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Islamic origins and conflict with The WestReader comment on item: The Islamic Invasion: Confronting the World's Fastest Growing Religion Submitted by Alaistair Campbell (United Kingdom), Feb 13, 2003 at 08:45 I heard Mr Morey on a late night phone radio show in the UK last year and out of curiosity, checked out his Islamic Invasion website.It is clear from the other topics discussed on it it,that he is coming from a "Born Again" Christian angle,but quite a few of the points he raises about the origins of Islam and its inclusion of many, what are politely called pre-Islamic traditions,(but are,lets face it, pagan beliefs dating from the start of civilisation in the Arabian peninsula and worthy of scholarly study in their own right) are worthy of debate. What I understand Mr Morey is saying,is that Islams assertion that its concept of the Godhead is identical to Christianity and Judaism,long held by this religion,is fundamentaly wrong and by comparing and contrasting Islamic beliefs with Christian,he believes he can show that "Allah" is a totally different deity from "God",in the same way that "Osiris" from the Egyptian pantheon is not the same as "Thor" from the Nordic.Religions have never simply appeared with a fully formed set of beliefs and mythology.They develop gradually,evolving to suit cultures and societies needs,subsuming beliefs and traditions already sacred to members of that society.Deities often change names-Istar of Sumeria became Astarte of Babylon became Aphrodite of Greece and Isis of Egypyt.(Some would say this Mother Goddess later became the deified Mary,mother of God but thats getting a bit close to the bone for some people)What Mr Morey seems to be saying is that Allah was already worshipped as a Moon god in the Arab pantheon and later transformed into The One true monotheistic deity of present day Islam.The Kabbah,the holy stone of Mecca is in reality an iron meteorite which impacted in the desert millenia ago and was worshipped by local people,no doubt highly impressed by this amazing rock that fell out of the sky,for centuries before Islam.This is integral to the Islamic faith.Late pagan beliefs absorbed into Christian tradition eg:Christmas,Halloween,etc,are merely cultural celebrations and in no way part of the Christian faith.
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". Reader comments (56) on this item
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