Mani (Mainstream): I have not seen Modi today. I hope you didn’t do anything to him.
Radi (Radical): I thought about it, but I had other things to do. Heh-heh.
Mani: I do not understand Modi sometimes. At times, he seems as strong in his religion as we are, but some of his ideas are truly RADICAL.
Radi: His vision seems colored by too many ideas that do not come from the scriptures. Our scriptures are black-and white and that is how our thinking should be. He is a modernist who has accepted the stupid idea that non-Believers have rights. Because he is in error, he puts other people of other religions on a par with us, Allah’s chosen people. He thinks Christians and Jews are equal to us.
Mani: That is nonsense. Anyone familiar with the Sharia knows that you are enjoined from treating non-Believers as you must treat Believers—that is almost blasphemy. With very few exceptions, the fate of any non-Believer who falls into our hands is up to us—enslave him or kill him—but a Believer must never be hurt or killed unless for just cause. Suffice to say that a non-Believer never has just cause to hurt or kill a Believer, unless the Believer had become an apostate.
Radi: I remember specifically an issue from long ago about a Muslim on a mission to Mecca who accidentally met a clansman. I do not have to tell you that our first duty is to the family, but the family’s first duty is to the tribe. Islam is the only concept that can transcend family and tribe. The clansman, a one-eyed shepherd, had no animosity toward the Muslim and was no threat to him. There definitely could be a claim of hospitality. However, the shepherd could not see how he could ever become a Believer. As the shepherd slept, the Believer killed him by driving the tip of his bow down through the clansman’s good eye, into his brain. The Believer killed other non-Believers during the mission and related the killings to our Most Beloved, who laughed and enjoyed the stories.[1]
Mani: The Prophet did not ask about killing the clansman?
Radi: No.
Mani: I would say that shows the Sharia[2] to be correct. If a clansman is an unbeliever and can be killed without question, a foreigner or stranger who is not a Believer would have no rights whatsoever under the laws of our religion.
Modi (Moderate): I heard all of that. It was very interesting.
Mani: Radi is correct in what he says; he is backed up by scriptures. Don't contradict him.
Modi: I can readily say that according to the scriptures, Radi is indeed correct.
Radi: I never thought I’d hear you say that. (Mani wipes his brow)
Modi: I have a question about the scriptures.
Mani: Oh-oh! Modi is going to start something now.
Modi: Do you both want these scriptures to be correct as of now?
Radi: Of course we do. They are the holy words of Allah.
Modi: Not really. You were repeating a story told by Tabari; a Hadith. Not everything has the force of holy writ.
Radi: What does that mean?
Modi: It means Allah did not write the Hadiths. Men wrote the Hadiths based on stories told by others and other men drew from these stories theories of law as well as of religion. What I say, and I told you more than once before, is that we live in a different world with wholly different people now.
Mani: You are wrong, Modi. It is still the same world.
Modi: Mani, the Meccan polytheists are gone, there is one religion in Arabia. Islam is not besieged by anyone. We are in a world in which everyone, except us, declares that everyone should live and let live. Hold on; let me change that a little. Even some of us, quite a lot of us, in fact, agree among ourselves that everyone should live and let live. We do not want to make war on anyone!
Radi: I do not hear that from Believers!
Modi: You are not listening. I have to admit that many people who believe what I said are intimidated by the threats and the killings that your friends have served up as a daily religious rite. The fact that the scriptures appear to validate these threats and killings in no way excuses them. We are not threatened by non-Believers. We moderate and mainstream Believers are threatened and killed by minor sects of Believers, whose goal is to exercise dominance over all of us, trying to strip us of the free will that Allah had given us.
Radi: That is heresy…
Modi: I expected you to use that word, Radi. I also expected you to reach for that knife, as you did. But let us simply clear away this fog of religious zeal and look at only one question: the rest of the world, the non-Believers, are not attacking us; in fact, the United Nations forbids any nation from discriminating against any other nation because of religion. If all other historical or geographical problems were called off, everything would be quiet. We would find ourselves more at odds with other Muslim nations than with the rest of the world. Even during the problems with Saddam Hussein, almost all of Europe stood against the United States to prevent the American attack. Of course, European greed was involved, but all of those Western countries still stood with us.
Mani: I had never thought of that.
Radi: I don’t believe any of it.
Modi: Radi, you CANNOT believe any of it. You have that 7th century prism that does not allow you to see things as they are. Let me ask you, would you like to have peace in the world with all humanity at peace with everyone else, like one big, happy family?
Radi: Only if Allahu-Akbar rings from every corner of the globe and the entire world is ruled by the Sharia.
Modi: That is what I thought. Radi, you and I are Believers, but we stand against each other as enemies. We are only enemies in your mind because I do not think as you do and I am willing to live in peace with you and also with the rest of the world.
Radi: That too is heresy. Do not take…
Modi: I already know what the Qur’an says about taking Jews and Christians for friends. That may have been correct then—but only because no one has ever questioned it—certainly it is not correct now. I often wonder what would have happened if our Most Beloved decided to play fair with the Yathrib Jews and gain their confidence and friendship. Alas, he could not do that; he had already proclaimed himself a Jewish prophet more knowledgeable about their Torah than they.[3] Oh, well. I already pointed out that Christian nations have stood with us against the United States. You may not know it, but the Jews sent doctors and medical supplies to support us against the Serbs. And don’t bother telling me that Allah spread his hands and forced these people to do those things against their wills. I am tired of hearing it.
Radi: I am a little tired of hearing you deride our religion. In any case, arguing is finished for today. I can hear Bilal calling us to prayer.
Modi: Radi, can we truly do our ablutions in a friendly manner and seriously pray together? Can we truly present ourselves shoulder-to-shoulder as Muslim brothers?
Radi: As long as I’m not paying for lunch--and you don't push me in the water trough again.
Modi: You dip. (Grabs Radi’s hat and runs off with it with Radi close behind).
Mani: Friends? Enemies? I hope I never find out. He starts walking slowly after them.
HJS
[1] Tabari 1440
[2] Reliance of the Traveller, o1.2, (2)
[3] Mohammed and the Unbelievers, CSPI, pp51-55
Radi (Radical): I thought about it, but I had other things to do. Heh-heh.
Mani: I do not understand Modi sometimes. At times, he seems as strong in his religion as we are, but some of his ideas are truly RADICAL.
Radi: His vision seems colored by too many ideas that do not come from the scriptures. Our scriptures are black-and white and that is how our thinking should be. He is a modernist who has accepted the stupid idea that non-Believers have rights. Because he is in error, he puts other people of other religions on a par with us, Allah’s chosen people. He thinks Christians and Jews are equal to us.
Mani: That is nonsense. Anyone familiar with the Sharia knows that you are enjoined from treating non-Believers as you must treat Believers—that is almost blasphemy. With very few exceptions, the fate of any non-Believer who falls into our hands is up to us—enslave him or kill him—but a Believer must never be hurt or killed unless for just cause. Suffice to say that a non-Believer never has just cause to hurt or kill a Believer, unless the Believer had become an apostate.
Radi: I remember specifically an issue from long ago about a Muslim on a mission to Mecca who accidentally met a clansman. I do not have to tell you that our first duty is to the family, but the family’s first duty is to the tribe. Islam is the only concept that can transcend family and tribe. The clansman, a one-eyed shepherd, had no animosity toward the Muslim and was no threat to him. There definitely could be a claim of hospitality. However, the shepherd could not see how he could ever become a Believer. As the shepherd slept, the Believer killed him by driving the tip of his bow down through the clansman’s good eye, into his brain. The Believer killed other non-Believers during the mission and related the killings to our Most Beloved, who laughed and enjoyed the stories.[1]
Mani: The Prophet did not ask about killing the clansman?
Radi: No.
Mani: I would say that shows the Sharia[2] to be correct. If a clansman is an unbeliever and can be killed without question, a foreigner or stranger who is not a Believer would have no rights whatsoever under the laws of our religion.
Modi (Moderate): I heard all of that. It was very interesting.
Mani: Radi is correct in what he says; he is backed up by scriptures. Don't contradict him.
Modi: I can readily say that according to the scriptures, Radi is indeed correct.
Radi: I never thought I’d hear you say that. (Mani wipes his brow)
Modi: I have a question about the scriptures.
Mani: Oh-oh! Modi is going to start something now.
Modi: Do you both want these scriptures to be correct as of now?
Radi: Of course we do. They are the holy words of Allah.
Modi: Not really. You were repeating a story told by Tabari; a Hadith. Not everything has the force of holy writ.
Radi: What does that mean?
Modi: It means Allah did not write the Hadiths. Men wrote the Hadiths based on stories told by others and other men drew from these stories theories of law as well as of religion. What I say, and I told you more than once before, is that we live in a different world with wholly different people now.
Mani: You are wrong, Modi. It is still the same world.
Modi: Mani, the Meccan polytheists are gone, there is one religion in Arabia. Islam is not besieged by anyone. We are in a world in which everyone, except us, declares that everyone should live and let live. Hold on; let me change that a little. Even some of us, quite a lot of us, in fact, agree among ourselves that everyone should live and let live. We do not want to make war on anyone!
Radi: I do not hear that from Believers!
Modi: You are not listening. I have to admit that many people who believe what I said are intimidated by the threats and the killings that your friends have served up as a daily religious rite. The fact that the scriptures appear to validate these threats and killings in no way excuses them. We are not threatened by non-Believers. We moderate and mainstream Believers are threatened and killed by minor sects of Believers, whose goal is to exercise dominance over all of us, trying to strip us of the free will that Allah had given us.
Radi: That is heresy…
Modi: I expected you to use that word, Radi. I also expected you to reach for that knife, as you did. But let us simply clear away this fog of religious zeal and look at only one question: the rest of the world, the non-Believers, are not attacking us; in fact, the United Nations forbids any nation from discriminating against any other nation because of religion. If all other historical or geographical problems were called off, everything would be quiet. We would find ourselves more at odds with other Muslim nations than with the rest of the world. Even during the problems with Saddam Hussein, almost all of Europe stood against the United States to prevent the American attack. Of course, European greed was involved, but all of those Western countries still stood with us.
Mani: I had never thought of that.
Radi: I don’t believe any of it.
Modi: Radi, you CANNOT believe any of it. You have that 7th century prism that does not allow you to see things as they are. Let me ask you, would you like to have peace in the world with all humanity at peace with everyone else, like one big, happy family?
Radi: Only if Allahu-Akbar rings from every corner of the globe and the entire world is ruled by the Sharia.
Modi: That is what I thought. Radi, you and I are Believers, but we stand against each other as enemies. We are only enemies in your mind because I do not think as you do and I am willing to live in peace with you and also with the rest of the world.
Radi: That too is heresy. Do not take…
Modi: I already know what the Qur’an says about taking Jews and Christians for friends. That may have been correct then—but only because no one has ever questioned it—certainly it is not correct now. I often wonder what would have happened if our Most Beloved decided to play fair with the Yathrib Jews and gain their confidence and friendship. Alas, he could not do that; he had already proclaimed himself a Jewish prophet more knowledgeable about their Torah than they.[3] Oh, well. I already pointed out that Christian nations have stood with us against the United States. You may not know it, but the Jews sent doctors and medical supplies to support us against the Serbs. And don’t bother telling me that Allah spread his hands and forced these people to do those things against their wills. I am tired of hearing it.
Radi: I am a little tired of hearing you deride our religion. In any case, arguing is finished for today. I can hear Bilal calling us to prayer.
Modi: Radi, can we truly do our ablutions in a friendly manner and seriously pray together? Can we truly present ourselves shoulder-to-shoulder as Muslim brothers?
Radi: As long as I’m not paying for lunch--and you don't push me in the water trough again.
Modi: You dip. (Grabs Radi’s hat and runs off with it with Radi close behind).
Mani: Friends? Enemies? I hope I never find out. He starts walking slowly after them.
HJS
[1] Tabari 1440
[2] Reliance of the Traveller, o1.2, (2)
[3] Mohammed and the Unbelievers, CSPI, pp51-55
No comments:
Post a Comment