WikiIslam:Sandbox/Teachings of Islam compared to US Laws and the Constitution: Difference between revisions

(1) The Constitution of the United States requires equal legal rights for men and women. This means that the testimony of one woman counts exactly the same as that for one man in a court of law. There are no possible exceptions to this rule for any American citizen.

Quran 2:282 says, in part: "call in to witness from among your men two witnesses; but if there are not two men, then one man and two women from among those whom you choose to be witnesses..." This is the basis for Shariah law which holds that in all cases of law the testimony of two women is necessary to equal that of one man.

Do you repudiate the principle in the Qur'an which requires that it takes the testimony of two women to equal the testimony of one man in a law court? YES / NO

(2) US Law does not tolerate wife beating and regards it as a crime.

Quran 4:34 says: " Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded. But as to those women on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great "

Do you repudiate the teaching in the Qur'an which approves wife beating? YES / NO

(3) Cruel and unusual punishment is illegal by provisions of the US Constitution. This includes such retribution as physical mutilation and injury to the body.

Quran 5:38 "As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands. It is the reward of their own deeds, an exemplary punishment from Allah. Allah is Mighty, Wise." Quran 5:33 "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: "

Do you repudiate all verses in the Qur'an which demand cruel and unusual punishment? YES / NO

(4) The age of marriage varies by state, but in all cases requires that a wife should be of child bearing age, that is, she should be post-pubescent, generally 15 or 16 years of age minimum, 17 or 18 in other jurisdictions.

Quran 65:4 "As for your women who have despaired of further menstruating, if you are in doubt, then their waiting period is three months as well as those who have not yet menstruated. As for those who are pregnant, their term shall be the time they deliver their burden. Allah will ease (matters) by His order for whosoever fears Him." As a Muslim scholar named Maududi has said in his official interpretation of this verse: "Therefore, making mention of the waiting-period for girls who have not yet menstruated, clearly proves that it is not only permissible to give away the girl at this age but it is permissible for the husband to consummate marriage with her. Now, obviously no Muslim has the right to forbid a thing which the Qur'an has held as permissible."

Do you repudiate this verse in the Qur'an which regards child marriage as approved, which American law regards as a form of child molestation? YES / NO

(5) The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution explicitly outlaws slavery in all forms, male or female.

Quran 4:92 " And it does not behoove a believer to kill a believer except by mistake, and whoever kills a believer by mistake, he should free a believing slave, and blood-money should be paid, but he who cannot find a slave should fast for two months successively." As scholars have pointed out, this verse assumes that Muslims will own slaves, or a significant number will, as did Muhammad, who owned slaves and bought and sold them. This is just one verse out of dozens that approve the institution of slavery and present in as an eternal condition of humanity.

Do you repudiate all verses in the Qur'an which approve slavery? YES / NO

(6) Hate speech is objectionable in American culture, and federal law regards such language as legally actionable, deserving punishment. While there are various categories of hate speech, general agreement is that anti-Semitism is the worst such offense.

Qur'an 5:60-65 says in part, speaking specifically of Jews as verse 59 makes clear: "Those whom God has cursed and with whom He has been angry, he has transformed them into apes and pigs, and those who serve the devil" This is the source of Muslim demonstrators' signs and chants that Jews are apes and pigs --the Qur'an itself. There are still other passages in Muhammad's book which also are anti-Semitic --as the term is generally used in America to refer to anti-Jewish bigotry.

Do you repudiate all anti-Semitic hate speech in the Qur'an, especially verse 60 of Surah 5? YES / NO

(7) War or any acts of physical violence, or threat of violence, with the intention of forcing people to convert to a religion is utterly abhorrent to American law and is explicitly outlawed by the First Amendment.

Quran 8:12 "Thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the Muslims, I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. Smite them on their necks and cut all their fingers off."

This is one of 164 jihad verses in Muhammad's book. Of this number approximately 100 are commandments to able-bodied Muslim men to physically fight against non-Muslims. The remaining 64 verses deal with inner struggle, etc, and are not the subject here.

Generations of Muslim authorities leave zero room to doubt that war or other forms of physical violence on behalf of Islam, with the objective being forced conversion of non-Muslims, is commanded and is not an option. In most cases the "cover" --rationalization-- for such aggression is the pretext that these should be defensive campaigns. Except that, from the outset, while Muhammad was still alive and a leader in jihad, few if any jihads were defensive at all and were only claimed to be, because Muslims were offended that other people would not willingly surrender to their armies when invaded. That is, there is no reasonable doubt that the meaning of the 100 jihad verses in question all promote violence against people of other faiths. The main objective is conversion but also important is terrorizing others so that they fear the wrath of Muslims.

Do you repudiate all jihad verses in the Qur'an which command Muslims to fight against non-Muslims with the objective of converting other people to Islam? YES / NO

(8) The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion to all US citizens. No-one may prohibit someone from changing religion, or ceasing to belong to a religion. No-one may prohibit someone, in any appropriate setting, from seeking to convince someone else of the rightness of his or her faith and seeking to win converts. No believers of any faith are exempt from this provision of the First Amendment.

Qur'an 4:88-89 "Then what is the matter with you that you are divided into two parties about the hypocrites? Allah has cast them back (to disbelief)... Do you want to guide him whom Allah has made go astray? ... They wish that you reject (Islam), and thus that you all become equal (like any other faith). So, take not... (friends) from them, till they emigrate in the way of Allah (to Muhammad). But if they turn away (from Islam), take hold of them and kill them wherever you find them ." One of several verses which deal with what Muslims characterize as apostasy. The penalty for what Americans insist is a God-given right, to free choice in religion, is death in an Islamic context.

Do you repudiate all apostasy verses in the Qur'an and uphold the principle of free choice in religion? YES / NO

(9) In America, free speech is sacrosanct and, while a people have the right to object to criticisms of their beliefs, and while others must obey libel or slander laws, everyone who so desires is free to make any criticisms of religion he or she wishes to make. This is considered a moral good when one's motivation is making the truth widely known. It does not matter if a truth is popular or unpopular; honesty is the higher virtue by far, indeed, there is no real contest.

Quran 4:140 "Allah will collect the hypocrites and those who defy faith - and put them in Hell." This is one verse which is foundational to Shariah law penalizing all forms of what Muslims characterize as "blasphemy." Depending on the "offense" and what country such law is enforced in, the punishment may be anything from jail time or banishment, to death.

What qualifies as blasphemy ? A few examples: criticizing Islam making jokes about Muhammad or the Qur'an, criticizing the Qur'an, which is regarded by Muslims as Allah's exact words incarnate on Earth asserting that the Qur'an was written by Muhammad rather than a transcription of Allah's words, for example, calling the Qur'an "Muhammad's book." criticizing Muhammad, especially perceived insults of Muhammad criticizing such Muslim practices as saying prayers 5 times a day, prostrate on the floor reporting objective facts that embarrass Muslims, such as the fact that Muhammad married Aisha, a girl of 6 and consummated the "marriage" when she was 9. creating an image of Muhammad or portraying him with an actor in a movie or stage play claiming to be a prophet.

The last item makes all Mormons guilty of blasphemy since all male Mormons are considered prophets by their church and all Mormon women accept this belief. One or more items make Christian missionaries who express honest opinions about the Qur'an or Muhammad guilty of the "crime" of blasphemy who, in some countries, with Pakistan being especially notorious, are killed. Indeed, considering these types of "blasphemy" alone, each, by American law, is a form of protected speech to which all US citizens are entitled.

Do you repudiate all anti-blasphemy laws in Shariah, those derived directly from the Quran as well as those derived from Hadith traditions? YES / NO

(10) The First Amendment guarantees freedom to worship any deity of your choice. Or freedom to be an Agnostic or Atheist. You may worship 100 Gods or Goddesses, or just one, or none at all. All US citizens accept this principle but are free to express their opinions if they think someone else's beliefs are wrong.

Quran 4:116 "Verily Allah does not forgive setting up partners in worship with Him. But He forgives whom he pleases, sins other than that." To be devoted to a Goddess, in other words, is, in Islam, the unforgivable sin. Also extremely serious is Quran 2:28, "How do you disbelieve in Allah, seeing that you were dead and he gave you life! Then he will cause you to die..."

In other words, Goddess worship deserves death according to Islam, and Atheists also deserve death. In some Muslim lands capital punishment for these "offenses" are de jure carried out.

Almost all Hindus are devotees of one or more Goddesses, so are most Mahayana Buddhists in Japan and elsewhere. Taoists venerate a Goddess, as do Zoroastrians (Anahita) and traditional Pagans such as those in the Baltic states and rural Russia. So do Wiccans and most other neo-Pagans. Islam considers Catholics and the Greek Orthodox as Goddess worshippers for their devotion to Mary, and the Mormons worship the Heavenly Mother as well as the Heavenly Father. Plus there are normative Christian groups, like Assyrian Christians, who adhere formally to usual Church doctrine but who informally venerate the Goddess Ishtar .Altogether, about 2 billion people in the world can be classified as Goddess devotees, closer to 3 billion if you add Catholics and the Orthodox. A reasonable estimate is that, including Mormons, about 15 or 20 million Americans are Goddess devotees of one kind or another. And all deserve the full protection of American law as guaranteed by the First Amendment.