What Happens When Religion Controls State?

For those of us who believe in fairies, unicorns, flying spaghetti monsters, Gods, Jinns, devils, mermaids and other wonderful and magical things, please remember that not every unicorn is pink and not every fairy is your Godmother:

Saudi Arabia executes woman convicted of 'sorcery' (http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-arabia-executes-woman-convicted-sorcery-132159048.html)

It is time that someone breaks the news to the kingdom that is evidently stuck in a world where things said by a 7th-century simpleton are considered to be the pinnacle of philosophy that no, Santa isn't real, stars are not missiles that are glued to the sky-dome to shoot down prying Jinns and David Copperfield is an illusionist and not a sorcerer.

Islam Misrepresentation: And here we are again

In our "culturally sensitive" society any repugnant act committed in the name of faith, whether the faith is Hindu, Judaism, Christianity or Islam, is quickly decoupled from its religious foundation and dismissed as simply the case of a mad man acting on his own and against teaching carved in religious cannons. Ignorant journalists are swift to jump on the bandwagon and perpetuate this purposeful deception by explaining to their readers that religion of the perpetrator has no bearing on perpetrator’s abominable actions. And so, the deception propagates unstoppably far and wide, in the face of facts, logic and reason, being disseminated by waves of echoing politicians, journalists and other public figures.

Rosie DiManno, a columnist from Toronto Star, reminds us yet again that there is no reason to put one's faith in mainstream media’s ability to supplement its stories even with a pinch of accurate information. Naively some of us may still assume that a columnist would do at least some basic research before putting an article together, especially when this article covers the world fastest growing and intolerant mainstream religion – Islam. The article I am referring to is “DiManno: Murder is against Qur’an, Shafia testifies” (http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1099722--dimanno-murder-is-against-qur-an-shafia-testifies)

There are no expectations of Rosie knowing Quran wholeheartedly. However, it might be reasonable to assume that this lacking knowledge will prevent Rosie from putting blanket statements over the whole religion. Sadly, it did not.

I have little doubts that what we are about to discuss Rosie had absolutely no knowledge of and therefore she is not to blame for purposeful trickery of gullible Western readers. However, Rosie DiManno, as credulous and guilelessly uniformed as she is, is an integral part of a well-focused, albeit decentralized, campaign of misrepresenting Islam to the West.

First, we arrive to a blanket statement about all religions:

To be clear, there’s not a culture or religion in the world that condones murder, not in 2011, or in 2009 when this alleged crime was committed. So, nothing remarkable about Islam in that context, though the Qur’an has often been cited as expressly forbidding what the prosecution contends happened here: Honour killings to restore a family’s reputation and expunge the sins of the daughters.

This is simply not true. There are plenty of violent cultures and cultish faiths in the world that condone murder, even if they may have some basic criteria around situations where it is permissible. Aleph, formerly known as Aum Shinrikyo, is still going strong. Actually, we don’t even need to go that far and look much closer to home to find that many mainstream religions do condone murder in special cases.

Second, “Nothing remarkable about Islam in that context” ties nicely with “The Qur’an doesn’t permit murder” that can be found later in the article. Well, yes, it is, dear Rosie, even if you are not aware of it. Unlike many other modern faiths, Islam explicitly directs its followers to kill:

Quran 004.089: seize them and slay them wherever ye find them; and (in any case) take no friends or helpers from their ranks;-

Quran 004.076: Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject Faith Fight in the cause of Evil: So fight ye against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.

Quran 009.029: Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day

At this point we can go into a prolonged and misguided discussion about the full context, including historical context and universal applicability, of these and 10s other analogous verses. But we wouldn’t, even though putting these murder-inciting messages in the historical context will go against that “religion of peace” argument we so ubiquitously hear about. What we can all agree upon that these verses say a lot about “them”, but not much about “family” or “daughters”.

This is what Quran has to say about female relatives:

Quran 004.015 If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, Take the evidence of four witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine them to houses until death do claim them, or Allah ordain for them some way.

Confine them until they die, if you suspect them of lewdness, says Quran. There is no definition of lewdness in Islam and therefore everyone is free to apply their own classification of lewdness to judge their female relatives.

004.034: Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them, refuse to share their beds, beat them; but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means: For Allah is Most High, great.

Men protect and maintain women. Women must obey men. Men control women’s faith and should beat them at a sign of disobedience.

Now, we should dwell away from Quran and into the Hadith territory to examine examples that Muhammad set forth for dealing with women. It wouldn’t be pretty. Muhammad is documented ordering stoning of numerous women for adultery without trial, Muhammad tells us that he would cut his own daughter’s hands off for stealing as little as three Dirhams and finally, Muhammad tells us that love for Allah should eclipse love for one’s parents and children. Put it together and you have a potent “Iron Chef”-quality recipe for honour killings: follow the way of Allah, even if it means killing or mutilating your own children; punish lewdness with confinement until death and use stoning to death for alleged sex outside marriage.

We must remember that Islam puts following Allah’s law above human life or wellbeing. Islam puts men above women and makes them responsible for maintaining women’s behaviour within the limits prescribed by Islam. And Islam prescribes death for deviating from many of its absurdly self-contradicting, incomplete, vague and perplexing laws. You don’t have to be a Sharia scholar to understand that according to Islam, naughty daughters might be justly punished with death by their pious parents. No matter how much we want to see Shafia acting in madness against teaching of Islam, the simple fact is it was indeed Islam that had influenced and guided Shafia's actions.

Saudi report: Women driving spurs premarital sex

Today is yet another reminder to never underestimate the ability of truly Islamic countries to do and say something really stupid. This time it came in the form of a report given to a high-level advisory group in Saudi Arabia, suggesting that "Women driving spurs premarital sex" (http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-report-women-driving-spurs-premarital-sex-162028628.html)

The topics of sex in religion in general never ceases to surprise me. God appears to be much pre-occupied with his subjects' sex life, more so than with anything else (second only to his jealousy towards people worshipping  other deities, which is always a bigger "no-no" than sex). God wants to control who people have sex with, sometimes how and when. In the sex department, God typically show little interest prohibiting acts that are unimportant to him, like rapes or child molestation or women coerced into sexual relationship. However, God vigilantly watches you to make sure you whispered that magical sentence that somehow makes the act of intercourse legal to you. In case you had sex without or even before uttering the magical spell that legitimises the act, all-loving God will punish you with Hell fire for forgetfulness.

Fortunately, the West has long shaken off the idiocy of this notion. We moved away from laws written by stone-age misogynistic simpletons that are somehow undergone a metamorphosis into the Word of God over the years with all consequent terrors that it brought down to its countless victims. Unless we elect a God-fearing imbecile like Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann or some other worthy follower of Pat "Gays Cause Hurricanes" Robertson to occupy the White  House, we shouldn't fear sliding back to the stone-age absurdity. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has never left it and therefore should not fear going back.

Let's review the "Dos" and "Don'ts" of Islamic views on sex:

It is OK:

• To be a prostitute and use services of a prostitute
• To engage in spousal rape
• To rape 
• To molest children
• To participate in orgies

However, please remember that the following is strictly prohibited and punishable by stoning to death:

• Consensual sex between two adults

Judgement Day: The Great Plan of Allah

Islam, just like any other religion, makes God's intent for humankind very obscure at times. However, with some effort it is possible to dissect scriptures and understand the underlying notion, no matter how wishy-washy were the narrations made up by each 'prophet'. Today, I'd like to focus on the origin of sin and specifically the origin of sin in Islam.

It is helpful to refer to Quran - the book that makes the things clear (because it was revealed by Allah himself, of course) - to see what Allah has to say about people's sinful nature. Surah #15 known as 'Al-Hijr' certainly makes things clear (starting verse is 15:28):


28 Behold! thy Lord said to the angels: "I am about to create man, from sounding clay from mud moulded into shape;
29 "When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him."
30 So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together:
31 Not so Iblis: he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves.
32 ((Allah)) said: "O Iblis! what is your reason for not being among those who prostrated themselves?"
33 (Iblis) said: "I am not one to prostrate myself to man, whom Thou didst create from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape."
34 ((Allah)) said: "Then get thee out from here; for thou art rejected, accursed.
35 "And the curse shall be on thee till the day of Judgment."
36 (Iblis) said: "O my Lord! give me then respite till the Day the (dead) are raised."
37 ((Allah)) said: "Respite is granted thee
38 "Till the Day of the Time appointed."
39 (Iblis) said: "O my Lord! because Thou hast put me in the wrong, I will make (wrong) fair-seeming to them on the earth, and I will put them all in the wrong,
40 "Except Thy servants among them, sincere and purified (by Thy Grace)."
41 ((Allah)) said: "This (way of My sincere servants) is indeed a way that leads straight to Me.
42 "For over My servants no authority shalt thou have, except such as put themselves in the wrong and follow thee."
43 And verily, Hell is the promised abode for them all!

This entire squabble between Allah and Iblis (a.k.a. Devil) takes place before the first man is created. Allah joyfully announces his decision to create a man to the angels and tells them to prostrate themselves. Iblis resents and tells Allah to shove it. Then goes the exchange of harsh words between Allah and Iblis that even your average 7-year-old will frown upon as something much too juvenile.

"Prostrate yourselves" says Allah to angels, "I am about to create a man". "Screw you" responds Iblis, "I am not doing that crap." "Then pack your stuff and get out from here" retorts Allah. "Come on" says Iblis "I don't want to." "Well, then stay" goes Allah, "But do something useful, like screwing around with my creation."

First, this entire conversation occurs before the man is created. Yet, Allah already knows that his creations will sin aplenty and for their sins will be judged on the pre-scheduled Day of Judgement (Quran 15:35). Allah is designing an upfront sinful mankind and plans to judge it afterwards.

Second, Iblis doesn't ask for any explanation about the Day of Judgement of which he presumably is hearing about for the first time, as Allah just made his first announcement about his decision to create a man. Moreover, Iblis seem to know quite a bit about the Day of Judgement - he knows that the dead will be raised (15:36) - something that Allah hasn't mentioned yet. It may indicate that Allah and his angels have gone through at least one cycle of creation-observing-extermination of mankind-judgement-punishment before Adam was raised. Or, it may signal angels' confidence in Allah's ability to create something well - they know upfront that Allah will screw up and his creation will not meet his own expectations of righteousness.

Third, Iblis and Allah sign a pact - Allah lets Iblis stick around, but Iblis will have to repay the favour by corrupting people that will soon to be created on Earth (with the exception for undefined servants). Allah in the meantime, will prepare Hell for those who Iblis will put in the wrong on the assignment from Allah.

This answer the question of why we sin. Allah himself through his holy Quran explains that it was him who created you sinful and it was him who task Iblis with putting you in the wrong in case you wouldn't sin enough by yourself because Allah need to get more bodies to increase utilization of his invention - Hell.

Muslim Prayer Times for Windows Phone 7 is Finally Here

For those of you who celebrate the ancient pagan festive of Ramadan, you can now download an app for your Windows Phone device to help you stay on top of praying times. The details about the app can be found here: http://wmpoweruser.com/muslim-prayer-times-for-windows-phone-7/

Now, as some of your time has been freed up from seeking out the right moment to offer prayers to Allah, you can spend it sagaciously by thanking Sābi'ūn, Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Manat (along with Yahweh and Jesus) for providing countless inspirations to Muhammad for forming his new religion from bits and pieces of other cults.

Cheers to Sābi'ūn!

Quran: Why there is No Other Book Like It

Oftentimes, I come across the same pertinacious argument used to support the divine origin of Quran. This reasoning streams from Quran itself, Sura 2 (The Cow), verses 23 and 24:

002.023 And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.

002.024 But if ye cannot- and of a surety ye cannot- then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones,- which is prepared for those who reject Faith.

Let’s recap: Quran is from Allah, and if you doubt it, try writing a single chapter like that of Quran. If you can’t - no one can - it is an irrefutable evidence of Quran’s divinity.

Unfortunately, neither Quran nor defenders of its heavenly origin provide any measurable criteria for determining “like thereunto”, or quality, of one’s work against Quran. Should there be any quantifiable criteria, including linguistic purity and beauty, conformity to science laws, deep philosophy, forewarning that came true or knowledge available only to an omnipotent all-knowing deity, then the history would show that better texts have been written in volumes not just in almost 1,400 years elapsed since Muhammad’s death, but also during his times. In fact, Muhammad’s fellow tribesmen and even a 14-year-old Jewish boy mentioned in Hadith wrote better verses. They, as poets and intellectuals, dismissed Quran for its philosophical primitivism, linguistic inelegance and unequivocally substandard storytelling.

With no criteria in place, unquestionably, no better work can be written. Any piece of literature will be dismissed as merely “not nearly good enough” without providing any meaningful explanation for how the verdict was established. Quran, thus, continues to maintain its position of the “The Perfect Book”, although not because of its qualities.