Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Upgrade Your Browser

Hello dear readers, I just wanted to take a moment to say that I do read my stats from time to time and I see that many of you are using Internet Explorer. I just wanted to encourage you all to take ten seconds to download a faster, safer browser: Chrome
It's totally free and walks you through the install process. If you don't like the overhead amounts of space used by Chrome or the Google tracking part (though it is beyond me why you would choose IE as an alternative for those reasons as it is infinitely worse), here's another free browser that works basically identically to Chrome but without those issues: Chromium
If you don't like either of them because they work hit-or-miss with Adobe products such as Flash-based games and pdf viewers on computers with small hard drives such as netbooks, you have my sympathy. I too know that html games are few and far between and that flash games are vastly superior, yet for some reason Chrom* products tend to be temperamental about them. You might like to try Lunescape. Now what's interesting about this browser is that it has three modes: Chrom*, Firefox, and IE. That's right, you can have the fun of experiencing all three from one browser! I find it too bulky and with too many built-in toolbars for my primary use, but it is handy when it comes to running programs that just don't work well with Chrom*. I'm personally not a huge fan of firefox: it doesn't instant update like Chrom*, it is bulky and I never really fell in love with the extensions on it like I did Chrom*. However, I understand that it does have a large and loyal fanbase, and it is a good stepdown browser for people who have only used IE before. That's about it, readers, don't forget to drop me a line. I'm going to eventually update this old blog a bit to make it look more "hip."

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Irrefutable Argument Against Christianity

This is original to me, so if you hear anyone else use it and say they created it, they're frauds and much worse debaters. I came across it while reading the Bible cover to cover the ninth time. Good luck wrapping your head around it, Christians.
First, Christians, I have to verify that you hold standard Christian dogma. You probably believe:
1. The Bible we have today exists in its original form and has not been altered.
2. Every prophecy of the Bible will be fulfilled:
Isa. 55:11 So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, except it accomplish that which I please, and make the thing whereto I sent it prosper.
3. Jesus is the Messiah.
4. Jesus died and was resurrected.
5. Jesus had no literal, physical children.
6. The resurrected do not get married, and therefore do not procreate. For this, pick up your favorite Bible and read Matthew 22:30.

Now turn to Ezekiel 46. Are you familiar with this ten chapter arc? Probably not; anyway it's about the end of the world as we know it and the beginning of the Messianic era. There's a war to end all wars, the ultimate battle between good and evil; Armageddon as it's entered the popular jargon, but Gog and Magog in this passage. That's chapters 38 and 39. The next eight chapters all deal with various facets of the messianic age; all that peace and love and lions lying down with lambs and beating swords into plow-shears stuff. Chances are you don't believe this has happened yet, but on the off-chance you do, don't worry, I'll prove it hasn't in a second.
Now, after the battle of Gog and Magog, there's a giant temple. An angel and Ezekiel measure it. The specific measurements aren't important to this argument; what IS important is that it: a) is a literal, physical temple on earth and b) has not been built yet. If you deny that it is physical and believes it refers to a temple in heaven, I refer you to Ezekiel 42:20--"He measured it by the four sides; it had a wall round about, the length five hundred, and the breadth five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common. " How did something that wasn't holy get into heaven? If you deny that this has not happened yet, just do some basic research into the history of the temples: no temple has been built matching the description provided here; the only temple standing after Ezekiel was Herod's, and it was a rectangle, not a square like this one. Now that you agree to a) and b), refer to point 2, above. If this temple has not been built yet, it must be built in the future; and the time specified is the Messianic era.
To briefly recap, we have now established that this passage refers to the Messianic era, a literal time on earth that has not come yet. Now, who will rule during the messianic era. Obviously, the messiah, right? He's called the prince in this passage.
The prince gets a peice of land from God, so that he doesn't need to take it from the people:
Ezekiel 45:7 And for the prince, on the one side and on the other side of the holy offering [the temple and adjacent housing for the priests] and of the possession of the city, in front of the holy offering and in front of the possession of the city, on the west side westward, and on the east side eastward; and in length answerable unto one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border 8 of the land; it shall be to him for a possession in Israel, and My princes shall no more wrong My people; but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
What's important here is that this is a physical plot of land, one of several plots specifically defined and bequeathed. Refer back to point a) as necessary if this is not readily accepted.

SUCKER PUNCH: Now here's where it gets really interesting. Read Ezekiel 46:16-18. Should read something like this:
16 Thus saith the Lord GOD: If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, it is his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. 17 But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons. 18 Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance, to thrust them wrongfully out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession; that My people be not scattered every man from his possession.'

Hang on now. Given point 3 (above), insert Jesus into where it says prince. So, according to this, he's supposed to give some land to his....sons. Refer to point 5. Now you will probably suggest that he'll have sons sometime in the future. Remember that verse in Matthew from point 6? Go back to it. Now refer back to point 4.
By now you should see the problem. The next thing a Christian generally says is something about all of us being sons of God. Clarify the difference between Jesus' "sons" and his "servants." Additionally, refer back to the area of the land in question. It's actually not all that big; it's the same size as the temple, if I remember correctly. Not every Christian who ever lived could stand shoulder to shoulder on it, much less live off it. How does Jesus decide who is his son and who is just a servant? You should now be pretty exasperated, as it should be pretty clear that just like everything else in this passage, this verse was meant to refer to literal physical descendants.

Good luck trying to work out an alternate way to understand this. Should you somehow succeed, do tell me.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Sinat Chinam and Exile

Baseless hatred. Every Jew with even the smallest Talmud learning knows that this is the reason given in Yoma 9B for the destruction of the temple. Baseless hatred is the reason that we were thrown out of the Holy Land, baseless hatred is the reason that we incurred Divine wrath. To bring blessings upon ourselves and end this curse, we are told that we must rectify this: We must cease from baseless hatred.

Yet have we?

All I ask is that you watch these clips, and think. Really think.










Friday, May 20, 2011

Death of Sarah/Restoration of Qetura

Jews believe that the lives of the Prophets are a foreshadowing of our own (ma'aseh avot siman l'vanim, as discussed by Ramban and others). What do the lives of the patriarchs tell us about the birth of Islam? In fact they tell us a great deal; and we can learn from them that we, as Jews, should not shun or fear the growth of Islam, but should welcome and embrace it as the natural extension of history.
First, what was the story of the Patriarchs? (Please note that I will be citing exclusively Jewish sources, to appeal to a Jewish audience). Abraham took two wives, as we know: Hagar (later called Qetura: Bereshit Rabbah 61:4, Rashi, etc) and Sarah. As we know, both women were princesses. We know that Abraham sent Hagar away at the demand of Sarah, but continued to visit her in the desert. A midrash (Arabic equivalent: hadith) about these visits is as follows:
Ishmael married and had four children and he prospered and had flocks and herds and tents according to the merits of Abraham his father. Some time after his father sent him away - perhaps three years – Abraham said to Sarah, “I will go and see my son Ishmael; I yearn to see him, for I have not seen him in a long time.” Sarah agreed, on one condition: that Abraham not dismount from his camel [so that he would not resume relations with Hagar, to whom he was still married]. Abraham went and he reached the place where Ishmael lived. There, he met Ishmael's wife. He greeted her and asked her, “Where is Ishmael?”
She answered, “Off, hunting game.”
Still mounted on the camel Abraham said, “My daughter, give me a little water, that I may drink, for I am weary from the journey; and a little bread.” Ishmael’s wife answered, “No water, no bread.” The Midrash says that all this time while she was talking with Abraham, she also was beating her children in the tent, cursing them and cursing Ishmael. So Abraham said, “When your husband returns tell him, ‘A very old man from the land of Canaan came here to seek you. I did not ask him who he was, and seeing you were not here he spoke to me and said, ‘When Ishmael your husband returns tell him, Put away this tent pin, which you have placed here, and put another tent pin in its place.’" And thereupon Abraham returned home. Ishmael finally returned to his tent. Hearing this message from his wife, he knew the visitor was his father and that the "tent pin" referred to his wife. He immediately divorced her and married another.
Another three years passed and Abraham said, “I will go see Ishmael, my son, because I have not seen him for a long time.” He made the same agreement with Sarah and he went off on his camel again. He met the new wife; and some say her name was Fatima. This one invited him in and offered him food and drink. He could not dismount, because of his promise to Sarah; so the woman brought him water and bread. Abraham told her, “Tell your husband, ‘A very old man from the land of Canaan came here and asked for you and I brought him food and water, and he ate and drank and his heart was glad.’ And tell him, ‘Your tent-pin is very good. Do not put it away from the tent.’” And Abraham went on his way and returned to Sarah.
Ishmael returned again and Fatima repeats all this to him. And here the Midrash says, “Ishmael realized that his father still loved him.” Even though Ishmael had not seen Abraham, he knew his father was periodically checking in on him; that he was concerned with his welfare; that he had not forsaken him.
The immense love of Abraham for Ishmael is evident in this narative; as is Ishmael's obedience to Abraham, even while they were separated. But during this time, the Rabbis tell us that Hagar's heart was not faithful to God while in the desert, and that she complained against Him: "Yesterday thou saidest: 'I will multiply thy seed exceedingly' [Gen. xvi. 10]; and now my son is dying of thirst" (although it is well worth noting that Hagar remained faithful throughout this period to Abraham). This time of Ishmael in the desert is the time of b'nei Yishma'el before Mohammad. Most had relapsed back into idolatry; idols filled the Kabah and Mecca.
Returning to the narative of Abraham, when did the restoration of Ishmael and Qetura occur? In Parshat Chayei Sarah, we read וַיֹּסֶף אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקַּח אִשָּׁה, וּשְׁמָהּ קְטוּרָה. And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Qetura, because her deeds had become like Qeturot, incense (Midrash Rabbah). Ishmael and Qetura then lived with Abraham until his death (as per Bereshit 25:9). And when was the death of Sarah, but after the akidah? Now, therefore, the akidah was the destruction of the Temple, for there has been no greater loss to our people; and the death of Sarah was the loss of the semchiha in the fourth or fifth centuries C.E. And it was only after this that Mohammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was sent to the world. The proper response of b'nei Israel is to accept the return of their brother and to receive him again into the family, as it was in the beginning: וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ יִצְחָק וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל, בָּנָיו, אֶל-מְעָרַת, הַמַּכְפֵּלָה And when these two live in peace, a new era will dawn.
וְהָיָה יְהוָה לְמֶלֶךְ, עַל-כָּל-הָאָרֶץ; בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, יִהְיֶה יְהוָה אֶחָד--וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד.
The Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day will God be One, and His Name One.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Homosexuality and Islam

Homosexuality and Islam

Assalamu aliekum wa rahmatullah wa barakhatu. There is much confusion on the topic of homosexuality and Islam and insha’Allah I wish to help break some of the misconceptions people hold. As I explained in my article "Women in Iraq", the so-called “Islamic” maltreatment of women in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan is entirely the result of the U.S. military occupation of those countries, and is not the result of their Islamic heritage. Contrary to popular belief, traditional Islam does not ostracize homosexuals any more than it maltreats women. Instead, both groups have a long history of high standing in traditional Muslim societies, as this paper will clarify.

Theological Support

The first question that must be answered, before discussing the history of why so many believe that Islam is opposed to homosexuality, is what does Islam really say about the issue? There is in fact no word for homosexuality in the Qur’an. Other words used are:

Fahisha (7:80, 27:54) Lewdness, indecency, gross.

Khabaidh (21:74) Improper

Sayyi’aat (11:78) Evil

(Imaan, Quran FAQ).

Many people believe that the sin of Lot (Lut)’s people was homosexuality; however, this is not at all clear and the sin is equally likely to be rape/violence against another. Nowhere is it clarified that a relationship between a loving homosexual couple is wrong. Also, lesbianism is never dealt with in the Qur’an.

Furthermore, there are those who claim the Islamic punishment for homosexuality is death. This requires closer examination because of the great stakes involved. First, today there are no true Muslim courts anywhere in the world and no countries that truly follow Shariah law. Therefore no Muslim anywhere in the world is justified in applying the death sentence to anyone; to do so is outside the bounds of Shariah: there is no room for vigilantes and honor killings within Islamic jurisprudence. Second, there are only three sins for which a Muslim can be executed: Murder, treason (not necessarily apostasy: this refers to one who goes out and causes harm to the Muslim community; interestingly, as I will prove, this can be said of many who support the execution of homosexuals), and Fasad fil-ardh: spreading mischief in the land. The third is most open to interpretation, but applies to those whose actions endanger the community as a whole. The question then becomes, does homosexuality threaten the community as a whole? It does not seem to.

But then a third consideration must be taken into account. Islam never punishes the mentally ill “until they are cured”: individuals cannot be held responsible for crimes they commit that are outside their realm of reasonable control, no matter how serious the crimes. For example, if a woman developed post-partum depression and killed her children (a crime which takes 200 lives per year in the U.S. alone), Islam would not execute her because she was not reasonably able to control her actions because of her insanity. Although she committed a terrible crime--and no one is denying this--to punish her is un-Islamic. I believe the same is true for homosexuality because scientifically, the causes of homosexuality and mental illnesses--such as post-partum depression--are the same. Both homosexuality and mental illness are caused by a genetic predisposition that is either active or inactive, depending more on genes than on environment. There has been much scientific research that indicates that homosexuals are born, not made; although some choose to live hetero-typical lifestyles due to social pressures, innate feelings of attraction towards the same sex is inborn and cannot be changed with modern medicine. Furthermore, other studies have shown that heterosexuals who carry the gay gene have greater reproductive success than heterosexuals that do not.

I do not deny that there are many homosexuals who wish to change their orientation; in fact, I fully recognize that there are many and I do support their right to do so. However, there are no modern methods which can make their dream a reality. Groups such as NARTH, Exodus International, and Jonah have an average success rate of >15% and a much higher suicide rate. I cannot in good conscience suggest that someone engage in an activity that will more likely result in their deaths than their cure; nor do I believe any good Muslim could do so. If a cancer treatment had an effectiveness of >15% and a mortality of, say, 30%, the FDA would not approve it, and doctors would not recommend it. If and when a safe, reliable method of altering sexual orientation is discovered, I believe the option should be given to homosexuals; and I believe many would take it willingly.

Historical Support

It is one thing for a single person to support something; it is quite another for a society to support it. Now that I have explained my views, do they have any historical backing? In fact they do. In 1858, the Ottoman Empire--the last Islamic caliphate--decriminalized homosexuality. In Muslim Spain, gay poets created a great deal of literature and lived in relative comfort. Although Spain did not decriminalize homosexuality, it did not enforce punishment. Islam punishes sins committed in the open; a conviction of a crime such as adultery requires several witnesses, not mere speculation or jealousy--and generally, one does not bring witnesses to something so private. Similarly, most homosexual acts occur in private, not on public display, and therefore are not prosecuted by Islamic law.

The Regress

There is an oft-repeated myth that while other religions were able to secularize their mainstreams, Islam never accomplished this. In fact, the opposite is true. While Christendom was in its Dark Ages, the Muslim world was a thriving center for knowledge, liberalism and free thought. While Christendom was punishing heretics for believing the sun was not the center of the universe, Muslims were postulating the existence of the atom. While the church burned suspected witches and heretics at the stake, Muslims practiced “covivienca”, coexistence with other faiths. So how did Islam regress? The answer is actually Christendom.

It was not until the last several years that a right-wing movement has come to power in the Muslim world. It was given leadership, not be the support of its people, but by American dollars. Hillary Clinton bravely admitted during an interview with reporters that it was the American government that created, funded, and trained the Taliban. Saddam Hussein is another example of a politician who was held in power, not by his people’s support, but by American funds that gave him weapons, technology, and information he used to control his people. Other farther-right dictators the U.S. has supported over the oppositions of their people and in spite of their civil rights abuses include King Abdullah of Saudi, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Karimov of Uzbekistan, and Berdimuhammedov of Turkmenistan. Exactly as I demonstrated in my “Women in Iraq” article, today these countries follow not traditional Islam, but America’s ideas about Islam. America has created an enemy, given his weapons, money, information, and training, and has used this enemy as an excuse to wage war on Muslims around the world. No Muslim can, in good conscience, support this American version of Islam. To do so is not only to turn your back on centuries of Islamic history and tradition: it is to support the wholesale slaughter of brothers and sisters in Islam around the world both by Americans and by their puppet governments. This is by far much more un-Islamic than to support the rights of gays to marry. To support this American Islam is a great evil: it is treason; it is murder; it is sin.

Looking Ahead

No society can maintain extremist right-wing ideology for very long. Policies that oppress women and minority populations are unsustainable because they reduce the population, increase poverty and fear, and increase civil unrest. As we are currently seeing in the Middle East, “secularism,” or a more moderate approach to life, triumphs over extremism. If Islam is to survive--and it will--it must return to its roots and become more moderate. This is not an un-Islamic approach; if anything, it follows traditional Islam more closely than right-wing extremism does.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Long haitus, eh?

So I took a really long haitus from posting, mostly due to lack of things to say. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. :)