Islam
Origin: Muhammad#Satan
put the MAD in Muhammad
Islam (A.D. 629-The World
Caliphate)
Islam began like most
offshoots do: a man receives a revelation of the “true version” of an
established faith with suspicious amounts of his own cultural elements/tenants
and philosophy, threatens the authority of the majority and/or ruling class,
and is forced into exile where he recruits a following of other discontents
resulting in a cult following. Unlike most offshoot religions, Islam
calls for the total subjugation of humanity. The true Word of Allah is
not simply to be shared, but to rule the earth. There is not a heavenly kingdom and an earthly
kingdom, as is the case with other faiths.
Islam calls for a global theocracy and God will not return until the
earth submits to the will of Allah.
That being said, Muslims generally follow the Christian method
of world domination: via peaceful evangelism and “life preaching” (Showing
God/Allah in your life by the pure and just life example you live.) I'd say that 80% of the Islamic world follow a peaceful faith. Muhammad,
and the Surah attributed to him, promotes both peace and armed conquest of the
enemies of Allah, apparently which ever method “the faithful” find most
effective.
You’ve probably heard
Islam demonized by “Right-wing/Tea Party” types, and also been re-assured by American
media sources, and President Obama, that Islam is not a harsh but rather, a gentle and just
faith. As a right-wing/evangelical Christian,
I have known: kind and wonderful Muslims that would never persecute another of “God’s
creations”, let alone those that they consider to be: “People of the book.” An
interesting story of one such acquaintance was a young Muslim girl that I met
in my Intro to Judaism course. She was
outgoing, friendly, and very intelligent. While working on a project for class, we even went to the same Synagogue. Such relationships are common in a global and largely pluralist society,
but to help the reader to truly understand Islam and not any individual or sect, one must remove the thin veneer of civilization.
To truly understand
Islam, you need to understand Old Testament scripture. Islam, as a religion, is one of the most recent
of all world religions, but culturally it is ancient. Islam claims direct heritage and its
legitimacy from Ishmael, the disenfranchised bastard son of Abraham. They believe that the covenant with God
rightfully passed back to them when the descendants of Isaac lost it, through
disobedience, and this is VERY important.
Islam is so fascinating to me because it is a living time capsule from a bygone age. Islam is a political system, a philosophy, and a religion all rolled into one.
Islamic law, called "Sharia law" (Not followed by all Muslims, let alone Muslim nations) binds its adherents to an Old Testament lifestyle. The Ishmaelites of the Old Testament and the modern Bedouin tribes of the Arabian Peninsula could hardly be distinguished from one another today. Judaism, however, has changed drastically from the Judaism described in the Bible. A rabbi from that era would have little in common with his modern equivalent. Imagine if Joshua, the famous conqueror of Biblical Canaan, created his own religion. Now imagine that religion and his mission from God remained unfulfilled and unchanged. What would that faith look like? I think, it would look A LOT like Islam.
If you're unfamiliar with the story of Joshua, it's basically this: God calls Joshua to become Moses' successor. God orders Joshua to retake the land that was promised to, and at one time possessed by Abraham. Retake is perhaps an over simplification, God wanted complete annihilation of the enemies of Israel. Men, women, children, and animals were to be destroyed until only God's people remained. The terms we would use today would be: "Total war" and "Genocide." Such horror is unfamiliar to most in the western world, and the horror of ancient hand to hand total war is something unfathomable to modern society, but it was fairly common practice in the ancient world. *They just called it WAR...
Finally to gain some perspective on the topic, imagine Joshua's "Faithful" being transported into the future, and living in the modern world. Now imagine that they are living in Canaan, sharing resources and working along side the Canaanites. Sure there would be many, we'll call them: "Joshuaites", that would be peaceful and more than willing to share the bounty and the comforts of Canaanite life. In fact if you read Joshua, you'll find that is exactly what many, possibly half of the Israelites did, but... that was not God's will. If such a scenario existed today, which group would you considered the true "Joshuites"? Those that modernized or those that continued the mission and spirit of Joshua?Now, without further ado:
MUHAMMAD’S CONVERSION
As the story goes, Muhammad was sleeping in cave when the Angel
Gabriel appeared before him. The Angel first appeared as a loud
disembodied voice, commanding Muhammad to “Recite!,” Muhammad was allegedly so
afraid that he nearly threw himself off the mountain. Gabriel then
claimed himself to be “an Angel of God”, and ordered him to submit and tell “the
truth” about the Gospel that had been corrupted by the Christians.
Muhammad agreed, and though he couldn’t read or write he relied on visions,
usually accompanied by fits of seizure and fever. While in this state he
would recite God’s “true word”, and it was written by a scribe *possibly his
wife, uncle, or other confidant.
o Note: In Scripture, all
Angelic messengers’ appearance is at first frightening, however when they
speak, they say first: “Fear not” and their melodic voice fills those who hear
with comfort. God speaks to his people as his children. We serve God as
our father, just as an earthly son would serve his earthly father, with
mutual love and respect. Submission is for slaves, who are ruled over by
fear, and fear is not of God. Had Muhammad been a Christian he would’ve
had his guard up already, being in the wilderness and all. He also would have
immediately recognized Satan’s shenanigans!
MECCA
Mecca was/is an important trade city on the southwest end of the Arabian Peninsula.
It was ruled over by several powerful tribes and maintained a precarious
position between two of history’s most famous rivals, the Greco-Roman
Empire and the Persian Empire. Muhammad’s tribe and
followers that lived in Mecca grew beyond the comfort level of the ruling
tribal elders and He was exiled, but was able to raise enough support to
destroy the rival powers. After winning a number of battles, thanks to
his capable general Abu Bakr, he marched into Mecca virtually unopposed. He
destroyed the idols, each of which represented the patron deity of each ruling
tribe, and forced the city to convert to his faith.
*However, he
kept the patron deities of his own tribe: The crescent moon and star are
evidence of his pagan tribe’s roots.
CONQUEST
The Arabian Peninsula was divided primarily between two major tribes: one
allied with the Sassanid Persian Empire, the other with Byzantium. When
Muhammad died he left a power vacuum for his unified Muslim state. Most
of the people choose to follow the man with the army at his back, Bakr. A
stout minority believed that Muhammad’s successor should remain in the
Prophet’s bloodline. The two sides could not reach an agreement and broke
off into separate branches of the same faith. Muhammad’s bloodline called
themselves Shi’a. The followers of Abu Bakr were called Sunni.
*Though I’ve studied the Koran and Islam from a western
perspective, I do not possess the knowledge necessary to go in depth into this
faith and its divisions. My knowledge is in Christian/Western History,
thus I’ll focus on what I know.
Bakr embarked on a massive campaign of conquest. All of the Arabian
Peninsula had fallen under his control, and after a period of brief civil war,
he set his sights on Byzantium. Byzantium was eventually pushed further
west. The Armies of Islam conquered the Sassanid Empire, pushing further
and further east. Byzantine territories continued to fall to this new and
powerful threat to Christendom. Egypt, North Africa, and Spain fell into
Muslim hands, but the seemingly unstoppable horde of invaders were crushed in
one decisive blow by forces under the command of the Frankish (Merovingian)
King, Charles the Hammer (or he at least was given credit for the
victory). The Byzantine Empire was able to resist enough to buy the
invading armies off for a time but would later suffer a disastrous defeat and
be forced to call on the Pope for aid in what would, to the Emperor’s chagrin,
result in the First Crusade.
Another famous Muslim conqueror was Timerlane, a Muslim convert thought to be a
descendant of Genghis Khan. He mercilessly conquered much of the East,
including the majority of central Asia. The West was dominated by the Ottoman Empire,
which destroyed the Orthodox Christian Roman Empire, renamed and occupied its
land. The Ottomans enjoyed a massive, though hardly unified, dominion for
some 400 years and remained a major world power until their defeated in the
First World War.
MODERN ISLAM
Islam today is fascinating and diverse. All major branches of Islam share
the same core belief: Christians and Jews were corrupted and deceived by false
doctrine, Muhammad was the last of the Prophets that God commissioned to
restore the True faith. Differences exist primarily in the practice of
the Law, which was composed some 400 years after Muhammad the supposed author’s
death, and the method of evangelism. The Koran doesn’t read at all like
Jewish or Christian scripture, but rather like an addendum and sort of
commentary to it. It more closely resembles Judaism than Christianity, as
it focuses almost exclusively on submission to the law, as well as the writings
of Muhammad.
In Islam, God is virtually unreachable and a personal relationship with the
divine is not possible in this life. The afterlife is attainable for all
those that lead a righteous life, believe in one God (no trinity) and his
Prophet Muhammad. Sinners may yet be saved by sacrificing themselves-
those that die fighting for Allah are promised eternal life, regardless of past
sins. The Hadith and other sacred writings define Muslim society.
It is impossible to separate government from Islam; Allah calls for a
theocratic government, represented by a righteous Caliph. (*similar
to Judges in the Old Testament) Islam is a rigid faith. Though some
interpretation is permitted, extreme punishments are doled out to anyone that
breaks the law, as it is seen not simply as a civil infraction, but a crime
against God. While non-Muslims may fall prey to persecution and/or
slavery, most Muslim countries are dependent on western economies, their strict
moral code and enforcement allow them to claim some of the safest cities (for
men) in the world.
Western dominated Muslim nations have a comparatively pure
society. Expectations are strict but straightforward. The people are not
easily “corrupted,” though easily bribed. (Bribery is not considered
corruption in most of the world… go figure…) Speaking of
straightforward, homosexuality is universally condemned (accept for
Man-love Thursdays in Afghanistan), as is anything that might promote
sin. Violators may be beaten or killed on the spot. Punishments
vary according to the culture. Islam is so diverse it cannot be adequately
described in this post. Those that practice Islam may be of
any race and conviction. A Muslim woman may be beaten for walking ahead of her
husband in Pakistan, or she may be curator of the Museum in Cairo. If a
Muslim woman lives in a liberal Islamic nation or a non-Islamic nation, she may
choose to be fully covered or only cover her head. A Muslim man may dress
as he pleases but will typically choose to dress conservatively
As mentioned in the preface, Islam is a living window in time. Much of the
world that is dominated by Islam remains undeveloped and largely illiterate
tribal societies. Islamic nations may have semi-secular governments and
elected officials but they are still largely dependent on powerful tribal
warlords, elders or both for security and judicial maters. Islamic states
have very low crime rates amongst Muslim citizens, as punishment is swift and
harsh. Typically, Non-Muslim citizens are not privy to the protection of
Islamic law and must pay a tax in order to enjoy similar rights to "the Faithful". Despite the ever-increasing religious
violence, Islam remains the second largest religion and is the second fastest
growing religion in the world. However, due to the goal of a world Caliphate,
diversity of Muslim cultures, and the debate over the true successor of
Muhammad, Islam will never be a unified or peaceful religion.
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