Thursday, November 11, 2010

Spiegel: Trapping Wilders

Spiegel tried to entrap Geert Wilders in a confrontational interview.  The interview is displayed in three parts, the link is to the second part, which contains the quote excerpted below.  Navigation links to the other two parts are at the end of the article.


SPIEGEL: Are you familiar with this quote from the Prophet? "But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and slay them before me"?

Wilders: I have read many such passages.

SPIEGEL: The Prophet cited in this case was Jesus, from Luke, Chapter 19, Verse 27. Do you admit that there are also calls for violence in the Bible?

Wilders: There are brutal passages in the Old Testament; the New Testament takes a more moderate approach. But a key difference between Christianity and Islam is that Muslims believe that the Koran contains verbatim the word of God; it is written in the imperative. This precludes a comparison with Christianity.


    The interviewer sprang Luke 19:27 on Wilders without identifying it.  The tactic is cherry picking,  secondary to argumentum Tu-quoque.  That is an attempt to utilize Jesus Christ as a straw man, attributing to him meaning which he did not intend. Jesus was relating the parable of the talents, not issuing a command.  Examine the context.

http://kingjbible.com/luke/19.htm

11And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. 12He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 15And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. 18And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. 20And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: 21For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. 22And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 24And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) 26For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. 27But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

28And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.

    Nothing in the Bible and nothing Christians have done whether in obedience  or disobedience, subtracts anything from the absolute evil of Allah's conquest imperatives.  8:39 & 9:29 are imperatives, clear commands to wage offensive warfare.  Reliance of the Traveller, the handbook of Islamic law describes the religious obligation to wage war against disbelievers in these words: "Jihad is a communal obligation," meaning upon the Muslims each year. [o9.1]

    In that same section, we learn that jihad is obligatory: "If none of those concerned perform jihad, and it does not happen at all, then everyone who is aware that it is obligatory is guilty of sin, if there was a possibility of having performed it. ".  The apologists for Islam will assert that jihad means jihad an-nafs: struggling with your conscience. Unfortunately for them, o9.0 defines it differently: "Jihad means to war against non-Muslims, and is etymologically derived from the word mujahada signifying warfare to establish the religion. ". 

    The imperative to wage war upon Jews & Christians, found in Surah At-Taubah, is codified in o9.8: "The caliph (o25) makes war upon Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians (N: provided he has first invited them to enter Islam in faith and practice, and if they will not, then invited them to enter the social order of Islam by paying the non-Muslim poll tax (jizya, def: o11.4)...".

     The imperative to wage war upon pagans, found in Surah Al-Anfal, is codified in o9.9: "The caliph fights all other peoples until they become Muslim (O: because they are not a people with a Book, nor honored as such, and are not permitted to settle with paying the poll tax ...". 

    Those grasping at straws to defend Islam will claim that those imperatives are anachronisms, out of date and not being followed by modern Muslims. They can not explain the fact that Muslims are attempting to reconquer Israel.  They can not explain the fact that most of the wars currently being fought have Muslims as the aggressors. 

    Those same apologists can not explain the sermons in which Imams rant about conquering and dominating Israel, America and Rome. They can not explain the signs carried in European demonstrations declaring "Islam will dominate the world".  But I can: Islamic supremacism & triumphalism flow directly from the Qur'an & hadith. Examine these titles from Ibn Kathir's Tafsir, click them and read the explanation of the verses.

    Islam's apologists in the media, academy & government pretend that Islam is a "great religion of peace".  They can not disprove the clear evidence found in Islam's canon of scripture, tradition, exegesis & jurisprudence so they resort to logical fallacies.  Islam is not a race, it is a predatory way of life. Opposition to predation is not racism.  They are fond of implying that Islam's critics are Nazis or Fascists; they will not acknowledge the fact that we oppose Islam because it is intrinsically evil and a real, immediate & persistent threat to our security and liberty.

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