They chanted “Death to America” during the presidencies of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. But now it only means “Death to Trump.” It’s worth remembering in this context that deception of unbelievers is an Islamic concept based on the Qur’an (3:28), but its theological […]
UAE Forum Promotes Dubious Islamic Peace (Part III)
As earlier demonstrated, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) annual Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies (FPPMS) promotes a whitewashed Islam in the service of, among others, UAE interests. Unsurprisingly, FPPMS speakers often focus upon defending a supposedly humanistic Islam against “Islamophobia,” even as some of the speakers’ own comments and biographies reveal Islam’s darker […]
Pope and Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh: “The fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion must be rejected”
Pope Francis and the Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, have published “A Document On Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” Here is another of its statements that raise questions about el-Tayeb’s sincerity: Freedom is a right of every person: each individual enjoys the freedom of belief, thought, expression and action. The pluralism […]
Pope signs declaration with Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar condemning “terrorism and oppression” carried out in God’s name
Pope Francis has “met with Emirate leaders and signed a joint declaration together with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, condemning ‘acts of murder, exile, terrorism and oppression’ carried out in God’s name.” This sounds admirable and appears on paper to the gullible to be a source of hope, but the […]
UAE Forum Promotes Dubious Islamic Peace
“Peace and love are at the center of our religion, as evidenced by scripture and history,” stated Sheikh Abdullah Bin Bayyah at the inaugural 2014 Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies (FPPMS) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Despite his radical past, such positive portrayals of Islam continue to suffuse the recent December 5-7, […]
Hugh Fitzgerald: Ed Husain on the British Museum and “The True Face of Islam” (Part Four)
Then he mentions several examples of figurative art found on Islamic artifacts. First, a “centuries-long collection of tiles and jugs and other objects shows us that figurative art was normal in the Islamic world.” How does he know that figurative art was “normal” in the Islamic world? Where are these tiles and jugs from? He […]
Hugh Fitzgerald: Ed Husain on the British Museum and “The True Face of Islam” (Part Three)
What Ed Husain wants his readers to believe is that Muslim opposition to music is only to be found among the “Islamic State, the Taliban, and other hardliners.” That’s not true. He leaves out any mention of the belief, among many Muslims, that Muhammad himself condemned musical instruments when he said: “There will be among […]
Pakistan: Muslim clerics declare that “Islam has nothing to do with extremism and terrorism”
In Pakistan, “representatives of political and religious organisations of the country have agreed unanimously to carry out a joint-struggle for the elimination of the menace of terrorism and extremism from the country.” If these clerics truly wished to “denounce terrorism” and “resolve to end menace,” they would at least start by resolving to end the […]
Hugh Fitzgerald: Ed Husain on the British Museum and “The True Face of Islam” (Part Two)
Coexistence was the hallmark of Muslim civilisations, from China to the Philippines, from Malaysia to Africa and the Middle East. It was not isolated to Muslim Spain. Jewish, Christian and Muslim bread stamps, a practice from Roman times, thrived in Muslim-controlled Egypt. The gallery has a sample of remarkable stone stamps from between 1000 and […]
Indonesia: Muslim leader says women have honored position in Islam
They have to keep telling us, because only by constant repetition can propagandists compel people to discard the truth and embrace the lie. The Qur’an teaches that men are superior to women and should beat those from whom they “fear disobedience”: “Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the […]