But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (45) That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. ( Matthew 5:44-45)
At the time of this writing (November 1, 2017), the news is all abuzz over the latest act of jihad by another Muslim terrorist. On Tuesday, October 31, 2017, Halloween, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, drove his rented Home Depot truck onto a bike lane along Manhattan’s West Side Highway killing at least eight and injuring half a dozen others. Saipov, a recent Muslim import, hails from Uzbekistan and entered by way of the “green card lottery” in 2010. The odious piece of legislation that opened the door for Saipov sprang from the frothing cesspool of Demoncrat minds known as the “Diversity Visa Program” – it sounds nice. Demoncrat Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer pushed the legislation through in 1990, as if our nation is not “diverse” enough!
Several people interviewed reported that Saipov was a “nice guy.” No one that knew him suspected that he was capable of such a heinous act. They all thought he was one of the “good Muslims.” I found an interview of one of Saipov’s “Mosque-ovites” (one who worships at the same mosque) less than amusing. The FOX street reporter prompted the “Mosque-ovite” by asking, “How do ‘good Muslims’ respond to these acts of terror?” (or something to that effect). Of course, the “Mosque-ovite” denounced the act in the strongest terms even calling the culprit “an animal.” Apparently, “good Muslims” harbor no tolerance for Muslims who perform acts of terror. But, how do we know that they really believe what they proclaim? Where is the outcry from the Muslim community calling for these acts to stop!
Allow me to say at the onset that I do not believe all Muslims are out to wage war on the “infidels” and convert or kill us all. Surely many Muslims want to live in peace and have a “normal” life; but how can we distinguish “the good Muslim” from the one that seeks to convert infidels through force or otherwise eliminate the infidel from the earth? Good and “bad” Muslims are indistinguishable until one of them receives the inspiration to wage jihad and kill a bunch of innocent people. Then we know—that was one of the bad ones.
From what I have learned about the Muslim religion, “the good Muslim” – “good” by American standards – can be likened to the nominal Christian. The nominal Christian claims the name of Christ. They may or may not attend church services on a regular basis. They probably own a Bible, but rarely open it. If they carry their Bible to church, they will read what is put on the big screen, but they will not open their Bible to see if the preacher quoted the Scripture correctly. A nominal Christian might say, “the Bible says” and then quote some pious platitude that has no basis in Scripture. A nominal Christian believes that all people are basically good and that anyone can go to heaven as long as they exercise good moral behavior and follow the “golden rule.” They conduct themselves by the motto, “live and let live.”
Likewise, “good Muslims” acknowledge Allah as their god.[1] They go to the mosque every Friday and pray five times a day. They may own a Qur’an but not really read it. The Qu’ran is written in Arabic, although there are some parallel versions that have the English translation on one side. I would venture to say that a good majority of American Muslims can neither read nor speak Arabic, so that must rely on the teachings of their Imams. Good Muslims believe that Islam is a religion of peace and that “jihad” is an “inner struggle” to please Allah. While they may believe that infidels are going to hell, they are happy enough to let them go there. They share the same motto with nominal Christians: “Just live and let live.”
From an American perspective, “good Muslims” are just like us. Americans believe that Muslims share the same values, and that “good Muslims” just want to live their lives in peace. However, Americans view the world through a skewed westernized lens that, like it or not, originates from a biblical foundation. Ideas like “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44) are basic to the American psyche. “Thou shalt not murder” (Exodus 20:13) and “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12) are all principles taught in the Bible. Americans, whether they know the Bible or not, pretty much live by these principles; and because they do not know the source, they assume the rest of the world lives by these principles too. Consequently, Americans believe “good Muslims” live by the same principles.
The Bible instructs us to love our enemies, to do good to them that hate you, and to pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. It teaches that we should treat others as we would have them treat us. We are told not to murder or to lie (Exodus 20:16; Proverbs 14:5). We are instructed to care for the poor, the widows and the orphans. How does the Qur’an[2] compare with what the Bible teaches?
Infidels – anyone who does not adhere to Islam – are enemies according to the Qur’an (2:98; 4:101).[3] The Qur’an teaches that Allah does not love the infidels (3:32, 140), unlike the Bible that teaches that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and He is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Therefore, since Allah does not love infidels, they must be persecuted (4:104-105; 2:217). Unlike the Bible’s teaching that Christians are to witness for Christ (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8), the Qur’an teaches that Muslims should “not take the infidels for friends … whoever does this has nothing to do with Allah” (3:28: 4:144; 5:51; 60:1-2). That is pretty harsh! Is it any wonder that Muslims do not assimilate into the American culture? To be sure, Allah encourages emigration for the sake of jihad (2:218), which explains their invasion of Europe, Canada, the U.S., and others. Moreover, Allah encourages the killing of infidels (4:89), and if the Muslim dies in the process of jihad, they automatically gain entry into heaven (3:169; 4:95). Sadly, even this effort carries with it no guarantee: “O you who have believed [i.e. the Muslim], fear Allah and desire the way to him. And perform jihad for his sake, perhaps you may prosper: (5:35, emphasis mine).
More could be said concerning the contrast between the Bible and Qur’an, but from this brief review, Americans should hope that “good Muslims” do not take seriously the Qur’an. When they do take it seriously the contents of this satanic book and convert to “good Muslims” (according to the standards of the Qur’an), it only spells danger for us poor infidels. The problem is further exacerbated when one realizes that Muslims are not obligated to deal honestly with infidels (2:225; 3:28, 54; 9:3; 16:106; 40:28; 66:2). Unlike the Bible that exhorts truthfulness and honesty (Exodus 20:16; Psalm 101:7; Proverbs 12:22; Colossians 3:9-10; et al), the Qur’an encourages Muslims to lie[4] to infidels if it is to their advantage. The practice is known as taqiyya.[5] Knowing this, how can one discern one “good Muslim” from another? One cannot know if a Muslim is nominal, moderate, or a full-fledged jihadist, because their “holy” book discourages them from befriending an infidel unless it is for the dishonest purpose of gaining some advantage. Can the distrust of Muslims honestly be labeled “Islamophobia” when the Muslim “holy” book instructs “good Muslims” to lie to infidels? The Qur’an itself claims that Allah is the greatest liar of all (3:54; 4:142; 8:30). Compare that to the Bible’s teaching that God does not lie (Numbers 23:19). Additionally, the Bible identifies the “father of lies” as Satan (John 8:44).
What are we to do? Surely, there are Muslims that hold their religion in name only and they truly want to live in peace with their neighbors, but the tenets of that religion are incompatible with the American way of life. I desire that they would all convert to Christianity, but barring that, I would be happy if they would just renounce that satanic religion, embrace the law of this land, the United States Constitution, and assimilate into the American culture.
Notes:
[1] “God Is Not Allah” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2013/09/29/god-is-not-allah/
[2] A English/Arabic paperback copy of the Qur’an can be obtained at Amazon.com. I would recommend the one translated by Abdulla Yusuf, which is the copy I have. For my study, however, I use The Generous Qur’an: An accurate, Modern English Translation of the Qur’an, Islam’s Holiest Book, translated and annotated by Usama K. Dadok. It too is available from Amazon.com.
[3] Citations from the Qur’an follow the format of Chapter:Verse, e.g. (2:98). The Qur’an does not have “books” like the Bible.
[4] “Islam Permits Lying to Deceive Unbelievers and Bring World Domination!” – http://muslimfact.com/bm/terror-in-the-name-of-islam/islam-permits-lying-to-deceive-unbelievers-and-bri.shtml
[5] “Deception, Lying and Taqiyya” – https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/taqiyya.aspx