The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

Archive for February, 2009

The following has been submitted by our friend Rashid Jahangiri. I must say that he is carrying out the true jihad of this age.

A few days ago Raymond Ibrahim (an opponent of Islam) wrote article ‘Islam, War, and Deceit’. In reply to his article Muslim commenters referred to Dr. Zahid Aziz’s book ‘Islam, Peace, and Tolerance’ and provided links to Maulana Muhammad Ali’s online Holy Quran English Translation and Commentary.

In last 2 days Raymond Ibrahim revisited his article and wrote ‘A Response to the Critics: Taqiyya Revisited’. In his revisited article it becomes obvious that he cannot refute the translation and commentary done by Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement elders. So he writes:

“While there are in fact “moderate interpretations,” most of these come from minority sects—such as the Ahmadiyyas or the Quraniyuns—who, as they make up a trivial percentage of the Islamic world, and are in fact often accused of and persecuted for apostasy by mainstream Muslims, are definitely not representative of the latter.”

“In closing, it should be noted that the most revealing aspect of the recent, and a typical, barrage of disgruntled e-mails regarding my “War and Peace—and Deceit—in Islam,” is that no Muslim (minus fringe Ahmadiyyas, etc.) has written to deny the more troubling aspects of the essay. For instance, while many nitpicked over the aforementioned, none have denied the fact that Muhammad permitted lying in certain situations, affirmed that “war is deceit,” and permitted Muslims to deceive and assassinate infidels—all according to canonical (sahih) hadiths (hence the reason mainstream Muslims cannot refute them).”

To me it is obvious that opponents of Islam have difficulty attacking and maligning Holy Quran, Rasul Allah (s.a.w.) and Islam in general, when they come across works of elders of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement (LAM) who got their inspiration and teachings from Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad sahib.

I am confident if 10 members of LAM can spare their time they can cool Robert Spencer’s hatred and misinformation spewing website.

Link to Raymond Ibrahim’s revisited article:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/025032.php#respond

Rashid Jahangiri has submitted the following post.

In the tradition of Hazrat Khawaja Kamal Ud Din

Mr. Robert Spencer, a well known TV personality in USA, and fervent critic of Islam, Holy Quran and Rasul Allah (s.a.w.) both in print and electronic media. He is director of Jihad Watch. He also runs the website http://www.jihadwatch.com. His expertise is to connect stupid act(s) of Muslim(s) to Holy Quran teachings, or life of Rasul Allah (s.a.w.). And while displaying his craft of blatant lies he does not show an iota of conscience. His website is full of bigotry and lies.

Hazrat Khawaja Kamal Ud Din had to face similar challenges. He took the challenge and defended Islam by taking its intellectual message into the power center of the Christian world. In the tradition of that mujahid of Islam, members of Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement should spare some time and take intellectual message of Islam to the website run by Robert Spencer. His website has over 30 million visitors. LAM members will have more audience in Cyber Space than Khawaja sahib had in Great Britain. You never know, if Allah (s.w.t.) wishes, Robert Spencer could become another Lord Headley. Interestingly, almost a century ago elders of LAM had answered all allegations, accusations and lies that Robert Spencer and his courtiers and stooges are leveling now. All such answers are available on LAM websites.

Please click following link and help Robert Spencer understand message of Holy Quran:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/024973.php#respond

Submitted by Bashir.

Personally, I am utterly confused by HMGA’s definition of Jihad.

HMGA claims to have re-defined JIHAD, or he claims to give the correct interpretation of it. If that is true, then we have to believe that the muslims in general, for the last 1400 years misinterpreted JIHAD.

Did Abu Bakr misinterpret jihad?
Did Imam Abu Hanifa misinterpret Jihad?

HMGA used his ijtihad (judgement) to come to this conclusion. These ideas of “anti-war” were floating around many muslim circles in those days. Ironically enough, Mualvi Muhammad Hussain Batalvi also agreed with HMGA in this respect.

Just some ideas I wanted to throw out there….

Submitted by Rashid Jahangiri

Islam, War, and Deceit or Islam, Peace, and Tolerance.

Following comments copied from JihadWatch.org

Begin comment:

‘Islam Peace and Tolerance’ by Zahid Aziz, Ph.D.

For a person to call himself fair and just, it is mandatory for him or her to at least read or listen to other side the accused before coming to any conclusion. It behooves for readers who have read above article to read the accused point of view. By accused I mean Islam. Following is a link to small booklet, only 97 pdf pages.

‘Islam Peace and Tolerance’ by Zahid Aziz, Ph.D.
(Click on the book cover in above link to read the book)

Full freedom of belief recognized –
Violence and coercion prohibited –
Jihad is not war –
Muslims taught to live in peace with others

End Comment.

Begin comment:

Obviously the majority of commentators on the topic above are blurring the difference between Islam and Muslims and Islam and its polemic discussion.

If using the same logic then should all the colonies of last two centuries give up good Western ideas of modern democracy just because they were victims of Wars and “Imperialism, subjugation, conquest, persecution, genocide, and unending hegemony”?

Should West be put on trial just because last century was the bloodiest in human history and that the perpetrators were the Western Democracies (think of WW-I, WW-II, Nuking of Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Bosnia, Afghanistan to name a few). Should Iraqis hate America for all the human and economic devastation?

Should all the suppressed people of the world hate West just because they are governed by dictators and kings put in place by modern Western democracies?

To be fair, the people in Palestine are resisting to be heard just like the uprisings in concentration camps of Poland (using fire crackers against F-16s, tanks, artillery, satellite imagery, electronic warfare…)

As far as Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria are concerned, their issue is simply that of Real-Estate and Politics (and to some extent of apartheid; by the way by nature it is also Arab(Muslim+Christian) and Israeli (Jewish + Western Christian) conflict)

You cannot blame Christ for Christian atrocities or Moses for Jewish atrocities which is evidenced by quite extensive historical record.

Mud slinging will only perpetuate more hatred. It would be prudent and productive that this forum should try to clarify misunderstanding amongst all the “Children of Adam.”
End comment.

Begin Comment

Please focus!

As in my earlier post I said, “By accused I mean Islam”. If anyone of commentators has cared to read or even browse the link to Dr. Aziz book they would have figured instantly what terrorist Muslims are doing are in total violation of Islam and Holy Quran teachings. At the same time they would have read quotations of Joshua in chapter ‘The Bible and War’ and wondered from where his followers are getting their teachings.

Please note: I am not here to discuss politics of Muslim countries or to defend stupid Muslim terrorist. All I am doing is informing what Holy Quran and Islam teaches.

Peace to followers of all religions.
End comment.

Link to original article and comments:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/024859.php#respond

Submitted by Rashid Jahangiri:

Begin comment.

Difference between Holy Quran and Hadith books (compilation of sayings of Holy Prophet Muhammad).

(PART ONE)
To assure purity of Holy Quran and to protect it from corruption, Holy Prophet Muhammad took number of steps. Some were:
1-Every verse of Holy Quran was put into writing in Holy Prophet life. For this purpose it was made sure that paper, pen, ink and some one who could read and write was readily available.
2-Every verse of Holy Quran was committed to memory by Muslims and they repeated it many times in day and night.
3-Holy Prophet had strictly instructed Muslims to NOT to write his own sayings. So that it may not be confused with text of Holy Quran.

(PART TWO)
100 years after death of Holy Prophet, by the time Holy Quran preservation was rock solidly done and its copies has been spread all across the Muslim lands, Muslims started collecting and compiling saying of Holy Prophet which had been transferred from generation to generation with references to the original narrators. Many people compiled such sayings and this kind of work spread over at least three centuries. Because of nature of the work it cannot be guaranteed that all such compilations are without error. Some Hadiths became part of collection that simply got corrupted by the time it got to compiler. At other times unfortunately, there were also people who created their own false Hadiths.

(PART THREE)
Luckily, Muslims have some standards and means to judge any Hadith to be true, false or in between and weak. One such standard is to check Hadith in question against Holy Quran. If Holy Quran negates the idea presented in Hadith, it becomes obvious that that Hadith is false.
Those who honestly want to look into Hadiths can click the following link and judge for themselves what Hadiths say:

A Manual of Hadith:
by Maulana Muhammad Ali
End Comment

Link to article and comments:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/024226.php

Post submitted by Rashid Jahangiri.

The famous Pakistani journalist, columnist, press secretary of former Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and author of many books has recently passed away. Articles and comments are posted on blog ‘All Things Pakistan’: http://pakistaniat.com/2009/02/11/khalid-hasan-manto-and-kala-kola/#comment-182188

I posted my comments that await moderation.

My email exchange with Khalid Hasan.

In October 2008, after reading Khalid Hasan column ‘Return to 1954’ (Friday Times 9/19/2008. www.khalidhasan.net).
I asked him if he could use his pen, and ask Government of Pakistan to make public 1974 summer Pakistan National Assembly session proceedings that resulted in 2nd amendment in 1973 constitution. Declaring Ahmadis (both groups i.e. Lahori Ahmadis and Qadiani Ahmadis) as non-Muslims. Now especially when even the Justice Hamud Ur Rehman commission report on fall of Dhaka, which contains national security issues, has been made public. It has been more that 34 years and 1974 trial of Ahmadis in Pakistan National Assembly, which acted as “judge and jury, should be made public at least in the name of justice. In this re I had few emails exchange. Here is couple of them:
10/13/08

Dear Dr Jahangiri,
I have read your note (addressed originally to Nusrat Javid, it seems) but I am not sure what I, a reporter and a column writer, can do. The 1974 constitutional amendment declaring the Ahmediys non-Muslim will have to reversed and must be reversed but given what has become of our country, what hope in hell is there that it will happen. The Talibanisation of Pakistan is not a fictional but a real possibility. In my own limited way, I always try to examine things from a liberal, sectarian and tolerant viewpoint. Our two publications – Daily Times and The Friday Times – are the only truly liberal publications in Pakistan and we have often been under threat from extremists because of our advocacy of liberal causes, something we will continue to do.
Khalid Hasan

10/14/08
Dear Dr Jahangiri,
I am not really qualified to write about this issue except in a general sense. Accordingly, I have forwarded the email and links you sent to my friend and colleague Khaled Ahmed at Daily Times, Lahore who is be the best qualified person to do justice to this issue.
Khalid Hasan

I would say late Khalid Hasan is lucky in the sense that he did not witness ‘Talibanisation of Pakistan’ as he feared, but did witness that when travesty of justice was done in the highest court of the land i.e. Pakistan National Assembly it finally trickled down to the lowest level in Pakistani society. Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his attorney general Yaya Bakhtiar could not deliver justice when it was expected from them, and then they could not get it when their turn came.

Rashid Jahangiri has submitted the following post.

THE MUSLIM NEXT DOOR by Sumbul Ali-Karamali

On the website www.jihadwatch.org a recent book ‘The Muslim Next Door’ by Sumbul Ali-Karamali is discussed. Robert writes the original review. Readers have contributed their comments.

I came across following comment by Ikram:

Begin comment:

The contributors to this site in their criticism seem to have lost their sense of justice in dealing with Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. All rules of their criticism seem to be subject to one consideration that whatever is unfavorable and damaging to Islam and Muhammad’s reputation MUST BE ACCEPTED AS TRUE, no matter whether such views are out of mere ignorance, hearsay, hate, prejudice or cultural bias. A constant repetition of statements, however false, will in time invest them with something of the glamor of truth and it may be that the contributors of this site are becoming self-hypnotized into a belief that their accusation are indeed founded on facts.

They also seem to blur their view about their disagreement or dislike of people of certain geographical origin or their culture and The Religion of Islam. Because a Muslim could be a blue eyed, blond haired Caucasian.

What a pity that with all the outpouring of learning and literature, no proper efforts are made to clear off that cloud of misrepresentation and want of knowledge which still envelops the religion of Islam* on this site.

Allow me to assure you that misconception, misconstruction or even misinterpretation of Islam and its tenets is not the complaint, it is Misrepresentation and Misinformation by which we are the chief sufferers here.*

If the sole purpose of this site is bigotry or polemic then I do not have much to say. But if the purpose of the contributors is to share their current understanding about Islam and Muhammad and are willing to hear a clarifying or opposing view, then please take time to go to the following links for a fundamental review which will naturally reframe the criticism of Islam and Muhammad above.

*Special features of Islam: www.wokingmuslim.org/work/paper-paris1913.htm

What Islam intends: www.aaiil.org/text/books/kk/alislam/alislam.pdf

A view about Jihad: www.wokingmuslim.org/pers/pickthall/jihad.htm

A booklet about Jihad: www.ahmadiyya.org/bookspdf/jihadinislam.pdf

Life sketch of Muhammad: www.aaiil.org/text/books/mali/muhammadtheprophet/muhammadtheprophet.pdf

What makes Muhammad an ideal: www.aaiil.org/text/books/kk/idealprophet/idealprophet.pdf

End Comment.

Link to the review and comments on website Jihad Watch:
www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023818.php