A minister wants to help Americans learn the "real" Quran and bring Muslims to Christ.
"They have sugar-coated the Quran so badly -- taking words out, twisting words, and putting them in wrong places," he laments.
As a result, Dakdok and several others have come up with what they feel is the most accurate English translation of the Quran, which includes the true meaning of jihad.
"[Sadly] some people in our media say...'Jihad does not really mean to fight a holy war. Jihad is [the] struggle to do what's right,'" the minister recognizes. But he points out that "there are 37 verses in the Quran [where] the word 'jihad' is mentioned," and he quotes "chapter 9, verse 73: 'All you prophets, perform jihad against the infidel and the hypocrite and be harsh with them.'"
Dakdok warns that unless the U.S. acts now, America will follow Europe in seeing a much bigger Islamic presence. "They will build mosques anywhere and everywhere they choose to, and they are using our Constitution to say 'freedom of religion.' But Islam is not a religion that will give freedom of religion," he contends.
11 comments:
First off, Dakdok is dead wrong about the Qur'an being "mistranslated." That isn't true at all. Most translations are fantastic and have undergone even more strenuous standards of translation than the Bible. Also, if you Google this guy you will find that he's a major radical within Christian conservatism. He's one of the major movers and shakers who is trying to prove that Obama is a Muslim (anyone with half a brain should be able to shoot that one down). He's also big buds with Glenn Beck who we know is "popular" for being "fair and balanced." I'm sorry but this guy is a complete farce. His agenda is as transparent as that of Michael Moore. He picks and chooses what "evidence" to accept and then discards what is inconvenient. In fact, several scholars of Islam have already called him out on his bogus attempt to "re-translate" the Qur'an. All he wants to do is defame Muslims. What a punk!
Having read the Qur'an twice (from 2 different translations and several other sources for study) I believe that it is a good book. There's more violence in the Bible than the Qur'an...hands down. Now, I'm not knocking the Bible either. It's a great book as well, but I fail to understand why people (especially Americans) are so afraid of Islam and the Qur'an. It actually provides some wonderful insight into many of the biblical stories that we love and adore. President Hinckley read the Qur'an 6 times in his life, and he publically stated that many of its stories were some of his favorites.
And heaven forbid we have a larger Muslim presence here in America! Oh no! They’re gonna get us all! Run for the hills! More Chicken Little scare tactics from radicals who use fear as a weapon. Guess what else those scary Muslims have done? They’ve given us architecture, Algebra, literature, music and have fought and died in every single American war. In a letter to the Muslim nation of Lybia (specifically the capitol city Tripoli), President John Adams assured the Muslim nations that the United States was eternally friendly to them and that “the government of the United States is not, IN ANY SENSE, founded upon the Christian Religion.” Other American citizens stated the following in a petition to their elected officials in 1785:
Let Jews, Mehometans and Christians of every denomination enjoy religious liberty…thrust them not out now by establishing the Christian religion lest thereby we become our own enemys and weaken this infant state. It is mens labour in our Manufactories, their services by sea and land that aggrandize our Country and not their creeds. Chain your citizens to the state by their Interest. Let Jews, Mehometans, and Christians of every denomination find their advantage in living under your laws."
~Petition of a group of citizens of Chesterfield County, Va., to the state assembly, Nov. 14, 1785.
So, why is it that we have to be so darn scared of those sneaky Muslims now? What has changed? Yeah, a few of them are nuts and kill people but who is crazy enough to decide to lay the entire blame of that attack on the Muslim religion as a whole? Answer: Dakdok! He’s said as much. That’s all the proof one would need to reveal his true agenda.
In summation, let's not let the crap of some radical cloud reality.
Sorry for the rant. I just happen to think very highly if Islam and the Qur'an and hate seeing idiots like this guy being considered a reliable source. Islam has a very good message and their religion deserves to be defended (even if I don't happen to believe in it). And us Mormons have a lot in common with them. We should be at the front in leading the charge for their defense.
I'm not sure why people care if Obama is a Muslim. Seriously, who cares. I haven't read the Qur'an, and I don't intend to, but I think there are radicals in all religions. As for mosques being built everywhere, so are temples. I'm just grateful that we can practice our religion freely and think everyone should. In fact, did you guys see anything on the Satanists in OKC renting out the civic center for recruiting and exorcisms. They did a poll on our local news station (Tulsa) asking if Satanist should have the right to publicly do something (I can't remember the exact wording). Both my husband and I were severely disappointed in Tulsans, as they voted 91% against the right of the Satanists. We both strongly feel that people (I even include polygamists in this, but it's against the law, so...) should be able to practice their religion. UNLESS it is against the law and against our "inalienable rights" as a human being.
I agree with everything you said, Jenn. Well put.
Thank you for the rant Brad. I do always enjoy your perspective on the political going-on's.
Now to where I disagree...
Jenn. People care about BO being an Muslim because ... no one know what he really is. He doesn't even know who he is. He's one big fat farse. He who doesn't stand for something, doesn't stand for anything. He, is good for nothing. And his worthless stimulus and green jobs? As useless as he is. Now I'll really tell you how I feel about him... :) I digress. My point, he doesn't stand for anything. Worthless. Right or wrong, stand for something. He's so nebulous and talks so well, all of America was swindled into electing the fool. Yes, fool.
As far as Tulsa electing the satanic group? I agree with you, but thats like saying, I should be able to walk into a hornets nest without getting stung. Or walking around the gay bars of San Francisco crying repentance...there's gonna be angry people. Pretty steep battle. They should go to motorcycle gang hang-outs and would have more success. Logic. In the bible belt, there's no room or tolerance for Satanists and Mormons. ;)
Brad... I have not read the Quran, so correct me if I'm wrong, (I know you will :)), but the Book of Mormon nor Bible talk of converting or die. Christians are a hard headed bunch, but not violent. The bible doesn't teach that we should have JIhad. Okay, hornets nest, you have been poked.
Well, for the record, Obama has declared himself to be a Christian on so many occasions that I am amazed people still don't get it. As for his politics, I don't really care. I gave up on all politics a few months ago. It's all a farce no matter the "team" you root for. People follow their favorite flavor of politics the same way fans of WWE wrestlers follow their favorite wrestler. In the end, you know they are all a farce but people still get all giddy over them and argue who is better: Hulk Hogan or The Rock. I'm not trying to sound cynical or self-defeating here but it's true. I'm pretty disappointed with Obama as well, but I won't go with the "worthless/farce" nonsense. If we "keep it real" then we can accept a few fundamental facts about American politics:
1.) Americans are, and always have been, a bunch of doomsdayers. Everything being said about Obama has been said before about Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, etc.
2.) American politics has gone to the birds not because of the politicians but the American people. People are too partisan to accept basic facts. Case in point: this whole "Obama is a Muslim" nonsense.
3.) This whole "right/left", "Dem v Republican" dichotomy is a very convenient tool for the powers that be. Let the masses fight over stuff that doesn't matter and give them the appearance of choice and they will be happy as a clam. Let them have their tea parties/anti-Bush rallies and they will usually go away feeling that they've done something meaningful, when in reality they are simply following a script. The real division in this nation isn't right v left but up v. down. The people with the power and those without it. This has been the basic fact of every society in world history. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. The mighty gain more power, the downtrodden become destitute. In short, the oppressor beats up the oppressed. If you reduce all societies to their basic common denominator you see what really governs men: Greed. Presidents and congressmen are puppets. Vote for who you will but watch...not much will change.
Ok, with the political rant out of the way let's talk about the actual issue at hand. First off, whether or not Obama is a Muslim doesn't matter, and for the record he's not. But even if he were why does it matter? Is that a crime to be a Muslim? Why insinuate that it's such a bad thing? Or that it even matters? This smells of Glenn Beck and the other radicals of the right just a bit too much.
In reality this shouldn't even matter. Many of our founders (and other great presidents like Lincoln) were some of the most irreligious people out there. Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison, Monroe, Paine, and even Washington (along with many others) either doubted or publicly renounced a belief in Jesus' divinity. My point is that the religion of a president shouldn't be a deciding factor for anything. Even the Constitution agrees. Article XI, Section III:
"No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
You write:
Christians are a hard headed bunch, but not violent.
Not so. Christians have a longer (and bloodier) history of violence than Muslims. That's just a fact. And we have our morons out there too. Timothy McVeigh, David Koresh, Eric Rudolph, Jim Jones, etc., etc., etc. I think it's not fair (or correct) to characterize Christians as not being as violent as Muslims. The Crusades come to mind here as do many other atrocities. I'm not attacking Christianity here either...just pointing out a fact.
(continued...)
Part II...
The bible doesn't teach that we should have JIhad. Okay, hornets nest, you have been poked.
I think you are misunderstanding Jihad. It means "struggle." For example, there are personal jihads (individual sin), and group jihads (the continual struggle for equality and tolerance). Sure, some have misinterpreted it for their own gain but the same can be said of the Bible. Fort centuries the Bible was used to justify slavery, the subjugation of women, the centralization of power under the Catholic Church, and even was used to justify peasantry, racism and murder. Heck, Romans 13 was used by many to prevent revolution, particularly our own revolution. It was a major concern.
Bottom line is this: there will always be idiots out there that make every religion look bad and twist scripture for their own gain. Our job is to not stereotype every person of that faith as being with the radicals. For example, which of us Mormons would like to be categorized with the likes of Ted Bundy, Butch Cassidy, Jason Brown, Mark Hacking, Mark Hofmann, or those crazy polygamous leaders? Yep, they are/were all Mormons. See for yourself:
http://famousmormons.net/infamous.html
In the end, I guess I just don't think you are being fair to Islam here...no offense. Citing the nut-job Dakdok and castigating the President for supposedly being a member of a faith that he really isn't a member of (but shouldn't matter to begin with) doesn't work. The Qur'an is a wonderful book and should not be trampled under foot just to satisfy partisan political agendas. Numerous prophets and apostles have praised Islam for all that it has given the world. And like I said before, there's a TON of similarities between Islam and Mormonism.
I've always wondered why God gave the world so many diverse religions. Of course we believe that part of that is because of the world falling into apostasy, but I cannot help but wonder if another reason was to help us learn tolerance. There's a lot of idiot Muslims, Catholics, Jews, Hindus, Mormons, etc. out there.
Can't we all just get along! =)
Dude, I totally commented...*sigh*. Here we go again.
Brad, the only thing I disagree with is that God gave the world one religion, His. Other than that, I concur!
Richard, Obama does stand for something, even if it is subtly. His actions show me that he believes in a more socialistic form of government (I know you'll have a heyday with this Brad) than the one we have.
And while I don't like the beliefs of Satanists, I'm not going to fight against their right to worship. Same with the WTC Mosque, while I think it's a slap in the face, I would be completely against the usage of eminent domain or any other means that I disagree with on principle.
Other than that clarification, I stand by my previous comment.
Nope. I don't disagree at all, Jenn. I totally agree. Obama is for more of a socialIZED government, but this shouldn't be confused with socialIZM. Like I have said a million times, I am not Obama apologist. I only ask that people be reasonable with their objections and not buy into the nonsense and downright falsehoods that we see so much of today. I didn't and won't be voting for Obama in 2012. With that said, I won't be voting for whoever the nut-job conservos put up either.
And you are right about the satanists and the NYC mosque as well. I'm 100% with ya. This sort of falls into the "I hate to death what you are saying but will defend to the death your right to say it." Satanists are stupid but they have a right to be stupid.
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