Obama's Challenge to the Muslim World

Crabtownboy · Jun 6, 2009

Islam, Judaism and Christianity is not the problem, it is the people who misuse these religions that are the problem and keep the hate and problem alive..

The historic significance of President Obama's speech to the Muslim world in Cairo cannot be overstated. Never before has an American president spoken to the global Muslim community. His speech marked a major shift in American foreign policy. Obama directly enlisted a religion to build global peace and to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, end nuclear proliferation and stop terrorism.

In just a few sentences he demolished the phony theory of the "Clash of Civilizations," which insists that Islam and the West must always be in conflict. Instead, he declared the United States is not at war with Islam and outlined a plan for how the conflict can be resolved.

Perhaps most important, he put religion at the core of the peacemaking process. For too long, Americans had come to fear Islam as an intolerant, violent religion. Obama cited examples from the Quran that belied those stereotypes. He emphasized the core similarities among Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
"Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism," he said. "It is an important part of promoting peace."
To Muslims, that was a powerful statement. "Islam is the solution" is the mantra of many Muslims. They believe their religion can and does solve problems. Now they have the leader of the most powerful nation on earth agreeing with them and seeking their help. He is challenging them to live up to Islam's ideals, just as he insisted that the United States must live up to its own ideals.
He captured the attention of Muslims because, unlike most politicians, he was willing to critique both his own country and Muslims where they fell short of their ideals.

The question now is whether Muslim governments and warring factions can embrace the true meaning of Islam.
For each of the problems Obama cited -- American occupation in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the spread of nuclear weapons, development of democracy, religious freedom, women's rights and economic development -- Islam presents a solution.
Islam denounces suicide of any sort, especially suicide bombings that kill innocents. Even in a defensive war sanctioned by Islamic law, suicide is expressly forbidden.

As Obama pointed out, the Holy Quran says that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind. Adherence to Islam would end indiscriminate firing of missiles from Gaza into Israel that kill innocents.
Islam certainly opposes Muslims killing Muslims, which has been the staple of the dispute between Iraqi Sunnis and Shias as well as in Pakistan and Darfur.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Islamic jurists ruled that under Islamic law those type of attacks did not fall under the norms of a just war.
Even top clerics and government officials in the Islamic Republic of Iran concede that Islam prohibits nuclear weapons because they kill indiscriminately.
Islam supports democracy with government run by consent of the people. A Shariah-compliant state owes its existence to the will of the people and is subject to control by them. The Prophet Muhammad himself said, "The hand of God is on the majority."
Religious freedom is at the core of Islam. The Quran expressly and unambiguously prohibits the coercion of faith because that violates a fundamental human right - the right to a free conscience. The Quran says in one place "There shall be no compulsion in religion." And in another it says, "To you your beliefs and to me, mine."

The Prophet Muhammad has been known as the first feminist. "The best of you are those who are best to their women," he said. Gender equality is an intrinsic part of Islamic belief. The Qur'an makes no difference in the religious obligations of men and women and set the stage for women's rights. Many of the limits placed on women in Muslim societies are due to local custom more than to Islamic teaching.
If using these Islamic principles, peace can be found in the region, Palestinians and Israelis can find accommodation, and Muslims can stop killing Muslims in Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, then the economic aid Obama promised can lead to a flourishing economy. Dubai and Kuala Lumpur have shown us the way.

By embracing Islam in the peacemaking process, Obama has laid down a challenge to Muslims. Live up to the tenets of our religion, embrace Shariah law as conceived by the Prophet, and see what happens.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, an independent, non-partisan and multi-national project that seeks to use religion to improve Muslim-West relations. (www.cordobainitiative.org) He is the author of "What's Right with Islam is What's Right With America."
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http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/.../06/obamas_challenge_to_the_muslim_world.html

LadyEagle · Jun 6, 2009

He obviously doesn't know the history of islam (millions slaugtered and tortured in the name of islam from approximately 600 AD until this very minute) or the quran very well because he left out the part in the quran about killing the Jews and infidels, in spite of islam being the religion of his father.

http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/

OldRegular · Jun 6, 2009

From crabtownboy OP
The Quran says in one place "There shall be no compulsion in religion." [Sura 2:256]
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Elsewhere the Quran states [Sura 9:5] "Fight and slay the idolators wherever you find them, and seize them, and besiege them, and lie in wait for them."

Crabtownboy · Jun 6, 2009

LadyEagle said: ↑

He obviously doesn't know the history of islam (millions slaugtered and tortured in the name of islam from approximately 600 AD until this very minute) or the quran very well because he left out the part in the quran about killing the Jews and infidels, in spite of islam being the religion of his father.

http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
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What about the Christian crusades.

There are dark chapters on both sides ... and prove the point the problem is people who misuse their religion for personal or political purposes.

OldRegular · Jun 6, 2009

From crabtownboy OP
The Prophet Muhammad has been known as the first feminist. "The best of you are those who are best to their women," he said. Gender equality is an intrinsic part of Islamic belief.
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That is sheer nonsense. The prophet only had 14 wives.

Just look at the status of women in most Islamic countries. There is one sect of Islam in Syria that does not believe women have souls. In Saudi Arabia a woman can be punished for speaking to a man who is not her kin. Also just talk to the wives of Americans who have worked in Saudi Arabia. Talk to the service women who have been stationed in Islamic countries about the restrictions placed on their movement.

Look at the Muslim women in this country shrouded from head to toe.

Bro. Curtis · Jun 6, 2009

CTB's post is ridiculous. Muhammad had a wife that was only 9 years old.

"The first feminist"...boy, there is nothing you won't twist.

How about forced arraigned marriages ?

Forced female circumcision ?

Made to walk with a veil over their head ?

What happens to a young muslim woman who decides to leave the faith ?

And what if, say, she wants to put on a halter top and go have a beer ?

It's just another pathetic attempt to equate the rest of the world's religions with Christianity.

And a rather dishonest, uninformed attempt, at that.

LadyEagle · Jun 6, 2009

It's just another pathetic attempt to equate the rest of the world's religions with Christianity.

And a rather dishonest, uninformed attempt, at that.
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Indeed. The old Crusades excuse brought up again. True history shows the Crusades were started after nearly 500 years of muslims attacking and invading and marauding, slaughering, and raping peoples, farmers, and lands that did not belong to them.

The Crusades began when the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus petitioned Pope Urban II to raise an army to defend against Muslim advances near Nicea.

The Crusades were fought to recapture territory taken by force by the Muslims since 634. Muslims and politically correct westerners paint the Crusades as an evil war of aggression. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Crusades were the Christian world's response to a war of aggression that had been taking place for nearly 500 years, and which had cost the lives of millions of innocent people, in often barbaric slaughters on the part of the Muslim aggressors.

Were atrocities committed by the Christians in the crusades? Absolutely. But there's a big difference between committing an atrocity in spite of your religion, and doing so because of your religion.
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http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090303161721AALnOPn

634—644 The Caliphate of Umar ibn al—Khattab, who is regarded as particularly brutal.
635 Muslim Crusaders besiege and conquer of Damascus
636 Muslim Crusaders defeat Byzantines decisively at Battle of Yarmuk.
637 Muslim Crusaders conquer Iraq at the Battle of al—Qadisiyyah (some date it in 635 or 636)
638 Muslim Crusaders conquer and annex Jerusalem, taking it from the Byzantines.
638—650 Muslim Crusaders conquer Iran, except along Caspian Sea.
639—642 Muslim Crusaders conquer Egypt.
641 Muslim Crusaders control Syria and Palestine.
643—707 Muslim Crusaders conquer North Africa.
644 Caliph Umar is assassinated by a Persian prisoner of war; Uthman ibn Affan is elected third Caliph, who is regarded by many Muslims as gentler than Umar.
644—650 Muslim Crusaders conquer Cyprus, Tripoli in North Africa, and establish Islamic rule in Iran, Afghanistan, and Sind.
656 Caliph Uthman is assassinated by disgruntled Muslim soldiers; Ali ibn Abi Talib, son—in—law and cousin to Muhammad, who married the prophet's daughter Fatima through his first wife Khadija, is set up as Caliph.
656 Battle of the Camel, in which Aisha, Muhammad's wife, leads a rebellion against Ali for not avenging Uthman's assassination. Ali's partisans win.
657 Battle of Siffin between Ali and Muslim governor of Jerusalem, arbitration goes against Ali
661 Murder of Ali by an extremist; Ali's supporters acclaim his son Hasan as next Caliph, but he comes to an agreement with Muawiyyah I and retires to Medina.
661—680 the Caliphate of Muawiyyah I. He founds Umayyid dynasty and moves capital from Medina to Damascus
673—678 Arabs besiege Constantinople, capital of Byzantine Empire
680 Massacre of Hussein (Muhammad's grandson), his family, and his supporters in Karbala, Iraq.
691 Dome of the Rock is completed in Jerusalem, only six decades after Muhammad's death.
705 Abd al—Malik restores Umayyad rule.
710—713 Muslim Crusaders conquer the lower Indus Valley.
711—713 Muslim Crusaders conquer Spain and impose the kingdom of Andalus. This article recounts how Muslims today still grieve over their expulsion 700 years later. They seem to believe that the land belonged to them in the first place.
719 Cordova, Spain, becomes seat of Arab governor
732 The Muslim Crusaders stopped at the Battle of Poitiers; that is, Franks (France) halt Arab advance
749 The Abbasids conquer Kufah and overthrow Umayyids
756 Foundation of Umayyid amirate in Cordova, Spain, setting up an independent kingdom from Abbasids
762 Foundation of Baghdad
785 Foundation of the Great Mosque of Cordova
789 Rise of Idrisid amirs (Muslim Crusaders) in Morocco; foundation of Fez; Christoforos, a Muslim who converted to Christianity, is executed.
800 Autonomous Aghlabid dynasty (Muslim Crusaders) in Tunisia
807 Caliph Harun al—Rashid orders the destruction of non—Muslim prayer houses and of the church of Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem
809 Aghlabids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Sardinia, Italy
813 Christians in Palestine are attacked; many flee the country
831 Muslim Crusaders capture Palermo, Italy; raids in Southern Italy
850 Caliph al—Matawakkil orders the destruction of non—Muslim houses of prayer
855 Revolt of the Christians of Hims (Syria)
837—901 Aghlabids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Sicily, raid Corsica, Italy, France
869—883 Revolt of black slaves in Iraq
909 Rise of the Fatimid Caliphate in Tunisia; these Muslim Crusaders occupy Sicily, Sardinia
928—969 Byzantine military revival, they retake old territories, such as Cyprus (964) and Tarsus (969)
937 The Ikhshid, a particularly harsh Muslim ruler, writes to Emperor Romanus, boasting of his control over the holy places
937 The Church of the Resurrection (known as Church of Holy Sepulcher in Latin West) is burned down by Muslims; more churches in Jerusalem are attacked
960 Conversion of Qarakhanid Turks to Islam
966 Anti—Christian riots in Jerusalem
969 Fatimids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Egypt and found Cairo
c. 970 Seljuks enter conquered Islamic territories from the East
973 Israel and southern Syria are again conquered by the Fatimids
1003 First persecutions by al—Hakim; the Church of St. Mark in Fustat, Egypt, is destroyed
1009 Destruction of the Church of the Resurrection by al—Hakim (see 937)
1012 Beginning of al—Hakim's oppressive decrees against Jews and Christians
1015 Earthquake in Palestine; the dome of the Dome of the Rock collapses
1031 Collapse of Umayyid Caliphate and establishment of 15 minor independent dynasties throughout Muslim Andalus
1048 Reconstruction of the Church of the Resurrection completed
1050 Creation of Almoravid (Muslim Crusaders) movement in Mauretania; Almoravids (aka Murabitun) are coalition of western Saharan Berbers; followers of Islam, focusing on the Quran, the hadith, and Maliki law.
1055 Seljuk Prince Tughrul enters Baghdad, consolidation of the Seljuk Sultanate
1055 Confiscation of property of Church of the Resurrection
1071 Battle of Manzikert, Seljuk Turks (Muslim Crusaders) defeat Byzantines and occupy much of Anatolia
1071 Turks (Muslim Crusaders) invade Palestine
1073 Conquest of Jerusalem by Turks (Muslim Crusaders)
1075 Seljuks (Muslim Crusaders) capture Nicea (Iznik) and make it their capital in Anatolia
1076 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) (see 1050) conquer western Ghana
1085 Toledo is taken back by Christian armies
1086 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) (see 1050) send help to Andalus, Battle of Zallaca
1090—1091 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) occupy all of Andalus except Saragossa and Balearic Islands
1094 Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus I asks western Christendom for help against Seljuk invasions of his territory; Seljuks are Muslim Turkish family of eastern origins; see 970
1095 Pope Urban II preaches first Crusade; they capture Jerusalem in 1099
So it is only after all of the Islamic aggressive invasions that Western Christendom launches its first Crusades.
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http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/11/the_truth_about_islamic_crusad.html

Palatka51 · Jun 6, 2009

Bro. Curtis said: ↑

CTB's post is ridiculous. Muhammad had a wife that was only 9 years old.

"The first feminist"...boy, there is nothing you won't twist.

How about forced arraigned marriages ?

Forced female circumcision ?

Made to walk with a veil over their head ?

What happens to a young muslim woman who decides to leave the faith ?

And what if, say, she wants to put on a halter top and go have a beer ?

It's just another pathetic attempt to equate the rest of the world's religions with Christianity.

And a rather dishonest, uninformed attempt, at that.
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Those were my thoughts too, Bro Curtis. You just beat me to the punch. :thumbs:

Scarlett O. · Jun 6, 2009

Crabtownboy said: ↑

What about the Christian crusades.
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What about them? They were a series of defensive manuevers brought by years of Muslim attacks.

There are dark chapters on both sides ... and prove the point the problem is people who misuse their religion for personal or political purposes.
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If you want to talk about a dark chapter of Christianity, I suppose that you could talk about the Inquisition.

But even the Inquistion is not comparable to a religion, like Islam, who has no "dark chapter", but is the epitome of darkness in its totality.

And as for this quote, "Gender equality is an intrinsic part of Islamic belief", I don't know who's responsible for it or who said it, but it clearly comes from an ignorance of Mohammed, the Qu'ran, and the religion of Islam.

Likewise, a woman is reckoned by Islamic jurisprudence to be worth half a man in a court of law. Specifically, a woman's testimony only counts for half that of a man's, thus two women are needed to counter the claims of a man.

"The Prophet said, 'Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that for a man?' The women said, 'Yes.' He said, 'This is because of the deficiency of a woman's mind.' " 4
(4) - Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 3, Bk. 48, No. 826

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"Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property for the support of women. So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great." (Surah 4:34, Pickthal translation)

According to the Qur'an, men are literally to rule over women, both because of a supposed natural superiority and because men spend their resources supporting women. This passage really makes a woman into property which belongs to a man, and which exists for his use, since he has to pay upkeep.
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Women were also considered by Mohammed to be deficient in religion. He is recorded as saying,

"I have not seen any one more deficient in intelligence and religion than you women." 9

(9) - Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, Bk. 6, No. 301; Vol. 2, Bk. 24, No. 541

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Mohammed also taught that a majority of women would go to hell 11, and that the majority of people in hell were women, as he claimed to have seen in a vision 12.
(11) - Sahih Muslim, Bk. 1, No. 142
(12) - Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, Bk. 2, No. 28; Vol. 1, Bk. 6, No. 301; Vol. 2, Bk. 18, No. 161; Vol. 7, Bk. 62, No. 124; Sahih Muslim, Bk. 36, No. 6596
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In many Muslim nations, women are subjected to the laws of purdah, or seclusion, which refers not only to the practice of facial veiling and body coverings, but also to the seclusion of women from all public life, as much as is possible in a given situation. The prayers of a woman who has reached puberty are not accepted if she is not veiled18. A woman is not allowed, by Islamic law, to undertake a journey longer than three days unless accompanied by a male relative19, and the traditions report that certain of the companions of Mohammed even beat their wives for asking money of men20. A woman's property is not really her own to use or enjoy in the public sphere, and the traditions even record one instance in which a woman was beaten and injured by her husband, and Mohammed's judgment in resolving the issue was for the husband to take away from her some pieces of property he had given her as a dowry, and to leave her 21. It is even recorded that Mohammed stated that if it were proper for any person to be decreed to prostrate themselves in reverence to any other than Allah, that it would be a wife to her husband 22. In many Muslim countries, women cannot leave the house without written permission from their husbands, and cannot drive automobiles.
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Magnetic Poles · Jun 6, 2009

If it were up to some folks, we'd fight the crusades and have an inquisition all over again. Both Christianity and Islam have the blood of millions on their hands. Both the Bible and the Q'uran have bloody verses. The broad brush doesn't apply in either case.

As to women, none of the partriarchical Abrahamic religions elevate the status of women.

LadyEagle · Jun 6, 2009

Magnetic Poles said: ↑

As to women, none of the partriarchical Abrahamic religions elevate the status of women.
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And how many religions might that be?

OldRegular · Jun 6, 2009

Magnetic Poles said: ↑

I
As to women, none of the partriarchical Abrahamic religions elevate the status of women.
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Islam is not an Abrahamic religion. It is a pagan religion!

OldRegular · Jun 6, 2009

Good information Scarlett O.:thumbsup::godisgood:

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