Muslim Friend, Wake-up

Muslim Friend, Wake-up
A call for Muslims to reevaluate Islam as they enter the 21st Century
By Jim Croft
Muslims have genuine capacities for love, compassion, and noble achievements. The majority of those that I know personally are affable, productive members of society. Like all people, they also carry the potential for counterproductive, destructive behaviors. There is something, however, that Muslims have that has for centuries caused many to live beneath their abilities. It is currently causing them embarrassment within the global community. The culprit is their faithful allegiance with Islam’s demands that all Muslims comply with its eccentricities.

All religions have embarrassing islands of history. Commonly, most have obscure, antiquated, doctrinal elements that are not compatible with contemporary sensitivities. None are exempt from fringe radicals that find purpose and identity by expressing these bizarre elements. Islam, however, stands alone in its ability to incite the masses. Its basic doctrines compel its fundamentalists to enact extremist policies. The moderates comply through their silence. They are silent because they know that the fundamentalists accurately depict what Islam teaches. The end result is that Islam continues to espouse principles that defy the expectations of what most civil people would perceive as acceptable behavior. The purpose of this article is to challenge Muslims to assess what Islam has produced in societies heretofore. Hopefully, this will persuade them to reevaluate its ability to empower them for the 21st Century.

Repetitive behavior + expecting different results = Insanity
Most Muslims, like most people that are labeled as Jews and Christians, did not purposely choose their religious label. The label bestowed on them was a matter of birth rather than a personal decision of conscience. The distinction is, those labeled as Muslims, in spite of their personal aspirations, are weighted with a religious system that has failed to bless cultures. On the other hand, regardless of their personal attributes, those labeled as Jews and Christians have been carried along by the blessings inherent within Judeo-Christian cultures. This is verified by the national economic and educational statistics of the World Almanac. A comparison of statistical information on Islamic-controlled nations and Western democracies indicates acute disparities between the two.

This begs certain questions amongst thinking people. Are people that carry certain religious labels innately more intelligent than others? Are they born with abilities for creative business ventures and technological advances that surpass those of others? Of course, the answer to both of these questions is, No. The basic difference between the three people-groups in question is spiritual programming. None is genetically predisposed to be more creative and progressive than the other. Spiritual surgery removing the teachings of Mohammed from the hearts and minds of the people of Muslim countries would be beneficial. Within a relatively short period it would put them on an even plain with other nations. Reason should caution people from continuing with belief systems that have failed to produce tangible blessings for the people of nations that would otherwise be blessed.

The tale of two nations
In short, you can tell the value of a religion by observing the plight of nations that have lived under its influence for an extended period. If a religion has merit, it will inspire creativity from those that adhere to it. South Korea was predominantly Buddhist prior to its war with Communist North Korea in 1950. Christian nations defended South Korea, and subsequently the majority of its citizens have embraced Christianity as their religion of choice. Even though its economy was devastated by the war, it has risen from the ash heap and now has a gross national product (GNP) that dwarfs those of the oil rich Islamic-controlled nations. Christianized South Korea’s GNP for 2001 was $764.8 billion. Its per capita income was $16,100; infant mortality rate 7.6/1000; literacy rate 98%; and its exports were electronic and electrical equipment, machinery, steel, automobiles, ships, textiles, clothing, footwear and fish.

Saudi Arabia should be the crown of Islam, as it was its birthplace in the 7th Century. Keep in mind that Saudi Arabia’s Islam claims to be superior to all other religions. These are the statistics that the “true religion” spawned for 2000: GNP $232 billion; per capita income $10,500; infant mortality rate 49.6/1000; literacy rate 63%; and its sole exports were petroleum and petroleum products. Considering that their clerics claim that the faithful will be blessed, this is not an impressive showing for 1,300 years of multiple daily prayers to a deity. The fact is, the royal family of Saudi Arabia would be riding on camels, rather than in air-conditioned Mercedes, if it were not for the oil drilling technology of Christian nations. Wherever Islam is the primary focus of a government, the majority of its citizens languish in an abased existence. If those same people emigrate to a democratic society, where the pursuit of happiness is primary and their degree of religious expression is optional, they are apt to flourish.

Economic progress frustrated
Whenever the value of Islam is brought into question, Muslims remind those making inquiries of its “golden age”. During this period, from 700-1100AD, Europe was in the Dark Ages. The Middle East and Asian nations that had been conquered by Islamic Jihad (holy war or struggle) led the world as they continued to make advances in the disciplines of literature, science, and math. However, there was a curious cessation of their leadership after the eleventh century. In contrast, progress was restored in Christianized nations during the Renaissance and continued through the Industrial Revolution into the high-tech achievements of the current era.

Islamic countries were left sitting in the sand. One would be hard pressed to cite a single original medical, industrial, or technological innovation that has come forth from an Islamic-governed nation without the undergirding of Western influence and education. During the past 500 years Islamic nations have not produced one contribution to science, technology or industry in a stand-alone manner. There are no innovative products for sale in the world’s markets that were invented and produced by Muslims in Islamic-controlled nations. Students from the global community are not lined up to apprehend visas to study at the universities of Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. The foreign embassies of Christian countries are flooded with visa applications from Muslims that are seeking opportunities to live in the fertile environments that are built on Judeo-Christian values. If Heaven’s approval has been bestowed on Mohammed’s doctrines, it would seem that we would see people from Christian nations flocking to get work and educational visas in Islamic states.

What caused the cessation of academic progress in the nations that were conquered by Islam? Did some DNA mutation kick in that caused people’s intelligence to be altered? This could not be the case because many of the same nationalities prove to be brilliant in settings that are founded on principles other than interpretations of Mohammed’s teachings. The Jews come from the same Abrahamic genetic pool, and their scientists and intellectuals have been awarded 139 Nobel prizes. There have been only 9 Islamic recipients, and most of them were privileged with educations in Western democracies. The finger of guilt points toward the Muslim religion and the teachings of its clerics. The cessation of innovation was caused by the rule of Islam from 700-1100AD. It took 400 years for it to finally take hold and totally stifle the progress of the nations that were under its influence.

America, The Great Satan
Islamic supporters have a repertoire of influences to blame for the lack of progress in Islamic states. America is called the “Great Satan”. Clerics espouse that if it were not for our evil influence, their citizens would be flowing in freedom, prosperity, and health. How soon they forget that the wealth that their leaders squander in lavish lifestyles and the medical advances that save their citizens from epidemics were birthed in Westernized democracies.

Others assert that regional conflicts and harsh environments are the culprits. Interestingly, there are other nations that have experienced the same and risen above the adversities. This will be exampled by a comparison of the statistics on Islam-controlled Iran, predominantly Lutheran Iceland, and Israel.

Iran’s stats for 2000: arable land 10%; per capita income $6,300; infant mortality rate 28.1/1000; literacy rate 79%
Iceland’s stats for 2000: arable land 0%; per capita income $24,800; infant mortality rate 3.5/1000; literacy rate 100%.
Israel’s stats for 2000: arable land 17%; per capita income $18,900; infant mortality rate 7.5/1000; literacy rate 96%.
The statistics that have been provided thus far in this article should provoke thinking readers to ponder the possibility that there is something grossly amiss with Islam. Basic logic dictates that the faithful should be able to overcome any real or imagined satanic obstacles, if Allah is all-powerful and Islam is indeed a superior religion. To the contrary, Muslim-controlled regimes that demand that their citizens pray 5 times daily, obey the Koran, follow the dictates of their imams, fast the 40 days of Ramadan, and make pilgrimages to Mecca have proved impotent in bringing reasonable prosperity to the masses within their societies.
Religion in the mix
It is Islamic countries, not Christianized nations, that insert the spiritual dimension into every equation. The Muslims of Islamic states are usually far more zealous for the agendas of their clergymen than the nominal Christian populations of Western countries are for those espoused by their pastors. Westernized democracies that have Christianity as a prevalent religion do not call for the citizens of fellow nations to join them in holy wars against other nations. This has not occurred since the shameful period of the Crusades 900 years ago. During the ensuing years Christendom has undergone a major reformation. It no longer has Church-State governments. Calls to war are issued on the basis of mutual self-defense and to facilitate freedom for politically oppressed people. In isolated instances the leader of a Westernized nation might express his personal faith when his troops go to war. However, the secular compositions of genuinely free democracies prevent them from calling for war in the name of a particular faith a matter of national policy.

Islam has never had a reformation. Its leaders are following the examples of Mohammed and the early caliphs of Islam to this very day. Everything is done in the name of Allah and for the cause of Islam. All the while, these efforts belie all evidences of Heavenly support. The Jews of Israel continue to prevail regardless of the multi-national Islamic decrees calling for their extinction in the name of Allah. Saddam Hussein declared that Allah would give Iraq the victory over the infidels in 1991. His boast was that his God would give them success in what would be the Mother of all battles. Less than 100 hours later, it proved to be the Mother of all retreats.

In the war for Iraq’s freedom of 2003, Saddam’s Minister of Information constantly swore, by Allah, that soldiers and peasants on the borders of Iraq were slaughtering Coalition forces. After 25 days of armed conflict, he was nowhere to be found, and Iraqi Muslims were kissing the hands of the infidels that liberated them. It was reported that many Iraqis were laying the blame for their culture’s demise at the feet of the parties whom they believed to be responsible. These citizens physically beat and stoned the spiritual leaders that had assured them of victory. The contemporary generation of Iranians is also getting the picture. Televised documentaries on Iran that were filmed in secret have revealed some interesting facts. Those interviewed, between 20-30 years of age, reported that the vast majority of their contemporaries wanted to throw off the limitations of Islam and embrace Western values.

Islam vs. Judeo-Christian values
Muslims need to evaluate whether Islam will enhance their journey into the 21st Century or continue to be excess baggage. The following contrasts Islam’s performance versus that of nations founded on Judeo-Christian ethics. The nations and people of the latter do not make a habit of using religious precepts to rationalize unacceptable behavior. The motivations for their behavior are founded upon their desires to make meaningful contributions for the welfare of the community of mankind. Undoubtedly, these same noble aspirations reside in the hearts of many Muslims. Unfortunately, the fruition of these hopes often becomes bogged in a mire of spiritual prohibitions and technicalities. Each of the following comparisons points out unacceptable practices for which there are precedents in Islam’s history and holy books. I challenge any that question the validity of what is stated to explore these two websites: http://www.islamreview.com and http://main.faithfreedom.org These provide Koranic and Hadith references, along with testimonies of ex-Muslims, that support this article.

Cruel gender bias
Many Islamic states deny females the right to vote and equal opportunities for higher education. The policies of the majority of them demand that women wear full body burkas, or at least a head covering, while in public, regardless of whether or not they are Muslims. An ex-Muslim Iranian woman has a letter posted on the Faith Freedom website. This is the gist of her alarming testimony. In Iran any woman that rejects the principle of Hijab (head coverings) is considered an apostate. Under Islamic law the punishment for an apostate is death. Girls condemned to death may not undergo the sentence as long as they are virgins. Thus they are systematically raped before the sentence is executed. According to the clerics, the only way to prevent a virgin from going to heaven is to take her virginity. Apostates, they declare, don’t deserve heaven so they are raped to insure that they will go to hell.

One of the most horrifying aspects of Islam is that it rationalizes what we would term as nothing less than pedophilic rape. A high value is placed on wives coming to the marriage bed as virgins. To insure chastity, girls are often given in marriage between the ages of 9 and 11. The moment the girls reach puberty their husbands engage in sexual intercourse with them. The men are often 30 years senior to their little wives. For these hapless children their first sexual experiences amount to frightening rapes. – In westernized cultures women have equal rights with men. No civil authority has the right to enforce religious regulations. Anyone that sexually abuses a minor would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Human rights infractions
Statistics indicate that Muslims perpetrate a disproportionate number of human rights infractions to that of any other single religious group. OPEC nations import disadvantaged boys, aged 4-6, to be jockeys for camel races. The children are fed meagerly to keep them light in weight. Many are seriously injured, and some have been trampled to death. Sudan, Mauritania, and Kuwait actively engage in slavery. It is not unusual for convicted thieves to have limbs surgically removed. Women charged with adultery are stoned to death or receive a gun shot to the temple. Enactments of these punishments have been verified by televised documentaries on Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Often they are occasions of public entertainment. Thousands of Muslims have been taped cheering as the punishments are meted out. To diminish sexual desires, some Muslims practice female genital mutilation, circumcision of the clitoris. This invasive procedure usually ceremoniously takes place just prior to puberty. – In compassionate societies child labor laws have been in place for more than 150 years. Slavery is an unacceptable and prosecutable offense in every Christianized nation. The ultimate goal of Western criminal codes is rehabilitation rather than mutilation. Anyone that intentionally performs a surgical procedure that diminishes the quality of life is liable for suit and prison internment.

License to riot and loot
There is something virulent about the nature of Islam that incites its adherents to violence. This phenomenon is not restricted to Arab Muslims. If authority figures of Christian democracies utter even a hint of disrespect for Mohammed or the Koran, Mullahs start issuing death decrees. Violent riots ensue in every nation that has a significant Muslim population - Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Africa, and the Middle East alike. At the conclusion of the war for Iraq’s freedom, thousands of its citizens began to loot and burn government facilities. Most would grant a temporary dispensation for this when the years of frustrating repression are taken into consideration. But, the looting included the shops of their hard-working fellows, libraries, and even medical equipment from the rooms of hospitalized patients. Museums were not spared. Irreplaceable treasures of Iraq’s history were carried away without conscience. - The citizens of free societies do not make a habit of demonstrating their displeasure over religious issues by rioting. Riots rarely occur, and when they do, they are commonly restricted to specific sections of cities rather than entire cities. Those rioting seldom loot the establishments of their fellows. It is unheard of for even the most calloused to loot medical devices from the rooms of patients that need them for survival. National pride prevents the ransacking of historical museums.

Geneva Convention defiance
Islam is unique in that it routinely encourages practices that would never be considered by spiritually sensitive people of other faiths. Women and children are used as human shields in battle. It is not unusual for boys as young as six years of age to be conscripted for wartime service. Adolescent boy and girls are celebrated for decisions to become homicide bombers. Muslims are known to utilize Red Crescent ambulances to transport troops and munitions. Hospitals are commonly used as command posts for combatants. Islamic regimes make a habit of killing the wounded of opposing forces and disposing of bodies without forwarding information about the fate of their victims. The various terrorist groups that operate in Israel often mutilate dead Israeli military personnel beyond recognition. - The Geneva Convention was designed to protect non-combatants, the wounded, those surrendering, and prisoners of war. It specifies that no one under the age of 15 can be conscripted for war. It prohibits the use of medical care facilities to camouflage aggression. In addition, each nation must follow procedures to identify the dead and wounded of opposing forces and to send information to their families. All peace-loving nations that value fairness and the dignity of the human race make every effort to comply with the spirit and intents of its regulations.

Distain for other religions
It is a well-known fact that after the Israelis reclaimed Jerusalem in the Six-Day War, they were faced with an exhaustive clean-up project at the site of Herod’s temple. For years the local Muslim Arabs had been using the base of the Wailing Wall as a public toilet. This defilement was nothing less than an intentional assault on the Jew’s spiritual history. The Italian journalist, Oriana Fallaci, authored a book entitled Rage and Pride. In vivid, vernacular terms she described how offended she was about immigrant Somali Muslims defiling the grounds of a cathedral in Florence, Italy. They stained the marble edifice with their urine and filled the exterior entrance to the Bishop’s Baptistery with their excrement. – This type of behavior is simply beneath the sense of common decency that most religious people possess. Even in times of war, the soldiers of civilized countries refrain from dishonoring the belief systems of others. They take great pains to preserve their enemy’s houses of worship.

Muslim brotherhood myth

During the past 30 years, Muslims have purposely killed more Muslims than the combined number of deaths inflicted by their non-Muslim enemies. Anyone that has kept up with Middle East events understands that the concept of the brotherhood of Islam is a myth. It does not become a talking point unless one of their nations is facing non-Muslim foes.

If Israel or the coalition against international terrorism happens to accidentally harm civilians, the Muslim world riots in protest. There have been no international Muslim protests over the numerous incidences in which Muslim terrorists purposely maimed and killed citizens of free societies. Muslim communities around the globe take it in stride when factions within Islam commit genocide against one another in Jordan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq and Iran.

The war between Iran and Iraq took around 1,000,000 Muslim lives. On various occasions, Saddam Hussein butchered tens of thousands of his own countrymen. In 1970, King Hussein of Jordan got wind that the Palestinians were going to attempt to take a portion of Jordan as their homeland. In a military campaign that is now called “Black September”, he sent troops into the refugee camps of Southern Jordan and Lebanon. It is estimated that as many as 4,000 Palestinians perished in the assaults. The global Muslim community did not riot in protest of this atrocity against their displaced brethren.
During the month of February of 1982, it became apparent that Islamic extremists headquartered in Hama, Syria were mounting an effort to make Syria an Islamic-governed state. President Hafez al-Assad took decisively brutal action. He bombarded the city with artillery and then had it bulldozed into the appearance of a giant parking lot. Amnesty International estimates that from 10,000-25,000 civilians were slaughtered in the siege. There were no reports of the Muslims in other nations crying out that this was a grievous injustice against innocent civilians. – After times of armed conflict nations that are built on Judeo-Christian ethics feed and clothe displaced persons. They rebuild the nations of their former enemies. It is interesting to note that when natural disasters strike Muslim countries, one rarely sees mercy missions initiated from fellow Muslim nations rushing to their aid. There are no occurrences of relief efforts coming from Islamic societies when disasters strike non-Muslim countries. Whenever and wherever disasters occur, the world can depend upon the financial resources and the relief efforts of nations that are built on Judeo-Christian values. It is apparent that Islam is as inept at fostering merciful compassion as it is in creating fruitful economic conditions within the nations it controls.

Predictable unpredictability
Throughout this article, it has been emphasized that Islamics routinely do things that mystify non-Muslims. Perhaps, one of the major enigmas that the world is learning to associate with Islam is its predictable unpredictability. In Iraq, the Coalition forces liberated the Shiite Muslims to celebrate a holiday that had been forbidden under Saddam Hussein’s rule for 30 years. To the shock of all, the celebrations included anti-Coalition chants as well those attributing greatness to Allah. This is very different from the gratitude that was expressed by the Europeans when the Allied forces liberated them from Hitler’s regime. Another example is the ludicrous lies that were told by Iraq’s Minister of Information in 2003. He continually asserted that the Coalition forces were nowhere near Baghdad. In reality US soldiers were taking showers in Hussein’s palace several blocks away from the site where he conducted his interviews. During the 1,300 years since Mohammed appeared on the scene, the world has drastically changed. Technology records and transmits the statements of statesmen and the actions of the masses around the globe instantaneously via the Internet and televised broadcasts. This being the case duplicitous spokesmen are quickly exposed. Religions that spawn human rights infractions and riotous violence soon accumulate reputations that reflect their true colors. For Islam this means that it can no longer hide behind its academic’s claims that it is a progressive religion of peace and tolerance.

There are two ancient sayings that may help explain what causes many Muslims to react in unreasonable ways. The first is a prophetic utterance from the book of Genesis (Gen. 16:12). The Angel of the Lord told Hagar of her son, Ishmael (father of the Arabs), “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." This falls into line with the second, which is an Arabic proverb: "I against my brothers; I and my brothers against my cousins; I and my cousins against the world." It is my conviction that both are activated by the negative spiritual dynamics of Islam rather than a genetic curiosity resident in all Arabs. The Christian Arabs of America and the Middle East demonstrate no evidence of the prophecy’s and the proverb’s imprints on their lives. However, whenever Islam is embraced by any nationality, including Arabs, significant portions begin to demonstrate the bizarre behaviors indicative of the ancient sayings.

Fox News and some reports published in periodicals gave details about the psychological warfare that the Coalition forces used against the Iraqis. The Coalition understood that it was important to understand the psychology of Arabic speaking Muslims. Psy-Ops units wisely discerned that any group of men that would commit themselves to suicide to attain a paradise with scores of virgins and increased sexual strength would host numerous other earthly weaknesses.

Here are two curiosities that were uncovered. Pride compels them to demonstrate fierceness in battle by brandishing weapons and making boastful threats prior to any actual battle. Unlike the leaders of western nations, Islamic statesmen frequently brandish weapons and fire them in public. The masses respond with glee and fire their weapons, giving no thought to those in other vicinities that might be injured as the bullets fall from the sky. The Psy-Ops response to this quirk was ingenious. Leaflets were dropped that encouraged them with a way to save face and return home as war heroes. When the enemy comes make an initial charge and fire a few shots. Then lay down your weapons, discard your uniforms and go home. Another tactic was used for those that insisted on continuing the fight from hidden positions. Taped messages in Arabic would be broadcast from mobile units. These taunted the warriors with insinuations that there were rumors questioning the extent of their stamina in sexual exploits. Both worked. Thousands laid down their arms after firing a few shots and returned to their homes. Thousands of others blindly charged into target areas to vindicate the insults relating to their sexual capacities.

Conclusion
If you are a Muslim, I know that the contents of this article have been painful and perhaps infuriating. You know that the behaviors that have been cited are not rare occurrences. If you are residing in a Western democracy, you likely immigrated to escape the stifling influences endemic with Islamic regimes. I entreat you not to dismiss that which has been stated by rationalizing that every religion undergoes periods of unbecoming policies. Most religions have modified their former abusive excesses. This was done to keep pace with universally accepted standards that demand respect for every individual’s right to freedom of choice. Any spiritual discipline that habitually insults basic human dignities is at risk of falling into disfavor and becoming obsolete. The seeds one sows tend to reap multiplied crops of that which was sown. If we have been intolerant of others, vast numbers will be harsher with us.

Islam’s current reputation is deplorable to the global community. At this juncture, liberal France is concerned with the growth of Islamic fundamentalism. Its interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, is threatening to expel any foreign Muslim religious leader who disseminates extremist propaganda. Should this occur, it could eventually escalate to include every foreign Muslim. Historically, it has happened to other groups, and history does repeat itself. If France provides a precedent, other democracies could follow suit. Many want to be rid of elements that have proved to be subversive. Without question, the propensity of Islam to assert its will on non-Muslim populations is becoming increasingly disconcerting within numerous countries.

Muslim friend, this generation is confronting you with two choices. These could easily determine the destiny of your children. One is, unite with other concerned Muslims and demand that your clerics enact a reformation of Islam. This reformation must abolish every vestige of the abhorrent practices that are mentioned in this article. Only this can nullify that which the global community has learned to expect from Islam. The second choice is surely the wiser. You are likely Islamic by birth rather than choice. Liberate yourself and your descendants by finding a religion that bears evidence of the blessings of God. Christians are not perfect, and Christendom certainly has its problems. But, between Islam and Christianity, when it comes to objective evidence of God’s affirmation, Islam is overwhelmingly outweighed.

Finally, as you ponder these matters, there are questions that you must resolve. What is it about Islam that causes its adherents to engage in, or to routinely acquiesce to, practices that other religions find objectionable? Does the content of the Koran have a greater tendency to enhance people’s compassion for their fellow man or their inclination for barbarism? Is there any objective evidence that God endorses Islam more than any other religion? If you had not been born into a Muslim family, would the overall quality of life demonstrated by the world’s Muslim populations attract you to Islam?

Hopefully, you are willing to engage in an experiment that has transformed the lives of thousands of Muslims. Ask God the Father to reveal Jesus to you through the power of the Holy Spirit. An Egyptian who was the Amir of the Islamic terrorist group Gamma Islameyya did so. You can read his testimony in Abdullah Al Araby’s book, “Snatched from the Lion’s Jaws”. Jesus walked into his room, enshrouded in a glorious light, and declared, “I am He for whom you have been searching”. The man’s life was revolutionized. Yours can be too. It is something wonderful, why shouldn't you experience it?