A Beautiful Video Message from Mecca

LETTER FROM MECCA pic.twitter.com/oChq19D04a

— SNEAKO (@sneako) December 31, 2023

He captures his discovery of the spirit of Islam in Mecca and Medina. Very moving regardless of your POV.

This video eloquently expresses the impact of being in Mecca and Medina, feeling the soul of Islam as a way of life, an attitude, a sanctuary and peace he now must take home with him to the very different materialistic West.

The Only “Trinitarian” Verse in the Bible was “Fake” not part of the Original Greek Manuscript

The main difference between Islam and Christianity lies in the concept of Jesus’ “divinity,” which relies on the concept of the “Trinity.” Paul Williams gives us the history of how the single Biblical verse that explicitly describes the Trinity doctrine was actually manufactured to conform with church doctrine and authorities, who confronted Erasmus, who had originally produced a Bible without this verse, and demand he include it, although it wasn’t in the original Greek Bible. He refused to include it at first, but under pressure stated he would include it in a future version, but only if they found a genuine Greek translation that included it. This was in the 16th century.

How the West Is Wrong

The genocide in Gaza has been an awakening for people of conscience worldwide as to the hypocrisy of the so-called “West,” whose leaders have been exposed as morally bankrupt. Whether they were ever guided by the ethics they claim to espouse is itself in doubt. Among such people of conscience are Muslims, whom the West has demonized as terrorists in lockstep obeisance to Israel and their Zionist ideology.

The West is characterized by hubris, thinking they are the elites of the world and everyone else is dross, lower-level human, and there’s this secret, subterranean drive among them to subvert the rights of “lesser” humans to make life better for the “superior” ones. If anything, the genocide proves Western leaders are devoid of what is required for people to be good: a sense of truth, justice, compassion, right and wrong. Either one believes in these values or rejects them, but the only way to reject them is to cover them up. This is the meaning of the Arabic word kufr – to cover up. And what are they covering up? Al-Fitrah, the conscience, which is, one could say, “hardwired” into our hearts/minds by our Creator. Children are born with it. Such innocents, if exposed to that which is abhorrent to the Fitrah – evil deeds, pain, torture, and abuse – will dissociate from it, literally. This is being used by certain (perhaps numerous!) Western leaders to create human slaves to serve their outward heinous needs. The entire Western project must fall, and it can’t be soon enough! It is our responsibility as Muslims to unite with all people of conscience, and be able to discern who they are, in order to establish a moral authority that is universal, compassionate, reasonable, and God-fearing. Let me define that further.

Israeli Jews (and others) Converting to Islam in Record Numbers

This video by C.J. Werleman below gives us an overview of the recent phenomenon of Jews converting to Islam, including in Israel itself, where they must remain silent and hide their Islam to avoid persecution and punishment by the extremist Israeli government that commits the most heinous, brutal, and sadistic nonstop genocide of Palestinians. Jews in Israel do not have freedom of religion, nor are they allowed to marry or even befriend Palestinians. It’s an extremely racist state that is only increasing in excessive violence against even its own people.

Below is the video of a former IDF soldier converting to Islam after telling his story of how IDF soldiers had to take drugs in order to commit the atrocities their government ordered them to do, which gave him and many other such soldiers PTSD and unbearable guilt and traumatic memories.

On Gratitude, Thanksgiving, and Islam

This Yaqeen Institute article entitled “Does Thanksgiving Make a Mockery of Gratitude?” gives us a brilliant and insightful discussion, with examples, of what gratitude is and is not, notably showing the distinct difference between how the Islamic empire grew and how European-style settler-colonial empires or projects grew. His examples include the horrors in Palestine now as well with America’s dubious relationship with the many indigenous peoples (actually nations but not organized as “modern nation-states”) whose lands the European settlers violently usurped. But he also helps us find the way forward.

We can easily see how true this is! Everything Israel accuses Hamas of doing is what Israel actually does and is continuously doing.

An article well-worth reading with historical background and some startling facts! This Smithsonian article also gives more on the more disturbing and accurate history of Thanksgiving.

Lies Mined from the Bible Used to Promote Genocide

I’ve been in a state of dread since Israel began its declaration of “war” – a euphemism for genocide, mass murder, slaughter, sadistic systematic killing of children, women, and men – on an entire region of 2.2 million civilians, not soldiers, kept in an open-air prison surrounded by barbed wire and soldiers with shoot-to-kill orders. Easy targets for an IDF whose conscience has been excised. They are openly and with intent ethnically cleansing all Palestinians including those who have nothing to do with Hamas. Death toll: over 10,000 civilians plus journalists, doctors, and international aid workers, and of course, over 4,000 children. Israeli Zionists are atheists who use selectively interpret Biblical references to promote their war crimes to their ardently blind supporters among Christian Zionist “evangelicals,” a group with an international reach. Meanwhile the real reason for the genocide is oil off the coast of Gaza, technically belonging to the Gazan people. Israel is willing to kill or displace over 2 million human beings in an epic Holocaust for that oil. It’s all about greed and religion is merely a pretext.

This article explains exactly what this biblical reference is all about, making an arbitrary mythological connection between Palestinians and an ancient group of people long gone, and how they invoke this to lure Christians to join the Zionist genocide brigade.

Hi-Tech “Islam Experience Centre” in Netherlands is a Wonderful Idea!

The symbol on the upper left-hand corner is for his Islamic Experience Center, and apparently many local

Joram van Klaveren was a far right-wing politician in the Netherlands who was also an anti-Muslim activist. But while researching for a book he was writing to expose what he thought were the evils of Islam, he discovered the truth was quite different than what it had appeared to be prior to such study, and he surprisingly converted to Islam. He developed a high-tech center to literally experience Islam in different ways, learning about its history and values, beliefs, and accomplishments. An important idea to dispel the many false narratives and myths about Islam that others would do well to emulate.

You can read his story in brief here. Now he has established a high-tech “Islamic Experience Center” using advanced technology to allow people of all backgrounds and interests to experience many aspects of Islam in unique and sophisticated ways, including virtual reality, holograms, and 8D sound.

About Love, Happiness, and Islam

A very short video packed with meaning.

This short 30-second video tells us much about what Islam is and Who Allah Is. The Arabs had 14 different words for love, one of which is arguably a name for Allah. And which is more loving, to sacrifice an innocent human being in order to enable forgiveness for a supposed “original sin” that God Himself is unfairly accused of refusing to forgive? Or to have forgiven Adam/Eve on the spot after they repented, and only punish people for sins they personally committed and not for some inherited sin? Allah is the same God of Psalms 136:1-3, 5, and elsewhere, “and His mercy endures forever.” “Indeed, your Lord is vast in forgiveness.” (Quran 53:32)

What History Books might not tell you about Islam

The featured photo above tells you something about how much has been overlooked: the entire Golden Age of Islam. The above is just an overview about what history books left out, but there is so much more which I’ve explained elsewhere. Below are a few more details. You can also check Wikipedia and other history sites on the subject.

Great Video: The Existential Threats of the Modern Banking System, etc, and Islam – Sh Abdal Hakim Murad

With another US Bank, First Republic, about to be nationalized by the US government in an effort to prevent the entire U.S. banking system from collapse —!!!!!— and no guarantees this will do the job — now is a good time to discuss how Islam approaches wealth and finance, as well as what makes us fulfilled and happy and what does not. He cites several studies showing an inverse relationship between wealth and satisfaction/happiness, and a heightened incidence of depression among those with greater wealth. And a very reasonable Islamic approach to the current crisis.

https://youtu.be/8_8UcjFLeGI

Well worth your time. The interviewee is the dean of the Cambridge Muslim College in the UK.

Absolutely Beautiful Story of a Jew’s Acceptance of Islam, his life curated by Al-Aziz Al-Hakeem

www.islamland.com/uploads/books/en-Dr. Moustafa Mould, Ex-Jew, USA.docx

In a search for something else, I ran across this amazing story about a man’s journey through life as a Jew, then atheist, scholar, professor, worker at “survival” jobs, linguist, scholar of African languages and cultures, and finally Muslim. What’s especially worthy in this narrative, along with its compelling honesty, is how it offers a more organic conversion story, even pretending to have a belief one doesn’t actually exactly have, which in turn shows us this doesn’t have to be a WOW! moment but rather a gradual process. This is what I call Allah’s “curation” of our lives, should we in some way open ourselves to something good, in his case justice and learning empathy from a world where xenophobia both victimizes and unites Jewish culture/society in particular. He also brings unique details through the history of an era I know well in America, and describes eloquently how clear of US prejudices and shortcomings African and other cultures are, how the liberal and leftish Jewish culture was both pro-Zionist and anti-right wing extremism (which to leftist Jews then included Menachem Begin). Well-worth reading, this highly insightful article I found both inspiring and informative, helping me understand certain cultural issues more deeply.

Islamic Civilization Was the Source of Enlightenment

Did you know that during the Golden Age of Islam, Muslims developed and built rockets? The picture above is of one such rocket launched. Of course, they were not the same type we have now, and could not break through the earth’s gravity, but that the idea of rocket propulsion was developed in Islamic civilization is quite astounding. And this was while Christian civilization in Europe was executing thousands of women and children as witches, and censoring any knowledge or books of history, mathematics, or science disseminated throughout the Muslim world, where women founded universities, and certainly were never executed as supposed witches. The West should take notice! While they slip back into their old habits with a neo-fascist totalitarian twist, Islam is again lighting the way out of worldwide self-destruction.

This Quora post gives us a dramatic and detailed history of the Golden Age of Islam with pictures, videos, and various sources in answer to the question: “Is it true that Muslim civilization was once more civilized than the West during the dark ages?”

Many people, among them scholars and clergy who are non-Muslims, are beginning to acknowledge this fact. Is it not time then to open up the world to see the force behind that civilizing effect, despite human errors in its application, of the Quran? Indeed, people are beginning to see the difference between truth and falsehood, dogma and the more broad minded reality of Islam.

Video: Were Native Americans Muslim?

A long but fascinating look throughout history showing both African and Muslim influence on the Americas.

This eye-opening video gives us another look at the history of exploration in the Americas, focusing on Muslim influence in history that has been largely ignored. It’s well-worth the time to learn about this. The massacres inflicted by Spanish conquistadors as well as during the Spanish Inquisition in Andalus also tell us who the truly violent ones were. This video is well-researched and presented.

Another video mentioned very briefly the existence of Amazonian tribes adopting Islam and even building mosques in the jungle region. But there were few details, so I would need to research the matter. After watching the video above, however, it does seem possible.

Prophet Mohammad Was the First Anti-Racist

This is the title of the video below, asking what is the difference between an anti-racist and a non-racist? As this video explains, a non-racist is someone who believes it is wrong to discriminate against others based on the color of their skin or their ethnicity, but does nothing to fight against systemic racism. An anti-racist is one who does something about it. This video examines how prophet Mohammad was the first anti-racist as defined this way. 

This article covers the same topic in writing for those who may also wish to read it. The author of the article who speaks on the video is Dr. Craig Considine, a practicing Catholic with a surprisingly open mind regarding Islam, and Christianity (he accepts the prophethood of Mohammad as well as Jesus).  

The Creation of Adam Story in the Quran Explained – Ring Composition

Ring Analysis of First Creation-of-Adam Narrative

Above is a ring composition analysis of the first creation-of-Adam narrative in the Quran, which is in Surat Al-Baqara as shown. It is the first of seven such narratives, which I insha’Allah shall analyze one by one in a series of posts, comparing them to each other and showing the significance and value of multiple narratives of the same event; and how the arrangement of each of them contributes to our understanding of the meaning. This is after all a truly foundational event, answering the most basic questions of why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Why is there evil in the world? Why is there paradise and hell, and why must we die in the first place?

The Top Ten Differences Between the Quran and the Bible

Although there are also many similarities (some of which are shown here) between the Quran and the Bible, this post highlights the differences. And they are very important differences! One wonders, would those who base their faith on one benefit from reading the other? And why are Christians so much more averse to reading even part of the Quran than Muslims are to reading part of the Bible? 

Atheist Finds Purpose of Life in Quran – a Beautiful Video

Best video I’ve seen on the purpose of life, a fascinating story told by Dr. Jeffrey Lang.

Dr. Lang is now a well-known lecturer as well as mathematician, speaking from the heart. Here he tells the story of how he was an atheist and read the Quran that a friend had given him. What happened is riveting, and will surprise you! Well-worth your time.

Looking Deeper at Tawheed

Tawheed, the bedrock of Islam, is the immutable truth that Allah is ineffably One. It is not enough to say it is “monotheism” because Christians call themselves monotheists, but insofar as they worship Jesus the son of Mary as a god or “incarnation” or God the Almighty, All-Merciful, no, this is not monotheism and it is a violation of tawheed, sometimes translated “oneness.” The Quran is unequivocal and emphatic about this, quintessentially made clear in Surat Al-Ikhlass. In particular one needs to examine the word Al-Samad.

What Is Reality? The Quran on Truth Vs. What You Want It To Be

These days, with the proliferation of fake news and online influencers who invent entire realities to erase people’s understanding of what is true and what is false, where often the greatest deceivers present themselves as the most sincere truth-tellers, we are as a society in great need of somehow finding our way, our lost sense of reality. From another perspective, 

وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا الْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it].

Surat Al-Baqara 2:42