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MUSLIMS: When knowledge is bliss

| September 24, 2010 10:00 PM

Ignorance is defined as, "Not knowing or illiterate." In the Sept. 19 "Readers Write" section, Daniel Connacher gave a heartfelt and passionate appeal to the Christian community to pick a month of international mourning "and go to every Muslim mosque and soak the steps with tears and beg forgiveness for what was done to them from 1099 to the present." Jesus would agree with much of what Mr. Connacher said and Jesus would have disagreed with the crusades. Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you might be sons of your Father in heaven." (Mt. 5:43-44)

It's interesting that the Muslim conquests get little negative attention - maybe because the west fears that we might sound intolerant. Still, real history is fair and balanced. From the mid-7th to the 10th century, half of the Christian world was conquered by Muslim armies - countries in which Christianity had been established for centuries. According to Mr. Connacher, unlike the crusader armies, Saladin the Muslim leader chose mercy rather than put the Christians to the knife. What did Muslim mercy look like "Convert to Islam and you won't have to pay the tithe, (These were the most dire economic times) and by the way, we will let you live."

That pretty much identified the real Christians because they gave their lives for their beliefs. Conquered nations in Asia and Europe quickly opted for conversion to Islam rather than death. But in India because of their 4,000-year-old Hindu faith, they would not succumb. After the conquest of Afghanistan in 1000 A.D. the annihilation of the entire Hindu population began. In 1399, Teimur alone killed 100,000 Hindus in a single day. Professor K.S. Lal's "Growth of Muslim population in India" writes, "According to his calculations the Hindu population decreased by 80 million between the year 1000 and 1525. (The biggest Holocaust in the whole of world history).

What takes place first hatred, or ignorance? In Islam, pure illiteracy is divine. Mohammad called himself, "A guardian of the illiterates sent by Allah, (Bukhari 3:34:335). Another Hadith (Sunaan Ibn Majah V:4290) reveals that Allah loves illiterate people and hates educated people and he had promised the first entry to paradise to the illiterate Muslims and last entry to the educated Muslim. The reason was simple. Muhammad needed to keep his followers away from education because he knew that his newly established religion could not survive if criticism is allowed. (Qur'an 5:101, 5:102) strictly prohibits criticism. Mohammad needed to keep his followers in the darkness of ignorance, because reason is the greatest enemy of Islam.

Much wrong has been perpetrated on mankind by both Christianity and Islam - people believing they are following God's lead. Man's wisdom not God's. Jesus said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Mohammad says, "Kill the disbeliever wherever you find them (Sura 2: 191). There is an ignorance greater than the hatred which Mr. Connacher addresses - the ignorance which reveals we don't know who God really is. If we did we would act as he did. (1 John 2:6) Jesus told one of the disciples "If you have seen me you have seen the Father." Read any of the Gospels in the New Testament and write down all the things you don't like about Jesus and his treatment of hurting people. It will be a short list because this is what God is like.

BOB HOLLIDAY

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