People of the Book: Difference between revisions

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{{Main|Angel Jibreel|Gabriel and the Holy Spirit}}
{{Main|Angel Jibreel|Gabriel and the Holy Spirit}}


According to Islamic scriptures, ''Jibreel'' (جبريل Gabriel) is the angel who first appeared to Muhammad in the cave of Hijra and taught Muhammad the Qur'an. The initial experience frightened Muhammad, and originally thinking he was possessed by a demon, the Islamic prophet became suicidal.
According to Islamic scriptures, ''Jibreel'' (جبريل Gabriel) is the angel who first appeared to Muhammad in the cave of Hijra and taught Muhammad the Qur'an. The initial experience frightened Muhammad, and originally thinking he was possessed by a demon, the Islamic prophet became, according to his own account, suicidal for a period of time (being prevented from jumping off a cliff multiple times by Gabriel himself).


==Under Islamic Rule==
==Under Islamic Rule==
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{{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Dhimmitude|Dhimmitude}}
{{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Dhimmitude|Dhimmitude}}


The term ''Dhimmitude'' is derived from ''Dhimmi'', which means a non-Muslim living in an Islamic country. Robert Spencer has defined it as "the status that Islamic law, the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims, primarily Jews and Christians". According to orthodox Islamic law, those who are qualified for the second-class Dhimmi status within the Muslim society are the free (i.e non-slave) Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, who agree to pay the jizyah. Adherents of other religions, as well as those without religion, are asked to convert to Islam; if they refuse, they are to be forced to convert.
The term ''Dhimmitude'' is derived from ''Dhimmi'', which means a non-Muslim living in an Islamic country. According to orthodox Islamic law, those who are qualified for the second-class Dhimmi status within the Muslim society are the free (i.e non-slave) Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, who agree to pay the jizyah, a religious tax whose purpose is to "humiliate" or "subdue" non-Muslims (as stated explicitly in {{Quran|9|29}}). Adherents of other religions, as well as those without religion, are asked to convert to Islam; if they refuse, they are to be forced to convert, or face enslavement or execution.
 
According to the respected scholar, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, jihad should be waged against Jews and Christians because they are guilty of committing shirk (one of the gravest sins in Islam), their beliefs about the Day of Judgement are not Islamic, and they do not follow the laws of Islam revealed to Muhammad.<ref>[http://www.englishtafsir.com/Quran/9/index.html#sdfootnote27sym Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an (Quran 9:29, Footnotes 26 & 27)]</ref>


===Jizyah Tax===
===Jizyah Tax===
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{{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Forced Conversion}}
{{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Forced Conversion}}


This article simply provides information about the Islamic use of forced conversion and forced submission or expulsion as evidenced by Islamic scripture and historical and contemporary writings. For example, According to the respected scholar, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, jihad should be waged against Jews and Christians because they are guilty of committing shirk (one of the gravest sins in Islam), their beliefs about the Day of Judgement are not Islamic, and they do not follow the laws of Islam revealed to Muhammad.<ref>[http://www.englishtafsir.com/Quran/9/index.html#sdfootnote27sym Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an (Quran 9:29, Footnotes 26 & 27)]</ref>
This article provides information about the historical Islamic use of forced conversion and forced submission or expulsion.
 
===The Destruction of Non-Muslim Worship Places===
{{Main|Worship Places Converted or Destroyed by Muslims}}
 
Throughout history, Muslims have destroyed worship places (churches, synagogues, temples) of other religions or converted them into mosques. In fact, the Ka'aba (the holiest shrine in Islam) was originally a pagan place of worship, used by the polytheist Arabs before Muhammad subsequently removed and destroyed everything considered idolatrous.


===The Pact of Umar===
===The Pact of Umar===
{{Main|The Pact of Umar|Analysis of the Pact of Umar}}
{{Main|The Pact of Umar|Analysis of the Pact of Umar}}


Much has been said of the ''Pact of Umar'',<ref>Paul Halsall - [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/pact-umar.html The Status of Non-Muslims Under Muslim Rule]- Medieval Sourcebook, January, 1996</ref> and much of it distinctly positive. Its non-Muslim admirers gleefully compare its contents to the treatment of religious minorities in Medieval Europe, while ignoring its influence and conformity with Islamic scriptural sources which still govern the treatment of minorities in the East today. Some non-Muslim scholars of early Islam doubt the pact's authenticity, highlighting the fact that the Islamic traditions surrounding the writing of the pact are a few hundred years removed from the actual events described, and that no contemporary sources refers to it at all. ''Sophronius''' (560  - 638 AD) authentic extant writings also refer to the Muslim conquerors in a very negative way, putting further doubts on the Muslim recollections of events.<ref> Robert Hoyland, ''Seeing Islam as Others Saw It'' (Princeton, 1996) p. 69-71</ref> Nevertheless, this article will accept its authenticity and analyse the rights and limitations placed on the Syrians, to see just how free non-Muslims really were under the Rightly-guided Caliph.
Much has been said of the ''Pact of Umar'',<ref>Paul Halsall - [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/pact-umar.html The Status of Non-Muslims Under Muslim Rule]- Medieval Sourcebook, January, 1996</ref> and much of it distinctly positive. Its non-Muslim admirers gleefully compare its contents to the treatment of religious minorities in Medieval Europe, while ignoring its influence and conformity with Islamic scriptural sources which still govern the treatment of minorities in the East today. Some non-Muslim scholars of early Islam doubt the pact's authenticity, highlighting the fact that the Islamic traditions surrounding the writing of the pact are a few hundred years removed from the actual events described, and that no contemporary sources refers to it at all. ''Sophronius''' (560  - 638 AD) authentic extant writings also refer to the Muslim conquerors in a very negative way, putting further doubts on the Muslim recollections of events.<ref> Robert Hoyland, ''Seeing Islam as Others Saw It'' (Princeton, 1996) p. 69-71</ref> This article, nonetheless, analyses the rights and limitations placed on the Syrians based on this account of the Pact of Umar. It is further worth noting that, even if the pact is historically unreliable, many (if not all) of the specific stipulations found in the pact have a basis in Islamic scripture independent of the pact itself.


===The Genocide of Banu Qurayza===
===The Genocide of Banu Qurayza===
{{Main|The Genocide of Banu Qurayza|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Banu Qurayza}}
{{Main|The Genocide of Banu Qurayza|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Banu Qurayza}}


Hijra year 5 (627 AD), Almost nine hundred Jews (including children) of a Medinan tribe named Banu Qurayza were massacred by Muslims in one day. Muhammad was the lead spectator of this atrocious butchery which began early in the day, ending in torchlight. Those who escaped death were taken captive by Muslims and sold in slave markets. This genocide is known in history as the Banu Qurayza incident.
Hijra year 5 (627 AD), almost nine hundred Jews (including children) of a Medinan tribe named Banu Qurayza were massacred by Muslims in one day. Muhammad was the lead the atrocity, which began early in the day, ending in torchlight. Those who escaped death were taken captive by Muslims and sold in slave markets. This genocide is known in history as the Banu Qurayza incident.


==Miscellaneous==
==Miscellaneous==


===Are Judaism and Christianity as Violent as Islam?===
==='''Joseph, husband of Mary, Defense of Muhammad's Marriage to Aisha'''===
{{Main|Are Judaism and Christianity as Violent as Islam?}}
{{Main|Joseph the Pedophile}}
 
"There is far more violence in the Bible than in the Qur'an; the idea that Islam imposed itself by the sword is a Western fiction, fabricated during the time of the crusades when, in fact, it was Western Christians who were fighting brutal holy wars against Islam."<ref>Andrea Bistrich, "Discovering the common grounds of world religions," interview with Karen Armstrong, Share International, Sept. 2007, pp. 19-22.</ref> So announces former nun and self-professed "freelance monotheist," Karen Armstrong. This quote sums up the single most influential argument currently serving to deflect the accusation that Islam is inherently violent and intolerant: All monotheistic religions, proponents of such an argument say, and not just Islam, have their fair share of violent and intolerant scriptures, as well as bloody histories. Thus, whenever Islam's sacred scriptures—the Qur'an first, followed by the reports on the words and deeds of Muhammad (the Hadith)— are highlighted as demonstrating the religion's innate bellicosity, the immediate rejoinder is that other scriptures, specifically those of Judeo-Christianity, are as riddled with violent passages.
 
But is that really the case? Does Hebrew violence in the ancient era, and Christian violence in the medieval era compare to, explain away or even legitimize the tenacity of Muslim violence in the modern era?
 
===Pedophilia and the Tu Quoque Defense===
{{Main|Joseph the Pedophile|l1=Joseph the Pedophile|A Refutation of 'The Islamophobe's Glass House'}}
 
This article refutes the claim that Joseph, the husband of Mary (the mother of Jesus Christ), was a pedophile, a popular yet erroneous tu quoque argument used to defend Prophet Muhammad's pedophilic marriage to Aisha.
 
Upon reading the non-canonical apocrypha, the Christian equivalent of da`if (weak) or maudu (fabricated) hadith, we find it does not say Mary married Joseph when she was aged only 12. It in fact says she was possibly 17 years of age at the time the marriage was eventually consummated, if ever (Mary's perpetual virginity, the belief that Mary remained a virgin her entire life, is an essential article of faith for the majority of the world's Christians).


The most decisive argument against the claim that Joseph was a pedophile is the fact that the same non-canonical writings which are used to gather information on Joseph and Mary's age, also confirm Mary's status as "ever virgin" (in The History of Joseph the Carpenter, Jesus says on Joseph's death "my mother, virgin undefiled").
This article reviews the claim that Joseph, the husband of Mary (the mother of Jesus Christ), was a pedophile, a popular argument used to defend Prophet Muhammad's pedophilic marriage to Aisha (in debate with Christian critics of Islam).


The non-canonical apocrypha, the Christian equivalent of da`if (weak) or maudu (fabricated) hadith, in fact, do not say Mary married Joseph when she was aged only 12. They say, rather, that she was possibly 17 years of age at the time the marriage was eventually consummated, if ever (Mary's perpetual virginity, the belief that Mary remained a virgin her entire life, is an essential article of faith for the majority of the world's Christians, as well an orthodox doctrine in Islam). Indeed, the very same non-canonical Christian writings that suggest Mary's age also describe her as having been "ever virgin" (in The History of Joseph the Carpenter, Jesus says on Joseph's death "my mother, virgin undefiled").
===What Islamic Scripture and Scholars Say about the People of the Book===
===What Islamic Scripture and Scholars Say about the People of the Book===
{{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:People of the Book}}
{{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:People of the Book}}
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{{Main|Islamic Antisemitism}}
{{Main|Islamic Antisemitism}}


Anti-Semitism is rampant among followers of Islam. This intense hatred of Jews is deeply rooted within Islamic scripture, and upon reading these texts, there is little wonder why ''Mein Kampf'', written by Adolf Hitler, is a best-seller in the Arab and Muslim World including; Egypt, Palestine,<ref name="Mein Kampf a best-seller"></ref> "moderate" Turkey,<ref>Robert Spencer - [http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/005409.php Mein Kampf becomes bestseller in Turkey] -Jihad Watch - 19 March, 2005 </ref><ref name="Antisemitism in Turkey">[http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP90005 Antisemitism in the Turkish Media] - MEMRI - April 28, 2005</ref> and is selling well in London areas with a large Arab population.<ref name="Mein Kampf a best-seller">Sean O'Neill and John Steele - [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1388161/Mein-Kampf-for-sale-in-Arabic.html Mein Kampf for sale, in Arabic] - The Telegraph - 19 March, 2002</ref> It is often sold along-side religious literature and strangely enough, ''Mein Kampf'' can be translated as "My Jihad" in Arabic. The book is also selling as well as Dan Brown's latest novel in Dhaka, Bangladesh,<ref>Alastair Lawson - [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8382132.stm Mein Kampf a hit on Dhaka streets] - BBC News - 27 November, 2009</ref> where sales soar towards Eid, as it is bought by many as gifts, and other anti-Semitic literature like ''Protocols of the Elders of Zion'',<ref name="Antisemitism in Turkey"></ref> a 19th-century anti-Semitic tract are also hugely popular.  
Anti-Semitism is rampant in the Muslim world. Islamic scripture if often cited in defense of these attitudes. ''Mein Kampf'', written by Adolf Hitler, is a best-seller in the Arab and Muslim World including; Egypt, Palestine,<ref name="Mein Kampf a best-seller"></ref> Turkey,<ref>Robert Spencer - [http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/005409.php Mein Kampf becomes bestseller in Turkey] -Jihad Watch - 19 March, 2005 </ref><ref name="Antisemitism in Turkey">[http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP90005 Antisemitism in the Turkish Media] - MEMRI - April 28, 2005</ref> and is selling well in London areas with a large Arab population.<ref name="Mein Kampf a best-seller">Sean O'Neill and John Steele - [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1388161/Mein-Kampf-for-sale-in-Arabic.html Mein Kampf for sale, in Arabic] - The Telegraph - 19 March, 2002</ref> It is often sold along-side religious literature and strangely enough, ''Mein Kampf'' can be translated as "My Jihad" in Arabic. The book is also selling as well as Dan Brown's latest novel in Dhaka, Bangladesh,<ref>Alastair Lawson - [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8382132.stm Mein Kampf a hit on Dhaka streets] - BBC News - 27 November, 2009</ref> where sales soar towards Eid, as it is bought by many as gifts, and other anti-Semitic literature like ''Protocols of the Elders of Zion'',<ref name="Antisemitism in Turkey"></ref> a 19th-century anti-Semitic tract are also hugely popular.  


Muhammad's personal hatred for Jews led him to declare that the Final Hour will not come until Muslims slaughter Jews, and even the rocks and trees will betray the Jews hiding behind them.
Muhammad's personal hatred for Jews led him to declare that the Final Hour will not come until Muslims slaughter Jews, and even the rocks and trees will betray the Jews hiding behind them.


{{Quote|1={{Muslim|41|6985}}, see also {{Muslim|41|6981}}, {{Muslim|41|6982}}, {{Muslim|41|6983}}, {{Muslim|41|6984}}, {{Bukhari|4|56|791}}|2=Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.}}
{{Quote|1={{Muslim|41|6985}}, see also {{Muslim|41|6981}}, {{Muslim|41|6982}}, {{Muslim|41|6983}}, {{Muslim|41|6984}}, {{Bukhari|4|56|791}}|2=Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.}}
===Misquoting Jesus and Others in the Qur'an===
{{Main|Misquoting Jesus and Others in the Qur'an}}
"O Jesus son of Mary!" said the disciples, or so claims the Qur'an in surah 5:112. On the surface this quote from one of Jesus' (Isa's) disciples may seem unextraordinary, but there is a subtle error here that few ever notice. However, once it is noticed, few will ever forget. This article will show beyond a doubt that Muhammad was putting words into other people's mouths and fabricating quotes so that he could artificially create reinforcement and confirmation of the points he was trying to make, which is that Jesus was not the Son of God and Muhammad is Allah's prophesied final Messenger. It was by Muhammad's good fortune that he was such a great military leader, for as a playwright he would have been sorely lacking.
===Was Muhammad a Lesser Prophet than Moses or Jesus?===
{{Main|Was Muhammad a Lesser Prophet than Moses or Jesus?}}
When Royalty assign a task to someone in person, it is often denoted as a great privilege and is considered as an honor to whom it is the Royal addressed. Conversely, when a subject is deemed unfit to associate with in a personal manner, the undesirable task may be assigned to a servant. With this in mind, it is surprising to learn that, according to the Qur'an, Musa and Isa (commonly identified with the Judeo-Christian Moses and Jesus) received revelations directly from Allah while Muhammad did not.
===Islamic Hijabs and Nun's Habits===
{{Main|Islamic Hijabs and Nuns Habits}}
Apologists often attempt to compare the Islamic observance of hijab with the wearing of the religious habit by Christian nuns. This comparison is fundamentally flawed and is one of many fallacious tu quoque arguments utilized in defense of Islam. In reality, there are numerous differences between the two items of clothing. For example, unlike the compulsory observance of hijab (in some form or another) for practicing Muslim women, practicing Christian women are not required or expected to wear a nun's habit. Naturally, only nuns are. In fact, it would be considered quite bizarre for a Christian women to wear a nun's habit is she were not a nun. The burka covers everything including the eyes, leaving women unrecognizable, visually impaired, and closed off to social interaction. The nun's habit does not cover the face at all, so they cause no such problems. Also, if a nun were to remove her head covering, unlike a Muslim woman, she would not run the risk of being intimidated, ostracized or honor killed by her co-religionists. For example, Aqsa Parvez was a 16-year-old Muslim girl who was honor-killed in Ontario, Canada. Her brother had strangled her to death when she refused to wear a hijab covering.


==See Also==
==See Also==
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{{Hub4|Antisemitism|Antisemitism}}
{{Hub4|Antisemitism|Antisemitism}}
'''Multimedia'''
*[[Videos on Islam: Islamic Persecution]]
*[[Videos on Islam: Antisemitism]]
*[[Videos on Islam:Christianity]]


'''Other Core Articles'''
'''Other Core Articles'''
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==External Links==
==External Links==


*[http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/index.htm Rebuttals to Muslim Polemics against Christianity]'' - [[Answering Islam]]''
*[http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/index.htm Rebuttals to Muslim Polemics against Christianity]
*[http://answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/muhammad.html Is Muhammad Foretold in the Bible?] ''- by John Gilchrist''
*[http://answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/muhammad.html Is Muhammad Foretold in the Bible?] ''- by John Gilchrist''


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