Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Suffering through the Koran – Sura 2
Full of what the media and educational system will never tell you.
by Ferdinand III
The Koran is a very difficult read. There is no logical flow to any of the Suras or verses and there is no coherence in argument, time-lines, Sura organisation, or even events within the verses. The verses within a Sura will jump from one idea to another without any linkages, making the text incomprehensible as a whole. The most striking aspects of the Koran are however the following: the copious use of the Bible which is rewritten for an Arab audience; the endless calls to spread Islam through either violence, or a conversion of all of mankind; the repeated demand for submission to the mysterious Allah; and the necessity to follow all the injunctions – and rituals – demanded by his 'messenger' or Prophet.
Sura 2, or the first and longest verse or part of the Koran illustrates these points and also illumines quite clearly the cultish intent of this human-created book. As with all Suras there is no intelligible time-line or logic. This Sura deals with many subjects and not all of them are defined to the reader. As such it is impossible at times to know what you are reading – the writing is never put into perspective, the topics are not introduced and it is poorly written. Contrary to what Arabophiles will state, the Koran is not art, and it is not lucid. It is as Churchill so rightly commented, 'turgid and shapeless'.
The other obvious and startling point about this Sura is the use of the imagery taken directly from the Old Testament and Bible. It appears that whoever wrote this Sura [and there is little doubt that there is probably more than one editor] seems to have simply substituted Allah for the Jewish idea of God. As such this Sura and parts of the Koran are simply reproductions, some of which are completely taken out of context and are therefore incorrect, of the Judeo-Christian Bible. This is not surprising since in the 7th century A.D. both Jews and Christians had sizeable communities in Arabia and Mohammed and his editors, simply took Judeo-Christian monotheistic ideas and fashioned onto them an Arab-centered history.
Today this would be called plagiarism.
[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.]
Sura 2: Copying the Bible
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63. And remember We took your Covenant and We raised above you (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai): (saying): “Hold firmly to what We have given you and bring (ever) to remembrance what is therein: perchance you may fear Allah.”
*So now the Jewish God is turned into the Meccan moon deity ali-illah or Allah ? Do the Jews agree to this ? And who is 'We' ? Is that the plural noun for all Muslims ? Or is We denoting the mysterious Allah plus Mohammed ? Or is ali-illah or Allah the We, meaning that the moon deity has many names or phases ?
83. And remember We took a Covenant from the Children of Israel (to this effect): worship none but Allah....
*Where in Jewish liturgy did they Jews call the God of Abraham 'Allah' ?
138. Were you witnesses when Death appeared before Jacob ? Behold, he said to his sons: “What will you worship after me?” They said: “We shall worship your God (Allah) and the God (Allah) of your fathers, - of Abraham, Isma'il, and Isaac, - the One (True) God (Allah): to Him we bow (in Islam).”
*How convenient. In order to show the Jews and Christians that they are inferior the Arab editors basically use the idea of 'Allah' to take over the Judeo-Christian God. By this plagiarism the Arabs are declaring that they and their interpretation of 'God' are supreme. Convenient indeed.
Sura 2: Call to violence and Jihad
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190. Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you...
191. And slay them wherever you catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter;
216. Fighting is prescribed for you, and you dislike it. But it is possible that you dislike a thing which is good for you, and that you love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knows, and you know not.
*In other words, fighting and killing in the name of Allah is not only okay but mandatory. Allah wills it.
217. Tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter. Nor will they cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can.
*'They' obviously references infidels and especially the Jews. This verse portrays the warring Muslims as 'oppressed' fighting against the overwhelming power of the Jews or Christians. The opposite was reality in the Arab peninsula circa 624 A.D. The Jews and Christians were in part wealthy traders and land owners, but far outnumbered of course by the local Arabs.
244. Then fight in the cause of Allah, and know that Allah hears and knows all things.
Sura 2: Obey Mohammed
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285. The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believes in Allah, His angels, His books, and His Messengers.
*In other words, if the Messenger believes in Allah, you have to as well if you are to be a man of faith. Women are excluded or perhaps 'men' might mean 'man kind'. Given the patriarchal nature of Arab culture, the exclusion of women from the cult of Allah, would appear to be a natural condition.
Sura 2: Obey 'Allah'
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24. But if you cannot – and of a surety you cannot – then fear the Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones, - which is prepared for those who reject Faith.
*What Faith ? The Faith only of Islam ? So if I reject even a part of this Arab mandated faith I will be cast into a Fire along with some stones ? Sounds tolerant.
196. And complete the Hajj or 'umra in the service of Allah....And fear Allah and know that Allah is strict in punishment.
218. Those who believed and those who suffered exile and fought (and strove and struggled) in the path of Allah, - they have the hope and Mercy of Allah: and Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
*Follow this 'Allah' and you will be rewarded.
256. Let there be no compulsion in religion:.....
*This sounds nice until you read the next verse.....
257. Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith the patrons are the Evil Ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be Companions of the fire, to dwell therein (forever).
*In other words, no compulsion in religion because those who do not follow Allah are going to be consumed in the Fire reserved for the ones who follow Evil. In other words eternal damnation.
Sura 2: Islam must dominate the Globe
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115. To Allah belong the East and West: whithersoever you turn, there is the Presence of Allah. For Allah is all-Pervading, All-knowing.
284. To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth.
Sura 2: Some examples of gibberish
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85. After this it is you, the same people, who slay among yourselves and banish a party of you from their homes; assist (their enemies) against them, in guilt and rancor, and if they come to you as captives, you ransom them, though it was not lawful for you to banish them.
*Like much in the Koran the reader has no idea what is going on here. This verse references the Jews obviously, and a specific event which the Koran's editor finds displeasing – though he never says what it is.
275. “Trade is like usury”, but Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury.
*So the mysterious Allah is a manager of economics. Usury is never defined in the Koran – one assumes it means that high interest rates cannot be allowed on business transactions. Yet Allah never does define what is proper trade, and what is considered usury. So what would a submitted Muslim think and do ? Is business for profit allowed ? Is lending money allowed and if so at what price ? Trade is not lending money, so an actual reading of this verse means that money-lending is not sanctioned by Allah.
Summary:
These are just some verses from this Sura which could be used to illustrate the main ideas of the Koran. Obey the Messenger. Obey and fear the mysterious Allah. Replace the Judeo-Christian idea of God with an Arab invention – ali illah or Allah. Fight your enemies. Fight and slay Jews. Islam, thanks to Allah will dominate. And don't mind the various verses which make no sense we, the Muslims, will write out Hadiths or explanations for this gibberish. You will follow these Hadiths as well, and submit yourselves to their interpretations.
And this book is sacred ? Why ?