Breivik Massacres because of Islam

It’s Anti-Jihad/Anti-Islamist Bloggers Fault?

John R. Houk

© July 26, 2011

Anders Behring Breivik is a name that will go down in history as the craziest or wickedest or both of men in history. Breivik may also go down in history as the individual icon that Leftists and Muslim apologists will utilize to condemn anti-jihadist and anti-islamist writers and bloggers as racist inciters of murder and massacres.

Breivik went on a murder spree in which the media at first told the world there were 93 victims. The victim count has continued to shrink since the original senseless murder of his fellow Norwegians. The last count I read was 76.

I have to be honest with you. I only heard of this act of terrorism in blips and pieces without paying attention. I simply presumed European Muslims went psycho again. Then I received an email from Brigitte Gabriel of ACT for America expressing her horror with the unmistakable certainty that she condemned this act of perfidy by Breivik. This is when I began to surf the Net for a bit more detail clarity.

At this moment I only knew the perpetrator was a Norwegian. So, I Googled “Norwegian terrorist” and Breivik’s name came up soon enough. As I was preparing to type his name to perhaps bring up more info on Breivik I noticed something disturbing. I noticed the MSM was associating Breivik as a Right Wing Christian fanatic that hates Muslims. I continued on to Google the terrorist’s full name.

Yep, there was no doubt. Breivik was heavily into anti-Islamic thinking to the level of hatred. He did not really identify with the Christian faith as much as he did with the civilization that has emerged from Christianity.

The Google listings made it clear that media organizations on both sides of the pond were going out of their way to blame American anti-Jihad/anti-Islamist bloggers for Breivik’s murder spree. Frankly this includes yours truly.

Breivik wrote a 1500 page manuscript of which some may have been plagiarized from actual Right Wing terrorists such as the Unabomber. The Left Wing Slanted ThinkProgress posted some rather pointed thoughts gleaned by Lee Fang.

… Many of the leading Islamophobes who inspired Breivik have also been responsible for a rising tide of hate campaigns, from the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” hysteria to a disturbing trend of demonstrations against Muslim Americans across the country:

– Breivik cites neoconservative Islamophobe Frank Gaffney on opposition to Turkey joining the EU, and reprints a post from Gaffney’s think tank, the Center for Security Policy: Gaffney, a former Reagan official, is a regular on Fox News, a writer for the Washington Times op-ed page, a sought-after speaker at major conservative conferences, and a ubiquitous talking head on talk radio. His think tank created a website to orchestrate protests against the the (sic) so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” in Manhattan. When he is not arguing that President Obama is a secret agent of the Muslim Brotherhood or claiming that radical Muslims have infiltrated the top levels of American government, he is calling for people who practice Islam to be prosecuted under sedition laws.

– Breivik cites blogger Pamella (sic) Geller several times in his manifesto, reprints articles praising her: Geller, the writer behind the popular anti-Muslim blog Atlas Shrugs, has been perhaps the most proactive anti-Muslim activist, given the fact she was the first to smear the planned Park51 community center as a “victory mosque” and was involved in demonstrations against the construction before most of the media gained an interest. As Geller travels the country promoting her belief that Muslims are an inherent threat to American society, she has been connected to protests against mosques in California, Tennessee, and other states.

– Breivik posts a 45-minute interview with Brigitte Gabriel, a leading organizer of grassroots anti-Muslim activism: Gabriel is the author of several popular anti-Muslim books, is the founder of ACT! For America, a group Gabriel created to engineer a permanent activism base for efforts to scapegoat Muslim Americans. Her group has collaborated with Tea Party groups, pushed bans on Sharia law in states, and mobilized a vicious hate rally in Orange County earlier this year. In an interview with ThinkProgress, Gabriel confessed that she regularly advises Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Peter King (R-NY).

– Breivik extensively quotes Robert Spencer, a leading anti-Muslim writer sponsored by David Horowitz: Spencer’s blog Jihad Watch, along with Geller’s site (Spencer and Geller created the group “Stop Islamization of America” to distribute action alerts), have driven anti-Muslim memes in the news for years. Sponsored by David Horowitz’s think tank, Jihad Watch has led efforts to purge the Republican Party of Muslim Americans and is a constant purveyor of strange anti-Muslim claims, like one recently that former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) had secretly converted to Islam. Despite his links to Holocaust deniers and other unsavory individuals, Spencer provides punditry for Fox News, National Review, and other top conservative media organs. ThinkProgress has found his books sold at CPAC, the College Republican conference, and events for Young Americans for Freedom.

– Breivik linked ten times to video clips for the movie Obsession, a documentary created by a secretive group called the Clarion Fund: In 2008, a mysterious organization called the Clarion Fund mailed the documentary Obsession to 28 million households in swing states leading up to the election. The movie argues that Muslims are waging a war against America, and will stop at nothing to destroy western civilization. Clarion has subsequently produced more films, which are distributed and publicized widely by Geller, Gabriel, Spencer and other leading anti-Muslim activists. The group is chaired by a number of prominent Islamophobes, including Gaffney and Daniel Pipes.

Lee Fang’s tone has become the norm of the Left oriented MSM and Leftist bloggers in general. Fang included a dozen or so resource links in the excerpt I used above to strengthen his position on we wicked Islamophobes – you will have to go ThinkProgress to check out Fang’s sources. Breivik’s murder spree is going to become an excuse to vilify anti-jihadist/anti-Islamist bloggers as racist spewers of hate. I am surprised Fang did not include Dutch MP Geert Wilders that had just won a free speech issue in Netherlands for the right to speak the truth about Islam in Documentary, writing and in public.

In Europe Breivik’s massacre quite possibly will reverse the success of Wilders’ victory in Court. Some Leftists are comparing the incident to the plight of Muslims in the West.

That plight goes something like this: The amount of Muslims that are violent calling for Jihad against Westerners, Americans, Christians and Jews is a small minority of Muslims. It is unfair to blame all Muslims as violent because a fraction of Muslims are violent.

The Leftist bloggers and writers trying to sound above the fray has pointed out that Breivik is not representative of Christianity and that this should be a wake-up call by the West – Americans in particular – to not look with disdain upon Islam when only a handful of Muslim preach and act out violent Jihad.

I have read in places that the percentage of Muslims that are radicalized is roughly 7% to 10%. For the sake of argument let’s go with 7% as radicalized Muslims. According to a Pew study released on 1/27/11 the Muslim population in 2010 was 1.6 billion. Seven percent of 1.6 billion is 112 million (112,000,000). That is a lot of people willing to act out violently to perpetuate the purist Islamic agenda of Mohammed in spreading Islam violently.

There are about 2.26 billion Christians (2009) in the World with about 235 million Christians in the USA (CIA World Fact Book: 75% Christian of 313,232,000 U.S. population). Of those 235 million Christians how many can be labeled as Christian Extremists that promote or act out violence to turn the world to Christianity? In full disclosure Google did not cooperate in finding those percentages or numbers of Christian Extremists. Perhaps I did not input the key correct words in my search. What I did find was a bit disheartening.

In my efforts to find statistics on Christian Extremism I found many links pointing to Breivik with denunciations of Christians who dislike Islam in general. The next thing I discovered is that many Christians and Christian organizations that stand for Biblical Morality and Family Values were lumped into the same groups as White Supremacists, Aryan Nation, Christian Nationalism or any group that would deem themselves affiliated to Christianity but promote the use of violence to bring about an American or global transformation based on the hate of those labeled as “the other” in thinking, believing or racial lines.

A classic example of this one group fits all mentality is the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The SPLC has gone out of its way to label Pro-Life groups and Family Values groups as hate groups because they stand for Biblical Morality; e.g. abortion is murder or homosexuality is a sin. Adding fuel to the fire the SPLC is beginning to attack Anti-Jihad/Anti-Islamist bloggers as bigoted racist hating Islamophobes while ignoring the prominence of Jew-hatred in a significant amount of American-Mosques and American-Islamic organizations that promote themselves as moderate Muslims. I am not talking about defending Islamic religion as something that is threatening to life and limb of Muslims. Rather the typical literature is placing the old Czarist Russian propaganda tool of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a fact that Jews are conspiring to bring the entire world under Jewish hegemony. Hello! Jews as a faith are an insular group as far as Orthodoxy goes. These guys want to live in their parcel of land serving the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob while being left alone. There is no desire to conquer to spread Judaism. Orthodox Jews in the West pretty much keep to themselves making an effort to be separate from non-Jews. Now this insular-inclusivity may not be the same among Jews which are Conservative, Reformed or Jews proud of their heritage and yet not religious whatsoever.

   

If I was a Muslim wishing to expose the nature of Christianity according to the Bible I would be saying something like, “Beware of those Christians that make a man a son of Allah and have elevated him to a position co-equal with Allah. That man was stolen from our Quran and plagiarized as Prophet Jesus. They claim Prophet Jesus died on a Cross and came back alive bodily three days later. We Muslims know that Prophet Jesus never died on a Cross and lived a full life teaching the ways of merciful Allah. Those Christian fellas will tell you there Allahs but some all three are mysteriously on Allah. And yada yada and yada yada.”

This would be Muslim exposing the difference between Christian theology and Islamic theology. However, you will not read such an exposé contrasting one truth as better than another.

Anti-Jihadist/Anti-Islamist will take texts from the Quran, Hadith and Sira and expound in context on how those holy words are there because Mohammed was the example to follow to spread Islam not only as a superior truth but to force others to accept the superiority of Allah and his Prophet Mohammed with a rigor that is still honored today – IN THE PRESENT – that require denial of human rights if Islam is insulted or dishonored according an evolving Sharia Law derived from Islamic jurists over the centuries. Friends, that apple Sharia Law has not rolled too far from the medieval concepts of rights and justice amended by an Arab reformer known as Mohammed. Let’s be honest though Mohammed did great things to reform a lot of practices that were not cool in Arabic culture. On the other hand Mohammed used religion to indoctrinate followers into believing they were operating in the will of a deity to war, collect booty, slaves and turn the conquered into people without rights as they were indoctrinated into the cult of Islam. Those that converted to Islam discovered a better life. Those that chose loyalty to their old faith continued in abject drudgery which included a tax for alleged protection. Does anyone ever ask, “Protection from what?” Surely the protection was not needed from the Religion of Peace, right?

A Muslim apologist will usually obfuscate the text of Quran, Hadith and Sira by taking Old Testament acts of violence ordered by God for Jews to come and claim their Promised Land. Let’s say those years were violent and atrocious which the Jews did at the command of God. Jews ended the genocidal conquest after the Land was conquered which was not completed incidentally. How does that compare to the Islamic call for perpetual Jihad until the whole earth is Islamic.

Ok the whole point is that Breivik is a murderer that needs to be punished, but to blame Anti-Jihadist/Anti-Islamic bloggers is ludicrous. Breivik at best is demented and at worst insane. I mean the guy became hate-filled. His hate may have grown after reading the expositions of bloggers, but the bloggers that are serious about truth in no way incited Breivik to kill around 70 people at an island camp that were not even Muslim. If this was a film the disclaimer can read: No Muslims were harmed in this movie.

JRH 7/26/11

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The Norway terrorist

By Brigitte Gabriel

Sent: 7/25/2011 4:35 PM

Sent by ACT for America

We in ACT! for America join those around the world who are shocked and deeply saddened by the mass murder spree in Norway. We grieve for those killed, for their families, and for their friends.

This touches me very personally. I have seen friends murdered by terrorists and I have felt the unspeakable pain of that loss.

We also join those around the world who condemn, in the strongest words possible, the unconscionable actions of Anders Behring Breivik.

Not surprisingly, Brevik’s 1,500 page manifesto is being combed for clues as to why he would perpetrate such a heinous act of terrorism.

For instance, a New York Times article states Breivik was “deeply influenced by a small group of American bloggers and writers who have warned for years about the threat from Islam…” He also frequently quoted the Unabomber.

Predictably, and sadly, there are those who have started the drumbeat that rhetoric critical of radical Islam is the cause of this tragedy. We have seen ludicrous online posts conjuring up comparisons to Breivik and conservative American political leaders that I won’t dignify by reprinting here.

This is reminiscent of what happened after the Tucson shooting spree, when many in the press jumped to conclusions that Jared Loughner was a “right winger” or a “tea party activist.”

A column by Mark Tapson in FrontPageMagazine has some very important points in this regard.

Breivik is a terrorist. His targeting of helpless schoolchildren makes him no better than the slaughterers at Beslan…. There is no connection between the legitimate, courageous, lawful work of notable anti-jihadists and such evil. No true Christian, conservative, or responsible critic of jihad would condone Breivik’s despicable, cowardly acts or deem them to be in accordance with our beliefs and values. Much less would we celebrate those acts, unlike our Islamist counterparts.

In my home country of Lebanon I saw first-hand what happens when terrorism and violence is used to undermine democracy. When 9/11 happened, I made a vow that I would not allow what happened to my country of birth happen to my adopted country.

This is why the mission of the organization I founded, ACT! for America, has ALWAYS been and will ALWAYS be a call to constructive, peaceful and democratic citizen action through education, community action, and legislation.

Always devoted,

Brigitte Gabriel

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Ideologically-driven illogic

Sent by ACT for America

Sent: 7/26/2011 1:18 PM

The ideologically-driven illogic of New York Times columnist Roger Cohen

New York Times columnist Roger Cohen exceeded all of our expectations in his remarkably illogical column below (SlantRight Editor: Not included in this post) entitled “Breivik and His Enablers.” Space does not permit a detailed analysis of what he wrote, but here are the high points.

1.  He uses the phrase “racist Islamophobia,” and just to be sure we don’t miss the point, he later writes of “anti-Muslim racism.” As Cohen surely knows, Islam isn’t a “race” any more than Christianity is. But playing the race card to demonize those with whom you disagree has become standard operating procedure for people like Cohen.

2.  He foolishly and falsely compares Breivik’s illusions of creating a new Knights Templar order to the call for the restoration of the caliphate by Osama bin Laden. The problem for Cohen, however, is that there is a global Islamist movement for the restoration of the caliphate, led by the Muslim Brotherhood. As far as we know, there is no worldwide movement to resurrect the Crusades.

3.  Cohen calls Rep. Peter King and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich “ideological fellow travelers” of Breivik. King’s “crime,” of course, is to have the audacity to hold congressional hearings investigating Islamic radicalization in America. Cohen can’t just disagree with King’s actions; he has to demonize King by calling him a “fellow traveler” with a maniacal mass murdering terrorist.

4.  Cohen writes, “Muslims have not done enough…to denounce those who deformed their religion in the name of jihadist murder.” For Cohen to claim that the practice of violent jihad is a deformation of Islamic doctrine betrays an astonishing ignorance of that doctrine as well as its history.

We would suggest, for starters, that Cohen read the history behind why Thomas Jefferson purchased a Koran. (The short answer is that he wanted to understand why the Barbary Pirates were engaging in what they called “jihad” against Americans.) He could then move on to Andrew Bostom’s The Legacy of Jihad.

No doubt we will see more of the ideologically-driven illogic displayed in Cohen’s column. The reason is simple: the apologists for radical Islam cannot defend the facts about radical Islam, so their only play is to attempt to silence anyone who exposes the truth. This includes the shameful exploitation of a horrendous tragedy in Norway.

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Breivik Massacres because of Islam

John R. Houk

© July 26, 2011

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The Norway terrorist – and - Ideologically-driven illogic

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure. 

The Facts Staring a Muslim Apologist in the Face

John R. Houk
© September 10, 2010

This is an exchange concerning my comment in which I will summarize by saying that Mohammedanism/Islam is a demonized religion. A gentleman at the social blog community of Multiply who goes by the blog entitled - Roberts Rants, Ravs, Observations, and other silly ideas that kept me out of good schools – took umbrage of my description of Islam. According to the link associated with that Multiply profile title the person’s name is Robert Paul Locke which may or may not be his actual name. Many bloggers use a pseudonym for purposes of anonymity. My wife wishes I would use a pseudonym because of my outspoken thoughts concerning Islam. She fears retribution from the religion of peace. Below is the first response by Robert.

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http://robertpaullocke.multiply.com/ September 8, 2010 6:09 PM

For those who believe that Islam is a Devil Inspired religion. I got news for you. You got your information wrong. How Do I know you got your information wrong. (sic) While you guys sit here and bash and believe anything you read on the Net. I did the intelectual (sic) thing, and bought a copy of the Koran, and I am reading it. And I don't see anything about Islam being all Evil and Dangerous. How sad I feel for you. You live in what is referred to by many as the greatest country in the world. We have access to thousands and millons (sic) of publications that promote tolrance (sic) and understanding, but you much rather Hate something you don't trully (sic) understand. If you are getting sources from Just Right wings groups your (sic) not going to get the whole picture. Why won't you people open your minds and open your hearts? Heres (sic) something to ponder while you waste another day bashing and yelling. "Those Who are with out (sic) sin may first cast the first sone (sic)."
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My Rebuttal to Robert:

Robert while you read your Quran you should know something about it. NUMBER 1 is the Quran is not written in chronological order rather it is written from longest surah to shortest surah. Even though the suras are organized in this fashion the suras written later than the earlier suras carry more weight. The Quran is not written chronologically yet the chronology is highly important to a Muslim theologian. Because of the Muslim doctrine of dualism combined with the weightier later suras, a Muslim does not consider there to be any discrepancies. Thus when the earlier suras say to honor the people of the book (i.e. Christians and Jews), a Muslim will not blink an eye when that person comes to Kill them wherever you find them. Then as you read the Quran keep in mind that the Hadith though not considered perfect in Islam is still highly revered as authoritative depending on who wrote (or recorded) a Hadith. It is in the Hadith that most of the vileness of Islam is located. The Hadith are the explanations of Mohammed's Quranic suras. So Robert make sure you read the Quran with an Islamic understanding of Islamic theology before you shout from the rough tops about how peaceful and beautiful that book is. (I ran a spell check on my original comment.)
__________________________
Robert’s Response:

robertpaullocke wrote September 8, 2010 at 7:09 PM

You guys are not going to convience (sic) that the religion of Islam is all that Evil. Especially, when christains (sic) have done more harm in the name of God than Any one. Have you forgotten Slavery, done in the name of God, Killing off the native Americans in the name of God. (sic - should be a question mark) The crusades. (sic – should be a question mark) Even some how (sic) I don't know how, but People convinced prototesant (sic) churches to join up with the Klan. And they still to this day believe that the white race is Gods (sic) only race., (sic) We have done more destruction in the name Of Jesus than any thing. And yet I bet if some how Jesus came down from Earth and said you were wrong. you'd syone (sic) him any way because he isn't white. Oh in speaking of the victims of 9/11. Did you know that besides the terrorist. (sic) There were innocent musliums (sic) who parished (sic) in the 9/11 attacks. (sic – should be a question mark) I bet if you looked up a few names you'd see it there. So why aren't you honoring them as well? Not just white people died in the towers. I'm tired of you Right Wingers always looking for Evil every where (sic). You started off with the commies after world war two, (sic) and now its (sic) all Musliums (sic) are Evil. They are out to get our White Women. Just like the Niggers and wet backs are.
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My Rebuttal (not posted as a response at Mele’s Constitutional Governance post):

Robert says Christianity is the most evil of religions. Robert justifies this bald-faced lie by equating slavery was done in the name of the Christian God, the killing of Native Americans was perpetrated in the name of the Christian God and the atrocities committed by Crusaders was executed in the name of the Christian God.

This is a common accusation utilized by anti-Christian Leftists and Muslim apologists. Were these acts of violence and murder really done at the behest of the Christian God or were the acts executed by humans justifying atrocities by wrongly claiming they were following the will of God? I am telling all who are reading this that blatant acts of senseless violence and murder done in the name of the Christian God was and is done by the human will for either materialist-political reasons or warped interpretations of Scripture using a call to arms or someone following the direction of God (Old Testament) and not lining up the Old with Jesus being the fulfillment of the Law thus fulfilling the punishment directed by the Law against sin. Jesus is all about delivering humankind from the evil instruments of Satan’s dark lordship established by Adam’s disobedience to God Almighty the Creator of all that exists.

There is no dualism in Christianity in which senseless violence and mercy are both truth as it is in Islam. Here are some examples of dualistic truth in Islam:

Quran Sura Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2: 256 (in three English translations):

YUSUFALI: Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.

PICKTHAL: There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error. And he who rejecteth false deities and believeth in Allah hath grasped a firm handhold which will never break. Allah is Hearer, Knower.

SHAKIR: There is no compulsion in religion; truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error; therefore, whoever disbelieves in the Shaitan and believes in Allah he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handle, which shall not break off, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.

The "no compulsion in religion" sura is abrogated by Quranic At Tawba Sura 5: 33-34:

005.033
YUSUFALI: The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;

PICKTHAL: The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom;

SHAKIR: The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement,

005.034
YUSUFALI: Except for those who repent before they fall into your power: in that case, know that Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

PICKTHAL: Save those who repent before ye overpower them. For know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

SHAKIR: Except those who repent before you have them in your power; so know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

A significant amount of Sura 5 to this point is on dietary laws and claiming that Jews and Christians (aka People of the Book) have forgotten the original word of Allah that has been around for time immoral thus Jews and Christians are not to be believed in any assertions that are contrary to the Quran. This is the case even though Mohammed lived over six hundred years after Christ and thousands of years after Judaism and the written Quran occurred after Mohammed’s death from the memory of Mohammed’s companions charged with memorizing Mohammed’s words. Since Mo received a revelation from an angelic entity attributed to Gabriel and directly from Allah then of course (tongue in cheek) the Biblical Scriptures are a lie if they disagree with the dysfunctional memorized words of Mohammed. And since those People of the Book are such liars if they press or defend themselves against Mohammed’s Allah they must be killed. That is of course with imminent death being near they say, “HEY, that Allah dude is of a truth God and Mohammed is his last prophetic authority.” Then and only then is the will of the all forgiving Allah’s mercy to prevent the murder of a Jew or Christian who converts to Islam. SO MUCH FOR THE EXISTENCE OF NO COMPULSION OF RELIGION in Islam.

In the Quran both are true: kill the non-Muslims that talk against Islam AND there is no compulsion in religion. The duality makes both true yet in the situation that advances Islam compulsion or death is true because those words were spoken later than the “no compulsion” words.

Here is a larger list of Quranic Suras in which the earlier is abrogated by the later: Abrogated Suras.

Is slavery instituted in Christianity?

NO! New Testament Scriptures on slavery are about how a Christian should act if he or she is a slave. You will find not find a Scripture in the New Testament in which Christians are directed to propagate the faith by war and dehumanize the conquered and enslave the vanquished or make women objects of sex-servants. When Christianity became institutionalized as the State religion by the Roman Empire after Emperor Constantine acts of rape and violence undoubtedly happened by Roman armies that fought under a Christian Cross. Were these atrocities part of Christian Scripture? Again NO!

Is slavery, dehumanization of spared non-Muslims and sex slavery a part of the Quran or found in the revered writings of the Hadith and Sira? YES!

Slavery

“Like numerous passages in the Hebrew bible and the New Testament, the Qur’an assumes the permissibility of owning slaves, which was an established practice before its revelation. The Qur’an does not explicitly condemn slavery or attempt to abolish it.” (Islam and Slavery: The Quran)

I’ll have to give that to Robert about Islam theologically. Think about this though: Long after slavery became past thought on the European Continent, slavery has been practiced in Islamic dominated areas. The various locations in which purist Islam is practiced slavery is still pervasive in its existence. The examples are Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

Still there are the more erudite than I who have performed an exegesis of slavery and the Quran and have come up with salient points that place the Quran in a poor light other than what Islamic apologists would have non-Muslims (kafir) believe. A capital offense even today in Muslim dominated lands and an excuse for terrorism or just plain murder in Western lands.

Sex Slavery (Emphasis mine):

Quran 033.050
YUSUFALI: O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated (from Makka) with thee; and any believing woman who dedicates her soul to the Prophet if the Prophet wishes to wed her;- this only for thee, and not for the Believers (at large); We know what We have appointed for them as to their wives and the captives whom their right hands possess;- in order that there should be no difficulty for thee. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

PICKTHAL: O Prophet! Lo! We have made lawful unto thee thy wives unto whom thou hast paid their dowries, and those whom thy right hand possesseth of those whom Allah hath given thee as spoils of war, and the daughters of thine uncle on the father's side and the daughters of thine aunts on the father's side, and the daughters of thine uncle on the mother's side and the daughters of thine aunts on the mother's side who emigrated with thee, and a believing woman if she give herself unto the Prophet and the Prophet desire to ask her in marriage - a privilege for thee only, not for the (rest of) believers - We are Aware of that which We enjoined upon them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess - that thou mayst be free from blame, for Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.

SHAKIR: O Prophet! surely We have made lawful to you your wives whom you have given their dowries, and those whom your right hand possesses out of those whom Allah has given to you as prisoners of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who fled with you; and a believing woman if she gave herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desired to marry her-- specially for you, not for the (rest of) believers; We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess in order that no blame may attach to you; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Quran 4: 24

And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess. It is a decree of Allah for you. Lawful unto you are all beyond those mentioned, so that ye seek them with your wealth in honest wedlock, not debauchery. And those of whom ye seek content (by marrying them), give unto them their portions as a duty. And there is no sin for you in what ye do by mutual agreement after the duty (hath been done). Lo! Allah is ever Knower, Wise.

The poor souls who chose to be resolute to their faith when their lands were conquered by blood thirty Muslim conquerors became dehumanized as a dhimmi that was expected to submit to most humiliating of treatment particularly in paying a tax Mafioso like for protection. A protection extended ONLY by accepting humiliation. Any effort to demand self-respect by a dhimmi was a death sentence for insulting Islam, Mohammed and Allah. The souls devastated in India made the suffering of the conquered People of the Book look like a picnic. And make no mistake: the conquest of primarily Christian populations in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe suffered so horribly that centuries of Islamic humiliation had made those conquered areas like 90% Islamic (Okay so it is a subjective guess, but I’m willing to bet it is a logical guess). Indians suffered mass deaths and tortures until some Muslim elite discovered there was more profit in exploiting the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain Indians than obeying the words of the Prophet to destroy all polytheist pagans.

Catholic Christianization of Latin America mirrored the Muslim brutality of Christians and Jews of the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. The majority of North and South America became a Spanish culture by virtue of conquest and the huge nation of Brazil is the remnant of Portuguese conquest which enforced it’s version of the Catholic Church on Native Americans (at least of urban areas). Eventually interbreeding with Hispanic colonialists made a unique Catholic-Latin American culture that has obvious influences among the poor of their Native American heritage.

The conquests of the North American Native Americans took a less brutal yet still a horrendous path. The earliest interaction between the English and French started out on a foot of building alliances favorable to colonialists. Native Americans viewed these initial alliances as built on honor while the colonialists viewed alliances as a political time to achieve a peaceful life apart from persecution of the Christian faith that may deviate from the Established Church of England or of Continental European immigrants. Ultimately economics and property won over the colonialists more than religion and that is when true expansionism began that usurped more and more Native American land. There was little of the intermarriage between Protestant Christians and Native Americans; thus Native Americans faced tribal extinction of forced migration West until the West ran out of space. Christianization of Native North Americans proceeded mostly as they accepted American Colonialism and later American Culture into their midst in the East and on forced Reservations in the West. If Native Americans were the victims of Islamic conquest their culture would be a mere footnote in history for their polytheistic and/or animistic religious practices would have placed them in the same class as the Hindus of the Indian subcontinent. Which would have meant total eradication of Native Americans not just forced evangelism of Protestants and Catholics.

One of the most ludicrous of blame games is to bring up the atrocities of the Crusades as an equal comparison of Islamic Conquest. The simplistic reason for the initiation of the Crusades is because a Muslim Turkish leader became a good pious Muslim and felt insulted that Christian kafir came on pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The vaunted Islamic toleration of Christianity claimed by Muslim apologists took a back seat as the Christian pilgrims became the victims of marauding Muslim thugs harassing, robbing and/or killing Christians as they journeyed to the land where Jesus walked before the Resurrection. In essence the Muslim marauders were being good Muslims by standing up for the Quranic edicts of refusing the insult of another religion other than Islam from flourishing in Islamic conquered lands.

The complicated and real reason for the Crusades to the Holy Land is much deeper than the excuse used to act against marauding Muslims. Recall that Islam had conquered the Middle East and North Africa and parts of Iberia (Spain and Portugal) prior to the Crusades that began in 1095. By the 700’s AD the brutal Islamic conquests had reached present day France. The Islamic conquest of Europe stalled at the Battle of Tours (or Poitiers) when Charles Martel (The Hammer) went medieval on the invading Muslim Amir Abd ar-Rahman in 732. Charles Martel effectively pushed the brutal Muslim out of France back to Iberia. The last Muslim stronghold of Iberia was finally ejected in 1492 when joint Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella completed the Reconquista forming present day Spain. The Muslim toehold in Iberia is a good example of what Europe faced in preventing Islam to ravage it in the same way Middle Eastern and North African Christians experienced. From North Africa Muslims executed raids that resulted in destruction, booty and slaves. This is a better explanation for the occurrence of the Crusades. It was a rare occasion the Monarchs and Nobles of Europe banded together to give Muslims a bit of their own medicine. The unfortunate happenstance of the Crusades is the mirrored atrocities of Muslims. After hundreds of years of Muslim brutality the First Crusade unleashed an onslaught on the Muslims that would have made Mohammed proud if the Crusaders were Muslim rather than Christian. Using Muslim apologist thinking in reverse, the Crusader reconquest of the Holy Land was way less brutal in terms of time than the Muslim conquests of the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe.

Robert let’s end this rebuttal with your last words so typical of a Muslim apologist:

You started off with the commies after world war two, (sic) and now its (sic) all Musliums (sic) are Evil. They are out to get our White Women. Just like the Niggers and wet backs are.

When all else fails label a Conservative a Right Wing racist. I don’t think a rebuttal is necessary for this line of thought that is typically used when faced with the facts about the real Islam.

JRH 9/10/10