Thought you guys might enjoy this informative article from http://www.exile.ru. Be sure to check out the war nerd's column and Dolan's writings. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord?" "Turn the other cheek?" "Thou shalt not kill?" How about -- NOT! Since September 11, it has become a much-accepted cliche that the hijackers had somehow "warped" the tenets of the peaceful religion of Islam through their murderous actions. This sentiment was echoed most frequently by Christian leaders, as well as by religious politicians like George Bush; the latter has gone to great lengths, in fact to everything short of daily prayers to Mecca, to prove his sympathy for the Mohametan faith. The hijackers, we've been told, are exceptions, people who "failed to understand" Mohammed's message of peace and tolerance. Why would Christians be so anxious to defend Islam? Probably because all religions are in the habit of declaring themselves peaceful, even as their followers murder in the name of God. Modern Christian theologians are fond of saying that the more violent passages of the Bible are not meant to be taken literally, and that what is important about Christianity is the overall message of peace and tolerance -- not the constant and unceasing threat of the tortures of hell that so characterizes the Old Testament in particular. But there's no mistaking the "overall message" of Islam. Any sane person who reads the Koran for the first time is bound to come away amazed by its relentless violence and narrow-mindedness. The Great Book has just a few main themes, each of which are repeated on virtually every page. They are: (1) God will punish the unbelievers. (2) A believer does not trust or befriend a non-believer. (3) Anything less than absolute subservience to God will be rewarded with eternal Fire. (4) God's wrath is expressed through men, i.e., believers. (5) War is holy and necessary, and the fastest way to paradise. There's a lot of the same stuff in the Bible, obviously, but the Bible at least has a few famous caveats. The Christian God reserves the right to vengeance for himself: "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." But the God of Islam expresses himself through his followers, "the Fire whose fuel is men and stones." There is none of the New Testament emphasis on the universality of sin, and nothing like "He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone." In Islam a believer is asked -- required even -- to cast stones at those who transgress against God. The juiciest parts of the Koran are in the instructions about killing. The Koran instruction on this matter was probably informed by the experience of early Christians who had to tie their tongues in knots to get around the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" during times of war, or simply when killing seemed like the thing to do. The Koran therefore takes the Bible commandment and loads it up with qualifiers, so that it now reads, "You may not kill any man God has forbidden you to kill, except for a just cause." The commandment is repeated in this form several times throughout the book. In fact, according to the logic of the Koran, if you accept the basic idea that America has been hostile to the Islamic world, then nothing Mohammed Atta et al did made them bad Muslims at all, as far as we can tell. Most of us here at the eXile feel that anyone who believes in any God is dangerous and crazy. But the Islamic God, it seems to us, is particularly dangerous and crazy. If we're wrong, we're happy to be educated to the contrary. But you be the judge. Here are some of the highlights of the "peaceful" Koran: Fighting is an obligatory thing for you, much as you may dislike it. 2:216 If you doubt what we have revealed to Our servant, produce one chapter comparable to it. Call upon your idols to assist you, if what you say be true. But if you fail (as you are sure to fail) then guard yourselves against the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the unbelievers. 2:23 Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them. Surely God is high, supreme. 4:34 If you do not go to war, He will punish you sternly, and replace you by other men. 9:39 They would have you disbelieve as they themselves have disbelieved, so that you may all be alike. Do not befriend them until they have fled their homes for the cause of God. If they desert you, seize them and put them to death wherever you find them. 4:88 If these do not keep their distance from you, if they neither offer you peace nor cease their hostilities toward you, lay hold of them and kill them wherever you find them. Over such men We give you absolute authority. 4:91 You shall not kill any man God has forbidden you to kill, except for a just cause. 17:32 True servants of the Merciful are those who... do not kill except for a just cause. 25:67 As for those who disbelieve in God and his apostles, we have prepared a blazing Fire for the unbelievers. 48:13
