---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Dengan mengClick banner sponsor anda menyumbang Rp. 1000,- untuk HomePage IndoNews. ---------------------------------------------------------- From: AlexSalam Terimakasih atas kebaikan anda mengirimkan makalah ini, Tapi sesungguhnya itu mempunyai akal budi yang sehat dan mau belajar dari sejarah. Dan tidak mengulangi lagi kesalahan yang sudah dibuat pengikut rasul yang suka saling membunuh untuk mendapatkan kekuasaan politik dan daerah ISBN NUMBER: (ISBN 0-87975-984-4) NUMBER OF PAGES: 402 + xvi PRICE: $25.95 plus Postage & Handling. AUTHOR: Ibn Warraq. PUBLISHER: Prometheus Books, 59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, New York 14228-2197. YEAR PUBLISHED: 1983 REVIEWER(S): Taslima Nasreen [Book Cover] Review By Taslima Nasreen In the wake of the Rushdie Affair, a report in the New York Times (Feb. 27, 1989) voiced a common fear: "Ayatollah Khomeini has probably succeeded in preventing publication in this country of books critical of Muslims & Islam". This prophecy has proved, fortunately wrong, witness the writings of Anwar Shaikh that have earned him a fatwa from the mullahs in Pakistan, or Dr. Morey's The Islamic Invasion (1992). Now we have the courageous work of Ibn Warraq, Why I am not A Muslim, first published in the USA in 1995. Warraq's book is perhaps the first of its kind in English: the first critical and skeptical look at the major principles of Islam. The book will be denounced as blasphemous by some Muslims, & indeed some Christians & some Jews as well, since he denounces all "monotheist arrogance". And yet, I believe that this work will not earn its author a fatwa, simply because he has not indulged in gratuitous insults, instead he has concentrated on rigorous intellectual arguments, backed up by copious textual evidence from the Koran, the Hadith, Muslim historians, and Western scholars. Thoughtful Muslims, one hopes, will welcome the challenge to reply to the demanding questions posed by the devastating skepticism of Ibn Warraq. The main thrust of Ibn Warraq's argument is boldly stated: the problem is not just Islamic fundamentalism but Islam itself. Not only the Western media, from whom we no longer expect high moral principles or moral courage, but even Western intellectuals have been spineless when it comes to honest criticism of Islam and its tenets. The Rushdie Affair sorted out the moral cowards from the morally courageous, those in the latter group being in the minority. The apologists of Islam dishonestly tried to play down the terrorism and barbarism of the group they themselves insisted on calling "Islamic fundamentalists" by insisting that these latter had nothing in common with the real Islam - "the real Islam is peaceful" they claimed, "the real Islam respects human rights, the real Islam treats women as equals, etc." ...Ibn Warraq brilliantly refutes all these bogus claims. He argues convincingly that the atrocities committed in Algeria or Afghanistan or the Sudan for example, follow logically from the principles enshrined in the Koran, the Hadith, the Sunna and the Sharia. In other words, what the Ayatollah Khomeini applied in Iran was Islam, the real Islam, not some aberration. After all, Khomeini spent a large part of his life studying it. When he imposed the death sentence on Rushdie, Khomeini was but following a precedent set by Muhammad, the founder of Islam, himself, who was not above getting his revenge or settling disputes by political assassina-tions. Jihad as Warraq shows, is clearly enjoined by Islamic Law, and there are numerous passages in the Koran which exhort the faithful to kill the non-believers or non-Muslims. Warraq also explodes the myth of Islamic tolerance - Islam conquered by the sword, and in the process destroyed Eastern Christianity and the ancient Persian culture, looting and burning churches and fire temples; devastated India and plundered literally thousands of Hindu temples. The sorry plight of women in the Islamic world is also shown by Warraq to be a consequence, a logical consequence of the misogynous principles scattered throughout the Koran, the Hadith and the Sharia: a woman is seen as inferior in every way, both morally and intellectually; she can only inherit half the amount that a man does, her testimony in the court of law is worth half that of a man; she cannot marry a non-Muslim, she cannot divorce her husband, certain professions are forbidden to her, and so on. Warraq underlines the totalitarian nature of Islam, showing why it is incompatible with respect to human rights. Not only women are inferior under Islamic Law, but so are also non-Muslims living in Muslim countries. Nor does one have the right to change one's religion or belief under Islam - an apostate is to be killed. Warraq also puts us in touch with recent research on the origins of Islam, research which casts strong doubt on the authenticity of the Islamic sources, all of which are very late indeed. Warraq also explains to us in some detail the pagan, the Zoroastrian, Jewish and Christian influences on Muhammad, sources which helped him to create Islam. The Koran is also shown to be a very human document -full of grammatical and historical errors and thousands of variants. I believe that despite Ibn Warraq's shortcomings (he is repetitive, badly organized and sometimes a little abrupt), his work will one day be seen as the moral and intellectual breakthrough that led to the Islamic Aufkldrung. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Review by Anwar Shaikh The above mentioned book is a nice aggregate of learning, intellect and courage. I was delighted when the author paid me a visit in the early part of 1997. During the conversation, I was impressed by his motive and mastery of the subject. Ibn Warraq is the pen-name of the author whose parents emigrated from India to Pakistan as a result of the Partition. He was brought up in Pakistan, which was supposed to be an Islamic Republic. His experience revealed to him that the Muslims of India had been cheated in the name of Islam and its projected principles of equality, free will and democracy. As he grew up, he noticed that Islam had become an effective tool of convenient morality and achieving political goals; a religious or secular leader could prove anything from the Koran and hadith to suit his purpose, yet every faithful believes that there is no contradiction in the verses of the Koran! During his long cogitation on the subject, Ibn Warraq, became suspicious about the Divine Origin of the Koran; it is a case of intellectual anarchy, he realized. But the curiosity that had been spurred by the zeal of inquiry, demanded a thorough study of the Koran, the Hadith and the History of Islam. As a result came into being his famous work: "Why I am not a Muslim." It testifies to the fact that he has abandoned Islam, which he once dearly loved as a matter of faith, without realizing what it was all about. To him, faith is the enemy of reason, which is the root of humanity; a man with suppressed intellect is no better than a monkey: religion is the source of regression and not progression. Thus, blind faith, the essence of religion, is not acceptable. Unless Ibn Warraq had the courage of his convictions, he could not have dealt with the major principles of Islam to expose their irrelevance to humanity in general, and problems of the modern age in particular. As it is not possible to enumerate all aspects of this book, I may mention the Koranic view of government as understood by the author. He laments the fact that Islam does not permit separation of government from the religious dogma. And he is quite right in his observation because the Koran clearly states: God has created mankind only to worship Him (L1:55). It goes without saying that worship denotes a mentality and discipline much viler than slavery. According to the Koran, man is God's slave and therefore, he must do what he is told by Allah, the Master, who makes it crystal clear that "He associates in His government no one." (XVIII:25) Thus, Allah is the greatest dictator that human mind can imagine. Therefore, a Muslim ruler being His representative on earth, is an absolute ruler, immune to public accountability. However, Allah does encourage the man, who rules in His name (the Caliph) to set up a consultative body (III:150). The Caliph may consult his advisers but their advice is not binding on him. He comes to his own conclusions. The principle of majority-opinion has no relevance in this process of consultation. Yet the Muslim jurists have drummed up the idea of democracy. This is nothing but a form of gross hypocrisy, which nauseates Ibn Warraq, who grew up in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which boasts of an elected Parliament. From the Koranic point of view, it is an illegal institution because Islam, not only staunchly advocates Divine dictatorship, but also forbids law-making by declaring the Koran an eternal and unchangeable code of law. Ibn Warraq's book is devoted to exposing the inadequacy of the Koranic Law, which the Muslims cannot practice because of its irrelevance to the problems of the modern age, yet believe in the veracity and supremacy of the Islamic legal code. This is what has distorted the vision of the Muslim world, and has become the major cause of its regression. He has also noted that the high-sounding Islamic slogan of human equality isnothing but an unfounded boast. He explains this fact with reference to the rights of : 1. The non-Muslims, and, 2. Women. With regard to non-Muslims, the Koran has stated in no uncertain terms that: 1. "The true religion with God is Islam." (III:15) 2. "Whoso desires another religion than Islam, it shall not be accepted of him." (III:75) 3. "It is He (God) who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with his guidance (the Koran) and the religion of truth (Islam), that he may uplift it above every religion. (XLVIII:25) These verses show that all religions are false except Islam, and therefore, no other faith is valid. This is why Allah has sent the Prophet Muhammad to raise Islam above every other religion. It is for this reason that the Koran declares: "God is an enemy of unbelievers." (II:90) In fact, hatred of non-Muslims is the fundamental law of Islam: LVIII:20 has laid it down that non-Muslims are the party of Satan and Muslims are party of God. Allah, assuring victory to His party (i.e. the Muslims), commands them to wage a war against the infidels until they are humbled and pay tax as an expression of their humiliation (IX:25). Since Allah, being the enemy of unbelievers, has declared a perpetual war against them until they are humbled, it is obvious that in an Islamic state the non-Muslims cannot have any human rights. Ibn Warraq has stated the pathetic plight of the Dhimmies (non-Muslims) under Muslim rule. The social status of woman in an Islamic state is even worse; she is just a sexual delight for man, who can have four wives at the same time, in addition to an unlimited number of concubines; Emperor Akbar of India had five thousand concubines whereas his son, Saleem, had a harem of six thousand women! A man can divorce his wife at will without giving a reason for it; his share of inheritance equals that of two women; her evidence is not readily acceptable in a court of law, and when it is admitted, two female witnesses equal one man. Again, women are forced to veil themselves and stay within the four walls of their houses; they are forbidden to participate in social activities or hold public offices. Still worse, a wife is a tillage for her husband who can treat her as he wishes (II:220). If she does not please him, he is empowered to beat her until she surrenders (IV:35). Disclosing the earthly sources of the Koran and artificiality of the Hadith, Ibn Warraq has displayed the inappositeness of Islam to real life. He has shown that Islam is neither a code of law nor can it be practiced as such. It is only through the force of brainwashing that the believers are driven to acknowledge it as the Word of God. It saddens him to see that almost every Muslim has come to possess a split personality for unconsciously following a code of practice contrary to his Islamic faith, which declares the Koranic Law as Perfect and Infallible during all ages. "Why I am not a Mulsim" is a highly readable and instructive book. It consists of 402 pages, and has been published by the Prometheus Books, New York 14228-2197. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 1 Feb 1999 jam 04:21:46 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
