bestcurrentnews 2016 Ramadan Prayer

Are Judaism and Christianity as Violent as Islam?

2016 Ramadan GraphicIn an attempt to refute the statement, “Islam is a religion of violence,” a Christian website made the following statement, “Reality: Islam as a religious system has not been any more violent than Christianity or Judaism.”

This is an argument often used by Muslim apologists in the West to divert conversation regarding the violence in the Islamic texts. Far too often this puts an end to the discussion and those who are unfamiliar with history and the foundational texts tend to believe that all three religions are equally as violent.

Often quoted passages from the Bible that Muslim apologists use to prove Judaism’s violence and intolerance are found in the story of the military conquest of Canaan by Israel.

“But of the cities of these peoples which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 20:16-18).

“So Joshua conquered all the land: the mountain country and the South and the lowland and the wilderness slopes, and all their kings; he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded” (Joshua 10:40).

It is true the Israelites conquered Canaan, but the commands to annihilate other people groups were recorded in the Bible as history. The events were for a specific time and place, and never became part of Jewish law. While the Biblical accounts described the events, the violent conquest never became part of every day Jewish life.

Conversely, certain aspects of Islamic violence and conquest commanded in the Qur’an were not only historical battles that Muhammad led, but they also became part of Islamic law.

“Fight those who do not believe in God, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden, nor abide by the religion of truth-from among those who received the Scripture-until they pay the due tax, willingly or unwillingly” (Sura 9:29).

Modern Islamists demonstrate that they still believe this passage is a command from their god. “Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those who say this are witless. Islam says: ‘Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all! Kill them, put them to the sword and scatter their armies’” – The Ayatollah Khomeini (Iranian Supreme Leader 1979-1989).

When one looks at Christianity, it is impossible to find verses inciting violence in the New Testament. In fact, Christians are commanded to “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

Have their been atrocities perpetrated in the name of Christianity? Sadly, yes, but violence is never commanded by the teachings of Jesus or others in the New Testament.

Prayer Point:

Pray that both Muslims and non-Muslims will see the clear difference between the historical violence in the Bible and the theological violence in the Qur’an.

 

 

bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan Prayer Day 16: Government – “Sterilizing the Threat”

Following the 9/11 attacks on our nation, President Bush addressed a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001 and said,  “Our ‘war on terror’ begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”

In order to defeat an enemy, we must be able define our enemy. In the days since 9/11, our nation has been involved in a war most Americans were not aware we were even fighting. It is a war we are currently losing – a war of information.

The 9/11 Commission was a bi-partisan group that investigated the 9/11 terrorism attacks on our nation. This Commission “interviewed over 1,200 people in 10 countries and reviewed over two and a half million pages of documents, including some closely guarded classified national security documents.”  A final report of the Commission’s findings was released on July 22, 2004.

The language used to describe the attacks on our nation in the 9/11 Commission report reflected the research of the Commission. Here are some examples of the words used and the number of times they appeared in the report: Enemy (39), Jihad (126), Muslim (145), Islam (322), Muslim Brotherhood (5), Religious (65), al Qaeda (36), and Violent Extremism (3).

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) along with other Muslim groups attacked the report.  MPAC said, “Terminology is important in defining our goals as well as removing roadblocks into hearts and minds. The 9/11 Commission identifies Islamist terrorism as the threat. The Muslim Public Affairs Council recommends that the US government find other terminology.”

This began a sterilization of the language our government uses regarding terror that continues today.

For example, in 2008, the FBI Counter-terrorism Analytical Lexicon was published. The document’s stated purpose is “to help standardize the terms used in FBI analytical products dealing with counterterrorism.” In this document, the words enemy, jihad, Muslim, Islam, Muslim Brotherhood, and al Qaeda are no longer used. Violent extremism is used 29 times and religious only 3 times. Our enemy, terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda have been quite clear regarding their motivation. Removing language that is part of that motivation simply makes it more difficult to defeat them.

Major Nidal Hasan, a US Army officer shot and killed 13 people and injured 32 at the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, Texas on November 5, 2009. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is Great) as he shot the unarmed soldiers and civilians. Hasan had met Anwar al-Awlaki, now deceased al-Qaeda leader and exchanged e-mails with him prior to the attack. After the attack, a Senate report described it as “the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001,” and said Hasan had become an adherent of “violent Islamist extremism.”

In 2010 the Department of Defense released, Protecting the Force: Lessons from Fort Hood  a review of the Fort Hood incident. In this report the word “religious” is used 59 times, but there is no mention of enemy, Muslim, Islam, or jihad. Although Major Hasan was in contact with al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood, neither one of these organizations are mentioned in the report. Even more incredibly, Major Hasan, the single shooter in the Ft. Hood incident is never mentioned in the Fort Hood report. In addition, the Department of Defense labeled the incident “workplace violence.”

PRAYER FOR GOVERNMENT

  • If an enemy cannot be identified, it cannot be defeated. Pray that our government will stop being politically correct and use language to define the enemies against our nation honestly, thoroughly and accurately.
  • Pray for leaders within our government to stand up and stop allowing outside interest groups to control the language of security documents that are further weakening our country.
  • Pray that any group that has a voice within the government of the United States will first give allegiance to our government over any foreign ties.
  • Pray that Muslims and Muslim organizations who desire to live in peace and who support the U.S. Constitution will rise up, take a stand and make their voices heard.