Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site unc.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!harvard!talcott!panda!genrad!decvax!mcnc!unc!oliver From: oliver@unc.UUCP (Bill Oliver) Newsgroups: net.politics,net.followup Subject: Re: Islam (long but informative) Message-ID: <10@unc.UUCP> Date: Tue, 23-Jul-85 21:30:45 EDT Article-I.D.: unc.10 Posted: Tue Jul 23 21:30:45 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 26-Jul-85 02:22:37 EDT References: Reply-To: oliver@unc.UUCP (Bill Oliver) Distribution: net Organization: CS Dept., U. of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill Lines: 87 Xref: linus net.politics:9409 net.followup:4235 Summary: A reply from the horses mouth - Khomeini himself. In article heddaya@harvard.ARPA ( Solom) writes: >Imagine my surprise at reading that after all what I have been taught of my >religion (Islam) at home, at school, and at the mosque. I was taught that >Islam is the religion of tolerance, that violence can only be condoned in >self-defense, and even then, God (=Allah in arabic) loves and rewards those >who forgive. > > Abdelsalam Heddaya > Arpa: heddaya@harvard.arpa > Internet: heddaya@harvard.HARVARD.EDU > UUCP: {seismo,ihnp4,...}!harvard!heddaya It is with great interest that I read this article. Mr. Heddaya shows a fair amount of valor in his eagerness to act as apologist for Islam. I have no doubt that Mr. Heddaya is both devout and truly a paradigm of tolerance, though in believing so I must also admire his philosophic dexterity. No doubt there are numerous other Moslems who also find it possible to pass by an unguarded building brimming with infidels without a longing thought of explosions and billowing flame and who do not spend the occasional night with warm and liquid dreams of bludgeoning young American servicemen into paste or stretching the neck of a passing B`hai. Still, I find it difficult to believe Mr. Heddaya`s claims of tolerance as the standard for the Moslem world. First, the claim that allowances are made for infidels in Islamic law is true, but the remaining law that ALL must live by is still intrusive and all-encompassing enough to make an Hassidic Jew a slacker; this is a law that punishes petty theft with mutilation/amputation and adultery with death. Even in "moderate" Saudi Arabia, the punishment for drinking alcohol is enough to make my hands shake as they reach for the Jack Daniels. HOWEVER, there are those who say I am cynical. There are those who say (quite incorrectly) that I, in turn, am not the paradigm of objectivity. So, let me defer to a true believer, the one, the only, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini himself - no piker when it comes to Islamic law, let me tell you. The following is from a speech given December 12, 1984, the birthday of Mohammed, and is taken from the April, 1985 edition of Harper`s. To wit: "If one allows an infidel to continue in his role as corrupter of the earth, his moral suffering will be all the worse. If one kills the infidel, and thus stops him from perpetrating his misdeeds, his death will be a blessing to him. For if he remains alive, he will become more and more corrupt. This is a surgical procedure commanded by God the all-powerful. Those who imagine that our time on earth is a divine gift, those who believe that eating and sleeping like animals are gifts from God, say that Islam should not inflict punishments. But those who follow the teachings of the Koran know that Islam must apply the lex talionis and thus that they must kill. Those who have knowledge of the suffering in life to come realize that cutting off th hand of someone for a crime he has committed is of benefit to him. In the Beyond he will thank those who, on earth, executed the will of God. War is a blessing for the world and for all nations. It is God who incites men to fight and to kill. The Koran says: "Fight until all corruption and all rebellion have ceased." The wars the Prophet led against the infidels were a blessing for all humanity. Imagine that we will soon win the war [against Iraq]. That will not be enough for corruption and resistance to Islam will still exist. The Koran says "War, war until victory." A religion without war is an incomplete religion. If His Holiness Jesus - blessings upon him - had been given more time, he would have acted as Moses did, and wielded the sword. Those who believe that Jesus did not have "a head for such things," that he was not interested in war, see in him nothing more than a simple preacher, and not a prophet. A prophet is all-powerful. Through war he purifies the earth. The mullahs with corrupt hearts who say that it is contrary to the teachings of the Koran are unworthy of Islam. Thanks to God, our young people are now, to the limits of their means, putting Gods commandments into action. They know that to kill unbelievers is one of man`s greatest missions." I suppose that tolerance, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beheader. Er... beholder. Bill Oliver The opinions expressed above are my own and should not be considered the opinions of any Agency, Office, or empoyee of the State of North Carolina.