I usually try to keep my posts here light. Even when I'm bitching, I at least try to be a little humorous about it. But there was no humor to be found in the email I got from my mother-in-law yesterday. Bless her heart. She is a little racist, but she doesn't mean to be and honestly doesn't think she is. She just hasn't quite overcome her small town, never see any race but her own, biased upbringing. Plus, she thinks every word that comes to her via e-mail is true if it comes from someone she knows. I don't think she ever stops to wonder who the original source of the message was. I've sent her the link to Snopes numerous times. I've copied and pasted the actual articles from Snopes into emails and sent them to her numerous times. I finally started just deleting the goofy, urban legend ones. But this message could not be ignored. I did respond to it telling her that I thought it was incredibly sad that people were perpetuating ideas like this. I also posted the email contents on Scrap Share. Purplesocklady sent the message to a Muslim friend of hers who responded to each charge much more articulately, and with much, more more actual knowledge, than I ever could. I decided to post these comments here as I know this message is flying around the internet like these things tend to do. Hopefully, at least one person who has gotten this vile email will see this and have some understanding of the truth. I will post each individual charge, then follow with Matt H's responses. Thank you , Matt. I really hope you don't mind me sharing your comments here.


Can a good Muslim be a good American?

After much study and deliberation.... Perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. They obviously cannot be both "good" Muslims and good Americans. Pass it on Fellow Americans. The religious war is bigger than we know or understand.

Theologically - no. Because his allegiance is to Allah, the moon god of Arabia.

Theologically-yes, because Allah is the Lord of all the Worlds, not just the Moon or Arabia. A Muslim fought for the Americans during the Revolutionary war, and the only book to be saved from a burning University in Georgia during the Civil War, was the Qur'an translated into English. Islam has its roots deeper into America than some would want to believe.

Religiously - no. Because no other religion is accepted by his Allah except Islam (Koran, 2:256)

Religiously-yes, because Muslims live in every country on Earth, and are not isolated in the Middle-East. In fact, the minority of the world Muslim community is Arabic. Arabs make up only 22% of the World's Muslim population, whereas the largest Muslim country in the world is Indonesia. Believing only Islam as a religion accepted by Allah doesn't have anything to do with living in a country where the majority of its people don't believe in it. Historically, Muslims have lived under non-Muslim rule and there were very few rebellions until recently to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state from the ruins. Who told them to keep their peace? The religious scholars. They would rather have Muslims live under non-Muslim rule, than to fight and shed blood simply to create an Islamic State. This is a lengthy subject, and I can't get into it fully, but scholars wrote extensively on the subject of war, and its permissibility and impermissibility, so I would advise that one should try to read all of the books that had the most credentials back in its day before making a sweeping generalization that all Muslims think they can't live under non-Muslim rule. What about the Muslims who lived under the Christian king of Abyssinia, under the direct orders of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) Himself? The Muslims were being persecuted by their own people, and the Christian King took them in as refugees, and sacrificed His economic interests when the Meccans came back to take the Muslims back home where they could "take care of them". The King said no, even though the Meccans were one of his best economic traders. He sacrificed the economic comfort of his nation to protect some Muslims. And the Muslims were grateful. So, don't tell me that you can't be a Muslim and a good American (or whatever country you want to use)

Scripturally - no. Because his allegiance is to the five pillars of Islam and the Quran (Koran).

Scripturally- yes, because the Five Pillars of Islam are "There is no deity except God, and Muhammad is His Messenger", "Annual Charity", "Pilgrimage", "Fasting", and "Praying 5 times a day". What in the American Constitution prevents a Muslim from doing or affirming any of these things? As I said, Muslims have lived under non-Muslim rule for centuries. It is impossible that all Muslims in history have lived under Muslim rule, simply for reasons of numbers. There would not be enough room for all of the Muslims in the world to live in the countries that were ruled by Muslims.

Geographically - no Because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day.

Geographically- yes, because only the minority of Muslims live near Mecca, whereas the majority live in Indonesia. The Muslims do not show their allegiance to Mecca. But it is the holiest city of Islam because the Prophet Muhammad took the idols out of the Kaaba, and restored Abrahamic Monotheism among the Arab people, who then shared the message to the whole world. This is a focal point of unity, and it is comforting to know that millions of other people are turning in the same direction as you are, and praying at the same time, even if you don't know them or will never meet them.

Socially - no. Because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews.

Socially- yes, because the Muslim is NOT forbidden to make friends with Jews and Christians. There is a verse that is often translated as saying the Muslims should not make friends or patrons with the Jews and the Christians. However, there was a whole science dedicated to Qur'anic historical context, because the Qur'an is not like the Bible and it is assumes the listener knew the allusions and events that it was referring to. Whereas the Bible has history and revelation wrapped together. So, the Muslim scholars and historians fixed this problem by trying to find out the historical context behind each verse, and researched extensively to find the truth. What one scholar found was that this verse that seemily claims Muslims should not make friends with Jews and Christians, has the following as the context. The Muslims were starting to get afraid because of not having enough tribal support, or what not, so some of the Muslims said "I am going to take refuge with the Jews", and others aid "I am going to take refuge with the Christians". Then, this verse was revealed telling the Muslims NOT to do that, but stay together as Muslims and fight the tide together. That interpretation is radically different than a supremacist attitude of not making friends with Non-Muslims because they are "infidels".

Politically - no. Because he must submit to the mullah (spiritual leaders) who teach annihilation of Israel and Destruction of America, the great Satan.

Politically-yes, because only in Shi'i Islam is the Mullah believed to have divine authority from God to make decrees. The over-whelming majority of Muslims believe the Imams are great people who have much knowledge of religion, but they are not infallible and are encouraged to seek different opinions from other well established scholars to make their own decision. So, a Muslim does not have to listen to a Mullah who tells him he must destroy Israel and America. He can go to another Imam and ask him what his opinion is, and make his decision after weighing the pros and cons of the situation. If he has sound mind, he will most likely choose NOT to destroy Israel and America.

Domestically - no. Because he is instructed to marry four women and beat and scourge his wife when she disobeys him (Quran 4:34).

Domestically-yes, The word for "beat" in that verse has many meanings. I don't want to beat around the bush and ignore the controversial question that is being asked, because I don't want to get beat in an argument about this subject. Notice how I used the word "beat" in two sentences, and both have different meanings. The first meaning is to ignore the question and try to move on to a different subject. The second sentence means that I don't want to lose an argument. Why couldn't I simply just say that? Because it is my culture to use words in different manners and contexts. In Arabic, it is exactly the same. Considering the Prophet is the example to follow, let us see if He ever beat His wives? No, He didn't. And His wives not only disobeyed Him often, but would argue with Him over a lot of issues. What did He do? He listened to their complaints like a good husband does. He didn't say "Woman! Keep your mouth shut in my house!". And as for the four wives, the Muslim is actually DISCOURAGED from marrying four women, not INSTRUCTED to. The Qur'an says that if the husband is fair and treats each of his wives equally, he may marry four women. But the Qur'an in a different section says that you will never be able to be fair with more than one wife, so the Qur'an is actually prohibiting polygamy through personal morality, but not through law.

Intellectually - no. Because he cannot accept the American Constitution since it is based on Biblical principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt.

Intellectually - yes, because many of the most brilliant university students in America are Muslims. Come to my university, and you will find that half of the people hanging around the Student Union are Muslims. I didn't know that not agreeing with every single facet of the American constitution made one a bad American. It's not a divine decree, sent down directly from God Himself.

Philosophically - no. Because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran do not allow freedom of religion and expression. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic, or theocratic.

Philosophically- yes, because Muslims brought philosophy back onto the scene after the Christian establishment buried and banned it as heretical musings of pagans. The Muslims were obsessed with philosophy. Many of the scholars were reading a philosophy book if they weren't reading the Qur'an, and vice versa. They translated many of the writings of the great philosophers like Socrates, and Plato into Arabic and preserved the texts. If Muhammad did not permit freedom of religion, then why did He allow Christians from the region of Najran, Arabia to pray in His Mosque when it was time for them to pray? Mind you, this is after they decided that He was a False Prophet, because their intention for seeing Him was to question Him and find out if He was a true Prophet or a false Prophet. They chose the latter, yet Muhammad still offered His Mosque to stay in. Keep in mind, that Islam teaches the existence of One God, and all Prayers should be directed to this One God. Not through intercessors, angels, or Prophets. But to the One God Alone. Whereas the Christians believed in a Trinity, and they prayed to God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, or all at the same time. Still, Muhammad allowed this type of prayer to be said in his Mosque which was dedicated to true Monotheism. If that is not freedom of religion, then I don't know what is.

Spiritually - no. Because when we declare "one nation under God," the Christian's God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in The Quran's 99 excellent names.

Spiritually-, yes. Here is the list of the 99 beautiful names of Allah, and decide for oneself if this is a loving God.
1. Ar-Rahman: The All-Compassionate
2. Ar-Rahim: The All-Merciful
3. Al-Malik: The Absolute Ruler
4. Al-Quddus: The Pure One
5. As-Salam: The Source of Peace
6. Al-Mu'min: The Inspirer of Faith
7. Al-Muhaymin: The Guardian
8. Al-'Aziz: The Victorious
9. Al-Jabbar: The Compeller
10. Al-Mutakabbir: The Greatest
11. Al-Khaliq: The Creator
12. Al-Bari': The Maker of Order
13. Al-Musawwir: The Shaper of Beauty
14. Al-Ghaffar: The Forgiving
15. Al-Qahhar: The Subduer
16. Al-Wahhab: The Giver of All
17. Ar-Razzaq: The Sustainer
18. Al-Fattah: The Opener
19. Al-'Alim: The Knower of All
20. Al-Qabid: The Constrictor
21. Al-Basit: The Reliever
22. Al-Khafid: The Abaser
23. Ar-Rafi': The Exalter
24. Al-Mu'izz: The Bestower of Honors
25. Al-Mudhill: The Humiliator
26. As-Sami: The Hearer of All
27. Al-Basir: The Seer of All
28. Al-Hakam: The Judge
29. Al-'Adl: The Just
30. Al-Latif: The Subtle One
31. Al-Khabir: The All-Aware
32. Al-Halim: The Forebearing
33. Al-'Azim: The Magnificent
34. Al-Ghafur: The Forgiver and Hider of Faults
35. Ash-Shakur: The Rewarder of Thankfulness
36. Al-'Ali: The Highest
37. Al-Kabir: The Greatest
38. Al-Hafiz: The Preserver
39. Al-Muqit: The Nourisher
40. Al-Hasib: The Accounter
41. Al-Jalil: The Mighty
42. Al-Karim: The Generous
43. Ar-Raqib: The Watchful One
44. Al-Mujib: The Responder to Prayer
45. Al-Wasi': The All-Comprehending
46. Al-Hakim: The Perfectly Wise
47. Al-Wadud: The Loving One
48. Al-Majíd: The Majestic One
49. Al-Ba'ith: The Resurrector
50. Ash-Shahid: The Witness
51. Al-h Haqq: The Truth
52. Al-Wakil: The Trustee
53. Al-Qawi: The Possessor of All Strength
54. Al-Matin: The Forceful One
55. Al-Wáli: The Governor
56. Al-Hamid: The Praised One
57. Al-Muhsi: The Appraiser
58. Al-Mubdi: The Originator
59. Al-Mu'id: The Restorer
60. Al-Muhyi: The Giver of Life
61. Al-Mumit: The Taker of Life
62. Al-Hayy: The Ever Living One
63. Al-Qayyum: The Self-Existing One
64. Al-Wajid: The Finder
65. Al-Májid: The Glorious
66. Al-Wahid: The Only One
67. Al-Ahad: The One
68. As-Samad: The Satisfier of All Needs
69. Al-Qadir: The All Powerful
70. Al-Muqtadir: The Creator of All Power
71. Al-Muqaddim: The Expediter
72. Al-Mu'akhkhir: The Delayer
73. Al-Awwal: The First
74. Al-Akhir: The Last
75. Az-Zahir: The Manifest One
76. Al-Batin: The Hidden One
77. Al-Walí: The Protecting Friend
78. Al-Muta'ali: The Supreme One
79. Al-Barr: The Doer of Good
80. At-Tawwib: The Guide to Repentance
81. Al-Muntaqim: The Avenger
82. Al-Afu: The Forgiver
83. Ar-Ra'uf: The Clement
84. Malik al-Mulk: The Owner of All
85. Dhul-JalaliWal-Ikram: The Lord of Majesty and Bounty
86. Al-Muqsit: The Equitable One
87. Al-Jami: The Gatherer
88. Al-Ghani: The Rich One
89. Al-Mughni: The Enricher
90. Al-Mani': The Preventer of Harm
91. Ad-Darr: The Creator of The Harmful
92. An-Nafi: The Creator of Good
93. An-Nur: The Light
94. Al-Hadi: The Guide
95. Al-Badi: The Originator
96. Al-Baqi: The Everlasting One
97. Al-Warith: The Inheritor of All
98. Ar-Rashid: The Righteous Teacher
99. As-Sabur: The Patient One

Therefore after much study and deliberation.... perhaps we should be very loving of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. They obviously CAN be both good Muslims and Americans.

Pass it on Fellow Americans. The religious propaganda war is more subtle and hidden than we can ever imagine.

Written by Matt H. Aug 29, 2006