1/27/10

Lying a Nation into War


You can tell ch 22 got lost and wandered around aimlessly until somebody took pity on it and pushed it into sequence at random. The first part is in Mecca, before the city fathers ran Mohammed out for being all Fred Phelps-ish, and the rest is in Medina, but only just because he's still embarrassed over making an ass of himself with the satanic verses.

22:52We did not send before you any messenger, nor a prophet, without having the devil interfere in his wishes. GOD then nullifies what the devil has done. GOD perfects His revelations. GOD is Omniscient, Most Wise.
22:53He thus sets up the devil's scheme as a test for those who harbor doubts in their hearts, and those whose hearts are hardened. The wicked must remain with the opposition.


See? It's that time-honored excuse,


Also there's sour grapes about how those big meanies don't want him in Mecca.

22:25 As to those who have rejected ((Allah)), and would keep back (men) from the Way of Allah, and from the Sacred Mosque,which We have made (open) to (all) men ... another five lines of whining about it ... 29 let them complete the rites prescribed for them, perform their vows, and (again) circumambulate the Ancient House."

This is weird. He hardly had any converts in Mecca, so his followers were Medinians, and never got kicked out of anywhere, and the Meccans weren't keeping people out (except Mo), since that's what their whole economy was based on. But somehow he got them all worked up to go down there and practice pagan rituals now that they were somewhere else and not pagans anymore. I just don't get this prophet stuff.

Then it goes all jihad, telling people to fight, but no mention of any battles. The later chapters we already had are going to tell about it when we got to them in upcoming chapters. [if that doesn't make any sense, well, hey, it's the quran!].

Lines 39-40, 58, 60 all say to fight,

39To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged;

Maududi says “v. 39 is the first verse that grants the Muslims permission to wage war” (if you read them in the official order, I guess, cuz we've already seen 9,355,455,245,245 references to it) and he really gets his rocks off saying how to kill people, but looky!

72 When Our Clear Signs are rehearsed to them, thou wilt notice a denial on the faces of the Unbelievers! they nearly attack with violence those who rehearse Our Signs to them.

Every translation says this. I like Pickthall's version “they all but attack those who recite our revelations to them”. Man, I can so identify with the pagans. Used to be downtown you couldn't go a block without some nut spewing scripture on you. I totally laugh at the scene in Airplane where the dude knocks the Hare Krishna guy on his ass. Still though, when Mohammed, it's fine to light into the Jehovah's Witnesses who come knocking with a chain saw and hold the survivors for ransom, it seems harsh.

This is plain as day. The pagans NEARLY ATTACK Mo's cultists. They don't ATTACK Mo's cult. He says so himself. So that pretty much blows out of the water the muslims who claim all mo's atrocities were in self defense, the muslims suffered persecution, blabbity bla. They can't say that unless they want to say Mohammed was lying. Mohammed says right here that they did not attack the muslims.

Suck it up.

Now comes the spin. Who is it he's permitting to fight, “those against whom war is made”? You'd think,  people who've been warred on, but noooo,

40(They are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right,- (for no cause) except that they say, "our Lord is Allah."
Couldn't be clearer. You don't let fanatics come take over your place, they get to kill you. Simple. Because,

Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure.

Since Mo was the only one wanting to pull down anything, your guess is as good as mine what that means. I'm no good at rabble rousing; can't even get it to roll over, let alone form up a mob and go on a decent rampage.

No comments: