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	<title>FrontPage Magazine &#187; Ali Sina</title>
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		<title>Obama&#8217;s Peculiar Position on the Islamic State</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ali-sina/obamas-peculiar-position-on-the-islamic-state/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=obamas-peculiar-position-on-the-islamic-state</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2014 04:13:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ali Sina]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISIS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[un-Islamic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=241930</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As a former Muslim, I challenge the president's position on Islam.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/obama5.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-241940" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/obama5-450x281.jpg" alt="USA-ESTONIA/" width="280" height="175" /></a>In his speech addressed to the UN general assembly, Barak Hussein Obama said, “ISIL is not Islamic. No religion condones killing innocents.” He also stated, “ISIS is hiding behind a false Islam.” We know about Mr. Obama’s admiration for Islam.  The following are a few of his statements:</p>
<p>·         “The sweetest sound I know is the Muslim call to prayer.”</p>
<p>·         “We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world — including in my own country” (i.e., USA, not Kenya).</p>
<p>·         “Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.”</p>
<p>·         “Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism – it is an important part of promoting peace.”</p>
<p>·         “Ramadan is a celebration of <a href="http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=15101">a faith known for great diversity and racial equality</a>.”</p>
<p>·         “I look forward to hosting an Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan here at the White House.”</p>
<p>In addition to the above, he has also made many unfounded statements such as, “Islam has always been a part of America’s story.” And <strong>“</strong>In ancient times and in our times, Muslim communities have been at the forefront of innovation and education.”</p>
<p>Does Obama really know Islam better than Muslims?</p>
<p>If Islam is as wonderful as Obama says, why did he leave it? He did leave Islam, didn’t he? He <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/11/obama-my-muslim-faith/?page=all">was raised Muslim</a> and, therefore, it seems strange that one could have such a high admiration of a religion that one no longer believes in.</p>
<p>It is also quite strange that Obama does not seem to have the same admiration for the faith that he now claims to be a part of. He has said with sarcasm,</p>
<blockquote><p>“Which passages of scripture should guide our public policy?  Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is OK and that eating shellfish is an abomination?  Or we could go with Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith?”</p></blockquote>
<p>Of course the Qur&#8217;an is full of verses instructing the believers to slay the unbelievers, cut their heads from above their necks and be harsh with them. But Mr. Obama chooses to ignore all that. Instead, he emphasizes, “We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation.”</p>
<p>Obama&#8217;s opinion about Islam is also highly problematic.  ISIS is indeed very much Islamic. Al Baqdadi, the self-appointed caliph of Islamic State, was, like Obama, also born and raised as a Muslim, but unlike Obama he has a PhD in Islamic Law. And a great number of Muslims agree with his interpretation of Islam.  <a href="http://pamelageller.com/2014/06/muslims-west-express-support-islamic-state-aka-isis.html/">ISIS is now enjoying increasing shows of solidarity from the Middle East and from across the Muslim world – and also from Western countries</a>.  Watch this politician on an interview on a Jordanian television passionately endorsing IS while shouting,</p>
<blockquote><p>“<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1koyPZ8nlrY#t=33">There is nothing such as ‘ISIS ideology’ – It is Islam</a>. … if these Muslims are terrorists, I salute those terrorists. I salute the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.”</p></blockquote>
<p>These Muslims know their religion. There is nothing that Islamic State is doing that is un-Islamic. They follow the Sunnah (examples set by their prophet) to the letter. Muhammad raided villages and towns, destroyed temples, massacred his captives, enslaved and sold their women, tortured his enemies, and as he repeatedly bragged, he cast terror in the hearts of unbelievers.</p>
<p>IS has also been condemned by some Muslims. Take the example of Maqdesi, a supporter of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, who <a href="http://tawhed.ws/pr?i=8325">criticized the Islamic State</a> group for its brutal methods. &#8220;Is this caliphate a sanctuary for the vulnerable and a refuge for all Muslims, or a sword hanging over those Muslims who disagree with them?&#8221; Maqdesi asked.</p>
<p>Maqdesi is not against violence.  He is a terrorist after all. He just thinks Muslims should kill non-Muslims and not fellow Muslims.  His interpretation is simply different.  According to IS, the Shiites are heretics and killing them is justified by the Sunnah.  Muhammad ordered to burn a mosque built in Dhu Awan, a population to the North of Medina, with the worshipers inside, because someone told him the Muslims there are heretics.  So if the Shiites are declared heretics, they should be killed.</p>
<p>More than 120 Muslim scholars around the world released a statement denouncing ISIS militants as un-Islamic. The statement said,</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;It is forbidden in Islam to torture, to attribute evil acts to God, to force people to convert to Islam, to deny women and children of their rights.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>This sounds hollow to those familiar with the history of early Islam.  Muhammad tortured his enemies, and he did force people to convert.  Okay, maybe I take that back. He actually gave them three choices: Convert to Islam, leave the country, or die.</p>
<p>Muhammad also took women and children as slaves and sold them. He allowed his followers to rape women they had captured in their raids.</p>
<p>The scholars also criticized the declaration of caliphate by IS:</p>
<blockquote><p>“The mere announcement is not enough to establish a caliphate&#8230;The concept of a caliphate is not legitimate unless it is established by consensus from the Islamic community.”</p></blockquote>
<p>This is true, but when virtually all caliphs, from Umar onward, received their consensus by force and by killing their detractors, we can’t really condemn al Baqdadi for doing the same.</p>
<p>The fact that many Muslims oppose IS does not make IS un-Islamic.  There has never been a time in the Islamic annals that Muslims were united.  They have always disagreed with each other and, as usual, always shed each other’s blood over their disagreements.</p>
<p>Even though Muslims don’t agree over anything, as long as they believe in Muhammad and Allah they are Muslim. Some follow the footsteps of their prophet more closely and others a little less. But they all follow him. IS, al Qaida, Boko Haram and Shabab are a bit stricter in their adherence to the Sunnah of their prophet.  They of course disagree with each other just as many companions of Muhammad did.  One of the biggest wars in early Islam where thousands were killed was the War of Camel between Aisha, the preferred wife of Muhammad and Ali, his cousin and son-in-law.  Sunni Muslims regard both these figures as exemplary salafs.</p>
<p>In regards to Mr. Obama’s statement that no religion condones killing innocents, we must keep in mind that the definition of innocence in Islam is not exactly the same as non-Muslims understand it.  According to Muhammad, everyone is born Muslim. It is that later in life they reject it. Those who are not Muslim are apostate and as such not innocent.  The word kafir is erroneously translated as infidel or unbeliever.  That is not the correct translation. Kafir sounds like cover, and it has the same meaning. Kafir is one who covers the truth &#8212; an unbeliever is ignorant. A kafir is one who knows the truth and yet hides it and denies it out of malice. Those who don’t believe in Islam do so because there is sickness in their heart. They are not innocent.  So, although it is true that killing the innocent is not condoned by any religion, Islam allows it, by taking innocence out of the innocent.</p>
<p><em>Ali Sina is the author of “Understanding Muhammad and Muslims.” He has also written a complete biography of Muhammad and a script for his biopic. He is looking for backers for making the movie and a publisher for his book. He can be reached at <a href="http://faithfreedom.org">faithfreedom.org</a>, <a href="http://alisina.org">alisina.org</a> or by tweeter @AliSinaOrg.</em></p>
<p>*</p>
<p><em>Don&#8217;t miss <strong>Robert Spencer</strong> on The Glazov Gang discussing<span id="productTitle" class="a-size-large"><strong> The Fog of Jihad-Denial</strong>:</span></em></p>
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<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
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		<title>Muslim Prof: West Leads the World in &#8216;Islamic Values&#8217;</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ali-sina/muslim-prof-west-leads-the-world-in-islamic-values/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=muslim-prof-west-leads-the-world-in-islamic-values</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ali-sina/muslim-prof-west-leads-the-world-in-islamic-values/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jun 2014 04:25:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ali Sina]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hossein Askari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[muslim values]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sharia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[West]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=234437</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hossein Askari's intriguing analysis on why no Muslim countries represent Muslim values. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="color: #232323;"><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/rtr1j5cw.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-234440" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/rtr1j5cw-450x346.jpg" alt="rtr1j5cw" width="277" height="213" /></a>Are non-Muslim countries more Islamic than Muslim countries? That is what Hossein Askari, an Iranian-born professor of International Business and International Affairs at George Washington University, believes. Askari says Ireland “leads the world in Islamic values as Muslim states lag.” After studying 208 countries and territories he found that the top countries in both economic achievement and social values are Ireland, Demark, Luxembourg and New Zealand. Britain also ranks in the top ten.  The first Muslim-majority nation is Malaysia ranking at 33, while the only other state in the top 50 is Kuwait at 48.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Askari then concluded that the Quran’s teachings are better represented in non-Muslim societies than in Islamic countries, which, he believes, have failed to embrace the values of their own faith in politics, business, law and society.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Askari said Muslim countries use religion as an instrument of state control.  “We must emphasize that many countries that profess Islam and are called Islamic are unjust, corrupt, and underdeveloped and are in fact not ‘Islamic’ by any stretch of the imagination,” Askari asserted.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">“Looking at an index of Economic Islamicity, or how closely the policies and achievements of countries reflect Islamic economic teachings &#8211; Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore, Finland, Norway, and Belgium round up the first 10.”  Askari added.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Askari said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="color: #232323;">If a country, society, or community displays characteristics such as unelected, corrupt, oppressive, and unjust rulers, inequality before the law, unequal opportunities for human development, absence of freedom of choice (including that of religion), opulence alongside poverty, force, and aggression as the instruments of conflict resolution as opposed to dialogue and reconciliation, and, above all, the prevalence of injustice of any kind, it is prima facie evidence that it is not an Islamic community.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="color: #232323;">If Askari were right the solution would be simple. To get rid of corruption, oppression injustice and inequality in Islamic countries, which according to Askari are not Islamic values, we could encourage Muslims to leave Islam and follow the lead of non-Muslim countries.  It appears that the more a country is Islamic the more it lacks “Islamic values.” Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan that are more Islamic are also more oppressive.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">But of course Askari is wrong. In Islam the unbelievers are not equal to believers.  “<i>Is he, then, who is a believer like one who is disobedient? They are not equal</i>.” <sub>(Q. 32:18) </sub>In Islam men excel over women. <sub>(Q. </sub>4:34<sub>)</sub></p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Also Islam honors the institution of slavery.<sup> (Q 33:50, 23:5) </sup> Dawud reports a hadith <sup>(14:2692) </sup>of a slave of Ibn Umar who ran away to the enemy and when Muslims overpowered them Muhammad returned him to Ibn Umar. Dawud says that this slave was not distributed (as a part of booty) among the rest of the captives who were also reduced to slaves.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">As for freedom of religion, the Quran says “No religion other than Islam will be accepted from anyone.” <sup>(Q. 3:85)</sup> The argument that Islam is tolerant because the verse 2:256 says there is no compulsion in religion is a fallacy. This verse has nothing to do with tolerance. According to Islamic sources, the Jews of Medina had adopted and raised the orphaned children of Arabs and these children had embraced Judaism. When Muhammad expelled the Jews from their city the relatives of these children (now adults) wanted to prevent them leaving but in loyalty to their adopted parents they preferred to go. The matter was brought to Muhammad who said, if they want to go let them go, “there is no compulsion in religion.” Of course if they wanted to stay they had to convert to Islam.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Askari’s argument that the prevalence of corruption, oppression and injustice in a society is prima facie evidence that it is not Islamic is absurd.  Governments are either democratic or dictatorial. Corruption and oppression are more likely in dictatorships.  In democracies, people have the power to remove corrupt governments, unless they are so ignorant that they are easily deceived, which is not the fault of democracy. In democracy, laws are made by people. Islam does not recognize the laws made by people.  The laws are made by God and the ruler, as the executioner of divine law, is not accountable to the people. And as long as he adhered to the Islamic law no one is allowed to criticize or oppose him, even if he is unjust.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Muhammad said, “If Allah has on Earth a caliph who flays your back and takes your property, obey him; otherwise die holding onto the stump of a tree.” <sub>[Dawud 35: 4232]</sub> So much for freedom and justice!</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">The 18<sup>th</sup> century Muslim scholar Shah Waliullah on the Obediene of the Caliph wrote,</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="color: #232323;">The Prophet has said: “Hearing and obeying is an obligation of every Muslim, whether he likes the command or dislikes it, as long as he is not commanded to commit a sin. If he is commanded to commit a sin, then he absolved of the obligation to hear and obey.” [Sahih Muslim.]</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">(I say): Since an <i>imam</i> is installed for two kinds of public weal, by which religious and political affairs are regulated, and since the Prophet was sent for their sake, and the <i>imam </i>is the Prophet’s deputy and an executor of his mission, therefore, obedience to the <i>imam</i> is indeed obedience to the Prophet. And disobedience to him would be tantamount to disobedience of the Prophet except when he commands to commit a sin. For then it would be evident that obedience to him is no longer in obedience to God, and in that event, he would cease to be a deputy of God’s Prophet. This is why the Prophet said: “Whoever follows an <i>amir</i>, he indeed follows me, and whoever disobeys an <i>amir</i>, he indeed disobeys me” [Sahih Muslim].  <sub>[Shah Wali Allah, </sub><i>Selection from Hujjat Allah al-Balighah</i><sub>, English Translation, 2006, pp. 116-117]</sub></p>
</blockquote>
<p style="color: #232323;">As for economics, something Khomeini said, “is for the donkey,” Islam has very little to offer. Bukahri <sub>(3:39:541)</sub> reports Muhammad saying, “There is no house in which these (agricultural) equipment enters except that Allah will cause humiliation to enter it.” The reason Muhammad disparaged agriculture is because he wanted to encourage his companions to earn their living through jihad. He said that is the best bargain and he who strives hard for Allah’s cause with their wealth and in persons will reap the rewards. <sub>(Q. </sub>6:11<sub>)</sub></p>
<p style="color: #232323;">The irony is that Muslims can see something is wrong with their societies, but can’t see its cause. Western countries are not prospering because they have embraced Islamic values. How delusional is this thinking? They are prospering because they drew a clear line between religion and state, and have embraced secularism. Muslims can’t do such a thing.  Islam is more than a religion. It is primarily a political system.  It is totalitarian as it controls all aspects of the life of the believer. Muhammad was not just a prophet but also a dictator.  His successors also ruled with undisputed authority.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">If Islamic countries are dictatorial, unjust, oppressive and backwards we should look for the cause of it in the values that they espouse. Their failure is evident even to them. But instead of acknowledging the problem they keep digging their heads deeper in the sands of denial. Isn’t it time to wake up?</p>
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