by Dan Wolf
The Problem
I recently heard one member of the group behind “The Perfect Man” billboards speak. Their presentation began with a number of points about Islam itself. These included:
- Islam is not a religion, but an ideology with a thin veneer of religion applied over the top of it.
- There is no such thing as radical Islam. It is not a religion that has been highjacked, but an ideology where all who follow are called to jihad.
- Islam seeks to undermine western culture and replace it.
- It is not Muslims that are the problem, as we share the same nature. Instead, the problem is Islam’s ideas.
- Only about 30% of the world’s Islamic population has ever read the Qur’an.
- Many Islamic immigrants who’ve left the Middle East are MINOs (Muslim in name only). These are people who culturally identify themselves as followers of Islam, but generally do not actively practice it.
- According to the Qur’an, Muhammad is the perfect man.
- Islam considers criticizing its ideas or Muhammad to be a sin, one punishable by death.
This site’s articles on Islam support all of these ideas and more in terms of Islam’s differences with western society. Islam represents an ideology that is both contrary to and incompatible with our republican form of government.
Understanding Islam
It should not be surprising that so few Muslims have read the Qur’an. I used to be surprised at how few Christians actually read the Bible, but it appears to be the case all too frequently. I would urge anyone of faith to read their religion’s source document(s) to understand what it is they profess to believe.
As for understanding Islam, there are several issues specific to Islam making that more difficult. First, there were more than a dozen different codices (collections) of verses each claiming to be the Qur’an. Second, according to Islamic teaching, the Qur’an can only be fully understood in Arabic. But only about 25% of the world’s Islamic population lives in countries whose primary language is Arabic. Third, the Qur’an’s original manuscripts were not written in modern Arabic. Their text did not contain all of the diacritical marks and pointing used today to distinguish between different consonants and indicate where short vowels were to be inserted. This led to Islamic clerics creating and adopting various systems for interpreting the Qur’an’s meaning from the written text itself. These systems developed into at least fourteen different variant readings based just on the Medinan codex—of which about three are actively used today.
An Innovative Solution
The above lays out the problem our society faces. A problem we as a people have been losing ground against because we’ve been unwilling to come to grips with it. In some respects, this threat is little different from the one posed by fascists and communists of the last century. The group behind the billboards realized that while criticizing Muhammad is considered a sin within Islam, the man Muhammad is also Islam’s Achilles’ heel. The real problem was how to educate 330 million Americans, especially in today’s instantaneous age of tweets, Facebook posts, and sound bites.
They came up with a novel idea, a billboard as shown in the image below.
The signs simply make three points. First, they simply reference the perfect man. No mention is made of Muhammad. But within Islam, Muhammad is considered the perfect man whose example one is to follow. Second, it points out six facts about Muhammad’s life, facts supported by Islam’s sources. Third, a call to educate those who have an unreasoning fear of the truth.
There are additional moral lapses that could be included on such a sign. Two more are:
The program hopes to raise awareness and educate the general public about Islam’s truth. To find out more, or request a sign in your location, visit The Perfect Man Truth web site.
Dan Wolf is a researcher, analyst, and author. He is currently publishing his fifth book examining the relationships between faith, freedom, virtue, and charity. Together these form the cornerstone of our purpose, and our society’s foundational principles are derived from these relationships. Links to his work can be found at the Living Rightly website.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Rodinson, Maxime, p. 205-6, Muhammad, The New Press, 2002. A portion of the text related to Zayd and Zaynab follows:
“One day Muhammad knocked on the door, looking for Zayd [his adopted son]. He was not at home; but Zaynab met him in a state of undress and asked him in. After all, he was as a father and mother to her. Muhammad declined but the wind lifted the curtain, evidently while she was hurriedly dressing. He fled in some confusion, muttering something which she did not quite catch. All she heard was: ‘Praise be to Allah the Most High! Praise be to Allah who changes men’s hearts.’
‘Not long after this Zayd came home, and his wife told him all about it. He went to the Prophet and said to him: ‘Messenger of Allah, it has come to my ears that you went to my house. Why did you not go in? Are you not father and mother to me, O Messenger of Allah? Can it be that Zaynab found favour with you? If that is so, I will part from her!’ Muhammad answered him: ‘Keep your wife for yourself.’ …
But, as always in cases of difficulty, Allah came to the rescue. One ay when Muhammad was with ‘A’isha he went into a trance. When it was over he smiled and exclaimed: ‘Who will go to Zaynab and tell her the good news, that Allah has married me to her?’”
Further reference can be found in Sura 33, verses 36-38 within
Pickthall, M.M. pp.401-2, The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’an, amana publications, 1999.
“And it becomes not a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided an affair (for them), that they should (after that) claim any say in their affair; and who is rebellious to Allah and His Messenger, he surely goes astray in effort manifest.
‘And when you said unto him on whom Allah has conferred favor and you have conferred favor: Keep your wife to yourself, and fear Allah. And you did hide in your mind that which Allah was to bring to light, and you did fear mankind whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear Him. So when Zayd had performed the necessary formality (of divorce) from her, We gave her unto you in marriage, so that (henceforth) there may be no sin for believers in respect of wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have performed the necessary formality (of release) from them. The commandment of Allah must be fulfilled.
‘There is no reproach for the Prophet in that which Allah makes his due. That was Allah’s way with those who passed away of old and the commandment of Allah is certain destiny.
‘Who delivered the messages of Allah and feared Him, and feared none save Allah. Allah keeps good account.
‘Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah is aware of all things.”
[2] Different sources estimate that between twenty to thirty people were assassinated under Muhammad’s direction. Three were the poets Asima bint Marwan, Abu Afak, and Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf. From the following source;
Guillaume, A., p. 367, The Life of Muhammad, A Translation of Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, Oxford Press, 1955.
“Then he (Ka’b) composed amatory verses of an insulting nature about the Muslim women. The apostle said, ‘Who will rid me of Ibnu’l-Ashraf?’ Muhammad b. Maslama said, ‘I will deal with him for you, O apostle of God, I will kill him.’ He said, ‘Do so if you can.’ So Muhammad b. Maslama returned and waited for three days without food or drink, apart from what was absolutely necessary. When the apostle was told of this he summoned him and asked him why he had given up eating and drinking. He replied that he had given him an undertaking and he did not know whether he could fulfil it. The apostle said, ‘All that is incumbent upon you is that you should try.’ He said, ‘O apostle of God, we shall have to tell lies.’ He answered, ‘Say what you like, for you are free in the matter.’”
From page 675 of the same source.
“He (Abu Afak) showed his disaffection when the apostle killed al-Harith b. Suwayd b. Samit … The apostle said, ‘Who will deal with this rascal for me?’ whereupon Salim b. ‘Umayr went forth and killed him.”
And from page 675-6 of the same source.
“When the apostle heard what she (Asima) had said he said, ‘Who will rid me of Marwan’s daughter?’ ‘Umayr b. ‘Adiy al-Khatmi who was with him heard him, and that very night he went to her house and killed her. In the morning he came to the apostle and told him what he had done and he said, ‘You have helped God and His apostle, O ‘Umayr!’ When he asked if he would have to bear any evil consequences the apostle said, ‘Two goats won’t butt their heads about her,’ so ‘Umayr went back to his people.”
