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Welcome to
the English Page of Reform_Islam
As you will see there are a
considerable number of reforms needed to make Islam a more humane and modern
religion. We invite your contributions. Please email them to hraic@hraic.org
The following essays are
available:
1. Pathogenesis of Fundamentalism
+ The attack on America “The
making of martyrs”
Quotations from the Qur'an
which show intolerance towards other religions and cruelty.
Pakistan already has nuclear
weapons but would they be put at the service of the ideology of Islam?
A Pakistani humanist looks at the
history of Christianity and the realities of Islam today.
5. Muslim Spain and Islamic
Science
Was Muslim Spain a "Golden
Era"? And is the Qur'an a repository of scientific information?
Non-Muslims have no argument
with Islam as a personal religion. It is the authoritarianism and political
ideology which is in question.
Justified by the Qur'an are
male superiority, female obedience and "light punishment", polygamy
and easy divorce for men, custody for the husbands, purdah, lesser inheritance,
a less credible witness, inability to marry a non-Muslim, etc. Also looks at birth
control, female genital mutilation, poor education, health care and unjust laws.
Selected sayings and actions of
Prophet Muhammad dealing with his commands, jihad (holy war), punishments - one
was so cruel that Muhammad received a reprimand from Allah.
Some events from the invasions
of Egypt, India, Cyprus, East Timor; the treatment of the Copts, Armenians,
Bahai, Hindus; Wahhab, the Mahdi, Assad, Idi Amin, Yasser Arafat, Salman
Rushdie.
10. Music and Prophet Muhammad
A download from a
fundamentalist web site.
11. Ethnic Cleansing and
Prophet Muhammad
HRAIC is opposed to ethnic
cleansing wherever it occurs. It has, of course, a long history but is not
unknown to Islam.
12. The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
This landmark document is 50 years
old but still has to be observed in many countries.
13. To Mutilate in the Name of Jehovah or
Allah
by Sami A. Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh,
Doctor of Law, and by the same author
14. Religious Arguments about Male
and Female Circumcision
15.
Stoning and Prophet Muhammad
Stoning to death for adultery
is a barbaric practice attributed to Prophet Muhammad.
16. Apostasy and Prophet Muhammad
The Qur'an does not punish
apostasy from Islam in this life but Muhammad made it the death penalty.
17. Alcohol and Prophet Muhammad
Whipping is prescribed in the
Qur’an and Hadith for drinking alcohol. In addition Prophet Muhammad executed
drinkers for a third offence faithfully continued in Saudi Arabia
18. Prophet Muhammad and His
Mockers
The poets of old Arabia made
fun of Muhammad and his claims of prophethood. He had them eliminated. Plus
present-day Islamic assassination.
19. Chess and Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad considered chess a
"game of chance" and a diversion from righteousness.
20. Ransom and Prophet Muhammad
Ransom of POW’s and kidnap
victims made a considerable contribution to the coffers of Islam. It is a
practice continued in Chechnya, southern Philippines and Yemen.
21. Thievery and Prophet Muhammad
Amputation is the punishment
for theft in the Muslim holy books. When a thief ran out of hands and feet to
amputate (how can one steal without hands or feet?) Muhammad would kill them.
But was not raiding caravans and confiscation of property theft?
22. Persecution of Christians in
Islamic Countries
While we are not a Christian
organization, we publish an abridged ICC account of the position of Christians
in Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
The ulama (Muslim scholars) tell
us that Muhammad only fought to defend himself. It is true the Meccans wanted
to punish him for raiding their caravans. Was Islam "spread by the sword?"
24. The Jews and Prophet Muhammad
Why is the Qur’an contradictory
about the Jews? How are they dealt with in the Sunnah (sayings and actions of
Muhammad)?
There is, as yet, no
archaeological basis for ultra-Orthodox Jewish settlement in Palestine.
Likewise that Abraham or Moses ever existed. This would also present problems
for Muslim fundamentalists.
26. The Quranic Concept of Jihad
Jihad is said to be a
"misunderstood" term. But here is a fundamentalist download.
HRAIC does not oppose national
liberation movements. But they must aim for a secular, democratic society.
Nor must they target innocent civilians, women and children.
28. Jihad in the Qur'an and Sunnah
Qital (fighting) for Allah
certainly seems the"Greater Jihad" for this fundamentalist
29. Slavery and Prophet
Muhammad
Much is made of the fact that Prophet Muhammad freed Zayd and treated
him like a son. But the Qur’an and Hadith consider slavery as normal.
30. Scientific Errors
in the Qur'an
Muslim propagandists try to say that the Qur'an is a repository of
scientific knowledge
31. Capital
Punishment and Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad decreed the death penalty for the murder of a Muslim,
adultery, apostasy, the third drinking offence and the fifth for stealing.
32. Prophet Muhammad and
Paedophilia
+Some sayings of Ayatollah
Khomeini
Warning: Some of the
words of this "holy" man may cause you to vomit.
The words "oppression" and "persecution" are used a number of times in the Qur’an. But the terms had a special meaning for Prophet Muhammad.
34. Taqiyya, Taqqiyya and Dissimulation
Muslims are allowed to lie if it is for the greater good of Islam. Non-Muslims
should be aware of dissimulation and not take their statements at face value.
35. Religion - A force for good or evil?
A humanist asks whether religion is a force for good or evil
36. The Hardening of Prophet Muhammad
There are some tolerant and peaceful verses in the early Qur'an but these
are abrogated and replaced as time goes by.
Islam considers children as the "seed" of the father, and so he is favored in any custody dispute
HRAIC considers sex with prisoners, sex with slaves and small children as rape. Hudud laws protect rapists.
In Pakistan Sunni Muslims kill Shiite Muslims and vice-versa. In Algeria, Dagestan, Bangladesh radical Muslims kill "bad" Muslims
And some articles from other sources:
40. Fundamentalist violence in Britain
From IHEU (International Humanist and Ethical Union)
41. Offensive War to Spread Islam
Quotes from the Qur'an and Muslim scholars on the Christian web-site,
Answering-Islam
42. Muhammad, Islam and Terrorism
Writing two years before September 11, Silas traces the origins of Islamic terrorism.
43. Punishment of Muslim Women
Quotes from the Qur'an and Hadith +images from RAWA
44. Forced Conversion and Prophet Muhammad
Jews and Christians had three choices. Pagans had two choices - embrace
Islam or die.
45. Jihad and Human Rights
today + “From Jihad to Dhimmitude” + “Dhimmitude: Jews and
Christians under Islam” + “The Myth of the Tolerant Pluralistic Islamic Society”
Writer Bat Ye’or specializes in history of the dhimmis (Jews and Christians in an Islamic state).
21 articles about Islam, mainly from a Christian
viewpoint, from Dr Robert Morley