Thursday, December 12, 2013

Reza Aslan: Whitewashing Jihad

Reza Aslan claims to be a scholar of religions. Yet when he discusses the Islamic doctrine of Jihad, he does what most Westernized Muslim apologists do: he assures his readers that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance.

In this video, Robert Spencer, David Wood, and Sam Shamoun examine some of Reza's claims in his book "No God but God."

2 comments:

Ken said...

good job.

Also, Reza Aslan, on page 85 of his book, "No god but God"; at bottom, refers to Surah 9:29 but leaves out "from the people of the book" and makes it seem like it was only against the pagan Quraysh of Muhammad's day. He also leaves out "until they submit, being brought low, and pay the Jiziye."

on page 83 about the Caravan Raids - "it was in no way considered stealing" - LOL - tell that to the Quraysh! then why did they fight back and why did the caravan raiding lead to the Battle of Badr, the Battle of Uhud, etc.

and then all of that and Surah 9:5 (applies to atheists, pagans, Hindus, Buddhists) and 9:29 (the west, Israel, Christians) lead to all the centuries of violence and Jihad/ Qatal / Harb all through history until 1924 abolishment of Khalifah and now the modern Jihadism / Islamist movement is seeking to restore the Khalifa/Shariah/war vs. west/Israel, etc. - the principle of Dar Al Salaam vs. Dar Al Harb .

On page 11, he makes a mistake:
"The Ghassanids, like so many Christians who lived beyond the ever-tightening grip of Constantinople, were Monophysites, meaning they rejected the Nicene doctrine confirming Jesus' dual nature."

The Monophysites did not reject the Council of Nicea, but they did reject the Council of Chalcedon.

Also, Aslan refers to the famous Hadith that is quoted all the time in the west - page 82 - the weak Hadith of "greater Jihad" - being the inner struggle against the Nafs (self, soul, fleshly, selfish desires) - is not in any of the 6 Canonical collections of Sunni AHadith. It is in a lesser known work called "The history of Baghdad"; and it is considered weak by most consistent Islamic scholars of Hadith.

Sanatan Dharma said...

Hello David , i am having a debate with a Muslim friend, he is justifying the killing in chapter 2:191 which is connected with the battle of badr. can you please make a video on it thank you