Date: 20 Mar 2010
200 Understanding Muhammad Law. It contained many pictures, including one of Muhammad. Muslims were up in arms. The publisher received thousands of angry and threatening letters until it was cowed to withdraw the book from circulation and issue a public apology to Muslims. In another case CAIR managed to pressure Paramount Pictures to alter the Tom Clancy novel “The Sum of All Fears” to exchange the Muslim terrorists in the original script to neo-Nazis. The director, Phil Alden Robinson was forced to write an apology to CAIR, telling them he had no intention of promoting negative images of Muslims, and added: “I wish you the best in your continuing efforts to combat discrimination.” When in 2002, the evangelists Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell went on the air expressing their views about Islam, Muslims across the world rioted. The Iranian Mullahs threatened to retaliate and several Christians were killed, including some school kids in Pakistan. Bonnie Penner Witherall, a 31 year-old Christian nurse, was also shot dead in Sidon, Lebanon. Distrust of Outsiders and Self -Blame Osherow writes: “Jones inculcated a distrust of any contradictory messages, labeling them the product of enemies. By destroying the credibility of their sources, he inoculated the membership against being persuaded by outside criticism.” This is also typical of Muslims, who accuse their critics of being Zionists and/or paid agents of “the enemies of Islam.” If anyone criticizes Islam, Muslims go after them personally, and instead of countering their arguments, they attack him ad hominem. They vilify their critics and try to discredit them, but will never offer a counter-argument to answer the charges. “In Jonestown,” writes Osherow, “any contradictory thoughts that might arise within members were to be discredited. Instead of seeing them as having any basis in reality, members interpreted them as indications of their own shortcomings or lack of faith.” This is so typical of Muslims who although realize that their lives are a living hell and their countries are in shambles, blame themselves and their lack of adherence to the “true Islam” for their miseries, when in reality it is Islam that is the source of most of their pains. When Sane People Follow Insane People 201 Self- Justification Tolstoy said, “Both salvation and punishment for man lie in the fact that if he lives wrongly he can befog himself so as not to see the misery of his position.”278 Jim Jones created an atmosphere of total domination and control. Osherow says: “Analyzing Jonestown in terms of obedience and the power of the situation can help to explain why the people acted as they did. Once the People’s Temple had moved to Jonestown, there was little the members could do other than follow Jim Jones’s dictates. They were comforted by an authority of absolute power. They were left with few options, being surrounded by armed guards and by the jungle, having given their passports and various documents and confessions to Jones, and believing that conditions in the outside world were even more threatening. The members’ poor diet, heavy workload, lack of sleep, and constant exposure to Jones’s diatribes exacerbated the coerciveness of their predicament; tremendous pressures encouraged them to obey.” We know that Muhammad was not pleased with those who deserted him. As we can see, there is little difference between Muhammad's way of thinking and Jones’s. However, it would be a mistake to assume that cult believers stay only because they are coerced. Psychological coercion is much more powerful and long lasting. The victims become willing, even grateful participants in their own abuse and enslavement. Osherow writes: “By the time of the final ritual, opposition or escape had become almost impossible for most of the members. Yet even then, it is doubtful that many wanted to resist or leave. Most had come to believe in Jones. One woman’s body was found with a message scribbled on her arm during the final hours: ‘Jim Jones is the only one.’279 They seemed to have accepted the necessity, and even the “beauty”, of dying. Just before the ritual began, a guard approached Charles Garry, one of the Temples hired attorneys, and exclaimed, “It’s a great moment... we all die.”280 A survivor of Jonestown, who happened to be away at the dentist, was interviewed a year following the deaths: “If I had been there, I would have been the first one to stand in that line and take that poison and I would have been proud to take it. The thing I’m sad about is this: that I missed the ending.”281 278 The Kreutzer Sonata 279 Cahill T. In the valley of the shadow of death. Rolling Stone. January 25, 1979. 280 Lifton, R. J. Appeal of the death trip. New York Times Magazine, January 7, 1979. 281 Gallagher, N. Jonestown: The survivors' story. New York Times Magazine, November 18, 1979. 202 Understanding Muhammad It is difficult to explain or even understand this. The fact is that once the believers accept the cult leader as a divine being, then they become willing participants and the extensions of his psychopathic mind. What is it that drives normal people to these extremes? Could this explain the zealotry, the fanaticism and the absolute devotion of the early Muslims towards Muhammad? Did those early believers see in Muhammad what the followers of Jim Jones saw in him? The following hadith explains this zealotry very clearly. Allâh's Apostle came to us at noon and water for ablution was brought to him. After he had performed ablution, the remaining water was taken by the people and they started smearing their bodies with it (as a blessed thing).282 In another place we read: Ali was suffering from eye-trouble, so the Prophet applied saliva to his eyes and invoked Allâh to cure him. He at once got cured as if he had no ailment.283 These are all lies concocted by the believers. Muhammad was unable to cure his own ailments and was constantly in physical pain. How could he heal another person with his saliva? Isolationism Osherow describes isolationism as “the aspect of Jonestown that is perhaps the most troubling.” He says, “To the end, the vast majority of the People’s Temple members believed in Jim Jones. External forces, in the form of power or persuasion, can exact compliance. But one must examine a different set of processes to account for the members internalizing those beliefs. Although Jones’s statements were often inconsistent and his methods cruel, most members maintained their faith in his leadership.” The Qur’an contains many inconsistencies, contradictions and errors. It is a confused book, poorly written, full of absurdities and absurd statements. It is 282 Bukhari Volume 1, Book 4, Number 187 283 Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 253 When Sane People Follow Insane People 203 an editor’s nightmare. None of that bothers Muslims, who insist that it is a miracle, simply because Muhammad said so. One good explanation as to why people continue to believe in absurdities is provided by Osherow in his account of People's Temple. He asserts: “Once they were isolated at Jonestown, there was little opportunity or motivation to think otherwise; resistance or escape was out of the question. In such a situation, the individual is motivated to rationalize his or her predicament; a person confronted with the inevitable tends to regard it more positively. For example, social psychological research has shown that when children believe that they will be served more of a vegetable they dislike, they will convince themselves that it is not so noxious,284 and when a person thinks that she will be interacting with someone, she tends to judge a description of that individual more favorably.”285 Cult leaders often barricade their followers in order reduce their contact with the outside world. Jim Jones built his own town in the jungles of Guyana calling it after himself, “Jonestown.” Muhammad went to Yathrib, a city originally founded by the Jews and after convincing its Arab inhabitants to follow him, renamed the city after himself to Medinat ul-Nabi (Prophet’s town). In Medina, Muhammad started killing or publicly humiliating anyone who questioned his authority. Medinat ul Nabi became very much like Jonestown. Muhammad was the absolute authority and any dissent was severely punished. Once a person entered Medina and became one of the believers, going back was virtually impossible. One of the few who left Muhammad was Abdullah ibn Sa'd Abi Sarh. When Muhammad conquered Mecca, he gave amnesty to all but ten of its inhabitants. These were people who had criticized or had ridiculed him. Among them was Abi Sarh. Abi Sarh used to write down the verses of the Qur’an that Muhammad dictated in Medina. He was more educated than Muhammad and he often would correct the Prophet’s compositions and suggested better ways of writing and Muhammad would agree. This made him realize that the Qur’an is not revealed and that Muhammad was making it up. He escaped and returned to Mecca. He told everyone about his finding. When Muhammad conquered Mecca, despite 284 Brehm, J. Increasing cognitive dissonance by a fait-accompli. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1959, 58, 379-382. 285 Darley, J. and Bersceild, E. Increased liking as a result of the anticipation of personal contact. Human Relations, 1967, 20, 29-40. 204 Understanding Muhammad giving assurances of amnesty to the Meccans for their surrender and their forced conversion to Islam, he ordered the beheading of Abi Sarh. Abi Sarh was spared thanks to Othman’s intercession and Muhammad’s inability to communicate properly his wishes through signals. When Othman pleaded with Muhammad to not kill Abi Sarh, who was his foster brother, Muhammad remained silent. His companions assumed that he is agreeing with Othman and Abi Sarh walked away in the company of Othman. When they left, Muhammad complained, saying that he did not wish to turn down the request of his supporter and friend, Othman, but he had hoped that they [his companions] would see the displeasure in his face and kill the man. This story also reveals the hypocrisy of the messenger of Allâh who while trying to please Othman, wanted others to kill Abi Sarh, so Othman would not blame him. Ibn Ishaq explains: “The reason he ordered him to be killed was that he had been a Muslim and used to write down revelation for Muhammad; then he apostatized and returned to Quraish [Mecca]…” He was to be killed for apostasy but was saved through Othman’s intercession.286 The atmosphere in Medina was very tense. Islam and Jihad had become the focus of the lives of its citizens. Muhammad had ordered them to go to the mosque, pray five times per day and their men were often out raiding, plundering, pillaging caravans, destroying villages, killing men and raping women. There is a hadith reported by both Imams Bukhari and Muslim which shows the level of coercion that Muhammad exerted to make people comply with his commands. He is reported to have said: I thought that I should order the prayer to be commenced and command a person to lead people in prayer, and I should then go along with some persons having a fagot of fuel with them to the people who have not attended the prayer (in congregation) and would burn their houses with fire.287 In this hadith Muhammad threatens to burn with fire, those who refrained from attending the congregational prayer in the mosque. Life in Medina had completely changed. Prior to the arrival of Muhammad, the people of Yathrib were farmers, artisans and tradesmen. The bulk of the industry was in the hands of the Jews, who were hardworking, 286 Sirat, p. 550 287 Muslim Book 004, Number 1370; and Bukhari Volume 1, Book 11, Number 626 When Sane People Follow Insane People 205 literate and prosperous. The Arabs were illiterate, lazy and indolent. They had few skills and worked for the Jews. When the Jews were exterminated, the city changed drastically. There were no more businesses where the Arabs could work and earn their livelihood. The economy of the township had collapsed altogether. The citizens relied entirely on booty and spoils of war that Muhammad provided them for their sustenance. For them, there was no going back. They had become dependant on Muhammad and the spoils of his wars. Even those who did not believe in him, like Abdullah ibn Ubbay and his followers, used to take part in his raids. This is not because they wanted to support Islam but because these spoils become the only source of income for the inhabitants of Medina. If they did not participate in Muhammad’s raids they would have gone hungry. Like the members of People’s Temple, Muslims were confronted with an inevitable situation, which in turn led them to accept their condition more favorably. Those few who dared to speak against the new leader were either killed or ostracized. The Arab population of Medina was the poorest. They were ignorant, impoverished and superstitious people. For them, even owning one camel and one robe was considered wealth. They worked as journeymen for the Jews. Several ahadith tell of these Arabs, whose first wealth, or as the Qur’an delicately terms it, the “bounty of Allâh.” was acquired through loot. There was also plenty of sexual booty. Women captured in wars provided an added incentive for the believers, particularly the immigrants who were mostly single. Once the Jews were killed and banished the impoverished Arabs if Medina had no other alternative but to enlist in Muhammad’s army and wage war for him, if they wanted to eat. The main incentive for these early believers to sally forth in jihad was wealth and sex. Gradual Absorption The life of a believer is an arduous life of constant inner battle and mindless religious rituals to be performed without question. He or she submits to this life gradually. Osherow writes: “A member’s involvement in the Temple did not begin at Jonestown, it started much earlier, closer to home, and less dramatically. At first, the potential member would attend meetings voluntarily and might put in a few hours each week working for the church. Though the established members would urge the recruit to join, he or she felt free to choose whether to stay or leave. Upon deciding to join, a member expended more effort 206 Understanding Muhammad and became more committed to the Peoples Temple. In small increments, Jones increased the demands made on the member, and only after a long time did he escalated the oppressiveness of his rule and the desperation of his message. Little by little, the individual’s alternatives became more limited. Step by step, the person was motivated to rationalize his or her commitment and to justify his or her behavior.” Those who convert to Islam report similar experiences. Their absorption is gradual. As they become more involved, the bar of expectations is raised gradually. Women are told that it is not mandatory for them to cover their hairs, but it would be meritorious if they do so. Then the new believers are asked to refrain from certain foods, eat halal food, perform the prayers, fast, give zakat and slowly they are introduced to the virtues and rewards of jihad. This task is performed by every Muslim. Because the newcomers are eager to belong and be accepted, they will do whatever it is asked from them and even try to out perform the born Muslims and as the proverb goes, become “more catholic than the Pope.” The indoctrination is so gradual that the new converts feel they are doing these changes voluntarily. They finally end up doing things that they thought objectionable, even ridiculous before. An ex-Muslim American woman wrote to me that when she first saw a group of Muslim women all covered in black veil she laughed and felt sorry for them. Eventually she converted to Islam and started wearing the strictest form of veils where even the face is covered by a veil, called neqab. I came to know this lady online because she had created an Internet site actively promoting Islam while maligning me, warning other Muslims not to read my articles. Obviously she was not practicing what she was preaching and could not resist reading what I wrote. Eventually the truth dawned on her and she left Islam, utterly disquieted. She explained to me how gradually she had been sucked into Islam to the extent that at one point she had asked her non-Muslim husband to convert to Islam and take another wife. I have met Muslim women (virtually) who had become so brainwashed that they defended Muhammad’s claim that women are deficient in intelligence and naturally inferior to men, while at the same time, paradoxically, they were convinced that Islam liberates women. Faith is indeed a mind-numbing narcotic. Those who convert to Islam, perhaps because they find the doctrine of monotheism attractive or simply want to be part of a large “brotherhood”, in a short time will start disliking the Jews and then their own country. Soon they will find themselves hating their own non-Muslim parents and distancing themselves from their unbelieving friends. Eventually they may volunteer to When Sane People Follow Insane People 207 fulfill their ultimate religious obligation as a Muslim, become a jihadi and a terrorist and joyfully seek the ultimate sacrifice and martyrdom. One Canadian who converted to Islam, or as Muslims like to think, “reverted” to his natural religion, after apostatizing wrote of his experience as a Muslim: An unadulterated Islam was difficult for the kuffaar (unbelievers) to digest so deviants evidently had a higher success rate in their propagation of Islam (da’wah) as they modified principles “to suit the nafs” (carnal self) of recipients. The moderate and sanitized version of Islam that initially brought me to conversion had to be reassessed. Through the local masjid (mosque), always available was a handshake and anticipated hug. This was a comfort unavailable at home, especially from a mother always unsatisfied with my performance and father unconcerned with my progress. Encouraged by my Muslim brothers, I desired to excel in my religion; possibly get married, master the Arabic language and be a mujaahid (partaker in jihaad) and shaheed (martyr). Reverts to Islam, ever so gullible and naive, were easily susceptible to the prevalent dysfunctional behaviors and propaganda infecting most Muslim societies. By striving to not conform with the kuffaar, we duly had to be ignorant by circumnavigating anything unislamic. One revert declared that Usama bin Laden was better than “a million George Bushes” and “a thousand Tony Blairs” simply because he’s a “Muslim”. Arrogantly speaking, we Muslims were “the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind.” (3:110) So when an atrocity occurred that was obviously committed by Muslims in the name of Allaah, my fellow brothers and sisters were complacent. We obsequiously forsook the human rights violations in Muslim countries, even when the victims were Muslims. The conspiracy theories widespread in my Muslim society were outright delusion. Not even the moderate Muslims, who neglected salaat and committed zinaa (illegal sex; fornication, adultery, etc.), could accept the Muslim identities of the 9/11 pilots. As my Afghani classmate remarked, “It was the Jews!” When the opportunity arose for self-criticism, inevitably, we instead blamed the Jews, our favorite scapegoat. Homogenizing oneself into the Islamic ummah was ostensibly clinched if one supported the latest Arab- Muslim agenda, grew an outstanding beard, expressed hatred for the Jews, uttered the word “bid’ah” (denouncing the modernists) occasionally, and repudiated the modern state of Israel. We proudly acknowledged the jihaad, 208 Understanding Muhammad yet acted stupid if questioned by a kaafir and responded to their accusations with, for example, “How do you know it was done by Muslims? Where is the evidence?” Although they were not blind to the videotaped confessions by boasting Muslim terrorists, they chose to be. Not all Muslims were terrorists, although it was unequivocally but agonizingly true that most terrorists were Muslims. If some Americans or Jews died, there was sympathetic joy and I observed this particular behavior genially absorbed by one Muslimah just five years old. Reverts hopelessly adopted a rigid interpretation of Islam taught by immigrants from oppressive theocracies that incarcerated ijtihaad (free discussion) to keep freethinking and dissent criminal and their rule immutable.288 Jeanne Mills, who managed to defect two years before the Temple relocated in Guyana, begins her account, Six Years with God (1979), as follows: "Every time I tell someone about the six years we spent as members of the People’s Temple, I am faced with an unanswerable question: If the church was so bad, why did you and your family stay in for so long?" Osherow says, “Several classic studies from social psychological research investigating processes of self-justification and the theory of cognitive dissonance289 can point to explanations for such seemingly irrational behavior.” John Walker Lindh, known as the “American Taleban”, the young man who went to Afghanistan to serve in Al Qaida and fight against his own country, did not become a terrorist overnight. John’s interest in Islam began when he was just a 12-year-old. His mother took him to see Spike Lee's film, Malcolm X. Time magazine quotes her saying, “He was moved by a scene showing people of all nations bowing down to God.” No one cared of knew enough to warn this young man of the dangers of Islam. On the contrary, he received approval and blessings from his parents to pursue his heart’s desire, as they too were ignorant of Islam. Time Magazine, in its September 29, 2002 edition wrote, “John’s parents were pleased to see that their son had found something that moved him. And at a time when other parents they knew were coping with their kids' experimentation with drugs, booze and fast driving, it all seemed fairly innocent. Marilyn (John’s mother) 288 www.faithfreedom.org/Testimonials/Abdulquddus.htm 289 See Aronson, E. The social animal (3rd ed.) San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1980. AND Aronson, E. The theory of cognitive dissonance: A current perspective. In L. Berkowitz (ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology. Vol. 4, New York: Academic Press, 1969. When Sane People Follow Insane People 209 would drop young John off at the mosque for Friday prayers. At the end of the evening, a fellow believer would drive John home.” The tolerant American society also did not see anything wrong or alarming about a young American converting to Islam. He would stroll with his awkward Islamic outfit up and down the streets, and the good American folks did not get especially worked up. “It was just another kid experimenting with his life, with his spiritual side, certainly nothing to fear or loathe,” wrote Time Magazine. Instead of investigating the truth about Islam, John's father allowed himself to be fooled by what he defined as the “Islamic custom of hospitality for fellow believers,” which in itself is a warning sign of the cultic nature of Islam. Cultists are exceptionally “loving” and friendly towards those whom they want to woo to their faith. Instead of warning his son of the dangers of Islam, he tried to “appreciate” his faith. One day he told his son, “I don't think you've really converted to Islam as much as you've found it within yourself; you sort of found your inner Muslim.” Unbeknownst to his parents and the rest of the gullible Americans, this young impressionable teenager was gradually becoming brainwashed and indoctrinated into hating his own country. Time Magazine quoted, a language teacher in Yemen who said, “Lindh came from the U.S. already hating America.” The Magazine writes: “Lindh's correspondence from Yemen evinces an ambivalence toward the U.S. In a letter to his mother dated Sept. 23, 1998, he refers to the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Africa the previous month, saying the attacks “seem far more likely to have been carried out by the American government than by any Muslims.” Non-Muslims are gradually becoming familiar with the Islamic tactic of committing the crime and blaming the victim. Everyone has heard the fantastic story of “4000 Jews not showing up for work on the fateful morning of 9/11/2001”, made up by some Muslims and the conspiracy theory that they have invented to blame the CIA and the Mossad for what Bin Laden has so boastfully claimed as his victory. So this innocent boy was gradually led to believe that Islam is THE only real religion for all mankind, and he tried to learn it and practice it with sincerity and eagerness. He began studying and memorizing the Qur’an and in his notebook he wrote a passage that reads, “We shall make jihad as long as we live.” By becoming a Muslim, John Walker Lindh had entered in Muhammad’s narcissistic bubble universe. He was already showing the signs of irrational and narcissistic Islamic thinking. He perfectly knew who was responsible for 9/11 210 Understanding Muhammad tragedy. However, on one hand he denied that it was the work of Muslims and on the other hand he was vowing to make Jihad as long as he lives. John alienated himself from the rest of his countrymen. According to the Qur’an, Muslims are not supposed to take as friends the unbelievers. (Q.9:23) They are asked to fight those who do not believe in Allâh (Q.9:29) and murder them. (Q.9:123) A Muslim is not allowed to accept another religion. (Q.3:85) It is no wonder that when John wrote back to his mother after the U.S. presidential election in 2000, he referred to George W. Bush as “your new President” and added, “I'm glad he's not mine.” Of course not! A Muslim cannot accept the rule of unbelievers. He must disobey them, fight against them and endeavor to kill them. (Q.25:52) John Walker Lindh is one victim of the sickness of the Western society called political correctness. Wasn’t it Ronald Reagan who called the Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan “freedom fighters?” John went on to become a freedom fighter. What is wrong with that? Didn’t President George W. Bush and Tony Blair repeatedly announce, “Islam is a religion of peace?” Why jail a follower of the religion of peace who has simply followed the instructions of his religion of peace? The West is guilty – guilty of complicity, of appeasement and of self deception. As required summer reading for first-year students, Prof. Michael Sells of the University of North Carolina compiled a book called Approaching the Qur’an where only the “nice” teachings of the Qur’an pertaining to the early Meccan verses were handpicked and the violent, bloody verses that call for killing, looting and raping the unbelievers, those that churn the stomach of any sane person that were written later in Medina were deliberately left out. This is nothing but playing the game of deception. The same deception is found in the books of Karen Armstrong and John Esposito in their definition of Islam. Young Americans are being lied to. A false image of Islam is being portrayed for their consumption by some western academicians, God knows for what reason. And when these kids believe in these lies that we feed them, trust our judgment, and go on to practice Islam, we brand them as terrorists, jail them, and prosecute them. Isn’t this hypocrisy? These children are not guilty. They are the products of our sick ethos called political correctness. How many newspapers, televisions or radios have the guts to call a spade a spade when it comes to Islam? Which one of our politicians has the mettle to stand in front of a camera and tell the nation that Islam is not a religion of peace? Watch your kids? If anyone dares to tell the truth he is immediately When Sane People Follow Insane People 211 branded as a racist and a hate-monger, and his head will roll. Meanwhile, Islamic propagandists are given freedom to twist the truth and promote their lies, knowing they never will be challenged on anything they say. CAIR, Council of American-Islamic Relations, (or better said “Conning Americans with Islamic Ruse”) furnishes thousands of libraries across the country with Islamic books, hoping to find more John Walkers Lindhs. Mosques are being built in every city and town throughout the country to instill the hatred of America amongst the American kids. The situation is worse in Europe, Australia, Canada and other non-Muslim countries. According to a “secret report” divulged by Sean Rayment, Security Correspondent of Sunday Telegraph on February 25, 2007, the Security Services in UK believe that there are more than 2,000 Muslims who are plotting to engage in terrorist activities in that country. There is not a single day that someone is not killed in the hands of the Muslim terrorists somewhere in the world. What will it take for the world to wake up and realize that Islam is not a religion but a dangerous cult? When are we going to pay attention to the Qur’an and the history of Islam to understand that the terrorists are not “extremists” but practicing Muslims following the real, original teachings of their “holy” book and the examples set by their beloved prophet? Once people convert to Islam, they enter an underworld of illusions, ignorance and fear, where fantasy takes the form of reality and evil is perceived as divine. Their values disintegrate and they act in ways that they would have considered unbecoming and unacceptable prior to their Islamic indoctrination. The more they act in this depraved way, the more hardened they become, to the extent that returning to the real, world becomes almost impossible. Islam unfolds like a creeping paralysis, slowly corrupting minds and spirits, until it produces the best of all Muslims, the jihadi, commonly known as terrorists, the most beloved ones of Allâh and his prophet. Osherow gives a thorough psychological explanation of this phenomenon: “According to dissonance theory, when a person commits an act or holds a cognition that is psychologically inconsistent with his or her selfconcept, the inconsistency arouses an unpleasant state of tension. The individual tries to reduce this “dissonance,” usually by altering his or her attitudes to bring them more into line with the previously discrepant action or belief. A number of occurrences in the People's Temple can be illuminated by viewing them in light of this process. The horrifying events of Jonestown were not due merely to the threat of force, nor did they erupt instantaneously. That is, it was not the case that something “snapped” in people’s minds, suddenly causing them to behave 000000000