Do we really understand the Muslims or the Koran for that matter? All I know is that is the “Bible” of Islam written by Muhammed as told by Allah. I understand that it is a book of hate. But is this the truth? For research on the Koran and its history, structure, etc. I used the following website: http://lexicorient.com/e.o/koran.htm Here is what I discovered:
- There are 115 chapters or suras.
- No one really knows what the word “Koran” means. Theories range from “collect” or “tie together” or “recite”
- The Koran is a compilation of five things:
1) Alleged revelations to Muhammed from 610-632
2) Others writing this revelations down, NOT Mohammed
3) Compilations continuing to 650
4) Stories relating to Muhammed about matters of the time
5) The later addition of vowels and dots to indicate different words. Original Arabic did not use these techniques.
There are seven ways to read the Koran, with 2 variations on each of those for a total of 14.
· There is no chronological order to the Koran as there is with either the Old or New Testament. And the majority of the suras are warnings or commandments, very little is given to stories · Most moral and legal questions CANNOT be answered by the Koran
· Most lay Muslims just know how to read the Koran, not interpret it. Interpretation is kept to Koran scholars. But what does this have to do with today’s Islamic Fundamentalist and terrorism? Many Muslim, especially the fundamentalist, believe that the Koran is the exact word of G-d given to Mohammed through the archangel Gabriel. They believe that the only way to make the world right is for everyone to convert to Islam. Thus bringing salvation onto themselves. But following these fundamentalist would set the world back to the stone age. Women would be for nothing. There would be no separation of church and state. ALL modern items we enjoy today would vanish. Your life would be given to Allah. No personal freedoms or expression. Did you even realize that these people want to push Sharia (Islamic Law) onto everyone in direct contradiction to United Nations Resolution 217 of December 10, 1948 which is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is so hard to put into words how to feel about these people. Anger, hate, pity. It is so hard. For the rest of this paper I have decided to just use various writing I found during my research and let you decide how to interpret them. First, the signs of fundamentalism.1 Characteristics of Individualistic Passive Fundamentalism
1. Regular mosque attendance (five times a day)
2. Strict Observance of the Five Pillars of Islam:
a Profession of faith (shahadah)
b. Prayers (salat)
c. Fasting (sawm)
d. Almsgiving (sakat)
e. Pilgrimage (hajj)
3. Strict adherence to Quranic prohibitions (such as abstaining from alcohol and sexual immorality)
4. Regular religious meditation, reading of the Quran, and reading of other Islamic literature.
5. Participation in religious group activities within and without the mosque.
6. Participation in neighborhood self-help and mutual assistance societies
7. Growing full beards (lihya) and thin moustaches as a sign of devotion and piety.
8. Wearing distinctive clothing (including a facial and head veil for women)
Characteristics of Individualistic Activist Fundamentalist
1. Pursuit of passive characteristics listed above with great rigor
2. Tendency to live together in specific neighborhoods, sometimes in physical and social isolation from passive fundamentalists.
3. Frequenting of specific mosques that cater to activist agendas.
4. Engagement in acts of “purifying” violence directed against sinful institutions, including nightclubs, movie theatres, and governments.
Manifestations of Collective Islamic Fundamentalism
1. Mosque building (both private and government sponsored).
2. Radio-television programming (provides religious instruction).
3. Observance of holidays (observed with great religious fervor).
4. Mosque attendance (faithful devotion).
5. The press (increase in religious instruction in newspapers).
6. Illumination of mosques (elaborate lighting at nighttime).
7. Religious literature (an unprecedented increase in printing copies of the Quran and books on Islamic history and religion.
8. Displays of copies of the Quran (in public places).
9. Religious slogans (increasingly displayed in public places).1 Various quotes from the Koran2 17.104 And We said to the Israelites after him: Dwell in the land: and when the promise of the next life shall come to pass, we will bring you both together in judgment. 2.113 And the Jews say: The Christians do not follow anything (good) and the Christians say: The Jews do not follow anything (good) while they recite the (same) Book. Even thus say those who have no knowledge, like to what they say; so Allah shall judge between them on the day of resurrection in what they differ.5.51 O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.5.82 Certainly you will find the most violent of people in enmity for those who believe (to be) the Jews and those who are polytheists, and you will certainly find the nearest in friendship to those who believe (to be) those who say: We are Christians; this is because there are priests and monks among them and because they do not behave proudly. 9.30 And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away! 62.6 Say: O you who are Jews, if you think that you are the favorites of Allah to the exclusion of other people, then invoke death If you are truthful.66.5 Maybe, his Lord, if he divorce you, will give him in your place wives better than you, submissive, faithful, obedient, penitent, adorers, fasters, widows and virgins 9.72 Allah has promised to the believing men and the believing women gardens, beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and goodly dwellings in gardens of perpetual abode; and best of all is Allah’s goodly pleasure; that is the grand achievement
Read enough? I have. From the small amount of reading and research I have done I believe the Koran to be the instruction book for death of all that are not Muslim. I understand better now why these people are willing to kill. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live life under Islamic law, regardless of being Jewish or not.
1 R. Harir Dekmejian, Islamic Revolution: Fundamentalism in the Arab World (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1995), 130-151.
2 http://www.hti.umich.edu/k/koran/ October 9, 2006
