Roger Stockham Arrested for Attempting to Blow Up Dearborn Mosque

***UPDATE*** This story turned out to be even stranger than I had anticipated. Click here for more details.

Sixty-Three-Year-Old Roger Stockham is off his rocker on two levels. First, he apparently wanted to blow up the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan. This makes him a terrorist, and if reports turn out to be true, he should be sent to prison for a long, long time. Second, it seems Stockham believed that he could do serious damage to America's largest mosque using fireworks (M-80s make quite a loud bang, but they're not going to make much of a dent in a building). Hence, Stockham is even more inept than the many failed terrorist plotters we've heard so much about over the past few years (shoe bomber, underwear bomber, etc.). We can only hope that terrorists continue to make such blunders.

FOXNEWS—A 63-year-old Southern California man who had explosives in his vehicle was arrested outside one of the nation's largest mosques in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, authorities in Michigan said.

Dearborn police said Roger Stockham was arraigned Wednesday on one count of making a false report or threat of terrorism and one count of possessing explosives with an unlawful intent. Stockham had a large but undisclosed quantity of class-C fireworks including M-80s, which are outlawed in Michigan, Chief Ronald Haddad said.

"I was comfortable with the fact that we had taken him off the street -- he isn't going anywhere," Haddad told The Associated Press Sunday afternoon. "I think the society he wanted to impact is safe." (Read more.)

Terrorist Threat At Local Mosque: MyFoxDETROIT.com

On a different note, it's good to know that Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad will get a break from harassing Christians, and will be able to go after a real criminal. Similarly, Judge Mark Somers and the Prosecuting Attorney's office will be able to spend taxpayers' money dealing with people who are actually a threat to public safety. (Click here for a complete summary of our experience in Dearborn.)

I confess that I am confused by the comments in the above video. The Muslim condemned all acts of hatred, and said that he believes in tolerance, peace, etc. I wonder how he interprets the following teachings of Muhammad:

Qur’an 5:51—O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.

Qur’an 9:29—Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

Qur’an 9:73—O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them; and their abode is hell, and evil is the destination.

Qur’an 9:111—Surely Allah has bought of the believers their persons and their property for this, that they shall have the garden; they fight in Allah's way, so they slay and are slain; a promise which is binding on Him in the Taurat and the Injeel and the Quran; and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? Rejoice therefore in the pledge which you have made; and that is the mighty achievement.

Qur’an 9:123—O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness; and know that Allah is with those who guard (against evil).

Qur’an 47:35—Be not weary and fainthearted, crying for peace, when ye should be uppermost: for Allah is with you, and will never put you in loss for your (good) deeds.

Qur’an 48:29—Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves.

Qur’an 98:6—Verily, those who disbelieve (in the religion of Islam, the Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad) from among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and Al-Mushrikun will abide in the Fire of Hell. They are the worst of creatures.

Sahih Muslim 33—It has been narrated on the authority of Abdullah b. Umar that the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer, and pay Zakat and if they do it, their blood and property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.

Sahih Muslim 4366—It has been narrated by ‘Umar b. al-Khattab that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) say: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.

Al-Bukhari, Al-Adab al-Mufrad 1103—Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Do not give the People of the Book the greeting first. Force them to the narrowest part of the road.”

*****UPDATE***** When I said Stockham is off his rocker, it turns out I was absolutely correct. Here's what the media have uncovered about him:

1. Vietnam veteran, "typical surfer"

Stockham was a Vietnam veteran who reportedly flew more than 600 combat helicopter missions in Vietnam. According to an online VFW profile he apparently updated, Stockham described himself "a typical surfer" who went to Vietnam in 1968 "and flew Huey slicks with an assault helicopter company, saw a lot of action, got a lot of air medals, but not much else."

2. Served time for threatening President Bush, veterans clinic

Stockham served time in federal custody after threatening to kill President George W. Bush and bomb a Vermont veterans clinic in 2002, according to The Detroit News. He reportedly threatened Bush because of something the president said in a speech about Iraq. Separately, he told a local newspaper he was going to explode bombs in a neighborhood near a Veterans Affairs Department complex. In one call to the newspaper, he identified himself as "Hem Ahadin" and described himself as "a local Muslim terrorist on a roll."

3. Pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity

Stockham pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in 2004 and served time in the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, where he was released in late 2005. A psych examination prior to his incarceration indicated he suffered from bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorder with anti-social features.

4. Local authorities tipped off by bar employee

Before parking his car outside the mosque, the Dearborn Press & Guide reports Stockham spent time at a local bar. It's not clear what Stockham said there, but apparently it was suggestive enough to lead an employee to call the police, expressing concern Stockham might carry out an attack on local Muslims or Arabs. That call led police to search the area, where they found Stockham.

5. Trouble at California VFW

California VFW post 5477 was in the process of revoking Stockham's membership after a series of troubling incidents, according to The News. Stockham had been caught smoking pot, referred to a post commander with a racial slur and rarely socialized with other members. "He's a nut,' co-chair Richard Schmitz told the newspaper. "He flipped out lately." (Read more.)

*ADDENDUM FROM NABEEL*: I think this is the perfect opportunity for me and David to lay out our official policy on terrorism. Regardless of the creed of the victim or terrorist, Acts 17 categorically denounces terrorism. We condemn Roger Stockham's actions and we urge all people everywhere to treat Muslims as our neighbors. We wholeheartedly follow and promote the words of Jesus: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven." We follow Paul's example in pointing to Jesus, for when he said, "With humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves," he intimated that we should be willing to die for others, even if they sin against us, as the Lord did for us while we were still sinners. That is why Paul says "have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus."

In sum, we promote love for Muslims. This is our whole purpose for doing what we do, i.e. we discuss Jesus and share the Gospel with Muslims to tell about them the gift of Truth (Jn 14:6), Life (Jn 17:3) and Love (1 Jn 4:16). We unreservedly condemn hatred and violence towards Muslims.

Pat Condell: The Criminal Truth

Robert Spencer vs. Imam Moustafa Zayed: Muhammad, Violence, and Subjugation

Russians Name Muslim Convert Vitaly Razdobudko as Prime Suspect in Moscow Bombing

Well, I tried to avoid drawing premature conclusions when I posted news of the Moscow bombing. I did note, however, that Muslims are commanded to fight and violently subjugate non-Muslims, which makes a Muslim attack more likely. It looks like things are pointing in that direction. Our Westernized Muslim friends tell us that Muslim terrorists are misinterpreting Islam. Isn't it strange that so many Muslims, from countries around the world, seem to misinterpret Islam in exactly the same way?

Security sources have named an ethnic Russian Christian who converted to Islam as the prime suspect in Monday's deadly suicide bombing at a Moscow airport.

Sources close to the investigation said that Vitaly Razdobudko, a 32-year-old from the southern Russian city of Stavropol, was being sought in connection with the attack, the Kommersant newspaper reported yesterday. It is not known whether Razdobudko is suspected of being the actual suicide bomber or an accomplice.

Razdobudko went missing in October last year, with his wife, according to police sources in Stavropol. He is believed to have been an Orthodox Christian, of Slavic appearance, who later converted to Islam.

The bomb, which ripped through the arrivals hall of Domodedovo Airport on Monday afternoon, killed 35 people including one Briton and left 180 injured. Russian authorities have released little information, and eyewitness accounts diverge wildly. Some speak of a male suicide bomber, some of a female bomber; in some testimonies, the bomber detonated a suicide vest, while in others the bomb was in a suitcase. (Read more.)

Robert Spencer vs. Imam Moustafa Zayed Tonight on ABN!

The debate will take place at 8:00 P.M. (Eastern Standard) tonight on ABN. If you don't get ABN via satellite, you can watch live via the internet here.

Thomas More Law Center Files Appeal on Behalf of Negeen Mayel

In the United States of America, citizens have rights. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Constitution seems to have little weight in Dearborn, Michigan. Officer Brian Kapanowski (the officer who arrested Negeen) admitted, during the trial, that he had no reason at all to believe that she had committed a crime of any kind when he approached her. Hence, he had no right to put his hands on her, seize her property, or throw her in jail.



Since Officer Kapanowski did not have "probable cause" (or any reasonable suspicion that Negeen had committed or was about to commit a crime), it was illegal for him to seize Negeen or her property. After violating Negeen's rights and grabbing her, Officer Kapanowski should have been fired from the police force and charged with assault and battery (if not abduction). Yet Judge Mark Somers, who presided during our trial, wouldn't allow our lawyer, Robert Muise, to argue the "probable cause" issue in front of the jury. The judge's erroneous ruling was therefore the main reason Negeen was convicted (more on the judge's blunder here).

I'm happy to announce that a court outside of Dearborn will now be handling the appeal. The Thomas More Law Center filed a massive appellant brief today on Negeen's behalf. Those who are interested may read the brief in its entirety (if your screen is small, you can click here for a PDF file):



I'm no legal expert, but this looks like a slam dunk to me. William DeBiasi, Prosecuting Attorney for the City of Dearborn, was clearly outmatched during our trial. We'll see how he does in front of a judge who won't bend over backwards for a corrupt police department.

For a full discussion of the events in Dearborn, click here.

Hamas Imam Calls on Allah to "Kill All Jews," Muslims Say "Amen"

Perhaps Aldersgate United Methodist Church would like to invite this imam into their church to lead prayers.

WomanForTruth101 on "Laughable Reinterpretations" of the Qur'an

Today marked the return of WomanForTruth101 to the comments section. She wasted no time in making the standard groundless complaints. Let's examine one of them.

I quoted four extremely clear, self-explanatory passages from the Qur'an, and one from Sahih Muslim. In response, WomanForTruth101 said:

"Aside from your laughable re-interpretations in which many of us have had the honor to refute, it'd be good for you to know that militants in Russia are not motivated by religion but by occupation in Chechnya. I can't find the article at the moment but I will post a link to it soon."

This would be a good place to compare my "laughable reinterpretations" with WomanForTruth101's Westernized, watered down, Walt Disney interpretations. Since I don't recall reading anything by WomanForTruth101, I'll see how accurately I can guess her interpretations.

Qur’an 9:29—Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

My Interpretation: When the Qur'an commands Muslims to "fight those who believe not in Allah," it means that Muslims should "fight those who believe not in Allah." Is there anything in the immediate context that suggests another interpretation? No. Anything in the historical context that suggests another interpretation? No. Hence, I take the obvious meaning to be the literal meaning of the words.

WomanForTruth101's Interpretation: When the Qur'an commands Muslims to "fight those who believe not in Allah," it means that Muslims should live in peace, harmony, and tolerance with everyone. Anything in the immediate context that suggests this interpretation? No. Anything in the historical context that suggests this interpretation? No. Hence, WomanForTruth101's interpretation is totally at odds with the clear meaning of the words. If Allah meant to say that Muslims should live in peace, harmony, and tolerance with everyone, why didn't he just say this?

Qur’an 9:111—Surely Allah has bought of the believers their persons and their property for this, that they shall have the garden; they fight in Allah's way, so they slay and are slain.

My Interpretation: When the Qur'an says that Muslims "fight in Allah's way, so they slay and are slain," it means that Muslims "fight in Allah's way, so they slay and are slain." Is there anything in the immediate context that suggests another interpretation? No. Anything in the historical context that suggests another interpretation? No. Hence, I take the obvious meaning to be the literal meaning of the words.

WomanForTruth101's Interpretation: When the Qur'an says that Muslims "fight in Allah's way, so they slay and are slain," it means that Muslims only fight in extreme cases of self defense. Anything in the immediate context that suggests this interpretation? No. Anything in the historical context that suggests this interpretation? No. Hence, WomanForTruth101's interpretation is totally at odds with the clear meaning of the words. If Allah meant to say that Muslims should only fight in self defense, why didn't he just say this?

Qur’an 9:123—O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness; and know that Allah is with those who guard (against evil).

My Interpretation: When the Qur'an commands Muslims to "fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you," it means that Muslims should "fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you." Is there anything in the immediate context that suggests another interpretation? No. Anything in the historical context that suggests another interpretation? No. Hence, I take the obvious meaning to be the literal meaning of the words.

WomanForTruth101's Interpretation: When the Qur'an commands Muslims to "fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you," it means that Muslims should hold interfaith dialogues with unbelievers. Anything in the immediate context that suggests this interpretation? No. Anything in the historical context that suggests this interpretation? No. Hence, WomanForTruth101's interpretation is totally at odds with the clear meaning of the words. If Allah meant to say that Muslims should hold interfaith dialogues, why didn't he just say this?

Qur’an 48:29—Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves.

My Interpretation: When the Qur'an says that Muslims are "severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves," it means that Muslims are supposed to be "severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves." Is there anything in the immediate context that suggests another interpretation? No. Anything in the historical context that suggests another interpretation? No. Hence, I take the obvious meaning to be the literal meaning of the words.

WomanForTruth101's Interpretation: When the Qur'an says that Muslims are "severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves," it means that Muslims are merciful towards everyone. Anything in the immediate context that suggests this interpretation? No. Anything in the historical context that suggests this interpretation? No. Hence, WomanForTruth101's interpretation is totally at odds with the clear meaning of the words. If Allah meant to say that Muslims should be merciful towards everyone, why didn't he just say this?

Sahih Muslim 33—The Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer, and pay Zakat and if they do it, their blood and property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.

My Interpretation: When Muhammad said that he had been commanded to "fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah," he meant that he had been commanded to "fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah." Is there anything in the immediate context that suggests another interpretation? No. Anything in the historical context that suggests another interpretation? No. Hence, I take the obvious meaning to be the literal meaning of the words.

WomanForTruth101's Interpretation: When Muhammad said that he had been commanded to "fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah," he meant that he had been commanded to peacefully complain about "Islamophobia" until people stop persecuting Muslims. Anything in the immediate context that suggests this interpretation? No. Anything in the historical context that suggests this interpretation? No. Hence, WomanForTruth101's interpretation is totally at odds with the clear meaning of the words. If Muhammad meant to say that he should peacefully complain about Islamophobia, why didn't he say this?

So here's what we have. In each of the above cases, I go with the clear meaning of the text, while WomanForTruth101 concludes that the text means, in effect, the opposite of what it actually says. Yet this gives rise to another problem. The Qur'an claims, again and again, to be "clear":

Qur'an 5:15—O followers of the Book! indeed Our Apostle has come to you making clear to you much of what you concealed of the Book and passing over much; indeed, there has come to you light and a clear Book from Allah.

Qur'an 12:1—Alif Lam Ra. These are verses of the clear Book.

Qur'an 15:1—Alif Lam Ra. These are the verses of the Book and (of) a Quran that makes (things) clear.

Qur'an 26:2—These are the verses of the Book that makes (things) clear.

Qur'an 36:69—We have not instructed the (Prophet) in Poetry, nor is it meet for him: this is no less than a Message and a Qur'an making things clear.

(See also 4:174, 10:15, 16:103, 19:73, 22:16, 22:72, 24:1, 24:34, 24:46, 26:192-195, 27:1, 28:2, 34:43, 43:2, 44:2, 46:7, 57:9, 58:5, 65:11, etc.)

So it seems that Westernized Muslims are in a bit of a pickle. If the Qur'an really is "clear" (as it claims over and over), then when it commands Muslims to fight unbelievers, to subjugate unbelievers, to be harsh towards unbelievers, it must mean what it says. Hence, the Qur'an promotes violence and oppression. If, on the other hand, the Qur'an really means the opposite of what it says (e.g. when it commands Muslims to "fight," it really means that they should "hug"), then the Qur'an is not clear, and is therefore wrong when it repeatedly claims to be clear.

On a different note, if WomenForTruth101 is correct, I don't see how she can call people to Islam. If the Qur'an frequently means the exact opposite of what it says, then perhaps when it commands people to reject the Deity of Christ, it actually means that they should accept the Deity of Christ. Maybe when the Qur'an says that Jesus didn't die, it actually means that he did die. When the Qur'an denies the Trinity, it could be affirming the Trinity. Once Muslims have destroyed the clear meaning of the Qur'an, aren't all interpretations equal?

Terrorist Training Camp in New York

I find this video both racist and Islamophobic. Everyone knows that if Muslims are preparing to wage Jihad in your country, the "tolerant" thing to do is ignore it. Then, once they have carried out the terrorist attack, the "tolerant" thing to do is to deny that it had anything to do with Muhammad's clear commands to wage Jihad.

Moscow Terrorist Attack Leaves Dozens Dead, Dozens More Wounded

There isn't enough info yet to rule this a Muslim terrorist attack, but we can certainly say that none of us will be surprised if it turns out that way. After all, Islam is the only major religion in history to teach its followers that God commands them to fight and subjugate all unbelievers.

Qur’an 9:29—Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

Qur’an 9:111—Surely Allah has bought of the believers their persons and their property for this, that they shall have the garden; they fight in Allah's way, so they slay and are slain.

Qur’an 9:123—O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness; and know that Allah is with those who guard (against evil).

Qur’an 48:29—Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves.

Sahih Muslim 33—The Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer, and pay Zakat and if they do it, their blood and property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.

These are the passages jihadists appeal to when they attack non-Muslims. And yet, for some strange reason, it's racist and Islamophobic for us to take note of these passages.

MOSCOW—Moscow saw its second suicide attack in less than 12 months on Monday as a terrorist assault on the Russian capital’s busiest airport left over 30 dead, officials said.

Preliminary reports suggest a bomb was detonated by a suicide bomber as passengers arrived at Domodedovo airport’s international arrivals gate at 4:40 p.m. (13:40 GMT).

Health and emergency officials said 35 people died and many dozens more were injured.

Planes from London and Brussels, as well as Greece, Ukraine and Egypt, had landed in the 30 minutes preceding the attack. A British Airways plane heading for Domodedovo returned to London when the news broke.

Law enforcement officials said the power of the blast was equal to 5 kg of TNT and that the bomb was packed with metal objects to cause maximum damage. A RIA Novosti correspondent at the scene reported floors and staircases covered in blood.

YouTube footage showed the bodies of the dead and injured lying in a smoke-filled arrivals zone.

Media reports of second suicide bomber have not been confirmed.

A visibly shaken President Dmitry Medvedev told officials in a televised meeting that, "From the preliminary information we have, it was a terrorist attack.” (Read more.)

Acts 17 Islam Conference in Long Island, New York

Those of you who live in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area might want to mark February 12th on your calendars. Nabeel and I will be doing a one-day mini-conference from 11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. No fees or registration required. We're still working out the details, which we'll post here when everything is set.

Aldersgate United Methodist Church Opens Its Doors for Muslim Prayers

I'm willing to bet there's not a single member or leader of the church who knows that Muslim prayers include curses upon Christians and Jews.

Members of Aldersgate United Methodist Church and the Islamic Center on Route 1 held a dialogue amid criticism of Christians allowing Muslims to use their churches as a place of worship.

In 2010, the Rev. Dr. Dennis Perry, lead pastor at Aldersgate, and church leaders agreed to allow members of the Islamic Center, which is under construction, to worship at Aldersgate. That drew criticism from inside and outside the church concerning the appropriateness of the decision.

Criticism from outside the church began when the magazine Christianity Today ran an article concerning the church’s decision. The magazine learned about the decision from a post on the Jesus Creed blog. The blog post included a sermon by Jason Micheli, a pastor at Aldersgate, which helped explain the reasoning behind allowing Muslims to worship in the church. Jason B. Hood, the author of the Christianity Today article, argued that Aldersgate appealed “to the love required of Christians as an authoritative guide for their decision-making.” Hood questioned, “Does the facilitation of false worship violate the love command?”

According to Perry, criticism from inside the church dealt with two primary concerns. The first concern questioned whether the church was surrendering the faith in an effort to be popular or politically correct. The second concern questioned whether Islam condones abuse towards women, and if so, wouldn’t that make the church complicit in the behavior. Perry did say that although some members have voiced concerns, many members do agree with the decision.

Sheik Yusuf Estes may have alleviated some of the concerns of those in attendance when he explained the Koran does not condone abuse towards women. Estes explained the Koran teaches that men are required to protect women and those who find a license for abuse in the Koran are misguided and do not understand it. (Read more.)

"Those who find a license for abuse in the Koran" would include Muhammad himself, Abu Bakr, Umar, and many other Muslims down through the ages. Surah 4:34 is quite clear:

Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.

I suppose that any church gullible enough to let Taqiyya-Extraordinaire Yusuf Estes explain Islam was asking to be deceived. This sounds like the same nonsense ABC News has been feeding Americans.



(Click here for a careful treatment of women in Islam.)

Some Pakistani Christians Converting to Islam out of Fear

This is the goal of subjugating non-Muslims. If enough persecution and abuse is heaped on them, some of them will convert to Islam. Unfortunately, Muslim groups like CAIR and ISNA are so busy complaining about imaginary mistreatment of Muslims in the West, no one manages to defend the Christians being raped, tortured, burned, and killed in Muslim countries.

LAHORE, PAKISTAN—Dog-eared and tattered, the blue book is an inch thick and sits on a dented metal table in the corner office of Jamia Naeemia, an Islamic school tucked in a scattering of cement-walled homes and roadside shops.

Many believe the book offers the promise of safety and perhaps even a better chance at prosperity.

The book is a registry used to document religious converts to Islam and officials at Jamia Naeemia say business is brisk nowadays.

At least 20 to 25 former Christians adopt Islam each week by pledging an oath and signing a green and white document in which they accept Islam as “the most beautiful religion” and promise to “remain in the religion of Islam for the rest of my life, acknowledging that blessings are only from God.”

Human rights advocates say it’s no surprise some of Pakistan’s 3 million Christians are adopting Islam. These are vexing and dangerous days for the country’s religious minorities.

Last autumn, politician Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, Pakistan’s most prosperous province, began to campaign on behalf of a Christian woman named Asia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. On Jan. 4, with debate over the future of Pakistan’s blasphemy law at a fever pitch, Taseer was gunned down by one of his personal security guards.

Public reaction to Taseer’s assassination was stunning.

Pakistan’s lawyers, praised just three years ago for saving this country’s independent judiciary, showered Taseer’s assassin with rose petals on his way into court. A rally to celebrate his death attracted 40,000 in Karachi and thousands more posted tributes to the killer on their Facebook accounts.

“To be honest, I felt good when I heard he was dead; we got rid of him,” said Raghib Naeemia, an iman at Jamia Naeemia. “It’s very clear in the Holy Qur’an that if you say something nasty and harsh about the Holy Prophet, then you become a maloun (cursed) person. And we are supposed to round up those people and kill them very harshly.”

While Taseer was among several high-profile politicians who have argued the blasphemy law should be amended, human rights workers say the real issue is how often the law is misused.

An allegation of blasphemy shouted in the streets can, in an instant, whip a crowd into a frenzy and lead to assaults and dubious arrests.

In one recent example, a Shiite Muslim doctor last month was confronted in his Hyderabad office by a pharmaceutical salesman. After telling the supplier he wasn’t interested in buying anything, the salesman persisted, according to local news reports. The doctor tossed the salesman’s business card in a trash bin.

But because the salesman’s name was Muhammad — the same as the Muslim prophet — he complained to religious leaders that tossing his card the garbage was blasphemy.

The doctor was dragged out of his office and beaten by a mob. Then he was arrested by police and charged with blasphemy.

“No one feels safe right now,” said Nadeem Anthony, a Christian and a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. “People are scared.

If you want something from your neighbour or you are angry at him, you say blasphemy and that’s it.”

In the most famous case, the one that has transfixed the nation and led to Taseer’s killing, centres on Bibi, a resident of the Punjabi village of Ittanwali, west of Lahore.

While working in the fields last June, she was sent to fetch water. When some of the other woman refused to drink it because it had been carried by a Christian, a spat ensued about the merits of both religions. The other women later went to a cleric and complained that Bibi has blasphemed the name of the Prophet Muhammad.

A complaint was filed and Bibi was charged, convicted, and given a death sentence.

The spirit of McCarthyism hangs in the air like the clouds of dust that swirl though this historic city’s poor neighbourhoods.

In Lahore last week, a Christian woman got into a heated argument with her sister-in-law, a Muslim. The Muslim woman went outside their home and cried out that her relative had blasphemed against Islam. A group of protesters stormed into the home and beat the woman. One of the ringleaders later bragged that his own wife had hit the woman the hardest.

“Her hand is so swollen that she hasn’t been able to make rotis,” he told the Express Tribune newspaper.

The Christian woman and her husband are now in hiding, the paper reported.

One of the results of this wave of anti-Christian activity unfolded on a sunny afternoon this week. Azra Mustafa, a 45-year-old housemaid, shuffled into the Jamia Naeemia and asked to speak to an imam. A recent convert to Islam, the housemaid and mother of six needed to get the proper documents to prove to her neighbours that she was no longer a Christian.

“It feels great,” she said. “I moved to a Muslim neighbourhood and now I feel like we are one family.”

Each day, Mustafa, whose husband remains Christian and now lives separately from his wife and children, wakes up to attend 5 a.m. prayers before she leaves for work four hours later. By the time she returns home at 7 p.m. from a job that pays her 2,500 rupees ($28) a month, darkness has fallen over her one-room home. After dinner, a teacher comes to her home to give Mustafa and her children 90-minute lessons on Arabic and the Qur’an.

Asked if she felt safer in the wake of her conversion, Mustafa replied, “of course.” (Read more.)

New York Teens Take an Interest in Preventing Muslim Oppression of Women

Surely these girls must be racist, Islamophobic bigots. After all, they object to Islam's oppression of women, and the only "tolerant" thing to do when confronted with Islamic teachings is to submit.

Brother of Harry Potter Star Afshan Azad Sentence for Honor Crime

According to the Qur'an, people who reject Muhammad are the "worst of creatures."

Qur'an 98:6—Verily, those who disbelieve (in the religion of Islam, the Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad) from among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and Al-Mushrikun will abide in the Fire of Hell. They are the worst of creatures.

Obviously, no Muslim wants his daughter or sister to marry one of the "worst of creatures." Thus, the Qur'an says that Muslim women cannot marry non-Muslim men:

Qur'an 2:221—And give not (your daughters) in marriage to Al-Mushrikun till they believe (in Allah Alone) and verily, a believing slave is better than a (free) Mushrik (idolater, etc.), even though he pleases you.

Not surprisingly, many Muslims become violent when they learn that their daughters or sisters are attracted to non-Muslim men. Fortunately for Afshan Azad, she lives in the West, where she is protected from violent relatives.

The brother of a Harry Potter star has been jailed for six months for a ''prolonged and nasty'' attack in which she was beaten and branded a ''slag'' for dating a non-Muslim.

Afshan Azad, 21, who played Padma Patil, a classmate of the teenage wizard, in the blockbuster Hollywood films based on JK Rowling's children's books, feared for her life during the three-hour ordeal, Manchester Crown Court heard.

She was punched, dragged around by her hair and strangled by her brother Ashraf Azad, 28, who threatened to kill her after he caught her talking on the phone to her Hindu boyfriend on May 21 last year, the court was told.

During the row at the family home in Longsight, Manchester, which also involved her mother and father, she was branded a ''slag'' and a ''prostitute'' and told: ''Marry a Muslim or you die!''

The actress, who now lives in London, had pleaded for leniency from the court, begging the judge not to jail her older brother.
But Judge Roger Thomas QC sent him to prison for six months after he pleaded guilty to the assault.

''This persistent attack was accompanied by serious and very hurtful abuse and threats,'' he told the defendant.

''It must have been a miserable and frightening experience for your sister which, she suggested, lasted for about three hours or so.

''The background to this offence lies in the concern that you, and perhaps other family members, had about Afshan's relationship with a young man who was not of the Islamic faith.''

Judge Thomas added: ''This is a sentence that is designed to punish you for what you did and also to send out a clear message to others that domestic violence involving circumstances such as have arisen here cannot be tolerated.'' (Read more.)

Sam Shamoun Responds to Abdullah Kunde: Part Three

I really wish that all Muslim debaters would spend a few semesters at the Sam Shamoun School of Religious Consistency. It would keep them from constantly attacking their own religion (without knowing it). Here's Sam's third reply to Abdullah Kunde:

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Kunde stated:

“We also need to accept that it implies a limited God, a God that cannot hold the attributes of eternalness, being all-powerful, and also a unified God. Why? When we say that God is one in opposition to the Trinity, we don’t mean one in terms of the numerical one, that zero can come before it and two can come after it. We mean it in an absolute unity that is not describable in mathematical terms. And when we consider the Trinity, that actually applies a created aspect to God. You’re saying three; the number three in that two comes before it and four comes after it. There’s no way around this, it’s not a complex number. For those of you doing mathematics or science you’ll know it’s even been in the real number system, three. So you’re applying a created aspect to God, and there can absolutely be no such divine unity in that concept. Even if somebody came to you and said that God is one in the sense of the number one, that zero can come before it and two can come after it, that in itself is not even a proper unity, in terms of a godly unity. It’s very important to understand that point.” (Saviour of the World: Jesus or the Quran?)

Kunde keeps creating problems for his own theological views. If what says here is correct, we can only conclude that Muhammad was mistaken on several counts.

First, it is apparent that Muhammad defined Allah’s oneness numerically. This can be readily seen from the following Quranic verses:

O followers of the Book! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Marium is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him; believe therefore in Allah and His apostles, and say not, Three. Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only one God; far be It from His glory that He should have a son, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His, and Allah is sufficient for a Protector. S. 4:171 Shakir

Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah is the third (person) of the three; and there is no god but the one God, and if they desist not from what they say, a painful chastisement shall befall those among them who disbelieve. S. 5:73 Shakir

By contrasting Allah’s unity with the alleged belief of “Christians” who supposedly claimed that God is three and the third of three, it is apparent that Muhammad was thinking in terms of numerical oneness in that zero can come before it and two come after it.

Muhammad is reported to have also said that Allah is odd or single (witr) and actually likes odd and single numbers as a result of being an odd/single number himself:

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah has ninety-nine Names, i.e., one hundred minus one, and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly, will enter Paradise; and Allah is Witr (one) and loves 'the Witr' (i.e., odd numbers). (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 75, Number 419)

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger as saying: There are ninety-nine names of Allah; he who commits them to memory would get into Paradise. Verily, Allah is Odd (He is one, and it is an odd number) and He loves odd numbers. And in the narration of Ibn 'Umar (the words are): "He who enumerated them." (Sahih Muslim, Book 035, Number 6475)

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Apostle as saying: Verily, there are ninety-nine names for Allah, i.e. hundred excepting one. He who enumerates them would get into Paradise. And Hammam has made this addition on the authority of Abu Huraira who reported it from Allah's Apostle that he said: "He is Odd (one) and loves odd numbers." (Sahih Muslim, Book 035, Number 6476)

Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: The Prophet said: Allah is single (witr) and loves what is single, so observe the witr, you who follow the Qur'an. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 8, Number 1411)

No one can doubt that Muhammad is clearly likening Allah’s unity to odd or single numbers, i.e. Allah is one, which is an odd and single number. He even says that this is the reason why the Muslim god likes odd or single numbers. Apparently, had Allah been two or ten then he would have liked even and double digit numbers instead.

This comparison to the numerical system again establishes that in Muhammad’s mind Allah is numerically one in the sense that zero can come before it and two come right after it.

Also notice how the preceding narratives from both al-Bukhari and Muslim refer to Allah having ninety-nine, or more specifically a hundred minus one, names (attributes, characteristics). Here is another narration which states the same thing:

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one hundred MINUS ONE, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise." (Please see Hadith No. 419 Vol. 8). (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 50, Number 894)

Muhammad even believed that Allah divided his attribute of mercy into one hundred parts!

Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, Verily Allah created Mercy. The day He created it, He made it into one hundred parts. He withheld with Him ninety-nine parts, and sent its one part to all His creatures. Had the non-believer known of all the Mercy which is in the Hands of Allah, he would not lose hope of entering Paradise, and had the believer known of all the punishment which is present with Allah, he would not consider himself safe from the Hell-Fire." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76, Number 476)

It is once again evident that Muhammad was thinking in terms of the actual numerical system. There is simply no way of denying this fact. Muhammad obviously believed that Allah’s attributes could be numbered since he listed them as ninety-nine, and that these could be further divided much like in the case of mercy which Allah broke down into one hundred parts.

Thus, Muhammad actually thought that Allah’s attributes are numerically ninety-nine in the sense that ninety-eight can come before it and one hundred can come right after it. Since this is what Muhammad clearly believed, we must conclude that, according to Kunde’s logic, there must be a created aspect to the Islamic deity, for he is a being composed of real numerical limitations. As such, Allah is neither eternal nor is he omnipotent.

The final problem with Kunde’s assertion is that if Allah is not a numerical one, but a UNIFIED one as he claims, then Kunde no longer has any grounds to object to the possibility of God existing as three distinct divine Persons. After all, if God’s unified nature can be composed of a plurality of names and attributes then surely God can exist as three Divine Persons who are unified in a single essence or being. In fact, on Kunde’s view Allah can actually be an infinite number of Persons since his oneness is not constricted to or confined within a numerical system such as we find in the case of a numerical oneness.

Hence, instead of refuting the Trinity, Kunde actually provides a strong reason why God's unity in no way undermines or rules out the Biblical teaching that God exists as three eternally distinct divine Persons. Kunde's argument actually affirms that it is quite consistent with the belief in God being a unified one as opposed to a numerical one.

Islamic Society of North America Squanders Muslim Charity Donations

Muslims constantly tell us that the West needs Islam, and that Muhammad's teachings will rescue us from immorality. But the more we look, the more we find that Muslims are doing the same things they condemn other people for doing. This should come as no surprise when the moral failures are related to money, since Muhammad relied on greed to spread Islam.

According to the Qur'an, one of the main uses of alms is to entice people to Islam.

Qur'an 9:60—The alms are only for the poor and the needy, and those who collect them, and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to free the captives and the debtors, and for the cause of Allah, and (for) the wayfarer; a duty imposed by Allah. Allah is Knower, Wise.

Muhammad made an enticing guarantee to those who joined him in his struggle:

Sahih Al-Bukhari 2787—[Muhammad said]: "The example of a Struggle in Allah’s Cause—and Allah knows better who really strives in His Cause—is like a person who fasts and prays continuously. Allah guarantees that He will admit the Struggler in His cause into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty."

Sahih Al-Bukhari 3027—[Muhammad] said: "Khosrau will be ruined, and there will be no Khosrau after him, and Caesar will surely be ruined and there will be no Caesar after him, and you will spend their treasures in Allah’s Cause."

If a seventh century pagan Arab rejected Islam, he was guaranteed nothing. He may be poor all his life, and he wouldn’t know what would happen to him when he died. But Muhammad guaranteed that if a person dies fighting Islam’s enemies, he will enter Paradise, and that even if he survives, he will return home "safely with rewards and war booty." Either way, pagans were much better off (financially) if they became Muslims.

This promise of rewards and war booty was an important factor in the early spread of Islam. Indeed, using war booty to win converts was part of Muhammad’s strategy. For example, when Muhammad was accused of distributing the spoils of war unevenly, he replied, "Are you disturbed in mind because of the good things of this life by which I win over a people that they may become Muslims while I entrust you to your Islam?" (Ibn Ishaq, p. 596). Imam Muslim adds: "[W]hen the Messenger of Allah conquered Hunain he distributed the booty, and he bestowed upon those whose hearts it was intended to win" (Sahih Muslim 2313).

Muhammad’s promises of wealth were so great that, when difficulties arose, his followers sometimes complained that he wasn’t delivering on all that he had promised:

Ibn Ishaq, pp. 453-454—The situation became serious and fear was everywhere. The enemy came at them from above and below until the believers imagined vain things, and disaffection was rife among the disaffected to the point that Ma’attib bin Qusyahr brother of B. Amr bin Auf said, "Muhammad used to promise us that we should eat the treasures of Chosroes and Caesar and today not one of us can feel safe in going to the privy!"

These passages stress the importance of wealth and booty as a motive for conversion. Muhammad promised his followers that they would one day spend the treasures of Caesar. He distributed war booty after every military campaign, and he used his wealth to win converts. Thus, many early Muslims embraced the religion with impure motives, yet Muhammad saw nothing wrong with such conversions.

Since Islam encourages greed and uses greed to entice people to Islam, should we be surprised when Muslims squander charitable donations?

The Star—Devout Muslims donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to one of Canada’s largest Islamic organizations on the promise that the cash would be used to help the poor.

But only one in four dollars donated to a special pool of money at the Islamic Society of North America Canada (ISNA Canada) actually reached the needy.

Mismanagement of more than $600,000 is among the findings in a scathing audit obtained by the Star.

A “very small portion . . . is distributed to the poor and needy and the major portion is spent on the administration of the centre,” concluded the 2010 audit of the previous four years.

ISNA Canada is embroiled in controversy, with the audit revealing the practice of giving free perks to family members of a top official; the improper issuing of charitable tax receipts; and the diversion of charity money to private businesses. At the centre of it all is long-time secretary general Mohammad Ashraf, who has recently announced he is stepping down.

Ashraf would not answer a series of questions from the Star.

“Don’t ask me anything,” Ashraf told a reporter who visited the organization’s Mississauga headquarters, marked by a graceful minaret overlooking the Queen Elizabeth Way. The 73-year-old microbiologist said he is “being transitioned into retirement” and that he is “restricted” from commenting on the audit. (Read more.)

Sharia in the U.K.: Man Arrested for Burning Qur'an

There are two separate issues here. First, should people burn books they do not agree with? Here I would answer "no." This is why I debated Pastor Terry Jones on his plans to engage in a public Qur'an burning. Nabeel and I made our position clear here:



The second issue is this: Should people be arrested for burning the Qur'an? Here I would again answer "no." There's often a massive difference between (a) doing something offensive, and (b) doing something illegal. British police (like Dearborn police) have now blurred the line, and it seems that anyone who speaks against Islam now runs the risk of being arrested on charges of "racially aggravated words or behavior." Remind me again, which race is Islam?

A man has been arrested after a Koran was allegedly burned during an anti-Islamic rant, police have said.

He was reported to have stood on a street in Carlisle city centre on Wednesday making pronouncements against the Muslim religion in front of a large crowd.

The man is then alleged to have set fire to the Koran he was holding before discarding it on the floor and hurrying away. Officers arrived at the scene a short time later and are now investigating.

A spokesman for Cumbria Constabulary confirmed that a 32-year-old man has been arrested.

He added: "Just after midday on Wednesday, police received reports that a Koran was being burned by a man in Carlisle city centre. Police have seized the remains of the book and a 32-year-old male has been arrested on suspicion of using racially aggravated threatening words or behaviour. The man remains in police custody where he is helping officers with their inquiries." (Source)

But at least things aren't as bad as they are in Dearborn, Michigan, where people are being arrested simply for having peaceful discussions with Muslims, or for holding cameras in public.

Muslim Man Threatens to Murder Cousin for Refusing to Wear the Hijab

While it's saddening to hear, yet again, that Muslim men are threatening to kill Muslim women over what they wear, it's encouraging to see young Muslim women recognizing that they are protected by Western laws, that they are not alone, and that the guilty will be punished.

A man threatened to kill his cousin and harm her family after she decided to stop wearing the traditional Muslim headscarf, a court has heard.

Mohamed Al-Hakim, 29, allegedly phoned Alya Al-Safar to tell her she must die because of the ‘shame’ she had brought – leaving her too afraid to leave the house.

He had already branded her family ‘bitches and whores’ because of her decision, the court heard.

Miss Al-Safar, 21, had stopped wearing the hijab a few days before the phone call.

She said that Al-Hakim’s mother, her aunt Mardhiya Al-Musawi, ‘wasn’t happy’ that she had stopped covering her hair – a step she had been considering for more than two years.

She received his call when she was with her parents and two younger brothers at their home in Hammersmith, West London.

Al-Hakim allegedly instructed her to play the conversation over a loudspeaker so that they could all listen at about midnight on June 9.

Miss Al-Safar, who did not have her head covered in court but did swear on the Koran, told the jury that Al-Hakim had said: ‘Listen to me carefully, it has been three days and I did not sleep.

‘I have decided not to go out of the house for two weeks.

‘Listen Alya, I am warning you if by the 19th of June you are not wearing the hijab back, I am warning you I will kill you and harm you. I am giving you ten days. You brought shame to your family, you should not have done that.’ (Read more.)

Sam Shamoun Responds to Abdullah Kunde . . . Again

As I noted in a previous post, Abdullah Kunde is making the classic Muslim Debater's Blunder. He's tossing criticisms at Christianity without considering whether those criticisms would also apply to Islam. Sam Shamoun draws attention to yet another inconsistency on Abdullah's part. What follows is from Sam.

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Kunde claimed that Christ’s sacrifice is illogical:

“Why do I say these things? Well, as I said, first of all the method of salvation is illogical, absolutely illogical. How’s it logical that somebody should be punished for something that, a) they didn’t do, because we assume that God wasn’t part of the whole original sin thing with Adam; that b) I should be punished for something I didn’t do because I didn’t eat in the garden. And that c) it’s the punishment of an individual who didn’t even commit the sin at all, who created the system in the first place and that sets it all back in motion. If you are kind of lost in what I am saying there it’s because it doesn’t make sense.”

By using such argumentation Kunde ends up once again condemning his own god and prophet. Unlike Kunde, Muhammad had no problem with people being punished for the sins of others since he taught that Adam’s transgression led to all of mankind being expelled from the garden:

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "Adam and Moses argued with each other. Moses said to Adam. 'O Adam! You are our father WHO DISAPPOINTED US AND TURNED US OUT OF PARADISE.' Then Adam said to him, 'O Moses! Allah favored you with His talk (talked to you directly) and He wrote (the Torah) for you with His Own Hand. Do you blame me for action WHICH ALLAH HAD WRITTEN IN MY FATE forty years before my creation?' So Adam confuted Moses, Adam confuted Moses," the Prophet added, repeating the Statement three times. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 77, Number 611)

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira and Hudhaifa that the Messenger of Allah said: Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, would gather people. The believers would stand till the Paradise would be brought near them. They would come to Adam and say: O our father, open for us the Paradise. He would say: What turned you out from the Paradise WAS THE SIN OF YOUR FATHER ADAM. I am not in a position to do that; ... (Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0380)

Kunde’s prophet also blamed Eve for wives rebelling against their husbands, and even blamed the Jews for food becoming stale and meat decaying!

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "Were it not for Bani Israel, meat would not decay; and were it not FOR EVE, no woman would ever betray her husband." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 611)

Hammam b. Munabbih said: These are some of the ahadith which Abu Huraira narrated to us from Allah's Messenger, and one of these (this one): Allah's Messenger said: Had it not been for Bani Isra'il, food would not have become stale, and meal would not have gone bad; and had it not been FOR Eve, a woman would never have acted unfaithfully toward her husband. (Sahih Muslim, Book 008, Number 3472)

But that’s not at all. Muhammad further claimed that the reason why human beings do not walk around naked, but instead cover themselves, is because of the shame which the sin of Adam and Eve brought upon mankind:

And (We said): O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the garden; so eat from where you O Adam, inherit, thou and thy wife, the Garden, and eat of where you will, but come not nigh this tree, lest you be of the evildoers.' Then Satan whispered to them, to reveal to them that which was hidden from them of their shameful parts. He said, 'Your Lord has only prohibited you from this tree lest you become angels, or lest you become immortals.' And he swore to them, 'Truly, I am for you a sincere adviser.' So he led them on by delusion; and when they tasted the tree, their shameful parts revealed to them, so they took to stitching upon themselves leaves of the Garden. And their Lord called to them, 'Did not I prohibit you from this tree, and say to you, "Verily Satan is for you a manifest foe"?' They said, 'Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if Thou dost not forgive us, and have mercy upon us, we shall surely be among the lost.' Said He, 'Get you down, each of you an enemy to each. In the earth a sojourn shall be yours, and enjoyment for a time.' Said He, 'Therein you shall live, and therein you shall die, and from there you shall be brought forth.' Children of Adam! We have sent down on you a garment to cover your shameful parts, and feathers; and the garment of godfearing -- that is better; that is one of God's signs; haply they will remember. Children of Adam! Let not Satan tempt you as he brought your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their garments to show them their shameful parts. Surely he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you see them not. We have made the Satans the friends of those who do not believe. S. 7:19-27 Arberry

Muhammad also taught that mankind forgets and makes mistakes because Adam forgot and made a mistake:

Commenting on this Ayah (7:172), At-Tirmidhi recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said…

((… So Adam denied that and HIS OFFSPRING FOLLOWED SUIT (denying Allah's covenant), Adam forgot and HIS OFFSPRING FORGOT, Adam made a mistake and HIS OFFSPRING MADE MISTAKES.))

At-Tirmidhi said, "This Hadith is Hasan Sahih, and it was reported from various chains of narration through Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet. Al-Hakim also recorded it in his Mustadrak, and said; Sahih according to the criteria of Muslim, and they did not record it."

These and similar Hadiths testify that Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored, brought forth Adam's offspring from his loins and separated between the inhabitants of Paradise and those of the Fire… (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 7:172)

Muhammad even believed that Allah would punish Jews and Christians in hell for the sins committed by Muslims:

Chapter 8: THROWING OF NON-BELIEVERS IN HELL-FIRE FOR BELIEVERS AS DIVINE GRACE AND MERCY

Abu Musa' reported that Allah's Messenger said: When it will be the Day of Resurrection Allah would deliver to every Muslim a Jew or a Christian and say: That is your RESCUE from Hell-Fire. (Sahih Muslim, Book 037, Number 6665)

Abu Burda reported on the authority of his father that Allah's Apostle said: No Muslim would die but Allah would admit IN HIS STEAD a Jew or a Christian in Hell-Fire. 'Umar b. Abd al-'Aziz took an oath: By One besides Whom there is no god but He, thrice that his father had narrated that to him from Allah's Messenger. (Sahih Muslim, Book 037, Number 6666)

Abu Burda reported Allah's Messenger as saying: There would come people amongst the Muslims on the Day of Resurrection with AS HEAVY SINS AS A MOUNTAIN, and Allah would FORGIVE THEM and He would PLACE IN THEIR STEAD the Jews and the Christians. (As far as I think), Abu Raub said: I do not know as to who is in doubt. Abu Burda said: I narrated it to 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz, whereupon he said: Was it your father who narrated it to you from Allah's Apostle? I said: Yes. (Sahih Muslim, Book 037, Number 6668)

Superiority of the believers in the Oneness of Allah and the punishment of the Jews and Christians

8) Narrated Abu Musa: Allah’s Messenger said: On the Day of Resurrection, my Ummah (nation) will be gathered into three groups. One sort will enter Paradise without rendering an account (of their deeds). Another sort will be reckoned an easy account and admitted into Paradise. Yet another sort will come bearing on their backs heaps of sins like great mountains. Allah will ask the angels though He knows best about them: Who are these people? They will reply: They are humble slaves of yours. He will say: Unload the sins from them and put the same over the Jews and Christians: then let the humble slaves get into Paradise by virtue of My Mercy.

(This Hadith is sound and mentioned in Mustadrak of Hakim). (110 Hadith Qudsi (Sacred Hadith), translated by Syed Masood-ul-Hasan, revision and commentaries by Ibrahim m. Kunna [Darussalam Publishers and Distributors], pp. 19-20)

These hadiths shockingly testify that Allah is going to ransom Muslims from judgment by condemning Jews and Christians to hell in their place! According to Muhammad, Allah is going to actually place all the sins of the Muslims upon the Jews and Christians so as to punish them for the evil and wicked acts committed by Muhammad’s followers!

Thus, instead of the sinless Son of God ransoming men from eternal wrath by his death on the cross, Muhammad believed that Allah will actually accept the sacrifice of fallible, imperfect beings as an adequate substitute for the crimes committed by Muslims!

This further shows that Muhammad had no problem with Allah actually punishing people for their own personal sins as well as for the transgression of others. After all, the Jews and Christians are not only going to be sent to hell for the evil deeds of Muslims but also for their own sins, especially for the crime of rejecting Muhammad as a prophet and messenger.

In light of such teachings, Kunde is going to have to reject Muhammad and abandon Islam altogether if he is to remain honest and consistent.

Austrian MP Ewald Stadler Slams Turkish Ambassador

It looks like some European politicians are waking up.

Sam Shamoun Responds to Abdullah Kunde

Australian debater Abdullah Kunde is apparently making the same mistake virtually every Muslim debater makes: he's so focused on raising criticisms against Christianity, he fails to see how those same criticisms would, if accurate, refute Islam. Sam Shamoun draws attention to one such error on Abdullah's part (which Abdullah made in his recent debate with Samuel Green). What follows is Sam's reply.

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Kunde's argument that God is not omnipotent because he is obligated to save all those who accept Jesus' sacrifice is not only an absurd claim, but it actually backfires against him.

The Quran says Allah has bound himself to give paradise as a reward to all those martyrs who murder people in the cause of their god:

Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their properties; for the price that theirs shall be the Paradise. They fight in Allah's Cause, so they kill (others) and are killed. It is a promise in truth which is BINDING ON HIM in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel) and the Qur'an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain which you have concluded. That is the supreme success. S. 9:111 Hilali-Khan

Also notice what Muhammad is reported to have said:

It is narrated on the authority of Mu'adh b. Jabal: I was riding behind the Prophet and there was nothing between him and me but the rear part of the saddle, when he said: Mu'adh b. Jabal: To which I replied: At your beck and call, and at your pleasure, Messenger of Allah! He moved along for a few minutes, when again he said: Mu'adh b. Jabal: To which I replied: At your beck and call, and at your pleasure, Messenger of Allah! He then again moved along for a few minutes and said: Mu'adh b. Jabal: To which I replied. At your beck and call, and at your pleasure. Messenger of Allah He, (the Holy Prophet) said: Do you know what right has Allah upon His servants? I said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Verily the right of Allah over His servants is that they should worship Him, not associating anything with Him. He (the Holy Prophet) with Mu'adh behind him, moved along for a few minutes and said: Mu'adh b. Jabal: To which I replied: At your beck and call, and at your pleasure, Messenger of Allah! He (the Holy Prophet) said: Do you know what rights have servants upon Allah in case they do it (i.e. they worship Allah without associating anything with Him)? I (Mu'adh b. Jabal) replied: Allah and His Messenger know best. (Upon this) he (the Holy Prophet) remarked: That He would not torment them (with the fire of Hell). (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 46)

It is narrated on the authority of Mu'adh b. Jabal that the Messenger of Allah said: Mu'adh, do you know the right of Allah over His bondsmen? He (Mu'adh) said: Allah and His Apostle know best. He said: That Allah alone should be worshipped and nothing should be associated with Him. He (the Holy Prophet) said: What right have they (bondsmen) upon Him in case they do it? He (Mu'adh) said: Allah and His Apostle know best. He (the Holy Prophet) said: That He would not punish them. (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 48)

Here Muhammad says that Muslims have rights over Allah just as he has rights over them. The right that Muslims have over Allah is that he must save them from punishment if they believe that there is no god besides him.

This is the height of blasphemy since no creature can ever claim any rights over God so that God must or is forced to do something for that creature.

As the Apostle Paul put it, no one will ever be able to boast before God or make him a debtor on account of what they have done:

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments,and his paths beyond tracing out! 'Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?' 'Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?' For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." Romans 11:33-36

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:8-10

Paul was merely echoing what the OT writers had known and affirmed:

"If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand?" Job 35:7

"Who then is he who can stand before me? Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine." Job 41:10b-11

This next hadith is even worse:

It is narrated on the authority of Mu'adh b. Jabal that he observed: I was riding behind the Messenger of Allah on an ass known as 'Ufair. He (Mu'adh) observed: He (the Holy Prophet) said: Mu'adh, do you know what right has Allah over His bondsmen and what right have His bondsmen over Him? Mu'adh added: I replied: Allah and his Messenger know best. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet remarked: The right of Allah over His bondsmen is that they should worship Allah and should not associate anything with Him, and the right of His bondsmen over Allah, Glorious and Sublime, is that He does not punish him who associates not anything with Him. He (Mu'adh) added: I said to the Messenger of Allah: Should I then give the tidings to the people? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Do not tell them this GOOD NEWS, for they would trust in it alone. (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 47)

Not only do Muslims have rights over Allah, thereby making Allah impotent per Kunde's logic, this hadith also exposes Muhammad as a transgressor who willfully broke Allah's orders. For instance, the Quran tells Muhammad that he has to convey the message he receives from his impotent deity:

O Messenger (Muhammad)! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allah will protect you from mankind. Verily, Allah guides not the people who disbelieve. S. 5:67 Hilali-Khan

Allah warns Muhammad to convey his message to mankind, otherwise he will fail in his mission if he doesn't do so.

Yet according to the above hadith Muhammad hid some of the so-called revelation from his followers and forbids Muadh from making known to the rest of the Muslims an important piece of information which Allah had supposedly given to him and which he himself called good news!

What makes this all the more intriguing is that Muadh obviously didn't listen to Muhammad and chose to dishonor his prophet by publishing this information to the rest of the Muslims. After all, we wouldn't have known this piece of information had Muadh not opened his mouth and told it to others.

This now places Kunde in a bit of a dilemma. If Allah has bound himself by a promise to give his jihadists paradise for killing and being killed in his cause, and if he has also committed himself to saving Muslims from punishment because of their confessing and believing that he is the only deity worthy of worship then this makes him impotent since he cannot do otherwise. However, if Allah isn't under any necessary obligation to save anyone and doesn't have to commit to keeping his promise or fulfilling his obligation to his servants then this means that Allah is a lying, deceitful, capricious deity who cannot be taken at his word. Such a god cannot be trusted and is unworthy of being worshiped.

So much for Kunde's logic.

Pakistani Muslim Confesses to Raping Sixth Christian Girl

Pay careful attention to the end, which says that local Christians are upset that the family is pursuing charges against the Muslim rapist, since this will "damage relations" between Christians and Muslims in the area. In other words, if Christians report the rape, Muslims will engage in random acts of violence against local Christians, and Christians would rather accept a rape here or there than have their entire community wiped out. And people say we're a bunch of racists and bigots because we oppose Sharia.

TARKHANI, Pakistan, January 14 (CDN) — A Muslim who allegedly confessed to sexually assaulting five Christian girls raped a 10-year-old Catholic girl in Punjab Province last month, according to her family.

Tarkhani police have charged 25-year-old Muhammad Aftab, also known as Chandu, with raping a minor (section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code) in a sugar cane field in Village 226-GB, according to First Information Report (FIR) No. 429 at the Tarkhani Police Station. Aftab has been arrested and remanded to Central Jail Faisalabad.

Aftab allegedly raped the girl on Dec. 10, Abid Masih, a 31-year-old relative of the girl, told Compass in village 226-GB, Tarkhani near Gojra.

“Though we had informed the Tarkhani police station, for a day we kept quiet as the rapist had gone underground, and we waited for him to come out,” Masih told Compass at his home. “When the rapist saw that no one has taken action against him, he came out, and our girl immediately identified him.”

Masih said the girl, whose name is withheld, went to a nearby field with 7-year-old Sahil Abid to load sugar cane for transport to a processing plant. The girl’s father, 55-year-old electrician Yousaf Masih, said that Aftab seized her and rushed into the sugar cane fields.

“Sahil Abid started screaming for help, but no one was there to help him,” Abid Masih said. “Therefore he came running to us and told us that a man kidnapped her and has taken her to the sugar cane fields.”

Sahil took him and Yousaf Masih to the site, Abid Masih said.

“As we reached there, that man masked his face and disappeared into the dense sugar cane fields,” he said.

Abid Masih took her to the Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital, Samundri, he said.

Family members said that doctors at Samundri THQ Hospital confirmed that the girl was raped, and the FIR also notes that the medical report by doctors at the hospital states that she was raped.

“SHO [the Station House Officer] pleas to the honorable Court of Law to penalize the rapist/pedophile, who has confessed during interrogation to raping at least five other little Christian girls before this sad incident,” the FIR states. “The culprit is sent to Central jail Faisalabad under judicial remand on the orders of the court and deserves exemplary punishment.”

Abid Masih and Yousaf Masih said that Sahil also was unable to see the rapist’s face, but that the girl was able to recognize him because she had been assaulted by him in the fields. They said she identified Aftab, the son of a local land owner.

“It’s not the first time he has raped a minor girl,” Abid Masih said. “He has raped at least five little Christian girls before this, but those families under pressure kept their mouths shut, and Christians also tried to force us to keep quiet and refrain from filing a police case, as they were fearful that it might worsen the relations between Christian and Muslim villagers.”

Area sources said local Christians were angry with the family of Yousaf Masih for taking legal action against the rapist, believing that it would damage relations between Muslims and Christians. (Source)

Good luck getting a conviction. The girl doesn't have four Muslim witnesses to testify on her behalf.

Saviour of the World: Jesus or the Qur'an?

Introduction



Samuel Green's Presentation



Abdullah Kunde's Presentation



Rebuttals



Question Time

DA Drops Hate Crimes Charges against Jesse Quinn Harrison

I'm not buying Harrison's "I only made the video to show people that Islam is peaceful" story. Whatever point he was trying to make with the video, it wasn't something positive about Islam or Muslims. Take a look for yourself:



But Harrison's intentions aren't the point. He was charged with a hate crime, and this video was listed as one of two pieces of evidence that the charges were based on (the other being a letter that the prosecuting attorney's office refuses to release). As distasteful as many people would find this video, there's simply no call for violence against Muslims. It's just a guy grilling a Qur'an (and for Muslims who would complain about this, don't forget that Muhammad smashed the idols of the pagans). Indeed, if we're going to call a video like this a "hate crime," we would have to charge everyone who carries a Qur'an with a hate crime, since the Qur'an does contain clear calls for violence against unbelievers.

Yes, freedom of speech often protects offensive speech. But that's a price we pay for not having our views and ideas censored by the government. It seems that the prosecuting attorney was simply trying to frighten Harrison. The message was clear: "Don't upset Muslims, or we'll throw you in jail." Hmmm. Now where have I heard that before?

The district attorney dropped hate-crime charges against a Tulsa man Friday afternoon after a jury decided the evening before that the defendant did not need involuntary mental-health treatment.

Jesse Quinn Harrison was charged Dec. 28 with transmitting a threatening letter and with malicious intimidation or harassment.

The charges were based on a package he had sent to the Peace Academy at the Islamic Society of Tulsa. The package included a letter and a video he had made of himself smearing a Quran and an image of an Islamic religious figure with pork chops and grilling those items.

A mental-health hearing ended Thursday with a jury's deciding that Harrison was not "in need of treatment," according to the verdict.

Because Harrison - who had been a patient at the Tulsa Center for Behavioral Health - still faced the criminal charges, he was arrested and booked into the Tulsa Jail after the verdict. After the charges were dismissed, he was released from jail Friday, records show.

Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris sat in on much of Harrison's mental-health hearing Wednesday and Thursday and said it was a kind of preview of what would be presented in a criminal case. He said he could see how the evidence would be presented and heard Harrison's explanation of the video and letter submitted as evidence for the first time.

"After listening to him - though I don't agree with the jury's decision - it does give you some insight into where he was coming from," Harris said Friday.

Harrison testified Thursday that by posting the video - which he acknowledged was "horribly offensive" - to YouTube and Facebook, he hoped to show that Islam was a peaceful religion despite a prevailing stereotype to the contrary.

"I created this horribly offensive video, yet what so many people expected was for Muslims to act violent to me," Harrison testified. "Despite this horrible offense, they continue to be a law-abiding, peaceful people." (Read more.)

EU Student Diaries List Muslim and Hindu Holidays, But Omit Christian Holidays

It's one thing to be open to other cultures. It's another to actively destroy your own.

The European Union has sent millions of diaries to schools which list the dates of Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish and Chinese festivals - but omit any mention of Christian celebrations.

In an extraordinary move, three million 2011 notebooks were printed at a cost of £4.4million to the taxpayer. Around 350,000 of the diaries have already been shipped to schools in the UK alone.

There is no record for Christmas, Easter or Lent - despite bureaucrats carefully listing the EU’s self-styled ‘Europe Day’ on May 9.

The EU was forced to apologise in the wake of the blunder as religious groups expressed their disbelief.

John Dalli, consumer commissioner said: 'We regret this' and apologised. (Read more.)

Somali Women Complain about Life under Sharia

And people say it's racist and Islamophobic to guard against Sharia.

(Reuters) - Women living in areas controlled by Somalia's Islamists say they are increasingly the target of more draconian rules meted out by the rebels bent on enforcing their ideologies.

In the latest decree by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group that governs most of southern Somalia, women in the seaside town of Kismayu have been banned from carrying out barter trade with the male crews of ships calling at the port.

The women have also been told they cannot shake any male's hands in public, travel on their own, sell anything or work in an office.

"A woman cannot be seen with a man from another country at the port. The punishment for any woman caught near the port or foreign vessels will be arrest," a senior al Shabaab commander said in a statement this week.

The al Shabaab group -- which means "the youth" in Arabic -- have in the past banned movies, musical ringtones, dancing at wedding ceremonies and watching soccer.

Many Kismayu women, mostly widowed or divorced, have survived for years solely from selling or bartering vegetables and fruits for fuel and other commodities from ship crews.

"I have three children and raise them from the little I earn from exchanging goods at the seaport, but now I can't do my job," Hawa Olow told Reuters in a telephone conversation.

Al Shabaab has also prescribed that the women must buy and wear uniform robes that only it supplies. (Read more.)

But surely no one would attempt to enforce Sharia here in the U.S.?