Basic doubts on Islam

Submitted by Uday Thipsay (Germany), Sep 30, 2005 at 10:33

Hi All,

Please allow me to share my thoughts on the basic deficiencies in Islam which are the root cause of the terrorism issue.

First of all please be informed that I have studied Islam, if not at the same depth as that of a devout muslim, beginning with the study of the Quran and then the Hadiths. I have also studied history and I can say with confidence with reference to impartial historians such as the British or the French, that the conflicts between Hinduism and Islam were definitely grim and earth shattering. Historian Gautier puts the estimated number of Hindu Kafirs killed by Muslim Gazis to 80 million between 1150 AD and 1750 AD. Numerous records and chronicles written by Muslim courtesans themselves describe in detail these actions of killings and pillage. So it is futile to say that these two religions had any considerable amicable coexistence.

Muslims speak of tolerance and patience toward other religion. I challenge you; show me a single verse in the Holy Quran that prohibits the Mujahids from killing Kafirs or humiliating them. The verses that some muslims mention with a different perspective are generalized one; I can show you numerous other verses that specifically direct onslaught on Kafirs. So by branding Islam a tolerant religion, the muslims are contradicting the dictates of Allah.

When I read Quran for the first time, and I must admit that I was fascinated by the detail in it and I did not read it with a prejudiced mind. I urge the muslims to read their religious book with open mind that questions the logic behind each directive. The very concept of heaven and hell and the characteristics of the Holy entity Allah depicted the following picture to me:

1. Allah is an entity that loves praise and has other human characteristics like anger, hatred, jealousy etc.
2. The main activity that Allah does is to direct His followers into a perpetual conflicts against the unbelievers (Including people of the book, jews and chistians - note that Mohmmed was probably unaware of Hinduism, otherwise Hindus would be the first on his hit list).
3. The only source of salvation to the believers is to follow Allah and His Apostle, which will guarantee a place in heaven.

When I grasped this concept, I asked to myself:

1. Is the Almighty so immature that He still has the characteristics of human beings? I would expect Allah (or God for that matter) free from anger, hatred and urge of adulation.
2. If He could, Allah would have created all human beings in such a manner that He would not have needed to send any prophets for any corrective actions at all. The idea that humans were misguided by Satan itself raises doubts regarding Allah's might.
3. Another idea that Allah wants to test the human spirit is indicative of an entity that is less matured. What is the ultimate aim of such testing actions? Pleasure? Happiness? Are these again not the characteristics of mortal humans?
4. Quran does not explain quite a few things – why are some people born with silver spoon in the mouth and others so poor? Is Allah partial when it comes to granting life to humans? Remember, this concept is better explained by Hinduism and the theory of rebirth based on past Karma. Secondly, Quran does not explain why the idol worshippers survived and prospered greatly before the coming of the Apostle. In India, for instance, the idol worshippers had a golden past before the advent of Islam. Why did Allah not send an Apostle to put an end to idolatry 3000 years before Mohammed?

Muslims have refuted the theory of unification with the Almighty which the Vedas advocate. But if you think deeply, without any prejudice, you will agree that this theory highlights God as a more matured entity at the same time explains some of the points that I have raised above.

Finally I urge all the muslims again to study these religious concepts with an open mind. To study Quran with the conviction that this is the word from God is like closing your mind to any illogical contradictions.

Cordially,

Uday Thipsay

hitips@yahoo.com

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".