issue of unequal inheritance goes hand in hand with that of financial responsibility. Under Islamic law, the 'brother ' gets double the inheritance, and ALL responsibility for living expenses. The sister can bank the money for ever, and no one can force her to use it.

The 4 Wives issue is common sense . What would paternity situations look like if a woman married 4 husbands? How do 4 husbands provide for one household? Remember that men are unlikely to be in excess of women. Men die more in war and from normal work stress. Polyandrymakes no sense. Polgyny does in certain conditions. Also, remember that Islam does not state that having more than one wife is better. It just permits doing so to a maximum limit of four.

So you see, it is not Islam that teaches bad practices, it is the action of those who act in the name of Islam, while misinterpreting its tenets that are at fault.

You are writing as if we are also dummies. Muhammad said traditional worshippers should either join Islam, be killed or fight jihad, Christians and Jews should either convert or pay tax with humility. Iraq and Syria were once Christian countries, while the largest mosque in Damascus was once St. John's church.

Emmalot121:
You are writing as if we are also dummies. Muhammad said traditional worshippers should either join Islam, be killed or fight jihad, Christians and Jews should either convert or pay tax with humility. Iraq and Syria were once Christian countries, while the largest mosque in Damascus was once St. John's church.

You should verify your sources you know. No one was ever converted under duress. The pagan arabs fought the prophet (saw), drove him and other muslims out of their homes and properties, then still pursued them to a city about 400km away to continue the oppression... all because the muslims taught that the thousands of gods then worshipped were false. They were at no time forced to practice Islam. When the muslims entered Mecca, there was general amnesty for all pagan meccans; except those who showed enmity to the muslims. So you are wrong on that point. I know that it is always repeated that Islam was spread by the sword, especially by christian missionaries who like to malign Islam to increase their congregation. However, repeating a lie often does not make it true.
Christians and Jews were given the option, if you convert, you pay the zakah, along with other obligations on other muslims. If you do not, you pay the jizyah and your lives and properties are under the protection of the muslim state. There was no question of 'humility' then or now, you chose to understand it that way. Yes, Iraq and Syria and also North Africa, were once christian regions that accepted Islam willingly. There were widespread schisms then between warring christian sects who were oppressing each other. Different sects of christianity were all given freedom to believe what they wished under Islam. In a Syrian city, when the muslim armies had to beat a retreat after capturing it, they returned the collected jizyah back to the citizens before they left under the premise that they could no longer protect them and therefore did not have the right to keep it. The citizens openly regreted their leaving and many left with them.
It is an indicator that christians and jews prospered under muslim rule for over 1400 years and were not forced to convert. Spain was under muslim rule for 6 centuries, but is christian today.
I want you to contrast that with how christianity was spread. Christian missionaries followed closely behind the military machine of Europe. They massacred millions of native indigenes from North American Indians to the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans. They used cannon and firepower on China, Japan an other nations in the far east. They shared Africa and colonised it, banning pagan or established muslim practices by punishing offenders. They established their schools and forced students to convert. Millions were oppressed and killed in the name of 'saving the heathen'.
Even today, christian evangelicals use their lobbies to push the US into attacking muslim countries under false pretext; like Saddam's 'weapons of mass destruction' or Libyan 'freedom'. They then set off a cycle of violence and counter violence in formerly peaceful, prosperous countries. Their missionaries are always ready to take advantage of the chaos to promise a bag of rice in exchange for church attendance, solving a problem that they created in the first place.
So christians really have no moral rights to accuse Islam of being spread by the sword.

The Most Peaceful Verse
by Mumin Salih
Taqiyya at its Best
This is how the Muslims and Muslim apologists quote the verse:
whoever kills a person it is as if he had killed mankind ( or humanity) entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind ( or humanity) entirely..
And this is the real translation >
Q 5:32 Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.
The underlined part is normally missed by those who quote the verse and appears as an extra explanation to make the point. Muslims understand the verse as a decree from Allah that
whoever kills a person it is as if he had killed all mankind, and whoever saves one, it is as if he had saved all mankind.
Indeed, with a meaning like that, the verse does look humane and peaceful.
The meat: Exceptions of the verse
However, the verse makes two exceptions from the decree, which are made clear in the underlined part, which is normally missed or overlooked Unless for a soul or for doing corruption in the land
The first exception: If the killing has been for revenge ( killing for revenge is allowed!)
The Second exception: If the killing was because the killed person has committed corruption ( Arabic fasad ).
The Arabic word Fasad is translated as corruption. The Islamic understanding of fasad is committing practices or activities that are considered to be un-Islamic.
Un-Islamic activities include things like:
Drinking alcohol,
Eating pork,
Denying that Mohammed was a prophet,
Denying that Allah is God,
Believing that Jesus was crucified,
Teaching non Islamic ideas ( like evolution),
Listening to music,
Making/watching films,
Not complying with Islamic dress code,
Adultery,
Celebrating Christmas,
Mixed parties… etc
If you think of it you will find that Fasad actually describes what is largely considered as a normal life style in the non Muslim World. Therefore, according to the verse 5:32, killing non Muslims is OK, and has been excluded from the above decree.
In short, verse 5:32 prohibits killing Muslims (only) unless for revenge.
And that is the most peaceful verse in the Quran!