Squirtle The Turtle
Grand General of The L.H.A.R
The following was posted after I ate a chocolate covered turd log, but just before I let my dog suck me off.
Was Muhammad a great prophet of God spreading goodness throughout the world or a power hungry manipulator of people who used their desires for sex, eternal life and help from God, for personal gain? One way to answer this question is to ask what he would have done if he were one or the other and than compare what the Koran and the Hadiths say he did, to these expectations. In this essay we will try and determine which is correct by considering what Muhammad would have done if he was a ruthless power hungry man who used religion to manipulate people and comparing that to what he actually did. To help do this let us imagine ourselves in his situation.
If you decided to start a cult you would have to figure out how to do it. You could declare that you are God. After some thought, you might realize that, that is not the best way to go about it. If you claim to be God to people, they will think you are crazy and they will challenge you to perform miracles and you can't perform miracles. Another option is to try and convince them that you can communicate with God (you are his prophet) and that God talks through you. Now you don’t have to perform miracles.
One problem you would face is that if you persuade these people to believe in you, they might tell their friends about their new religion and their friends may convince them that you are a con-artist after their money. How can you prevent that from happening? Somehow you need to stop them from communicating with their friends. (This is a technique commonly used by modern day cults) You could take the approach Muhammad took which was to command them:
O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. [Koran, al-Ma'idah 5:51.11]
And
Ignore disbelievers and their poisonous talk. [Koran 33:48]
And
Stay away from non-Muslims. They are all liars. [Koran 9:107]
What if they start having doubts on their own and start spreading those doubts? You could terrify them into being silent about those doubts by instructing your followers:
Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him. Sahih Al-Bukhari (9:57)
You could also threaten them with burning in the eternal fires of hell if they don’t believe.
Garments of fire have been prepared for the unbelievers. Scalding water shall be poured upon their heads, melting their skins and that which is in their bellies. (Koran 22:19-22:23)
One way to increase your wealth and power and wipe out those that spread doubt about you at the same time, would be to conquer the infidels who dare not honor you as their prophet and seize their money. You might instruct your followers:
Slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush. (Koran 9:5)
If you wanted revenge against those who refuse to accept your religion and you were a totally ruthless and vicious sicko you might tell your followers to torture the non-believer. You might say:
Take him and fetter him and expose him to hell fire. And then insert him in a chain whereof the length is seventy cubits. (Koran 69:30-37)
and
I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, Smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger tips of them. (Koran 8:12)
and
They should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides. (Koran 5:33)
Smiting above necks by Muslims in modern times can be seen here.
Inevitably you will find some people who don't believe in you because they already believe in other religions. It would be much easier to manipulate people into believing that you are a prophet if you argue that your God Allah is the same as their God. According to the following text in the Koran Muhammad did this. In this text Allah is God, Isa is Jesus, Marium is Mary the Taurat is the Torah and the Injeel is the New Testament.
5.44] Surely We revealed the Taurat in which was guidance and light; …[5.46] And We sent after them in their footsteps Isa, son of Marium, verifying what was before him of the Taurat and We gave him the Injeel in which was guidance and light, and verifying what was before it of Taurat and a guidance and an admonition for those who guard (against evil).
There is evidence that Muhammad did this with the Pagans in Arabia as well. The crescent moon which is a symbol of Islam is also a symbol of the moon God which was worshipped by the Arabs of Muhammad’s time. One of the names of the moon God was Al-Ilah which is most likely where the word Allah came from. The Kaaba was the house of the moon God and is the holiest place in Islam. For more about this see Was Allah the Moon God?
Saying that Allah is the same God as the God of other religions may create unexpected problems. What if other religions teach, that killing the non-believer is wrong? The Jewish Mishna teaches that:
whoever destroys one life is regarded by the Torah as if he has destroyed a whole world; and whoever saves one life, is regarded as if he has saved a whole world.
According to the Koran, Muhammad did not deny that Allah had said this but explained that it did not apply to killing non-Jewish infidels. Muhammad said that Allah said: (Koran 5.32-5.33)
32. That is why We decreed for the children of Israel that whosoever kills a human being, except (as punishment) for murder or for spreading corruption in the land, it shall be like killing all humanity; and whosoever saves a life, saves the entire human race. Our apostles brought clear proofs to them; but even after that most of them committed excesses in the land.
33. The punishment for those who wage war against God and His Prophet, and perpetrate disorders in the land, is to kill or hang them, or have a hand on one side and a foot on the other cut off, or banish them from the land. Such is their disgrace in the world, and in the Hereafter their doom shall be dreadful.
Muslims often quote 5.32 out of context to show that Islam is a benevolent religion. After the failed car bombing attempts in London by Muslim doctors, Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, of the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in an editorial in the New York Post 7/4/2007 wrote that:
"The Koranic verse that equates saving one life with saving the lives of all of humanity teaches me the sacredness of each life and inspires me to strive for professional excellence."
Taking this verse out of context in this way is extremely deceptive since the only reason that verse is in the Koran is to justify killing and maiming Jewish infidels.
Dealing with the problem of compassionate verses in religions that you incorporate into your own is only one of your problems if you are trying to be a wealthy prophet. One problem with encouraging your followers to attack and loot the infidel is that the non-believing infidel might defend himself. That might deter your followers from attacking. You could give them the incentive of being able to keep the booty. You could tell them:
The person who participates in (Holy battles) in Allah's cause ... will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty (if he survives) (Hadith Sahih Bukhari, Vol 1 Book 2 Number 35)
Was Muhammad a great prophet of God spreading goodness throughout the world or a power hungry manipulator of people who used their desires for sex, eternal life and help from God, for personal gain? One way to answer this question is to ask what he would have done if he were one or the other and than compare what the Koran and the Hadiths say he did, to these expectations. In this essay we will try and determine which is correct by considering what Muhammad would have done if he was a ruthless power hungry man who used religion to manipulate people and comparing that to what he actually did. To help do this let us imagine ourselves in his situation.
If you decided to start a cult you would have to figure out how to do it. You could declare that you are God. After some thought, you might realize that, that is not the best way to go about it. If you claim to be God to people, they will think you are crazy and they will challenge you to perform miracles and you can't perform miracles. Another option is to try and convince them that you can communicate with God (you are his prophet) and that God talks through you. Now you don’t have to perform miracles.
One problem you would face is that if you persuade these people to believe in you, they might tell their friends about their new religion and their friends may convince them that you are a con-artist after their money. How can you prevent that from happening? Somehow you need to stop them from communicating with their friends. (This is a technique commonly used by modern day cults) You could take the approach Muhammad took which was to command them:
O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. [Koran, al-Ma'idah 5:51.11]
And
Ignore disbelievers and their poisonous talk. [Koran 33:48]
And
Stay away from non-Muslims. They are all liars. [Koran 9:107]
What if they start having doubts on their own and start spreading those doubts? You could terrify them into being silent about those doubts by instructing your followers:
Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him. Sahih Al-Bukhari (9:57)
You could also threaten them with burning in the eternal fires of hell if they don’t believe.
Garments of fire have been prepared for the unbelievers. Scalding water shall be poured upon their heads, melting their skins and that which is in their bellies. (Koran 22:19-22:23)
One way to increase your wealth and power and wipe out those that spread doubt about you at the same time, would be to conquer the infidels who dare not honor you as their prophet and seize their money. You might instruct your followers:
Slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush. (Koran 9:5)
If you wanted revenge against those who refuse to accept your religion and you were a totally ruthless and vicious sicko you might tell your followers to torture the non-believer. You might say:
Take him and fetter him and expose him to hell fire. And then insert him in a chain whereof the length is seventy cubits. (Koran 69:30-37)
and
I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, Smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger tips of them. (Koran 8:12)
and
They should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides. (Koran 5:33)
Smiting above necks by Muslims in modern times can be seen here.
Inevitably you will find some people who don't believe in you because they already believe in other religions. It would be much easier to manipulate people into believing that you are a prophet if you argue that your God Allah is the same as their God. According to the following text in the Koran Muhammad did this. In this text Allah is God, Isa is Jesus, Marium is Mary the Taurat is the Torah and the Injeel is the New Testament.
5.44] Surely We revealed the Taurat in which was guidance and light; …[5.46] And We sent after them in their footsteps Isa, son of Marium, verifying what was before him of the Taurat and We gave him the Injeel in which was guidance and light, and verifying what was before it of Taurat and a guidance and an admonition for those who guard (against evil).
There is evidence that Muhammad did this with the Pagans in Arabia as well. The crescent moon which is a symbol of Islam is also a symbol of the moon God which was worshipped by the Arabs of Muhammad’s time. One of the names of the moon God was Al-Ilah which is most likely where the word Allah came from. The Kaaba was the house of the moon God and is the holiest place in Islam. For more about this see Was Allah the Moon God?
Saying that Allah is the same God as the God of other religions may create unexpected problems. What if other religions teach, that killing the non-believer is wrong? The Jewish Mishna teaches that:
whoever destroys one life is regarded by the Torah as if he has destroyed a whole world; and whoever saves one life, is regarded as if he has saved a whole world.
According to the Koran, Muhammad did not deny that Allah had said this but explained that it did not apply to killing non-Jewish infidels. Muhammad said that Allah said: (Koran 5.32-5.33)
32. That is why We decreed for the children of Israel that whosoever kills a human being, except (as punishment) for murder or for spreading corruption in the land, it shall be like killing all humanity; and whosoever saves a life, saves the entire human race. Our apostles brought clear proofs to them; but even after that most of them committed excesses in the land.
33. The punishment for those who wage war against God and His Prophet, and perpetrate disorders in the land, is to kill or hang them, or have a hand on one side and a foot on the other cut off, or banish them from the land. Such is their disgrace in the world, and in the Hereafter their doom shall be dreadful.
Muslims often quote 5.32 out of context to show that Islam is a benevolent religion. After the failed car bombing attempts in London by Muslim doctors, Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, of the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in an editorial in the New York Post 7/4/2007 wrote that:
"The Koranic verse that equates saving one life with saving the lives of all of humanity teaches me the sacredness of each life and inspires me to strive for professional excellence."
Taking this verse out of context in this way is extremely deceptive since the only reason that verse is in the Koran is to justify killing and maiming Jewish infidels.
Dealing with the problem of compassionate verses in religions that you incorporate into your own is only one of your problems if you are trying to be a wealthy prophet. One problem with encouraging your followers to attack and loot the infidel is that the non-believing infidel might defend himself. That might deter your followers from attacking. You could give them the incentive of being able to keep the booty. You could tell them:
The person who participates in (Holy battles) in Allah's cause ... will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty (if he survives) (Hadith Sahih Bukhari, Vol 1 Book 2 Number 35)
