Reformed Churchmen

We are Confessional Calvinists and a Prayer Book Church-people. In 2012, we remembered the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer; also, we remembered the 450th anniversary of John Jewel's sober, scholarly, and Reformed "An Apology of the Church of England." In 2013, we remembered the publication of the "Heidelberg Catechism" and the influence of Reformed theologians in England, including Heinrich Bullinger's Decades. For 2014: Tyndale's NT translation. For 2015, John Roger, Rowland Taylor and Bishop John Hooper's martyrdom, burned at the stakes. Books of the month. December 2014: Alan Jacob's "Book of Common Prayer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Book-Common-Prayer-Biography-Religious/dp/0691154813/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417814005&sr=8-1&keywords=jacobs+book+of+common+prayer. January 2015: A.F. Pollard's "Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation: 1489-1556" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-English-Reformation-1489-1556/dp/1592448658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420055574&sr=8-1&keywords=A.F.+Pollard+Cranmer. February 2015: Jaspar Ridley's "Thomas Cranmer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-Jasper-Ridley/dp/0198212879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422892154&sr=8-1&keywords=jasper+ridley+cranmer&pebp=1422892151110&peasin=198212879

Showing posts with label Muhammed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Muhammed. Show all posts

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Islam: The Greatest Murder Machine in History



When one thinks of mass murder, Hitler comes to mind. If not Hitler, then Tojo, Stalin, or Mao. Credit is given to the 20th-century totalitarians as the worst species of tyranny to have ever arisen. However, the alarming truth is that Islam has killed more than any of these, and may surpass all of them combined in numbers and cruelty.


The enormity of the slaughters of the "religion of peace" are so far beyond comprehension that even honest historians overlook the scale. When one looks beyond our myopic focus, Islam is the greatest killing machine in the history of mankind, bar none.

The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. -- Will Durant, as quoted on Daniel Pipes site.


Conservative estimates place the number at 80 million dead Indians.
According to some calculations, the Indian (subcontinent) population decreased by 80 million between 1000 (conquest of Afghanistan) and 1525 (end of Delhi Sultanate). -- Koenrad Elst as quoted on Daniel Pipes site
80 Million?! The conquistadors' crimes pale into insignificance at that number. No wonder Hitler admired Islam as a fighting religion. He stood in awe of Islam, whose butchery even he did not surpass.

Over 110 Million Blacks were killed by Islam.
... a minumum of 28 Million African were enslaved in the Muslim Middle East.  Since, at least, 80 percent of those captured by Muslim slave traders were calculated to have died before reaching the slave market, it is believed that the death toll from 1400 years of Arab and Muslim slave raids into Africa could have been as high as 112 Millions.  When added to the number of those sold in the slave markets, the total number of African victims of the trans-Saharan and East African slave trade could be significantly higher than 140 Million people. -- John Allembillah Azumah, author of The Legacy of Arab-Islam in Africa: A Quest for Inter-religious Dialogue
Add just those two numbers alone together, and Islam has surpassed the victims of 20th-century totalitarianism. However, it does not end there. Add the millions who died at the hand of Muslims in the Sudan in our lifetime.
Much of Islamic slavery was sexual in nature, with a preference for women. Those men who were captured were castrated. The mulatto children of the women were often killed, which explains why Islam was not demographically shifted towards the black race, unlike slaves in the West, who bore children to breed a mestizo class. Add in those dead children; and we arrive at well over 200 million.

Remember that in the 7th century, North Africa was almost totally Christian. What happened to them? 
By the year 750, a hundred years after the conquest of Jerusalem, at least 50 percent of the world's Christians found themselves under Muslim hegemony… Today there is no indigenous Christianity in the region [of Northwest Africa], no communities of Christians whose history can be traced to antiquity.-- "Christianity Face to Face with Islam," CERC
What happened to those Christian millions? Some converted. The rest?  Lost to history.

We know that over 1 million Europeans were enslaved by Barbary Pirates. How many died is anybody's guess.
...for the 250 years between 1530 and 1780, the figure could easily have been as high as 1,250,000 -  BBC
In the Middle Ages…
…many slaves were passed through Armenia and were castrated there to fill the Muslim demand for eunuchs. -- Slavery in Early Medieval Europe.
The same practice ran through Islamic Spain. North Europeans captured from raids up to Iceland, or purchased, were butchered in the castratoriums of Iberia. Many died from the operations that ran for centuries.

The number of dead from the Muslim conquest of the Balkans and Southern Italy is unknown, but again the numbers add up, surely into the millions over the centuries. Don't forget the 1.5 million Armenian Christians killed by the Turks during WWI. We do know that over five centuries, vast numbers of Christian boys were kidnapped to become Islamic Janissary mercenaries for the Turks. Add those in, too.

Muslims prized blonde women for their harems; and so enslaved Slavic women were purchased in the bazaars of the Crimean Caliphate. In Muslim Spain, an annual tribute of 100 Visigothic [blonde] women was required from Spain's Cantabrian coast.
For decades, 100 virgins per year were required by the Muslim rulers of Spain from the conquered population.  The tribute was only stopped when the Spaniards began fighting back -- Jihad: Islam's 1,300 Year War Against Western Civilisation
Add in the death toll from the Reconquista and the numbers climb higher. 
Research has shown that the Dark Ages were not caused by the Goths, who eventually assimilated and Christianized:    
…the real destroyers of classical civilization were the Muslims. It was the Arab Invasions... which broke the unity of the Mediterranean world and turned the Middle Sea -- previously one of the world’s most important trading highways -- into a battleground. It was only after the appearance of Islam... that the cities of the West, which depended upon the Mediterranean trade for their survival, began to die. -- Islam Caused the Dark Ages
Add in those unknown millions who died as a consequence.
How many know the horrors of the conquest of Malaysia? The Buddhists of Thailand and Malaysia were slaughtered en masse.
When attacked and massacred by the Muslims, the Buddhists initially did not make any attempt to escape from their murderers. They accepted death with an air of fatalism and destiny. And hence they are not around today to tell their story. – History of Jihad.org
We may never know the numbers of dead.
After Muslims came to power in the early 15th century, animist hill peoples eventually disappeared due to their enslavement and ‘incorporation’ into the Muslim population of Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java via raids, tribute and purchase, especially of children. Java was the largest exporter of slaves around 1500. -- Islam Monitor
In the same manner, Islam arrived in the Philippines. Only the appearance of the Spanish stopped a total collapse, and confined Islam to the southern islands. 
The coming of the Spanish saved the Philippines from Islam, except for the Southern tip where the population had been converted to Islam.-- History of Jihad.org
Again, the number of dead is unknown; but add them to the total.
The animist Filipinos were eager to ally with the Spanish against Islam. In fact, much of Southeast Asia welcomed the Spanish and Portuguese as preferable to Islam. 
...from the 17th century successive Thai kings allied themselves with the seafaring Western powers – the Portuguese and the Dutch and succeeded in staving off the threat of Islam from the Muslim Malays and their Arab overlords.-- History of Jihad.org  
A few galleons and muskets were not enough to conquer Asia. Islam had made the Europeans initially appear as liberators; and to a certain extent they were. Who were the real imperialists?
Even today...
...Malaysian Jihadis are plotting to transform multi-ethnic Malaysia into an Islamic Caliphate, and fomenting trouble in Southern Thailand.-- History of Jihad.org
Add this all up. The African victims. The Indian victims. The European victims. Add in the Armenian genocide. Then add in the lesser known, but no doubt quite large number of victims of Eastern Asia. Add in the jihad committed by Muslims against China, which was invaded in 651 AD. Add in the Crimean Khanate predations on the Slavs, especially their women.
Though the numbers are not clear, what is obvious is that Islam is the greatest murder machine in history bar none, possibly exceeding 250 million dead. Possibly one-third to one-half or more of all those killed by war or slavery in history can be traced to Islam; and this is just a cursory examination.

Now consider the over 125 Million women today who have been genitally mutilated for Islamic honor's sake. In spite of what apologists tell you, the practice is almost totally confined to Islamic areas. 
New information from Iraqi Kurdistan raises the possibility that the problem is more prevalent in the Middle East than previously believed and that FGM is far more tied to religion than many Western academics and activists admit. – “Is Female Genital Mutilation an Islamic Problem?” ME Quarterly
Once thought concentrated in Africa, FGM has now been discovered to be common wherever Islam is found. 
There are indications that FGM might be a phenomenon of epidemic proportions in the Arab Middle East. Hosken, for instance, notes that traditionally all women in the Persian Gulf region were mutilated. Arab governments refuse to address the problem. -- "Is Female Genital Mutilation an Islamic Problem?" ME Quarterly
Remember that this has gone on for 1400 years; and was imposed on a population that had been formerly Christian or pagan.
FGM is practiced on large scale in Islamic Indonesia; and is increasing.
...far from scaling down, the problem of FGM in Indonesia has escalated sharply. The mass ceremonies in Bandung have grown bigger and more popular every year. -- Guardian
The horrified British author of that Guardian article is still deluded that Islam does not support FGM, when in fact it is now settled that FGM is a core Islamic practice. Islamic women have been brainwashed to support their own abuse.
Abu Sahlieh further cited Muhammad as saying, "Circumcision is a sunna (tradition) for the men and makruma (honorable deed) for the women."  -- “Is Female Genital Mutilation an Islamic Problem?” ME Quarterly
What other tyranny does this? Not even the Nazis mutilated their own women!

Unlike the 20th-century totalitarians whose killing fury consumed themselves, reducing their longevity, Islam paces itself. In the end, though slower, Islam has killed and tortured far more than any other creed, religious or secular. Unlike secular tyranny, Islam, by virtue of its polygamy and sexual predations, reproduces itself and  increases. 

Other tyrannies are furious infections, which burn hot, but are soon overcome. Islam is a slow terminal cancer, which metastasizes, and takes over. It never retreats. Its methods are more insidious, often imperceptible at first, driven by demographics. Like cancer, excision may be the only cure.
So whenever you read about this or that Israeli outrage -- and there may be truth to the complaint -- place the news in context. Look whom the Israelis are fighting against. Islam is like nothing else in history.

Mike Konrad is the pen name of an American who is not Jewish, Latin, or Arab. He runs a website, http://latinarabia.com, where he discusses the subculture of Arabs in Latin America. He wishes his Spanish were better.

For the rest, see:
 http://americanthinker.com/2014/05/the_greatest_murder_machine_in_history.html
 

Monday, January 13, 2014

Muhammad and the Anti-Christ Religion of Islam

Varied Authors. Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th Ed. “Muhammad and the Religion of Islam.” Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985.

Given the forum’s interest in orbital learning, divine providence (Reformation theology, WCF, 5)…inquiries into Islam proceed.

When catechetized, e.g. the Westminster Confession of Faith, learning is a corollary concern in life; it’s natural.

Outline

The Foundations of Islam

1. Muhammed: the Prophet and his message

A. Life and works
B. Character and achievements
C. The legacy of Muhammed

2. Sources of Islamic doctrinal and social views

3. Islamic scripture: the Qur’an

A. Form
B. Doctrines of the Qur’an
C. Origins and compilation of the Qur’an
D. Interpretations
E. Translations

4. Hadith, traditions of the prophets

A. Nature and origins
B. Historical development
C. The science of Hadith
D. The compilations
E. Sectarian variations
F. Significance of Hadith

5. Fundamental practices and institutions of Islam

A. The five pillars
B. Sacred places and days

Islamic Thought

1. Origins, nature and significance of Islamic theology

A. Early developments
B. The Hellenistic legacy

2. Theology and sectarianism

A. The Khawarij
B. The Mu`tazilah
C. The Sunnah
D. The Shi`ah
E. Other groups

3. Islamic mysticism

A. History
B. Sufi literature
C. Sufi thought and literature
D. Theosophical literature
E. Sufi orders
F. Significance

4. Islamic philosophy

A. The Eastern philosophers
B. The Western philosophers

5. The new wisdom: synthesis of philosophy and mysticism

A. Philosophy, traditionalism, and the new wisdom
B. Primary teachers of the new wisdom
C. Impact of modernism

The Culture of Islam

1. Islamic law, Shari`ah

A. Nature and significance of Islamic law
B. Historical development of Shari`ah law
C. The substance of traditional Shar`ah law
D. Law in contemporary Islam

2. Social and ethical principles

A. Family life
B. The state
C. Education
D. Cultural diversity

3. Religion and the arts

A. The visual arts
B. Music
C. Literature
D. Architecture

4. Islamic myth and legend

A. Sources and variations
B. Types of myth and legend
C. Illustrations of myth and legend
D. Significance and modern interpretations

The Foundations of Islam

Muhammed: the Prophet and his message. Islam was created by a false prophet with religio-Imperialist and socio-economic ambitions. His name is Muhammed, born in Mecca, c. AD 570, and died c. AD 632. The religion is entitled “Islam” which means surrender to Allah (Arabic for “God”) as revealed in the fevered revelations of this displaced chap and caravan-raider-gone-big. Those revelations had an oral tradition and were written down in the Qur’an (=Koran).

Muhammed’s deal was his vision that he, by Allah’s will, was the final prophet. While he noted Adam, Noah, Jesus and others as prophets, he was the “last prophet” whose prophecies “abrogated” those of the earlier prophets. This Anti-Christ nonsense would soon be backed up by the sword, astute commercial treaties, taxation policies, and numerous military victories. His victories were judgments on its victims.

He was handed around, as a lad, in varied tribal families. About 610, he got his big vision of a majestic being with a vocal call, “You are the messenger of God.” It sounds like something out of Benny Hinn or a TBN-prophet. The varied revelations were sometimes accompanied by noises (e.g. a bell) or simple internal ideas. They were viewed as the “Word of Allah” to which "all must submit." He gathered some sympathizers around him, but his ideas accosted nomadic and Arabian polytheism.

He ran into opposition at Mecca. He had begun preaching publicly with implied critiques of rich merchants, a message that was not entirely popular with the mercantilists. “There is no god but Allah” coupled with his economic complaints. By 616, some Meccan forces united to oppose Muhammad; he and followers headed off to Medina. By 627, a Constitution is developed in Medina acknowledging Muhammed as the source for adjudication of any disputes. For 5 years, he gathers others.

He engages in numerous “benevolent” (tongue-in-cheek) razzias (=”raids”) on varied caravans. He personally led 3 “raids” in 623. Big point here: he becomes what he’s criticized, a materialistic gamer with a self-created religion. These razzias expand to Syria and Yemen. By 624, he puts out orders to accost caravans to and from Yemen. Varied Jewish groups oppose him and his policies begin to shift; finally, there is a break with the Jews. In 624, he conducts a successful raid on a Syrian caravan which he views as a “vindication” of his prophetic sovereignty. More raids and battles. Two are notable, the Victory of Badr, Syria, 624 and the Battle of Uhud.

A crafty and able chap, he made life simple. Submit to Islam and we can have a socio-economic pact: no raids. It was a Mafia-protection racket provided you submit. Given humanity’s depravity, the thinking goes: “What’s a minor theological accommodation, a little Allah, for the sake of peace and commercial progress?” There were clear economic and material advantages.

His closing years were accompanied by more alliances. He became “militarily the strongest man in Arabia.” By 630, he had a very successful raid in Syria along with further arrangements. His attitude to Christians began to change as well including Copts in Egypt and Ethiopia. His power had united Arabia and, shortly after his death in 632, his fanatics were poised to conquer Syria and Iraq.

Muhammad was reviled by medieval European scholars. He undoubtedly approved of assassination plots. He indubitably conquered with the sword. He indubitably ran a Mafia-protection racket. He indubitably united “religion and state” backed by the sword and bribery.

20 years after his death, his federation extended to Libya and Persia. The Byzantine Empire and Persian Empire felt his sting: “Islam is the basis of Arab unity.” Jihad was the war cry, meaning “Holy War” and “Holy Surrender.” This would also extend to Spain and into India.

Christians and Jews were the “people of the book.” As such, they were “taxed.” All others: “convert or die.” Not quite the religion of peace as is often put forward.

As Confessing Christian Churchmen, this Anti-Christian religion needs further exposition.