Remember Richard Reid?

July 12, 2005

Remember the terrorist, Richard Reid, the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?

Did you know his trial is over?

Did you know he was sentenced?

Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV/Radio?

Didn't think so.

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.

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Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say.

Defendant's response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his "allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," and defiantly stated "I think I will not apologize for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with your country."

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young: "Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive with the other.

That's 80 years. On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines. The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.

The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further. This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or if you think you are a soldier. You are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were, and he said: "You're no big deal."

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing. And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bare any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer - stand him down.

So, how much of Judge Young's comments did we hear on our TV sets?

July 12, 2005

lets focus on who we are really to remember their Lordships Sri Sri Caitanya Nityananda the rest is simple diversion but of course you knew that already didn"t you ???

theist · July 13, 2005

I heard nary a peep. Presently they are too busy trying to lynch Carl Rove.

Guest if you listen closely to what that judge said you will hear the vehicle that protects the spread of the sankirtana movement. That is something the Richard Reids of the world want to stop by any means necessary.

krsna · July 13, 2005

Yes, that is the point Theistji, Prabhupada started his ISKCON in America and NOT in an ISLAMOFascist state which would have incarcerated and executed ANY devotee of Lord Krsna.

krsna · July 13, 2005

Dear Friend,

Madness has overtaken a portion of humanity and what they do is nothing short of insanity.

We are losing the fight against terrorism. That is because we are missing the target.

We must reach to the world and let everyone know that terrorism is the symptom and the real problem is the ideology behind it.

Ali Sina

Dear fellow human,

Today humanity is being challenged. Unthinkable atrocities take place on daily basis. There is an evil force at work that aims to destroy us. The agents of this evil respect nothing; not even the lives of children. Every day there are bombings, every day innocent people are targeted and murdered. It seems as if we are helpless. But we are not!

The ancient Chinese sage Sun Zi said, "Know your enemy and you won't be defeated". Do we know our enemy? If we don't, then we are doomed.

Terrorism is not an ideology, it is a tool; but the terrorists kill for an ideology. They call that ideology Islam.

The entire world, both Muslims and non-Muslims claim that the terrorists have hijacked "the religion of peace" and Islam does not condone violence.

Who is right? Do the terrorists understand Islam better, or do those who decry them? The answer to this question is the key to our victory, and failure to find that key will result in our loss and death will be upon us. The key is in the Quran and the history of Islam.

Those of us, who know Islam, know that the understanding of the terrorists of Islam is correct. They are doing nothing that their prophet did not do and did not encourage his followers to do. Murder, rape, assassination, beheading, massacre and sacrilege of the dead "to delight the hearts of the believers" were all practiced by Muhammad, were taught by him and were observed by Muslims throughout their history.

If truth has ever mattered, it matters most now! This is the time that we have to call a spade a spade. This is the time that we have to find the root of the problem and eradicate it. The root of Islamic terrorism is Islam. The proof of that is the Quran.

We are a group of ex-Muslims who have seen the face of the evil and have risen to warn the world. No matter how painful the truth may be, only truth can set us free. Why this much denial? Why so much obstinacy? How many more innocent lives should be lost before YOU open your eyes? A nuclear disaster is upon us. This will happen. It is not a question of "if" but "when". Oblivious of that, the world is digging its head deeper in the sand.

We urge the Muslims to leave Islam. Stop with excuses, justifications and rationalizations. Stop dividing mankind into "us" vs. "them" and Muslims vs. Kafirs. We are One people, One mankind!

Muhammad was not a messenger of God. It is time that we end this insanity and face the truth. The terrorists take their moral support and the validation for their actions from you. Your very adherence to their cult of death is a nod of approval for their crimes against humanity.

We also urge the non-Muslims to stop being politically correct lest they hurt the sensitivities of the Muslims. To Hell with their sensitivities! Let us save their lives, and the lives of millions of innocent people.

Millions, if not billions of lives will be lost if we do nothing. Time is running out!

"All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."

Do something! Send this message to everyone in your address book and ask them to do the same. Defeat Islam and stop terrorism. This is your world, save it.

krsna · July 13, 2005

--

A.H. Jaffor Ullah

2005/05/11

In the last four years or so, al-Qaeda, the brainchild of Saudi renegade Osama bin Laden launched three successful attacks against three western nations namely, America , Spain , and Great Britain . In all three cases, the victim nation’s transport system was used to launch the attack.

Take the case of September 11, 2001, attack. In the early morning hours, four passenger jetliners were hijacked by four groups of Arab terrorists, mostly comprising of Saudi and other Middle Eastern Arab speaking terrorists belonging to al-Qaeda. The terrorists then commandeered four planes; two groups went for the financial district located in the southern part of Manhattan borough, one group headed toward Pentagon Building while the last group made a u-turn abruptly in rural Ohio to head back for Washington DC to demolish an important federal building but the plane fell to the ground under some bizarre circumstances.

In Madrid bombing on March 11, 2004, right before Spaniards were heading for polls, terrorists struck a commuter train near Madrid blasting a few compartments and killing 191 innocent passengers.

This time around, on July 7, 2005, the terrorists most likely belonging to al-Qaeda faction struck London’s public transport system in the morning rush hour detonating three subway trains or tube stations and one above ground double-decker bus killing over 50 passengers and injuring more than 700 people. Now the British investigators are saying that all three “tube” trains in 7-7 attacks were blasted within seconds. That means these were coordinated blasts, a work of real professional bunch of terrorists.

Here is the comparison between 9-11 and 7-7 attacks. I used data from an Associated Press news article published in the wake of 7-7 attacks in London .

The AP article drew the timelines for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington , and Thursday’s (7-7-05) bombings in London . Times listed are local; London is five hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time.

Sept. 11, 2001

8:46 a.m. — Flight 11 hits the World Trade Center 's north tower.

9:03 a.m. — Flight 175 crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center .

9:37 a.m. — Flight 77 hits the Pentagon.

10:03 a.m. — United 93 crashes in Pennsylvania , 125 miles from Washington .

July 7, 2005

8:51 a.m. — London Underground train explodes 100 yards into a tunnel near the financial district.

8:56 a.m. — Explosion near the King's Cross station in north London .

9:17 a.m. — Explosion near Edgware Road station.

9:47 a.m. — Double-decker bus explodes near Tavistock Square .

The above information came from report published by mid-day July 7, 2005. However, the British investigators are now saying that all three explosions in the underground took place within seconds. It is mere a coincidence that both in America and in England 4 targets was selected by the terrorists. Why did they choose four targets? It is a mystery only they could solve. Perhaps it could be due to logistics. Osama bin Laden’s organization, al-Qaeda, is big on publicity. To reap a maximum publicity al-Qaeda likes to blast multiple sites, simultaneously. This is their hallmark.

Osama’s terror organization has shown to the world that it likes to attack or make use of transport system. Because of the complex and dynamic nature of modern days transport system, Osama’s jihadi brigade found the system very vulnerable. They took advantage of air transport system in America , above ground railway system in Madrid , Spain , and finally the British underground railway system. It is no brainier; anyone with an evil intent could blast a bomb. Osama’s jihadi brigade members are hell-bent on bringing chaos in the western world. And they found security lapse in the public transport system in the West.

krsna · July 13, 2005

From news report published in the aftermath of Madrid commuter train attack, we learned that the attackers were from North Africa and had close tie with global al-Qaeda network. It remains to be seen who really did the blasting on July 7, 2005, in London . However, no Irish group has claimed the responsibility of the attack. Furthermore, IRA has never done any coordinated attacks.

Osama’s terror organization has not yet attacked any marine transport system such as ferryboats nor have they attacked any private vehicles. Since al-Qaeda has declared a war against the West portraying the Arabs as victims in the hands of West goaded by Israel , and things are not getting better in poor Arab world, the world will see more attacks like the ones London has endured on July 7, 2005.

The open society in the West is vulnerable to terrorist attacks more so than the closed societies of our globe, which are heavily controlled by state-run agencies. Thus, al-Qaeda or any other fringe organization will have hard time attacking the public transport system in Saudi Arabia , Egypt , and other Islamic nation. A case in point is Iraq under Saddam. Because of a tight reign imposed by Baathist regime under Saddam, no insurgency or terrorist organization could do bomb-blast in Iraq but now that the strongman is gone and the society is opening up a bit, the nation is experiencing a deluge of non-stop bomb blasts.

Osama’s men consider them “Man of action.” They do not like a tranquil world. Therefore, every so often we hear of some activity in Saudi Arabia or in Asian country. They have focused their attention to a select few nations who sent army to aid America ’s military in Iraq . From that perspective, Tony Blair’s country became very visible into the radar screen of Osama bin Laden and his evil organization. Many Brits knew that their nation is vulnerable to terrorist attacks because of the military help and moral support Mr. Blair has lent to American Administration since America ’s invasion of Iraq in late March 2003.

The bomb blasts of July 7 in which many innocent lives were lost remind us all that we live in a very dangerous world. The terrorists for whatever reasons have a warped worldview. Because of non-stop turmoil in Middle East , Osama’s organization has no problem recruiting young jihadis. Under the spell of indoctrination, these new recruits would do anything to please their elders in the organization. The game of victimization of Arabs including Palestine , Chechen, Kashmiris, etc., has played rather well. These political hotspots around the world provide incentives for disenchanted young people to join al-Qaeda and other fringe organization. Therefore, the West should focus to solve the problems in these troubled areas or else, Osama’s organization will always have easy time to recruit would be acolytes from refugee camps and other place mired in political crisis in Muslim societies.

In summary, based on cursory observation I have come to conclusion that al-Qaeda has an eye for West’s mass transit system. In all three attacks spanning from 9-11 to 7-7 three nation’s public transport system were either utilized or victimized to kill in excess of 3,500 people. Based on an AP report, an uncanny similarity between 9-11 and 7-7 were observed. In both the cases, the terrorists chose four targets. I hold the view that since al-Qaeda plays the game of victimization of Muslim people to recruit new jihadi brigade members, the West should try very hard to bring a permanent settlement and enduring peace in troubled spot such as Palestine , Chechnya , Kashmir , and transform many Muslim societies into democratic societies. Only then, Osama bin Laden and his organization will have hard time recruiting new members for his terror organization. What is so wrong in trying to correct our mistakes from the past? The West has the capacity to help make enduring peace in the Middle East but whether they would do it or not is an open question. Perhaps what the world needs is visionary leaders, but there aren’t many at this time. With this sour note let me bring to a closure of this commentary.

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

Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans , USA

krsna · July 13, 2005

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4677601.stm

krsna · July 13, 2005

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/4677303.stm

krsna · July 13, 2005

We all know that most Muslims are not terrorists, nor do they want to quarrel with others. The majority of them simply want to worship God in their way and live a peaceful life. So why does there seem to be friction and difficulties that often involve Muslims? And why are there so many terrorists in the world who, indeed, call themselves followers of Islam? Where do we find the seeds...

Compiled by Stephen Knapp (02-01-03)

The Koranic References for the Sword

Does the Koran itself give credence to strike against kafirs and infidels, those who are non-Muslims, or to conduct a holy war to protect and expand the faith? When we study the Koran, it certainly seems that it provides for such viewpoints.

There are numerous ayats (verses) in the Koran that confirm the ways for Muslims to view and treat non-Muslims. For example: "O Prophet! Rouse the believers to the fight. If there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, they will vanquish a thousand of the Unbelievers: for these are a people without understanding." (Surah 8:65) "Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): 'I am with you: give firmness to the Believers: I will instill terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their fingertips off them." (Surah 8:12) "Truly Allah loves those who fight in His cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure." (Surah 61:4)

In this mood, as we have seen, many Islamic terrorists are ready to give up their lives for the cause. They engage in suicide attacks wherein it is part of the plan that they will give up their lives, often believing that by doing so they automatically go to heaven. So does the Koran justify this idea? In this respect we find the following verses:

"Think not of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord." (Surah 3:169) "O ye who believe! What is the matter with you, that when you are asked to go forth in the Cause of Allah, ye cling heavily to the earth? Do ye prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the Hereafter." (Surah 9:38) Herein we find the Koran practically encouraging the anticipation for reaching the next life.

Furthermore, does the Koran specifically relate a harsh view toward infidels, non-Muslims? If it does, then that would make it even easier for militant Muslims to feel there is little harm in ill-treating or even killing those who are participants of other religions. In this regard we find the following verses in the Koran:

"Verily ye (unbelievers), and the (false) gods that ye worship besides Allah, are (but) fuel for Hell! To it will ye (surely) come!" (Surah 21:98) "(The sentence will be:) Throw, throw into Hell every contumacious Rejector (of Allah)!; Who forbade what was good, transgressed all bounds, cast doubts and suspicions; who set up another god beside Allah: throw him into a severe penalty." (Surah 50:24) "Therefore, when ye meet the unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks [cut off their heads]; At length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them): thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom: until the war lays down its burdens. Thus (are ye commanded): but if it had been Allah's Will, He could certainly have exacted retribution from them (Himself); But (He lets you fight) in order to test you, some with others, but those who are slain in the way of Allah [for the cause of Allah]--He will never let their deeds be lost. Soon He will guide them and improve their condition, and admit them to the Garden which He has announced for them." (Surah 47:4-6) "Those who reject (Truth), among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists, will be in Hell-fire, to dwell therein (for aye). They are the worst creatures. Those who have faith and do righteous deeds--they are the best of creatures." (Surah 98:6 and 7)

This all seems to give justification to expanding the faith not necessarily with spiritual knowledge, understanding and purity, but by what would be military strength under the Will of Allah. Furthermore, it would seem that with this mentality, infidels and all non-Muslims are fit to be exterminated, that it could be a favor to Allah to rid the world of them. These verses also show that those who die for Allah or the cause of Islam will be delivered to the garden of paradise. With the basis of verses like these, it is no wonder that it is not difficult to arouse young Muslims for the Islamic cause in the training camps of Al-Qaida and other militant and fundamentalistic groups. How much bloodshed has already been shed throughout history because of this teaching is inestimable. So it should not be surprising that the radical Islamic leader Abdullah Shah Mazhar recently got 5,000 volunteers to take the "oath of death" and commit themselves to suicide squads in attacks against the U.S. and other "infidel forces".

However, this is not new. Swami Vivekananda in a lecture in California in January of 1900 said regarding this aspect of Islam: "Every step forward was made with the sword--the Quran in one hand and the sword in the other: Take the Quran, or you must die; there is no alternative!"

Mahatma Gandhi also spoke about this aspect of Islam. After the assassination of Swami Shraddhanand by a Muslim fanatic in December, 1926, he said: "Mussalmans have an ordeal to pass through. There can be no doubt that they are too free with the knife and the pistol. The sword is no emblem of Islam. But Islam was born in an environment where the sword was, and still remains, the supreme law. The message of Jesus has proved ineffective because the environment was unready to receive it. So with the message of the Prophet. The sword is yet too much in evidence among the Mussalmans. It must be sheathed if Islam is to be what it means--peace."

The Rewards and Punishments in the Koran

What makes the idea of who is saved and who is worthy of hell more clear, there are specific rewards for the believers and punishments for the non- believers that are related in the Koran. Some of these are as follows:

"For the Rejectors We have prepared chains, yokes, and a blazing fire. As to the righteous, they shall drink of a cup (of wine) mixed with Kafur. A fountain where the devotees of Allah do drink, making it flow in unstinted abundance." (Surah 76: 4-6) "But Allah will deliver them from the evil of that day, and will shed over them a light of beauty and a (blissful) joy. And because they were patient and constant, He will reward them with a garden and (garments of) silk. Reclining in the (garden) of raised thrones, they will see there neither the sun's (excessive heat) nor (the moon's) excessive cold. And the shades of the (garden) will come low over them, and the bunches (of fruit), there will hang low in humility. And among them will be passed round vessels of silver and goblets of crystal." (Surah 76:11-15)

"Those who reject (Truth) among the People of the Book and among the polytheists, were not going to depart (from their ways) until there should come to them clear evidence. . . Those who reject (Truth), among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists, will be in Hellfire, to dwell therein (for aye). They are the worst of creatures. Those who have faith and do righteous deeds--they are the best of creatures. Their reward is with Allah: Gardens of Eternity, beneath which rivers flow, they will dwell therein forever; Allah well pleased with them, and they with Him: all this for such as fear their Lord and cherisher." (Surah 98:1, 6-8)

"Verily the [judgement] day of sorting out is a thing appointed. The day that the trumpet shall be sounded, and ye shall come forth in crowds; and the heavens shall be opened as if there were doors, and the mountains shall vanish, as if they were a mirage. Truly Hell is a place of ambush--for the transgressors a place of destination: They will dwell therein for ages. Nothing cool shall they taste therein, nor any drink, save a boiling fluid and a fluid, dark, murky, intensely cold--a fitting recompense (for them)." (Surah 78:17-26)

In the following verses we also find that the infidels include the Christians, those who think that God begot a son. "(Those) who say (Allah) Most Gracious [Lord] has begotten a son! Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous! As if the skies are ready to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin. That they should invoke a son for (Allah) Most Gracious. For it is not constant with the majesty of (Allah) Most Gracious that He should beget a son." (Surah 19:88-92) "Further, that He may warn those (also) who say, 'Allah hath begotten a son'; No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. It is a grievous thing that issues from their mouths as a saying. What they say is nothing but falsehood!" (Surah 18:4)

The Basis of Muslim Brotherhood

In the Koran there are several ayats (verses) that dictate the basis of Muslim brotherhood and how they should view one another. For example: "Verily, this Brotherhood of yours is a single brotherhood, and I am your Lord and cherisher. Therefore, serve Me (and no other)." (Surah 21:92) "To each is a goal to which Allah turns him; then strive together (as a race) towards all that is good. Whosoever ye are, Allah will bring you together. For Allah hath power over all things." (Surah 2:148) "Those who believe, and adopt exile and fight for the Faith, in the cause of Allah as well as those who give (them) asylum and aid--these are (all) in very truth the Believers: for them is the forgiveness of sins and a provision most generous." (Surah 8:74)

In this way, the Koran establishes the basis of a Muslim Brotherhood in which they serve and support each other and their activities that are considered to be the cause of Allah, or for Islam in general. Thus, they are motivated to work to help each other. This is most favorably viewed while under the dictates of the Koranic law, which takes priority over the civil or state law of the local country. This is the foundation of what is called the "Islamic Nation", which Muslims call the general Islamic community that consists of Muslims throughout the world. Furthermore, few outsiders are allowed to be part of this brotherhood. It tends to divide Muslims from all others who are non-Muslims, who are considered non-believers in view of the Koranic verses quoted above.

The problem with this sort of brotherhood has been noted by numerous people. In a lecture in California in January of 1900, Vivekananda said: "Mohammedans talk of universal brotherhood, but what comes out of that in reality? Why, anybody who is not a Mohammedan will not be admitted into the brotherhood; he will more likely have his throat cut."

Another example is from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who formed the Indian Constitution. He could see the dangers of what is the Islamic brotherhood. In his book, "Thoughts on Pakistan", published in 1940, he explains: "Hinduism is said to divide people and in contrast Islam is said to bind people together. But this is only a half truth. For Islam divides as inexorably as it binds. Islam is a close corporation and the distinction that it makes between Muslims and non- Muslims is a very real, very positive and very alienating distinction. The brotherhood of Islam is not the universal brotherhood of man. It is the brotherhood of Muslims for Muslims only. There is a fraternity but its benefit is confined to those within that corporation. For those who are outside the corporation there is nothing but contempt and enmity."

In 1941, Ambedkar spoke further about the effects of the Islamic brotherhood, at least in India. However, it reflects an attitude in Muslims that is found in numerous other areas as well. "It is this which leads every Mussalman in India to say that he is a Muslim first and Indian afterwards. It is this sentiment which explains why the Indian Muslim has taken so small a part in the advancement of India but has spent himself to exhaustion by taking up the cause of Muslim countries and why Muslim countries occupy the first place and India occupies the second place in his thoughts."

In conclusion, if any of the above information and Koranic references are taught to young Muslims in such places as the thousands of madarsas (Islamic schools) in India, and that the 880 million fellow citizens of India are but kafirs and infidels who deserve or are ultimately going to be thrown into the hellfire; and that their primary allegiance is not to the country of their residence but to the State of Islam; and that the Koran justifies them to engage in Jihad against all non-Muslims; then their psychological and spiritual well-being, along with the peace of the world and the safety of anyone else, is in jeopardy.

(Verses were taken from "The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary" by 'Abdullah Yusuf 'Ali, published by Amana Corporation, Brentwood, Maryland, USA.)

krsna · July 13, 2005

A Call to the Muslims of the World from a Group of Freethinkers and Humanists of Muslim Origins

We people of Muslim origin find ourselves looked upon with suspicion and distrust by our neighbours and fellow citizens. We want to cry out and tell the world that we are not terrorists, and that those who perpetrate such despicable acts are murderers and not part of us. But, in reality, because of our Muslim origins we just cannot erase the "stigma of Islamic Terrorism" from our identity! A Group of Muslims (02-02-02)

Dear friends,

The tragic incidents of September 11 have shocked the world. It is unthinkable that anyone could be so full of hate as to commit such heinous acts and kill so many innocent people. We people of Muslim origin are as much shaken as the rest of the world and yet we find ourselves looked upon with suspicion and distrust by our neighbours and fellow citizens. We want to cry out and tell the world that we are not terrorists, and that those who perpetrate such despicable acts are murderers and not part of us. But, in reality, because of our Muslim origins we just cannot erase the "stigma of Islamic Terrorism" from our identity!

What most Muslims will say:

"Islam would never support the killing of innocent people. Allah of the Holy Qur'an never advocated killings. This is all the work of a few misguided individuals at the fringes of society. The real Islam is sanctified from violence. We denounce all violence. Islam means peace. Islam means tolerance."

What knowledgeable Muslims should say:

That is what most Muslims think, but is it true? Does Islam really preach peace, tolerance and non-violence? The Muslims who perpetrate these crimes think differently. They believe that what they do is Jihad (holy war). They say that killing unbelievers is mandatory for every Muslim. They do not kill because they wish to break the laws of Islam but because they think this is what true Muslims should do. Those who blow-up their own bodies to kill more innocent people do so because they think they will be rewarded in Paradise. They hope to be blessed by Allah, eat celestial food, drink pure wine and enjoy the company of divine consorts. Are they completely misguided? Where did they get this distorted idea? How did they come to believe that killing innocent people pleases God? Or is it that we are misguided? Does really Islam preach violence? Does it call upon its believers to kill non-believers? We denounce those who commit acts of violence and call them extremists. But are they really extremists or are they following what the holy book, the Qur'an tells them to do? What does the Qur'an teach? Have we read the Qur'an? Do we know what kind of teachings are there? Let us go through some of them and take a closer look at what Allah says.

What the Qur'an Teaches Us:

We have used the most widely available English text of the Qur'an and readers are welcome to verify our quotes from the holy book. Please have an open mind and read through these verses again and again. The following quotes are taken from the most trusted Yusufali's translation of the Qur'an.

The Qur'an tells us: "not to make friendship with Jews and Christians" (5:51), "kill the disbelievers wherever we find them" (2:191), "murder them and treat them harshly" (9:123), "fight and slay the Pagans, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem" (9:5). The Qur'an demands that we fight the unbelievers, and promises "If there are twenty amongst you, you will vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, you will vanquish a thousand of them" (8:65).

Allah and his messenger want us to fight the Christians and the Jews "until they pay the Jizya [a penalty tax for the non-Muslims living under Islamic rules] with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued" (9:29). Allah and his messenger announce that it is acceptable to go back on our promises (treaties) and obligations with Pagans and make war on them whenever we find ourselves strong enough to do so (9:3). Our God tells us to "fight the unbelievers" and "He will punish them by our hands, cover them with shame and help us (to victory) over them" (9:14).

The Qur'an takes away the freedom of belief from all humanity and relegates those who disbelieve in Islam to hell (5:10), calls them najis (filthy, untouchable, impure) (9:28), and orders its followers to fight the unbelievers until no other religion except Islam is left (2:193). It says that the "non-believers will go to hell and will drink boiling water" (14:17). It asks the Muslims to "slay or crucify or cut the hands and feet of the unbelievers, that they be expelled from the land with disgrace and that they shall have a great punishment in world hereafter" (5:34). And tells us that "for them (the unbelievers) garments of fire shall be cut and there shall be poured over their heads boiling water whereby whatever is in their bowels and skin shall be dissolved and they will be punished with hooked iron rods" (22:19-22) and that they not only will have "disgrace in this life, but on the Day of Judgment He shall make them taste the Penalty of burning (Fire)" (22:9). The Qur'an says that "those who invoke a god other than Allah not only should meet punishment in this world but the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to them, and they will dwell therein in ignominy" (25:68). For those who "believe not in Allah and His Messenger, He has prepared, for those who reject Allah, a Blazing Fire!" (48:13). Although we are asked to be compassionate amongst each other, we have to be "harsh with unbelievers", our Christian, Jewish and Atheist neighbours and colleagues (48:29). As for him who does not believe in Islam, the Prophet announces with a "stern command": "Seize ye him, and bind ye him, And burn ye him in the Blazing Fire. Further, make him march in a chain, whereof the length is seventy cubits! This was he that would not believe in Allah Most High. And would not encourage the feeding of the indigent! So no friend hath he here this Day. Nor hath he any food except the corruption from the washing of wounds, Which none do eat but those in sin." (69:30-37) The Qur'an prohibits a Muslim from befriending a non-believer even if that non-believer is the father or the brother of that Muslim (9:23), (3:28). Our holy book asks us to be disobedient towards the disbelievers and their governments and strive against the unbelievers with great endeavour" (25:52) and be stern with them because they belong to Hell (66:9). The holy Prophet prescribes fighting for us and tells us that "it is good for us even if we dislike it" (2:216). Then he advises us to "strike off the heads of the disbelievers"; and after making a "wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives" (47:4). Our God has promised to "instil terror into the hearts of the unbelievers" and has ordered us to "smite above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them" (8:12). He also assures us that when we kill in his name "it is not us who slay them but Allah, in order that He might test the Believers by a gracious trial from Himself" (8:17). He orders us "to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies" (8:60). He has made the Jihad mandatory and warns us that "Unless we go forth, (for Jihad) He will punish us with a grievous penalty, and put others in our place" (9:39). Allah speaks to our Holy Prophet and says "O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern against them. Their abode is Hell - an evil refuge indeed" (9:73).

He promises us that in the fight for His cause whether we slay or are slain we return to the garden of Paradise (9:111). In Paradise he will "wed us with Houris (celestial virgins) pure beautiful ones" (56:54), and unite us with large-eyed beautiful ones while we recline on our thrones set in lines (56:20). There we are promised to eat and drink pleasantly for what we did (56:19). He also promises "boys like hidden pearls" (56:24) and "youth never altering in age like scattered pearls" (for those who have paedophiliac inclinations) (76:19). As you see, Allah has promised all sorts or rewards, gluttony and unlimited sex to Muslim men who kill unbelievers in his name. We will be admitted to Paradise where we shall find "goodly things, beautiful ones, pure ones confined to the pavilions that man has not touched them before nor jinni" (56:67-71).

In the West we enjoy freedom of belief but we are not supposed to give such freedom to anyone else because it is written "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (All spiritual good) (3:85). And He orders us to fight them on until there is no more tumult and faith in Allah is practiced everywhere (8:39).

As for women the book of Allah says that they are inferior to men and their husbands have the right to scourge them if they are found disobedient (4:34). It advises to "take a green branch and beat your wife", because a green branch is more flexible and hurts more. (38:44). It teaches that women will go to hell if they are disobedient to their husbands (66:10). It maintains that men have an advantage over the women (2:228). It not only denies the women's equal right to their inheritance (4:11-12), it also regards them as imbeciles and decrees that their witness is not admissible in the courts of law (2:282). This means that a woman who is raped cannot accuse her rapist unless she can produce a male witness. Our Holy Prophet allows us to marry up to four wives and he licensed us to sleep with our slave maids and as many 'captive' women as we may have (4:3) even if those women are already married. He himself did just that. This is why anytime a Muslim army subdues another nation, they call them kafir and allow themselves to rape their women. Pakistani soldiers allegedly raped up to 250,000 Bengali women in 1971 after they massacred 3,000,000 unarmed civilians when their religious leader decreed that Bangladeshis are un-Islamic. This is why the prison guards in Islamic regime of Iran rape the women that in their opinion are apostates prior to killing them, as they believe a virgin will not go to Hell.

Dear fellow Muslims:

Is this the Islam you believe in? Is this your Most Merciful, Most Compassionate Allah whom you worship daily? Could Allah incite you to kill other peoples? Please understand that there is no terrorist gene - but there could be a terrorist mindset. That mindset finds its most fertile ground in the tenets of Islam. Denying it, and presenting Islam to the lay public as a religion of peace similar to Buddhism, is to suppress the truth. The history of Islam between the 7th and 14th centuries is riddled with violence, fratricide and wars of aggression, starting right from the death of the Prophet and during the so-called 'pure' or orthodox caliphate. And Muhammad himself hoisted the standard of killing, looting, massacres and bloodshed. How can we deny the entire history? The behaviour of our Holy Prophet as recorded in authentic Islamic sources is quite questionable from a modern viewpoint. The Prophet was a charismatic man but he had few virtues. Imitating him in all aspects of life (following the Sunnah) is both impossible and dangerous in the 21st century. Why are we so helplessly in denial over this simple issue?

When the Prophet was in Mecca and he was still not powerful enough he called for tolerance. He said "To you be your religion, and to me my religion" (109:6). This famous quote is often misused to prove that the general principle of Qur'an is tolerance. He advised his follower to speak good to their enemies (2: 83), exhorted them to be patient (20:103) and said that "there is no compulsion in religion" (2:256). But that all changed drastically when he came to power. Then killing and slaying unbelievers with harshness and without mercy was justified in innumerable verses. The verses quoted to prove Islam's tolerance ignore many other verses that bear no trace of tolerance or forgiveness. Where is tolerance in this well-known verse "Alarzu Lillah, Walhukmu Lillah." (The Earth belongs to Allah and thus only Allah's rule should prevail all over the earth.).

Is it normal that a book revealed by God should have so many serious contradictions? The Prophet himself set the example of unleashing violence by invading the Jewish settlements, breaking treaties he had signed with them and banishing some of them after confiscating their belongings, massacring others and taking their wives and children as slaves. He inspected the youngsters and massacred all those who had pubic hair along with the men. Those who were younger he kept as slaves. He distributed the women captured in his raids among his soldiers keeping the prettiest for himself (33:50). He made sexual advances on Safiyah, a Jewish girl on the same day he captured her town Kheibar and killed her father, her husband and many of her relatives. Reyhana was another Jewish girl of Bani Quriza whom he used as a sex slave after killing all her male relatives. In the last ten years of his life he accumulated two scores of wives, concubines and sex slaves including the 9 year old Ayesha. These are not stories but records from authentic Islamic history and the Hadiths. It can be argued that this kind of behaviour was not unknown or unusual for the conquerors and leaders of the mediaeval world but these are not the activities befitting of a peaceful saint and certainly not someone who claimed to be the Mercy of God for all creation. There were known assassinations of adversaries during the Prophet's time, which he had knowledge of and had supported. Among them there was a 120 year old man, Abu 'Afak whose only crime was to compose a lyric satirical of the Prophet. (by Ibn Sa'd Kitab al Tabaqat al Kabir, Volume 2, page 32) Then when a poetess, a mother of 5 small children 'Asma' Bint Marwan wrote a poetry cursing the Arabs for letting Muhammad assassinate an old man, our Holy Prophet ordered her to be assassinated too in the middle of the night while her youngest child was suckling from her breast. (Sirat Rasul Allah (A. Guillaume's translation "The Life of Muhammad") page 675, 676).

The Prophet did develop a 'Robin Hood' image that justified raiding merchant caravans attacking cities and towns, killing people and looting their belongings in the name of social justice. Usama Bin Laden is also trying to create the same image. But Robin Hood didn't claim to be a prophet or a pacifist nor did he care for apologist arguments. He did not massacre innocent people indiscriminately nor did he profit by reducing free people to slaves and then trading them.

With the known and documented violent legacy of Islam, how can we suddenly rediscover it as a religion of peace in the free world in the 21st century? Isn't this the perpetuation of a lie by a few ambitious leaders in order to gain political control of the huge and ignorant Muslim population? They are creating a polished version of Islam by completely ignoring history. They are propagating the same old dogma for simple believing people in a crisp new modern package. Their aim: to gain political power in today's high-tension world. They want to use the confrontational power of the original Islam to catalyse new conflicts and control new circles of power.

Dear conscientious Muslims, please question yourselves. Isn't this compulsive following of a man who lived 1400 years ago leading us to doom in a changing world? Do the followers of any other religion follow one man in such an all-encompassing way? Who are we deceiving, them or ourselves? Dear brothers and sisters, see how our Umma (people) has sunk into poverty and how it lags behind the rest of the world. Isn't it because we are following a religion that is outdated and impractical? In this crucial moment of history, when a great catastrophe has befallen us and a much bigger one is lying ahead, should not we wake up from our 1400 years of slumber and see where things have gone wrong?

Hatred has filled the air and the world is bracing itself for its doomsday. Should we not ask ourselves whether we have contributed, wittingly or unwittingly, to this tragedy and whether we can stop the great disaster from happening?

Unfortunately the answer to the first question is yes. Yes we have contributed to the rise of fundamentalism by merely claiming Islam is a religion of peace, by simply being a Muslim and by saying our shahada (testimony that Allah is the only God and Muhammad is his messenger). By our shahada we have recognized Muhammad as a true messenger of God and his book as the words of God. But as you saw above those words are anything but from God. They call for killing, they are prescriptions for hate and they foment intolerance. And when the ignorant among us read those hate-laden verses, they act on them and the result is the infamous September 11, human bombs in Israel, massacres in East Timor and Bangladesh, kidnappings and killings in the Philippines, slavery in the Sudan, honour killings in Pakistan and Jordan, torture in Iran, stoning and maiming in Afghanistan and Iran, violence in Algeria, terrorism in Palestine and misery and death in every Islamic country. We are responsible because we endorse Islam and hail it as a religion of God. And we are as guilty as those who put into practice what the Qur'an preaches - and ironically we are the main victims too. If we are not terrorists, if we love peace, if we cried with the rest of the word for what happened in New York, then why are we supporting the Qur'an that preaches killing, that advocates holy war, that calls for the murder of non-Muslims? It is not the extremists who have misunderstood Islam. They do literally what the Qur'an asks them to do. It is we who misunderstand Islam. We are the ones who are confused. We are the ones who wrongly assume that Islam is the religion of peace. Islam is not a religion of peace. In its so-called "pure" form it can very well be interpreted as a doctrine of hate. Terrorists are doing just that and we the intellectual apologists of Islam are justifying it. We can stop this madness. Yes, we can avert the disaster that is hovering over our heads. Yes, we can denounce the doctrines that promote hate. Yes, we can embrace the rest of humanity with love. Yes, we can become part of a united world, members of one human family, flowers of one garden. We can dump the claim of infallibility of our Book, and the questionable legacy of our Prophet.

Dear friends, there is no time to waste. Let us put an end to this lie. Let us not fool ourselves. Islam is not a religion of peace, of tolerance, of equality or of unity of humankind. Let us read the Qur'an. Let us face the truth even if it is painful. As long as we keep this lie alive, as long as we hide our head in the sands of Arabia we are feeding terrorism. As long as you and I keep calling Qur'an the unchangeable book of God, we cannot blame those who follow the teachings therein. As long as we pay our Khums and Zakat our money goes to promote Islamic expansionism and that means terrorism, Jihad and war. Islam divides the world in two. Darul Harb (land of war) and Darul Islam (land of Islam). Darul Harb is the land of the infidels, Muslims are required to infiltrate those lands, proselytise and procreate until their numbers increase and then start the war and fight and kill the people and impose the religion of Islam on them and convert that land into Darul Islam. In all fairness we denounce this betrayal. This is abuse of the trust. How can we make war in the countries that have sheltered us? How can we kill those who have befriended us? Yet willingly or unwillingly we have become pawns in this Islamic Imperialism. Let us see what great Islamic scholars have had to say in this respect.

Dr. M. Khan the translator of Sahih Bukhari and the Qur'an into English wrote: "Allah revealed in Sura Bara'at (Repentance, IX) the order to discard (all) obligations (covenants, etc), and commanded the Muslims to fight against all the Pagans as well as against the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) if they do not embrace Islam, till they pay the Jizia (a tax levied on the Jews and Christians) with willing submission and feel themselves subdued (as it is revealed in 9:29). So the Muslims were not permitted to abandon "the fighting" against them (Pagans, Jews and Christians) and to reconcile with them and to suspend hostilities against them for an unlimited period while they are strong and have the ability to fight against them. So at first "the fighting" was forbidden, then it was permitted, and after that it was made obligatory" [introduction to English translation of Sahih Bukhari, p.xxiv.]

Dr. Sobhy as-Saleh, a contemporary Islamic academician quoted Imam Suyuti the author of Itqan Fi 'Ulum al- Qur'an who wrote: "The command to fight the infidels was delayed until the Muslims become strong, but when they were weak they were commanded to endure and be patient". [ Sobhy as_Saleh, Mabaheth Fi 'Ulum al- Qur'an, Dar al-'Ilm Lel-Malayeen, Beirut, 1983, p. 269.]

Dr. Sobhy, in a footnote, commends the opinion of a scholar named Zarkashi who said: "Allah the most high and wise revealed to Mohammad in his weak condition what suited the situation, because of his mercy to him and his followers. For if He gave them the command to fight while they were weak it would have been embarrassing and most difficult, but when the most high made Islam victorious He commanded him with what suited the situation, that is asking the people of the Book to become Muslims or to pay the levied tax, and the infidels to become Muslims or face death. These two options, to fight or to have peace return according to the strength or the weakness of the Muslims." [ibid p. 270]

Other Islamic scholars (Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi, Ga'far ar-Razi, Rabi' Ibn 'Ons, 'Abil-'Aliyah, Abd ar-Rahman Ibn Zayd Ibn 'Aslam, etc.) agree that the verse "Slay the idolaters wherever you find them" (9:5) cancelled those few earlier verses that called for tolerance in the Qur'an and were revealed when Islam was weak. Can you still say that Islam is the religion of peace?

We propose a solution.

We know too well that it is not easy to denounce our faith because it means denouncing a part of ourselves. We are a group of freethinkers and humanists with Islamic roots. Discovering the truth and leaving the religion of our fathers and forefathers was a painful experience. But after learning what Islam stands for we had no choice but to leave it. After becoming familiar with the Qur'an the choice became clear: It is either Islam or humanity. If Islam thrives, then humanity will die. We decided to side with humanity. Culturally we are still Muslims but we no longer believe in Islam as the true religion of God. We are humanists. We love humanity. We work for the unity of humankind. We work for equality between men and women. We strive for the secularisation of Islamic countries, for democracy and freedom of thought, belief and expression. We decided to live no longer in self-deception but to embrace humanity, and to enter into the new millennium hand in hand with people of other cultures and beliefs in amity and in peace.

We denounce the violence that is eulogized in the Qur'an as holy war (Jihad). We condemn killing in the name of God. We believe in the sanctity of human life, not in the inviolability of beliefs and religions. We invite you to join us and the rest of humanity and become part of the family of humankind - in love, camaraderie and peace.

krsna · July 13, 2005

By Syed Kamran Mirza

Islam, the last shackle of freedom for mankind is under tremendous scrutiny throughout the world. Muslims in general react violently when they find Muslims or non-Muslims critiquing Islam. Most Muslims blame the critic for singling out Islam and they claim Islam is the most tolerant and peaceful religion. Some of them immediately utter the one and only Quranic tolerant verse in their memory: No compulsion in religion…..(2:256). Others try to rationalize Islam by saying: “every religion is equally culprit or bad, so let’s not talk or criticize any religion”. Unfortunately, I never can agree with this notion. To me all may be bad but some are worst than the other. All diseases are bad, but some are more dangerous/lethal than the other. Likewise, all religion may be bad, but according to me Islam is the worst as per the negative affect to the individual level or society in general. Another most important point to consider is most religions except Islam have become outdated or dysfunctional today, i.e. their lethal effects are mostly absent or in dying condition.

All other religions except Islam only have the old scars and nothing else. Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism etc. have lost their sharpness or effectiveness to the society or state, although they may still exist at the personal level. All most all Christian/Hidu/Jews etc. dominated countries are democratic and most of all they all have secular Government. Therefore, their vices are not effective today to the society. We can say that mostly they have reformed and replaced by secular Government. Truly, they are the thing of the past today. We can not and should not blame the past happenings due to Christianity or Hinduism. We can not cite an example of “Sati-dah” (widow burning) which was stop by law century ago. We can not compare crusader’s activities which was gone several century ago. But this is not the case with Islam. Islam is rather rejuvenated at the modern day period. Muslims are going backward all over the world. Today, Islam/Muslims has become a dangerous burden for modern civilize society of every country or Govt. throughout the world. In every Muslim countries—fundamentalist Muslims are at constant war to capture state power. Because Islam strongly disbelieve separation of state and mosque. Not even one Muslim country has secular Government. All most a dozen Muslim countries have strict Islamic Government ruled by Shariat of 1400 year old. Rest of the all Muslim countries have it’s government directly influenced by some degree of Shariat. Religion Islam has become the most negative factor for the advancement of every Muslim country in the world. Just look at the political and social condition of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and other Muslim dominated country of the world. Even where Muslims are minority (such as Philippine) they are fighting relentlessly to capture political arena of the country.

Islam is the only religion on earth which claims:

Islam is the religion of peace, it is the only God given religion, purely given/came from God, Allah’s Mona-nitta Dharma (selected religion), every words of Qur’an are God’s word, Quran is full of all knowledge that mankind ever needs, Quran is full of Scientific knowledge, Quran has answers to all the human problems, Quran is the way of life for all mankind, Qur’an is the best code of life for all mankind etc. etc. Orthodox Muslims fanatics even go one step further by claiming: After the arrival of Qur’an from God, all other previously evolved religions have been declared by God –Null & void. That is, entire human beings of this planet should embrace Islam. And there are wide beliefs among the orthodox as well as illiterate Muslims that, someday all the inhabitants of this planet will convert to Islam. All those fanatics, (such as Osama-Bin-Laden) engaged in Jihad/Holy wars are devoted their entire energy to achieve this cherished objective and they are in a hurry to build the final success which will bring them paradise as a reward from Allah for their good job.

Historical effects of religion:

Religion makes a person closed minded and lazy. Religious person usually develops very narrow vision and devoid of free thinking. Religion is anti-technology, anti-science, anti-women and sometimes can be dangerously anti-human. Recent Taliban Government’s hilarious and cruel activities are good example what a religion can do to a nation. Women rights are greatly hindered primarily because of religion. In brief, religion is one of the important cause of a nation’s backwardness in every spheres of life. Past history of Europe and western world as a whole is the bright example to judge this truth. Starting from 4th century till 13th century, entire Europe was ruled by a strict religious decree/code of Christianity by Holy Roman Empires and later by various Kings as representatives of God on earth. Entire Europe was submerged/plunged in religious dogma, intolerance, devoid of humanity, (reminiscent of dark days of Europe can be seen in present day Iran, Afghanistan etc) and was backward, undeveloped, desperately poor until the great revolution of Renaissance took place in the 13th to 16th century? Technological revolution was not possible ,as long as, religious orthodoxy remained full fledged. Because quite obviously, religion is always anti-technology and anti-science. Europe under the theological autocrats believed that, religion (Bible) already answered all human questions & inquisitiveness and nothing more to know for them. Theologians believed that, people’s chief responsibility was to pray to God and study theology, the study of God.

In Bangladesh the social phenomenon are no better than pre-Renaissance Europe.The dark shadow of religious fanaticism is a major drawback to our society today. Religion can not make man pure and honest, although very purpose of religion was to make man pure and honest. The more religious a nation, the more corrupt is the country. People of Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Sudan, and most Arab nations are devout Muslims, but all those countries are heavily corrupt/anti-human. On the other hand, all western secular and democratic countries are less corrupt and more humanitarian. Japan, China, Singapore are less or non-religious countries, and these are most honest countries of the world. Perhaps, religiosity makes man too proud of their piousness or religious person thinks that, their prayers will clear/erase their sins or at the end pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) will clear all sins. “Beshi kare Namaj porille Allah Sha’ab mapp kare divey”(If you pray devoutly, Allah will forgive you for all sinns).

My fervent request to those who differ with me, please tell me which world religion or religions have the following:

(a) A strict dress-code for women (Hijab/Burkha), also for men, (b) strict code for food; © strong hatred for all other religions and segregated attitude for all; (d) women are oppressed/suppressed by puritanical sharias; (e) using left hand and petting dogs are prohibited by hadiths; (f) all kinds of amusements: music, songs, dance, TV, Radio, cinemas and games/sports are strictly prohibited; (g) In the whole world could you show me one or two countries ruling as Christian/Jewish/Hindu/Budha’s state (like shariaat of Islam in such as Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia etc.) where religious persecution and communal and sectarian fights are rampant? (h) Can you mention any religion (except Islam) has the various Jihadi organizations throughout the world, such as Hamas, Hizbullah, Horkut-ul-Jihad, Jihad-e-Ferdous etc. etc. who are fighting and killing people in the name of religion? (i) could you name one such world famous Terrorist like Osam-Bin-Laden in any other world religion? (J) Could you name any religion (except Islam) which strongly advocates to kill the people of other belief? (k) Could you give me one country where people are fighting ‘tooth and nail’ to topple their own democratic Government to establish a religious state (except Islam)? (L) could you name one country (except Muslim) where thieves, criminals, political prisoners etc. are punished by: lashing by whip (101), stoning to death, chopping heads or hands? (m) In Pakistan tens of thousands of peoples are jailed by BLASPHEMY law of the land, among them many thousands are awarded death penalty by the court. Pakistan is at the verge of falling at the hands of Talibans. My question is: could anybody assure me that when Pakistan will be ruled by Shariaat those poor convicted peoples will not be executed by stoning? (n) In the whole modern world—do we have any other religion which implements today BLASPHEMY LAWS? (o) If I declare Jesus “a son of Roman Soldier” or even “a son of bitch” shall I be under the threat of death penalty? (p) Could I do the same with Prophet Muhammad? (Q) West including America have immigrants from all kinds of religious background. Could you name any other group/groups other than Muslim having the similar problem in the process of blending with the inhabitants of host countries?

I can go on and on, and still Islamic vices will not be ended so soon. Now everything I cited should be considered current and not a past history. We are not discussing about the old scars of a disease, rather we are discussing about the acute fever of the disease. Islam’s fever is a very severe and acute, and increasing with speed. I have studied most religions thoroughly and entirely—I am yet to find another world religion having so many scriptural instructions of hate and subjugation towards other religions. Not because people hates Islam that’s why they are accusing Islam today. Because Islamic fever is effecting everybody including us those expatriates. While in the rest of the world God is gradually loosing lucrative business of the past among the Public arena, in the Muslim world God is still standing strong in the minds of general illiterate public and doing very lucrative business.

How it effects Third world countries:

In the Third world countries, religion has become a tremendous burden or manacle for most Nations. Common people are tremendously exploited in the name of religion. As a case study, let us examine how Bangladeshis are being exploited by the effect of religion. Almost 80% of Bangladeshis are strong believers and occupied by religious devoutness almost like opium addiction. Religious fanaticism is one of the most important cause of total backwardness of our nation. Here, people’s minds are mostly occupied by religious illusions (hell and heaven’s huries etc.), becomes highly superstitious, and people develop narrow/limited visions. No free thinking and no innovation/imaginations, no creativeness, hence no new discovery.

In the name of religion, most Bangladeshis are being exploited. Pirs, Mauolana and Mullahs are totally unproductive and they are simply parasites of the Nation and they live on other people’s blood. They are pure “Dharma Beboshaii” (Religious traders) and they vigorously & relentlessly exploit common religiously addicted peoples. Here, educated peoples exploit common illiterate people in the name of religion. Politicians exploit public in the name of religion. Man exploits woman in the name of religion

In Bangladesh, people spent much of their valuable time in the unproductive field like religion. Religious activities absorbs at least 30-40% of their man-hours, which could be utilized in developing works. Common people spend their considerable time, energy and wealth for religious activities.

What is my purpose?

I am not anti-religion, nor I am an atheist. But my belief in supernatural power is not the same as conventional religions. I do not believe that, somebody who does not accept Qur’an or Bible as the God’s word is necessarily an atheist. Because, I only question the proof/authenticity of god’s word, not questioning the very existence of God. Although, very reasonably I do not believe in any personal God—who rewards for good deeds and punish for bad deeds.

However, I do not believe in destroying/abolishing any religion, nor anybody can expect/claim that any religion will be destroyed/abolished from the face of the earth. General people or week-minded people will always need religion. Because, to such people, religion gives security as they believe that a divine power watches over them from above and gives protection. In fact, no major religion has been abolished from the face of the earth, but most religions except Islam have been unveiled & made less enthusiastic to the general mass. And this was possible by letting translated religious scriptures readily available to the public, by continuous analyses/criticisms by numerous intellectuals/philosophers like Charles Darwin, Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russels etc. and by eventual Secularism. It took several centuries to subdue rigorous fanatic forces of Christianity or Hinduism. Final nail was fixed by Secular Democracy. Islam needs the same treatment very badly, if those Third World Muslim countries want to prosper at all. But, unfortunately the prospect of Muslims to achieve same success like Christianity and Hinduism looks very slim for following reasons: (a) Qur’an remained non-translated and total mystery to the common Muslims almost for Thirteen hundred years. (b) Unlike Christian or Hindu intellectuals, most Muslim intellectuals remained blind-folded (more fanatic than common muslims) and still preaches divinity to the common Muslims, who never read Quran in their mother tongue. © Very recently, these insincere, wishful intellectuals discovered science (with the help of two western hypocrites in exchange of millions of dollars) in Qur’an just to rejuvenate fanaticism to common Muslims.

Conclusion:

There is nothing wrong in believing in some form of religion, as long as, it remains purely personal. But I am against an “organized religion” like the Islam today. Islam is the only religion still organized unlike Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. I am a proponent of secularism just like western world, where every religion do exists in a personal basis. People will perform religions in their personal level. No state sponsors of any religion should exist. Politics on the basis of religion should be prohibited, and no public money should be allocated/spend for the cause of any religion. Religion should remain as a private/personal matter. In order to achieve a true secularism, we should teach common people (not those educated gaan-pappi) that, everything in Quran and hadiths are not necessarily God’s words. Only this education and understanding will help establish secularism in the country like Bangladesh.

krsna · July 13, 2005

Arab-American author outlines secret

20-year strategy to undermine country

A refugee from the Muslim Middle East thinks he has discovered Islam's 20-point plan for conquering the United States by 2020 – a plan revealed in the latest issue of Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

Anis Shorrosh, author of ''Islam Revealed'' and ''The True Furqan,'' is a Christian Arab-American who emigrated from Arab-controlled Jerusalem in January 1967.

''The following is my analysis of Islamic invasion of America, the agenda of Islamists and visible methods to take over America by the year 2020,'' Shorrosh says. ''Will Americans continue to sleep through this invasion as they did when we were attacked on 9/11?''

1. Terminate America's freedom of speech by replacing it with statewide and nationwide hate-crime bills.

2. Wage a war of words using black leaders like Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Jesse Jackson and other visible religious personalities who promote Islam as the religion of African-Americans while insisting Christianity is for whites only. What they fail to tell African-Americans is that it was Arab Muslims who captured them and sold them as slaves. In fact, the Arabic word for black and slave is the same, ''Abed.''

3. Engage the American public in dialogues, discussions, debates in colleges, universities, public libraries, radio, TV, churches and mosques on the virtues of Islam. Proclaim how it is historically another religion like Judaism and Christianity with the same monotheistic faith.

4. Nominate Muslim sympathizers to political office to bring about favorable legislation toward Islam and support potential sympathizers by block voting.

5. Take control of as much of Hollywood, the press, TV, radio and the Internet as possible by buying the related corporations or a controlling stock.

6. Yield to the fear of the imminent shut-off of the lifeblood of America – black gold. America’s economy depends on oil and 41 percent of it comes from the Middle East.

7. Yell ''foul, out-of-context, personal interpretation, hate crime, Zionist, un- American, inaccurate interpretation of the Quran'' anytime Islam is criticized or the Quran is analyzed in the public arena.

8. Encourage Muslims to penetrate the White House, specifically with Islamists who can articulate a marvelous and peaceful picture of Islam. Acquire government positions and get membership in local school boards. Train Muslims as medical doctors to dominate the medical field, research and pharmaceutical companies. (Ever notice how numerous Muslim doctors in America are, when their countries need them more desperately than America?) Take over the computer industry. Establish Middle Eastern restaurants throughout the U.S. to connect planners of Islamization in a discreet way.

9. Accelerate Islamic demographic growth via:

Massive immigration (100,000 annually since 1961).

Use no birth control whatsoever – every baby of Muslim parents is automatically a Muslim and cannot choose another religion later.

Muslim men must marry American women and Islamize them (10,000 annually). Then divorce them and remarry every five years – since one can't legally marry four at one time. This is a legal solution in America.

Convert angry, alienated black inmates and turn them into militants (so far 2,000 released inmates have joined al-Qaida worldwide). Only a few ''sleeper cells'' have been captured in Afghanistan and on American soil.

10. Reading, writing, arithmetic and research through the American educational system, mosques and student centers (now 1,500) should be sprinkled with dislike of Jews, evangelical Christians and democracy. There are currently 300 exclusively Muslim schools in the U.S. which teach loyalty to the Quran, not the U.S. Constitution. In January of 2002, Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Washington mailed 4,500 packets of the Quran and videos promoting Islam to America's high schools – free of charge. Saudi Arabia would not allow the U.S. to reciprocate.

11. Provide very sizeable monetary Muslim grants to colleges and universities in America to establish ''Centers for Islamic studies'' with Muslim directors to promote Islam in higher-education institutions.

12. Let the entire world know through propaganda, speeches, seminars, local and national media that terrorists have hijacked Islam, when in truth, Islam hijacked the terrorists.

13. Appeal to the historically compassionate and sensitive Americans for sympathy and tolerance towards Muslims in America who are portrayed as mainly immigrants from oppressed countries.

14. Nullify America's sense of security by manipulating the intelligence community with misinformation. Periodically terrorize Americans with reports of impending attacks on bridges, tunnels, water supplies, airports, apartment buildings and malls.

15. Form riots and demonstrations in the prison system demanding Islamic Sharia as the way of life, not America's justice system.

16. Open numerous charities throughout the U.S., but use the funds to support Islamic terrorism with American dollars.

17. Raise interest in Islam on America's campuses by insisting freshman take at least one course on Islam.

18. Unify the numerous Muslim lobbies in Washington, mosques, Islamic student centers, educational organizations, magazines and papers by Internet and an annual convention to coordinate plans, propagate the faith and engender news in the media.

19. Send intimidating messages and messengers to the outspoken individuals who are critical of Islam and seek to eliminate them by hook or crook.

20. Applaud Muslims as loyal citizens of the U.S. by spotlighting their voting record as the highest percentage of all minority and ethic groups in America.

Shorrosh is a member of the Oxford Society of Scholars, has traveled in 76 countries, and is a lecturer and producer of TV documentaries. ''Islam Revealed'' is a bestseller now in its eighth printing. His forthcoming 10th book, from which the 20-point plan is abridged, is titled ''Islam: A Threat or a Challenge.''

krsna · July 13, 2005

January 17, 2005

By Sean O'Neil and Yaakov Lappin

Omar Bakri Mohammed, banned from many British mosques, is issuing a call to arms to a committed audience

AN EXTREMIST London cleric is using live broadcasts on the internet to urge young British Muslims to join al-Qaeda and has condoned suicide terrorist attacks. Omar Bakri Mohammed, who has lived in the UK for 18 years on social security benefits, pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden and told his followers that they were in a state of war with Britain.

The Times monitored Mr Bakri Mohammed’s nightly webcasts in which he declared that the “covenant of security” under which Muslims live peacefully in the UK had been “violated” by the Government’s tough anti-terrorist legislation, The Syrian-born radical said: “I believe the whole of Britain has become Dar ul-Harb (land of war). In such a state, he added, “the kuffar (non-believer) has no sanctity for their own life or property.”

In his broadcasts, conducted through an internet chatroom, Mr Bakri Mohammed stopped short of calling for terrorist attacks in Britain. But he said that Muslims should join the jihad “wherever you are” and told one woman that she was permitted to become a suicide bomber.

Mr Bakri Mohammed, 46, has indefinite leave to remain in the UK but could be detained without trial under the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act if the Home Secretary were to decide he is a terrorist associate.

Last Monday he told his listeners: “Al-Qaeda and all its branches and organisations of the world, that is the victorious group and they have the emir and you are obliged to join. There is no need . . . to mess about.” Two nights later he said that the voices of dead Mujahidin were calling young Britons to fight. “These people are calling you and shouting to you from far distant places: al jihad, al jihad. They say to you my dear Muslim brothers, ‘Where is your weapon, where is your weapon?’ Come on to the jihad,” he said.

The cleric is regarded as a fringe extremist by mainstream Muslims and is banned from preaching at many mosques. But every night he is using internet forums to reach an audience of between 60 and 70 committed listeners, most of whom are under 30.

He lectures for 90 minutes and his audience responds enthusiastically, typing questions about jihad and suicide bombing which are answered verbally. An announcement last October that Mr Bakri Mohammed had disbanded his al-Muhajiroun movement was welcomed. But it appears that he has regrouped and is delivering a more hardline message through the internet and at secretive meetings.

Speaking directly to The Times, Mr Bakri Mohammed denied that he was calling for violent action in the UK. He said his definition of Britain as Dar ul-Harb was “theoretical”.

He added: “It means that Muslims can no longer be considered to have sanctity and security here, therefore they should consider leaving this country and going back to their homelands. Otherwise they are under siege and obviously we do not want to see that we are living under siege.”

The alternative to leaving was to put pressure on the Government to review its anti-terrorist laws, he said, and that the definition of jihad took many forms and not simply military activity. He also denied that he was inciting others to commit acts of violence.

Andrew Dismore, a Labour MP who has long campaigned against Mr Bakri Mohammad’s extremism, said: “With these words he may well be committing offences under the Terrorism Act and other legislation. I will be raising this immediately with the Home Secretary and the Metropolitan Police.”

WAR OF WORDS

“If I am living under a system, Islam allows me to take the benefit that system offers.”

August 1998 on accepting social security benefits

“What happened was a direct consequence of the evil foreign policy of the USA. This is compensation and payback for its own atrocities against Muslims.”

September 2001 on 9/11 attacks

“I am very happy today. As much as I regret the innocent people who passed away, with the USA you must pay.”

September 2001 on 9/11 attacks

“We don’t want to see a September 11 in the UK and I think the British public should take these threats very seriously.”

February 2003 on danger of terror attacks in Britain

“I can sense there is frustration in the hearts of the youth and they want action. I can see from debates and talking to people on the internet that there are many people abroad wanting to attack Britain.”

February 2003 on anger among Muslim youth

“You must fight for the way of Allah, for the sake of Allah, to kill first and to be killed.”

March 2004 address to followers in Derby

“What happened in Madrid is all revenge. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life.”

March 2004 referring to the Madrid train bombings

Martyrdom is what you want. Do the effort. Clear your intention. Go forward, never look backwards. Make sure you have nothing left behind you to think about or cry for and fight in the name of Allah.”

April 2004 addressing followers in East London

krsna · July 13, 2005

Dear Muslim, three questions that must be asked. Please answer.

If Islam is peace, why does it teach that anyone who leaves Islam must be given a chance to convert back, or face execution as an apostate?

If Islam is peaceful, why is it responsible for most of the world’s terrorism?

If Islam is peaceful, why is it that while Muslims are free to preach their religion in the USA, it denies the right of Christians to preach the Gospel in Muslim lands?

krsna · July 13, 2005

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4679001.stm

krsna · July 13, 2005

Point-by-point:

Question time

Here are the main points from prime minister's questions in the House of Commons, starting at 1200BST:

Keith Vaz said there had been 100 race hate attacks in the past few days

He condemned the attacks which have taken place on mosques:

"Isn't it the case that anyone who reaches out for a stone to throw at the window of a mosque, anyone who nurtures resentment against our Muslim community is the enemy of all of us because they would be acting in the way that the terrorists want us to act, helping them achieve their objective of dividing us one from another?," said Mr Howard

There would also be moves to strengthen the procedures to stop people who would incite terror entering the country, and make deportations easier .

Thirdly, he said the government will immediately start discussions with UK Muslim leaders on combating "the perverted and poisonous misinterpretation of Islam" which lay behind the attacks

He said the government would also push for international action to mobilise the "moderate and true voice of Muslim"

He called for the "measured and calm" response from the public in the wake of the attacks to continue

He said Muslims in Britain were overwhelmingly law-abiding and decent and condemned the attacks

He said the government would issue a list of attacks that had taken place around the world from 1993 as part of the process of mobilising moderate Muslims

Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy joined in offering his condolences to the victims and praising the police

Mr Kennedy said he, Mr Howard and Mr Blair "stand as one with the Muslim community" who condemn the attacks

John Denham said there was a "pool of alienation", identified in a number of reports, from which extremists recruit young Muslims

Mr Blair agreed it was important to study the reasons for Islamic extremism in UK communities but he stressed the international nature of the problem as well

"This is not something that is going to be dealt with just by our country alone," Mr Blair told MPs

July 20, 2005

he who kills well so what GOD BLESS AMERICA

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