Dr. Jasser, Hypocrisy, and Islam: An Honest Perspective
In the ancient and medieval age, religion was used to invade other countries, rule their citizens, and strengthen the political power. The people of the modern civilization, however, successfully disconnected religion from the state and soon religion became an instrument of spiritual guidance. Nevertheless, this is not true for Islam. The core values of Islam and the Quranic edicts, as preached and practiced by Mohammed, the founder of Islam, ask Muslims to dominate and subjugate non-Muslims. Although a few so-called moderate Muslims are on a mission to establish a non-traditional Islam, their version of Islam does not comply with the real Islam. Dr. Jasser, not one of those Ph.D. doctors but a physician with a stethoscope, who is an ex-naval lieutenant commander, is one of those moderate Muslims who has drawn the attention of the media by professing a placid image of Islam. But his dialogues, though relished by most Westerners, would fail the litmus test.
Generally speaking, doctors have three different ways to treat a patient. If the situation is severe, a surgery is preferred; a shot is often sought for a quick remedy, and capsules are prescribed for a slow treatment.
All Muslims, including the moderates who perch at the verge of Islam with a grain of faith, strongly believe Islam is the answer for all the problems in this world. Furthermore, they believe it is their obligation to impose Islam on the unbelievers and the believers of the other faiths – whether they admit it openly or not. Each and every Muslim must cure the non-believers of Islam from their un-Islamic disease. The difference between the fundamentalist Muslims and the so-called moderate Muslims is in the method of the treatment.
Jihadi Muslims, like a surgeon, prefer to bring a quick change and remove the unwarranted growth of the tissue by killing all non-Muslims. A second category of Muslims, such as CAIR and many other Islamic organizations, opts to give a shot and cure non-Muslims. The third category, however, favors a slow treatment and prescribes pills for the non-Muslims.
Dr. Zuhdi Jasser belongs to the third category, and his ultimate intention, which is no different from the Jihadi Muslims, is only to seduce the Westerners and keep them in the dark until the actual Islam gains enough power to subdue the infidels. Ironically, not the Muslims from the Islamic countries but the naive Westerners are desperately looking for reformation in Islam, and some Muslims who live in the west are creating an illusion of a peaceful Islam.
Dr. Jasser criticizes the Imam in the article by saying, “…most major militant Islamist organizations today have their roots from the same tree as the MB: Wahhabism, and Salafist ideology.” However, he fails to notice that the root of the tree is none but the Quran, the holy book of Islam. Unlike many scientific inventions, Islamic terrorism was not invented recently; Islam was fathered by a terrorist and it was spread through extensive terrorism since its inception.
Whereas Dr. Jasser blatantly blamed Islamism, radical Islamists, Wahabists, etc. for the cause of terrorism, the Imam justified the action of terrorism and martyrdom as a means of gaining freedom and liberty. Evidently, none of them cared to discuss if such actions are validated in the Quran. The Imam, vaguely, without bringing up the Quran, certified, “My friend, every Muslim is against terrorism. We don’t have to have an organization; this is what our faith tells us. But obviously some people don’t understand that concept.” Like a perfect crime, the Imam demonstrated a perfect Taqiya. In fact, Dr. Jasser slammed the Imam’s comment: “This interchange is a classic example of the type of deception…” Of course, deception is indeed Taqiya, as explained earlier.
Apparently, Dr. Jasser has not identified the real enemy yet. Sometimes he blames Wahabists, sometimes it is the Salafists, and at other times his enemy is the political Islam.
Such Quixotic fight of Dr. Jasser may appease the gullible news media, but it will not convince someone with in-depth knowledge of Islam.
Dr. Jasser begins the article with his faith on ‘Arabic only Quran’ and admits, “The Arabic Qur’an certainly plays a central role in my life as a Muslim in its capacity as what Muslims believe to be the revealed words of God to Muslims in Arabic. However, the English translations are not believed to be Qur’an (the recitation in Arabic) but rather more appropriately referred to as ‘interpretations or explanations’ of Quran. In fact our daily prayers, which include memorized Qur’anic recitations, cannot be done but in the original Arabic of the Qur’an in order to preserve clarity.”
Interesting! Reciting a Quran and following the instruction of the Quran should be equally important for all Muslims. When a Muslim is seeking guidance from the Quran, he needs to understand the meaning of it. If it becomes mandatory to learn Arabic before becoming a Muslim, the number of the Muslim population will shrink dramatically. On the other hand, the Quran has been translated in almost all major languages. In fact, many famous books throughout the world have been translated without disrupting the message of the original book. Admittedly, a reader may not relish the magic of literature in a translated book, but the reader will have no problem understanding it. In fact, the Quran does not have any literary value; it is all about the message of God.
Why does he oppose distributing the translations of the Quran?
Dr. Jasser is an intelligent man and he knows what the Quran contains. Naturally, he does not want non-Muslims to read the book and open the proverbial can of worms.
In regards to reciting the Quran to collect thawab (Reward from the god), there are two options that Dr. Jasser should consider.
First, of all 114 Surahs (chapters) in the Quran, with the exception of about a dozen Surahs, each and every one contains at least one intolerant, violent, or unbecoming verse. They are all about killing, cursing, and demeaning the non-Muslims. What kind of God would listen to this type of lamenting from His creation? Will God be happy if a certain group of believers, through their recitation, ask for killing the other creations of God?
Secondly, repeated recitations of the verses have a profound psychological effect on the readers. Muslim children are encouraged, if not forced, to recite the Quran. When a child reads “Slay the non-believers” numerous times, the seed of hatred is sown and it haunts the person the rest of his or her life.
Furthermore, suppose that the Bible contains identical verses as the Quran and during a Sunday Mass, the Christians participate in a chorus, “Muslims are liars” (Q 7:66), “Jesus hates Muslims” (Q 35:26), or maybe a group of Hindus sing in a temple, “Those who reject Hinduism, among Muslims, will be in Hell-Fire, to dwell therein (for aye). They are the worst of creatures” (Q 98:6).
In such cases, will Dr. Jasser feel comfortable with the believers of the other religion?
The author argues the verses have no impact on people’s lives today. However, he misses a serious point. The Surah, with the exception of the first verse “Alif Lam Mim,” the meaning of which is debated by the scholars, begins with “This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah” (Q 2:2).
Surah Fatiah, the first Surah of the Quran, is considered an innocent prayer to God and Surah Al-Baqarah, the second, is the response from God. Those who fear Allah must get guidance from the second surah. After all, a faithful Muslim recites the verses and he finds the Quran as a panacea of all problems.
In fact, surah Al-Baqarah is the most important surah in the Quran. If recited, not only Shaytan (Devil) departs from the house, “…and as he leaves, he passes gas,” Ibn Kathir, the prominent scholar of Islam, quotes in his famous interpretation. He further mentions a saying of Mohammed: “Everything has a hump (or high peak), and Al-Baqarah is the high peak of the Quran. Whoever recites Al-Baqarah at night in his house, then Shaytan will not enter that house for three nights…”
More interestingly, in the same Surah, Allah questions “Do you then believe in a part of the Book and disbelieve in the other?” (Q2:85) Denying a part of the Quran can be injurious to Dr. Jasser’s health, specifically his stomach. Allah further confirms “Surely those who conceal any part of the Book that Allah has revealed and take for it a small price, they eat nothing but fire into their bellies, and Allah will not speak to them on the day of resurrection, nor will He purify them, and they shall have a painful chastisement.”(Q 2:174)
Dr. Jasser brings a few verses from surah Al-Tawba and explains the reason for revealing verses 9:4 through 9:7. He blames the Quraish for breaking the treaty of Hudaibya, which is not true. He further brags, “This passage also only refers to the idol-worshippers of Mecca, and no other faith group at all, and no other time in history.”
Says who?
Such egregious claim immediately voids the whole Quran, unless Dr. Jasser is privy to an addendum from Allah, the god of Islam. The Surah in question and each and every verse of all the Surahs of the Quran were made in response to some incidents that occurred at the time of Mohammed’s reign. Those Islamic scholars who interpret the Quran plowed through several Ahadith, the sayings of Mohammed, and established the reason for revealing the verse. It is not a matter of to whom the verse was addressed, but what a devoted Muslim can learn from the verse.
Dr. Jasser’s use of the English translation of the Quran, ironically, opens the door for his critics to cite the same.
Why is Dr. Jasser afraid of emulating the prophet, the best of the best man of all times – as propagated by the Islamic propaganda machines? Perhaps, being a good person, he just cannot follow the path of Mohammed, the prophet of Islam. The truth is that the more a Muslim imitates the life of Mohammed, the more he becomes a terrorist. Yet the question remains: If Dr. Jasser has no faith in Mohammed, how could he believe Mohammad’s claim of receiving God’s revelation through the Quran?
On the contrary, the Quran indeed instructs Muslims to emulate the prophet, “And whatever the Messenger gives you, take it and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it).”(59:7) Although this verse was revealed to resolve a fight between Mohammed and his followers over some booty that was obtained from a raid, Muslim scholars take this verse as a clear instruction to emulate the prophet (Ibn Kathir). Allah further asserts, “We sent not a messenger, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah.”(4:64)
While explaining how important it is to emulate the prophet, Ali Sina, the author of a book “Understanding Mohammed: A Psychobiography” writes, “Muhammad regarded himself as Khayru-l-Khalq (the Best of Creation), an “excellent example” (Q.33:21), and explicitly or implicitly hinted to be “exalted above other prophets in degrees” (Q.2:253). He claimed to be “the preferred one” (Q.17:55), to have been sent as a “Mercy to the worlds” (Q.21:107), to have been risen “to a praised estate” (Q.17:79)…” (61).
Dr. Jasser continues with more claims, “Nowhere in the Koran does God tell Muslims that they must impose their beliefs, practices, and rituals upon others.”
Again the Quran disagrees with Dr. Jasser, “And fight with them until there is no persecution, and religion should be only for Allah, but if they desist, then there should be no hostility except against the oppressors.” (Q 2:193)
Dr. Jasser continues with more claims: “And most certainly, nowhere in the Koran does God tell myopic automatons to instigate murderous, terrorist actions against civilians and other non-combatants who, by definition, are incapable of causing them harm.”
First, Allah, the god of Islam considers all disbelievers of Islam as the open enemy, without mentioning adults or the children. “And when you journey in the earth, there is no blame on you if you shorten the prayer, if you fear that those who disbelieve will cause you distress, surely the unbelievers are your open enemy.”(Q 4:101) Allah further warns, “O ye who believe! Choose not disbelievers for (your) friends in place of believers.”(Q 4:14) and “So obey not the disbelievers, but strive against them herewith with a great endeavor….”(Q 25:52) And finally he gives blanket permission to fight the non-believer in verse, “Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited.”(Q9:29)
Dr. Jasser’s unwillingness to see the ugly part of the Quran may have two reasons. First, he sincerely does not know what the Quran says. Perhaps he bought a used book (Quran) that has several chapters missing, either from eBay or a flea market, which is a typical open market in the U.S. held during the weekend where used merchandise is sold. Second, he is concealing the Quran knowingly and intentionally.
In the latter case, one may wonder who the hypocrite is!
Author’s Note: My apologies to Dr. Jasser if any part of the article offends him. He is a highly educated, intelligent man and it is safe to assume that he is tolerant enough to accept the criticism and the sarcasm. The criticism may inspire him to take a closer look at the Quran and the sarcasm may tickle his intelligence. I further hope Dr. Jasser will read the Quran as a human and not as a Muslim. Only then will he be able to come out from the shell of Islam and join the rest of the humanity. All comments made in this article should be considered as the opinions of the author.
FamilySecurityMatters. Ed. FSM Editors, 22 August, 2008 http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/authors/id.2/author_detail.asp
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