The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

Issue 73

Issue 73 [@1:16:21]: Slide projected with a voice – The Noble Quran, 5:51 – O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliya (friends, protectors, helpers, etc.), they are but Auliya to one another. And if any amongst you takes them as Auliya, then surely he is one of them.”

Rebuttal 73: The above slide is a case in point of what is “Fallacy of quoting out of context” as is obvious throughout the documentary. Such “out-of-context” is similarly used by creationists against evolutionists by putting forth half-quotes of Darwin’s own writings to trumpet to the world that Darwin himself believed in creationism. Following is direct excerpt from Wikipedia about the quote-mining:

“Absurd in the highest degree“

Since the mid-1990s, scientists and their supporters have used the term quote mining to describe versions of this practice as used by certain creationists in the creation-evolution controversy. An example found in debates over evolution is an out-of-context quotation of Charles Darwin in his Origin of Species:

To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.

This sentence, sometimes truncated to the phrase “absurd in the highest degree”, is often presented as part of an assertion that Darwin himself believed that natural selection could not fully account for the complexity of life. However, Darwin went on to explain that the apparent absurdity of the evolution of an eye is no bar to its occurrence.

The quote in context is:

To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree. Yet reason tells me, that if numerous gradations from a perfect and complex eye to one very imperfect and simple, each grade being useful to its possessor, can be shown to exist; if further, the eye does vary ever so slightly, and the variations be inherited, which is certainly the case; and if any variation or modification in the organ be ever useful to an animal under changing conditions of life, then the difficulty of believing that a perfect and complex eye could be formed by natural selection, though insuperable by our imagination, can hardly be considered real. — Charles Darwin, Origin of Species

The makers of documentary are using the above verse in a similar out-of-context manner to seed doubts in the audience about “obsequious” Muslims. This is absolutely shameful and deceitful by this documentary, yet they attribute taqiyya to Islam (see Issue 53 through 63). Following is a direct re-quote from “Consumer Guide to God – A Muslim Perspective – In Light of Quran” p. 240-242, which brings out the full context of the said verse:

Some deliberate, some non-contextual Quotes by some

Issue 1: Muslims should not take Jews and Christians as friends – for which verse 5:51 is quoted.

5:51. O you who believe! do not take these Jews and the Christians for allies. They are allies of one to another (when against you), and whoso from amongst you takes them for allies, is indeed one of them. Verily, Allâh does not guide the unjust people to attain their goal.

The emphasis is on “those” opposing communities including Jews and Christians of Medina and its vicinity at the time when Muslims of Makkah had migrated to Medina to escape thirteen years of relentless persecution. “these” initially signed alliance treaties but were factually united against the city government of Muslims that was established in Medina. “These” are on record for aiding and abetting attacks on Medina by Makkans. Qur’ân contextualizes “these” in the verses adjoining the above verse:

5:50. Do they seek to enforce the law of (the days of) ignorance? [i.e., when might was right, there were no human rights, women were mere property, slavery was rampant before Islam]

5:52. Now you shall see those [weak at heart Muslims] in whose hearts is a disease (of hypocrisy) vying one with another towards them (– the Jews and Christians [who were powerful and influential in Medina] to take them for allies). They [i.e. early Muslims of Medina] say, `We are afraid lest a misfortune should befall us [because of not siding with the powerful].

5:58. And when you call (the people) to Prayer, they [Jew and Christian communities of Medina] take it lightly [i.e., make mockery] and consider it [Islam] worthless [like a sport, i.e.. not to be taken seriously and a religion not worth adopting]. They do so because they are a people who do not understand.

5:59. Say, `O People of the Scripture! do you find fault with us [Muslims] only because we believe in Allâh and in that which has been revealed to us, and in that which was revealed before (us [on you, i.e., Torah, Bible, etc.])? Whereas most of you are disobedient (to God)’. [and flaunt His standards of fairness even in their own religions]

5:60. Say, `Shall I inform you of those who shall receive from Allâh a recompense worse than that of those (who try to find fault with Us)? They are those whom Allâh has deprived of His blessings and upon whom He brought His displeasure and indignation and of whom He has made (as) apes and swine [in their behavior who copy and imitate each other without thinking and have no moral boundaries] and who serve the transgressor (– the devil) . It is these who are indeed worse-placed and farther astray from the right path.’

5:61. And when they [Jews and Christians of Medina] come to you they say, `We believe,’ while, in fact, they enter without faith and go out without it. And Allâh knows best all they conceal [i.e., they would strategically convert and revert in the then time of state of war with Makkans and were a source of dissent and treason]

Qur’ân further analyzes such behavior of the people of the Book toward Muslims:

5:66. If they had only observed the Torah and the Evangel and that which has been revealed to them (now) from their Lord, [because no Divine Book will endorse such behaviors as above] they would surely have eaten (of good things) from above them [i.e., spiritual gains] and from under their feet [i.e., material gains], (thus would have enjoyed the boons of the heaven and the earth). [Qur’ân does not measure all members of the opposing tribes with the same yardstick and acknowledges that] Though there is amongst them a community who is moderate (and of balanced mind), yet a large number of them are such that evil are their deeds [which are on record in the secular neo-Islamic history].

Qur’ân further encourages the people of the Book to follow their own Scriptures for a virtuous behavior and its outcome:

5:68. Say, `O People of the Scripture! you stand nowhere unless you observe the Torah and the Evangel and that (– Qur’ân) which has (now) been revealed to you from your Lord’. And certainly that which has been revealed [i.e., Qur’ân] to you [all] from your Lord will increase many of them in ordinate rebellion and disbelief; so do not grieve for the disbelieving people.

5:69. Verily, those who have believed and those who judaised and the Sabians and the Christians, whosoever believes in Allâh and the Last Day and does righteous deeds, they shall have no cause of fear nor shall they ever grieve.

Qur’ân then gives historical references to the above mentioned behaviors which are replete in history by the same people:

5:70. Surely, We took a covenant from the Children of Israel and We sent Messengers to them. Every time there came to them a Messenger with that (Message) which did not suit their fanciful desires, (they defied him so that) some they treated as liars and others they sought to kill.

5:71. And they thought there would be no punishment (for them) so they willfully became blind and deaf; (then they sought Allâh’s pardon) then Allâh turned to them (with mercy with the advent of Jesus), yet again many of them became blind and deaf. And Allâh is Watchful of what they do.

Qur’ân is quite clear about friends and foe of Muslims:

60:8. Allâh does not forbid you to be kind and good and to deal justly with those who have not fought you because of your faith and have not turned you out of your homes. In fact Allâh loves those who are equitable.

60:9. Allâh only forbids you to make friends with those who have fought you because of your faith and who have turned you out of your homes, and have abetted your expulsion. Indeed, those who make friends with them are really the unjust.

Despite such treacherous behaviors by opponents, Qur’ân does not claim righteousness for Muslims alone:

3:113. They (– the people of the Scripture) are not all alike. Among these people of the Scripture there are some upright people. They rehearse the Message of Allâh in the hours of the night and they prostrate themselves (in His worship).

3:114. They believe in Allâh and the Last Day and enjoin good and forbid evil, and they vie one with another in (doing) good deeds. And it is these who are of the truly righteous.

Psychology of out-of-context use of Scriptures

In the documentary one wonders as to what makes the likes of Spencer to come up with such blatant out-of-context usage of Quranic verses, only to mislead and create hate. It is a natural question as to what the origins of such a rancorous psychology are and how it evolved. What precedence are the documentary makers following for such a bigoted ideology of theirs? The answer is in the New Testament and Christian history:

Matthew 27:24-25 (NIV): When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”

Essentially, Jews lacking the authority to kill Jesus for blasphemy took him to the Pontius Pilatus, the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea (from AD 26–36). Instead, they accused him of sedition against Rome by opposing the payment of taxes to Caesar and calling himself a king. Fomenting tax resistance was a capital offense. There are various accounts of events thereafter, but finally Pilate agrees to condemn Jesus to crucifixion, after the Jewish leaders explained to him that Jesus presented a threat to Roman occupation through his claim to the throne of King David as King of Israel in the royal line of David. The crowd in Pilate’s courtyard, according to the Synoptics, had been coached by the Pharisees and Sadducees to shout against Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew adds that before condemning Jesus to death, Pilate washes his hands with water in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; you will see.” [see the extended narrative from bible Matthew 27: 1-65]

Matthew 27:24-25 then became a touching stone for Christians to persecute Jews ever since as “God Killers” (Jewish Deicide) by using the self-curse of the Jewish crowd – “His blood is on us and on our children!” Killeth they indeed, the “children” i.e. coming generations of the Jews and history is replete of Christians holding the Jews to their words. In doing so, they were not too far from their Scriptures. Interestingly, the God in Bible allows killing of children for sins of their parents, but only for a few generations:

Exodus 34:5-7 (NIV): Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

However, the likes of Spencer kept persecuting Jews for thousands of years on a purely out-of-context usage of their own Scripture, only to satisfy their hate. A hate that outwardly ended with Holocaust, though anti-Semitism still simmers under the surface in the Christian minds. They are blinded by their rancor and will keep doing so despite their Lord’s appeal:

Luke 23:34 (NIV): Jesus said, “Father, forgive them [-the soldiers], for they do not know what they are doing.” And they [-the Roman soldiers] divided up his clothes [-as booty] by casting lots.

The foundation stone of this hate was first noted by Origen Adamantius (circa 185-254 CE) when he wrote Commentary on Matthew for Matt. 27:25, “Therefore the blood of Jesus came not only upon those who lived formerly but also upon all subsequent generations of Jews to the consummation,” and then observes, “These words contain the average Christian views on the Jews.” [footnote “Anti-Judaism and the Gospels,” p. 33 as attributed to Ludemann (The Unholy, 98-99)]

Not for a moment in thousands of years the Church ever realized that it was the Roman prefect who gave the judgment, the Roman officers who carried out the orders to put Jesus on the cross, the Roman soldiers who stole clothes of Jesus and not the Jewish rent-a-crowd who cheered and jeered for a crowd pleasing show of “free speech.” How could Church blame the Romans, because when the time came it was in Rome that the Church found its new Holy abode. The home that belonged to none but Roman Emperor Constantine, who in the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) wrote Christianity in image of his pagan ancestry, substituted Sunday (of his Sun God) for worship instead of Sabbath (Saturday), and passed the famous decree blaming the Jews for ever to be labeled as “God Killers.” It is a separate discussion as to whether a God can be killed and that too by mortals:

“…we have nothing in common with that nation of father-killers who slew their Lord…” [Emperor Constantine to all churches concerning the date of Easter]

Now, following in their ancestral footsteps and traditions of their Church, Spencers of the documentary want to insinuate the West against Quran and by proxy the Muslims, in the same manner as they did quite successfully and forcefully for the Jews without any fear of accountability. For that they have quoted various verses of the Quran totally out-of-context throughout the documentary. Shame be on such “Jew killers.” Spencers of the documentary have made their first kill, the inspiration behind Norwegian slaughter in footsteps of Crusaders who killed their own more than the others because venom does not discriminate. They just cannot help to recognize and overcome the evils of hate, ignorance and arrogance that is now interwoven into their religious and spiritual tradition for two thousand years and is indelibly stained into the fabric of their psyche. It will be asking too much of these bigots to do otherwise.

In spite of the above unsalvageable state of mind of these prophets of doom identified for their inspiration in Breivik’s manifesto – Robert Spencer, Bat Ye’or, Serge Trifkovic, Geert Wilders, Daniel Pipes, Pamela Geller etc., at least there is hope and solution for their parish. That elixir of hate prevention we find in Quran:

49:6. O you who believe [i.e. a citizen or the government, prosecutor or the judge], if an unrighteous person brings you news, look carefully into it, in case you harm a people in ignorance [by your decisions and actions], then be sorry for what you did.

5:2: …And do not let hatred of a people — because they hindered you from the Sacred Mosque [i.e. any place of worship] — incite you to transgress [and become a source of hate]. And help one another in righteousness and piety, and do not help one another in sin and aggression, and keep your duty to Allah. Surely Allah is Severe in retribution.

49:11-12. O you who believe, do not let a people laugh at (another) people [i.e. mock, ridicule or DISCRIMINATE on basis of RACE, COLOUR, SEX, LANGUAGE, RELIGION, POLITICAL OR OTHER OPINION, NATIONAL OR SOCIAL ORIGIN, PROPERTY, BIRTH OR OTHER STATUS], perhaps they may be better than they; nor let women (laugh) at women, perhaps they may be better than they. Neither find fault with one another, nor call one another by (offensive) nick-names. Evil is a bad name after faith; and whoever does not repent, these it is that are the wrongdoers. O you who believe, avoid most of suspicion, for surely suspicion in some cases is sin; and do not spy nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You abhor it! And keep your duty to Allah, surely Allah is returning (to mercy) again and again, Merciful.

References:

Note: [text enclosed in square brackets above is not part of the original quoted sources. Some of the comments are excerpted quotes from the footnotes of “English Translation of the Holy Quran with Explanatory Notes” – Muhammad Ali, ed. Zahid Aziz]

Fallacy of quoting out of context – Wikipedia
New International Version – Bible Gateway
Pontius Pilatus–Wikipedia
Jewish Deicide – Wikipedia
Origen Adamantius– Wikipedia
Anti-Judaism and the Gospels– edited by William R. Farmer (Google Books)
First Council of Nicaea– Wikipedia
Emperor Constantine to all churches concerning the date of Easter– Fourth Century Christianity
2011 Norway attacks – Wikipedia
Consumer Guide to God – M. Ikram Jahangiri [Note: all verses quoted in the article are from Holy Quran – Nooruddin]
Holy Quran – Muhammad Ali, edited by Zahid Aziz