What is Islam? What Do Muslims Believe?

An overview of the Islamic religion





***PREFACE***

At the outset of this article, I want to acknowledge that there are many Muslims in Muslim countries who would love to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. They want to know the peace and love of Christ. They live in the midst of terror, the terror of Sharia law. Many of them have heard the whispers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and want to know more, but it is hard to find information and one certainly does not ask around. Some are being saved, praise the Lord, by the blood of Jesus. But their salvation has come at a tremendous cost to themselves, sometimes their very lives. May God help the Muslim people and may God's people pray for them and care about them. If any Muslims viewing this page want to know how to have eternal life, please visit our How to Get to Heaven page or index page where there is a letter for you. Time is short, hell is real and today is the day of salvation--we are not promised tomorrow.

This page is a work in progress. In creating this page on Islam some years ago, at that time I drew very heavily from Robert Morey's book on this subject, "The Islamic Invasion: Confronting the World's Fastest Growing Religion" (published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR, 1992). I gleaned other information from my dealings with Muslims and from the internet. I am now revisiting this page and updating it at convenient seasons with titles, relative links, content, etc....





Strange, strange tenets Muhammad versus Jesus Black Muslim Movement The Quran vs. the Bible Marriage and Women Allah vs. God Militant and murderous aspects The Genies

***A DOUBLE STANDARD***

Muslims strongly critize Christians and say that the Lord Jesus Christ is not the Son of God (in this they do greatly err, for the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, and the ONLY means by which a man can be saved), YET they take personal offense at any criticism of Islam. They have tracts and apologetics against "Christianity," but they do not want anyone to examine their beliefs. In Muslim countries, any criticism of Muhammad or the Quran is viewed as a criminal offense punishable by death. Christians are considered infidels according to the Islamic religion. The Quran teaches that infidels convert to Islam or die. Read the section on this page entitled, "Why Muslims are so violent" for more information.

Mosques are popping up all over America, but how many churches are popping up in Muslim countries? How many Christians in the Sudan were killed at the hands of Muslims? How about in other parts of the world where Islam prevails? A search on the term, "Islam" at Voice of the Martyrs (www.persecution.com ) will give a sampling of stories illustrating the treatment of Christians in Muslim countries. Why are they freely allowed in "western countries" and allowed to build mosques and preach overthrow? Treasonous politicians (American and otherwise) have sold their peoples down the river and opened their borders to their nation's enemies (not just Islam). See, "Islam: What the West Needs to Know." (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-871902797772997781#) [Aside: Why have the governments of the world (not just America) turned on their own people? One needs to know THE MOTHER in order to understand what is happening. But she is a mystery (MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH, Rev 17:5), she has to be discovered to the Christian. None of the wicked shall understand (Dan 12:10). Our Deception Series, written for Christians, gives insight into what is happening into the world today.]

***SHARIA LAW***

Islam can have different faces. Islam in America is ostensibly much different from Islam in the Middle East. You may hear, "they are quiet, hard working people". That may be true; however, they are also in the minority and we still have police, guns, the national guard, the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, and nuclear weapons. So yes, they may seem quiet enough, but they are not in power and are unable to establish their Muslim Sharia law. Do an internet search on "horrors of Sharia law" and see what you get. Excerpt #1--

Desperate stakes for women under Sharia

Examiner Editorial

August 10, 2010 The cover of the Aug. 9 issue of Time Magazine shows a photo of Aisha, an 18-year-old Afghan woman whose nose and ears were cut off in 2009 under orders from a local Taliban commander as punishment for fleeing her husband's home . (Jodi Bieber, Institute for Time Magaizne/AP) It is impossible to view Time magazine's cover photograph of Aisha, an 18-year-old Afghan girl whose nose and ears were severed by her husband and brother-in-law on the order of a Taliban commander, without shuddering in recoil. Her "crime" was nothing more than fleeing the...home of in-laws who had beaten and enslaved her. That Aisha's only recourse in the face of such abuse was to run and hide is testimony to the reality that, in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world that Sharia law prevails, women are at best second-class citizens. Sharia is the vehicle by which the most oppressive tenets of extreme Islamic religion become the civil law of any society on which it is imposed. In many such places, daily life for women and girls remains today much as it was a millennium ago -- the unrelieved tedium, oppression and drudgery of chattel...

I once read that in one Muslim prison, 70% of the women in the prison were actually rape victims--under Sharia law, a rape victim is often considered an adultress. Excerpt #2--

On October 30, 2008, the United Nations condemned the stoning to death of Aisha Duhulowa, a 13-year-old girl who had been gang-raped and then sentenced to death by a Sharia court for fornication (Zina). She was screaming and begging for mercy, but when some family members attempted to intervene, shots were fired by the Islamic militia and a baby was killed. Local Sharia courts in Bangladesh regularly punish raped minor girls and women by flogging and beating them with shoes.[1] Similar cases of punishing raped women are Mina v. the State, Bibi v. the State and Bahadur v. the State.[2] Sharia courts in Pakistan have punished thousands of raped women by long term imprisonment. [3] You might think that such horrific barbarity cannot be the real Sharia law; that it is a misapplication of the law by ignorant clergy. Sadly, neither is true...

***WORLD CONQUEST***

Islam seeks to take over the entire world via violent conquest, but by no means is Islam the greatest threat to the world. One must look at MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH in order to see that sight.

See the Fitna movie (http://www.jihadwatch.org/2008/03/here-is-fitna.html) (about 17 minutes long) to see what the Quran has to say about violence, to see acts of terrorism, and to see undercover footage taken inside of a European mosque where revolt was being preached. The Quran teaches that infidels (unbelievers of Islam) either convert to Islam or die! "But not all Muslims feel that way," someone may say. Well Muslims must believe the Quran in order to be Muslims or else they are infidels and not Muslims. Yes, Muslims in America may seem peaceful, but their book is not peaceful and they cannot disagree with it or they are not Muslims, period.

Here is a timely article -- Islam comes to take over your country (includes agenda for Islamic world conquest and the deeply disturbing Muslim rape epidemic in Europe).

I'm going to let the Quran (Yusef Ali's translation [1]) and its prophet, Muhammad, speak for themselves. You can read this straight through or go to specific section. I highly suggest however that you first read "Muslims worship a culture..." which is the first item because it gives foundational information.

Islam and women.

Muhammad wrote in the Sura 4:3 that it is unlawful to have more than four wives, but he had more than four. Muslim scholar Ali Dashti lists 22 women in Muhammad's life, including 16 wives. It is said that he took his adopted son's wife, Zaynab, and made her his own. One wife, Aesha, was nine years old when he took her to bed. [An internet search on "Muslim child brides" shows that the Muslim practice of grown men marrying children continues and is causing problems in some host countries. The practice is considered pedophilia. One Muslim teacher said there is no minimum age for marriage but that Muhammad as the Muslim role model took his young wife at nine years old. One can read or hear a Muslim cleric say there are not hard and fast rule about when a man can take a girl to bed. On one internet audio once can hear an interview of sorts. The moderator relates the words of a Muslim teacher that a Muslim man can begin "sexually" enjoying his infant bride when she is less than a week old. The man being interviewed was obviously angry that this was mentioned and went on to defend this practice of a man interacting with an infant wife (less than one week old). He said, "She's a wife!" How could anyone not be grieved about this. He noted that the man was not having intercourse with the baby but doing other things. We call this pedophilia and it is probably a crime in most countries. [That baby is still supposed to be on her mother's breast. She is supposed to be loved, cherished, and nurtured. The idea of taking that baby who just came out of her mother's womb, who sleeps and eats and is trying to just get her life in the world and to put her in a bedroom situation is abominable. Taking babies and toddlers and marrying them off to grown men is unlike anything most of us could imagine.] When a Muslim man enters a non-Muslim host country like Britain and he takes a child bride, he is breaking the host country's law but he pays no heed to that, because he considers himself under another law--and Britian is apparently having this problem. The Muslim has not come to assimilate into his new country--but rather he has come as a colonist bringing his practices with him in defiance of whatever laws he may find.]

Female Muslims must be covered head to foot like Muhammad's women who needed it in the desert sun and sand.

Women are treated badly in Islam. Quran, Sura 4:34:

Men are the managers of the affairs of women...Those you fear may be rebellious--admonish; banish them to their couches and beat them .

Muslim women can be kept prisioners in their own homes and denied the right to go outside the house if the husband orders. On one section of truthtube.tv there is a deeply disturbing video of a young woman slashed with knife all over her body by her Muslim husband for talking with a male neighbor without a chaperone (http://www.truthtube.tv/play.php?vid=3365).

In Iran, women must carry written permission from their husbands to go outside the house. In Saudi Arabia, they are prohibited from driving a car. When some women in Saudia Arabia drove cars in the fall of 1990, they were castigated from every direction and admonished not to talk to Western reporters. One woman said, "The issue is not driving. It is that here in Saudi Arabia, I exist as a person from the bellybutton to the knees."

Some have said that the Bible degrades women. I'm not sure on what they base this assertion, but as a student of the word for almost two decades I know that that is a lie. God made us male and female with distinct responsibilities--one can even see that in the animal kingdom. I perceive that the lawless and rebellious are the ones who think that having children and rearing them is demeaning. That's why their children are wayward and rebellious like they are. What a pitiful existence trying to be just the opposite of what God says. These women are not succeeding in America, they are, as the Bible calls them, "silly women." I used to be one too before I got saved (many people in the world can see what whores American women are). What freedom I have found in Christ who forgave me of all my sins and transgressions and put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. I used to think being a Christian was about bondage, but that was a lie from the devil. It is ultimate freedom! He whom the Son (our precious Lord Jesus Christ) makes free is free indeed!

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Allah vs. God.

Islam claims that their god is the God of the Bible. Let's compare:





The Quran The Bible Allah is unknowable God is knowable Allah is nonpersonal God is personal Allah is not a spirit God is a Spirit Allah is not a Father, nor Jesus the Son of God God is the Father, Jesus Christ is his only begotten Son and the only means by which a man can be saved Allah can do anything with no limitations God cannot go against His immutable nature e.g. God cannot lie. Allah is capricious God is trustworthy Allah has no feelings towards man God loves man deeply Allah doesn't personally enter human history. God, the Son, became a man to bring about man's salvation. Allah provides no saviour or intecessor. You're on your own. No concept of grace. God provided a Saviour through his manifold grace and kindness and love. Jesus came to save.

It is clear to see that the God of the Bible is NOT the god of the Quran, Allah.

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. . . . . . . . . . .

http://answering-islam.org/Testimonies/index.html --Testimonies of former Muslims

http://www.chick.com/information/religions/islam/-- The Islam Information Center

if this page strengthens you faith in Islam, you may want to consider this --http://answering-islam.org/strengthened.html.

Why Muslims are so violent.

Sure, here in the west, they've tried to "Christianize" their beliefs and many of us gullibly believe that Muslims are a peace-loving people--but history, Muhammad, terrorism, and Jihad tell a different story. It is written in their law that Muslims must kill those that do not convert to Islam. Their leader, Muhammad made his fortune plundering and killing. Don't think it happens today? Looking at Algeria. Look at terrorism. Look at Khadafy, the Shaw of Iran, Sadaam Hussein, Arafat, the Sudan, etc. The word "assassin" came from a secret sect of Moslems who killed folks while supposedly high on hashish. Violence and Islam are good friends. In fact, DYING IN JIHAD IS THE ONLY WAY THAT A MUSLIM IS GUARANTEED TO GO TO HEAVEN. Do you think that this is an easy, inexpensive way to garner men for a suicidal fighting force? In the Sudan, Muslim fighters got to keep the spoils of the villages that they decimated. Do you think that is an easy, inexpensive way to garner thieves, thugs, criminals, and killers for your fighting force?

Why does it seem like they are always fighting and terrorizing people? Why is Islam so militant and overbearing? If we make a simple analysis of the foundation of this group, the answers will become very apparent. It all begins and ends with a man named Mohammad. The Hadith (another book of Islam) says that jihad (holy war or "exerting force" for Allah), is the second best thing to believing in Allah and his apostle (Muhammad).

Allah's apostle was asked, "What is the best deed?" He replied, "To believe in Allah and his Apostle." The questioner then asked, "What is the next?" He replied, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's cause." (Hadith vol. 1, no. 25).

The Hadith also says that Murderous Muslims could take the property of people they killed during a Jihad (there are different types of Jihad). In addition to killing infidels like Christians and Jews, Muslims are also commanded to kill anyone who leaves Islam (Hadith vol. 4, no. 260).

The Quran requires violence. Sura 9:5 says,

Fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every strategem of war.

Sura 5:33 records what is done to infidels who resist Islam:

Their punishment is...execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from the opposite sides, or exile from the land.

Muhammad also burned out eyes with hot irons (Hadith vol. 1, no. 234) and deprived people of water until they died (vol. 8, no. 796).

In Islamic countries one can be incarcerated and tortured without due process--this was all part of 7th century Arabia. The dictator could do whatever he wanted to. I read an article in the Washington Post about Sadaam Hussein's son. They said that he was a terror. One night he raped a woman and when she complained, he killed her. He did stuff like that all the time and one night he got shot up getting out of his car and was paralyzed.

There is a Muslim rape epidemic across the land. Read about it in this article. Islam comes into your country to take it over. Those mosques popping up are meeting places for colonists that come to take over your country, not to simply exercise their religion. The rape epidemic is not new. See the article, Muslim's rape children while crying "Allahu Akbar!" (god is great) which was published around 1998.

The following is an article from The Frontline Fellowship (http://www.frontline.org.za) that does extensive missionary work in the Sudan, a country where Muslims Muslims killed, plundered, and destroyed in the name of jihad. You can order their video "Sudan: The Hidden Holocaust" from their website. I saw a video of a nursing woman whose breast was cut off by Muslims. It included many other disturbing atrocities. Many African were sold into slavery to Muslims.

And don't think these things cannot happen in the United States! There is a video of Islamic terrorist training camps in the U.S.

JIHAD -- ISLAMIC HOLY WAR

" We shall export our revolution, to the whole world. Until the cry 'Allah Akbar' resounds over the whole world. There will be struggle. There will be Jihad . . . Islam is the religion of militant individuals . . . Islam will be victorious in all the countries of the world, and Islam and the teachings of the Quran will prevail all over the world . . . This is the duty that all Muslims must fulfil . . ."

These were the often repeated public pronouncements of the Ayatollah Khomeini after the revolution in Iran in 1979 ("The Blood of the Moon", by George Grant).

Nor was the Ayatollah alone in such militant threats. Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud declared: "We shall never call for or accept a negotiated peace. We shall only accept war - Jihad - the holy war. We resolve to drench the lands of Palestine and Arabia with the blood of the infidels or to accept martyrdom for the glory of Allah".

The President of Sudan, Lt. Gen. Al Bashir, has often spoken of Jihad. At the 40th anniversary of Sudan's independence, Al Bashir celebrated the spirit of Jihad which was engulfing the people of Sudan. The head of Sudan's ruling party, the National Islamic Front (NIF), Dr. Al Turabi, has often declared his goal of an Islamic empire controlling (initially) the horn of Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan). This he calls the Grand Islamic Project.

At a two week conference of Muslim leaders from 80 countries, hosted by Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli, Libya (October 1995), strategies to transform Africa into an Islamic continent were discussed. Participants openly admitted that their goals were to make Arabic the primary language of the continent and Islam the official religion. One SA member of parliament, Farouk Cassim declared: "It will probably be the biggest revolution to sweep Africa." Head of the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI), Yousuf Deedat, announced afterwards that South Africa was high on the agenda of the Islamic offensive: "We are going to turn South Africa into a Muslim state. We have the money to do it," (Sunday Times 22/10/95). At present less than 2 percent of South Africans are Muslims.

What few Westerners understand, however, is that those Muslim leaders who call for the overthrow of all governments and the establishment of an Islamic superstate controlling all aspects of life for every person on earth are not extremists on the fringe of Islam. Actually, Jihad, the subjugation and forcible conversion of all people to Islam and world domination are central tenants of Islam. Jihad is ranked by many Muslims as the sixth pillar of Islam.

Jihad was so important to the founder of Islam, Muhammad, that he declared it to be the second most important deed in Islam.

"Allah's apostle was asked, 'What is the best deed?' He replied, 'To believe in Allah and his Apostle.' The questioner then asked, 'What is the next (in goodness)?' He replied, 'To participate in Jihad (religious fighting) in Allah's cause.'" -- The Hadith, Al Bukhari, Vol. 1 no 25.

Muslims, in fact, divide the world into two sectors: Dar-al-Islam (the House of Islam) and Dar-al-Harb (The House of War). The only countries considered to be at peace are those where Islamic law (the Sharia) is enforced.

Islam in Arabic means submission, surrender or subjugation. A Muslim is one who submits. The Arabic word for peace is Salam. Islam is the active form of Salam. Muslims see themselves as a "peace making force" using argument, intrigue, commerce, threats, terrorism, warfare and every other means possible to secure Islam as the only religion worldwide.

Muslims are not permitted to make peace with a non-Muslim country until its inhabitants surrender to Islam. They can agree to a cease fire for a period of time -- but never to peace with non Muslims.

The Quran teaches that Muslims are superior to others: "Ye (Muslims) are the best of peoples evolved for mankind . . ." Surah 3:110.

Muslims are forbidden to befriend Jews or Christians: "O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors. They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is one of them . . ." Surah 5:54.

Islam instructs its adherents to fight until their opponents submit. Christians and Jews may be spared if they pay "Jizya" -- a penalty tax -- with willing submission: "Fight those who believe not in God nor the last day . . . Nor acknowledge the religion of truth, (even if they are) of the people of the Book, until they pay Jizya (tribute taxes) with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued" Surah 9:29.

"Fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait (ambush) for them in every strategem (of war) . . ." Surah 9:5 (also 2:193).

For those who resist Islam -- execution or mutilation is decreed: "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His apostle, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution or crucifixion, or the cutting off of the hands and feet from opposite sides or exile from the land . . ." Surah 5:36.

The Hadith, which is a record of the words and deeds of Muhammad, is also viewed by Muslims as inspired. Next to the Quran, it is the most important source of Islamic Law. It's teachings are regarded as binding on all Muslims.

The Hadith teaches that apostasy is punishable by death: "Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him." Vol. 9:57.

A Muslim may not be punished for killing a non-Muslim: "No Muslim should be killed for killing a kafir (infidel)." Vol 9:50

Those who die in holy war are guaranteed to go to Heaven. "The person who participates in Jihad (Holy battles) in Allah's cause and nothing compels him to do so except belief in Allah and His apostle, will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward or booty (if he survives) or will be admitted to paradise (if he is killed)." Vol 1:35

It may be hard for Christians to understand the concept of such a militant religion, but the primary aim of Islam is not spiritual but political. The ultimate purpose of Islam is the establishment by force of a worldwide Islamic state where Sharia law is enforced on all.

To achieve this is the goal of Jihad. Islamic scholars identify a multitude of forms that Jihad can take:

1. There is the Jihad of Words. Muhammad was a brilliant and gifted orator silencing his enemies in a war of words. In Arab culture it was customary for feuding tribes to select a poet to mock and provoke the opposing forces with spontaneous verses of cursing. These linguistic warriors engaged in verbal combat seeking to inspire their own side with a sense of superiority and strength whilst undermining the morale of the enemy. This war of words, which Muslim leaders today such as Gaddaffi, Saddam Hussein and Yassar Arafat still engage in, is actually a war of nerves. 2. There is the Jihad of Deception. When Muslims are small in number they can follow the example of Muhammad's 83 followers who fled from persecution in Mecca to Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia). There the Christian Negus (king) offered them refuge. When the Meccans demanded their return as slaves, the Muslim exiles declared that Islam was merely a variation of Christianity. The Muslims selectively recited those passages of the Quran that agree with the Bible such as the virgin birth and miracles of Jesus and His ascension to Heaven and ultimate return. They remained silent on the unbridgeable differences (such as the denial of the Trinity and the atonement) between the Quran and the Bible. As a result the Christian Abyssinians protected the Muslims from the Meccans. In this way, when it was most vulnerable, Islam grew and developed in a Christian environment. (If we only demonstrate our Christian love without proclaiming the truth of the Gospel we could strengthen anti-Christian forces). Muhammad compromised with the Meccan merchants during a particularly intense time of persecution. Formerly he had fearlessly condemned polytheism. Then, under pressure, he accepted the Meccan belief that Allah had a wife, Al-lat, and two daughters, Al Uzzo and Manat (Surah 53:20-23). Later Muhammad repudiated these so called Satanic Verses and claimed that all previous prophets had been tempted by demonic influence. 3. There is the Jihad of the Sword. After fleeing to Medina (the Hijra) in AD622, Muhammad started to summon his followers to attack and plunder the caravans of Mecca. His followers initially resisted these calls until Muhammad presented a series of "revelations" commanding Jihad (holy war) and permitting looting ("Whoever has killed an enemy and has proof of that, will possess his spoils" -- The Hadith, Vol. 4 no. 370). Where the booty was not large enough, Muhammad held captives as hostages until their families paid a high ransom for their release. Hostage taking has continued to be a common practise in Islam to this day. Those who participate in Jihad are granted a blanket absolution (Surah 8:17) and guaranteed to go straight to Paradise (Heaven) if killed. 4. There is the Jihad of Taxation and Financial Reward. Those who refuse to submit to Islam are forced to pay a special tax for non- Muslims (Jizya). Those who convert to Islam are often offered financial rewards or scholarships. 5. There is the Jihad of Slavery. Those Muslims who engage in Jihad not only can seize property, extort ransoms and demand taxes, but also capture slaves. The only places in the world today where slavery is still practised are in some Muslim countries. In Sudan, the Islamic government uses slavery as an incentive to encourage Arab Northerners to attack the Christian Blacks in the South, and as a weapon of terror to destabilize non-Muslims. According to the Sharia Law, Muslims are allowed to enslave, own and sell human beings. 6. There is the Jihad of the Sharia Law. Non-Muslims are degraded to a lower class status and are denied equal access to the law because their testimony is not valid against a Muslim. This even applies to murder ("No Muslim should be killed for killing an infidel"). The death penalty is applied to anyone who renounces Islam and converts to another religion. When the wealthy Bedouins of Arabia professed faith in Allah to escape attack, Muhammad did not accept their confession. ("The desert Arabs say 'We believe'. Say, 'Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say 'We have submitted.'" Surah 49:14) Islam does not place much value on personal faith, but demands surrender to the political rule of the Sharia. It is significant that the calendar of Islam does not begin with the birth of Muhammad, nor the onset of his supposed "revelation", nor the assembling of the first Muslim community, nor the flight of Muslim refugees to Abyssinia. The 12 years of persecution in Mecca were not considered the start of their new religion. The Muslim calendar only begins when Islam became a political state in Medina. 7. There is the Jihad of Polygamy. The devastating defeat of the Muslim forces by the Meccans in the battle of Uhud (AD625) led to what could be considered one of Islam's greatest victories. So many of his men were killed that Muhammad permitted his men to take up to 4 wives (Surah 4:3, 4). With the advent of Western medicine, infant mortality has plummeted. And the Muslim birthrate has skyrocketed. Muslims are increasing in number twice as fast as other religions. This is due to birth control and abortion in Western lands and polygamy in Muslim lands. Muslims are not increasing much by missionary outreaches, but by having many children. Polygamy (rather than persuasion) has become one of Islam's most effective weapons for Holy War, providing Islam with a disproportionate numerical advantage. 8. There is the Jihad of the Spirits. According to the Quran, Muslims are not only men and women but also spirits who fight for the spread of Islam (Surah 46:29-33 and 72:1-15). Also a Muslim is to fight on Muhammad's behalf both in his life and after his death (Hadith Vol. 1 chapter 43).

How we chose to respond, in prayer, publications, proclamation, projects and persistent vigilance will determine much of the course of history in the coming 21st century.

Peter Hammond

This is an excerpt from an email I received--

As more details emerge surrounding the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl, it seems increasingly likely that the object of the kidnapping wasn't demands or ransom but the murder of Danny Pearl himself. Pearl was ordered to tell the camera he was "a Jew. My mother was a Jew," he reportedly said just before his murder. Pearl's kidnapping-murder involved at least 15 conspirators, according to Pakistani police investigators. Danny Pearl was chosen to be slaughtered because he was a Jew. The demands made at the time of his kidnapping were, by design, impossible - they gave a 24-hour deadline with no negotiation and it is believed that Pearl was murdered on schedule. The gory details of Pearl's videotaped murder are evidence of the maniacal hatred of his murderers. According to reports in the major media, Pearl is shown mumbling some obvious propaganda statement about Americans being unable to "walk around free" as long as our government's policies of "unconditional support of Israel" continue. After admitting his crime: "I am a Jew. My mother was a Jew," a hand appears and cuts his throat. The rest of the description is not for the squeamish. You may want to skip over the next paragraph. After Pearl's throat is cut, his head is severed and held aloft by a hand in front of the camera. The tape cuts to his murderers repeatedly stabbing his lifeless corpse. The scene cuts to Pearl's head lying on a pile of newspapers as a message scrolls across the screen: "If our demands aren't met, there will be more like this." Those "demands" included releasing the al-Qaida prisoners from Cuba and delivering fighter jets to Pakistan. The only thing they left out was a demand we publicly execute President Bush in the Rose Garden. They had no intention of ever releasing Danny Pearl. Ever. Danny Pearl was a Jew. Israel is hated with a visceral, bone-deep hatred impossible for most modern Christians to comprehend. This week, a 15-year-old Palestinian girl charged a group of Israeli soldiers with a knife. The soldiers shot her dead. At her home was a suicide note, proclaiming her intention to become a martyr. Her unknowing father said when he found out what she had done that he was "proud" of her. How can anyone comprehend hatred that deep?

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Throwing stones at the Devil.