The Freedom to Vet all Religions

     Approximately a year ago Secretary of State Clinton and the secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu met in Istanbul to discuss UN Human Rights Council resolution 16/18.

      The major thrust of this resolution ‘Recognizes that the open public debate of ideas, as well as interfaith and intercultural dialogue, at the local national and international levels can be among the best protections against religious intolerance and can play a positive role in strengthening democracy and combating religious hatred…’

     Or is the opposite actually true and the present administration is covertly working with the OIC to silence all criticism of Islam.

     Author Robert Spencer noted that while Christianity has been vetted through the ages by Islamists the origin of Islam has not been studied in depth.  Spencer has studied Islamic theology, law, and history in depth for more than 30 years.  He is also the director of the Horowitz Freedom Center’s Jihad Watch.  He has previously authored nine best selling books on Islam.

     His latest book is a detailed account of the origins of Islam according to history and verified dates.  It is extremely well researched.  He builds on and consolidates the research of nearly two dozen other researchers who have studied Islam over the past two centuries.

     To insure total objectivity this column will not offer commentary on Spencer’s findings, but will rather list several quotes from his work as follows:

     “The scholars who are investigating the origins of Islam are motivated not by hatred, bigotry, or racism but by a desire to discover the truth.”

      “A thorough review of the historical records provides startling indications that much, if not all, of what we know about Muhammad is legend, not historical fact.”

          “In light of this evidence, there is compelling reason to conclude that Muhammad the messenger of Allah came into existence only after the Arab Empire was firmly entrenched and casting about for a political theology to anchor and unify it.”

     “The alternative scenario we have considered explains the uniquely political nature of Islam by suggesting that the empire came first and the theology came later.  In this reconstruction, the spiritual propositions that Islam offers were elaborated in order to justify and perpetuate the political entity that generated them.”

     “This long history of conflict demonstrates that there are pronounced differences between the Islamic tradition and the Judeo-Christian tradition of the West.  And yet despite those differences, few have bothered to investigate how the Islamic tradition emerged and what those origins might tell us about the ‘clash of civilizations’ that has been a defining feature of world history for well over a millennium.”

     Inasmuch as Spencer’s attempt to understand Islam’s beginning is certainly in line with the ‘open dialogue’ suggestion at the Istanbul conference mentioned above, why has he been threatened with decapitation?

     On the other hand Christianity has been relentlessly evaluated by Islam for centuries.  Islam’s conclusion is that the Bible has been corrupted and is no longer reliable; Christ was not deity but only a prophet superseded by Muhammad; Christ was never crucified so there was no resurrection and Christ will return to earth some day as a Muslim.  Their critique totally dismisses the very foundation of Christianity.  Christianity’s reaction: love the Muslims but hold fast to Biblical teachings. 

     Another major difference between Christianity and Islam is that Islamists are taught to take retaliatory measures, called jihad, against non believers in the present time period, while Christians are taught that Christ will take vengeance on those who persecute His own at His return to earth.

     Americans are beginning to open their eyes and realize the severe consequences of political correctness.  It is observed that of the varied religions practicing in this country, Christianity is suffering most from religious persecution.  America needs to be reformed, not transformed.

     Again, being informed is a winning strategy for America and the church.  It is expected that Spencer’s latest book ‘Did Muhammad Exist?’ will be on the New York Times bestselling list as were his previous books.

     One of the best sources for current information relating to the activities of Islam around the world and at home is Middle East Forum at: http://www.MEforum.org