Debunking the ‘Suicide for 72 Virgins’ Myth
theuglytruth . March 5, 2007
One of the biggest Israeli propaganda myths is the invention of 72 virgins as a Muslim reward for suicide. This has been repeated to the western world so often that most people accept it as fact. The media wants us to believe that there cannot be anything wrong about Israelis – who must be seen as eternal victims – to cause anyone to commit suicide as a means of striking back at them. Heavens no! The motivation for suicide bombings in Israel has nothing to do with Jewish treatment of Palestinians. Instead it has to do with the evilness of the Palestinians and their religious beliefs. This is the “bill of goods” they sell the western mind while at the same time faking most, if not all the “Islamic suicide bombings” to blame on Muslims.
It is a sick and despicable mind that feels that it has a right to attack, steal, murder and cause harm to others but if the others dare fight back they are wrong and therefore terrorists. This one sentence describes Israeli thinking and their policies. They believe they are superior and entitled and they have a right to do anything to other people and those people better not retaliate. As a result they have done more by way of propaganda to take the legitimate fight of those who are against their wrongs and demonize them. We now have this ongoing enormous propaganda campaign to make Palestinians and anyone belonging to the same religion as Palestinians, to be seen as mindless terrorists and suicide bombers with no cause other than to do evil. And, of course, vicariously receiving 72 virgins as a reward in paradise for committing suicide to kill a few Israelis.
The Qur’an and valid authentic Hadiths are very clear about what happens to anyone who commits suicide. According to Hadiths:
Quote:
——————————————————————————–
Committing Suicide is a Major Sin:
Bukhari Volume 2, Book 23, Number 445:
Narrated Jundab the Prophet said, “A man was inflicted with wounds and he committed suicide, and so Allah said: My slave has caused death on himself hurriedly, so I forbid Paradise for him.”
Bukhari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 73:
Narrated Thabit bin Ad-Dahhak: ”And if somebody commits suicide with anything in this world, he will be tortured with that very thing on the Day of Resurrection.
——————————————————————————–
There are many more Hadiths condemning suicide but I would also like to reference the Qur’an. Amongst the many verses against suicide here is one that makes it very clear that the taking of one’s life is strongly prohibited and that there is no reward for anyone who does that.
Quote:
——————————————————————————–
But let there be amongst you Traffic and trade by mutual good-will: Nor kill (or destroy) yourselves: for verily God hath been to you Most Merciful!
If any do that in rancour and injustice,- soon shall We cast them into the Fire: And easy it is for God.
Qur’an 4:29 - 4:30
——————————————————————————–
So where did the reward of 72 virgins in paradise for suicide come from? Are there any Islamic teachings we can point to endorsing that?
When we look at the highest authority in Islam, the Quran, we find nothing in it endorsing rewards for suicide. Instead we find the strongest condemnation with severe punishments for those who commit suicide. When we look at Hadiths, which after the Quran is second in authority in Islam, we find nothing in the authentic Bukhari and Muslim Hadiths endorsing suicide. Instead we find strong condemnation for it.
Searching what Muslims refer to as Gharib Hadiths (weak or strange Hadiths) we do find something about 72 wives but not virgins. The Hadith we find is the following:
Quote:
——————————————————————————–
Sunan al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2562 says:
The Prophet Muhammad was heard saying: “The smallest reward for the people of Paradise is an abode where there are 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine, and ruby, as wide as the distance from Al-Jabiyyah [a Damascus suburb] to Sana’a [Yemen]”
——————————————————————————–
This is as a weak Hadith that has no Sanad — line or sequence of narration. Although listed in an authoritative collection, this particular Hadith has technical weaknesses in its chain of transmitters and is therefore not considered impeccable. As a result, Muslims are not required to believe in it. Even if the Hadith was true, there is nothing about it that says that if someone commits suicide they would get 72 virgins in paradise.
Muslims know that the description of paradise or heaven in Hadiths and Quran is allegorical. If not, then Allah would have allowed us to take our bodies with us when we die. But the vehicle by which we could enjoy the physical things (especially 72 virgins ) mentioned as being in heaven, is left behind here in this world to rot and decay away. So we know for a fact that for heavenly rewards, physical things of this world are used to describe things totally non-physical. A Hadith to keep in mind is as follows:
Quote:
——————————————————————————–
The Prophet said, “Nobody who dies and finds good from Allah (in the Hereafter) would wish to come back to this world even if he were given the whole world and whatever is in it, except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed again (in Allah’s Cause).” (Sahih Bukhari, 4:52:53)
——————————————————————————–
I am sure that 72 physical virgins are a small part of the whole world to be given to someone who has experienced paradise to come back to. Yet the prophet (saaw) has said that the martyr who experiences paradise would not want to come back to this world even for everything this world has to offer. If he was getting 72 physical virgins in heaven, then surely he would get more than that from the world and would be enticed to come back.
On the other hand, martyrdom in war for an Islamic cause is praised extensively as in the above Hadith. The Quran teaches (3:169): “Do not consider those killed [while engaging] in God’s cause dead. Rather, they live with their Lord, who sustains them!” The Quranic idiom, “killed while engaging in God’s cause” is a reference to martyrdom for acting on being a Muslim, whether as a persecuted and powerless individual or as a warrior fighting in defense of Islam, country, justice, freedom and peace. A Hadith in Sunan al-Tirmidhi states that in contrast to the suicide, the martyr does not even feel the pain of his death (Fada’il al-Jihad, 26:1663). He is also forgiven all his sins and has the right to intercede on behalf of his own family to enter Heaven. So, suicide is forbidden, killing of noncombatants is forbidden, but martyrdom is rewarded with entrance into heaven and, therefore, with great material rewards in the world to come.
What I wrote about Islam’s position on suicide is not secret, esoteric knowledge. It is common knowledge well known and can easily be discerned by anyone doing a very elementary study of the religion. Yet what we have today is the knee jerk, unconscious association of the religion of Islam with suicide bombings. Even to the point where claims of getting 72 virgins are an Islamic prize offered for suicide. This is a cruel and ugly lie about Islam that has been so widely perpetuated that it is accepted as fact. Corrections to the association of Islam with suicide and the killing of innocents are not made in the media. Instead it is glued even tighter by reporting that NOT a person disobeying Islam, but a Muslim imbued with Islamic religious fervor committed a suicide.
We have a media that is too eager to enlighten and spread the word about crazy Muslims killing themselves for 72 virgins. We read and hear everyday about suicide bombers in Iraq killing themselves and other Iraqis with them. We are to believe that a religion that strongly condemns suicide, promises severe punishment in hell for those who commit it and has never had a strategy of using suicide to fight wars until recent contact with Israelis — somehow has spawned the most suicide killers on earth. I don’t believe for a minute that the reports about suicide killings in Iraq are true. Many independent journalists and eye witnesses have reported how Mossad and US occupational forces have staged incidents to make them appear to be Iraqi suicide killings. In fact there are many cases where the perpetrators have been caught.
Oddly enough in this saga about suicide killings we read the following headlines from Israeli newspapers: “Fewer officers to be armed as suicide becomes IDF’s top killer!!!” which you can read more about at the following links:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/657996.html
http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=45975&postdays=
0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=4597e4e2f34898311a77dcb0c3c0f2a7
The leading cause of death for the Israeli Defense Forces is suicide!!! Well, well it looks like suicide is really an Israeli problem and not a Muslim one. Their IDF commit far more suicides than what is being blamed on Muslims. We already know that Israel leads the world in trafficking prostitutes and that there are hundreds of brothels in Tel Aviv. Who knows, maybe having access to one prostitute at a time on a soldier’s salary was not enough for those IDF soldiers. Maybe these soldiers believed the lies told about Muslims and were trying to get their 72 virgins too. See how strong an effect Jewish lies have on their own people.
“Strive as in a race to achieve the goal of excellence in all that you do.”
For real insights visit:
http://www.geocities.com/mewatch99/
Regards,
Nashid
Discuss it on the Outlaw Forums
One of the biggest Israeli propaganda myths is the invention of 72 virgins as a Muslim reward for suicide. This has been repeated to the western world so often that most people accept it as fact. The media wants us to believe that there cannot be anything wrong about Israelis – who must be seen as eternal victims – to cause anyone to commit suicide as a means of striking back at them. Heavens no! The motivation for suicide bombings in Israel has nothing to do with Jewish treatment of Palestinians. Instead it has to do with the evilness of the Palestinians and their religious beliefs. This is the “bill of goods” they sell the western mind while at the same time faking most, if not all the “Islamic suicide bombings” to blame on Muslims.
It is a sick and despicable mind that feels that it has a right to attack, steal, murder and cause harm to others but if the others dare fight back they are wrong and therefore terrorists. This one sentence describes Israeli thinking and their policies. They believe they are superior and entitled and they have a right to do anything to other people and those people better not retaliate. As a result they have done more by way of propaganda to take the legitimate fight of those who are against their wrongs and demonize them. We now have this ongoing enormous propaganda campaign to make Palestinians and anyone belonging to the same religion as Palestinians, to be seen as mindless terrorists and suicide bombers with no cause other than to do evil. And, of course, vicariously receiving 72 virgins as a reward in paradise for committing suicide to kill a few Israelis.
The Qur’an and valid authentic Hadiths are very clear about what happens to anyone who commits suicide. According to Hadiths:
Quote:
——————————————————————————–
Committing Suicide is a Major Sin:
Bukhari Volume 2, Book 23, Number 445:
Narrated Jundab the Prophet said, “A man was inflicted with wounds and he committed suicide, and so Allah said: My slave has caused death on himself hurriedly, so I forbid Paradise for him.”
Bukhari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 73:
Narrated Thabit bin Ad-Dahhak: ”And if somebody commits suicide with anything in this world, he will be tortured with that very thing on the Day of Resurrection.
——————————————————————————–
There are many more Hadiths condemning suicide but I would also like to reference the Qur’an. Amongst the many verses against suicide here is one that makes it very clear that the taking of one’s life is strongly prohibited and that there is no reward for anyone who does that.
Quote:
——————————————————————————–
But let there be amongst you Traffic and trade by mutual good-will: Nor kill (or destroy) yourselves: for verily God hath been to you Most Merciful!
If any do that in rancour and injustice,- soon shall We cast them into the Fire: And easy it is for God.
Qur’an 4:29 - 4:30
——————————————————————————–
So where did the reward of 72 virgins in paradise for suicide come from? Are there any Islamic teachings we can point to endorsing that?
When we look at the highest authority in Islam, the Quran, we find nothing in it endorsing rewards for suicide. Instead we find the strongest condemnation with severe punishments for those who commit suicide. When we look at Hadiths, which after the Quran is second in authority in Islam, we find nothing in the authentic Bukhari and Muslim Hadiths endorsing suicide. Instead we find strong condemnation for it.
Searching what Muslims refer to as Gharib Hadiths (weak or strange Hadiths) we do find something about 72 wives but not virgins. The Hadith we find is the following:
Quote:
——————————————————————————–
Sunan al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2562 says:
The Prophet Muhammad was heard saying: “The smallest reward for the people of Paradise is an abode where there are 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine, and ruby, as wide as the distance from Al-Jabiyyah [a Damascus suburb] to Sana’a [Yemen]”
——————————————————————————–
This is as a weak Hadith that has no Sanad — line or sequence of narration. Although listed in an authoritative collection, this particular Hadith has technical weaknesses in its chain of transmitters and is therefore not considered impeccable. As a result, Muslims are not required to believe in it. Even if the Hadith was true, there is nothing about it that says that if someone commits suicide they would get 72 virgins in paradise.
Muslims know that the description of paradise or heaven in Hadiths and Quran is allegorical. If not, then Allah would have allowed us to take our bodies with us when we die. But the vehicle by which we could enjoy the physical things (especially 72 virgins ) mentioned as being in heaven, is left behind here in this world to rot and decay away. So we know for a fact that for heavenly rewards, physical things of this world are used to describe things totally non-physical. A Hadith to keep in mind is as follows:
Quote:
——————————————————————————–
The Prophet said, “Nobody who dies and finds good from Allah (in the Hereafter) would wish to come back to this world even if he were given the whole world and whatever is in it, except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed again (in Allah’s Cause).” (Sahih Bukhari, 4:52:53)
——————————————————————————–
I am sure that 72 physical virgins are a small part of the whole world to be given to someone who has experienced paradise to come back to. Yet the prophet (saaw) has said that the martyr who experiences paradise would not want to come back to this world even for everything this world has to offer. If he was getting 72 physical virgins in heaven, then surely he would get more than that from the world and would be enticed to come back.
On the other hand, martyrdom in war for an Islamic cause is praised extensively as in the above Hadith. The Quran teaches (3:169): “Do not consider those killed [while engaging] in God’s cause dead. Rather, they live with their Lord, who sustains them!” The Quranic idiom, “killed while engaging in God’s cause” is a reference to martyrdom for acting on being a Muslim, whether as a persecuted and powerless individual or as a warrior fighting in defense of Islam, country, justice, freedom and peace. A Hadith in Sunan al-Tirmidhi states that in contrast to the suicide, the martyr does not even feel the pain of his death (Fada’il al-Jihad, 26:1663). He is also forgiven all his sins and has the right to intercede on behalf of his own family to enter Heaven. So, suicide is forbidden, killing of noncombatants is forbidden, but martyrdom is rewarded with entrance into heaven and, therefore, with great material rewards in the world to come.
What I wrote about Islam’s position on suicide is not secret, esoteric knowledge. It is common knowledge well known and can easily be discerned by anyone doing a very elementary study of the religion. Yet what we have today is the knee jerk, unconscious association of the religion of Islam with suicide bombings. Even to the point where claims of getting 72 virgins are an Islamic prize offered for suicide. This is a cruel and ugly lie about Islam that has been so widely perpetuated that it is accepted as fact. Corrections to the association of Islam with suicide and the killing of innocents are not made in the media. Instead it is glued even tighter by reporting that NOT a person disobeying Islam, but a Muslim imbued with Islamic religious fervor committed a suicide.
We have a media that is too eager to enlighten and spread the word about crazy Muslims killing themselves for 72 virgins. We read and hear everyday about suicide bombers in Iraq killing themselves and other Iraqis with them. We are to believe that a religion that strongly condemns suicide, promises severe punishment in hell for those who commit it and has never had a strategy of using suicide to fight wars until recent contact with Israelis — somehow has spawned the most suicide killers on earth. I don’t believe for a minute that the reports about suicide killings in Iraq are true. Many independent journalists and eye witnesses have reported how Mossad and US occupational forces have staged incidents to make them appear to be Iraqi suicide killings. In fact there are many cases where the perpetrators have been caught.
Oddly enough in this saga about suicide killings we read the following headlines from Israeli newspapers: “Fewer officers to be armed as suicide becomes IDF’s top killer!!!” which you can read more about at the following links:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/657996.html
http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=45975&postdays=
0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=4597e4e2f34898311a77dcb0c3c0f2a7
The leading cause of death for the Israeli Defense Forces is suicide!!! Well, well it looks like suicide is really an Israeli problem and not a Muslim one. Their IDF commit far more suicides than what is being blamed on Muslims. We already know that Israel leads the world in trafficking prostitutes and that there are hundreds of brothels in Tel Aviv. Who knows, maybe having access to one prostitute at a time on a soldier’s salary was not enough for those IDF soldiers. Maybe these soldiers believed the lies told about Muslims and were trying to get their 72 virgins too. See how strong an effect Jewish lies have on their own people.
“Strive as in a race to achieve the goal of excellence in all that you do.”
For real insights visit:
http://www.geocities.com/mewatch99/
Regards,
Nashid
Discuss it on the Outlaw Forums
March 5th, 2007 at 10:27 pm You undermine your argument when you say that Jews have sick minds. You can’t cancel out racism. When you counter racism with racism you just get more racism.
Furthermore, you article doesn’t debunk anything. If it is indeed a fact that there is no support for the 72 virgins in the Koran, this fact says nothing about suicide bombers actually believe. The Koran doesn’t have a dress code for women, but many Muslim countries do. I also doubt the Koran says you should kill your daughter if she is raped either, but this happened in Palestine recently.
What Israel is doing to the Palestinians is horrible, but what you have written here has little to contribute to solving the problem.
March 6th, 2007 at 12:16 am How does making the statement, “jews have sick minds” equate to racism? It may amount to stereotyping, but racism? And what of a group of people who lower themselves to making all kinds of slanderous, malicious accusations about another group, that’s NOT sickness (whether of the mind or the heart)? As far as your accusation that this article does nothing to “debunk” the myth, perhaps that’s because your mind refuses to receive the message. What an individual suicide bomber believes or does because of beliefs he/she holds has little to do with the actual message conveyed by the Quran (you NEED a little help with your spelling as well). I think the author did a marvelous job conveying the point that neither the Quran nor the Hadiths advocates, condones or encourages suicide. Another point you’re WRONG about is the Quran NOT having a dress code for women, perhaps you should look at sura 24, ayat 31 (strike two). Your last argument makes a pathetic attempt at linking a cultural crime (honor killing) to the religion of Islam as well (I’m beginning to get the impression that you’re one of the media people the author writes about). May I suggest that you take a quick look at sura 6, ayat 140 (strike three, you’re out). You speak as though you have some understanding or knowledge of Islam, but upon delving deeper into your response, it’s obvious to me that you’re no better than what you attempt to label the author as being.
March 6th, 2007 at 3:12 am Ya know . . . when I see anyone blowing their sorry rear ends up and taking out women and children - and even innocent men - in the process, that is sick, twisted, and doomed to earn one a heck of a debt load on some other plane. I don’t care if they’re Israeli, Iraqi, Palestinian, whatever. I don’t care who got offended, but violence will only continue to breed violence, and as long as one idiot blows himself up in response to another idiot blowing himself up, wooooo. Aren’t we all smart?
March 6th, 2007 at 3:38 am Hey Dave,
Here’s the definition taken from Answers.com:
rac·ism (rā’sĭz’əm)
n.
1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
racist rac’ist adj. & n.
Your question was “How does making the statement, “jews have sick minds” equate to racism? It may amount to stereotyping, but racism?”
By definition, yes, the statement “Jews have sick minds” is racist. It is a statement of belief that race (Jews) accounts for differences in character or ability (have sick minds).
It’s a blanket statement, Dave. If the comment was “some Jews have sick minds,” that would not be racist. But the blanket statement, according to the definition, is, in fact, a racist statement.
If you like we can also look at the second definition: “Discrimination or prejudice based on race.”
Answers.com also tells us that Discrimination is “Treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit.” The statement “Jews have sick minds” is also, by definition, descriminatory and prejudicial.
Oh, yes, one more minor thing. The fact that Egypt is the only Muslim country that recognizes the State of Israel, and the other Islamic countries do not - and that said countries wish to see Israel wiped off the map, is that not a belief that one race (the Arabs) believe they are better than the Jews?
Again — would that not be (by definition) racism?
If you have an issue with this, don’t blame me - It’s the Answers.com definition that you’d have a problem with. I’m just the messenger.
March 6th, 2007 at 3:46 am Hey, wait! I’ve been talking with the enemy.
In the upper right corner of this page it says “This is g-hod” How coy.
What is jihad? It’s a Muslim holy war or spiritual struggle against infidels.
And since I’m an “infidel” (being that I’m not Muslim), I suppose these guys perceive themselves to be at war with me.
Not a good thing, this chatting with the enemy. Watch it, guys! Your deception is showing.
March 6th, 2007 at 8:03 am [It is reported that a suicide bomber is] NOT a person disobeying Islam, but a Muslim imbued with Islamic religious fervor committed a suicide.
Well, the two aren’t mutually exclusive.
March 6th, 2007 at 8:12 am It is true that the suicide bombers and dress codes and discrimintion against women are mostly cultural things, but that culture is underpinned by Islam, and the interpretation of the Quran by Islamic leaders. While the Quran doesn’t condone suicide, it does condone the killing of “infidels” all over the place. Just like Christians interpret the bible to suit their needs, so do the Muslims with the Quran. The suicide bombers are in fact thinking they are doing it for Allah and that they will be martyrs. Only religion and belief in god can have this kind of power over people, which is why religion is dangerous, and should never be mixed with politics.
There was an excellent French documentary a few years ago when a French muslim journalist infiltrated a small terrorist group in Paris, and they were clearly recruiting and brainwashing people purely by using scriptures and the promise of becoming a martyr and having the 72 (I think it was 12 actually) virgins. We all know that’s not really what the Quran is about, but that’s how it isbeing used by fundamentalists.
March 6th, 2007 at 8:46 am i agree, and it is also the traditional teachings of Islam that indiscrimanate killing is wrong and goes against the commands of God. Quran”..if they incline towards peace, then you incline towards peace.” i also accept the response on racism. muslims the world over need to stop throwing the baby out with the bath water. there are many jews in israel and around the world that are rejecting the actions of israel and even some who are calling for the PEACEFUL dismantling of the ZIONIST state (government) of israel. not wiping them of the map. and by the way, pres. ahmadenijad didn’t call for the wiping of israel of the map. the CORPORATE media of the west translated to their liking. the proper translation of the farsi was to wipe the ZIONIST STATE(THE GOVERNMENT) of israel off the map, not the entire population. people call him the new hitler and an anti-semite. then tell me, why is there a very large community of jews living in iran? why hasn’t he rounded them up and gased them? let’s think outside of fox news people. just as the muslims need to accept the responsibility of their guilt in perpetrating of the hatred of jews, israel and the rest of the world need to accept the responsibility of thier illegal confiscation of the land of palestine since 1946. someone please tell what moral highground is there for israel and the jews who support the agenda of israel to stand upon. they are stealing peoples land. there is no justification. and by the way, this conflict didn’t start in 2000 or 1967. go back to world war 1 and the balfour declaration and them study the imigration of jews from that point until now. and just because you question the state of israel doesn’t make you an anti-semite. that is the most foolish ill-logic i’ve ever witnessed. the power of labeling people has reached new heights. now the term jihad has never until the 20th century been understood to mean holy war. those actual words come from the wonderful christian crusades to take back the holy land. in islam, the traditional understanding was that when people resorted to war or physically fighting, meant that there was a break down in communication of compromise on both sides. and that has traditionally been understood to be terrible. not HOLY. i don’t know if you got that definition from answers.com, but i know you wouldn’t accept a definition or an interpretation of christianity from middle-eastern islamic sources. so please, show the same respect for islam. the problem is that on both sides we have this mindset and even brainwash of us and them. and in most cases, us against them. like pres. bush said, your either with us, or your with the terrorist. i’m not with either one right now, because their both terrorizing and kiling innocent people indiscrimanately. just because our government is doing it, doesn’t make it right. now laves sus manos, please look up the definition of terrorism, and you will see that that is exactly what we are doing in iraq and afganistan with f-16s and u.s. soldiers. i support our don’t just to conclusions,but my idea of supporting the troops is to bring them home out of harms way for no reason. thank you for you time. i pray God will guide us to peace and not just in the middle-east.
March 6th, 2007 at 8:52 am well what about the evangelicals here in america, onward christian soldier being sung in churches across america by our youngest children. sounds like the crusades have never really ended, the west just had to regroup.
March 6th, 2007 at 8:53 am that sounds like brainwash to me.
March 6th, 2007 at 12:49 pm I recently completed a 6 credit course called the Religious Quest that focused on world “book” religions that founded religious beliefs, customs/rituals on sacred scripture. It was taught from an historical perspective and was presented via a worldview (ethical, experiential, mythic, doctrinal and social dimensions) to categorize them for comparison and lend a philosophical perspective. One of the textbooks was “Religious Traditions of the World” by H. Byron Earhart, 1993 HarperCollins. On page 639 Earhart mentions that The Quar’an “speaks of heavenly gardens, with sheltering trees, pure brooks and rivers, beautiful serving maidens.” There was also mention of dress for women but the Quar’an (or maybe it is in the Sunna) only mentioned Muhammad’s words that women should be “covered” when going out. The extent of this covering is left to interpretation. Interpreration of the Quar’an is via “Hadiths” that are scholarly and authentic interpretations (additional books) of Muhammad’s words.
As a woman, I would not be the slightest bit interested in beautiful serving maidens after death. The fact that beautiful serving maidens are even mentioned at all as a descriptor of paradise smacks of a worldly and male perspective. But that is not the point of my post.
When one has studied the history and origins of numerous religions they all seem to meld. They all begin somewhere - with a human being. The sacred text, the Bible, is not the words of the Christ himself but rather, records written many decades and centuries after his death. Yet Christians still view the Bible as a sacred text. Followers can claim a self-proclaimed prophet as divine; indeed the Buddha himself did not believe in any God and spoke against monotheism and polytheism, however, many of his followers, in turn, made him divine and spawned a hybrid religion but still called it Buddhism (in China & Japan). Religion, whether based upon sacred texts or not, should be a personal choice or conviction and not foisted upon anyone else. The success of Christianity (its spread) is attributed primarily to missionaries spreading the word. The success of Islam is attributed to war and the conquering of lands where those who were not Muslim or Christians had to pay a poll tax unless they converted. The bottom line is that all religions based upon sacred texts have interpretations of those texts (the Catholics when assembling the Bible included books that are not found in the Protestant Bible) and we as human beings need to decide for ourselves if these interpretations are reasonable and fair. Most of the atrocities committed in the name of religion have been truthfully rooted in economic and power issues NOT in religious merit. So when the Jews are maligned, it is not really their religion that is a problem, it is the power they wield in the name of religion. The U.S. founders were wise when they wanted to separate church and state. It is never a wise move to merge politics and religion - it only serves to diminish the potential good of religious principles.
March 6th, 2007 at 2:01 pm In his essay, “Nashid” says that suicide is not rewarded so the suicide bombers cannot be acting to receive a reward. This is misleading, for being a suicide bomber is not considered “suicide”, but an act of jihad, an act of “holy war”, for which the “warrior” indeed supposely receives reward. Even Osama bin Laden, in his famous 1996 fatwa declaring war against Americans and Jews, reminded the “faithful” that they can expect the reward of the 72 Houries. You can read it for yourself at any number of websites, one of them is “http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html”.
Oh, and it should be clear that suicide bombing is not limited to misguided Palestinian Muslims. Today in Iraq two suicide bomber waded into a thick crowd of Shiia pilgrims in Hilla on their way to Karbala and detonated explosive vests, killing at least 77 people and wounding 127 others, according to the Karbala police.
And how many busses have the murderers blown up in Israel? The Palestine suicide bombers frequently record videotapes shortly before they strike. In the videotapes they stand holding the Quran in one hand and a rifle in the other, and say that they’re going to commit an act of Jihad. And remember the suicide bombings in London on 7 July 2006?
On Palestinian Arab TV and in their schools they encourage children to suicide bombing! See Palestinian Media Watch at
“http://www.pmw.org.il/ASK%20FOR%20DEATH.htm”.
All of the above demonstrates that suicide bombing is part of Islamic culture.
March 6th, 2007 at 5:25 pm preach it! If only so many other people would read this post!
March 6th, 2007 at 5:36 pm Laves Sus Manos:
The statement is not, and cannot be racist, based simply on the fact that the Jews are not a race - they are a RELIGION. Would “scientologists have sick minds” be a racist statement? Of course not.
And the Jews constantly attack Christianity and Islam, all over the TV and in print. So what is the difference?
Jews as a race is a fallacy. It was created for the obvious purpose of allowing them to do whatever they want. “Anti-antisemitism” would be an example of racism. But the only real anti-Semites I know of are the Ashkenazi Jews, who are non-semitic, and quite often have a deep rooted hatred for the Arabs (as well as the Sephardi Jews), who are semitic.
They’re boxing us in with language and PC mind control. It’s a game, man. A frigging racket, more like.
March 6th, 2007 at 7:47 pm I am an infydel, a gentyle, a blasphymer, a bad speller, and most of the time a bad atheist. But if your interested in my opinion, war has nothing to do with god. It is manipulation in all its forms, and what’s worse it shrouds itself in everything we hold dear.
forgive the creator, and show our love every day
March 7th, 2007 at 12:41 am A lotta “good” responses posted here and what seems to be a rather healthy and respectful debate (no name calling yet). Laves, don’t know what answers.com has to say about character (didn’t care enough to look), but to me, a person’s character runs much deeper than just their mindset. To me character includes how a person conducts themself; speaks, moves, responds to stimuli/situations, dresses, grooms themselves (I suppose answers.com WILL no doubt say that these things are ALL controlled by the mind thusly making you ultimately correct once again). I think that the first respondent’s interpretation of what the author meant by what he/she said gives creedance to “moderate’s” point (by the way, pres. ahmadenijad didn’t call for the wiping of israel off the map). Another’s interpretation of what someone says goes a long way toward fueling a debate. “tga”, I disagree completely (but that culture is underpinned by Islam). A little research would easily awaken you to the fact that suicide is nothing solely practiced by militant muslims;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_David_Hotel_bombing
As far as dress codes and discrimintion against women goes, I would have this to say, the dress code of Islam draws so much attention and fire from non-muslims because it’s 180 degrees outta sync with their (non-muslim) accepted norms. 20/20 (or one of those “investigative journalism” shows) did an interesting segment where they had a hot babe dressed rather scantily, standing next to her broke down car on the roadside (cellular phone in hand AND making a call for aid). She couldn’t beat the guys off fast enough who stopped and almost insisted on helping. Then they put an overweight woman, dressed rather plainly in the same situation (do I need to draw a picture). While Islam preaches and encourages (I’m talking about the religion here, NOT the followers) modest dress and the concealment of a woman’s physical attributes, non-muslim culture (as a whole, NOT all) encourages revealing these attributes. Dispute me “if” you feel so inclined, I’ll merely refer you to the booming cosmetic, fashion and plastic surgery industries (not to mention porn, prostitution, etc.). Discrimintion against women, hmmm I wonder WHY they have a femminist movement and equal rights ammendment in the U.S.? Because “All men” are created equal perhaps? Lastly, this notion that jihad means “Holy war against the infidels” is worn out by the people promoting that line of thinking. For Pete’s sake people, if ya wanna know about Islam, ask a muslim, NOT a non-muslim (that’s like asking a Dem about the RePub party, O’Reilly about anyone else’s opinion beside his or a Redneck about blacks). Jihad means struggle and each and every one of us has one that we deal with on a daily basis. To oversimplify that by summing it up as a Holy war against the infidels is a simplistic explanation for the weak-minded and ignorant.
March 7th, 2007 at 7:24 am moderatefundamentalamericanmodernmuslim Says:
“…and by the way, pres. ahmadenijad didn’t call for the wiping of israel of the map…”
Well, Al Jazeera says: “Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has openly called for Israel to be wiped off the map.”
http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=15816
March 10th, 2007 at 3:53 am WAY TO GO ED! Take the translation of an Arabic news entity to “correctly” interpret the language of Farsi. Betcha Al Jazeera’s opinion on anything going on in Afghanistan OR Iarq that didn’t jive with the U.S.’s official story wouldn’t rate squat with you, would it Ed? Supertramp did a song on their Crisis what crisis album (yep, they were vinyl albums back in the day) that contained the line, “I hear, only what I want to hear, but, I have to believe in something, have to believe in just one thing.” Go for it Ed! Or if ya wanna get a REAL clue…
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/print.asp?ID=5866
Oh and by the way Ed, incase ya haven’t heard, Ahmadinejad wasn’t one of the Iranians responsible for the taking of American hostages back in 1979.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8442940/
And he even believes Zionists are different from Jews…
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3305123,00.html
One thing I am a bit curious about Ed, what’s your take on the article connected to THIS link?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3983-2005Mar26.html
March 16th, 2007 at 4:14 am Debunking 72 Virgins Myth
- If Paradise by its definition is a place where all wishes are answered then how can there be a limit to how many virgins, non virgins, heavenly maidens or scoops of ice cream one desires.
The enemies of Islam spread this crap to mock Islam and most people as stupid as they are buy it hook, line and sinker. They never read between the lines or attempt to look and evaluate what is being said.
I appreciate the writer’s effort. Keep it up. But just one advice “Follow the way of the Prophet” in that hate the sin not the sinner. And say this as much a reminder to myself as you. It doesn’t benefit anyone to insult people. The Prophet never did that infact he prayed for people that oppressed him and tried to kill him. It is better to be oppressed than to oppress.
May Allah reward you and guide you. I am a big fan and you are doing amazing work and the closer you are to the Prophet, the more impact it will have.
April 5th, 2007 at 4:01 pm whats so bad about 72 virgins? hey i wouldnt mind. but what do the women get ?
LOL women are not people
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:08 pm First of all let’s get to the number 72 for the number of virgins. Astro-theology is where all these religions came from. The precession of the equinox takes 72 years to move 1 degree and to move all 360 degrees takes 25,920 years which is why 2012 is so important. It will be the end of the big year or the full 25,920, as we start to move from Pisces to Aquarius. So all these stories are just metaphors for Astrological numbers. The Catholic church started Islam in 700 AD so guess what folks? The vatican has been screwing with all of us for a long, long time. The Vatican and Illuminati are walk in step and are all involved with the New World Order. How many agent provacatuers over the years did it take to get all of us fighting with each other over the years. Muslims aren’t any different than us in the fact that they have been hoodwinked.
February 18th, 2008 at 1:55 pm Let me pose this question - where is the outcry and preaching for peace and cessation of acts of terror by Islam leaders and preachers? Who of them cared to publicly condemn and divorce the idea of suicide and killing of the innocent? In what mosque, press conference or public gathering has something like that sounded: “Dear faithful, we do not approve and encourage anyone to go out that way; to kill is wrong in our religion of peace.” It would help me if any one could point me to the sources where I could see that?
July 26th, 2008 at 6:23 pm Good point interested. As I read the above lamenting of symantecs, spelling, historical correctness and/or relivence, and other “I’m smarter than you” comparisons of each other; what seems to be missing is that the sheer love of peace and life is undervalued. Does not the Islamic religion have a hierarchy of clerics with the top cleric held as divine on this earth as the pope is to the catholics? Could not the cheif cleric or “holyman” put forth a messages of peace that over-rules the violent intent of those who preach the glory of Shahada?
Seems like the consensus is that Muslims are peaceful and their teachings are of peace, but then in turn, this whole martyr business is viewed as more glorious than life itself. Kids are taught that this life has no value and that the afterlife should be hastily pursued. If you don’t have a cause, find one and fulfil your destiny. (Of course, there is always a cause) Where is the top religious leaders’ public outcry against this activity?
Here’s the problem as I see it: Religion has forever been used by the people who would put themselves in charge to control the masses. It is used for personal power and gain by the few. Any leader of any people who use Religion as a basis from which to rule, is using it for what it has been used for from the beginning. Control. And because people don’t know better, they fall right into it. I’m excluding no country or leader here. If you kill in the name of religion, you are just as oppressive as the one’s you kill.
I agree with the comments about the twisted truths of all media. Especially state run media. There is no news in the truth, and no truth in the news. We get fed so much bull to sway public oppinion from who to vote for and how to live, to what to die for and who to kill.
Unfortunately, how can anyone come up with a workable solution when the information we are given to come up with a solution is twisted bull crap? Crap in, crap out. And that’s that.
This of course is my oppinion and we are all entitled to it.
December 8th, 2009 at 3:28 am I’ve recently started a blog, the information you provide on this site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.
November 28th, 2010 at 3:56 am I have encountered the DEVIL in this world more than I have encountered GOD! I have not GOD to always tell the truth and humans to almost always hate the truth! The Devil always speaks lies even when he tells some truths mixed with them. So, why should I ever trust the DEVIL?
I am still waiting for those MALES (who promote ad nauseum that the highest spiritual goal of Muslims is to be rewarded with 72 physical virgins) to tell us what they find so good in virgins that some human beings will live their entire lives not smoking, not stealing, not committing adultery, honouring their parents, not telling lies, not worshipping idols, sharing what they have, loving their neighbours, not making any false testimony, fasting, praying, travelling at great expense to perform pilgrimage, not getting rich by practicing usury, not practising the rape of women, girls and babies, not invading other nations’ countries and plundering their wealth, and so on?
Only perverts may have an answer to this question because they are so obsessed with virgins and because they live in a culture where raping virgins and deriving immense pleasure from it is part of that culture. It is in that same culture that you may end up behind bars for only a few months or only a few years for RAPING A 12 WEEK OLD BABY! How do you rape a 12 week-old baby? Well, they had Einstein amongst their most intelligent people; they can perform all kind of abominations that we can even hardly imagine and even get the Nobel Prize for them!
All this stuff about the 72 heavenly physical virgins and the love of suicide to get them comes straight from the PROPAGANDA BOOK OF THE WEST AND OF APARTHEID ISRAEL! This is Satan’s handiwork that the Zionist controlled media is promoting daily and for decades!
Basheer Ahmad Frémaux-Soormally
SOVEREIGN FREEMAN ON THE LAND
Servant of GOD and of no man or government
From Greater Israel of the United Kingdom of Great Britain