Replies to our readers about...

  

.....terrorism and Islam (Submission)

[Quran 7:28] They commit a gross sin, then say,
"We found our parents doing this, and GOD
has commanded us to do it." Say,
"GOD never advocates sin.
Are you saying about GOD
what you do not know?"

 

A prayer sent by one of our web site visitors

Psalm 5:

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.

2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning
I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell.

5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.

6 You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men
the LORD abhors.

7 But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.

8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies--make straight your way before me.

9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.

10 Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Here are some comments, questions and replies to our article about Terrorism and Islam:

<< I have a simple question:

Is it true that holy warriors or whatever they may be called, go to paradise and get four women to serve them? and where does it say so?

Thank you

Greetings from N, R & A Sch

Peace, Shalom Salaam,

No it is not true. However some corrupt leaders may teach the wrong Islam promising what they cannot find in the Quran by using the man-made books (see the reply below).

All the description in the Quran of Heaven is allegorical. In Heaven we would be souls , not physical bodies (that can be male or female.) This kind of sex distinction is not needed for the souls in the different kind of life we would have then.

Here is a reply we sent today to someone with questions that may help you understand the issue.

--------------------------------

Peace Dave;

<< First, since these terrorists seem to consider themselves good Muslims, how do they justify to themselves what they are doing? It cannot be that they are simply unaware of the scriptures your reference. >>

You are right but I sincerely believe that they do not know the essence of the scripture.

(1) Most of these people believe they are born Muslims and that they do not need to do any more to be religious. This is not the case when you understand Islam. Repeatedly, in the Quran God commands the Muslims to study and ponder on the Quran continuously without depending on the scholars to do this for them. Many of the Muslim scholars have corrupt understanding of the Quran (as will be explained in number (2), and will corrupt the minds of these young Muslims. For example, the Quran tell the Muslims, "those who die in the cause of God will go to Heaven." From here, one scholars is all that is needed to convince a group of young people that killing other people (who happened to be different, socially, politically and religiously) is in the cause of God. He, the scholar, out of stupidity and misguidance, would ignore all the other verses that tell him not to kill or commit injustice and take the verse out of context. Many verses can be taken out of context and abused.  God warn all the readers of the Quran from taking part of the Quran while ignoring other parts. 15:91. The law of the Quran is ONLY complete by putting all the pieces together. When one verse calls on the Muslims to fight those who fight them or oppress them, the other verses explain to them the rules for that, including resorting to peace as a better alternative...etc. You cannot break the law into pieces that suit your wishes.

My children asked me, "daddy, what is dying in the cause of God?". Good examples, the firefighters, police officers and volunteers who lost their lives trying to save the victims. Doctors who go to epidemic areas to treat sick or poor people, and catch the disease and die. Volunteers who travel to far away land to help the needy and die in their way or during their strife. Intellectuals who stand for the truth and get killed for their views,....etc.

(2) The biggest disaster in the Islamic world has been the fact that the majority of these Muslims, resort to other books beside the Quran to run their religious life. These books are called Hadiths and Sunna. These are man-made books written about 200 years after the prophet Muhammed's death claiming to be his teachings. They are innovations and lies that harbor all the ignorance and hatred to the human race.

Prophet Muhammed himself told them not to write any other books but the Quran, they did not listen except for the first 200 years. In these books the scholars find all the reasons to kill anyone and oppress anyone. They use these books to cancel the clear verses in the Quran that order them to be Just and peaceful. For example , Quran declares,

"There shall be no compulsion in religion" 2:256,  but the Hadiths books cancel this major Quranic law.

Praise be to God, the same Muslims who are ignorant with the Quran are also ignorant of many bad teachings in these "Hadith and Sunna" books and act on behalf of the good teachings they hear. The disaster hits when a corrupted leader or a scholar or two start teachings young group of Muslims the inhumane and bad teachings in these books and convince them. Of course these Hadiths and Sunna books have some good teachings but the corruptions in them is vast, and the order in the Quran is NOT to follow any other religious books other than the Quran. 6:114.

In these hadith books they can find anything they want, killing burning, abusing, injustice...etc. We call them Satanic, and our web site has been exposing their fallacy for years.

Again, these false teachings found in these books are usually ignored by the majority of Muslims as Quran clearly contradicts them. BUT, they are a good source of corruption for those who want to corrupt any mind, especially young people's minds. The corrupt scholars invoke them when faced with a situation they do not like or cannot handle.

People with political or personal desire for destruction, e.g. Ben Laden can easily use corrupt scholars to preach the wrong Islam using these books to build their misguided followers who would do anything.

The majority of Muslims will hate to hear that the books of Hadith and Sunna are corrupt and refuse to see the clear evidence in these books. Facts speak for that and we have exposed many of these corruption on our web site.

<< Second, if terrorism is clearly considered evil by the majority of the Islamic world, why do suicide bombers and other similar people have such clear support there, both financial and public?>>

It is very easy to brain wash a society like the ones in the Middle East. There is no freedom of expression, freedom of press or freedom of choice which is totally against the Quran. The people who live there only hear the views their governments or corrupt scholars want them to hear.

In these countries the fundamentalist movement (wrong name since they are not really fundamental, they are not following the fundamentals of true Islam), which depend on their teachings on the corrupted books I pointed to, prevail among the poor and uneducated (majority of these countries).

These people are so ignorant, their governments do not even teach them that most of the food supply they get are donations from the USA and the same people killed in the latest terrorists attack.

Until these people learn the true spirit of Islam, they will not understand the corruptions preached to them by their scholars and leaders and they will continue to make the same mistakes.

How to educate them, is another story.

From: S-ani@.com
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 13:16:56 EDT
Subject: Thank You
To: info@submission.org

Hi There

Thank you for such a wonderful and informative web site. It is so hard to put things in perspective after the tragedy on Tuesday. I am a Christian and and know very little about Islam. Your website will help me understand things much better. During such tragedies, people are often misguided. They react with emotion and ego rather than sober thought.

I pray that no harm will come to you and your Muslim brothers and sisters. I will try to educate all the ignorant, so more will understand.

We are all God's children.

God Bless

M S

To: DCRounds@?? and CC: Jwtgolf@??

Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 10:01:12

Peace, Salaam, Shalom,

The verses are from the Quran but they are poorly translated and quoted out of context to distort its meaning. I will go over them one by one.

What you did is like taking for example George Bush's speech and quote the sentence where he threatens the terrorists with war that will destroy them but deliberately delete the part where he put the blame on them for what they did in NY and DC.

<<"....Kill those who join other gods with Allah wherever you find them; besiege them, seize them, lay in wait for them with every kind of ambush...." (Sura 9:5) >>

The better and more accurate translation, (Dr. Khalifa's translation)

[9:5] Once the Sacred Months are past, (and they refuse to make peace) you may kill the idol worshipers when you encounter them, punish them, and resist every move they make. If they repent and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and give the obligatory charity (Zakat), you shall let them go. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.

This verse is totally taken out of context. The sura (Chapter) is talking about a cease fire status during four sacred months that God orders everyone to observe to stop any war actions and allow peaceful times to continue in the hope such time will bring better understanding, negotiation towards peace and end to the war. In this verse, 9:5 , God is telling the Muslims, after the cease fire is over and if the enemies are not making peace, (you will have no choice), you will have to fight them. A war is a war, not a joke where people get killed, not massaged.

The verse after this shows one of the greatest principles in modern day prisoners of war treaties.

[9:6] If one of the idol worshipers sought safe passage with you, you shall grant him safe passage, so that he can hear the word of GOD, then send him back to his place of security. That is because they are people who do not know.

<< "When you encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads, until ye have made a great slaughter among them...." (Sura 47:4) >>

The better and more accurate translation, (Dr. Khalifa's translation)

[ 47:4] If you encounter (in war) those who disbelieve, you may strike the necks. If you take them as captives you may set them free or ransom them, until the war ends. …..

Again this is an allegorical expression of destroying the enemy. You do not give your enemy a hug during the war when he is aiming at killing you. At this time, for example USA will not be striking the necks, per se , they will use every force possible to kill and destroy the terrorists, the enemies. This is the same principle that most American citizens are calling for now.

<<"....Make war upon such of those to whom the Scriptures have been given as believe not in Allah, or in the Last Day, and who forbid not what Allah and His Apostle have forbidden....until they pay tribute..." (Sura 9:29) >>

The better and more accurate translation, (Dr. Khalifa's translation)

[9:29] You shall fight back against those who do not believe in GOD, nor in the Last Day, nor do they prohibit what GOD and His messenger have prohibited, nor do they abide by the religion of truth - among those who received the scripture - until they pay the due tax, willingly or unwillingly.

Again this is in self defense. Fighting the oppressors to maintain the freedom of choice and belief in the land. This verse cannot be taken by itself without understanding the basic rules of war or fighting in the Quran, specially 2:190 and 60:8-9. The tax system is not different than the IRS in USA. You have to pay your tax, willingly or unwillingly. If you do not pay you get punished.

[2:190] You may fight in the cause of GOD against those who attack you, but do not aggress. GOD does not love the aggressors.

[60:8] GOD does not enjoin you from befriending those who do not fight you because of religion, and do not evict you from your homes. You may befriend them and be equitable towards them. GOD loves the equitable.

[60:9] GOD enjoins you only from befriending those who fight you because of religion, evict you from your homes, and band together with others to banish you. You shall not befriend them. …

<< "Say to the infidels: If they desist, what is now past shall be forgiven them; but if they return, they have already before them the doom of the ancients! Fight then against them till strife be at an end, and the religion be all of it Allah's." (Sura 8:39) >>

The better and more accurate translation, (Dr. Khalifa's translation)

[8:38] Tell those who disbelieved: if they stop, all their past will be forgiven. But if they return, they will incur the same fate as their previous counterparts.

[8:39] You shall fight them to ward off oppression, and to practice your religion devoted to GOD alone. If they refrain from aggression, then GOD is fully Seer of everything they do.

<<"Proclaim a grievious penalty to those who reject faith." (Sura 9:3). >>

The better and more accurate translation, (Dr. Khalifa's translation)

[9:3] A proclamation is herein issued from GOD and His messenger to all the people on the great day of pilgrimage, that GOD has disowned the idol worshipers, and so did His messenger. Thus, if you repent, it would be better for you. But if you turn away, then know that you can never escape from GOD. Promise those who disbelieve a painful retribution.

<< "I will instil terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: Smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them." (Sura 8.12) >>

The better and more accurate translation, (Dr. Khalifa's translation)

[8:12] Recall that your Lord inspired the angels: "I am with you; so support those who believed. I will throw terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved. You may strike them above the necks, and you may strike even every finger."

Again these are allegorical expressions, which means when you fight a war against the enemy you should use all your resources, and God will support those on the right path, in our days, air strikes, ground troops, navy, marine, …etc. are just examples of what striking above the neck and every finger means That is exactly what USA will do, God willing to the terrorists. You do not believe that a modern day missile will save the necks or the finger tips or finger prints of the enemy. ??

<<"Let not the unbelievers think they will ever get away... strike terror into the enemy of God and your enemy... rouse the faithful to arms!" (Sura 8:59)>>

The better and more accurate translation, (Dr. Khalifa's translation)

[8:59] Let not those who disbelieve think that they can get away with it; they can never escape.

[8:60] You shall prepare for them all the power you can muster, and all the equipment you can mobilize, that you may frighten the enemies of GOD, your enemies, as well as others who are not known to you; GOD knows them. Whatever you spend in the cause of GOD will be repaid to you generously, without the least injustice.

[8:61] If they resort to peace, so shall you, and put your trust in GOD. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.

As you can see the principles in these verse, are the ones uphold by the USA and its congress. USA prepares all the power it can master to frighten its enemies and to be able to establish peace on earth. Nothing in these verses is calling on the people to be the aggressors.

8:61 summarizes the general attitude in Islam, the true Islam.

I hope this will help you to understand the current issue better.

To: <seattlite@?.net>

Subject: you make very interesting selections to quote...here are a few more.....

Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 10:08:49 +0200

Peace.

The Quran is a scripture that has to be read from cover to cover. To take out one or two verses and draw a definite conclusion, without considering other verses about the same subject, is as successful as only applying half of a bread recipe, missing the part that reads to add water.

You cite 8:12 and 2:216 as support for your preconceived and wrong idea that Islam is a religion which condones terrorism. This is as far from the truth as it possibly can be. God condemns any kind of aggression and oppression in the Quran, and decrees absolute freedom of religion for all (2:190,191, 2:256). But you must understand one thing. If a believer is attacked, that believer has every right to defend himself and his family from the aggressor.

The verse 8:12 which you cite to prove your case is a a reassurance of support from God to the believers when attacked in a war situation. Did you choose to disregard this fact when presented this verse or where you perhaps unaware of the context of this verse?

<<Sahih Muslim, 217: "Verily Allah has prescribed proficiency in all things. Thus if you kill, KILL WELL, & if you slaughter, SLAUGHTER WELL. Let each one of you sharpen his blade." >>

You also cite Sahih Muslim, which is an innovation attributed to Islam. There are actually tons of these nonsensical sources and books which are called Hadith and Sunna. These books have absolutely nothing to do with Islam as preached by the Quran. They are nothing more than hearsay gathered across eight generations and written down some 200 years after Muhammad’s death. The absolute majority of these Satanic teachings directly oppose the teachings of the Quran. It is in these books that the very bad examples of people who claim to follow Islam find their support. Please make a serious note of this facts.

The fabricated accounts you refer to, suggesting that prophet Muhammad should have aggressed and imposed on others the religion of Islam would mean that Muhammad was a disbeliever in the scripture he preached, since such a behavior would directly go against so many of the laws in the Quran!?

You say: <<Mohammed has clearly stated in the Koran that God has instructed him and all pious Muslims to loot, pillage, plunder, rape, torture and murder innocent human beings, in order to further the interests of Islam.>>

This is an outright lie. We must give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you’ve never actually read the Quran, and thus have been deceived to represent such a statement. If you would read the Quran, you would realize that the source of the fabrication you are citing is not the Quran.

We cite the following verses from the Quran to you, if you are interested in what kind of behavior the Quran decrees for God's worshippers.

[25:63] The worshipers of the Most Gracious are those who tread the earth gently, and when the ignorant speak to them, they only utter peace.

[16:125] You shall invite to the path of your Lord with wisdom and kind enlightenment, and debate with them in the best possible manner. Your Lord knows best who has strayed from His path, and He knows best who are the guided ones.

[2:256] There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in GOD has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. GOD is Hearer, Omniscient.

[5:32] Because of this, we decreed for the Children of Israel that anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people. And anyone who spares a life, it shall be as if he spared the lives of all the people. Our messengers went to them with clear proofs and revelations, but most of them, after all this, are still transgressing.

[4:114] There is nothing good about their private conferences, except for those who advocate charity, or righteous works, or making peace among the people. Anyone who does this, in response to GOD's teachings, we will grant him a great recompense.

[8:61] If they resort to peace, so shall you, and put your trust in GOD. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.

The Quran teaches us that we must fulfill three criteria, REGARDLESS of what we call our religion, to make it back to Him.

[2:62] Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.

God also teaches us that we have no excuse not to be friends with and be equitable towards people of other faiths, as long as they do not fight us because of our belief.

[60:8] GOD does not enjoin you from befriending those who do not fight you because of religion, and do not evict you from your homes. You may befriend them and be equitable towards them. GOD loves the equitable.

[60:9] GOD enjoins you only from befriending those who fight you because of religion, evict you from your homes, and band together with others to banish you. You shall not befriend them. Those who befriend them are the transgressors.

<< September 11th, 2001, the day the examination of Islam by the world begins. >>

We certainly hope so. We hope that the discussion will be raised, and that people will realize that what these terrorists and disbelievers represent is not Islam at all, but in fact are enemies of God.

<< I will personally see that your religion is exposed for what it really is, a license to kill, and your writings exposed as a textbook for insanity. >>

We can fully understand your frustration and anger witnessing such evil behavior as was carried out against innocent people on the 11th of September. But, we hope that you will use your newfound knowledge and realize that in order to serve as a good and righteous example, you need to recognize that Islam is not what is represented by these misguided individuals. Islam is the message of God in the Quran, a message that condemns aggression, oppression and taking the lives of innocent people.

<< Perhaps you should look deeper into that which you believe and take a good look at those who stand beside you. >>

These people do not stand beside us. In fact, they will attack people who cite the Quranic truths to them, as it exposes their hypocritical agenda.

We hope this message has been enlightening to you, and that you can use your newfound knowledge to build bridges and work for a peaceful understanding between people who believe in God, instead of playing into the hands of these misguided individuals, and continue to increase the wedge of ignorance and hate that they so much likes to see.

God bless you!

From: RMK@?.com
Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 21:05:23 EDT
Subject: An observation...
To: info@submission.org

I read your section on "Terrorism and Islam", and found it delightfully pacifist and in refreshing contradiction to the recent terrorist acts in New York and Washington. I was particularly impressed with the quote regarding the Children of Israel and the treatment of those who commit murder or horrendous crimes. You quoted as follows:

[5:32] "......, we decreed for the Children of Israel that anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people. And anyone who spares a life, it shall be as if he spared the lives of all the people. .............."

However, I then looked up the entire verse in online translation, and found something quite different.

5.32: For this reason did We prescribe to the children of Israel that whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men; and certainly Our apostles came to them with clear arguments, but even after that many of them certainly act extravagantly in the land.

5.33: The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His apostle and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement,

5.34: Except those who repent before you have them in your power; so know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Do you see? The very verse you cite, in its fuller context, clearly advocates murder/ crucifixion/ physical punishment for those who wage war against Allah and his Prophet. No doubt, those who flew hundreds of innocents to their death yesterday, killing thousands of other innocents in the three buildings, could have and would have used the exact same passage as their justification!!!! It is not a passage of pacifism, but of violence. Even the smaller portion you cite (out of context, I might add), regards a punishment against the Children of Israel, in a proscribed, dictated fashion.

I must say, the violence in this quote alone is so obvious that I begin to think you are being purposely deceptive to us, or perhaps self-deceiving to yourself.

I have not looked up any of the other verses yet, but I will, time permitting. In the meantime, please reply.

REPLY:

Peace be upon you!

<< The very verse you cite (5:33), in its fuller context, clearly advocates murder/ crucifixion/ physical punishment for those who wage war against Allah and his Prophet. >>

The complete verse is as follows:

[5:33] The just retribution for those who fight GOD and His messenger, and commit horrendous crimes, is to be killed, or crucified, or to have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or to be banished from the land. This is to humiliate them in this life, then they suffer a far worse retribution in the Hereafter.

So what does this mean?

Let's start by looking at the portion "people that fight against God and His messenger", and see what this means. Fighting against God and His messenger does not mean practicing a religion different from Islam. God teaches us this in several verses in the Quran. Here are a few:

[2:62] Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.

[2:256] There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in GOD has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. GOD is Hearer, Omniscient.

"Fighting against God and His messenger" doesn't mean leading a life-style which is not approved by the Quran either. People have to be free to do what they want, as long as they do not hurt other people of course. We learn this from several verses in the Quran. Here are a few:

[25:63] The worshipers of the Most Gracious are those who tread the earth gently, and when the ignorant speak to them, they only utter peace.

[60:8-9] GOD does not enjoin you from befriending those who do not fight you because of religion, and do not evict you from your homes. You may befriend them and be equitable towards them. GOD loves the equitable. GOD enjoins you only from befriending those who fight you because of religion, evict you from your homes, and band together with others to banish you. You shall not befriend them. Those who befriend them are the transgressors.

[18:29] Proclaim: "This is the truth from your Lord," then whoever wills let him believe, and whoever wills let him disbelieve. We have prepared for the transgressors a fire that will completely surround them. When they scream for help, they will be given a liquid like concentrated acid that scalds the faces. What a miserable drink! What a miserable destiny!

[4:114] There is nothing good about their private conferences, except for those who advocate charity, or righteous works, or making peace among the people. Anyone who does this, in response to GOD's teachings, we will grant him a great recompense.

Now, let us look at the second portion of this statement, "those who commit horrendous crimes." So what is horrendous, unspeakable, and horrific crimes? Shouldn't we be justified in invoking the death penalty for those who commit these crimes in our society?

For example, people that like to rape and murder children, people that kidnap children from their parents and use them to prostitute them, people that kill for money and people that kill other innocent people as we see in this case of terrorism...etc

Certainly there are crimes for which it is justifiable to invoke the death penalty. The statement "be killed, OR crucified, OR to have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, OR to be banished from the land." is a statement of facts to what could befall them because of their transgression. The verse is not stated as an order to inflict such punishment as in this description but rather as a statement to make the transgressors aware that a big disaster and terror may afflict them. It is the same principle like descriping Hell allegorically for the disbelievers to make them aware of the seriousness of their punishment in the Hereafter. In our time, we can easily relate to this statement as a war on the terrorists using the latest military technique will result in them losing their life, their arms, legs, eyes, ears, lungs,  or get blown up and fly in the air to land on a land full of shrapnels...etc.

Invoking this type of maximum punishment however can only be done if those who are guilty of these crimes do not repent. God does teach us that those who repent before we overcome them are exempted from such punishment. That is God's mercy. The question is if we can be as merciful when faced with such a decision. How many would be compassionate enough to forgive the criminals that orchestrated this horrible crime, if they repented?

For a fact these kind of terrorists usually do not repent and their punishment will be well deserved..

[5:34] Exempted are those who repent before you overcome them. You should know that GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.

God rewards those who forgives. It is the difficult choice, which takes a lot of faith, but it is the choice which is best for us in the long run.

[42:40-43] Although the just requital for an injustice is an equivalent retribution, those who pardon and maintain righteousness are rewarded by GOD. He does not love the unjust. Certainly, those who stand up for their rights, when injustice befalls them, are not committing any error. The wrong ones are those who treat the people unjustly, and resort to aggression without provocation. These have incurred a painful retribution. Resorting to patience and forgiveness reflects a true strength of character.

<< No doubt, those who flew hundreds of innocents to their death yesterday, killing thousands of other innocents in the three buildings, could have and would have used the exact same passage as their justification!!!! It is not a passage of pacifism, but of violence.>>

We very strongly doubt that these individuals used any Quranic reference to support their vicious act. Instead they used sources besides the Quran, which are not authorized by God. These sources are called Hadith and Sunna, and are fabrications that has been falsely attributed to prophet Muhammad, against his will.

One thing that we must understand is that as believers we are not expected to sit and allow people to transgress against us without standing up for ourselves, and protect ourselves. This is common sense. It is not righteous to allow others to harm or transgress against our families or our society and sit and do nothing. We must deal with such dangerous elements in a just and equitable manner.

As you noticed, this is what most Americans now call for, just and equitable retribution, and that is what God allows them in the Quran..

Those who seek to discredit Islam seek out verses which authorizes retaliation, and forget the context in which these verses are meant to be used. This is a great mistake, and only plays into the hands of the misguided individuals who wishes to create a wedge between believers in one God in this world, by committing such horrendous crimes as was committed against all these innocent people last Tuesday, 9/11/2001.

Today the whole of United States is thirsty for revenge. They want to see these people hunted down, killed and buried. According to the Quran, they are entitled to feel that way, and also entitled to carry out that just retribution against the guilty ones.

We hope this has been helpful in clearing up any misunderstanding you might have had about this issue in Islam. We want to leave you with some additional reminders from the Quran.

[2:190] You may fight in the cause of GOD against those who attack you, but do not aggress. GOD does not love the aggressors.

[8:61] If they resort to peace, so shall you, and put your trust in GOD. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.

God bless you!

>A Time for Peace, Not Retaliation

>Elijah Wald, TomPaine.com

>September 11, 2001

>-------------------------------------------------------------------

As I write, another expert is on television, saying that tougher security measures are needed to prevent future terrorist acts. He is saying that the United States has always put civil liberties ahead of security, and now mayhave to rethink that.

If there is one lesson in the destruction of the World Trade Center and >damage to the Pentagon, it is that such talk is idiocy.

Technology has made it possible for a couple of individuals to destroy the largest building in the world with nothing but the will to do so and whatever it takes to hijack >a passenger plane. Likewise, a biological or chemical bomb that would kill thousands of people could be carried in a suitcase. If we want a safer world in this situation, we cannot achieve it militarily.

For decades, the United States has acted as if, as the world's most powerful nation, it could safely explore violent solutions to international issues, while itself remaining inviolate. Every time the United States has bombed a major city -- be it Hiroshima, Hanoi, Baghdad, or Tripoli -- people on the ground must have wished that they could do the same to New York or Washington. As United States operatives facilitated and supported murderous, terrorist regimes throughout Latin America, Africa, and Asia, millions of "innocent" civilians must, in their pain and anger, have wished that similar death and destruction could be visited on us. As we learned in Oklahoma City, such feelings are felt even here in the United States, raging at deadly governmental assaults on homegrown cults and militias.

President Bush has been arguing that the way to avoid attacks on our cities is a missile shield. One has to assume that even now he is trying to figure out where this assault came from, and how to retaliate It is the dogma of American leaders that violence must be met with violence Whether such responses are moral or immoral is arguable; what is certain is that they do not make anyone safer. Those of us who argue for dramatic action to reduce world poverty, to destroy the international arms trade, to rein in the awesome powers of American, European, or other major capital, are often called utopian dreamers. Quite the contrary, the dreamers are those who think that brut force will bring any kind of lasting safety and peace anywhere, anytime. It would be absurd and insane to say that the death and destruction in New York was deserved, but it was certainly fueled by the same sort of logic that has informed much U.S. policy in the last few decades -- that overwhelming military strikes are a valid way of advancing policy. It would be insane to say that it was our turn to be confronted with tragic loss of civilian life, but it was a fantasy that we could be spared forever This time, no "weapons of mass destruction" were used, and yet the death toll seems certain to be in the thousands.

Will this persuade our leaders that this is no time to tear up arms control treaties and let nuclear weapons proliferate as never before? That this is not a time to reduce United States diplomatic outreach to the rest of the world and increase military might? To try to take steps that would reduce the hopeless misery that fuels insane responses from people throughout the world, rather than supporting virtually any oppressive regime that guarantees profits to American businesses? Or will this tragedy just plunge us deeper >into fear, violence, and the senseless pursuit of invulnerability through military force?

I cannot claim to have a solution to the world's woes, but anyone not criminally insane will have to grant that we cannot fight and bomb our way out of this problem, that force will not bring a solution.

--------------------------------------------------

Elijah Wald is a musician and writer.

To: <s19elliott@?.com>

Subject: I would like to talk, write...learn, read

Peace be upon you!

<< [47:4} "......As for those who get killed in the cause of GOD, He will never put their sacrificeto waste". Is this suppossed to be what I think it means, that it is okay to strap a bomb to yourself and blow something up to prove to non-believers that they are in the wrong? >>

We are happy that you have the wisdom to consult before making up your mind about this.Those who get killed in the cause of God will of course be rewarded. But, knowingly killing even one innocent human being can never be considered "in the cause of God", as God forbids killing of the innocent.

[5:32] Because of this, we decreed for the Children of Israel that anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people. And anyone who spares a life, it shall be as if he spared the lives of all the people. Our messengers went to them with clear proofs and revelations, but most of them, after all this, are still transgressing.

"In the cause of God" must be 'In accordance with God’s commandments'. Those commandments forbids us from aggressing against other people, and forbids us from practicing any kind of tyranny or oppression (2:190-191, 4:76, 2:256).

<< I was raised a catholic, but I currently do not believe in any specific religion. I am very against organized religion becuase of what the writtings have done to make people believe in anything other than goodness, which if there is a God I believe that is His ultimate goal, goodness. >>

We fully understand your frustration with ‘organized’ religion. It is not the organizing itself howeverwhich is evil, but the fact that very often man creates for himself, and obeys, an authority other than God's in these organized groups. Very often a hierarki emerges which was never authorized by God.

Some organizing is necessary for believers in God to worship together, know each other, share knowledge and experience, and support one another. As long as this does not generate a community with the qualities described above, there should be no problem with that.

<< I have nothing against people who are involved in religion as long as they do not force it onto others>>

God bless you for saying this. This is an absolute correct expectation, and a behavior that should be expected from righteous believers. God clearly teaches us in the Quran that there shall be no compulsion in religion. Thus, your expectations are very Quranic.

[2:256] There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way.Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in GOD has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks.GOD is Hearer, Omniscient.

To: loo.....@hci.net
Subject: Jihad & Terrorism
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 13:17:36 +0200

Peace be upon you!

<< Does not a majority of the followers of Islam perceive the U.S. and Israel as the "great satan"? Certainly bin Laden and his followers admittedly do, along with the Sudan and most of East Africa. This certainly constitutes a large percentage. >>

The great majority of those who call themselves Muslim are also completely ignorant of the Quranic message, and actually practice a religion that opposes most parts of the Quranic message.

We however do not belong with that majority. We believe recognize and uphold God’s words in the Quran when He tells us that it doesn’t matter what a person calls his or her religion, as long as he or she fulfills the following three criteria:

[2:62] Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.

What these so-called Muslims are upholding are sources outside the Quran, which are nothing more than hearsay gathered across eight generations, and written down some 200 years after the prophets death, called Hadith and Sunna. It is in these fabrications which have falsely been attributed to prophet Muhammad that they find support for their tyrannical and unjust laws.

Seeing the US as "The Great Satan" is a concept which has been born from the false and misguided notion that a Muslim must impose on others religious laws. US, being the most powerful representative of a nation granting its inhabitants the freedom to choose their religion and life-style, and promoting these democratic principles to other nations, is seen as supporting sinful behavior. The exact opposite is in fact true.

What most so-called Muslims are unaware of however, is that freedom of choice, freedom of religion, actually maximum freedom for all, is a very Quranic concept. It is clearly stated in the Quran that there shall be no compulsion in religion.

[2:256] There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in GOD has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. GOD is Hearer, Omniscient.

God also says that oppression is worse than murder, and that it is only the disbelievers who fight in the cause of tyranny (2:190-191, 4:76). God wills for all people to have the freedom to choose what is right, or to choose what is wrong. This is the only way we human beings can be rightfully rewarded or punished.

<< #2 Reading your own responses to the questions raised, it appears that once something is labeled the "great satan", then your belief system endorses and condones the barbaric acts of your "brothers in love" and believes their behavior is rewarded in the afterlife?>>

God rewards righteousness. Killing innocent people is condemned by God (5:32). Killing ourselves is forbidden (4:29). Fighting in the cause of tyranny is only done by disbelievers (4:76). We never viewed these terrorists as our "brothers in love". We do not know where you got this idea from. We do not even view them as Muslims, i.e.Submitters to God, because they are not following God's laws in the Quran.

<< #3 If all of the world of Islam is so full of love then why do entire nations of believers revel and rejoice at the acts that happened on September 11 (for example: the PLO and most of East Africa)?>>

Just as most Americans will rejoice when they hear about the death of Usama bin Laden, these people rejoice because they are taught by their society that any misery they suffer is the fault of the US sanctions, the US sending weapons, or the US doing something else. They believe that the US government has wronged them, and they have seen thousands of people, family and friends, loose their lives in their struggles. They do not know better.

Any person who knows better will never rejoice at the killing of another human being. Any person who knows better will always seek ways to pardon, forgive and forget. Any Muslim will never be happy seeing another person attributing killing other innocent people in the name of God, regardless of that person's faith.

<< #4 If the "true" followers of your faith believe as you do, why do entire nations of believers house, harbor and promote terrorists and their activities? I believe that Afghanistan is roughly 90% Islamic. >>

As hard as this may be to understand, these people do not follow Islam. They follow a religion which has been innovated by their religious leaders, and by the gathering of hearsay. Afghanistan is practically not even 1% Islamic. The US is much more Islamic than any of these so-called Muslim nations.

<< Even if one believes that bin Laden is not involved in the current events, he has proven connectivity and personally brags about the embassy bombings and the attacks on the Cole. Certainly this guilt is sufficient to turn him and his team over. Instead your "brothers in love" hide him and paint him as a hero. >>

We’ve already clarified our position regarding these people you call our "brothers in love". For your information, these ‘Islamic’ "brothers in love" will actually attack someone , if given the opportunity, who recites to them the Quranic truths. They will accuse that person of fighting Islam. Because the Islam they know goes against every major commandment in the Quran.

<< #5 If the followers of Allah do not promote terrorism, then why has Israel had to deal with Islamic terrorism for over 50 years? I don't remember any Jewish car bombs in public places.>>

Those how practice and promote terrorism, whether they are Muslims or Jews ,in any shape or form do not follow God in any way. They are following their own agenda, which has nothing to do with God. (Allah is just the Arabic word for God, just as Dieu is the French word for God).

<< #6 Where are the global leaders of your religion? Can't some Grand Wafti appear on TV and answer some of these types of questions? >>

What we are seeing is a rapidly increasing interest from all kinds of people to learn what true Islam is all about. It seems that many people in this world are slowly starting to understand that these terrorists are not representing Islam at all, and that Islam is a peaceful and just religion, granting equal rights for all, regardless of faith.

The ironi in the situation we have today is that light on the Quranic truth will be presented not by these Grand Muftis or Mullas, but by people who, they regard as Satanic. It was only the other day that we saw president Bush issue a statement from inside a Mosque in the US, saying that true Islam does not condone the behavior of these terrorists.

<< #7 By your own admission, a substantial portion of your fellow believers are deceived (I would love to see you tell the Clerics in Islamabad that they are not true followers of Islam). Either the ones taking your position or the exact opposite. Apparently, there needs to be a major split of the Islamic faith. Then you could fight each other and not the rest of the world. >>

We know that you have not been familiarized enough with our situation, and therefore understand why you would make such a harsh statement, suggesting that "you fight each other", as if putting us all in one pit.

We have no interest to fight anyone. Our interest is one only, and that is to worship God alone. With the knowledge that we have, we are striving to peacefully spread the truth about the Quranic message. Our hope is that this will bring believers and worshippers of God Alone, regardless of what we call our faiths, closer together.

We are constantly being attacked by traditional Muslims for doing this job of exposing them as not following the Quranic message. We are not only telling them that they are not true followers of Islam, we are hoping to tell the whole world.

Hopefully some of our answers, and the information available on our site, has helped a little bit in shedding some light on these issues for you. We also hope that by having had this communication with us, you will also be one who can help others understand these issues better from now on, instead of helping to feed the prejudice and misconceptions about our religion. May God support you in achieving that.

If you are interested in reading the Quran for yourself, you can download a translation for free from our site: http://www.submission.org/quran/

Should you have any other questions or need further clarification, please do not hesitate to write.

God bless you!

Here is a commentary sent to us by one of our readers describing Islam (Submission).

What is Islam?

Islam is an Arabic word meaning Submission, surrender, and obedience. As a religion, Islam stands for complete submission and obedience to God – this is why it is called Islam.

Everyone can see that we live in an orderly universe. There is law and order among all part that make up this universe. Everything is assigned a place in a grand scheme, which is working in a magnificent way. The sun, the moon, all heavenly bodies follow an unalterable law and do not make the slightest deviation from their ordained course, the earth rotates on its axis and in its revolution around the sun follows the path laid out for it in precision, in fact all things from the tiny whirling electron to the mighty galaxies, constantly and ceaselessly follow their own laws. Matter, energy, and life- all obey laws, laws by which they must grow or change, live or die. Even in the human world, the laws of nature are quite obvious. Man’s birth, growth, and life are all regulated by a set of biological laws. These laws are all set by Almighty God. For example, the human tongue, which may, because of his ignorance, advocate the denial of God or state that several gods exist, is by its very nature a ‘Muslim’, submitting and following all the laws placed into its own existence and mechanism of function by Almighty..

Man’s character is such that there are two distinct spheres of his life. In one sphere he finds himself totally regulated by the Divine Law. He cannot budge an inch from it or slip away from its all-embracing control. But there is another sphere of his activity as well. He has been blessed with reason and intelligence. He has the power to think and make judgments, to select or reject, to adopt or spurn. He is free to adopt whatever way of life he chooses, he can select any religion, assume any way of life, and fashion his living according to whatever ideologies he likes. He may prepare his own code of conduct or accept one made by someone else. He has been bestowed with Free Will and can chalk out his own course of behavior. In this respect, he, unlike any other creature, has been given freedom of choice,

In the first aspect of his life, like all other creatures, man is a born Muslim ‘Submitter in English’, constantly obeys the orders of Almighty God, and is bound to remain doing so. As far as the second aspect is concerned, he is free to become or not to become a Muslim. Here is where his gift of choice is operable, and it is the way a person exercises his freedom, which divides mankind into two groups: believers and non-believers. An individual who chooses to recognize his Creator, accepts Him as his real Master, honestly and fully submits to His laws and orders, and follows the system of life He has revealed for man, thereby becomes a complete Muslim. He achieved completeness in his Islam by consciously deciding to obey God through the use of those very abilities of free thought, choice and action that Almighty

I am going to go all out, and believe me when I tell you that I probably would be in trouble if one of those so-called traditional Muslims finds out what I am about to tell you.

There is nothing in the religion of Islam that promotes hatred or killing anyone for any reason they themselves see fit, I believe that a vast number of Muslims have the wrong interpretation of the Quran and worse yet they refer to two other things called Hadith and Sunna, (in English Hadith is a collection of sayings of prophet Muhammad and Sunna is the behavior and actions of the prophets daily life) they (traditional Muslims) consider these two concepts as part of the religion, which in itself is disobeying God and his messenger by following anything other than God’s word.

[Quran 6:114] Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.

In fact, I am positive that the prophet had nothing to do with them, those Hadiths “Sayings in English” and Sunna (actions and behavior). Back during the days of the prophet, nobody even dared to say, mention, or write any of those things, since he “the prophet Muhammad” very much stressed to all his followers not to write anything he says unless it’s Quran, and not to follow anything or anybody except the Quran.

The day the prophet died, the Khalifa “Governor” that Muslims elected to lead them after the prophet Muhammad’s death said, “O believers, anybody who worshiped Muhammad, Muhammad is dead, anybody who worshiped God, God is eternal and will not die.” Stressing the fact the God and his word is the only thing that matters and it is what you are expected to follow and it is the ruler by which your life and actions on this earth will be measured and answer to God according to them.

Unfortunately many of these self-proclaimed Muslim scholars quote Hadith and Sunna when it comes to matters of religion, again disobeying God’s messenger telling them not to do so. Hadith which people started recording at least 20-30 years after the prophet’s death, a lot of which in my opinion was forged and claimed to be the prophets with no justification or a logical way of verification.

I am sick and tired of people defacing Islam and the word of God, and making up the formulas of  Muslim = Terrorist and Arab = Terrorist

I also I’m tired of those who say the word Allah sarcastically, the word Allah is the Arabic word for the word "God". Many people including some Muslims believe that "Allah" is the name of the Muslim God. People do not realize that the word "Allah” does not belong exclusively to the Muslims all Christian Arabs and Arab Jews use the term ALLAH to refer to God the Almighty Lord and Creator when they speak Arabic. Insisting on the use of the word "Allah" for God in non-Arabic languages especially in the media immediately creates the illusion that "Allah" is a whole different deity than God of the whole universe and all of its creatures. “A paraphrase from submission.org”

Why doesn’t anybody make fun or say it sarcastically when the Spanish say the word God in their language “Dios”, or how the Germans say God “Gott“ or the French ”Dieu”, or the Italians “Dio”.

Those are a couple of things I wanted to point out, I hope I was helpful in provide some answer to your question.

By the way, I am a Muslim/Palestinian living in North Carolina for the past 13 years, I love this country and this state in particular and I owe them a lot.

I will sign this email with my Alias, since like I said before a lot of people will not be happy to hear what I just said regarding Hadith (Prophet’s sayings) and Sunna (Prophet’s Actions), as a matter of fact, the gentleman who published the ideas, translations, and concepts on the submission.org is said to have been assassinated probably because of those very ideas.

May peace be upon you and us all.

Please accept my warmest regards and respect,

Nasser V.

info@submission.org