I guess if we are going to live in interesting times, it’s probably helpful to know more about the enemy that makes things interesting…

There are numerous sites which, from a Christian and/or Jewish perspective, address the question of whether Allah (lit., “The God”, not “God”)is the same as the Christian or Jewish God. From an Islamic perspective, Christians and Jews worship a false god, one that has been set in place of Allah. From a practical perspective, however, their gods are not the same, that is, they expect very different behaviors from their followers. For a different, atheist perspective, you might try Ali Sina’s faithfreedom.org website.

And yes, if you learn the Sira, the biography of Mohammed, you’ll find that after his own tribesmen, the Jews of Arabia were the second party to reject Mohammed’s claim to Prophet status. As those two relationships soured and Mohammed couldn’t get the honor and hearing he felt his due, Allah’s revelation became increasingly violent, resulting in the raids on the Meccan merchants, and wars with Jewish tribes, including the massacre of the Banu Qurayza, a Jewish tribe that had a treaty with Mohammed. Their story is extremely instructive, as it is the model Muslims used, and still use, for treaties (al sulh) and ceasefires (hudna). So in a way you can trace the antagonism back to Mohammed and the Jews.

Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians were considered by Mohammed not as kafir, but as believers who have been misled from the true revelation of Allah. That is why they are called the People of the Book. They are, nonetheless, deviants, and not to be accorded the rights and privileges of Muslims, and many Imams have argued that Christians and Jews are, in fact, polytheists and kafir. Google the Pact of Omar (or Umar), which spells out the terms of the dhimmi, or the ?

There are numerous sites which, from a Christian and/or Jewish perspective, address the question of whether Allah (lit., “The God”, not “God”)is the same as the Christian or Jewish God. From an Islamic perspective, Christians and Jews worship a false god, one that has been set in place of Allah. From a practical perspective, however, their gods are not the same, that is, they expect very different behaviors from their followers. For a different, atheist perspective, you might try Ali Sina’s faithfreedom.org website.

And yes, if you learn the Sira, the biography of Mohammed, you’ll find that after his own tribesmen, the Jews of Arabia were the second party to reject Mohammed’s claim to Prophet status. As those two relationships soured and Mohammed couldn’t get the honor and hearing he felt his due, Allah’s revelation became increasingly violent, resulting in the raids on the Meccan merchants, and wars with Jewish tribes, including the massacre of the Banu Qurayza, a Jewish tribe that had a treaty with Mohammed. Their story is extremely instructive, as it is the model Muslims used, and still use, for treaties (al sulh) and ceasefires (hudna). So in a way you can trace the antagonism back to Mohammed and the Jews.

Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians were considered by Mohammed not as kafir, but as believers who have been misled from the true revelation of Allah. That is why they are called the People of the Book. They are, nonetheless, deviants, and not to be accorded the rights and privileges of Muslims, and many Imams have argued that Christians and Jews are, in fact, polytheists and kafir. Google the Pact of Omar (or Umar), which spells out the terms of the dhimmi, or the “protection” of the People of the Book. For 1450 years, these are the conditions that non-Muslims who live under Muslim rule must abide by, or suffer slavery, rape and death as a consequence. All because they are not Muslim.

Zane – forgive my naivete, but don’t Muslims worship the same God that Christians do, even if they call him Allah? And if that’s not as naive as I think it sounds, then how can this be justified when you talk about the kaffir: “It is unforgivable, and Allah won?

Zane – forgive my naivete, but don’t Muslims worship the same God that Christians do, even if they call him Allah? And if that’s not as naive as I think it sounds, then how can this be justified when you talk about the kaffir: “It is unforgivable, and Allah won’t forgive it. It follows that the unbeliever (kaffir, infidel, take your choice) is less than human, less than swine, and must be either converted, subjected, or killed.”

It encourages genocide, in a religious context. And I guess I am naive in the end, because I don’t understand how they can say they are a peace-loving faith on one hand, yet their most revered prophet advocates cold-blooded mass murder.

Eye opening to say the least Zane. Frightening and clarifying.