Islam and Propaganda
In the course of propagating Islam, many Muslims, Islamic da‘wah (preaching) websites, blogs and forums resort to distorting truths, and even out-right lies. This page contains summaries of articles discussing and refuting Islamic propaganda.
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Adherents of Islam
Lying is Permitted to Further the Cause of Islam
Islam is the only major world religion which allows, encourages, and even demands[1] lying by its followers. Lying for Islam is generally (but inaccurately) referred to as taqiyya. Many Muslims will claim that this is not an Islamic, but a Shi'ite practice. However, this is not true. There are many verses in the Qur'an which condone lying and deception,[2][3][4] and several classical and contemporary Sunni scholars have validated its place within main-stream Islam.[5][6] In the inquisition miḥna during the Caliphate of al-Ma’mun, a number of Sunni scholars used taqiyya, attesting to the Qur’an as having been created despite believing the opposite.[7] Given these facts, some will go on to attack the strict definition of taqiyya and claim that it is “only allowed to save one's own life” or that its "restricted to its use in war". This is where the critics use of the term "taqiyya" is wrong. Lying outside of trying to save one's life or a war is certainly permitted in Islam, but it is not referred to as taqiyya. It is more accurate to simply call it "lying for Islam". In sahih (authentic) hadith, Muhammad admits to being a liar[8] and advises its acceptable for Muslims to do likewise,[9] allowing his followers to use deception to silence critics.[10] One of the 99 "holy names" of the Islamic deity is Al-Makir (the Deceiver),[11] and in the Qur'an Allah refers to himself as the 'best deceiver',[12][13][14][15][16] and admits to deceiving Muslims[17] and creating Christianity through deception.[18] With all things considered, the fact remains that Islamic teachings as a whole encourage dishonesty and even elevates it to a holy status.
Muslim Extremists are Only a Tiny Minority
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Muslims and non-Muslims alike, often claim that extremists are only a tiny minority, a fringe group among Muslims who have a loud voice, "they do not represent mainstream Islam". This is untrue. Countless studies and polls have been conducted in recent times which prove that such claims are completely false. They are either assertions based solely on personal opinions or, as is the case with John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, are outright lies.
Islam is the Fastest Growing Religion
Many Muslims and websites claim that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. As proof, they usually bombard us with unverifiable claims and baseless media quotes. Apparently ABC News had claimed "Already more than a billion-people strong, Islam is the world's fastest-growing religion", a quote which cannot be traced to its source. Also CNN World News stated "Fast-growing Islam winning converts in Western world" a statement which they fail to back up with any evidence. However, if we examine the actual data available for Islam, it reveals that the growing number of Muslims in the world is due primarily to the higher than average birth-rates, and consequent population growths of Muslim countries and communities. Furthermore, Islam is neither the fastest growing religion by number of adherents or the fastest growing religion by percentage-increase, and apostates will rarely advertise leaving Islam due to the death sentence it imposes on its followers.
People Converting to Islam
Muslims often advertise news of non-Muslims converting to Islam, but they neglect to inform you of the other side, where Muslims are also leaving Islam. There are more Muslims leaving Islam today than there are new converts joining it. According to research carried out by the respected Pakistani-born American Muslim Dr. Ilyas Ba-Yunus (1932 - 2007),[19] 75% of new Muslim converts in the US leave Islam within a few years.[20] The sheer volume of recent apostates is unprecedented in the history of Islam, and unlike other faiths, people who apostatize from Islam risk their lives in doing so. Here at WikiIslam, we document this news and host hundreds of written testimonies.
Celebrities and Notable Figures
Famous Conversions
Muslims sometimes claim various famous persons have converted to Islam. These stories are tenacious. Even after these conversion stories have been shown to be untrue: they continue to circulate the internet and are retold in newspapers and televisions shows throughout the Islamic world. They do this in order to gain Western converts, and to also boost morale among the ummah (the collective body of Muslim believers), "proving" that Islam is the "truth," and that even rich Western celebrities can see this. A recent case being the alleged conversion of pop legend Michael Jackson. Something that was born from a dubious tabloid article, it refuses to die even after all those (Muslims) who were supposedly present at his conversion have categorically denied any knowledge of the incident.
Scholars, Priests and Missionaries Becoming Muslims
When a notable Hindu or a Christian priest (like Yusuf Estes) decides to convert, Muslims often view this as something that further validates their beliefs. However, once again, they fail to inform you of the other side. Whilst apostatizing from the Islamic faith is a dangerous thing to do, many outspoken Muslim preachers, mullahs, imams, scholars, missionaries and even terrorists have apostatized and become atheists, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus etc. In doing so, many (including Ibn Warraq and Mark Gabriel) have taken it upon themselves to oppose the Islamic ideology and have become celebrities in their own right.
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"I’ll tell you about the twelve young impure men I saw executed at Dacca at the end of the Bangladesh war. They executed them on the field of Dacca stadium, with bayonet blows to the torso or abdomen ... at the conclusion of the slaughter, the twenty thousand faithful (many of whom were women) left the bleachers and went down on the field ... walked over the cadavers. All the while thundering Allah–akbar, Allah–akbar. They destroyed them like the Twin Towers of New York. They reduced them to a bleeding carpet of smashed bones." - Oriana Fallaci |
What They Say About Islam
Many Muslims like to commit the logical fallacy of appealing to authority by using (very often out-of-context or false) quotes attributed to various noteworthy non-Muslim individuals, in an attempt to propagate their faith. For example, one site asks "Whom do you wish to believe concerning the character of the Prophet Mohammed?",[21] before listing several quotes and blatantly lying[22] about the nature of Michael H. Hart's 1978 list of "most influential persons in history".
Another favorite of theirs is the alleged quote by Thomas Carlyle where he claims, "The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only". But what they fail to bring to your attention are quotes, once again by Thomas Carlyle, where he states the Qur'an is "the confused ferment of a great rude human soul", and that Muhammad was an "uncultured semi-barbarous Son of Nature," a "wretched Simulacrum, a hungry Impostor without eyes or heart", and "much of the Bedouin still clinging to him".[23]
Muhammad Ranked as the Greatest Man that Ever Lived
In 1978, Jewish American astrophysicist Michael H. Hart (born April 28, 1932) released a book titled "The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History". This book, which has sold over 500,000 copies to date, has been somewhat controversial, not least due to its placing of Muhammad (the founder of Islam) over Jesus Christ (the founder of Christianity). This has unsurprisingly led to the list being used for the purpose of Islamic propaganda. Its choice of Muhammad as the most influential person in history has been, and still is being, celebrated on numerous Islamic websites and blogs, used in various videos on user-contributed media sites, and has been cited during the course of countless forum discussions. When faced with criticism of Muhammad's actions, Muslims will often resort to protesting and gloating in equal measures "How could the greatest man that ever lived be guilty of all those evil things attributed to him? Muhammad (pbuh) is ranked above Jesus (pbuh) and Buddha! He is surely the Messenger of Allah!" Hopefully any Muslim that reads this article will ponder the following; what exactly do they (as followers of Islam) consider so great about a Jewish American racist “Islamophobe's” opinion that an individual who he refers to as a “conqueror” ranked alongside Adolf Hitler is temporarily the most influential (not 'greatest') person in human history?
Miracles and Prophecies
Islamic Miracles
Muslims throughout the world point to alleged miracles that they claim prove Islam is from Allah. This page lists and debunks all of their claims. These include Qur'anic miracles; information found in the Qur'an that could not have been known to people at the time it was revealed, and numerical patterns. Pareidolia; which is a type of illusion or mis-perception involving a vague or obscure stimulus being perceived as something clear and distinct. And finally; out-right hoaxes meant to mislead people into believing in Islam.
Islamic Prophecies
There are many websites and resources cropping up claiming that the Qur'an contains many prophecies that have been fulfilled due to the advancement of knowledge of our universe and advances in modern life. However all of the claims examined so far show that, using hindsight, some Muslims are taking one verse, or a partial verse; or even a loose translation of the Qur'an out of context in order to twist the words to find prophetic statements within. This is to say that they may take some of our current knowledge, ie. airplane technology, and then search for a Qur'an verse or a partial verse, and twist it to make it 'fit'. Many of these claims of prophecy are incorrect; dis-proven in fact by their own experts on the Qur'an or the verses themselves, when read in context. This article refutes all these false claims of fulfilled Qur'anic prophecy.
Science and the Golden Age
Islamic Science in Wikipedia Articles
At Wikipedia, Islam-related articles are severely compromised by Muslim editors. An example of this is a 2010 incident where an editor with over 67,000 edits was caught intentionally inserting false information into articles.
Jagged 85 is the main contributor to the many inaccurate Islam/Science/Golden Age articles which are still being copied and pasted all over the internet by Muslims, and more than 20% of Wikipedia's "Timeline of historic inventions" was provided by him.
With contributions to over 8,100 separate articles, it is unlikely that all of Jagged 85's edits will ever be fixed. And even if they were, these Wikipedia articles have already been reproduced all over the net by other sites which use Wikipedia as a source.
Muslims 'saved' the work of Greek philosophers from destruction
The Arab transmission of the classics is a common and persistent myth that Arabic commentators such as Avicenna and Averroes 'saved' the work of Aristotle and other Greek philosophers from destruction. According to the myth, these works would otherwise have perished in the long European dark age between fifth and the tenth centuries. Thus the versions of Aristotle used in the West were translations from the Arabic, which came from the South West of Europe in the reconquest of Spain from the Muslims during the twelve and thirteenth centuries[24]. This is incorrect. It was actually the Byzantines in the East who saved the ancient learning of the Greeks in the original language, and the first Latin texts to be used were translation from the Greek, in the 12th century, rather than, in most cases, the Arabic, which were only used in default of these.
It is nevertheless true, and no myth, that the work of the Arabic commentators, particularly Averroes, had a profound influence on the scholastic philosophers of the Latin West in the thirteenth century. Aristotle's Greek is terse and very difficult to understand. The work of the Arabic commentators helped in explaining and clarifying Aristotle's dense and apparently obscure thought. Thus Western intellectual tradition owes a great debt to the Arabic scholars in terms of understanding Aristotle's thought. In terms of the texts, however, these would have survived had the Arabic commentators never existed.
Dr K. Ajram - Setting the Record Straight
This is a refutation of Dr K. Ajram's Setting the Record Straight: The Miracle of Islamic Science. The purpose of this analysis is to put the achievements of Golden Age Muslim scientists in the proper perspective; neither denigrating their achievements nor inflating them. All scientific and technological progress is accomplished in progression; Muslim achievements are but links in the chain. Few of the great Muslim scientific achievements stood alone, but were derived by Muslim scientists standing on the shoulders of those who came before them. This analysis also highlights the fatal flaw of the Islamic Golden Age. There were few ‘follow-up’ breakthroughs on the backs of the works of the great Muslim scientists. In effect, the Ummah allowed or encouraged these works to wither on the vine or die stillborn, even before the rise of mysticism at the expense of rational thinking, an event often attributed to al-Ghazzali around the turn of the 12th century. Indeed, it would seem orthodox Islam utterly stifles intellectual reasoning. Therefore, Islam is not the cause of scientific progress during the Golden Age. Many people would say that the Golden Age scientific progress was made in spite of Islam, not because of it. A prime example is the great philosopher-physician Ibn Sina (Avicenna) who's work is constantly referenced by Dr K. Ajram. It is true that Avicenna was one of the most influential medieval philosophers, but he was also one of the most frequently attacked by Muslims. Today, the majority of Muslims would consider Ibn Sina, and many of the other great 'Islamic' scientists, as heretical apostates for their beliefs, and therefore non-Muslim disbelievers.
Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world
These past few years have seen many inventions falsely claimed and attributed to Islamic inventors, which in fact either existed in pre-Islamic eras, were invented by other cultures, or both. However, this detail has not halted Muslim, and non-Muslim apologists alike, from perpetuating these false claims. Such claims, which are basically altering the world's history in order to show Islam in a better light, have even been forced upon the unsuspecting public in a nationwide tour which opened with an exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester and the University of Manchester, England. To celebrate this series of events, an article titled “How Islamic inventors changed the world” was written by Paul Vallely and published in The Independent. This inaccurate piece of propaganda has received much praise from Muslims and is still being widely circulated on Islamic websites, forums and blogs. This article lists and examines all twenty of these “Islamic inventions that changed the world”, and in doing so, it reveals their actual inventors and the true role of Islam/Muslims, if any, behind the inventions. In short, we find that Paul Vallely's article is fundamentally misleading. It omits, distorts, and makes blunders concerning the most basic of historical facts to give the reader a false impression. It leaves you wondering what could have possibly motivated him into writing such a deceptive piece of journalism? This exhibition claimed to have shown 1001 Islamic inventions. If the best twenty are proven false, what of the other 981?
Westerners find Science in the Qur'an
The new Mullahs and other Islamists feel very happy whenever they find an occidental (western white person) who talks in favor of their faith (Islam). This is especially true when these western people try to associate the Qur'an and Hadith with anything resembling an inkling of scientific truth. For the last 25 years or so, Muslims have found several non-Muslim supporters (pseudo) of their faith. One of the results of such liaisons is Bucailleism, the belief that "the Qur'an prophesied the Big Bang theory, space travel and other contemporary scientific breakthroughs," and that "there are more than 1200 verses (Ayat) which can be interpreted in the light of modern science."[25] It has been called "a fast-growing branch of Islamic fundamentalism." Named after none-other than the French (Catholic) surgeon Maurice Bucaille, its proponents believe that "one of the main convincing evidences" that lead many to convert to Islam "is the large number of scientific facts in the Quran."[26] These articles take a critical look at this fairly recent phenomena.
Lies and Misconceptions
Misinterpreted Verses
Many Muslims and apologists use mis-interpreted and/or misleading paraphrased Qur'anic verses to propagate Islam to the West. Below is one example.
These pages discuss a few of the more popular ones, and provides you with their correct meanings.
Mistranslated Verses
In Al-Hijr (15:9) Allah declared that the Qur'an is his revelation and he promised to preserve it and protect it from corruption. In An-Nahl (16:103), Al-Dokhan (44:58) and Al-Qamar (54:22, 32, 40), it is emphasized that the Qur'an was revealed in straight forward, easy to understand, and pure Arabic. It would seem, this promise of preservation does not extend to the English translations, as most prominent and officially recognized interpreters like Yusuf Ali, Dr. Rashad Khalifa and Muhammad Asad have not honored the integrity of translation and were involved in deception in interpreting the Qur'an. The reasons were not due to the difficulty of the verses themselves or the so-called "complexity" of the Arabic language, but due to the embarrassment to tell the truth to English readers, especially those who already believe in the validity of Islam.
These pages discuss a few of the more popular ones in detail, and provides you with the correct translations.
Weak and Fabricated Hadith
A hadith can either be Maudu (fabricated), Da`if (weak), Hasan (good), or Sahih (authentic). Generally in Islam, only the authentic (sahih) and good (hasan) hadiths are used in deriving the rules. The weak (da`if) hadiths have no value for the purpose of formulating sharia, and the fabricated (Maudu) narrations are not even considered to be hadith at all. However, some apologists have started to reject sahih (authentic) hadith, in favor of maudu (fabricated) or da`if (weak) ones. Some of these hadith are obvious fabrications which do not have any scriptural sources.
A prime example of this is Muhammad's "Farewell Sermon". The lines, "an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white" is often quoted in an attempt to deny racism exists within Islam. However this is a fraudulent sermon. S.F.H. Faizi, an Indian, later Pakistani, Islamist (the author of the 1991 book which mentions this sermon) gets us as close to a source as he could when he describes in the introduction how he translated and published a collection of obscure writings into English. In summation, Faizi “derived” this version of the sermon from various unnamed books not accepted by the ulema (scholarly Muslim clerics). He does not know the original sources, but welcomes readers to help in his search.
References which are often cited as sources for this fraudulent sermon, once checked, are either misrepresented (i.e. they have nothing to say on the sermon)[28] or in fact refer to the sermon that most fits al-Tabari's rendition;[29] a sermon in which Muhammad compares women to domestic animals and orders husbands to beat heir wives.
Islam means 'Peace' and Allah means 'God'
Many people have wrongly attempted to equate the word Islam with 'peace' by showing that Islam, meaning 'submission', shares a root word with Salaam, meaning 'peace'. But if such relationships between the meanings of Arabic words can be created then that would imply that there is a relationship between one of the derivations of the infinitive Salama, meaning the stinging of the snake or tanning the leather, and Salam, meaning peace; a relationship which obviously does not exist.
Similarly, many Muslims and apologists claim the word Allah is simply the Arabic translation of the word 'God'. This is not true. 'God' in Arabic is translated 'ilah,' not 'Allah.' Allah is not the generic word for 'God' in Arabic, but the name of Islam's deity. Language is always evolving, so the actual definition of a word and its popular usage can, and very often does, differ. For example, 'gay' still means 'happy' but through its use in western pop-culture, it can also mean 'homosexual'. This is also the case for the word "Allah" in predominantly Muslim cultures and societies. It is used interchangeably with 'God', as most people are Muslims; to them Allah is God, thus to make a distinction would be redundant.
Islamophobia: Hate Crimes Against Muslims
According to FBI hate-crime statistics, hate crimes directed against Muslims "remain relatively rare" in the United states,[30] with gays, lesbians and Caucasians more frequently a target than the followers of Islam. Jewish victims of hate crimes also outnumber Muslim victims by a ratio of almost 9 to 1, and anti-Muslim incidents only account for a tiny 1.3% of all hate crimes. Even anti-Christian (Catholic/Protestant) incidents outnumber those perpetrated against Muslims in America. Some of the cases listed in this article also put into doubt the truth behind all 105 reported incidents.
Additionally, a July 2011 Pew Global Attitudes survey found that a "greater percentage of Western publics now see relations between themselves and Muslims as generally good" whilst, "as in the past, Muslims express more unfavorable opinions about Christians than Americans or Europeans express about Muslims."[31] Such findings lead many to ask, who are the ones suffering from a "phobia"? This is a very important question. On an international scale, it is the Christians who are the world's most persecuted religious group, and this persecution is mainly from Muslims.[32] Likewise, there are 7 countries in the world where the state can execute you for being atheist. Every single one is officially Islamic.[33][34]
Misconceptions and Myths about Jihad
There has been much confusion spread in regards to the nature of Jihad in Islam. This article looks at and corrects the most common misconceptions spread by Muslims. Answering questions such as; is jihad only defensive? Is the best jihad the inner struggle? Can you rape and kill non-combatants, women, and children? And, are suicide bombings allowed?
The 'Inspired by Muhammad' Ad Campaign
Inspired by Muhammad, also known as the Inspired by Mohammad campaign, is an advertising campaign to be launched in the UK to try and disassociate Islam from Terrorism. The official website is found at inspiredbymuhammad.com.
This campaign was launched following a recent poll in the UK which revealed that the average person on the street does not think very highly of Islam. Its goal is to improve this negative image, by educating the public on the "true Islam of mainstream Muslims." Some of the results of the YouGov poll[35][36] were as follows:
- 58% associate Islam with extremism and terrorism.
- 69% believe it encouraged the repression of women.
- 4 out of 10 think Muslims have not had a positive impact on British society.
- Only 13% associate Islam with peace and 6% associate it with justice.
The campaign makes many claims, such as "I believe in Social Justice, so did Mohammad", and "I believe in protecting the Environment, so did Mohammad". This article studies whether these claims are really true or not by citing authentic hadiths and Qur'anic verses.
The Muhammad Cartoon Hoax
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad Cartoons Controversy, which resulted in more than 200 deaths and hundreds of injuries since their initial publication in September 2005,[37] is one of the most well-known examples of Muslim intolerance. However, this article discusses the lesser-known Muhammad Cartoon Hoax and its role in making the cartoons a world-wide issue.
Miscellaneous
"Moderate Islam" Exists in Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey
It is often claimed that Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey are great examples of "moderate" Islamic nations. We are told the Muslim tolerance of others in these countries is proof that the Islamic faith itself is not to blame for the general violence and intolerance found within the Muslim world. However, this is false.
These countries may be slightly less violent and intolerant than, for example, Saudi Arabia or Iran, but this certainly does not make them tolerant or "progressive" by any acceptable standards. Our persecution articles show that the same intolerance shown towards homosexuals, former Muslims, non-Muslims, and women who "dishonor" men in "fundamentalist" Islamic states, exist in every nation with a sizable Muslim population.
The Pact of Umar
Much has been said of the Pact of Umar,[38] and much of it distinctly positive. Its non-Muslim admirers gleefully compare its contents to the treatment of religious minorities in Medieval Europe, while ignoring its influence and conformity with Islamic scriptural sources which still govern the treatment of minorities in the Muslim world today. Some non-Muslim scholars of early Islam doubt the pact's authenticity, highlighting the fact that the Islamic traditions surrounding the writing of the pact are a few hundred years removed from the actual events described, and that no contemporary sources refers to it at all. Sophronius' (560 - 638 AD) authentic extant writings also refer to the Muslim conquerors in a very negative way, putting further doubts on the Muslim recollections of events.[39] Nevertheless, this article will accept its authenticity and analyse the rights and limitations placed on the Syrians, to see just how free non-Muslims really were under the Rightly-guided Caliph.
Sufism is a Peaceful Form of Islam
Do not let Sufism's asceticism, mysticism, and syncretism, cause you to be mesmerized into believing that this is a benign sect of non-violence. People seem transfixed with these exotic descriptions and suddenly become warm, nostalgic, and develop a motherly protective wing over this romantic "aspect" of Islam, and are easily misled by Sufi dissimulations. In all probability, Sufism evolved through the fusion of early religions such as Zoroastrianism, Neoplatonism, Hinduism, even Christianity and other diverse traditions, and on top of these fusion of ideas, Islam was superimposed. Thus there are a lot of ritualism in Sufism that belongs to other traditions. But do not let that mislead you. In actuality, the Muslim Brotherhood evolved out of Sufism in the 20th century.
Tactics Used by Muslim Spokespersons and Debaters
Muslim spokespersons employ a peculiar style of deceptive propaganda that so far has caught western media off-guard. It takes advantage of a common assumption among those who have only been exposed to other religions – the assumption that the statements of religious leaders can be taken at face value because religious leaders want people to understand their religion. It takes advantage of western ignorance of Islam while at the same time seeking to maintain that ignorance. It takes advantage of people's tendency to see Islam as a religion in the traditional sense, rather than as a combination of a militant political ideology and a religion. Thus a Muslim religious leader should not be seen in the same way as most religious leaders. He should be viewed as a combination of politician and religious leader. When addressing a western, non-Muslim audience, he should not be viewed as a typical missionary, but as an astute politician addressing a hostile audience who won't like all of his policies - he will tell you what you want to hear.
Muslims use a number of strategies to either conceal the more barbaric aspects of their religion or to deceive people about Islamic doctrine. The initial deception is semantic. Literally, they say one thing and mean another, the opposite of calling a spade a spade. This typically involves using a dual meaning that is generally only understood by Muslims, or using Arabic terms. The initial deception is followed up with a number of rhetorical techniques that create a barrier to effective communication. These are essentially a form of diversion. While some of these tricks are familiar to a western audience, some are largely unfamiliar and play on Islamic concepts with which the west is unfamiliar.
Answers to Objections When Discussing Islam
This series can be viewed as sales training. When you get a job as a saleperson, the trainer will usually teach you about the most common objections customers have, and hopefully will teach you how to handle them. Then when a potential customer gives you one of those objections, you won't be thrown off; you'll have a competent and well-thought-out answer — an answer that will satisfy the person making it. But maybe even more important, you'll give an answer that will satisfy the person your customer will talk to later. In fact, the objection may only be what your customer thinks others will ask later about his purchase.
People often make a response that they think other people might make. This is true in sales, and it's true when you're talking about Islam's relentless encroachment. If your listener accepts what you're saying about Islam, and then they go share what they've learned with a friend of theirs, what objection might that friend come up with? Your listener will probably wonder about that, and might bring up that objection to see if you have a good answer for it — a persuasive answer, a satisfying answer, an answer that would even convince their skeptical friend. This series aims to give you suggestions about how to effectively respond to these objections you are likely to get when talking about the terrifying brilliance of Islam to someone who knows little about it.
See Also
Articles
- Refutations - A hub page that leads to other articles related to specific pro-Islamic publications
- Golden Age - A hub page that leads to other articles related to the Golden Age
- Muhammad in Other Scriptures - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Muhammad in Other Scriptures
- Books on Islamic Propaganda - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Books on Islamic Propaganda
- Averroes (Ibn Rushd: 1126-98)
Multimedia
Other Core Articles
Core articles contain an overview of other articles related to a specific issue, and serve as a starting point for anyone wishing to learn about Islam:
- Islam and Apostasy
- Islam and Homosexuality
- Islam and Miracles
- Islam and Pedophilia
- Islam and Science
- Islam and Scripture
- Islam and the People of the Book
- Islam and Violence
- Islam and Women
External Links
- Games Muslims Play - Brief rebuttals to the most common Islamic apologetics
- The Myths of Islam - The truth behind myths generated by Muslims and Western apologists
- Did Al Farabi really invent sociology?
- Avicennian logic?
- Post 911 Subversion: Institutionalized Islamic Propaganda as Dictated by "Society of Professional journalists"
- Islamic propaganda and dawa forced onto school children
- Hollywood’s War On America
References
- ↑ "...it is permissible to lie if attaining the goal is permissible (N:i.e. when the purpose of lying is to circumvent someone who is preventing one from doing something permissible), and obligatory to lie if the goal is obligatory..." - Reliance of the Traveler, p. 746 - 8.2
- ↑ "A Muslim does not have to maintain his oath (faith) as long as what's in his heart is true" - Qur'an 2:225
- ↑ "Let not the believers Take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah: except by way of precaution, that ye may Guard yourselves from them. But Allah cautions you (To remember) Himself; for the final goal is to Allah." - Qur'an 3:28
- ↑ "Any one who, after accepting faith in Allah, utters Unbelief,- except under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in Faith - but such as open their breast to Unbelief, on them is Wrath from Allah, and theirs will be a dreadful Penalty." - Qur'an 16:106
- ↑ "(unless you indeed fear a danger from them) meaning, except those believers who in some areas or times fear for their safety from the disbelievers. In this case, such believers are allowed to show friendship to the disbelievers outwardly, but never inwardly. For instance, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Ad-Darda' said, "We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them. Al-Bukhari said that Al-Hasan said, "The Tuqyah is allowed until the Day of Resurre ction. Allah said," - The Prohibition of Supporting the Disbelievers - Tafsir Ibn Kathir
- ↑ "Let not the believers take the disbelievers as patrons, rather than, that is, instead of, the believers — for whoever does that, that is, [whoever] takes them as patrons, does not belong to, the religion of, God in anyway — unless you protect yourselves against them, as a safeguard (tuqātan, ‘as a safeguard’, is the verbal noun from taqiyyatan), that is to say, [unless] you fear something, in which case you may show patronage to them through words, but not in your hearts: this was before the hegemony of Islam and [the dispensation] applies to any individual residing in a land with no say in it." - Tafsir al-Jalalayn - Tafsir Al-Suyuti
- ↑ Virani, Shafique. The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation (New York: Oxford University Press), 2007, p.48.
- ↑ "Abu Musa al-Ash'ari reported: I came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) along with a group of Ash'arites requesting to give us a mount. He (the Holy Prophet) said: By Allah, I cannot provide you with a mount, and there is nothing with me which I should give you as a ride. He (the narrator) said: We stayed there as long as Allah willed. Then there were brought to him (to the Holy Prophet) camels. He (the Holy Prophet) then ordered to give us three white humped camels, We started and said (or some of us said to the others): Allah will not bless us. We came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) begging him to provide us with riding camels. He swore that he could not provide us with a mount, but later on he provided us with that. They (some of the Prophet's Companions) came and informed him about this (rankling of theirs), whereupon he said: It was not I who provided you with a mount, but Allah has provided you with that. So far as I am concerned, by Allah, if He so wills, I would not swear, but if, later on, I would see better than it, I (would break the vow) and expiate it and do that which is better." - Sahih Muslim 15:4044
- ↑ "Narrated 'Abdur-Rahman bin Samura: The Prophet said, "O 'Abdur-Rahman! Do not seek to be a ruler, for if you are given authority on your demand then you will be held responsible for it, but if you are given it without asking (for it), then you will be helped (by Allah) in it. If you ever take an oath to do something and later on you find that something else is better, then you should expiate your oath and do what is better." - Sahih Bukhari 9:89:260
- ↑ Muhammad permitted a Muslim to “say what he likes” i.e. to lie in order to kill Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, a Jewish poet who wrote an anti-Muslim poem which offended him. This is a clear case of Lying endorsed by the prophet in order to achieve the objectives of Islam, therefore Muslims are permitted to lie and kill in defense of Muhammad, his character and Islam. Sahih Bukhari 4:52:271, and Sahih Bukhari 5:59:369
- ↑ Harun Yahya includes Al-Makir in his listing of Allah's 99 names (Names of Allah/ No. 16 (Al-Makir)). He in this instance mistranslates it to mean "Planner", but more correctly translates the same word in the same verse elsewhere on his site (The School of Yusuf - Harun Yahya). Lane's Lexicon for Makr and the Hans Wehr dictionary both confirm the meaning of the term to be "Deceiver".
- ↑ Qur'an 3:54: "And they cheated/deceived and God cheated/deceived, and God (is) the best (of) the cheaters/deceivers." - 3. Ali-Imran - The Family Of 'Imran (سورة آل عمران) - Revealed in Madinah (English: Literal) - IslamicNature, accessed August 25, 2011
- ↑ Qur'an 7:99: "Did they secure God's scheme/deceit ? So no(one) trusts God's scheme/deceit except the nation the losers." - 7. Al-A'raf - The Heights (سورة الأعراف) - Revealed in Makkah (English: Literal) - IslamicNature, accessed August 25, 2011
- ↑ Qur'an 8:30: "And when those who disbelieved deceive/scheme at you to affix/affirm you, or kill you, or bring you out, and they scheme/deceive , and God deceives/schemes and God (is) best (of) the deceivers/schemers." - 8. Al-Anfal - Spoils Of War (سورة الأنفال) - Revealed in Madinah (English: Literal) - IslamicNature, accessed August 25, 2011
- ↑ Qur'an 10:21: "And if We made the people taste/experience mercy from after calamity/disastrous distress touched them, then for them (is) cheatery/deceit/schemes in Our verses/evidences . Say: "God (is) quicker/faster (in) cunning/scheming , that Our messengers write what you cheat/ deceive/scheme." - 10. Yunus - Jonah (سورة يونس) - Revealed in Makkah (English: Literal) - IslamicNature, accessed August 25, 2011
- ↑ Qur'an 13:42: "And those from before them had cheated/deceived/schemed, so to God (is) all the cheatery/deceit/scheme. He knows what every self gains/acquires , and the disbelievers will know to whom (is) the house's/home's end/turn (result)." - 13. Ar-Ra'd - The Thunder (سورة الرعد) - Revealed in Makkah (English: Literal) - IslamicNature, accessed August 25, 2011
- ↑ "When Allah showed them to you in your dream as few; and if He had shown them to you as many you would certainly have become weak-hearted and you would have disputed about the matter, but Allah saved (you); surely He is the Knower of what is in the breasts. And when He showed them to you, when you met, as few in your eyes and He made you to appear little in their eyes, in order that Allah might bring about a matter which was to be done, and to Allah are all affairs returned." - Qur'an 8:43-44
- ↑ "And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the messenger of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure." - Qur'an 4:157-158
- ↑ Dr. Ilyas Ba-Yunus, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, State University of New York at Cortland
- ↑ Listen to the clip detailing this research (listen on Youtube)
- ↑ Whom do you wish to believe concerning the character of the Prophet Mohammed? - faithfreedom.COM, not to be confused with faithfreedom.ORG
- ↑ The site claims Hart's book is a rating of "men who contributed towards the benefit and upliftment of mankind". This is untrue. Hart's list is purely based on his opinion of who has had the most influence and does not comment on whether it was positive or negative. For more details click here.
- ↑ Thomas Carlyle, "On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History", pg. 64-67
- ↑ The myth persists even on 'scholarly' websites. See e.g. here. "It was only through the transfer of Greek knowledge (including Aristotle's philosophy, Ptolemy's geography, Hippocrates' medicine) by Islam Spain that this information ever got to Western Europe." [Our emphasis]
- ↑ Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed - Qur'an And Science - Islamic Research Foundation International
- ↑ Zaghloul El-Naggar, an Egyptian geologist, quoted in Strange Bedfellows
- ↑ Jacob Bender - Jewish-Muslim Dialogue and the Value of Peace - The American Muslim, July 19, 2007
- ↑ The Farewell Sermon - Trapped in the Mundane, May 10, 2010
- ↑ For example; this site lists al-Tirmidhi as one of the sources. However in Tirmidhi we find the farewell command to beat women, and that they are "like prisoners" in the hands of men. For further details, see: The Farewell Sermon/ Related Text
- ↑ Michael Doyle - FBI data: Hate crimes against Muslims rare - The Miami Herald, August 27, 2010
- ↑ Muslim-Western Tensions Persist - Pew Research Center, July 21, 2011
- ↑ Christianity at risk of wipe-out in the Middle East, warns new Civitas study - Civitas: The Institute for the Study of Civil Society, December 23, 2012
- ↑ Max Fisher - The seven countries where the state can execute you for being atheist - The Washington Post, December 10, 2012
- ↑ "Freedom of Thought 2012: A Global Report on Discrimination Against Humanists, Atheists and the Non-religious", The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), December 10, 2012
- ↑ Jane Dougall - Campaign Launched To Improve Image Of Islam - Sky News, June 7, 2010
- ↑ Britons link Islam with extremism, says survey - BBC News, June 7, 2010
- ↑ Yale Removes Cartoons of Prophet Muhammad From Forthcoming Book, Citing Fears of Violence - Fox News, September 8, 2009
- ↑ Paul Halsall - The Status of Non-Muslims Under Muslim Rule- Medieval Sourcebook, January, 1996
- ↑ Robert Hoyland, Seeing Islam as Others Saw It (Princeton, 1996) p. 69-71
