From: akhan@gab.unt.edu (Arshad Khan)
Subject: Re: Religious (In) Tolerance & Muhammad's Battles
Organization: College of Arts and Sciences
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 03:47:39 GMT

In article <1992Nov15.155937.16045@ncrcae.ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM> 
   indu@iss700.Columbia.NCR.COM () writes:
>
>Friends!
>
>Somebody on the net, had  said incorrectly that Islam preaches religious 
>tolerance. Infact the exact  words were "Islam rules out other faiths. But  
>nobody is forced into it.". I would like to present the following facts 
>from the life  of Muhammad(and Quran). These have been extracted out of a Book,
>Islam Revealed, by Dr. Anis Shorrosh. PLEASE NOTE THAT ANIS 'S  BOOK 
>HAS DETAILED DESCRIPTION ON EACH OF  THESE  TOPICS.
>
>   I think Shalkil Ahmed made that claim. I would like to know Shakils 
>   views on these too. By the way, Shakil, If  you find these too hard to
>   digest, gas it off. No problems.  YOU HAVE STILL NOT ANSWERED THOSE NINE 
>   QUESTIONS I POSED YOU in the thread TALAQ BY PHONE regarding  Muhammad 
>   marrying his (adopted)  Son's wife.   (Hope you would take back your 
>   allegations that I was wrong on these facts).
>
>1. At first, the Meccans gave little heed to the teachings of Muhammad; but
>   no sooner did he condemn their Idols than they became angry and persecuted
>   his new converts. Zeyd was attacked while leading prayers. He defended 
>   himself and struck one of his opponents with a camels goad (?). This was
>   the first blood spilled for the cause of  Islam.
>
>2. BATTLE OF  BADR. Muhammad heard that a rich caravan of the Quraish was  on
>   its way from Syria to Mecca, so he  took 305 men to plunder it. 
>
>   When tghe leader of the caravan, ABU JAHALs head was cast  on  Muhammads 
>   feet the prophet exclaimed "It is more acceptable  to  me than the choicest
>   camel of Arabia".
>
>3. The first  blood shed at Medina under  devotion  to Muhammad was a woman's.
>   Asma,  daughter of Merwan, made  no secret  of her  dislike to Islam and
>   she composed verses on the  folly of putting faith in a stranger  who had 
>   slain his own people in Battle. The verses quickly spread from 
>   mouth to mouth.
>
>  'Umair a blind man, in the dead of the night, crept to the apartment  where 
>   Asma lay asleep with her children. Stealthily, he  removed  the 
>   suckling baby, and plunged his sword into her breast pinning her to couch.
>
>   Muhammad after knowing this, turned to  the  bystanders and said "Behold 
>   a man that hath assissted the  Lord and  his Prophet. Call him not Blind,
>   call him rather 'Umair the seeing".
>
>4. BATTLE AGAINST JEWISH TRIBES
>   Muahhammad  summoned the Jewish tribes to acknowledge him as the apostle of
>   God lest they suffer the fate of  the Quraish. They refused.
>
>   Placing his great white banner fresh from the battle of Badr, in the hands 
>   of Hamza, he marched against the Jewish tribes and besieged their fort. 
>
>   One by one they surrendered and  as  they  came out were pinioned for 
>   excecutiion.
>   
>
>5. In the battle with Quraiza Jews, there were 2000 Jews who surrendered 
>   at last. In the morning Muhammad commanded that male captives be beheaded
>   in groups of 5-6. This butchery lasted all day  and continued by torch light
>   into the night.
>
>   Zainab, a woman who lost her husband, father, brother in the bloody battle,
>   cooked a goat, steeped poison in it and placed the dish befor Muhammad 
>   for his evening supper. Accepting the gift he took for himself favorite 
>   shoulder piece, and distributed portions to Abu Bakr and friends. 
>
>   "Hold" cried Muhammad as he spat out the first mouth ful, "this shoulder 
>    has been poisoned". One who had swallowed part of meat soon died. Muhammad
>    was seized with excruciating pain. Zainab said ".. If he be a prophet
>    he will reject the gift knowing that it is poisoned; but if only a 
>    pretender we shall be rid of our troubles". 
>
>    (In the third month of the Eleventh Year of the Hijra, Muhammad fell 
>     sick. The recent death of his Infant son, Ibrahim, weighed his spirits 
>     down and the poison he had consumed at Khaibar still  bothered him,..
>     and  he died of prolonged Illness slightly after midday, on the eighth 
>     of June 632  A.D.)
>
>6. In his conquest of Mecca, Muhammad broke a scheduled truce of ten 
>   years within TWO years. With the pretext of dispute among tribes, in 
>   January 630, he set out to Mecca with TEN THOUSAND men.
>
>   Quraish offered no resistance. Muhammad entered Mecca on his favorite camel,
>   recited Surat al-Fatah (Victory) 48. He then went around Kabah 
>   7 times, touching the black stone with his stick. He  ordered daily  
>   prayers in the direction of Kabah.  He ordered the destruction of 360  
>   idols in the temple. He himself broke a wooden pigeon suspended from the 
>   roof, regarded as the diety of Quraish. 
>
>   During his stay in Mecca, Muhammad sent out troops into the district to 
>   destroy them temples of 'Uzza, Suwa, and Manat and the Idols of neighboring
>   tribes. His high-strung deputy Khalid, ordered  a whole tribe to  be slain,
>   because they would not accept Muhammad as Allahs prophet.
>
>-Indu.
>+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
>|  My  views expressed above are made on a PERSONAL basis              |
>|  No Group or  Organization   can be held responsible                 |
>|                                ( for those in quest of truth .......)|
>+----------------------------------------------------------------------+


Mr. Indu,

First of all let me tell you that I am not a Muslim. So I have no reason 
to defend Islam. But the way you are spreading your religious hatred is 
utterly disgusting. The book that you have chosen to give your examples of 
Islam's intolerance is full of wronginformation. READ books other than that 
of Mr. Anis Shorrosh. In fact by using the examples from this garbage of a 
book, you are showing yourself to be intolerant towards other religions, 
namely Islam. 

Read books written by all sides and try to get to the truth by carefully 
noting the biases if you are really interested in truth. The so called
"Facts" that you have chosen to state do not match with any history book
written on that period and place. In fact the author Anis Shorrosh seems to 
have only one purpose in his book, to lie about a religion he for some reason
hates. 

And also let me remind you that soc.culture.bangladesh is NOT a platform
for religious discussion. If you want to make a point, go and do it in
news groups that discusses this. But be careful. If you try to put all 
your garbages like this in those group you might be flamed to death. Not
everybody is going to take lightly of such baseless slanders towards their 
religion.

And please think about changing your sig. You don't seem to be going after
truth. Rather you seem to be more interested in starting religious war here 
in scb.


Arshad 

Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh