7 posts tagged “allah”

Here is the second post which is connected to the last one. Again, I found this on my friends blog, thank you Stefan. It is an article from The Washington Times, the link for this story is below. As always anything in ((and)) is my comment on the subject.

One other thing I want to say, completely off topic. I had this post already in the line up to put up. I had hoped to do some research over the last couple of days since this time of year finds most of us extremely busy until after New Year's Day. The series I am writing on takes a lot of research to get it right and cover everything. Anyway, on Saturday I started coming down with something, now its a full on head cold. The problem is, if it goes to my lungs, I could be in serious trouble. I have a preexisting lung problem and any other insult could not only cause me to have to go into the hospital, but it could kill me.

I'm telling you all this for two reasons; Number 1 is, I will do what I can with my blogs, but you know what its like when you have a head cold or don't feel well. #2 If I disappear for a week or so, it could be I am in the hospital, so just so you know, its not because I am quiting the blog.

Now, on with today's post:

Article published Sep 26, 2007an article from www.washingtontimes.com

By Willis Witter

Exiled Egyptian cleric Ahmed Subhy Mansour, whose teachings have earned him dozens of death “fatwas” from fellow Muslim clerics, uses the English translation for al Qaeda — meaning “the base” — to describe a plan to defeat Osama bin Laden and other terrorists, who he says have seized control of Islam.

”Suppose you have here [in the United States] a base to counter al Qaeda in the war of ideas?” Sheik Mansour asked during a recent luncheon at The Washington Times.

“You could convince a large number — millions of silent Muslims. We can convince them very easily that the real enemy is not the United States. It is not Israel. The real enemy is the dictators in the Muslim world and the culture of the Wahhabis and Muslim Brotherhood,” he said, referring to the dominant arbiters of Islamic orthodoxy in Saudi Arabia and Egypt respectively.

Sheik Mansour is the founder of a small Egyptian sect that is neither Sunni nor Shi”ite. They call themselves Quranists because they believe that the Koran represents the single authentic scripture of Islam. They especially anger Sunni Muslims by rejecting the Hadith and Sunna, purported sayings and traditions of the prophet Muhammad.

“Killing people just because they are not Muslims, they have a Hadith for this. To kill a Muslim like me after accusing him to be an ‘apostate,” they have a Hadith for this. To persecute the Jews, they have a Hadith for this.

“All this is garbage. It has nothing to do with Islam. It contradicts more than one-fourth of the Koranic verses,” Sheik Mansour said. ((one-fourth..Wow!))

A former professor of Islamic history at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, he was expelled in 1987 as the Muslim equivalent of a “heretic” and was briefly imprisoned by Egyptian authorities. After subsequent waves of persecution, he finally fled Egypt just months after the September 11, 2001, attacks and received political asylum in the United States the next year.

More recently, in May and June, Egyptian authorities arrested five leaders of the movement, including Sheik Mansour“s brother, on charges of “insulting Islam” and began investigations of 15 others, with the intent, he said, to destroy the entire movement.

From exile in the United States, he continues to attack the Islam of bin Laden and the Wahhabi Islam of Saudi Arabia that gave birth to bin Laden”s beliefs. Sheik Mansour also attacks the Islamist vision of Egypt”s Muslim Brotherhood, a group that rejects violence but shares the goal of a theocratic nationhood under Shariah, or Islamic law.

Though illegal in Egypt, the Brotherhood is allowed to operate openly in an uneasy truce with the government. Police round up its members whenever it delves too publicly in politics — for example, by holding anti-government demonstrations. But the Brotherhood”s interpretation of Shariah provides a benchmark for Egyptian law, which is based primarily on Shariah.

“We are not against the people. We are against this culture that will produce more and more generations of fanaticism. We go to the core of this culture and prove that it contradicts the Koran,” Sheik Mansour said.

“Few Americans understand that the battle against terrorism is a war of ideas,” Sheik Mansour said. “It is a war that is very different from the military in its tactics, its strategy and its weapons.

“Suicide bombings are just one aspect of this war. They brainwash young men to blow themselves up, to kill randomly. Our mission is to convince him, to undeceive them, to convince them that what he is doing is against Islam. He will lose his life and lose his afterlife as well.”
Sheik Mansour claims about 10,000 followers in Egypt who accept his teachings, many of whom are part of his extended family.

"We find Islam has the same values as the West: freedom, unlimited freedom of speech, justice, equality, loving, humanity, tolerance, mercy, everything. This is our version of Islam, and we argue that this is the core of Islam according to the Koran.” ((Somebody tell me why people who believe like this are so feared by the powers that be in Muslim nations??))

He and his sons operate the Quranic Center in Northern Virginia, which includes an elaborate Internet site in Arabic and English. On its Web site at www.ahl-alquran.com, the organization is republishing dozens of Sheik Mansour“s books and hundreds of articles he has written over the years. ((the english version http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/main.php))

The campaign is not without risk. One can find a sampling of fatwas, or edicts by other Muslim scholars against the Quranists, including one saying, “We have issued our commands to the soldiers of God to worship God by pouring out their blood and burning their homes.” ((those of you who live in the West, be thankful for your religious freedom))

Sheik Mansour said in response: “I do not care about my safety, but I do care about my persecuted people in Egypt.”

Paul Marshall, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute's Institute of Religious Freedom, said arrests of the Quranists reflect an attempt by Egypt's government to demonstrate its loyalty to Islam to fend off challenges from even more extreme Islamists who want to impose much harsher restrictions on the Arab world's most populous nation.

“These arrests are part of the Egyptian government’s double game in which it imprisons members of the Muslim Brotherhood when the latter appear to become too powerful, while simultaneously trying to appear Islamic itself and blunt the Brotherhood’s appeal by cracking down on religious reformers, who are very often also democracy activists,” Mr. Marshall wrote in a recent edition of the Weekly Standard.

The arrests of the Quranists received a brief mention in the latest annual report on International Religious Freedom by the State Department, which noted the arrests of five Quranists and defined the group as “a small group of Muslims who rely largely if not exclusively on the Qur’an as authoritative for Islam, to the exclusion of the prophetic traditions [Hadith] and other sources of Islamic law.”

One detainee told an Egyptian human rights investigator that he was beaten and threatened with rape by one interrogator, the State Department report says. ((This isn't the first time I've heard of this kind of punishment and interrogation torture. So here we have a man being persecuted, because he is considered a heretic towards Islam, and we have some Muslims, torturing him and others... Please somebody tell me how one man raping another, or if a man rapes a woman ... how 'Islamic' is that?? How is torture in any form Islamic??))

Since arriving in the states, Sheik Mansour has held a number of academic posts. In 2002, he was a Reagan-Fascell Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, where he wrote on the roots of democracy in Islam.

The next year, he received a visiting fellowship at Harvard Law School”s Human Rights Program.

He also briefly met Karen P. Hughes, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, last year in the office of Rep. Frank R. Wolf, Virginia Republican.The meeting, Sheik Mansour said, lasted for 10 minutes, barely enough for polite introductions.

“I said: ‘Please, let me sit down with you for more time. I have big plan,” ” he recalled. But there was no follow-up.

“We need official American help for our arrested people in Egypt,” he said. “We don”t want money. We are talking about releasing our arrested people, saving the lives of scholars, bringing them to the U.S., granting them asylum to help establish this new base for moderate Islam.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070926/FOREIGN/109260030/1003

Thanksgiving2

As we are going into Thanksgiving and I am very busy during this time of the year; I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get at least 3 posts out this week. I won't be putting up one on the topic I am currently working on however I found this on my friends blog. We will get back to the other series the first of the week (hopefully). But this post and the next one is just as informative and interesting as the series we are in, so I really want everyone to read it and the next one.

Again remember there is no compulsion in Islam... as long as you worship and/or believe the way your told. Anything else is subject to discrimination, jail, or death. Even if, or rather, especially if, you are a Muslim in a Muslim nation.

In the early 1990’s, I was invited by the Egyptian association for religious brotherhood to lecture in a church in Cairo to Muslims and Christians about tolerance. I was warned that there was a suspicious bearded man waiting for me in front of the church.We talked. He told me that he had spent two months trying to meet me. He told me that he had been a member of secret fanatic organization and was assigned to rebut my discourse, but that my words had changed his and his family’s life. He asked me to join my weekly Friday prayer meeting at my home, and if possible bring his family.

After a month they became Quranists.

Who are the Quranists?

The Quranists are intellectual Muslims who believe in Islam as the religion of freedom, democracy, tolerance, justice, peace and human rights. They fight the terrorists’ culture from within Islam, using Quran as the only source of legislation.

Why they are persecuted?

The Quranic movement started in 1979 by sincere Muslim scholars who specialized in the contradiction between the true Islam and the Culture of Muslims. Therefore they were victimized by terrorists and fanatic scholars.Being activists for human rights and democracy, and calling for peaceful reform from within Islam, the Quranists are also victimized by the Egyptian regime.

The Egyptian regime and Muslim Brothers are against each other but are usually united against Quranists.

Brief overview of the persecution of Quranists:

The Quranists have suffered three waves of arrest; in 1987, 2000-2001, and finally the third wave starting May 28th, 2007, when five of the Quranists were arrested, tortured for 37 days, interrogated, and suffered ridiculous accusations about their faith and prayers.

Their families were also persecuted in Egypt. Some moved to Upper Egypt and some stayed indoors. The Muslim Brothers used mosques, media and the education system, as well as their control of the streets to try to tarnish the Quranists as ardent enemies of Islam.

After the Egyptian regime officially accused the Quranists of insulting Islam, fanatics used the accusation to call for the Quranists’ death.

The five Quranists have been released in October 6, 2007, after more than four months in prison. Because of torture, my brother Abdellateef had to undergo surgery in his ear. Amr Tharwat needed surgery on his leg, while Ahmed Dahmash has damage in his backbone. The persecution continues. Every week, they must go to the same prison to be interrogated and humiliated by the security services. Any time they may be arrested and tortured again. They are ordered to pray the weekly Friday prayer in fanatic mosques, and are not allowed to contact me, or to write in our site.

In this way he Egyptian regime is seeking to make an example for the rest and keep the Quranists from continuing their reform movement.

Persecution in some detail:

As an assistant professor at Al-Azhar University, the oldest and most famous religious university in the Sunni Muslim world, I wrote five books in 1985 to reform Sunni religious life.. I was accused of being against Islam because I denied the intercession of the prophet Muhammad in the day of judgment, deny his infallibility, and deny that he is the best and the master of all the prophets. In March 1987, I was fired.In November 1987, I was arrested, along with 24 of my followers, and accused of being a denier of the Sunna, the sayings and the deeds of the prophet Muhammad. The government claimed that my writing were a call for Muslims to abandon Islam. After two months I was released.

To save my life, I escaped to the United States. When I returned to Egypt in October 1988 I was again arrested, and released after two days on the condition that I not defend myself whenever the fanatics of Al Azhar attacked me. In the period 1988-1995, I was attacked so severely, and received death threats so that I asked for court protection. From January 1996 until June 2000 I worked at the Ibn Khaldun Center as a Muslim scholar and moderator of the Center’s weekly forum. The Center is run by Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, the famous sociologist, and leader of the movement for human rights, civil society and liberal culture in the Arab world. As an American citizen and part-time counselor of President Mubarak, Dr. Ibrahim has had great influence in Egypt in the 1990s.

My life was in real danger after I wrote a book as a project for the Center on reforming the Egyptian education system to make it more tolerant. I was severely attacked in the Egyptian parliament.

As a result of problems between Dr. Ibrahim and President Mubarak, Dr. Ibrahim was arrested in June 2000 and the Center shut down. Since I was in serious danger, and some of my relatives had been arrested, I contacted and explained the situation to officials in the US embassy.

The security service kept us constantly in a state of terror. They arrested more members of my family in my village. Finally they arrested some of my friends who used to attend my weekly prayer at home. One told me that he expected them to arrest both of us along with more of my relatives. He said they would as usual force my friends to make false accusations about me and so I fled to the US on October, 15, 2001. (This is reviewed in the U. S Department of State’s 2002 International Religious Freedom Report)

Since coming to the U.S, I have found the same Wahabi influence, and founded the International Quranic Center, with a website, to organize Quranists.

So, we suffer the third wave of arrest.

For more details:

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=126

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/show_article.php?main_id=2048

How could the Quranists help the U.S in this war of ideas against the terrorists?

The war against terrorism is 90% war of ideas. This intellectual war has its unique aspects and rules. The Quranists are an Islamic group capable of defending the U.S in this ideological war against terrorism. Al Qaeda and all the terrorist organizations have real power in the war of ideas.

But they cannot debate us with logic and evidence, so they resort to brute force, with government accomplices. So we are jailed, tortured, driven from out homes and made refugees in other countries. They issue fatwas calling for our death; thus proving once more that the Wahabi ideology cannot stand on its own feet, but requires the power of authorities to force it on people.

The only way to confront and defeat Wahabis is by using our ways and methods. We are Muslims, sincere about our faith and very much attached to and adhered to the Quran, and for the past thirty years, we never wavered, never retreated, we stood alone and stood firm, and despite the persecution and the lack of means, we managed to succeed in producing a genuine change in the Islamic interpretation and practices among many Muslims.

In conclusion, despite many successes, we are still victims of the Wahabi ideology and persecution of a tyrannical regime in Egypt on one hand, and a total neglect and disregard from the American institutions on the other hand.

http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=2614

See :

Egyptian Human Rights Activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim Defies Threats, Arrests to Challenge U.S.-Backed Mubarak Government

And my next post, if you just can't wait. Or rather my copy/paste of Stefan's post lol. Oh well, it is a holiday after all.  

 had said that I was going to do Gog and Magog in Islam next, mainly because I did the Gog and Magog in Christianity. In doing my research I found that the Gog and Magog in Islam is basically the battle of Armageddon, which comes at the end. Before I get to that, there are many other things to cover. We have already gone over the minor signs in Islam, lets go over some of the bigger aspects.

I will delve into some of these in greater detail such as the Dajjal or the Muslim anti-Christ, and Imam Mahdi in future posts. Also remember if you see ((and)) those are my comments on the matter.

The occurrences before the Major Signs:

ANOMALOUS INCIDENTS WILL OCCUR Occurrence of red winds, disfiguration of faces (man to pig), and people being swallow into the ground. ((I haven't found this one on most of the sites I have visited, but decided to put it up anyway. I will ask our Muslim readers to tell if this is a widely held belief.))

GENOCIDE A man from Abu Sufyaan’s progeny massacres descendants of Nabi (S.A.W) and rules over Syria and Egypt.

Sakhr ibn Harb, more commonly known as Abu Sufyan, was a leading man of the Quraysh of Mecca was a staunch opponent of Muhammad who later converted to Islam. I will write more on this on my next post since he is mentioned as part of the end times.

WAR A major war between Muslims and Christians: Half the Christian army will sign a peace treaty with the Muslim army, while the second half of the Christian army remains the common enemy. ((this is interesting especially when you consider the above comment))

ISTANBUL CONQUERED BY CHRISTIANS The enemy half of the Christian army conquers Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey.

ISTANBUL RECONQUERED JOINTLY BY MUSLIM AND CHRISTIANS The Muslims and the good half of the Christian army conquer Constantinople together, against the enemy Christians. Thereafter, a Christian will say the victory was due to the cross, and the Muslim will say it was due to Islam. A battle between both sides will ensue, and the Muslim Ruler will be martyred.

SYRIA CONQUERED BY CHRISTIANS The two Christian armies reunite, conquering Syria.

CHRISTIAN DOMINATION Christians dominate the world up to Khaiber (near Madinah), and they will pursue Muslims with 80 flags, with 12,000 men under each flag.

MUSLIMS AWAIT IMAM MAHDI

TOTAL ECLIPSE A total eclipse of the sun and moon will occur in Ramadan, prior to Imam Mahdi’s emergence. ((as you will see in some posts to come, we always hear something from Ahmadnutjob, in regards to something happening during Ramadan, this is why))

IMAM MAHDI EMERGES At age 40, Imam Mahdi appears in Makkah, then flees to Madinah. The Major Signs (i.e. events after the emergence of Imam Mahdi)

MUSLIM ARMY MARCHES The army of Mansoor from Khurasaan will head towards Makkah to aid Imam Mahdi. They will win many battles on the way. No force will be able to stop them. They will carry black flags.

SUFYAANI ARMY SWALLOWED BY THE EARTH. The Sufyaani army (an Anti-Muslim force) from Syria singles out Imam Mahdi for execution. On the way to Makkah, they get swallowed into the ground. A second Sufyaani army is created with 960,000 men (of 80 nations).

CONFRONTATION IN SYRIA Imam Mahdi and the Muslim army go to Syria to confront the Christians. The Christians, before the battle, will ask Muslims for the return of their prisoners-of-war. The Muslims will refuse. The battle will begin. One-third of Imam Mahdi’s army will flee (their repentance will not be accepted), one-third will be martyred, and one-third will gain victory over the Christians.

MUSLIM ARMY UNDER IMAM MAHDI CONQUERS PALESTINE

JIHAAD ON INDIA A jamaat of Muslims wages Jihaad on India and be successful.

SYRIA UNDER MUSLIM RULE Imam Mahdi returns to Syria and establishes Muslim rule over the lands he passes.

ANIMOSITY RIFE AMONGST THE PEOPLE At this time, Muslims will be weak and there will be very few pious people.
3 RUMORS OF EMERGENCE OF DAJJAL ("Anti-Christ")... 3 YEARS OF
DROUGHT Before the emergence of Dajjal there will be three years of drought. The first year, the skies will retain 1/3 of its water, the second year 2/3, and all of its water the third year.

DAJJAL APPEARS Dajjal appears. His followers, the Yahudis, will number 70,000 and will wear expensive silk attire and carry double edged swords. ((I stopped this here, there is more that follows, which we will get to, once we finish up to this point))

Here is another list of things that some in Islam has to be fulfilled before the day of judgment. I am putting up what they show as already 'past' and 'present', but am leaving out the future for now. When I am near the end of the series I will re-post the list in its entirety.

PAST:

1. Splitting of the Moon. ((Considered fulfilled with the splitting of moon rocks after the Apollo missions))

2. Death of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

3. A form of death which will kill thousands of Muslims. (Understood to refer to the plague of Amwas during the caliphate of € ’±Umar ibn al-Khattab.)

4. A major fighting in Madinah (understood to refer to the battle of al-Harrah during the caliphate of Yazid, 63 AH).

5. The Muslim conquest of Jerusalem.

6. The Muslim conquest of Constantinople.

7. Two large groups of Muslims will fight in war. ((this sounds more like Sunni and Shiite to me, but I guess they know their history better than I do, plus there was a war between Iraq and Iran which could be considered as fulfillment, I will ask my Muslim readers to comment on this one))

8. A war between the Muslims and a reddish people with small eyes, wearing sandals made of hair (understood to refer to the Mongol Tatar invasion of the Islamic lands.)((we will cover more on this topic))

9. A peace agreement between the Muslims and non-Muslims from the yellow race (Chinese, Mongols, etc.)

10. Thirty impostors (dajjal) will appear, each thinking he is a prophet. ((we will get into this one later))

PRESENT:

11. Naked, destitute, barefoot shepherds will compete in building tall buildings. ((again any Muslims that can point me in the right direction on this one, will be appreciated))

12. The slave-woman will give birth to her master or mistress. ((?)) ((does this mean slavery will be, or is back in style??))

13. A trial (fitnah) which will enter every Arab household. ((?))

14. Knowledge will be taken away (by the death of people of knowledge), and ignorance will prevail. ((?))

15. Wine (intoxicants, alcohol) will be drunk in great quantities.

16. Illegal s3x will become widespread.

17. Earthquakes will increase.

18. Time will pass more quickly. ((only if your old lol, as you age the time flies faster every year))

19. Tribulations (fitan) will prevail.

20. Bloodshed will increase.

21. A man will pass by the grave of another and wish he was in the latter€ ’²s place.

22. Trustworthiness will be lost, i.e. when authority is given to those who do not deserve it.

23. People will gather for prayer, but will be unable to find an imam to lead them.

One of the problems I have encountered is not knowing all the ins and outs of the Muslim faith, in addition to the differing views. There are not nearly as many 'interpretations' of Muslim religious text as there are in Christianity. I have seen many verses taken at face value as you will see in the upcoming posts. And not all Muslims believe the same way, which we will also cover.

I am trying to write this stuff out in a way that everyone can understand it, in a simple way. But it is difficult when dealing with the Muslim stuff. Besides the fact that there is nothing 'simple' about the differing views of the 'End Time' prophecies.

The next several posts will be about Islam's views on the end times. We will discuss Dajjal and The Mahdi and some of the differing views of Muslims. Then we will get back into more of the Christian signs. There is some very interesting stuff up ahead, so stay tuned.

My plan was to put up in one post what both Christianity and Islam say are the signs of the approaching End Times. It appears however that it may be too much information to put all in one post so I will split it up into 2-4 posts. I will also mark each sign in bold. In case the links don’t show up where I placed them, you will find them in order on the bottom of the post.

For those of you who may not be real familiar with Christian text, when I am writing about the signs of the End Times, I am talking about what the Bible says that we may know that the time is upon us. Not the things in Revelations which is much more involved, but we may get to that. My primary goal at first will be leading up to that point.

Since I am more familiar with the Christian stuff, I will start with that. The next post will have Islam’s signs. Also, my Christian friends will notice I have left some out, don’t worry, I know what I left out and will get to it soon. In addition to that, these will not be in the right order, because some will be given posts to themselves.

Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and the end of the world?

The above scripture will top all posts when I write about the Christian signs.
Jesus said, that we would hear of wars and rumors of wars. That nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom (Mat 24:6-7).

It doesn’t take much to see this is in fact the case. America, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, North Korea, Pakistan, Afghanistan, are the major players. You can mix and match in a variety of ways these nations and the rumors of war. Since 1914 there have been two world wars, and how many others between nations and within nations. Jesus also said: See that ye not be troubled; for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet. So watch, but don’t fret.

There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginnings of sorrows. Mat. 24:7-8

Famine: We have heard and seen plenty about famine in Africa and North Korea. Also parts of China and other countries, where you wouldn’t think there would be famine problems. At least I didn’t, Guatemalans for instance. I also read that in the Ukraine 15 million died from starvation, but I am not for sure when this took place. In the 2003 Europa World reported that 20 million were in danger of starvation in Africa. With the increase of population worldwide, it is easy to see how it wouldn’t take much to cause a worldwide famine.

Pestilence/Plague:
Aids; Venereal diseases; STD; Anthrax; Biological warfare; bird flu; SARS; etc.

According to UNAIDS at least 30 million have died from Aids. Also T.B. has made a comeback which is now antibiotic resistance, in other words, if you get it, you can very well die from it and that is in modern country’s. We have all heard about the threat of Bird Flu, with the rate of world travel, it could spread worldwide within a week. We also have heard about SARS, West Nile, The Hanta Virus, drug resistant Staph infection, Ebola, Dengue fever, Measles, just to name a few.

The bottom line is germs have a tendency to change their genes, so our efforts to fight them aren’t always successful. You’ve heard all the warnings about the over use of antibiotics. Plus we have to worry about the fact that terrorists could use germ warfare as well. Some of these have been in places other than where you normally would associate them. Dengue hemorrhagic fever in El Salvador for instance. And a Measles outbreak in Italy in 2002. Surely Italy is a modern state.

Earthquakes: According to the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center, earthquakes are increasing at an alarming rate, from 16,612 in 1990, to 27,456 in 2002. And of those some have been HUGE, with great loss of life. One only needs to think of the Earthquake off of Indonesia with the accompanying tsunami, which affected so many nations and had a incredible death toll. After that earthquake and tsunami there were documentaries on T.V. on how something bigger could hit the East Coast of the U.S. where the population is so big, that evacuating in time, will not be possible. We have been blessed here in the U.S. to not have some of the major loss of life that countries like Mexico, Iran, Turkey, China, and Pakistan have. That does not mean that we are exempt.

In 2001 stats from the National Earthquake center showed the following statistic’s regarding earthquakes of 5.5 or higher on the Richter scale: 1800-1900 = 645 earthquakes in 100 years..to be fair, I am not sure of the type of reporting we had prior to 1900. 1900-1994 = 1845 earthquakes in 94 years and increase of 2.8%. 1994-2000 = 1163 earthquakes in 7 years which is a increase of 175.2% of 1800-1900. Amazing isn’t it. I don’t know if there has been any explanation as to why the numbers are so much higher now, by the scientific community. They are not likely to say; ‘It’s because Jesus said it would be so’, are they .

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For Men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boaster, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; From such turn away. 2 Tim 3:1-5

That was the King James version, the NIV version is here: But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV).

Sounds different doesn’t it. You may not get exactly what is being said under the King James translation, but the NIV leaves no doubt. Personally I have read and studied the King James version my whole life and love it, but it never hurts to see other views, especially if you don’t understand the thee’s and thou’s of the King James version. When you read the above verses, it sounds pretty much where we are.

Things in the U.S. took a dramatic turn during the 1960’s, and personally I haven’t seen much in improvement since then. How many parents are busy with work, so much so, that they have no clue what is going on in their kids lives. We turn on the ‘babysitter box’ and put our kids in front of it. And then we wonder why so many kids seem to have Attention Deficit Disorder. For those of you who may not know, TV has been associated with increasing the disorder when children spend too much time in front of it as infants and children.

We as a nation, used to spend our family time differently than we do now. Instead of talking with one another or even eating a meal together in the dining room, we park ourselves in front of the television set. The only conversation is what to watch on TV for the night. TV is alright some of the time, the same way the computer is. But at what cost to our family, to the health of our children. I saw a news story this week that Nickelodeon TV went dark for 3 hrs. Saturday, just to encourage kids to go out and play. I have some dear friends who didn’t have a TV, and spent at least one night a week as family night, where the whole family played board games together, regardless of age.

I want to add a personal story here, when my son was in the 3rd grade, I found out that he had been molested by the husband of my babysitter. My son had been 4, 5, and 6 years old at the time. I had enough schooling in criminal justice to know what that all entailed, I had just completed a course on child porn and the US Postal Service. The course itself made me sick to my stomach. Within 2 weeks of completing it, I found out what happened to my son. I can’t express my feelings at the time, suffice to say, they were raw. Kind of like ripping my heart out through my throat. My first response was to want to kill him, but had I done that, what would it teach my son.

Through the coarse of preparing my son for court, one day he said to me…”I’m going to be waiting for him when he gets out of jail” I thought, I bet you will, to kill him. Then this 8 year old kid said, “he needs help, he needs someone to tell him that what he did was wrong”.

That one little statement changed my view, if my son could forgive this monster, I had to do the same. I knew what the Bible said about forgiving, but when it concerns your child, that is something which is hard to come by. There was a reason why Jesus said to bring the little children to Him, their spirit is pure. They don’t question, they just accept. Jesus said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 18:3-4

If you find your self not forgiving someone you should, think about this. “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:25-26 A little off track here, but some lessons we can all use.
Have you found yourself falling into any of the things mentioned in the verse (2 Timothy 3:1-5) above??

How many examples can you find of lawlessness, violence, immorality, greed, selfishness, hedonism, rebellion and despair??

Fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heavens Luke 21:11. I’m not sure about this one, whether it means leading up to the tribulation or the tribulation itself (which we will also be getting to). But we can point to a few strange things such as Is the earth preparing to flip? Or all the ’sky is falling’ cries over global warming. Or the closeness of this asteroid. Real science is predicting the next/current sun cycle to be the worst in 50 years. The first two sunspot’s of 2006 are moving in reverse direction. Also, here is a solar storm warning. In Dec. of 2012 we will see a Galactic Alignment which only happens every 26,000 years. Which also happens to align with the Mayans end date on their calendar.

I’m not sure what to make of this… you have to be careful of what/who you listen too (not meant as a joke). It could fall under fearful and great signs. Or it could fall under false prophets.

I think this post is long enough for now. I will be adding to this within the next couple of days. Please remember what I said at the beginning of this post, I know they are not in order, or complete, they will be by the time this series is over.

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15818/story.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2889127.stm

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/03/19/asteroid.blindside/index.html

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/15aug_backwards.htm

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10mar_stormwarning.htm

http://www.alignment2012.com/whatisGA.htm

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,915125,00.html

I am going to start on my next series of posts. There is so much to say on the matter, I don’t even know where to begin. Hopefully I will do this in a concise manner so it flows and you understand what I am saying. But who knows, so far that hasn’t always been the case.

I have had some people on my other blog who thinks I should write this way or that way and even what topics I should write about. Sounds weird doesn’t it, who would have the gall to tell a blogger how to write their own blog. Unless it was a English teacher, which I will admit, I could use some guidance …no? Not doing it for you?? Well pardon me for trying to be funny. You know you’ve lost it when you start having imaginary joke critics.

First, let me tell you WHAT I am going to be writing about and HOW I plan on doing it. OK here goes nothing, the topic for the next series of posts will be “The End Times”. All Abrahamic faiths have some belief in the ‘End Times’. There are differences however.

Now the HOW, what I will be doing is showing what each text says. I will also show what different people say. At the very end, I may give my personal two cents worth, or maybe not. I haven’t decided yet. I would like you to read them even if you, yourself don’t believe in scripture. If you really don’t want to, and would like for me to email you when I am done with the topic, let me know. I don’t have a problem with doing that for you. But personally I think you would be missing out.

Until a few months back, I didn’t realize that Islam had its own belief of the End Times. So maybe some of you didn’t know either. I am hoping that we will all learn something new with this series of posts. If you have something to say about it, feel free, but please be respectful of other people’s beliefs. Do unto others what you would want done unto you. Sound simple enough?? Regardless of which faith you have, or don’t have, try and be open minded.

I really debated whether to do this now or not, I have been so busy, I haven’t been able to line everything up the way I want it yet. But I finally decided that I might as well just do it. I’ll line it out as I go along. Just remember, if I don’t get everything in one post, there will be more. Entire books have been written and rewritten on the subject of the End Times, I am going to attempt to show the differences but I’m sure I will miss something. If you have anything you want me to add, please email me and let me know. Do you think if I blither on a little bit more, I will have enough script for one post?? OK, lets jump in.

First lets start with a word, isra’iliyyat. I think it is Arabic, basically the principle is, when it comes to the Jewish or Christian faith, anything that doesn’t jive with the Quran, is wrong. Actually I will copy what I read the word to mean.

“This word, meaning ‘of Jewish origin’ refers to explanations derived from non-Muslim sources and especially from the Jewish tradition, but also including other ahl al-kitab (people of the Book) in general. Such material was used very little by the sahaba, but more by the tabiun and even more by later generations. There are many aspects of the Quran which can be explained by referring to such sources, when there is common ground between the Quran and the other traditions. However, the information taken from such sources must be used with great caution and cannot be considered sound according to the standards of ilm al-hadith, unless traced back to the Prophet himself and his Companions. Hence on distinguishes three kinds of the so-called isra’iliyat: 1) Those known to be true because the revelation to the Prophet Muhammad confirms them. 2) Those known to be false, because the revelation to the Prophet Muhammad rejects them. 3) Those not known to be true or false, and we do not say they are true or false.”

I will let my Muslim readers correct me if I am wrong on my first sentence regarding the meaning of the word. Some how when you see that written out, it doesn’t look very nice. I would hope that this will not keep Muslims from reading the posts on this subject. I will want you to confirm if I get it right or not in regards to what Islam teaches about the End Times.

For the purpose of this series I will be showing the difference’s between Christian and Islam in End Time beliefs. For the first post we will look at what each test says about the ’signs’ that the End Time is near I was going to start it here, but it can be long so I will wait.

The bottom line is, if you are a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, or a Hindu, all have beliefs about the End Times. Even the Mayans had something to say about it and went as far as giving a date. As it stands, just trying to compare Christian and Islam is going to be hard enough for me, so I will leave it at that. I would ask that not everyone jump down my throat at once, as some on my other blog have a tendency to do. You may want me to condemn this or that, but I am NOT going to do it. As I said, this is to compare, not to criticize, you can save the jumping till I put my two cents worth in. Primarily because I will be doing this as I go along. I don’t have everything pre-set.

It is my understanding that in Islam there in nothing in the Quran itself about the coming of the Islamic Messiah, known as, The 12th Imam, or The Mahdi. Rather it comes from supposed sayings of Mohammed and his followers soon after the Quran was complete. Thus, not all Muslims share the same beliefs. We will be going over what Ahmadnutjob thinks about the coming Mahdi, as he is one person who for sure wants to speed the process.

I know there are Pastor’s and Imam’s out there that can do a much better job at this than I can, but I don’t know if anybody has compared the two texts, or if the readers have had a chance to read them. When it comes to Christian stuff, then I will ask my Christian friends to let me know if I missed something. When it comes to Muslim stuff, all the more, from my Muslim friends.

There is a difference between the Shiite belief and the Sunni, we will get into that as well.

 

The Entire Earth Must Be Subjected to Islam

"How can [he] possibly [accept humiliation and inferiority] when he knows that his nation was created to stand at the center of leadership, at the center of hegemony and rule, at the center of ability and sacrifice? How can [he] possibly [accept humiliation and inferiority] when he knows that the [divine] rule is that the entire earth MUST be subject to the religion of Allah - not to the East, not to the West - to no ideology and to NO PATH EXCEPT for the path of Allah?…"

 

"As long as this Muslim knows and believes in these facts, he will not - even for a single moment - stop striving to achieve it, EVEN IF IT COSTS HIM HIS SOUL... his time, his property, and his son, as it is said, 'Say [to the believers]: If your fathers and your sons and your brethren and your wives and your kinsfolk and the worth you have acquired and the trade, the dullness of which you apprehend, and the dwellings that you fancy are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving in His cause, then wait until Allah issues His judgment. Allah guides not the disobedient people…'

 

Part II: The Blow Against the U.S. Will Come from Where Least Expected

 

"…The [premises] on which we base ourselves as an organization, and on which we base our operations and our method of action, are practical and realistic… They are also scientific and [in accordance with] Islamic religious law, and they give us confidence and certainty… In writing them and in [publicly] revealing them, I do not intend to be apologetic for what was done; I lay [these arguments] before you so as to emphasize that we are continuing with our blows against the Americans and the Jews, and with attacking them, both people and installations [so as to stress] that what awaits the Americans will not, Allah willing, be less than what has already happened to them. America must prepare itself; it must go on maximum alert; … because, Allah willing, the blow will come from where they least expect it…"

"America is the head of heresy in our modern world, and it leads an infidel democratic regime that is based upon separation of religion and state and on ruling the people by the people via legislating laws that contradict the way of Allah and permit what Allah has prohibited. This compels the other countries to act in accordance with the same laws in the same ways… and punishes any country [that rebels against these laws] by besieging it, and then by boycotting it.  By so doing, [America] seeks to impose on the world a religion that is not Allah's…"

We Have the Right to Kill 4 Million Americans

"We have not reached parity with them. We have the right to kill 4 million Americans - 2 million of them children - and to exile twice as many and wound and cripple hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, it is our right to fight them with chemical and biological weapons, so as to afflict them with the fatal maladies that have afflicted the Muslims because of the [Americans'] chemical and biological weapons." 

Part I: Why We Fight the U.S.

"…Perhaps the [Islamic] nation is waiting for one Al-Qa'ida man to come out and clear up the many questions that accompany any communiqué, message, or picture [concerning September 11], to know the truth, the motives, and the goals behind the conflict with the Hubal [one of the pre-Islamic Ka'ba idols - referring to the U.S.] of our generation…"

 

"Why is the world surprised?! Why were millions of people astounded by what happened to America on September 11? Did the world think that anything else would happen? That something less than this would happen?!"

"In Islam, however, freedom is to be able to practice your Religion as much as possible, which includes establishing the Shari’ah (sharia law) and waging Jihad for the cause of Allah.

 

 Freedom is to be able to stand up to the tyrants and tell them, ““Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allah.” Free from your wretched laws, methodologies, constitutions and values… free from your repugnant governments, courts, distinguishing characteristics and media…

 

 “We have rejected you, and there has become apparent between us and you, enmity and hatred forever, until you believe in Allah ALONE.” THEREFORE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO SHOW HOSTILITY AND HATRED TOWARDS YOU FOREVER UNTIL YOU BELIEVE IN ALLAH ALONE...and freely".....

All Who Believe in Democracy, The Religion of Godlessness, Are Infidels

by Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, a pseudonym for Asem Al-Burqawi

 

"[Democracy is] denying Allah the Almighty, associating [other deities] with [Allah,] the Sovereign of heaven and earth, and is contrary to the religion of unity [i.e. Islam] and the religion of the prophets, for many reasons, among them:

 

"First, [democracy] is legislated by the masses or the regime of tyrants, and it is not the rule of Allah the Exalted. Allah commanded his Prophet to act according to the law that Allah sent down to him, and forbade him from following the desires of the nation or the masses and warned him that they would divert him from part of the [precepts] sent down by Allah: 'Judge between them by that which Allah has sent down, and do not follow their wishes to deviate from it' [Qur'an 5:49]. This [appears] in the religion of unity and of Islam.

 

"With regard to the religion of democracy and association [of other deities with Allah, i.e. polytheism], those who worship it say 'Judge between them by that which the people wish; be wary of deviating from what they want, desire, and legislate'… This is what they say, and thus it is determined that democracy is unbelief and association [of other deities with Allah] if it is implemented…

 

"Second, the rule of the masses or the tyrants is in accordance with the constitution, and not in accordance with the law of Allah, and thus say their constitutions and their books, which they sanctify over the Qur'an. Evidence of this is that the law [of the constitutions and books] is preferred to the law [of the Qur'an], and the law [of the constitutions and books] is higher [to them] than [the Qur'an's] laws… According to the religion of democracy, the masses do not accept the judgments and laws … unless they are based on the precepts and articles of the constitution, because they see it as the father of the laws and the holy book. In the religion of democracy, there is no consideration of the Qur'an verses or the Hadiths [prophetic tradition] of the Prophet, and laws cannot be legislated in accordance with them unless they are compatible with the precepts of their holy book, the constitution…

 

"Third, democracy is the vile fruit and illegitimate daughter of secularism, because secularism is a heretical school of thought that aspires to isolate religion from life or separate religion from state … and democracy is the rule of the people or the rule of the tyrants. But in any event, it is not the rule of Allah the Exalted, and it does not take the unswerving legislation of Allah into account at all unless it is first compatible with all the articles of the constitution, and then with the desires of the people, and even before that with the desires of the tyrants or the masses…