RE. Jim

Submitted by Nabil Ahmad (United States), Jul 31, 2009 at 12:30

Sure, Jim. Why not?

I can address each of the points that you made here:

>> Muhammad's ordering the cutting off of the hands and feet of 600 Jews

No, that was the cutting off of their heads, not their hands and feet. It was the judgment that was passed against the men of the tribe of Quraiza by one of their former allies after they had violated their pact with Muhammad and gone over to the enemy camp when it seemed that the Muslims of Medina were about to be wiped out by the pagans of Mecca and their desert allies. Muhammad. There's a lot more to this than what you have mentioned here...and by the way, this sort of judgment was also sanctioned against the enemies of God and the Israelites in the Book of Deuteronomy. The judgment here was sanctioned against only those men of that particular tribe who had failed to repent. Other Jews that were not affiliated with that tribe and living in Medina were not impacted by the judgment.

>> his marrying his adopted son's wife

In Islam, an adopted son is not the same as a genetic son. Marrying the divorced wife of a genetic son IS forbidden, which Muhammad did NOT do. That's just the way it is.

>> his having sex with a slave girl the same night he had her brother and father killed

She was not a slave. You're talking about the daughter of Huyayy, the leader of the Jews of Khyber, am I right? She had been given the choice of returning to her people as a Jew, or becoming a Musim and marrying Muhammad, which she did. She had been a devout Jew, unlike her first husband (who had abused her in the past) and her father, and became a devout Muslim afterwards and one of the so-called "Mothers of the Faithful" which was the highest rank that a woman could attain in Muslim society at the time.

>> his ordering the assassination of a poetess who criticized him

Back in those days people who composed poetry were considered to be of high stature. Those who composed poetry against their enemies could be considered to be waging a low-key war. And the answer to that was war. I understand that to do such a thing nowadays would be considered to be an act of cowardice, murder, terrorism, etc. but remember, we're talking about 6th century Arabia here which had no real civilization. This act can be compared to acts taken against idol-worshippers and their champions in biblical Israel...they were treated pretty harshly and almost without any mercy whatsoever. Am I correct?

>> consumating his marriage to a 9 year old girl when he was 53

Back in those days in that place marriage between an old man and a girl on the verge of puberty was not uncommon. Muhammad was not criticized for it, not even by his enemies of the time. One must be careful to apply contemporary western standards of decency to that time...it wasn't very long ago when teen girls in western society would be married off before they hit 16. Now it must be bourne in mind that adultery has always been considered to be a sin, and yet is no longer frowned down upon in western culture...on the contrary, it is often promoted in pop culture and in the media as desirable and enjoyable. that doesn't somehow make it right, does it?

Anyway, good points, Jim. I always enjoy a frank and open discussion...

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