Religion and Political Identity Mohammed's message of peace

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | Tuesday, October 15, 2002 | Iftekhar A. Hai

[Revolting cat!]

When Mohammed was born, it was a time of Dark Age chaos: tribal vendettas, rivalries, gender inequality, warfare and economic and social disorders. People lived in tyranny under the shadow of the sword perpetuating slavery and oppression. To this, Mohammed brought law, order and social justice by using the very tools used to perpetuate injustice, hatred, bias and bigotry. And he was overwhelmingly successful in uniting pagan Arabia into a block of monotheistic believers.

[Revolting cat!]

Two words of comment: chutzpah and desperation!

This pathetic piece is apparently the best apologia they can come up with!

[Brian Mosely]

When Mohammed was born, it was a time of Dark Age chaos: tribal vendettas, rivalries, gender inequality, warfare and economic and social disorders.

...and we are proud to say that nothing has changed in all this time! Allahu Akbar!!!

[crazykatz]

You forgot the BARF ALERT...please ask the moderator to add one...PLEASE, please...oh...please....

[crazykatz]

BTTT

[swarthyguy]

>>he was overwhelmingly successful in uniting pagan Arabia into a block of monotheistic believers.

Should have left it pagan. Much better than what they have today.

Usual claptrap. The usual vapid comparisons. Not a word of direct condemnation of Osama, the clerics of Saudi or Egypt.

Not a word of admonishment to CAIR or AMC.

Lame.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Although the spiritual teachings of Islam and Christianity are the same...

Look at what the cat dragged in. The same? LOL!

[Revolting cat!]

Please add a BARF ALERT to the title. Thanks!

[Lent]

This pathetic piece is apparently the best apologia they can come up with!

Pathetic is right. And to relativize this issue by, in the same breath, putting Falwell, Graham and Robertson with Islamic extremists is a gratuitous slur which leftists and Islamics are spouting off regularly now.

[Lent]

Please add a BARF ALERT to the title. Thanks!

I second that, or third it or whatever it...

[RobRoy]

Is this what they mean by "spin?"

[Robert_Paulson2]

"the spiritual teachings of Islam and Christianity are the same"

at this poing my bullshit meter pegged...
Jesus and mohammet are like
light is to dark, and more significantly
heaven is to hell

Islam as we are seeing it, is a murder/death cult. It should NOT be classified as a religion. It is not.

[Shermy]

Citing examples from the Koran to say that Mohammed was either more or less violent than other Biblical figures is meaningless and anachronistic. We live today by the standards of a modern civilized world; it is not fair to judge Mohammed, who lived 1420 years ago, by today's standards.

More preaching to the Christians, rather than to his brethren. Problem is, the Wahabbist and other radicals don't "judge" Mohammed by "modern" standards, but embrace the original standards. Those standards are not "anachronistic" to them, but an appropriate model.

And Falwell's one time statement, he's apologized for it. No apologies from 1000's of wacky Wahhabi imams. But I suppose we'll be handed the Falwell/Fundamentalist moral equivalency comparison for a while down the road.

[coramdeo]

Although the spiritual teachings of Islam and Christianity are the same,

This is just nonsense, and every adherent of Islam and Christianity would agree, even if they agree on nothing else, that the two do NOT have the same spiritual teachings. Islam teaches salvation by works and following the teachings of the Koran. Christianity teaches forgiveness of sins and salvation by God's grace. In Islam, we must make oursevles pleasing to God. In Christianity, God is the one who initiates the relationship. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, provides the righteousness we lack and pays the penalty for the sins we commit.

In the writer's attempt to justify Islam, he has taken an approach that offends any serious believer of either religion.

[wretchard]

"it is not fair to judge Mohammed, who lived 1420 years ago, by today's standards"

And yet is possible to judge the Christ, who walked the earth 2000 years ago, by today's standards. He had nothing but a robe and a handful of followers. The first accounts of his life, the Gospels, weren't written down until 80 years after the crucifixion. The first organized expression of his teachings was formulated at Nicea, 300 years later, into the familiar Creed.

But Mohammed had Islam all ready to franchise from the git-go. It had a source of money: the Haj. It had an army and internal security force: the Companions. It had a written textbook: the Koran. It had a form of government and legal system: the Caliphate and Sharia. He would have done Colonel Sanders proud.

And to be perfectly fair to Mohammed's franchisees, they are simply guilty of serving up his Original Recipe 1420 years after the fact. If the result is slightly unpalatable to modern taste, we must look to the recipe for the problem, though the preferred Islamic solution is to force this rancid mass down our throats.

[demnomo]

A hearty Amen to your post!!!

[Revolting cat!]

gender inequality [snip] Mohammed brought law, order and social justice

I hesitated all day whether to post it here or not after reading it this morning, but then I re-read it and the PC phrases like the one above jumped off the page. It's too good to pass up! 'Course the San Francisco crowd will eat it up, what with "gender inequality" eliminated (as it implies) and "social justice" established by the saintly Mohammed. Where do we sign up?!

[onedoug]

"...it is not fair to judge Mohammed, who lived 1420 years ago, by today's standards.

Then how about by standards of 3000 years ago when theft, murder and covetousness, idolotry and pederastry were still what they are today?

[wideawake]

Well said.

[txzman]

This is so inaccurate, misleading and plain ignorant as to be un-worthy of even posting. Use it as toilet paper.

[rmlew]

What's the excuse for expellein ghe Jews and Christians of Arabia?