bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan 2013 – Day 6 – The Mosque

2013 Ramadan PrayerFollowing the Hijra (Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina), the first thing Muhammad did as he entered the outskirts of Medina was to stop at Quba and lay the first stones for a mosque.

Although westerners oftentimes believe a mosque is the equivalent to a Christian church, because of the political and militaristic nature of Islam the two are not the same.  The Mosque Exposed written by Sam Solomon and E. Alamaqdisi, lists traits of the first mosque. Sam Solomon is an expert on Islam who as a Muslim studied Sharia law for fifteen years prior to his conversion to Christianity.

In addition to being a center of religious teachings some other characteristics of the first mosque included:

  1. The first “Islamic seminary” where Muhammad taught his followers.
  2. The center where the affairs of the Islamic state were conducted. Official Islamic delegations were sent from the mosque, and it was in the mosque where all the delegations and tribal representatives were received.
  3. The place where Islamic sharia (law) was unfolded.
  4. The place where jihad was discussed, declared, and directed. It was where Muhammad and his successors chose commanders for jihad operations, and then sent out Islamic armies to wage holy war.

The first mosque was the center of political, governmental, and militaristic aspects of early Islam in addition to being a religious center. The pattern for all future mosques was set. A fatwa (legal pronouncement in Islam) issued in April of 2000 clearly shows modern day mosques continue to emulate the original teachings and purpose of the Medina mosque.  The fatwa reads in part:

“…a mosque is symbol of the presence of Islam, the heartbeat of the Muslim community, an educational outlet where the community is taught to combat evil, ignorance and apostasy. It is a university as well as a court, from where the laws of Allah are promoted, it is a symbol of authority within that community and ultimately within the state and beyond, for the Apostle of Allah said Islam rises and nothing rises above it, for it is the uppermost.”

Mosques are being built across western nations at an alarming rate. At the opening of the Baitur-Rahman Mosque, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, declared, “In Spain there are signs that Islam will dominate once again.”

In Liege, Belgium a mosque is planned with a capacity for 1,000 Muslims. In Munich, Germany politicians are debating where to build the Center for Islam in Europe-Munich, which is “designed to be a strategic platform for spreading Islam throughout Europe.” The government of Greece has pledged to spend $1.4 million to build a mosque in Athens. A mega-mosque complex is planned for Dublin, Ireland.

The former Capernaum Church, a cultural heritage site in Hamburg, Germany is being converted to a mosque.

Dr. Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, Grand Mufti of Australia advises that more mosques need to be built to stop young Muslims from becoming radicalized, and in the United States the Turkish government is building a $100 million mosque complex in Maryland.

Prayer Points:

Pray that leaders of western nations realize that a mosque is not simply a religious center – rather that it is patterned after the first mosque and as so it is the center of an Islamic state within its host nation.

Pray that leaders in Christian churches will realize that Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God.

Muslims in the mosque pray rote prayers, hoping to satisfy the requirements of their god. Pray for the Muslims as they go to the mosque to pray – that they will have an encounter with the true and living God through Jesus Christ.

bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan Prayer Day 25 – Religion: “Is a Mosque the Same as a Church?”

FrontPage Magazine recently reported about “The Mega Mosque Boom” currently taking place. Mosques with proposed capacities from 7,000 seats to the more modest 2,000 proposed for the Ground Zero mosque are being built in western nations around the world. Foreign Muslim governments fund many of these mega mosques – especially in areas where the local Muslim population is not large enough to justify a mega mosque.

Many Americans, familiar with houses of worship such as churches and synagogues, believe a mosque is simply a place for Muslims to go and worship. They think of a mosque as an “Islamic church.” In reality, a mosque is much more than a place of worship for Muslims.

Because Muslims believe Muhammad is their perfect example, mosques are modeled after the very first mosque Muhammad established in Medina.  Dr. Sam Solomon, a former Muslim professor and shariah law expert, explains in the New English Review, “A mosque, totally unlike a church or a synagogue, serves the function of orchestrating and mandating every aspect of ‘life’ in a Muslim community from the religious, to the political, to the economic, to the social, to the military.”

Muhammad’s mosque was the seat of power – the place and symbol of Islamic rule. American Thinker describes it, as “a seat of government, a command center, a court, a school, and a military training center and depot for arms.” The mosque is considered the command center of Islam.

The number of mosques in the United States has increased by 74% since the year 2000. Many mega mosques are being built in areas with small Islamic populations. This tactic in Islam serves to show non-Muslims the superiority of Islam, and to encourage Muslims to migrate to an area. In the book, The Mosque Exposed, Dr. Solomon says, “Migration is legally obligatory on a Muslim as preparatory to other forms of jihad for the victory of Islam and Muslim in other countries.”

In addition to building large mosques and encouraging Muslims to migrate to an area, radical Islamic groups control the literature in the majority of American mosques. A 2005 study conducted by Freedom House called “Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Invade American Mosques” gathered samples of over 200 hate texts sponsored or generated by Saudi Arabia and found in 80% of American mosques. These books include instructions for American Muslims such as, “Be dissociated from the infidels, hate them for their religion, leave them, never rely on them for support, do not admire them, and always oppose them in every way according to Islamic law”

PRAYER FOR RELIGION:

  • Pray that our political leaders, our citizens and the media will realize many mosques are not “Islamic churches,” but rather command centers for a system that desires the overthrow of the western governments.
  • Pray that Muslims who are not radical and do not desire to live under shariah law will expose those within their community who are attempting to force Islam on western nations.
  • Based upon Mark 4:22, Ask God to reveal anything of darkness that may be hidden (in the mosques).
  • Ask God to open the eyes of those who worship in the mosque and reveal the One who is Truth, Jesus Christ.