In our houses of worship we all honor peace, tranquility, and goodness. We praise our Lord, ask for guidance and forgiveness. We wish malice to no one and strive to be kind, considerate, and charitable to all man kind. So why is the world on the verge of a catastrophic conflict?
The answer is definition and perception. We all have become used to words having the exact opposite meaning of what it was just a few years ago. Today “Man that’s a bad outfit” actually is a compliment to ones attire. What once was “cool’ became “hot” and then “cool” again. Can you see how a person from one place in time could totally misunderstand some one from another? Tell a person from the 50’s that he/she looks “bad” and you will insult them. Tell that same person that he/she is “rad” and they will avoid you for fear of catching what ever it is you are suffering from. So it is with other culture’s languages, especially those that have not evolved with the times like a culture that has not progressed as others around them, one that stayed in the eight century.
PEACE
When Jews and Christians speak of peace, we mean it for all. Not just those that are family, friends, or neighbors. The God we worship and praise has set rules and laws for us that benefit all man kind. We have been thought to be respectful and tolerant of all. Islam teaches much the same but with a nasty twist. Islam teaches that those who are “faithful” are to be considered of respect and goodness. But what of those of other faiths or secular following, are they worthy of these things also? According to Mohamed no, they are to be despised and looked upon as an evil to be used if possible, but eventually eradicated (Sura 9:3). Nowhere in our bibles does it say to slay those that disagree with Judaism or Christianity. Jews and Christians do not demand that those of other faiths give up their liberty, possessions, or life, yet it is at the foundation of Islam. We say that our religion is a religion of peace. Moslems say that Islam is a religion of peace and they truly believe it is so. Islam looks favorably on true believers and considers everyone else as less than human, with no rights but to cower and beg for mercy. If fakir does not beg for mercy let alone try and defend himself, he is going against Allah’s will and must be punished. If a fakir speaks against anything a Moslem says or does. It is the duty of the Moslem to punish non-believer.
JUSTCE
There was a case in Colorado where a woman was kept as a slave. A Muslim couple hired an Indonesian woman as a house servant. They took and hid her passport, used her for sex, and forcibly kept her from leaving. At the elocution part of their trial, the man said he was innocent of all charges and that the state kept him form doing what is his right under his religion. He believed he was being persecuted. Here we have a clear case of different meanings to same words. To us justice is defined by a fair trail and that no one has the right to imprison another. To the Colorado couple justice would be they being allowed to do as they please with another human being. This couple and many others like them believe with all their heart that they have been wronged and Allah’s will was denied. The word is justice; in western culture it means protection of the innocent and punishment of the guilty. In the context of Islamic thought, it means protection of the powerful and privileged and abuse of the weak.
The Old Testament speaks of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. Many believe it means taking revenge. On the contrary, it is the first time in history that an attempt has been made to fit the punishment to the crime. That is why in our culture a petty thief is sent to prison for a specified time and is not denied the use of the hand that stole by having it chopped off. Islam’s justice is really more like revenge. The petty thief is doomed for the rest of his life to wear the mark of a missing digit. How can he now become a productive citizen? He can’t. He is to be forever denounced and scorned.
A Muslim family will demand justice as will a Jewish or Christian if their daughter is raped. But justice takes a very different form for the Muslim family. A Jewish or Christian family would want the perpetrator to be punished while the Muslim family’s concern is not the daughter’s welfare but their own honor. The Koran demands, that the woman who was violated be punished. She is to be punished very severely. They only way the Muslim family can get their honor back, is by stoning their own daughter to death. Western culture makes a very distinct difference between the victim and the perpetrator. That is why in our culture the rape victim is not killed by stoning (to preserve the honor of the family) but the perpetrators of the rape are punished. The meaning of justice in western culture and under Islam is quite different and diametrically opposed. Can these two meanings ever be reconciled in a manner that can be accepted by both or are we doomed to a final conflict with only one victor?
CHARITY
Charity in our western culture means giving aid to the down trodden, to the poor, and to those down on their luck, helping out the needy. In the Muslim world it means basically the same. The difference is in the definition of the needy. Mohamed encouraged all to take up the sword and attack neighboring towns and villages. The farmers and fat cat businessmen of commerce and trade were in no hurry to give up their enterprises to go loot some village. The rewords were not guaranteed, the effort was great, and chance of injury, loss of limb, and even one’s life was actually quite high. Besides, those that did take up the sword never seemed to be that well off. Most did not own any land and if they did never seemed to be able (or care) to hold on to it. Why half the time they hardly had enough to eat shortly after a raid to pillage. The bounty of the plunder they got soon disappeared. But Mohamed needed these armies of plunderers to maintain his own coffers. Mohamed had favor with Allah, who degreed that one fifth (20%) of the booty from these raids (including women) must go to Mohamed. Now feeding this motley horde could eat a hole into Mohamed’s coffers. Solution, get those lazy boors that won’t go out and fight to be “charitable” to those in need. Mohamed had a completely different concept of “the needy”. So in Islam charity in the times of Mohamed went to the same type of people that it goes to now, the armies of Islam that intend to conquer this world. That is why all the Mosques in the United States are giving money to “charity” and can’t understand how we can be so upset about it. They are helping those in need. Those in need are that way because their leaders have kept them poor, hungry, and uneducated. Their money goes to suicide bombers, mass murderers, and those that encourage murder and mayhem. Western charities help famine struck communities or others that have suffered, such as those fleeing from Islam’s massacre of every person in a village. The massacre of Christians in the Sudan was not enough for the leaders of Islam. After running out of Christians to murder, it was decided that not all Muslims are considered “true believers” and the wrath of Islam was turned lose on those who, in the mind of the warriors, were not quite true believers.
ENEMY
To a Jew or Christian, an enemy is one who in no certain terms is bent on doing physical harm. Hitler was the enemy since he attempted the annihilation of not only the Jewish race but all people that were not of the Arian race. Who was and wasn’t Arian was to be determined by Hitler. The Imperial Japanese Empire saw its own people as far superior to all other races and also sought the destruction of the western barbarians. These were our real enemies. In Islam the enemy is any one not a Muslim. The allies fought an enemy who was bent on conquering the world, kill all that stood in its way, and enslaving the rest. There was an enemy that had to be fought and killed. By Islam’s standard a small chilled, a defenseless man or woman who does not believe that Allah is the one and only true God is the enemy. An enemy that deserves no mercy and must be enslave or killed. In Islam and Judo-Christian the enemy is to be fought and conquered and justly so. Any means to defeat the enemy, deception, cunning are all to be used to be victorious. It is the definition of who the enemy is and what the enemy represents is the difference. In Islam there is the Moslem world and the rest is the enemy that needs to be purged from this earth.
CONVERT
Ones actions can also be interpreted in different ways. If a Jew or Christian decides to leave his or her religion, they are considered a convert. Their friends, family and associates might be very disappointed even angry. The worst consequences to come from this conversion is that they might be shunned, not spoken to, or even looked upon as if they had passed away. No physical harm would come to them. Not so in the Islam world. When one leaves Islam, their life comes into jeopardy. Leaving Islam is an affront against Allah that must be punished swiftly and harshly. Converts from Islam have suffered horrendous torture and if they do not recant their decision to leave Islam, death.
We have seen that the same words take on completely different meaning to a Jew or Christian and a Moslem. When a Jew or Christian meets a Moslem they are meeting a person of a different faith then theirs. At worst he is to be pitied for his belief but he is one that need not be eliminated or generally feared. We feel that we can have a Muslim as a neighbor, spend time with him, share our thoughts and enjoy his company. A Muslim meeting a Jew or Christian sees the enemy, one to be subjugated, and one that is less than a human being. Each belief accepts its own definition and can not comprehend how the other can see things any different. Most Jews and Christians are presented with conundrum when faced with the truth about Islam. We don’t need to necessarily be devoted to practice our religion to have a deep rooted belief that all faiths are proponents of peace, harmony, and tolerance. Peace, justice, charity, enemy and converts have a very different meaning. It all depends on one’s definition and perception.
© 2007, by Vladimir Val Cymbal all rights reserved.
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