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.
Running totals from Sura 2 to 62:
Total number of verses from Sura 2 to 62: 5111
Total number of verses in 2-62, which preach violence against non-Moslems: 1255
Violent verses as a % of total from Sura 2 to 62: 25 %
Sura 2 to 62 as a % of the 6346 verses in the Koran: 81%
Submitting oneself to Muhammad/Allah each Friday is an exercise in self-abnegation. There is no enlightened metaphysical meaning to the Friday ritual. It is simply to pay homage to Allah or Muhammad and show how submitted you are to the cult.
“The purpose of the Friday prayer is simply to venerate the Allah, the large impersonal force at work in the world which rather bizarrely according to Islamic theology recreates the world every second. The key is not to question this Allah. You must go submit yourself and follow his rules. That is what the Koran means when it discusses 'good people' and bad. The chosen ones are those who follow the Koranic cult of Allah and maybe, just maybe these cult followers will be blessed by Allah – if he decides that they are worthy:
“Such is the bounty of Allah, which he bestows on whom He will: and Allah is the Lord of the highest bounty.” [62:4] [emphasis mine]
Friday is the time to remind the followers of their duty to spread Islam in the name of Allah, the worship of his rituals:
“O you who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic): That is best for you if you but knew!” [62:9]
The 'remembrance of Allah'? Where is the demand for reflection, debate, knowledge and understanding? Where is the human-centric nature of prayer ? How can someone call Islam a religion, when your prayer worship is ritualized mumblings, prostration and total submission to the thing Allah? Do Muslims even know what Allah is, or the real historical development of the idea of Al-Allah? Do they even dare to inquire and debate what Allah does or should mean ? Of course not. Just pray, shut up and go forth post-prayer and spread the good news gospel of Allah worship:
“And when the Prayer is finished, then you may disperse through the land, and seek of the Bounty of Allah: and celebrate the Praises of Allah often (and without stint): that you may prosper.” [62:10]”
That is pretty clear. When you are done with your Friday ritual of mindless prostration and memorized 'recitals', then go forth and celebrate the Allah so that you might prosper. But that is not all. This being the Koran the injunctions to hate, demonize and 'strive' against the Unbeliever dominate the text. Out of 11 verses in this Sura, only 4 advocate intolerance and violence against the Unbeliever. The hate speech verses are: 5, 6, 7, and 8. They warn the Jews, who are likened to donkeys, of their doom:
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The likeness of those who were entrusted with the (obligation of the) Taurat (Torah) (i.e. to obey its commandments and to practise its legal laws), but who subsequently failed in those (obligations), is as the likeness of a donkey who carries huge burdens of books (but understands nothing from them). How bad is the example (or the likeness) of people who deny the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allah. And Allah guides not the people who are Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, disbelievers, etc.). |
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Say (O Muhammad SAW): "O you Jews! If you pretend that you are friends of Allah, to the exclusion of (all) other mankind, then long for death if you are truthful." |
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But they will never long for it (death), because of what (deeds) their hands have sent before them! And Allah knows well the Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, disbelievers, etc.). |
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Say (to them): "Verily, the death from which you flee will surely meet you, then you will be sent back to (Allah), the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will tell you what you used to do." |
The stupid Jews, who reject Allah, are little better than donkeys, fleeing from their deaths, to a certain doom ordained and orchestrated by the Allah deity. The Jew can run but never hide. They are liars and hypocrites, some of them even pretending to befriend the superior and exalted Moslems. Deceivers. Allah knows they are criminals who only pretend to accept Moslems as equals, and he mocks the Jews asking them if they 'long for death' to prove how pure and truthful they are.
It is clear that such a locus of racism and Jew hate places Islam squarely within the realm of a cult. There is no harmony of the Golden mean, nor of the Golden Rule. The Koran including this chapter, exudes fanatical extremism which has to inform Moslem culture and attitudes.