Three Things About Islam

by Eric Novak on August 23, 2010

Recently a video has been released listing three facts about Islam. They were too good to pass up so I transcribed the video which you can watch here, or read below.

1). Islam has not been hijacked. That Islam has been hijacked is what people naturally assume, because they assume that all religions are the same. The reason non-Muslims are so easily confused is that most of us don’t realize the difference between the Qur’an and every other religious book we are familiar with. The Christian Bible is a collection of writings from various authors, written hundreds of years apart, with parables, advice and dreams all collected together into one book. Same with the Jewish Torah. Even those of us in the west who are neither Christians, nor Jews, are still familiar enough with  these religions to know this much, and therefore we assume that the same is true for the Qur’an. But the Qur’an is only one book, written by one man in his own lifetime. It is meant to be taken literally, and it is not full of symbolism or vague analogies. It is mostly direct commands. Of course, the Qur’an contains contradictory statements, just like other religious books, but the Qur’an itself provides the reader with a way to know what to do with the contradictions. It’s explained in the Qur’an that if you have two passages that contradict each other, the one written later supersedes the ones written earlier. Most westerners are unaware that the peaceful, tolerant passages were written early in Mohammad’s prophetic career. According to the Qur’an those passages have been abrogated by later, more violent and less tolerant passages. So when most westerners hear Jihadists quoting violent passages, from the Qur’an and then peaceful Muslims quoting peaceful passages, they interpret that the way they would if someone was quoting the Bible or the Torah. They think to themselves, “Oh, there must be many different and contradictory passages like there are in other religious books, so Muslims can pick and choose what they like and justify whatever actions they want to take.” But the Qur’an is nothing like that. There is no picking and choosing. It says very explicitly and in no uncertain terms that a Muslim must not alter or ignore any part of it’s very clear and direct message or they will burn in a fiery torment forever.

2). Trying to institute worldwide Shari’a law is a religious duty. Many people don’t realize how politically oriented Islam is at it’s core. In fact, Islam is less of a religion then it is a religious ideology. It includes a mandatory and highly specific, legal and political plan for the whole society: Shari’a. There is no separation between the religious and the political in Islam, rather, Islam and Shari’a constitute a totalitarian means of ordering society at every level, including: ritual worship, transactions and contracts, morals and manners, beliefs and punishments. In the Qur’an, Allah makes it clear that man-made governments (such as a democracy) and free speech (such as criticizing the Qur’an) are abominations and must eliminated. The modern expression, “creeping Shari’a” is used to describe the slow and deliberate methodical advance of Shari’a law in non-Muslim countries. Official Shari’a courts already operate in the UK, handling cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to domestic violence. Attempts to introduce Shari’a in the legal system in Germany, Sweden and other European countries are ongoing. While Shari’a already has a foot in our door in the matter of minor disputes like inheritance and domestic violence, it should concern you that Shari’a commands that drinkers and gamblers should be whipped, allows husbands to hit their wives, allows an injured plaintiff to exact legal revenge, literally an eye for an eye. Commands that a thief must have a hand cut off, commands that homosexuals must be executed, orders unmarried fornicators to be whipped and adulterers to be stoned to death. Orders death for both Muslim and non-Muslim critics of Muhammad, the Qur’an and even Shari’a itself.  Orders apostates to be killed, commands offensive, aggressive and unjust Jihad. As written in the Qur’an, Shari’a is the law of Allah. Any other form of government is a sin. It is the duty of every Muslim to keep striving until all governments have been converted to Shari’a law.

3). Muslims are allowed to deceive non-Muslims if it helps Islam. For non-Muslims, this principle called taqiyya, is another surprising concept of Islam. While most other religions speak highly of truthfulness, the Qur’an instructs Muslims to lie to non-Muslims about their beliefs and political ambitions to protect and spread Islam. There are many examples of today’s Islamic leaders saying one thing in English for the press and then saying something entirely different in Arabic a few days later. Deceiving the enemy is always used in a way and Islam is at war with a non-Islamic world until the whole world follows Shari’a law. All non-Muslims living in non-Islamic states are therefore enemies, so deceiving westerners is totally acceptable, even encouraged if it can forward the goals of the spread of Islam. As a recent example, the Islamic American Relief  Agency were seemingly raising money for orphans, but were in giving the money to terrorists. They deceived good-hearted western infidels into giving money to organization that were actively killing western infidels! Do the research yourself, this is not an isolated case.

Muslim organizations worldwide often declare Islam is a religion of peace. But what does that really mean? It seems easy for a Muslim to quote a peaceful verse from the beginning of the Qur’an while, by following the principle of taqiyya, neglecting to mention the fact that it has been officially abrogated by later, more violent verses. According to the Qur’an the world will be at peace only when Islam and Shari’a reign in every country and never until then. This  is why every Muslim can truthfully say that Islam is a religion of peace. If any of these points took you by surprise – then there is surely much more you still don’t know. This subject will effect you in the near future, so take the chance to inform yourself now, before it does.

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Let me Describe Her…

by Eric Novak on July 6, 2010

I didn’t know Mrs. Harris. She was diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer in early May and she died on July 4th. I wasn’t privileged to be one of the ones who met her, one of the ones who congratulated her on her fine looking family. In fact, if I passed her on the street I wouldn’t recognize her and I’d most likely walk by without a word. But I can describe her for you, that’s not hard at all.

Mrs. Harris was an encourager, supporting Mr. Harris in his mission, supporting her sons and daughter in their callings – Ministry, music, speaking, she helped them grow with a word here, a caring hand there. She was a constant servant, laying down her desires for God and for her family. She was a missionary in the truest sense of the word and she was courageous, entrusting each of her children to the Lord. She was a diligent worker, preparing her children for the future. She was a woman of faith, not afraid to die, knowing that she would live to see Jesus soon.

A complete characterization? Hardly. But I don’t need to go on. You can see her life reflected in her children. Her legacy lives on in the way they live their lives. Her ultimate goal? That they should know Jesus and bring others to Christ.

“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!” – Romans 8: 15-17

My prayers and thoughts are with you, Harris family. Your mother was truly an incredible person. Meeting almost all of you at various times gave me a partial view of what your mother must have been like – she was a lovely lady.

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