Until the advent of materialism and 19th c. dogma, Western Civilisation was superior to anything Islam had developed. Islam has not aided in the development of the modern world; in fact civilisation has only been created in spite of Islam. Proof of this resides in the 'modern' world and the unending political-economic and spiritual poverty of Muslim states and regions. Squatting on richer civilisations is not 'progress'. Islam is pagan, totalitarian, and irrational.
Suffering through the Koran, Sura 32, 'The Adoration'.
Adore the Moon deity Allah, and prostrate your worthless self in humiliation.
by Ferdinand III
The first sentence of the Sura sums up the intolerant disposition of the Koran's thematic assault on reason, “(This is) the revelation of the Book in which there is no doubt, - from the Lord of the Worlds.” [32:2] No doubt. Don't question it. The Koran is the repository of 'God's' will. Don't enquire or seek understanding. Shut up, submit, obey and 'adore' the greatness of the unknowable moon deity, ali-ilah.
It is a signal failure of Islamic and Arab culture that the emphasis in the Koran and in the culture at large is not based on life, but on death. Obey Allah and you might find yourself in a post-life paradise. If you don't obey and adore this Allah – the male Meccan moon deity – than hellfire is assured. Part of the program to attain eternal life is to adore Allah, to elevate the moon deity above everything else including yourself, your family, your work, your community and the development of your world.
“Only those believe in Our Signs, who, when they are recited to them, fall down in adoration, and celebrate the praises of their Lord, nor are they (ever) puffed up with pride.” [32: 15]
Notice the poorly written sentence – which inserts the 'who' into the wrong position, making the reading of the phrase difficult. The human chroniclers of the Koran were hardly Shakespearean. But the intent is clear. Humility in the Koran is not the same as Judeo-Christian humility and penitence. In J-C culture humility is a human act, consecrated in the real world, as part of a well-functioning personality, set in a culture that tries to downplay the narcissism of the ego, and elevate such concepts as charity, tolerance, and empathy.
The Koran and Islam has nothing in common with the Western JC ideals of humility. Prostration and adoration of Allah is what humility means in Arab and Islamic culture. It is a fear of being punished by the unknowable and untouchable concept of ali-ilah which drives a Muslim to grovel 5 times a day in the dirt, chanting to the moon deity, asking for love and forgiveness. It is an not of faith, but of insanity.
The Arab obsession with death is found in every Sura including this one, “I will fill Hell with Jinns and men together.” [32:13] and for those not sufficiently Muslim, “...you taste the penalty of Eternity for your (evil) deeds.” [32:14] Evil in Islamic culture means any action not dedicated to Allah or any activity which does not follow Koranic law. For those who do not 'adore' Allah, devils will torment them. Arab Jinns are little demons, 'created' some 5.000 years prior to the ravings of Mohammed by the pre-Islamic Arab moon cult; and who are supposedly produced by the moon deity to torture humans and lead the non-faithful awry and away from the true road to eternity. Jinns are thus the rough equivalent to demons in Judeo-Christian culture – themselves a by-product of the Pauline church.
Most importantly for Muslims is the belief that straying from the 'sharia' or path of Islam means death. Those who venerate 'evil' or non-Islamic ways must be destroyed: “Does it not teach them a lesson, how many generations We destroyed before them, in whose dwellings they (now) go to and fro? Verily in that are Signs: do they not then listen?” [32:26] 'Them' obviously references the Jews.
Under the aegis of Allah Muslims have the moral and 'religious' duty to extirpate non-Muslims. 'Signs' which include all natural phenomena, are indications of Allah's greatness and power. If these 'Signs' are not taken to be the derivatives of Allah's omniscience than the disbeliever should be corrected, converted, or killed, “And do they not see that we do drive Rain to parched soil .... Have they not the vision?” [32:27]
Any and all natural artifacts are thus created by Allah. You should therefore fall down, grovel in the dirt and adore him or it, or whatever it is. A system of rationality, humanism, and grace, the Koran is not.
Why would anyone follow and believe in such nonsense ? Why is such outlandish gibberish declared a religion ? Maybe only 'Allah' knows.
[Note: This sura is taken from 'The Holy Quran', translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, reprinted in 1995, Goodword Books. Regarded as one of the best translations from Arabic to English of the Koran.]