A few people, either via email, the comments section, or even face to face, have either commended me or disagreed with me for saying "Islam is evil".
This is the defense of my oft repeated (on this blog and on
this one) statement that Islam is evil.
1. Theological Defense
I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, one of the Holy Trinity, that through him all things exist. That there never was a time when he did not exist, that he is absolutely Divine, with The Father and the Holy Spirit. That the Son of God became a man and that his name name is Jesus. He is 100% God. He is 100% man. Neither his Godhood nor his manhood is deminished in anway. God became man because of love. Be became man to save mankind. And he is the only way to be saved.
But that was 2,000 years ago. And the Bible (as a Christian I also believe the Holy Spirit, who is also God, speaks in the Bible.) says that in later times false teachers would arise. That some people would be seduced by evil spirits and teach the doctrine of demons.
Now here is what Koran says about Jesus:
"He [Jesus] said: 'I am indeed a servant of God. He has given me revelation and made me a prophet; He has made me blessed wheresoever I be; and He has enjoined on me prayer and charity as long as I live. He has made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable. So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)!' Such was Jesus the son of Mary. It is a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute. It is not befitting to (the majesty of) God that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it is" (19:30-35).
"And behold! God will say [i.e. on the Day of Judgment]: 'Oh Jesus, the son of Mary! Did you say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of God?' He will say: 'Glory to Thee! Never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would indeed have known it. You know what is in my heart, though I know not what is in Yours. For You know in full all that is hidden. Never did I say to them anything except what You commanded me to say: 'Worship God, my Lord and your Lord.' And I was a witness over them while I lived among them. When You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a witness to all things'" (5:116-117).
"Christ, the son of Mary, was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food. See how God makes His signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from the truth!" (5:75).
But the Bible records this conversation: "[Jesus] saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:15-17)
This is a problem. As Aristotle teaches us, A is not equal to non-A. No matter how we try, it is not possible to make the Statements about and by Jesus that are found in the Bible agree with the statments by and about Jesus that are found in the Koran. Either the Bible is wrong, or the Koran is wrong, or they are both wrong. For reasons I won't go into right now, I belive the Bile is true (in every possible meaning of that word.) And if the Bible is true, and Koran disagrees with it, then it necessarily follows that the Koran is wrong.
But does the fact that the Koran is wrong about Jesus make Islam, the religion of the Koran evil?
Well lets see. Lets take two little pieces of the Bible and try to figure this out. In the Gospel of John are these words:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life for God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." (John 3:16-20)
It is God's will to save people. It is God's love that prompts Him to send the Son. The light of God has come into the world but some hate te light. Some refuse to believe the light. Some prefer the darkness.
Let me ask, is anything more evil than hating the God who made you and loves you?
"But wait", you defenders of Islam say, "Muhamed claimed to receive his revelation from an angel. Doesn't that count for anything?" Well, yes, he did claim that he received a revelation from an angel in A.D. 612. But do you remember one of the first things I said in this post? I mentioned a passage in the Bible that says in the latter times people would teach the doctrines of demons. Here, let me quote Saint Paul for you: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (I Timothy 4:1) and also let us look at something written by Saint John: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. " So yes, I agree, an angel (or more properly a devil) did transmit the Koran to Mohamed.
But you defenders of Islam, you who say I should not call call Islam evil, you say, "Christians and Muslims serve the same God, after all it wasn't any old spirit that appeard to muhommad in that cave in A.D. 612, it was Gabriel himself, the very angel who annouced the Birth of Jesus, one of the seven holy arcangels."
Um, no. It wasn't Gabriel. About 600 years before Mohamed heard the voice of the demon Saint Paul wrote: "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light."
2. Historical Defense
I think most people agree with me that killing poeple is evil. I think even most Muslims agree with me on this. But lets look at the history of Islam.
Early in the 620's Mohamed convinced the people of Medina to let him become their ruler. As the governor of Medina he became tyrannical and cruel. At one point he sacrificed one hundred camels to emphasize a preachment he made from the back of a camel. In 629, under the command of Muhammad, Muslims put the sword to the Jews of Khaybar as an example for all others who were refusing to accept Islam as their religion. Six hundred Jewish men were put to death and all of the women sold as slaves. He used private assassination. He added many wives to his family and concubines. He married women whom he had never even seen and some who were already married. To effectuate this he obtained from Allah a special law entitling him to exceed the usual number of wibes. He finally coveted Zaynab, the wife of his adopted son Zaid. Zaid obligingly divorced her but when the young woman demanded a revelation to sanction the union. The "angel Gabriel" was happy to produce one.
From Medina, Mohamed and his followers made war (jihad) an Mecca. The caravan raids and battle continued from A.D. 623 into A.D. 630, when Mohamad entered Mecca triumphantly after the entire population quickly converted to Islam. Mecca was established as the religious center of Islam.
Now, lets cover a lot of history very quickly. Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Lebanon, Turkey. These are all Muslim countries. They used to be Christian. But Islam has a habit of expanding through warefare. I have no problem calling this evil.
3. A Small Sample of Muslim Terrorism in My Lifetime
One of my earliest memories is of the Munich Olympics. What happened there? Muslims killed a lot of poeple. When was that? 1972?
The next memory I have of Muslims is Teran, Iran in 1979. A group of Iranian students who were angry at the United States attacked and seized its embassy in Tehran, Iran. They were supported by the countries leader, Ayatollah Khomeini.
Then of course, there were the Hostages in Lebanon: 18 Americans kidnapped in the early 1980s. David Dodge was the president of the American University in Beirut. He was kidnapped the first time while he was on his way home from work. He was released, but he was kidnapped again. This time he was killed. His murder was called the most gruesome abduction, torture, and killing of a United States citizen. The terrorists videotaped his torture and murder. A group called the Organization of the Oppressed on Earth claimed responsibility, but the real suspects are the Hezbollah guerillas.
April 1983 - A large vehicle packed with explosives is driven quickly into the U.S. Embassy compound in Beirut. When it explodes it kills 63 people. A group of terrorists called the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
October 1983 - A large truck bomb with 2,500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the U.S. Marine headquarters in Beirut. 241 U.S. servicement are killed when it expoldes. A French paratrooper base is blown up just a few minutes later and 58 French soldiers are killed. Again, Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
December 1983 - Islamic Jihad attacked the US embassy in Kuwaut. 4 killed, more than 60 injured.
September 1984 - Muslims drove van filled with explosives through several barriers and groups of U.S. soldiers and stopped about 30 feet in front of the embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. 12 soldiers and visitors to the embassy were killed.
April 1985 - A bomb exploded in a restaurant where U.S. soldiers liked to eat. The explosion killed 18 Spaniard citizens and injured 82 other people. Only 15 of the Americans were injured, but none were killed. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
In June of 1985 I watched this play out on television: Twa Flight 847. This airliner took off in Rome, Italy, but was hijacked and forced to fly to Beirut, Lebanon. Mohammed Hamadei from the terrorist group Hezbollah, Hassan Izz-al-Din from Lebanon, and Ali Atwa another terrorist hijacked the plane. I saw the Muslims throw the dead body of an American off the plane.
October 1985 - The Achille Lauro cruise ship hijacked by four Palistinian men who are members of the Palestine Liberation Organization. They murder a handicapped man from New York and throw his body overboard.
December 1985 - Grenades and Guns are used to Massacre Passengers at Rome and Vienna Airport. At the same time two groups of terrorists, one in Rome and one in Vienna, charge up to the counters of Israel's El Air airline. They throw grenades at the tourists getting ready to fly on the airline.
April 1986 - TWA Flight 840 Bombed. As the plane was beginning to land in Athens a plastic explosive bomb exploded under the seat of the passenger sitting in seat 10F. Four people were killed and nine others were wounded. The terrorist group called Ezzedine Kassam Unit of the Arab Revolutionary Cells claimed responsibility
February 1993 - World Trade Center in New York Bombed. A group of Muslim terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives and driven into the World Trade Center's underground parking garage. Six people were killed and more than 1,000 are injured in this terrorist attack.
November 1995 - U.S. Military Complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is Bombed. Seven people were killed when a powerful car bomb planted by Muslims exploded in front of a military center run by the United States military.
1996 - Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia are Bombed. A fuel truck was parked 35 yards away from a United States military compound. When the truck blew up 19 American soldiers were killed and 500 more people were wounded. The Movement for Islamic Change claimed responsibility for the bombing.
August 1998 - U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania were Bombed
These Al Qaida attacks happened almost at the same time. More than 5,000 people were injured and 224 were killed when the buildings that they were working in collapsed during the explosions.
October 2000 - The USS Cole was docked in Aden Yemen for refueling. A small craft pulled alongside the ship and two terrorists set off the bomb. The two terrorists were killed and so were 17 U.S. Navy seamen when the explosion blew a 20 by 40 foot hole in the side of the ship.
September 2001 - Four airlines hijacked. 3 reach their targets. Thousands die.
September 2004 - more than 300 killed in an attack on a Russian School. (If Bush is El Cid, maybe
Putin will be this era's Vlad the impaler.)
4. A Final Word
Love your enemies. That command to me from my Lord is unequivical. As an Orthodox Christian, I can look back at a long history defeats and invasions by Muslim Armies to the fall of Jerusalem (A Muslim still owns my Lords tomb to this day.) , to the fall of Antioch, to the fall of Smyrna, to the horrible defeat at the Battle of Manzakrit, and finally to the fall of Consantinople. But the command of Jesus is the same: Love your enemies.
My enemies, the Muslims, are still people God loves. They are some of the people for whom He became man. God is All-Loving, Just, and Compassionate, and does not wish the death of a sinner, but patiently awaits his return. The height and breadth of His love was shown to us by the birth, death, and resurrection of His Only-Begotten Son.
Yes, Islam is evil. But Jesus can, has, and does overcome evil by the power of His love.
