It has been said that the first casualty in war is truth. Many Christian leaders are not willing to be critical of cult religions because they are so unable to defend their own. They often take the Pietist stand, that God does not need someone to defend Him, therefore are not willing to take a stand for truth. They are being swept along in a sea of relativism that gives the Bible little more credibility than the Qur’an or the Book of Mormon. Laughing at the absurdity of Islam is no substitute for reasonable argument. While Christians have been lulled to sleep in their comfortable social settings the Muslims have been holding Dawa (Witnessing) Conferences discussing how they might win the West. Passivity is surely not the attitude of the Biblical writers. Six hundred years before Christ, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, "Come now, and let us reason together" (Isa. 1:18). God is not opposed to men using logic to think things through. Jude wrote that we should "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 3) Peter wrote that we should be "ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" (1 Pet. 3:15)
Visiting Mosques in the San Diego area the December after 9/11 was quite revealing. The Muslims were celebrating Ramadan, their month of fasting (only during daylight hours). They were on their best behavior because we were told, they are taught that to lose their temper during the fast is to negate the effects of the fast before Allah. Next to one of our country’s largest Islamic Centers is a Lutheran church which shares part of its parking space with the mosque. The pastor was quite frank about the difficulty in dealing with his mainly Arab and foreign neighbors. The wealthy Kuwaitis he claimed are the most arrogant, often trying to buy him off with hundred dollar bills in order to gain more parking space.
On our tour of the Mosque we were given two English copies of the Quran. The one with the militant commentary, endorsed by Sheikh ‘Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Humaid, the Chief Justice of Saudi Arabia, has such entries as, "And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war (tanks, planes, missiles, artillery) to threaten the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides whom, you may not know but whom Allah does know. And whatever you shall spend in the Cause of Allah shall be repaid unto you, and you shall not be treated unjustly"(Sura 8:60). A lengthy section is dedicated to explaining the need for Jihad (Holy War) to promote the message of the Prophet.
It should not come as a surprise to see such fervor from the Saudi Muslims. In 1744 Mohammed Al Sa’ud one of the early ancestors of the Saudi family joined with one of the strictest teachers of the Qur’an, Mohammed Al Wahhab. Sons of these two men, following after the pattern laid down by their fathers, unleashed rigid punishment upon people (1802-1806) capturing Mecca and Medina. They massacred the entire male population of Taif, extending the Al Sa’uds authority southward to Oman. In 1932, six years before oil is discovered, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia becomes the twelfth largest country in the world. More fighting happened among the Muslims when Saudi Arabia went to war against Yemen. Religious factions demonstrated in 1948 over the introducing of new technology, namely, radio. Later Prince Khalid ibn Musaid, King Faisal’s nephew is killed while leading a protest in 1965 over the opening of a new television station. King Faisal is later killed in 1975 by Prince Faisal ibn
Musaid, the brother of Prince Khalid ibn Musaid. Certainly this is not one big happy family.
One mosque, the Al-Madina Al-Munawara, east of San Diego, in El Cajon, we found to be locked up tight on Friday when it should have been bustling with worshippers. With a little inquiry among the neighbors and past newspaper articles we revealed some fascinating information. Since 9/11 the Kurdish Muslims had decided to abandon the building which had been purchased by a Saudi man, Al-Bayoumi, who arrived back in 1997 with a $545,000 gift. It was reported that his gift came with strings attached however. According to one report, the FBI claimed there was a terrorist connection and Bayoumi disappeared to England to go to school where he was arrested. While in California, however he frequented the larger Islamic Center in San Diego. Consequently, the normally low-key Kurdish congregation had taken to gathering somewhere else because of all the bad press and its Saudi connection.
Funny, how so many mosques in the U. S. are built near universities to accommodate the foreign students. If Islam has such a superior culture, why is it that they send their young people to America, Britain and other westernized countries to get educated, then have the gall to complain about western immorality and culture? It reminds me of those who buy a house near an airport then complain about the noise. How some Muslims, who admire the West, rationalize this apparent contradiction is by looking at the advances, such as algebra, that Islam once gave to the world. They reason that the foundation of modern science was stolen from Islam and it is only just that they are taking back their heritage.
Visiting Mosques in the San Diego area the December after 9/11 was quite revealing. The Muslims were celebrating Ramadan, their month of fasting (only during daylight hours). They were on their best behavior because we were told, they are taught that to lose their temper during the fast is to negate the effects of the fast before Allah. Next to one of our country’s largest Islamic Centers is a Lutheran church which shares part of its parking space with the mosque. The pastor was quite frank about the difficulty in dealing with his mainly Arab and foreign neighbors. The wealthy Kuwaitis he claimed are the most arrogant, often trying to buy him off with hundred dollar bills in order to gain more parking space.
On our tour of the Mosque we were given two English copies of the Quran. The one with the militant commentary, endorsed by Sheikh ‘Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Humaid, the Chief Justice of Saudi Arabia, has such entries as, "And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war (tanks, planes, missiles, artillery) to threaten the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides whom, you may not know but whom Allah does know. And whatever you shall spend in the Cause of Allah shall be repaid unto you, and you shall not be treated unjustly"(Sura 8:60). A lengthy section is dedicated to explaining the need for Jihad (Holy War) to promote the message of the Prophet.
It should not come as a surprise to see such fervor from the Saudi Muslims. In 1744 Mohammed Al Sa’ud one of the early ancestors of the Saudi family joined with one of the strictest teachers of the Qur’an, Mohammed Al Wahhab. Sons of these two men, following after the pattern laid down by their fathers, unleashed rigid punishment upon people (1802-1806) capturing Mecca and Medina. They massacred the entire male population of Taif, extending the Al Sa’uds authority southward to Oman. In 1932, six years before oil is discovered, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia becomes the twelfth largest country in the world. More fighting happened among the Muslims when Saudi Arabia went to war against Yemen. Religious factions demonstrated in 1948 over the introducing of new technology, namely, radio. Later Prince Khalid ibn Musaid, King Faisal’s nephew is killed while leading a protest in 1965 over the opening of a new television station. King Faisal is later killed in 1975 by Prince Faisal ibn
Musaid, the brother of Prince Khalid ibn Musaid. Certainly this is not one big happy family.
One mosque, the Al-Madina Al-Munawara, east of San Diego, in El Cajon, we found to be locked up tight on Friday when it should have been bustling with worshippers. With a little inquiry among the neighbors and past newspaper articles we revealed some fascinating information. Since 9/11 the Kurdish Muslims had decided to abandon the building which had been purchased by a Saudi man, Al-Bayoumi, who arrived back in 1997 with a $545,000 gift. It was reported that his gift came with strings attached however. According to one report, the FBI claimed there was a terrorist connection and Bayoumi disappeared to England to go to school where he was arrested. While in California, however he frequented the larger Islamic Center in San Diego. Consequently, the normally low-key Kurdish congregation had taken to gathering somewhere else because of all the bad press and its Saudi connection.
Funny, how so many mosques in the U. S. are built near universities to accommodate the foreign students. If Islam has such a superior culture, why is it that they send their young people to America, Britain and other westernized countries to get educated, then have the gall to complain about western immorality and culture? It reminds me of those who buy a house near an airport then complain about the noise. How some Muslims, who admire the West, rationalize this apparent contradiction is by looking at the advances, such as algebra, that Islam once gave to the world. They reason that the foundation of modern science was stolen from Islam and it is only just that they are taking back their heritage.
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