The Truth About Islam

[jomifl]

Did anyone see the programme on TV last night? It seems islam and christianity have one thing in common apart from a shared god and of course Abraham..

[naomi24]

I've recorded it to watch later today. I'll get back to you later.

[naomi24]

Jom, did you mean Channel 4s 'Islam: The Untold Story' - because that's what I recorded last night and have just watched - or did I miss something?

[vetuste_ennemi]

I assumed the same. Bit bewildered by the program because I'm sure Islamic groupie Karen Armsromg("Islam") said that the Dome of the Rock was emebllished with verses from the Koran, which would rather refute the main contention of the program.

[jomifl]

I expect I got the title wrong, it must be the same programme. I expect a qualifying phrase stuck in my mind.

[jomifl]

I suspect that that the spread of Arab culture operated with the same dyamics as the Mongol 'golde horde'. Ie. once you have robbed your neighbours you have to move further afield to satisfy your lust for gold and slaves. Islam was invented to suppress and control a large population when communications were poor. It seems that the history of islam is a convenient 'construct' as there is precious little corroboration of the 'facts'.

[naomi24]

VE, Karen (an ex-nun and, it seems, an apologist for all religion – her ‘History of God’ and ‘The Bible, A Biography’, are challenges in themselves!) is right. The mosque is embellished with verses from the Koran - but I thought the investigator assumed that Mohammed (for whose existence there is no contemporary evidence whatsoever) probably wrote the Koran. His main problem seemed to be that there was no contemporary evidence for the existence of Islam before a coin bearing Mohammed’s name, long after his death, was minted in Jerusalem – which is what I presume Jom means when he says //…Islam and Christianity have one thing in common….// No contenporary evidence.

The presenter’s reference to land where farmers farmed and olive trees grew was thought provoking. When reading the Koran that had never occurred to me – but, in retrospect, it’s well worthy of serious consideration.

The Guardian gave an interesting review of the programme…

http://www.guardian.c...accused?newsfeed=true

….as did the Independent.

http://www.independen...sed-bbc1-8084486.html

Perhaps we should watch it again.

http://www.tv-replay....nel-4-4od-198729.html

[jomifl]

It appears that Keyplus has been correct all along. It is not possible for infidels to understand the truth about Islam.....they wish!

[jomifl]

Naomi, it is interesting that the newspaper reviews from your links noticed the same thing as me ie. that the historian pussy-footed about the whole pointof the programme for fear of contradicting established muslim dogma. I can't say that I blame him I guess he would like to live long enough to get his pension!

[naomi24]

Jom, near to the end of it, the presenter asked one of the experts if it was acceptable to dig into the history, and I can’t remember his exact reply, but it was something like ‘Yes, but you can’t tell them they're wrong'.

[emmie]

i am no world expert at any religion, but was rather surprised to find that the belief is that Islam came fully formed, since when did any religion come ready made. The bible was written over time, then surely the Koran must be the same.

[naomi24]

Em, the Koran was written over a period of 23 years - allegedly - but Muslims believe that Islam has always existed. Did you watch it?

[sandyRoe]

The 10 Commandments, incised on tablets of stone, were given to Moses fully formed. In religion such things happen. I can't see why it shouldn't have been the same for the Koran

[naomi24]

According to Islam, it didn't come 'fully formed'. It took 23 years to write.

[emmie]

some, but quite frankly i have had enough of all religion. i won't be following this programme up. if world experts believe the formation of Islam happened over centuries, or one day i really don't care. Only this, the adherents to a religion that tells them to behave, think the way some do, has me reaching for the smelling salts. Praying 5 times a day, seems over egging the pudding, as to the rest of the stuff, well not for me.

[jomifl]

Sandy, You are being silly again ,the only words directly 'attributable' to god are the (heavily edited) 10 commandments. Unfortunately the original tablets have gone missing so for the sake of argument we will assume that they existed. Almost every Abrahamic religion has contravened the 'commandments' at every level of authority. So much for the word of god and that is why it is difficult to take establishd religion seriously, other than as a threat to civilised behaviour and freedom of thought and speach.

[Duncer]

........and the greatest control mechanism ever known?

[emmie]

shouldn't it be likened to an open prison, you want to leave, but wondering quite when the alarms will go off.

[WaldoMcFroog]

Sandy is forgetting that the ten commandments were written twice - Moses broke the first set after the whole golden calf idolatry episode. Moses then gets another set.

Weirdly, given they are supposedly directly dictated by God, they're different, so even the bits the inerrant God dictates evolve.

[vetuste_ennemi]

Same thing happened to poor Joseph Smith, Waldo, when Mrs. Olsen made off with her husband's transcripts of the BoM.

[mibn2cweus]

//Weirdly, given they are supposedly directly dictated by God, they're different, so even the bits the inerrant God dictates evolve.//

Since when has He ever managed to get something right the first time . . . or any time, for that matter? Weird? Uh huh. Unusual? Not at all. What's really weird is that so many do not hesitate to worship this Mr Bean in the Sky! Media URL: http://vimeo.com/15612191
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