INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM

God has sent innumerable prophets.İf their teachings have differed in details, it is not because God has changed His opinion, but only because, in His mercyand wisdom, the evolution or deterioration of the human capacities nesessitated a change in the rules of conduct and in the details.Although in the Essentials of their teachings, particularly in those which concern the relation of man with God, prophets do not differ, -and the Quran lays a strong emphasis on it,- it is part of the obedience of man to God's orders to abide by the latest disposition of His will.If God taught men something through the prophet Abraham, for instance, it will not be disobedience to abandon it for abiding by the teachings of teh prophet Moses, because he brought in his time the latest disposition of the orders of the same Law-giver; what is more, to neglect the directions of Moses and continue to practise the teachings of Abraham would be flagrant disabedience to God.It is thus that man should practise, turn by turn, the messages of God brought by successive prophets, the latest of whom being Muhammad of holy memory.It is thus that, with all his respect for the previous prophets, a Muslim cannot abide except by the latest disposition of the will of God communiceted to man.A Muslem venerates the Torah, the Psalter and the Gospel as the word of God, yet he ağabeydes by the latest and the most recent of the words of God, namely the Quran.Whoever remains attached to the preceding laws, cannot be considered, by the Legistator, as law-abiding and obedient.
(INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM, Muhammed Hamidullah, s.110-111)

THE LAST CHAİN!
God has sent innumerable prophets.İf their teachings have differed in details, it is not because God has changed His opinion, but only because, in His mercyand wisdom, the evolution or deterioration of the human capacities nesessitated a change in the rules of conduct and in the details.Although in the Essentials of their teachings, particularly in those which concern the relation of man with God, prophets do not differ, -and the Quran lays a strong emphasis on it,- it is part of the obedience of man to God’s orders to abide by the latest disposition of His will.If God taught men something through the prophet Abraham, for instance, it will not be disobedience to abandon it for abiding by the teachings of teh prophet Moses, because he brought in his time the latest disposition of the orders of the same Law-giver; what is more, to neglect the directions of Moses and continue to practise the teachings of Abraham would be flagrant disabedience to God.It is thus that man should practise, turn by turn, the messages of God brought by successive prophets, the latest of whom being Muhammad of holy memory.It is thus that, with all his respect for the previous prophets, a Muslim cannot abide except by the latest disposition of the will of God communiceted to man.A Muslem venerates the Torah, the Psalter and the Gospel as the word of God, yet he ağabeydes by the latest and the most recent of the words of God, namely the Quran.Whoever remains attached to the preceding laws, cannot be considered, by the Legistator, as law-abiding and obedient.
(INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM, Muhammed Hamidullah, s.110-111)

MUHTEREM ÜSTAD HAMİDULLAH'TAN Hristiyan ve diğer din mensuplarına efradını cami ağyarına mani bir anektod.Her hangi bir adrese göndermede başarısız oldum.Sizler kullanabilirsiniz umuyorum:
"Batılda olsa davanızdaki çabanız takdire şayan!Ancak sizlere şunu söylemek durumundayım;"Allah sayısız peygamberler göndermiştir.Eğer onların öğrettikleri ayrıntılarda farklılık göstermişse, bu Rabbimizin fikir değiştirmiş olmasından değildir.Tam aksine Allah, Bizim kendi insani kapasitelerimizin gelişmesinin veya bozulmasının bu kurallarla ilgili ayrıntılarda bir değişikliği gerektirdiğine kendi yüce ilmi, hikmeti ve rahmetiyle hükmetmiş olmasındandır.Her ne kadar Peygamberler, öğretilerinin özü ve esası bakımından, özellikle Allah ile insan arasındaki ilişkilerle ilgili konularda, birbirinden hiçbir farklılık göstermeseler de, Kuran bu hususu ısrarla vurgular.Rabbinin iradesinin en yeni ve son durumuna uygun hareket etmek, O'nun buyruklarına itaat eden insana aittir.Allah, insanlara Hz.İbrahim aracılığıyla birşeyler öğrettiği icin, Hz.Musa'nın getirdiklerine uymak hiç te itaatsizlik değildir; zira Hz.Musa kendi zamanında aynı Kanun Koyucu'nun emirlerinin en son şeklini bize aktarmaktadır.Durum böyle olunca Hz.Musa'nın emirlerini ihmal etmek ve Hz.İbrahim'in öğrettiklerini uygulamaya devam etmek Allah'a karşı açık bir itaatsizlik olurdu.İşte bu sebebledir ki insanlar, birbiri ardınca gelen ve en sonuncusu Hz.Muhammed(s.a.v)olan, peygamberler tarafından getirilmiş olan ilahi mesajları sırasıyla uygulamak zorunda olmuşlardır.Bunun içindir ki bir müslüman sadece, eskiden gelmiş olan bütün peygamberlere en derin sevgi ve saygıyı göstermekle beraber, insana iletilmiş olan ilahi iradenin ancak ve sadece en son şelkline uygun hareket eder; Müslüman Allah'ın kelamı olarak Tevrat'a, Zebur'a ve İncil'e büyük saygı gösterir; fakat Rabbin sözlerinin en sonuncusu ve en yenisine, Yani Kuran'a uyar.Geride kalmış eski kanunlara bağlı kalan bir kimse, Kanun Koyucu tarafından, gerçekten itaatkar biri olarak asla kabul edilemez....


Other beliefs include:

God did not have a son.

Jesus (pbuh) is a prophet, born of the Virgin Mary. They regard the Christian concept of the deity of Jesus (pbuh) to be blasphemous; it is seen as a form of polytheism.

Jesus (pbuh) was not executed on the cross. He escaped crucifixion and was taken up into Paradise.

The existence of Satan who drives people to sin.

Muslims who sincerely repent and submit to God return to a state of sinlessness.

All people are considered children of Adam. Islam officially rejects .

All children are born on Al-Fitra (a pure, natural state of submission to Islam). His parents sometimes make him Christian, Jewish, etc.

When a child reaches puberty an account of their deeds is opened in Paradise. When the person dies, their eventual destination (Paradise or Hell) depends on the balance of their good deeds (helping others, testifying to the truth of God, leading a virtuous life) and their bad deeds.

Alcohol, other , eating of pork, etc. should be avoided.

Gambling should be avoided



DELAİL MİN”EL- KURAN ALEL-MESİHİYYE
(9.8)How? If they prevail against you they will respect neither agreements nor ties of kindred. They satisfy you with their tongues, but their hearts are averse; and most of them are wicked.
[9.11] If they repent and establish the prayer and pay the obligatory charity, they shall become your brothers in the religion. So We make plain Our verses for a nation that knows.
[9.29] Fight those who neither believe in Allah nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have , and do not embrace the religion of the truth, being among those who have been given the Book (Bible and the Torah), until they pay tribute out of hand and have been humiliated.
[9.30] The Jews say Ezra is the son of Allah, while the Christians (who follow Paul) say the Messiah is the son of Allah. Such are their assertions, by which they imitate those who disbelieved before. Allah fights them! How perverted are they!
[9.31] They take their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah, and the Messiah, son of Mary, though they were ordered to worship but one God, there is no god except He. Exalted is He above that they associate with Him!
[9. 32] They desire to extinguish the Light of Allah with their mouths; but Allah seeks only to perfect His Light, though the unbelievers it.
[9.33] It is He who has sent forth His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to uplift it above every religion, no matter how much the idolaters it.
[9.34] Believers, many are the rabbis and monks who in falsehood defraud people of their possessions and bar people from the Path of Allah. Give glad tidings of a painful punishment to those who treasure gold and silver and do not spend it in the Way of Allah.
[9.35] On that Day they (the treasures) will be heated in the fire of Gehenna (Hell), and their foreheads, sides, and backs will be branded with them, and told: 'These are the things which you have treasured. Taste then that which you were treasuring! '



[61.6] And when (Prophet) Jesus, the son of Mary said: 'Children of Israel, I am sent to you by Allah to confirm the Torah that was before me, and to give news of a Messenger (Prophet Muhammad) who will come after me whose name shall be Ahmad. ' Yet when he came to them with clear proofs, they said: 'This is clear
sorcery. '
[3.42] And when the angels said to Mary: 'Allah has chosen you and purified you. He has chosen you above all women of the worlds.
[3.43] Mary, be obedient to your Lord, prostrate and bow with those who bow. '
[3.44] This is from the news of the unseen. We reveal it to you (Prophet Muhammad). You were not present when they cast their quills to see which of them should look after Mary, nor were you present when they were disputing.
[3.45] When the angels said: 'O Mary, Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word (Be) from Him, whose name is Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary. He shall be honored in this world and in the Everlasting Life and he shall be among those who are close.
[3.46] He shall speak to people in his cradle and when he is aged, and shall be among the righteous. '
[3.47] 'Lord, ' she said, 'how can I bear a child when no human being has touched me? ' He replied: 'Such is the Will of Allah. He creates whom He will. When He decrees a thing, He only says: "Be," and it is.
[3.48] He will teach him the Book, the Wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel,
[3.49] to be a Messenger to the Children of Israel, (saying): "I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. From clay, I will create for you the likeness of a bird. I shall breathe into it and by the permission of Allah, it shall be a bird. I shall heal the blind, and the leper, and raise the to life by the permission of Allah. I shall tell you what you ate and what you store in your houses. Surely, that will be a sign for you, if you are believers.
[3.50] Likewise confirming the Torah that has been before me and to make lawful to you some of the things you have been . I bring you a sign from your Lord, therefore, fear Allah and obey me.
[3.51] Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore, worship Him. This is the Straight Path". '
[3.52] When (Prophet) Jesus felt their disbelief, he said: 'Who will be my helpers in the way of Allah? ' The disciples replied: 'We are the helpers of Allah. We believe in Allah. Bear witness that we are submitters (Muslims).
[3.53] Lord, we have believed in what You sent down and followed the Messenger. Write us among Your witnesses. '
[3.54] They devised, and Allah devised. And Allah is the Best Devisor.
[3.55] Allah said: ' (Prophet) Jesus, I will take you to Me and will raise you to Me, and I will purify you from those who disbelieve. I will make your followers (who died before Prophet Muhammad) above those who disbelieve till the Day of Resurrection. Then, to Me you shall all return, and I shall judge between you as to that you were at variance.
[3.56] As for those who disbelieve, I will sternly punish them in this world and in the Everlasting Life, there shall be none to help them.
[3.57] As for those who believe and do good works, He will pay them their wages in full. Allah does not love the harmdoers.
[3.58] This, We recite to you of the verses and the Wise Remembrance.
[3.59] Truly, the likeness of (Prophet) Jesus with Allah, is as the likeness of Adam, He created him from dust then He said to him "Be" and he was.
[3.60] The truth is from your Lord, therefore, do not be among the doubters.
[3.61] Those who dispute with you concerning him after the knowledge has come to you, say: 'Come, let us gather our sons and your sons, our womenfolk and your womenfolk, ourselves and yourselves. Then let us humbly pray, so lay the curse of Allah upon the ones who lie. '
[3.62] This is indeed the truthful narration. There is no god except Allah. It is Allah who is the Almighty, the Wise.
[3.63] If they turn away, Allah knows the evildoers.
[3.64] Say: 'People of the Book, let us come to a common word between us and you that we will worship none except Allah, that we will associate none with Him, and that none of us take others for lords besides Allah. ' If they turn away, say: 'Bear witness that we are Muslims. '
[3.65] People of the Book, why do you dispute about Abraham when both the Torah and the Gospel were not sent down till after him? Have you no sense?
[3.66] Indeed, you have disputed about that which you have knowledge. Why then dispute about that of which you have no knowledge? Allah knows and you do not know.
[3.67] No, Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Nazarene. He was of pure faith, a submitter (Muslim). He was never of the idolaters.
[3.68] Surely, the people who are nearest to Abraham are those who followed him, and this Prophet (Muhammad), and those who believe. Allah is the Guardian of the believers.
[3.69] Some of the People of the Book wish to make you go astray, but they lead none astray except themselves, though they do not sense it.

[3.70] People of the Book! Why do you disbelieve the verses of Allah while you are witness?
[3.71] People of the Book! Why do you confound truth with falsehood, and knowingly hide the truth?
[3.72] Some of the People of the Book say: 'Believe in that which is sent down to those who believe at the beginning of the day and disbelieve at the end of it, so that they will return.
[3.73] Believe none except those who follow your own religion. ' Say: 'The true guidance is the Guidance of Allah that anyone should be given the like of what you have been given, or dispute with you before your Lord. ' Say: 'Bounty is in the Hand of Allah. ' He gives it to whomsoever He will. Allah is the Embracer, the Knower.
[3.74] He singles out for His Mercy whom He will. And Allah is of abundant bounty.
[3.75] Among the People of the Book there are some, who, if you trust him with a Qintar (98,841.6 lbs.), will return it to you, and there are others, who, if you trust him with a dinar will not hand it back unless you stand over him, for they say: 'As for the common people, they have no recourse to us. ' They say lies against Allah while they know.
[3.76] Rather, those who keep their promise and fear Allah Allah loves the cautious.
[3.77] Those who sell the promise of Allah and their own oaths for a little price shall have no share in the Everlasting Life. Allah will neither speak to them, nor look at them, nor purify them on the Day of Resurrection. Theirs shall be a painful punishment.
[3.78] And there is a sect among them who twist their tongues with the Book, so you will think it is from the Book, whereas it is not from the Book. They say: 'This is from Allah, ' whereas it is not from Allah. And they knowingly tell lies against Allah.
[3.79] No human to whom Allah has given the (Holy) Book, Judgement and Prophethood would say to the people: 'Be worshipers of me, other than Allah. ' But rather, 'Be of the Lord, for that you teach the Book, and in that you have studied. '
[3.80] Nor would he order you to take the angels and the Prophets for lords, what, would he order you with disbelief after you were submitters (Muslims)!
[3.81] And when Allah took the covenant of the Prophets: 'That I have given you of the Book and Wisdom. Then there shall come to you a Messenger (Muhammad) confirming what is with you, you shall believe in him and you shall support him to be victorious, do you agree and take My load on this? ' They answered: 'We do agree. ' Allah said: 'Then bear witness, and I will be with you among the witnesses. '
[3.82] Whosoever turns back after that, they are the transgressors.
[3.83] Are they seeking a religion other than that of Allah, and to Him whosoever is in the heavens and the earth has submitted willingly and unwillingly. To Him they shall be returned.
[3.84] Say: 'We believe in Allah and in what is sent down to us and in that which was sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the tribes, and in that which was given to (Prophets) Moses and Jesus, and the Prophets from their Lord. We do not differentiate between any of them. To Him we are submitters (Muslims). '
[3.85] He who chooses a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Everlasting Life he will be among the losers.
[3.98] Say: 'People of the Book, why do you disbelieve the verses of Allah? Surely, Allah is witness to all that you do. '
[3.99] Say: 'People of the Book, why do you bar he who believes from the Path of Allah and seek to make it crooked, when you yourselves are witnesses? Allah is not inattentive of what you do. '

[3.19] The only religion with Allah is Islam (submission). Those to whom the Book was given disagreed among themselves only after knowledge had been given to them being insolent among themselves. He who disbelieves the verses of Allah indeed Allah is Swift in reckoning.

[3.85] He who chooses a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Everlasting Life he will be among the losers.

[5.3] …Those who disbelieve have this day despaired of your religion. Do not fear them, but fear Me. This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed My favor to you. I have approved Islam to be your religion….

[61.6] And when (Prophet) Jesus, the son of Mary said: 'Children of Israel, I am sent to you by Allah to confirm the Torah that was before me, and to give news of a Messenger (Prophet Muhammad) who will come after me whose name shall be Ahmad. ' Yet when he came to them with clear proofs, they said: 'This is clear
sorcery. '
[61.7] And who does greater evil than he who forges a lie against Allah, when he is being called to Islam? Allah does not guide the harm doing people.
[61.8] They seek to extinguish the Light of Allah with their mouths; but Allah will complete His Light, much as the unbelievers dislike it.
[61.9] It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth, so that He raises it above all religions, much as the unbelievers dislike it.

[2. 145] But even if you brought those to whom the Book had been given every proof, they would not accept your direction, nor would you accept theirs; nor would any of them accept the direction of the other. If after all the knowledge you have been given you yield to their desires, then you will surely be among the harmdoers.
[2.146] Those to whom We gave the Book know him (Prophet Muhammad) as they know their own sons. But a party of them conceal the truth while they know.
[2.147] The truth comes from your Lord so do not be among the doubters.

THE MUSLIM AT PRAYER


THE OPENING CHAPTER
OF THE HOLY QUR'AN
In the name of Allah (God), The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord (Who is the Creator, Sustainer and Guide) of all the worlds.
The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful; Sovereign of the Day of Judgement.
Thee (alone) do we worship, And from thee (alone) we seek help.
Show us the straight Path, The Path of those (who fear Allah) and on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings.
Not of those (committing wrongs deliberately) On whom Thou art angry, nor of those who (Having wrong opinions) go astray. Ameen
YOUR VISIT TO THE MOSQUE
We present to you this Brochure which is a Comparative Study of Muslims Prayer. It is intended to show in it, among other things, the relationship of the various aspects of Islamic prayer with the teachings of the People of the Book (i.e. the Jews and the Christians). Today, amongst some of our non-Muslims Brethren there is a strong misconception of Islam which they believe to be a mystical cult abounding in dogmas, superstitions and ritual dances.
The fact is that Islam is a simple, reasonable and practical religion and free from priestcraft and the above charges. It is a way of life for the social, moral and spiritual development of humanity. It does not demand of a man to surrender his reasoning faculties nor does it demand a blind faith in obscure and inexplicable mysteries. It teaches the purest form of Monotheism and regards Polytheisms as an unpardonable sin.
Although Islam is regarded as the youngest of all revealed religions, it is NOT A NEW RELIGION, but a continuation of the first religion of God to Man, purged and purified, time after time, from all human erations and restored to its original purity.
Thus all prophets from Adam to Muhummed (PEACE BE UPON THEM) came to preach the same religion; which continued to grow and grow until it reached perfection at the hands of the Holy Prophet "Muhummed".
Islam is the only religion in the world that commands its followers to respect and revere the founders of all revealed religions, such as Abraham, Moses, Noah, Jesus,etc.
Muhummed´s advent has been prophesied in religious scriptures, includung the Bible.* The New Testament says, in the words of Jesus: "And I will Pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter,** that he may abide with you for ever" (John 14:16); "But when the Comforter is come, whom i will send unto you, from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me" (John 15:26); "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away; for the if I go not away , the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you" (John 16:7) ; "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth : for he shall not speak of himself: but whatsoever he shall hear, that he shall speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you" (John 16:12-14).
THE QURAN SPEAKS!
Vol. II-No. 47
GOD BEGETS NOT
It is not befitting to the (Majesty of) God that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When he determines a matter, he only says to it, "Be" and it is, (HOLY QURAN 19:35).
Begetting a son is a physical act and is against God´s nature. "Son of God" should NOT be taken in literal sence because God addresses His chosen servants as his "sons" - Adam (Luke 3:38) So Solomon (1 Chronicles 28:6), Jesus (Luke 3:22) Israel (Exodus 4:22) and Ephraim (Jeremiah 31:9) were "GOD´S FIRST BORNS". The new Testament also interprets "son of God" to be allegorical, vide Romans 8:14: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." "... In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the Devil.." (1 John 3:9-10).

"There is no other object of worship but God; Muhummed is the Messenger of God."
"Say: He is Allah (God), the One and Only; Allah the eternally Besought of all; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none comparable unto Him." (HOLY QURAN 112.1-4).
"..To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?"- (ISAIAH 40:18).
"Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. "-(MATTHEW 4:10).
Five times a day, every day, a muezzin climbs to the minaret and calls the faithful to prayer, his voice ringing clear over the rooftops and across the streets... "O you who belive! When the call is made for prayer...hasten to the remembrance of Allah."-(HOLY QURAN 62:9).
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, make thee two trumpets of silver...that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly...And when they shall blow whit them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."-(NUMBERS 10:1-3).
PRAYER
(An International anthem of some 1000 million Muslims of the world.)
Allah is Greatest.
Allah is Greatest
I bear witness that there is no other object of worship but Allah.
I bear witness that there is no other object of worship but Allah.
I bear witness that Muhummed is the Messenger of Allah.
I bear witness that Muhummed is the Messenger of Allah.
Come to prayer.
Come to prayer.
Come to Success.
Come to Success.
Allah is Greatest.
Allah is Greatest.
There is no other object of worship but Allah.


THE MUEZZIN CALLING THE FAITHFUL TO PRAYER

...the faithful come to the mosque and take off their shoes so that they may enter the house of worship in bare feet...
"When he came to the Fire, a voice was uttered: O Moses! I am thy Lord, therefore put off thy shoes, for thou art in the sacred valley of Tuwa."-(HOLY QURAN 20:11-12).
(And God said to Moses), "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."-(EXODUS 3:5, also ACTS 7:33).

...but before entering the mosque, they make abultion, washing their faces, hands and feet...
"O you who belive! When you rise up to prayer, wash your faces and your hands as far as the elbows, and wipe your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles."-(HOLY QURAN 5:7)
"And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat; when they went into tent of the conregation they washed as the Lord commanded Moses."-(EXODUS 40:31-32).
"Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple..."-(ACTS 21:26).

...and in the mosque, the faithful face that Great Mosque in Mecca, whether in prayer, or reciting, or seeking the blessings of God in unisom with the faithful from all over the world...
"So turn thy face toward the Sacred Mosque, and (O Muslims), wheresoever ye may be, turn your faces toward it."- (HOLY QURAN 2:144).
"Now when Daniel...went into his house; and his window being open in his chamber towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."-(DANIEL 6:10).

...the house is a place of peace and serenity, without images or idols of worship, and simple, with a carpet on which to stand or sit, and meditate.
"God forgiveth not (the sin of) joining other gods with Him;...one who joins other gods with God, hath strayed far, far away (from the Right)."-(HOLY QURAN 4:116).
"I am the Lord thy God...Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them."-(THE FIRST COMMANDMENT, EXODUS 20:2-5).

...and when the time of prayer is come, the faithful stand and bow before God, and make obeisance to Him, by touching the ground before them with their foreheads...
They do blaspheme who say: "God is Christ, the son of Mary." But said Christ:" O Children of Israel! Worship God, my Lord and your Lord."-(HOLY QURAN 5:75).
They do blaspheme who say: God is one of three in a Trinity: for there is no god except One God.-(HOLY QURAN 5:76).
And, behold, one came and said unto him (Jesus), "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but One, that is God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the Commandments.-(MATTHEW 19:16-17).

"O you who believe! Bow down and prostrate yourselves and serve your Lord, and do good that you may prosper."-(HOLY QURAN 22:77).
"And he (Jesus) went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed..."-(MATTHEW 26:39).
"And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship..."-(JOSHUA 5:14).
"And he (Elijah) cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees."-(1 KINGS 18:42).
"And they (Moses and Aaron) fell upon their faces..."-(NUMBERS 20:6).
"And Abraham fell on his face..."-(GENESIS 17:3).

...and invariably, the faithful spreads out his hands to God, asking forgiveness, seeking His blessings, beseeching His protection for mankind...
"Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and defend us from the torment of the Fire."-(HOLY QURAN 2:201)
"...when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven."-(1 KINGS 8:54).
And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that Thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent me.-(JOHN 11:41-42).

...and on Fridays, before the prayer immediately after noon, the imam climbs up the pulpit to preach a sermon that the faithful may listen and heed the words of God, and so shall it be, forever.
"When the call is sounded for prayer on Fridays, hasten to the remembrance of God...but when the prayer is ended, disperse abroad in the land and seek of God´s grace and remember God, that you may be successful."-(HOLY QURAN 62:9-10).


BIRTH OF JESUS (A QURANIC CONCEPTION)
Relate in the Book (the story of) Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place in the East.
She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her Our Angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects.
She said: "I seek refuge from thee to (God) Most Gracious: (come not near) if thou dost fear God."
He said: "Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son."
She said: "How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?"
He said: "So (it will be): Thy Lord saith, "That is easy for Me: and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from Us: It is a matter (so) decreed."
So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place...
At length she brought (the ) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: "O Mary! Truly an amazing thing has thou brought!
"O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!"
But she pointed to the . They said: "How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?"
He (the ) said: "I am indeed a servant of God; He hath given me Revelation and made me a prophet: And he hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live; (He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or misrable; so Peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again).
Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute.-(HOLY QURAN 19:16-34).
THE QURAN SPEAKS
VOL. 11-No.36
JESUS IS NOT GOD
And behold. God will say: "O Jesus son of Mary! Did´st thou say unto men, Worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of God?" He will say: "Glory to Thee! Never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, Thou would´st indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, though I know not what is in Thine. For thou knowest in full all that is hidden. Never said I to them aught except what Thou did´st command me to say, to wit, worship God, my Lord and your Lord." (HOLY QURAN 5:119-120).
Compare with Bible: (1) John 5:30; (2) John 12:49; (3) John 14:28; (4) Isaiah 42:8; (5) Acts 2:22.
THE QURAN SPEAKS
VOL. 111-No.4
MUHUMMED IS NOT GOD
Say thou (O Muhummed to the people): "I am but a man like you: it is revealed to me by inspiration, that your God is One God: so stand true to Him, and ask for His forgiveness". And woe to those who join gods with God. (HOLY QURAN 41:6)
Some people maintain that Muslims worship Muhummed instead of God, and call them "Muhummedans". The above verse gives the lie to such an allegation as Muhummed never claimed himself to be a god. He was a prophet like any other messenger of God. The word "Muhummedanism" as applied to the Islamic religion is a misnomer. Islam means submission to the Will of God and its followers are called Muslims.
How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?-(JOB 25:4).


THE FOLLOWING EXTRACTS FROM THE BIBLE BEAR TESTIMONY TO THE QURANIC TRUTH THAT JESUS IS NOT GOD
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders ans signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know.-(ACTS 2:22).
"And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God...-(REVELATION 19:10)
For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.-(JOHN 12:49).
I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.-(JOHN 5:30-31).
...for my Father is greater than I.-(JOHN 14:28).
And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.-(JOHN 17:3)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord; neither he that is sent greater than He that sent him.-(JOHN 13:16)
John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her (Mary Magdalene)... I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.-(JOHN 20:17)
But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.-(MARK 13:32)
But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God.-(JOHN 8:40).
"It was the first religion that preached and practised democracy; for, in the mosque when the call from the Minaret is sounded and the worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and the king kneel side by side and proclaim, "God alone is great." I have been struck over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes a man distinctively a brother."
THE LATE SIROJINI NAIDU - A GREAT HINDU POETESS, RIGHTLY DESCRIBED AS THE "NIGHTINGALE OF INDIA."
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*Muhummed is mentioned by name in song of Solomon 5:16. The Hebrew word used is "Mahummudim".
**The word "comforter" is the English translation of the Greek word "Peri clytos" which is almost a literal translation of the Aramaic or Hebrew word "Mauhamana" used by Jesus himself, and which identifies with the name of Prophet Muhummed. (Refer Note 5438. - Yusuf Ali Translation of the Holy Quran).
THE END!
BACK TO THE DEEDAT PAGE

WWW.JAMAAT.NET

Islam 101
American Edition



compiled by
Dr. Ishaq Zahid

March 2004
The Sabr Foundation, P.O. Box 958, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Website: http://www.sabr.com, Email: webmaster@sabr.com

I seek refuge in Allah from the rejected Satan.
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Kind.
Contents

1. Islamic Theology and Its Rituals 3

2. What They Say About Muhammad (peace be on him) 7
3. Allah in the Bible 11
4. Statements of Muslim World Leaders on Sept 11, 2001 Tragedy 13

5. Human Rights in Islam 14

6. Bible and ism 15

7. Recent Great Tragedies 16

8. Tolerance, Respect and safeguard for Non-Muslims 17

9. Guilt by Association
(The Executive Summary of Report published by CAIR) 18

10. A short List of Recommended Websites, Books, Video 19



Cover Picture: Masjid Omar ibn Al-Khattab, Los Angeles, CA,
http://www.islam.org/Culture/Mosques/america/USA_MasjidOmar.htm


"My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level."
Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc., 1978, p. 33.

Islamic Theology and Its Rituals
Key Words: Allah, Islam, Muslim, Muhammad, Quran, Shahada, Salat, Ramadhan, Zakat, Hajj, Shariah
ALLAH - for Muslims the greatest and most inclusive of the Names of God, an Arabic word of rich and varied meaning, denoting the one who is adored in worship, who creates all that exists, who had priority over all creation, who is lofty and hidden, who confounds all human understanding. It is exactly the same word that the Jews, in Hebrew, use for God (eloh), the word which Jesus Christ used in Aramaic when he prayed to God. God has an identical name in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; Allah is the same God worshipped by Muslims, Christians and Jews.
"He is God, the One God Independent and sought by all; He begets not, nor is begotten, and there is none like unto Him" (The Holy Qur 'an - Chapter 112 - Al-Ikhlas- Sincerity of Faith)
Islam teaches that all faiths have, in essence, one common message:
the existence of a Supreme Being, the one and only God, whose Sovereignty is to be acknowledged in worship and in the pledge to obey His teaching and commandments, conveyed through His messengers and prophets who were sent at various times and in many places throughout history.
Islam, An Arabic word, rich in meaning. One important dimension is the "commitment to submit and surrender to God so that one can live in peace"; Peace (Salam) is achieved through active obedience to the revealed Commandments of God, for God is the Source of all Peace. Commitment to Islam entails striving for peace through a struggle for justice, equality of opportunity, mutual caring and consideration for the rights of others, and continuous research and acquisition of knowledge for the better protection and utilization of the resources of Creation.
Islam teaches that the objective of the Commandment of God is that peace should be established in the human societies of this world, in preparation for a further dimension of human existence in the world to come, the Afterlife. Islam's vision of peace is therefore truly universal; it transcends time and belongs to the order of God's eternity.
Islam does not regard itself to be a new teaching, different or separate from that of other world religions. It is the reaffirmation of the ancient yet living truth of all religions, which can be expressed in the following beliefs:
The Uniqueness of the one and only God who is Sovereign of the universe;
The Revelation of the teaching and commandments of God through Angels in heaven to Prophets on earth, and written in sacred writings which all have the same transcendent source; these contain the will of God which marks the way of peace for the whole universe and all of humankind;
The Day of Judgment which inaugurates the after-life, in which God rewards and punishes with respect to human obedience and disobedience to His will.
Islam affirms these simple beliefs as the basis for the decent, civilized society towards which it strives. Its vision of society is; in essence, no different from that upheld by all monotheistic religions. This is particularly true of Judaism and Christianity, which share with Islam the direct spiritual lineage of the Prophet Abraham. Islam affirms the divinely ordained missions of the Prophet Moses, through whom God revealed the sacred scripture called the Torah, and of the Prophet Jesus, through whom God revealed the scripture known as the Gospel. The message of Islam is in essence the same as that which God revealed to all His prophets and messengers. The Prophet Muhammad (the peace and blessing of God be upon him) was commanded to recite in the Holy Qur'an:
"Say, we believe in God, and that which was revealed unto us, and that which was revealed unto Abraham and lshmael and Isaac and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which was vouchsafed unto Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord; We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered" (The Holy Qur 'an 3.84)
The success of civilizations and cultures is directly related to the extent of their practice of the righteous way of life revealed in the teaching and commandments of God, and set forth in the monotheistic religions which are confirmed by Islam. God's revelation enshrines the highest values of humankind, and the divine commandments are essentially no different from the values which human beings have cherished and striven to maintain throughout history, regardless of cultural, racial, linguistic and socioeconomic differences. Success in this life is directly related to the practice of these values.
The irreducible minimum of faith is to believe in God as the sole sovereign Lord of this world and the next, and to believe in the reality of the Afterlife for which human beings are to prepare by living righteously in this world. God Alone is the Judge of human righteousness, and it is God Alone who rewards and punishes in this life and in the life hereafter.
Righteousness does not mean for you to turn your faces towards the East and towards the West, but righteousness means one should believe in God (Alone), the Last Day, the angels, the Book and the prophets; and no matter how he loves it, to give his wealth away to near relatives, orphans, the needy, the wayfarer and the beggars, and toward the freeing of captives, and to keep up prayer and pay the welfare tax, and those who keep their word whenever they promise anything; and are patient under strain and hardship and in time of peril Those are the ones who act royally and perform their duty. (The Holy Qur 'an 2:177)
A Muslim is one who is committed to peace continuously striving to follow the way of righteousness and justice revealed by God; the Arabic word muslim refers to a man, muslima to a woman. In either case the literal meaning is "one who submits to God's teachings and commandments, which leads to peace."
Muslims have three distinct advantages to help them in the practice of Islam as their way of life:
1. The Sacred Scripture called the Qur'an, which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the 7th century of the Common Era, and which, after 1400 years, remains authentic in its original Arabic text, in the language which is still used and understood by millions of people throughout the world today; it contains God's guidance in teachings and commandments which are valid for all times and all places, and which encompass all spheres of human life.
2. The Prophet Muhammad, whom the Qur'an names as "the Seal (last) of the Prophets", and of whose life and mission there is a complete and authentic record in the Sira and the Hadith. These show how he exemplified the teachings and commandments of God in practice, and elaborated the principles laid down in the Qur'an in order to provide a sure guidance for their interpretation and application for all later times and societies.
3. The Sacred Law, called the Shari'ah, which sets out the way of worship prescribed in the Qur’an and the Prophet's practice; it goes beyond the common understanding of worship as the performance of religious rituals, and encompasses the whole of human life, individual as well as social. Thus all so-called secular activities become acts of worship, provided they are performed with pure and righteous intention, seeking God's pleasure.
Muslims are enjoined to organize their lives on the basis of a series of ritual acts of worship which are ordained in the Qur'an as ways which discipline human beings to remember God constantly, accepting his Sovereignty and pledging to obey His commandments:
1. Declaration of belief (Shahada): this is the initial act of faith, expressed in a simple statement which testifies to one's commitment to following the straight path of God's guidance upon which Muslims seek to live their lives;

"I bear witness that there its no god but God; I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Prophet. "
2. Prayer (Salat), offered five times a day, has the effect of reminding the faithful that "remembrance of God is indeed the greatest virtue", and helps them adhere to the path of righteousness, and to restrain from indecency and evil.
3. Fasting (Sawm), observed through the daylight hours of the 29/30 days of the Islamic month of Ramadan, involves abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking and marital ; this reminds the believers of their dependence upon God, as well as their kinship with, and responsibility for the millions of human beings in the world who experience involuntary fasting because of lack of food, or its unjust distribution.
4. Purification of wealth (Zakat); this requires the annual giving of a fixed amount of excess personal assets for the benefit of the poor, the incapacitated, the deprived, and the welfare of the community; it serves to remind Muslims that all beneficence comes from the bounty of God, and is enjoyed only through His mercy; sharing becomes an act of purification both of the wealth itself, and of the giver whose soul is disciplined against greed by the practice of selflessness.
5. Pilgrimage (Hajj), which all Muslims should perform at least once in a lifetime, if personal circumstances permit; it gathers the believers as members of the diverse human family into a single community. They perform prescribed acts of worship at the Holy House of the Ka’ba in Makkah (Mecca) which, according to the Qur'an, was originally built by the prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael; and at Mount Arafat, where they remember the pure and original way of life of Adam, the progenitor of the human race, reaffirmed by the Patriarch of the entire human family, the Prophet Abraham, and finally perfected and completed by God for all humanity through the mission of the Prophet Muhammad - the way of life known as Islam which has at its heart the doctrine of the unity and uniqueness of the One God.

Each of these prescribed acts of worship brings Muslims daily and repeatedly before God Almighty as the Creator, Sustainer and Judge of all humanity.
Through these acts of worship, God helps Muslims to fulfill the obligation of striving which he has ordained for this life; the striving actively and freely to surrender one's own will in obedience to the Will of God, inwardly in intention and outwardly in word and deed; individually in personal conduct and collectively in the improvement of society; the striving for peace in the world through the proclamation of true faith, and its defense against all that threatens it.
Islam presents human beings with a simple two-fold invitation:
• to witness that there is no God but God Almighty;
• to witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.
This declaration is the door to a life of service. One of participation in a community of believers whose highest duty is to call on humanity to embrace what is righteous and good and to reject what is evil and degrading. Muslims are brothers and sisters of all people of good faith, and wish to strive with them for peace in this world.

You Must Know This Man
You may be an atheist or an agnostic or you may belong to any of the religious denominations that exist in the world today. You may have been a Communist or a believer in democracy and freedom. No matter what you are, and no matter what your religious and political beliefs, personal and social habits happen to be— YOU STILL MUST KNOW THIS MAN!
He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set foot on this earth. He preached a religion, founded a state, built a nation, laid down a moral code, initiated numberless social and political reforms, established a dynamic and powerful society to practice and represent his teachings, and he revolutionized the worlds of human thought and human action for all time.
His name was Muhammad (peace and blessings of Almighty Creator be upon him)—and he accomplished all these wonders in the unbelievably short span of twenty-three years.
Muhammad (pbuh) was born in Arabia in 570 CE, and when he died at the age of 63, the whole of the Arabian Peninsula had changes from paganism and idol worship to the worship of One God; from tribal quarrels and wars to national solidarity and cohesion; from drunkenness and debauchery to sobriety and piety; from lawlessness and to disciplined living; from utter moral bankruptcy to the highest standards of moral excellence. Human history has never known such a complete transformation of a people or a place before or since.
The Encyclopedia Britannica calls him "the most successful of all religious personalities of the world." Bernard Shaw said, "if Muhammad (pbuh) were alive today, he would succeed in solving all those problems which threaten to destroy human civilization in our times." Thomas Carlysle was amazed as to how one man, single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades. Napoleon and Gandhi never tired of dreaming of a society along the lines established by this man in Arabia fourteen centuries ago.
Indeed no other human being ever accomplished so much, in such diverse fields of human thought and behavior, in so limited a space of time, as did Muhammad (pbuh). He was a religious teacher, a social reformer, a moral guide, a political thinker, a military genius, an administrative colossus, a faithful friend, a wonderful companion, a devoted husband, a loving father—all in one. No other man in history ever excelled or equaled him in any of these difficult departments of life.
The world has had its share of great personalities. But these were one-sided figures who distinguished themselves in but one or two fields, such as religious thought or military leadership. None of the other great leaders of the world ever combined within himself so many different qualities to such an amazing level of perfection as did Muhammad (pbuh).
The lives and teachings of other great personalities of the world are shrouded in the mist of time. There is so much speculation about the time and the place of their birth, the mode and style of their life, the nature and detail of their teachings and the degree and measure of their success or failure that it is impossible for humanity today to reconstruct accurately and precisely the lives and teachings of those men.
Not so this man Muhammad (pbuh). Not only was he born in the fullest blaze of recorded history, but every detail of his private and public life, of his actions and utterances, has been accurately documented and faithfully preserved to our day. The authenticity of the information so preserved is vouched for not only by faithful followers but also by unbiased critics and open-minded scholars.
At the level of ideas there is no system of thought and belief—secular or religious, social or political —which could surpass or equal ISLAM—the system which Muhammad (pbuh) propounded. In a fast-changing world, while other systems have undergone profound transformations, Islam alone has remained above all change and mutation, and retained its original form for the past 1400 years. What is more, the positive changes that are taking place in the world of human thought and behavior truly and consistently reflect the healthy influence of Islam in these areas.
It is not given to the best of thinkers to put their ideas completely into practice, and to see the seeds of their labors grow and bear fruit in their own lifetime. Except of course, Muhammad (pbuh), who not only preached the most wonderful ideas but also successfully translated each one of them into practice. At the time of his his teachings were not mere precepts and ideas straining for fulfillment. They had become the very core of the life of tens of thousands of perfectly trained individuals. At what other time or place and in relation to what other political, social, religious system, philosophy or ideology—did the world ever witness such a perfectly amazing phenomenon? Except of course, ISLAM, which was established as a complete way of life by Muhammad (pbuh)himself. History bears testimony to this fact and the greatest skeptics have no option but to concede this point.
In spite of the phenomenal success which crowned his efforts, he did not for a moment claim to be God or God's incarnation or Son —but only a human being who was chosen and ordained by the Creator to be a teacher of truth to mankind and a complete and pattern for their actions.
He was a man with a noble and exalted mission —and his unique mission was to unite humanity in the worship of the One and only God and to teach them the way to honest and upright living in accordance with the laws and commands of God. He always described himself as a Messenger and servant of God, as indeed every single action and movement of his proclaimed him to be.
A world which has not hesitated to raise to Divinity individuals whose very lives and missions have been lost in legend and who, historically speaking, did not accomplish half as much—or even one tenth—as was accomplished by Muhammad (pbuh), should stop to take serious note of this remarkable man's claim to be God's messenger to mankind.
Today, after the lapse of some 1400 years, the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), have survived without the slightest loss, alteration or interpolation. Today they offer the same undying hope for treating mankind's many ills which they did when Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was alive. This is our honest claim and this is the inescapable conclusion forced upon us by a critical and unbiased study of history.
The least YOU should do as a thinking, sensitive, concerned human being is to stop for one brief moment and ask yourself: Could it be that these statements, extraordinary and revolutionary as they sound, are really true? Supposing they really are true, and you did not know this man Muhammad (pbuh) or hear about his teachings? Or did not know him well and intimately enough to be able to benefit from his guidance and example? Is it not time you responded to this tremendous challenge and made some effort to know him? It will not cost you anything but it may well prove to be the beginning of a completely new era in your life.
Come, let us make a new discovery, the life of this wonderful man Muhammad (pbuh), the like of whom never walked on this earth, and whose example and teachings can change YOUR life and OUR world for the better. May God shower His choicest blessings upon him!
Written by S. H. Pasha
Name Muhammad is mentioned in original Hebrew text in the Song of Solomon 5:
16 His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.'
טז חִכּוֹ, מַמְתַקִּים, וְכֻלּוֹ, מַחֲמַדִּים; זֶה דוֹדִי וְזֶה רֵעִי, בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם
Source http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt3001.htm
• מ =m חֲ=h ד =d י =e ם =final m
• די ם מ חֲ מ = Mhmdem, remember em means pleural in Hebrew which indicates respect e.g. Elohem (one god with full respect), so Mhmdem is Mhmd with full respect.
• Solomon 5:10 he is mentioned as “pre-eminent above ten thousand.” indicating his concurrence of Makkah leading 10000 Muslims.



Allah in The Bible?
ALLAH - for Muslims the greatest and most inclusive of the Names of God, an Arabic word of rich and varied meaning, denoting the one who is adored in worship, who creates all that exists, who had priority over all creation, who is lofty and hidden, who confounds all human understanding. It is exactly the same word that the Jews, in Hebrew, use for God (eloh), the word which Jesus Christ used in Aramaic when he prayed to God.
• "ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34).
• ALLELUYA = YA ALLA HU = OH! Allah
• Elohim =Eloh +im (pleural), translated to Allah in Arabic Bible.

At the bottom of this text is an image of the Ten Commandments from the Bible. Well, it is Bible in Arabic, "Al-Kitab Al-Muqqadis," available from the Barnes and Nobles Bookstores. The Arabic Bible, as is evident from the image below, uses the word Allah to refer to God. Thus Arab Christians' God is Allah. It may surprise many in the West, but it is the plain truth. Allah is the One God of every one. Allah is the Creator of prophets like Jesus and Muhammad (peace be on them). It is not just the name Allah for God, the Almighty. All beautiful names belong to Him.

Say: “Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman (the Most Merciful): by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.” (The Holy Quran,17:110)
Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him.
He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory; and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. (The Holy Quran: 59:22-24)




Statements of Muslim World Leaders on Sept 11, 2001 Tragedy




"Not only did the ists hijack planes and destroy life, but also they hijacked the peaceful religion of Islam and split the brother and sisterhood of mankind." (Yusuf Islam, formerly Singer Cat Stevens)
"Hijacking Planes, izing people and shedding constitute a form of injustice that can not be tolerated by Islam, which views them as gross crimes and sinful acts." Shaykh Abdul Aziz al-Ashaikh (Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Senior Ulama, on September 15th, 2001)
The ists acts, from the perspective of Islamic law, constitute the crime of hirabah (waging war against society)." Sept. 27, 2001 fatwa, signed by: Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi (Grand Islamic Scholar and Chairman of the Sunna and Sira Countil, Qatar), Judge Tariq al-Bishri, First Deputy President of the Council d'etat, Egypt, Dr. Muhammad s. al-Awa, Professor of Islamic Law and Shari'a, Egypt, Dr. Haytham al-Khayyat, Islamic scholar, Syria, Fahmi Houaydi, Islamic scholar, Syria, Shaykh Taha Jabir al-Alwani, Chairman, North America High Council
"Neither the law of Islam nor its ethical system justify such a crime." Zaki Badawi, Principal of the Muslim College in London. Cited in Arab News, Sept. 28, 2001.
"It is wrong to kill people. It is also wrong to Praise those who kill people." Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, Pakistan. Cited in NY Times, Sept. 28, 2001.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 9/11/01

U.S. MUSLIMS CONDEMN IST ATTACKS

(WASHINGTON, DC - 9/11/2001) - The American Muslim Political Coordination Council (AMPCC)*, today condemned the apparent ist attacks in New York and Washington and offered condolences to the families of those who were killed or injured.
The AMPCC statement read in part:
"American Muslims utterly condemn what are apparently vicious and cowardly acts of ism against civilians. We join with all Americans in calling for the swift apprehension and punishment of the perpetrators. No political cause could ever be assisted by such immoral acts."
ISNA JOINS AMPCC IN CONDEMNING IST ATTACKS

(Plainfield, IN - 9/11/2001) - The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), along with other Muslim organizations throughout North America, today condemned the apparent ist attacks in New York and Washington and offered condolences to the families of those who were killed or injured.
MUSLIMS ASKED TO OFFER HELP FOR VICTIMS OF IST ATTACKS
(WASHINGTON, DC - 9/11/2001) - CAIR is calling on Muslims nationwide to offer whatever assistance they can to help the victims of today's ist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.
Muslims in local communities should take the following IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
• Muslim medical professionals are asked to go to the scenes of the attacks to offer aid and comfort to the victims.
• Muslim relief agencies should contact their counterparts to offer support in the recovery efforts.
• Individual Muslims should donate by contacting the local office of the Red Cross. (Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.) They should also send donations to those relief agencies that are on the scene of the attacks.

HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM - A BRIEF

The two primary sources of knowledge in Islam are the Holy Quran and Sunnah. The Holy Quran consists of the Arabic text revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) over a period of 23 years. The Sunnah refers to Prophet's sayings and deeds, also known as Ahadith. The Ahadith are collected in different books, mostly named after the scholar who collected it.
The Right to Life
The first and the foremost basic right is the right to live and respect human life. The Holy Quran lays down:
"Whosoever kills a human being without (any reason like) man slaughter, or corruption on earth, it is as though he had killed all mankind ..." (5:32)
"Do not kill a soul which Allah has made sacred except through the due process of law ..." (6:151)
The Right to Justice
This is a very important and valuable right which Islam has given to man as a human being. The Holy Quran has laid down: "Do not let your hatred of a people incite you to aggression" (5:2). "And do not let ill-will towards any folk incite you so that you swerve from dealing justly. Be just; that is nearest to heedfulness" (5:8).
Equality of Human Beings
This has been exemplified by the Prophet in one of his sayings thus:
"No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Nor does a white man have any superiority over a black man, or the black man any superiority over the white man. You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created from clay" (al-Bayhaqi and al-Bazzaz).
The Security of Life and Property
In the address which the Prophet delivered on the occasion of the Farewell Hajj, he said: "Your lives and properties are to one another till you meet your Lord on the Day of Resurrection." God
Almighty has laid down in the Holy Quran: "Anyone who kills a believer deliberately will receive as his reward (a sentence) to live in Hell for ever. God will be angry with him and curse him, and prepare
dreadful torment for him" (4:93). The Prophet has also said about the dhimmis (the non-Muslim citizens of the Muslim State): "One who kills a man under covenant (i.e. a dhimmi) will not even smell the fragrance
of Paradise" (al-Bukhari and Abu Dawud).
The Protection of Honor
Holy Quran clearly lays down: (a) "You who believe, do not let one (set of) people make fun of another set. (b) Do not defame one another. (c) Do not insult by using nicknames. (d) And do not backbite or speak ill of one another" (49:11-12).

The Rights of the Non-Combatants:
Islam has first drawn a clear line of distinction between the combatants and the non-combatants of the enemy country. As far as the non-combatant population is concerned such as women, children, the old and the infirm, etc., the instructions of the Prophet are as follows: "Do not kill any old person, any child or any woman" (Abu Dawud). "Do not kill the monks in monasteries" or "Do not kill the people who are sitting in places of worship" (Musnad of Ibn Hanbal).
These are excerpts of the articles at http://islam101.com/rights/


Bible and ism
(by Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi)
http://islam101.com/terror/bibleT.htm
It is important that we study the religious texts in their proper context. When these texts are not read in their proper textual and historical contexts they are manipulated and distorted. It is true that some Muslims manipulate some verses from the Holy Quran for their own goals. (Please read The Quran on War, peace and Justice) But this is not only with Islamic texts, it is also true with the texts of other religions. I can quote dozens of verses from the Bible which seem very violent, if taken out from their historical context. These Biblical texts have been used by many violent Jewish and Christian groups. Crusaders used them against Muslims and Jews. s used them against Jews. Recently Serbian Christians used them against Bosnian Muslims. Zionists are using them regularly against Palestinians.
Let me mention just a few verses from the Old Testament and New Testament and tell me what do you say about them:
“When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you. And when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. (Deutronomy 7:1-2)
“When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you. However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. When the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword. Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the LORD your God has given you… Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes (Deuteronomy 20:10-17)
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. But all the s who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves. (Numbers 31:17-18)
Even in the New Testament we read the following statements attributed to Jesus saying to his disciples:
“I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence. (Luke 19:26-27)
"Do not think that I have come to send peace on earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword. I am sent to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law" (Matthew 10:34-35)
Muslims believe in all Prophets sent by Allah, and so do not misuse or misinterpret the religious texts of other faiths in order to defame them. Even in recent times, Muslims have and are facing genocidal campaigns in Bosnia, Kosova, Chechnia, Kashmir, and Palestine - but they have not questioned Judaism and Christianity. Such spirit needs to be reciprocated.
________________________________________________________
This is a slightly edited version of http://www.pakistanlink.com/religion/2001/1012.html
(based on an article by Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, which also appeared in ISNA's magazine, Islamic Horizons)

Recent Great Tragedies
In addition to the great tragedy of Sept 11, 2001, we have witnessed
1. Iraq-Iran war between two Muslim countries in which millions of Muslims were killed.
2. Iraq’s Invasion into Kuwait causing great destruction of people, economy and environment.
3. Tragedy of Bosnia in which thousands of Muslim women were d by Christians and thousands of Muslims were killed.
4. Ongoing displacement, persecutions and s of Palestinians by Jews in Israel. Millions of Palestinians living in refugee camps. These people were used to be free with their own property and houses.
5. Ongoing s of Muslim people of occupied Kashmir by Indian army.
Tolerance, Respect and Safeguard for Non-Muslims
The following excerpts are mostly from Dr. Ahmad Sakr's book, "Muslims and Non-Muslims, Face to Face" (isbn: 091119-31-9).
A deputation from the Christians of Najran (Yemen) came to see Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) in Madina. They came into the Prophet's Mosque (Masjid Nabawi) as he prayed the afternoon prayer. The time of prayers of Christians having come, they stood and prayed in the Prophet's Mosque, and the Prophet said that they were to be left to do so. (see The Life of Muhammad by A. Guillaume).
During the life of Prophet Muhammad, the Jews in Madina had a synagogue and an educational institute, Bait-Al-Midras. The Prophet preserved the institute and gave protection to the Jews.
The Prophet respected the autonomy of the Christian churches. The nomination and the appointment of bishops and priests was left to the Christian community itself.
Prophet Muhammad promoted cooperation between Muslims and Christians in the political arena as well. He selected a non-Muslim, 'Amr-ibn Umaiyah-ad-Damri, as an ambassador to Negus, the King of Ethiopia.
The Prophet sent a message to the monks of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai:
"This is a message written by Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, far and near, we are behind them. Verily, I defend them by myself, the servants, the helpers, and my followers, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them. No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be changed from their jobs, nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they (Christians) are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they . No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, this is not to take place without her own wish. She is not to be prevented from going to her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation is to disobey this covenant till the Day of Judgment and the end of the world."

The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States 2003
Guilt by Association
The Executive Summary of Report published by CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) Research Center

In 2002, Muslim community members in the United States reported 602 complaints of discrimination to CAIR. This represents a 15 percent increase over the previous year. More than any other year, the daily experiences of Muslims in schools, workplaces, public areas, airports, and in encounters with the courts, police and other government agencies included incidents in which they were profiled and singled out because of actual or perceived religious and ethnic identity. Anti-Muslim sentiment related to September the 11th has been cited in many reports. Never before had an international ist act had such a long-lasting impact on Muslim life in the United States.
When compared to the year preceding September 11th, this year’s reports show a 64 percent increase. The fallout from September 11 continues to impact Muslim daily life, whether at schools, in the workplace or in general public encounters. Mistreatment at the hand of federal government personnel continue to be reported in substantial numbers. FBI agents and other local law enforcement authorities have sometimes responded to hearsay reports, and conducted questionable raids and interrogations.
In 2002, the Department of Justice has continued to take actions in the name of combating ism, when in fact they have targeted broadly Arabs and Muslims in this country. The investigation dragnet in 2002 included the special registration requirements that singled out students and visitors to America from Muslim-majority countries. Also, many Muslim homes and businesses were raided and private property seized pending investigation. Moreover, queries by some FBI agents about mosque membership lists and media reports about a proposed FBI counting of mosques raised widespread apprehension among community members who believed they were being scrutinized based on their religious association. Other profiling-based interrogations and searches continued throughout the year, though reported with less frequency than the few months immediately after September 11th. Critics of the government have charged that such actions violated the First and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Singling out Muslims is increasing in all sectors of life. A significant number of cases took place at private businesses, places of residence, the Internet, and courts. Contributing to the rise of discrimination against Muslims is the continuing anti-Muslim rhetoric, especially by some evangelical leaders and neoconservatives. A segment of this report documents examples of their divisive language. The vilification of Islam and Muslims by such elements continues unabated.
This year the total number of individual complaints reported to CAIR offices reached a new high: 602 complaints, or 15 percent increase over the previous year. Compared to the pre-September 11th reporting year (2000/2001), this year’s total is 64 percent higher. It is also the highest ever record of such incidents and more than seven times the total of the year 1995/1996, when the first edition of this report was issued.
To obtain copies of this report, contact:
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Ave., SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
2003 Copyright, Council on American-Islamic Relations

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• Islam the Straight Path by John Esposito
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• Video: Islam-A Closer Look (http://soundvision.com, 1-800-432-4262)

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Religious Affiliation of History's 100 Most Influential People
The following list of influential figures from world history comes from Michael H. Hart's book The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. In the book, Hart provides brief biographies of each of the individuals, as well as reasons for their ranking.

Adherents.com takes no position regarding the validity of Hart's rankings. Certainly ranking the relative historical influence of individuals is a subjective process. We welcome and will by happy to post comments from readers suggesting alternative rankings or names of influential individuals who should be included in the "Top 100." (Please send suggestions to history@adherents.com).


Note that many influential philosophies (such as Marxist Communism or Confucianism) are not always classified as organized "religions" in the traditional sense, but are classified as such by sociologists because they are a primary motivational worldview for individuals, cultures or subcultures. Also, many founders never considered themselves adherents of philosophies or religions which later bore their name.

In the table below, where there are two religions listed, the first one is the religion the person was born into. The second was the religion or philosophy the person later joined or founded. Comments in the "Influence" column are in bold when the influence is mainly in the realm of religion and philosophy.
Rank Name Religious Affiliation Influence
1 Muhammad Islam Prophet of Islam; conqueror of Arabia; Hart recognized that ranking Muhammad first might be controversial, but felt that, from a secular historian's perspective, this was the correct choice because Muhammad is the only man to have been both a founder of a major world religion and a major military/political leader. More

2 Isaac Newton Anglican (rejected Trinitarianism;
believed in the Arianism of
the Primitive Church) *
physicist; theory of universal gravitation; laws of motion
3 Jesus Christ *
Judaism; Christianity founder of Christianity
4 Buddha Hinduism; Buddhism founder of Buddhism
5 Confucius Confucianism founder of Confucianism
6 St. Paul Judaism; Christianity proselytizer of Christianity
7 Ts'ai Lun Chinese traditional religion inventor of paper
8 Johann Gutenberg Catholic developed movable type; printed Bibles
9 Christopher Columbus Catholic explorer; led Europe to Americas
10 Albert Einstein Jewish *
physicist; relativity; Einsteinian physics
11 Louis Pasteur Catholic scientist; pasteurization
12 Galileo Galilei Catholic *
astronomer; accurately described heliocentric solar system
13 Aristotle Platonism / Greek philosophy influential Greek philosopher
14 Euclid Platonism / Greek philosophy mathematician; Euclidian geometry
15 Moses Judaism major prophet of Judaism
16 Charles Darwin Anglican (nominal) biologist; described Darwinian evolution, which had theological impact on many religions
17 Shih Huang Ti Chinese traditional religion Chinese emperor
18 Augustus Caesar Roman state paganism ruler
19 Nicolaus Copernicus Catholic (priest) astronomer; taught heliocentricity
20 Antoine Laurent Lavoisier Catholic *
father of modern chemistry; philosopher; economist
21 Constantine the Great Roman state paganism; Christianity Roman emperor who made Christianity the state religion
22 James Watt nonreligious *
developed steam engine
23 Michael Faraday Sandemanian physicist; chemist; discovery of magneto-electricity
24 James Clerk Maxwell Presbyterian; Anglican; Baptist *
physicist; electromagnetic spectrum
25 Martin Luther Catholic; Lutheran founder of Protestantism and Lutheranism
26 George Washington Episcopalian; Deist first president of United States
27 Karl Marx Jewish; Christian;
Atheist; Marxism/Communism *
founder of Communism
28 Orville and Wilbur Wright United Brethren *
inventors of airplane
29 Genghis Khan Mongolian shamanism Mongol conqueror
30 Adam Smith Liberal Protestant economist; expositor of capitalism; religious philosopher
31 Edward de Vere
a.k.a. "William Shakespeare" Christianity *
literature; also wrote 6 volumes about philosophy and religion
32 John Dalton Quaker chemist; physicist; atomic theory; law of partial pressures (Dalton's law)
33 Alexander the Great Greek state paganism conqueror
34 Napoleon Bonaparte Catholic (nominal) *
French conqueror
35 Thomas Edison Congregationalist; agnostic *
inventor of light bulb, phonograph, etc.
36 Antony van Leeuwenhoek Calvinist *
microscopes; studied microscopic life
37 William T.G. Morton ?? pioneer in anesthesiology
38 Guglielmo Marconi Catholic and Anglican *
inventor of radio
39 Adolf born Catholic; proponent of Germanic Neo-Paganism and sm conqueror; led Axis Powers in WWII
40 Plato Platonism / Greek philosophy founder of Platonism
41 Oliver Cromwell Puritan (Protestant) British political and military leader
42 Alexander Graham Bell Unitarian/Universalist inventor of telephone
43 Alexander Fleming Catholic penicillin; advances in bacteriology, immunology and chemotherapy
44 John Locke raised Puritan (Anglican);
Liberal Christian philosopher and liberal theologian
45 Ludwig van Beethoven Catholic composer
46 Werner Heisenberg *
discovered the principle of uncertainty
47 Louis Daguerre ?? an inventor/pioneer of photography
48 Simon Bolivar Catholic (nominal); Atheist *
National hero of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
49 Rene Descartes *
Catholic Rationalist philosopher and mathematician
50 Michelangelo Catholic painter; sculptor
51 Pope Urban II Catholic called for First Crusade
52 'Umar ibn al-Khattab Islam Second Caliph; expanded Muslim empire
53 Asoka Buddhism king of India who converted to and spread Buddhism
54 St. Augustine Christianity Early Christian theologian
55 William Harvey Anglican (nominal) *
discovered the circulation of the
56 Ernest Rutherford ?? physicist; pioneer of subatomic physics
57 John Calvin Protestant; Calvinism Protestant reformer; founder of Calvinism
58 Gregor Mendel Catholic (monk) Mendelian genetics
59 Max Planck Protestant *
physicist; thermodynamics
60 Joseph Lister Quaker principal discoverer of antiseptics which greatly reduced surgical mortality
61 Nikolaus August Otto ?? built first four-stroke internal combustion engine
62 Francisco Pizarro Catholic Spanish conqueror in South America; defeated Incas
63 Hernando Cortes Catholic conquered Mexico for Spain
64 Thomas Jefferson Episcopalian; Deist *
3rd president of United States
65 Queen Isabella I Catholic Spanish ruler
66 Joseph Stalin Russian Orthodox; Atheist; Marxism revolutionary and ruler of USSR
67 Julius Caesar Roman state paganism Roman emperor
68 William the Conqueror Catholic laid foundation of modern England
69 Sigmund Freud Jewish (non-practicing); Atheist *
Freudian psychology/psychoanalysis founder of Freudian school of psychology; psychoanalysis
70 Edward Jenner Christianity *
discoverer of the vaccination for smallpox
71 Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen ?? discovered X-rays
72 Johann Sebastian Bach Lutheran; Catholic composer
73 Lao Tzu Taoism founder of Taoism
74 Voltaire raised in Jansenism;
later Deist *
writer and philosopher; wrote Candide
75 Johannes Kepler Lutheran *
astronomer; planetary motions
76 Enrico Fermi Catholic *
initiated the atomic age; father of atom
77 Leonhard Euler Calvinist physicist; mathematician; differential and integral calculus and algebra
78 Jean-Jacques Rousseau born Protestant;
converted as a teen to Catholic;
later Deist French deistic philosopher and author
79 Nicoli Machiavelli Catholic wrote The Prince (influential political treatise)
80 Thomas Malthus Anglican (cleric) economist; wrote Essay on the Principle of Population
81 John F. Kennedy Catholic president of United States
82 Gregory Pincus Jewish *
endocrinologist; developed birth-control pill
83 Mani Manicheanism founder of Manicheanism, once a world religion which rivaled Christianity in strength
84 Lenin Russian Orthodox;
Atheist; Marxism/Communism [more]
Russian ruler
85 Sui Wen Ti Chinese traditional religion unified China
86 Vasco da Gama Catholic navigator; discovered route from Europe to India around Cape Hood
87 Cyrus the Great Zoroastrianism founder of Persian empire
88 Peter the Great Russian Orthodox forged Russia into a great European nation
89 Mao Zedong Atheist; Communism; Maoism founder of Maoism, Chinese form of Communism
90 Francis Bacon Anglican *
philosopher; delineated inductive scientific method
91 Henry Ford Protestant developed automobile
92 Mencius Confucianism philosopher; founder of a school of Confucianism
93 Zoroaster Zoroastrianism founder of Zoroastrianism
94 Queen Elizabeth I Anglican British monarch; restored Church of England to power after Queen Mary
95 Mikhail Gorbachev Russian Orthodox *
Russian premier who helped end Communism in USSR
96 Menes Egyptian paganism unified Upper and Lower Egypt
97 Charlemagne Catholic Holy Roman Empire created with his baptism in 800 AD
98 Homer Greek paganism epic poet
99 Justinian I Catholic Roman emperor; reconquered Mediterranean empire; accelerated Catholic-Monophysite schism
100 Mahavira Hinduism; Jainism founder of Jainism
RU St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic influential early Christian philosopher
RU Archimedes Greek philosophy father of experimental science
RU Charles Babbage ?? mathematician and inventor of forerunner of computer
RU Cheops Egyptian paganism Egyptian ruler; builder of Great Pyramid
RU Marie Curie Catholic; nonreligious *
physicist; radioactivity
RU Benjamin Franklin Presbyterian; Deist *
American politician and inventor
RU Mohandas Gandhi Hinduism; influenced by Jainism (mother was a Jain) Indian leader and Hindu religious reformer
RU Abraham Lincoln Regular Baptist (childhood);
later ambiguous -
Deist, general theist or
a very personalized Christianity *
16th president of U.S.; led during Civil War
RU Ferdinand Magellan Catholic navigator; named Pacific Ocean; first circumnavigation of globe
RU Leonardo da Vinci Catholic artist; inventor

RU = Runner Up (order is alphabetical)

Source: Hart, Michael H. 1992. The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, Revised and Updated for the Nineties. New York: Citadel Press Book.
Comments
This list is compiled only for fun and reference. Certainly no theological or sociological inferences should be drawn from a subjectively chosen list of only 100 people from throughout human history. These individuals clearly transcend statistical sociological analysis. Nevertheless, it is fascinating to consider the varied ways in which the lives and contributions of nearly all of them were profoundly influenced by their religious background and personal beliefs. ("Contribution" may not be the best word to describe the influence of some of these individuals, such as , Stalin, etc.)

Also, the "Influence" column in the table is very brief. It is only provided only to refresh one's memory about the identity of the historical person - not to encapsulate or even summarize their career.

The most-represented religious group on this list is obviously Catholicism. This should be expected, given the many centuries that the most technologically and economically advanced Western world was synonymous with the Catholic world.

The most obscure faith group represented on this list is the Sandemanians, who were never very numerous. The physicist Michael Faraday (23rd on this list and history's 9th most influential scientist, according to Hart) was a devout member of this now-extinct group. Other small minority religious groups represented here are Jansenists (Voltaire) and some Quakers.

It is worth noting that many of the individuals on this list were the founders, major propagators, or reformers of major world religions: Muhammad, Jesus Christ, Buddha, St. Paul, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Mencius, Mani, Mahavira, Marx, Plato, Calvin, Martin Luther, Zoroaster, Mao. Many would include Freud among these. Other philosophers on this list made contributions which had an impact on religion but are not founders of a religion or branch of religion.

Of the twelve "classical world religions", the founders of eight are represented on this list (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism). Shinto and Hinduism have no founder. Sikhism and the Bahai Faith (the youngest of the "classical world religions") have founders, but Hart did not include them on his list.
Notes
Jesus Christ: It is not uncommon for people to wonder why Jesus is not ranked first on this list. As far as the way the list appears on this web page, the answer is simple: We have reproduced Hart's list in exactly the order he wrote it. But it is true that many people, both Christians and secular historians, would have ranked Jesus first on a list of the world's most influential people. Hart said that he himself would have ranked Jesus first, if all the people who today identify themselves as Christians actually followed Jesus's teachings more substantially. He considers contemporary Muslims more influenced by Muhammad than contemporary Christians are by Jesus.
Also, Hart's outlook was essentially secular in outlook. He did consider the the doctrinal role of Jesus in human salvation as taught by Christianity. Muhammad, on the other hand, carved out an actual, geographic empire during his lifetime. Christians as well as historians agree that Jesus himself conquered no lands and led no armies during his lifetime.
John H. Kerr, an elder in the Presbyterian Church of Canada wrote us on this topic. His ideas, echoed by many and presented here with his permission are below:
In my opinion no one has come near to Jesus Christ with respect to His influence on so many aspects of our world and society. Most schools of higher learning in the English speaking world and many in the non-English speaking world exist because of Christ. Women and children throughout this world, with the exception of a few countries have a much better way of life because of what Christ taught and people accepted. The peace, good will and renewal that result each year from the celebration of His birth is astounding. Many of the internalional charities that exist today are Christian based. The Christian work ethic has spurred inventions of all sorts that have benefited mankind enormously. Just think of the influence Christians have had down through the centuries, every bit of their influence is either directly or indirectly associated with the influence Christ had on them. Many of these Christians are on Hart's list.
Even Karl Marx owed his fanatical promotion of communism to the revenge he sought for being bounced out of a Christian Seminary, by a misdirected priest.
To a point the creation of such a list is as you point out subjective, and subject to the bias of the individual or group that prepare it. But, for the life of me, I cannot conceive how any well read individual with eyes to see and ears to hear, would not place Jesus Christ at the top of such a list, so far ahead of the next most influential person that one would leave at least the subsequent 9 spaces on the list vacant, to emphasize this point.
All of the creation wouldn't exist if it were not for Jesus Christ. When one begins to dwell on what would or would not have been, had Christ not existed in the beginning, let alone had He not come to earth 2000 years ago it boggles the mind. When I think of the thousands of prayers answered, lives changed, wars ended or avoided, I can't help but thank such a benevolent Lord. Was it not the influence of a Christian mother on her son, the leader of the Soviet Union, and a Christian American President, working with Mikhail Gorbachev that brought an end to the cold war. When we look at the cause and effect of so many major positive events in our history, we see the hand of Christ working on one or more of His servants.
Timothy W. Foutz (28 June 2002) adds:
Hart's criteria is clearly biased. His list is supposed to be about the most influential people, but he put Muhammad first because he was both a religious and military leader. Apparently one has to have a diverse resume to make the list. But there is a huge difference between what a person did themselves and how much of an influence they were. When Jesus ascended into heaven, there were only 120 people he could call his followers, so personally he was not very influential. But the movement he started is undoubtedly the most influential of all human history. I think Hart's list has value, but why make such a list if he wasn't going to be honest with the data? My suspicion is that Hart didn't want Jesus to be first on the list for personal reasons regardless of what history has clearly shown.
Churchiaya@aol.com offered an unusual perspective, reprinted here with his permission. Although he did not identify his denominational background, based on his email and his website (www.christisdeity.com), it is clear that he is an Evangelical. Clearly he is not a Catholic. He wrote:
I am Christian and I feel that Mr. Harts choice for #1 and #2 were appropriate; for the road to destruction is broad so that it is obvious that the biggest deception be listed first. I am thus disappointed that Jesus is not further down on his list and that pope john paul and the false doctrine of catholicism is not listed #3 after islam and science... As for the influence with respect to Christianiy, especially on this list reflects that the way to life eternal in narrow. This of course is to God's dismay, it is not His will that any should perish. Mr. Hart was correct in seeing that few were properly influenced in regard to true Christianity, for many people are worshipping a false christ. Moreover if one is not in darkness, they will not be offended by this list for in the end every knee will bow at the name of Jesus.
Alan Thibideau wrote (9 October 2002):
Aside from my religious affiliations and the present climate (after 9/11), it makes more sense that Christ sit atop the list of most influential individuals simply because history turned on his life more so than it did any other single figure. No one else can claim that history turned on a dime after his life.

The fact that someone was both a spiritual and national leader is not relevant in this sense. That is a personal accomplishment and might make that person more successful in his lifetime but does not make him necessarily a more influential person in history. So whoever did this ranking is simply incorrect if their criteria was most the influential person in history.



Michael McConnell (25 Sept. 2001) also suggests that some revisions to Hart's list are in order:
I just glanced at your list of the 100 most influential people and their religion and all I can say is this list is terrible at best. Jesus would have to be number one, Marx/Muhammad tie for number 2... Issac Newton was put above Marx who influences social-economic policy to this day.
Aki Nestori Vainio, a self-described atheist from Finland, does not believe that Moses existed (9 June 2003):
The book [The 100] is indeed very subjective, as you remark on your page. My main problem with it is the fact that Moses is seated at 15. I would've omitted him completely. He probably did not exist. He is a mythological character, just like Sankara, who did not make it into the book.
(Some people might disagree with Vainio, simply because the existence of the books attributed to Moses -- books which are the mostly widely published texts in human history -- strongly suggest that somebody had to write them. That person (or persons) would seem to high his influence on human history regardless of the particulars of his life.)
Steve Petersen [steve_petersen@msn.com] made the following suggestion (27 April 2002:
Yes, indeed, I think you need to add another person to your list! What about Ellen G. White of the Seventh Day Adventist Church? She wrote more books than any other woman in history!
On 6 August 2002, Jukka Vatanen of Finland wrote with the following suggestion:
My vote for the list of "Top 100" is NICOLA TESLA, who was the actual inventor of the radio. Marconi was most successiful in capitalizing the usage of it, but TESLA was first. He also invented the Tesla turbine that powered the Niagara Falls alternating current generators. The alternating current being propably his greatest invention, making it possible to transfer high voltage current long distances. This invention alone would make him of same importance as Marconi etc...
Charles Benedetti wrote:
I predict that the most influential person of all time will be L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology (1954). It may take 10 years, or 25 or 50, but that day will surely come. I make this statement after 20 years of experiencing and drawing from the deep reservoir of this spiritual philosophy and Wisdom. Only those who have experienced Scientology would understand these words, and therefore I would not expect others to understand or agree with me. For those who may seek to know more about Scientology, see my website: www.our-home.org/charliebenedetti.
Of course, the most ridiculous ommission of all from Hart's list is Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the television. His invention came relatively late in history, and so he had no impact on humanity during the first thousands of years of civilization. But today television has so completely transformed human culture, values, beliefs, etc. that its inventor is easily one of the most influential people in history with regards to people now living.
________________________________________
Muhammad
Exerpt from Hart's book:
My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels...

Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world's great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his , his influence is still powerful and pervasive... Like all religions, Islam exerts an enormous influence upon the lives of its followers. It is for this reason that the founders of the world's great religions all figure prominently in this book. Since there are roughly twice as many Christians as Moslems in the world, it may initially seem strange that Muhammad has been ranked higher than Jesus. There are two principal reasons for that decision. First, Muhammad played a far more important role in the development of Islam than Jesus did in the development of Christianity. Although Jesus was responsible for the main ethical and moral precepts of Christianity (insofar as these differed from Judaism), St. Paul was the main developer of Christian theology, its principal proselytizer, and the author of a large portion of the New Testament.

Muhammad, however, was responsible for both the theology of Islam and its main ethical and moral principles. In addition, he played the key role in proselytizing the new faith, and in establishing the religious practices of Islam. Moreover, he is the author of the Moslem holy scriptures, the Koran, a collection of certain of Muhammad's insights that he believed had been directly revealed to him by Allah. Most of these utterances were copied more or less faithfully during Muhammad's lifetime and were collected together in authoritative form not long after his . The Koran therefore, closely represents Muhammad's ideas and teachings and to a considerable extent his exact words. No such detailed compilation of the teachings of Christ has survived. Since the Koran is at least as important to Moslems as the Bible is to Christians, the influence of Muhammed through the medium of the Koran has been enormous It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. On the purely religious level, then, it seems likely that Muhammad has been as influential in human history as Jesus.

Furthermore, Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was a secular as well as a religious leader. In fact, as the driving force behind the Arab conquests, he may well rank as the most influential political leader of all time... the Arab conquests of the seventh century have continued to play an important role in human history, down to the present day. It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history.
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Additional Notes
NOTE: Adherents.com presents this list, and Hart's arguments, for informational purposes. We do not take any stand on the validity of Hart's statements. We welcome (and will post online) alternative viewpoints.


Isaac Newton: Religion "Affiliation: Anglican, Heterodox; Newton was born into the Anglican church and publicly conformed to it." At about age 30 he came to believe "that Trinitarianism was a fraud and that Arianism was the true form of primitive Christianity. Newton held these views, very privately, until the end of his life. On his bed he refused to receive the sacrament of the Anglican church." Online source.
Albert Einstein: Not known to have been a practicing Jew. Had a positive attitude toward religion. Wrote of his belief in a noble "cosmic religious feeling" that enables scientists to advance human knowledge. A famous quote: "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."; The Encyclopedia Britannica says of him: "Firmly denying atheism, Einstein expressed a belief in "Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the harmony of what exists." This actually motivated his interest in science, as he once remarked to a young physicist: "I want to know how God created this world, I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details." Einstein's famous epithet on the "uncertainty principle" was "God does not play dice" Some writings by Einstein regarding religion are available here. It is reported that Einstein reported Christian Science services regularly in New York and said that Mary Baker Eddy was right in her theories about an essentially non-physical universe. Adherents.com has no expertise on the Einstein-Christian Science connection, but reports this for the sake of completeness. One example of references to this subject online can be found here.
Galileo: Galileo remained a devout Catholic throughout his life. "Affiliation: Catholic; It is known to everyone that Galileo was denounced to the Inquisition in 1615 and that he was tried and condemned by the Inquisition in 1633, living the rest of his life under house arrest. All of this was for Copernicanism, not for any heretical theological views." Online source. Additionally, it may be noted that although Galileo himself did not consider his writings about heliocentricity to be heretical, his Catholic leaders at that time did. Today the Catholic Church does not consider heliocentricity or any of Galileo's writings to be heretical.
Michael Faraday: Faraday's parents were members of the obscure religious denomination of the Sandemanians, and Faraday himself, shortly after his marriage, at the age of thirty, joined the same sect, to which he adhered till his . Religion and science he kept strictly apart, believing that the data of science were of an entirely different nature from the direct communications between God and the soul on which his religious faith was based. Online source
Edward de Vere/"Shakespeare": Online source: Annotations in Edward de Vere's Bible; Shakespeare and Religion, by Aldous Huxley. Click here for a detailed page by Hart about why Edward de Vere, and NOT William Shakspere (now spelled "Shakespeare") was the author of the writings commonly attributed to Shakespeare.
Karl Marx: "Karl Marx was born in Rhinish Prussia 1818 to parents of a long rabbinical line of Jews. His father however, just before Karl's birth, found it politically expedient to become a baptized Christian. Nonetheless, Karl was raised with the taunts of being of Jewish descent despite his father's new Christian credentials." Marx was baptized into a Christian church, but adopted atheism. Online source
Orville and Wilbur Wright: The Wright Brothers were the sons of a minister for the United Brethren Church. They themselves may have been merely nominal Protestants as s. "Wilbur Wright was born in Millville, Indiana, and grew up in Dayton, Ohio. From his father, a clergyman and editor, he learned to love reading, writing, and other scholarly pursuits... He also contributed stories to his father's magazine, Religious Telescope..." Online resource.
Thomas Edison: Edison attended a Congregational church in Ft. Myers, Florida, where he had a winter home. The church was renamed for him and is now the Thomas Edison Congregational Church. This church was one of those which did not join in the merger whch formed the United Church of Christ. The Second Congregational Church of Greenwich in Connecticut has in its archives a letter from Edison containing suggestions for for protecting their 212-foot steeple from lightning strikes. Edison's wife was a devout Methodist and, early in their marriage, tried to convert him to her religious views, but failed. As for his personal beliefs, Edison made many statements which indicated disbelief on key topics. John P. M. Murphy described Edison's position as "truculent agnosticism." [Source]
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier: His biographer, the first to read his papers wrote of him: "Raised in a pious family which had given many priests to the Church, he had held to his beliefs. To Edward King, an English author who had sent him a controversial work, he wrote, 'You have done a noble thing in upholding revelation and the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures, and it is remarkable that you are using for the defence precisely the same weapons which were once used for the attack.'" Online source
James Watt: "On August 19th, 1819, Watt passed peacefully away at Heathfield, and was buried in Handsworth Church." Online source "Now those who knew Mr. Watt, had to contemplate a man whose genius could create such an engine, and indulge in the most abstruse speculations of philosophy, and could at once pass from the most sublime researches of geology and physical astronomy, the formation of our globe, and the structure of the universe, to the manufacture of a needle or a nail; who could discuss in the same conversation and with equal accuracy, if not with the same consummate s , ost forbidding details of art, and the elegances of classical literature; the most abstruse branches of science, and the niceties of verbal criticism." Online source.
James Clerk Maxwell: Devout Protestant Christian. "Maxwell's breadth of appreciation of Christianity grew still further during his time in London. To his background of Presbyterianism (in the Scottish kirk of his father's tradition) and the Anglicanism of his mother and Cambridge, he added an experience of the Baptists." Online source.
Guglielmo Marconi: Marconi's marriage to Beatrice O'Brien was performed "in March 1905, before an Anglican minister; for though Signor Marconi had been born of a Catholic father and baptized in the Catholic faith, he had been brought up by his mother as a Protestant, and was in fact an Anglican at the time of the marriage." Their marriage was later granted a Catholic annulment. Source.
Antony van Leeuwenhoek: "Religion: Calvinist. He was baptized and buried in Calvinist churches, and his second wife was the daughter of the Calvinist minister."Online source.
Napoleon Bonaparte: Believed in God, but criticized religion. "As for myself, I do not believe that such a person as Jesus Christ ever existed; but as the people are inclined to superstition, it is proper not to oppose them." A number of quotes attributed to him indicate a utilitarian view of religion. "Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet."; He also said: "Religion is what keeps the poor from ing the rich" (quoted from Robert Byrne, 1,911 Best Things Anybody Ever Said, 1988).
Werner Heisenberg: He wrote: "Wenn wir an die naechste Zeit denken, so droht uns die staerkste Gefahr wohl von der Verwechslung der boesen und der guten Maechte. Gerade in einer Epoche, in der sich die Bindung zur alten Religion loest, ist die Gefahr, dass Daemonen die Herrschaft der Goetter uebernehmen, groesser als je; und die Daemonen verbuenden sich stets mit jenem glaenzenden Phantom, das die Menschen zu allen Zeiten irregefuehrt hat, mit der politischen Macht" (Ordnung der Wirklichkeit 1942) Online source.
Descartes: "Descartes was a French mathematician, scientist and philosopher who has been called the father of modern philosophy. His school studies made him dissatisfied with previous philosophy: He had a deep religious faith as a Catholic, which he retained to his dying day, along with a resolute, passionate desire to discover the truth. At the age of 24 he had a dream, and felt the vocational call to seek to bring knowledge together in one system of thought. His system began by asking what could be known if all else were doubted - suggesting the famous 'I think therefore I am'. Actually, it is often forgotten that the next step for Descartes was to establish the near certainty of the existence of God - for only if God both exists and would not want us to be deceived by our experiences can we trust our senses and logical thought processes. God is, therefore, central to his whole philosophy. What he really wanted was to see his philosophy adopted as standard Catholic teaching. Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon (1561-1626) are generally regarded as the key figures in the development of scientific methodology. Both had systems in which God was important, and both seem more devout than the average for their era.Online source.
Simon Bolivar: Became an atheist. Was excommunicated from the Catholic Church.



Lenin: Lenin's maternal grandfather was a Jew. Lenin's Jewish ancestry is discussed in detail in Oxford University historian Robert Service's biography Lenin (Harvard University Press, 2000). See also: "Lenin: Jewish roots of a revolutionary," by Zev Ben-Shlomo, Jewish Chronicle, London, April 21, 1995 (http://www.fpp.co.uk/online/98/11/JConLenin210495.html):
[Lenin] was the great-grandson of Moishe Itskovich Blank and the grandson of Srul Moishevich Blank. At his baptism, Blank changed his name and patro-nymic to Aleksandr Dmitrievich...
Lenin's Jewish origin on his maternal grandfather's side became, after his , a matter of controversy between Lenin's sisters and Stalin. In a letter to Stalin, Anna, Lenin's elder sister, wrote: "It is probably no secret for you that the research on our grandfather shows that he came from a poor Jewish family, that he was, as his baptismal certificate says, the son of a 'Zhitomir burgher, Moishe Blank' and this fact could serve in combating anti-Semitism."
Furthermore, she claimed, that Lenin's Jewish origins were "further confirmation of the exceptional abilities of the Semitic tribe... Lenin always valued the Jews highly." Stalin replied: "Not one word about it."



William Harvey: "Religion: Anglican; Harvey conformed to the established church, but there is no evidence of serious religious commitment and more than one suggestion (though only on the level of gossip) of considerable free thought."Online source
Max Planck: "Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was born on April 23, 1858, in Kiel, Germany, the sixth child of a distinguished jurist and professor of law at the University of Kiel. The long family tradition of devotion to church and state, excellence in scholarship, incorruptibility, conservatism, idealism, reliability, and generosity became deeply ingrained in Planck's own life and work... In his later years, Planck devoted more and more of his writings to philosophical, aesthetic, and religious questions. Together with Einstein and Schrdinger, he remained adamantly opposed to the indeterministic, statistical worldview introduced by Bohr, Max Born, Werner Heisenberg, and others into physics after the advent of quantum mechanics in 1925-26. Such a view was not in harmony with Planck's deepest intuitions and beliefs. The physical universe, Planck argued, is an objective entity existing independently of man; the observer and the observed are not intimately coupled, as Bohr and his school would have it." Online source.
Planck made many contributions to physics, but is best known for quantum theory, which has revolutionized our understanding of the atomic and sub-atomic worlds. In his 1937 lecture "Religion and Naturwissenschaft," Planck expressed the view that God is everywhere present, and held that "the holiness of the unintelligible Godhead is conveyed by the holiness of symbols." Atheists, he thought, attach too much importance to what are merely symbols. Planck was a churchwarden from 1920 until his , and believed in an almighty, all-knowing, beneficent God (though not necessarily a personal one). Both science and religion wage a "tireless battle against skepticism and dogmatism, against unbelief and superstition" with the goal "toward God!" Online source.
Thomas Jefferson: Raised as an Episcopalian/Anglican. Influenced by English Deists and often identified by historians as a Deist. Held many beliefs in common with Unitarians of the time period, and sometimes wrote that he thought the whole country would become Unitarian. Wrote that the teachings of Jesus contain the "outlines of a system of the most sublime morality which has ever fallen from the lips of man." Wrote: "I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know." Online source: "Jefferson's Religious Beliefs", by Rebecca Bowman, Monticello Research Department, August 1997.
The Positive Atheism website has a page of quotes by Jefferson.
Marie Curie: Daughter of a Polish 'freethinker' but raised by a Catholic mother. Abandoned the Church before she was 20; Marriage with Pierre Curie was a civil ceremony because, as she wrote: "Pierre belonged to no religion and I did not practice any."
Sigmund Freud: Freud was always proud of Jewishness, despite the fact that neither he nor his family were religious in the practicing sense. His nursemaid was a devout Catholic which helped as well. Later Freud maintained a deep interest in biblical history and religion, again guite possibly motivated by these childhood experiences. Online source.
Edward Jenner: As yet we do not know if Jenner was more than just a nominal church member, or which denomination he belonged to. "Edward Jenner was born on May 17, 1749, in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England, the son of a parish vicar" Online source.
Johannes Kepler: Studied at Adelberg monastery school (lower seminary). Religious Affiliation: Lutheran. We've found nothing notable, either in terms of heterodoxy or devotion. Online source.
"Kepler was an extremely sincere and pious Lutheran, whose works on astronomy contain writings about how space and the heavenly bodies represent the Trinity. Kepler suffered no persecution for his open avowal of the sun-centered system, and, indeed, was allowed as a Protestant to stay in Catholic Graz as a Professor (1595-1600) when other Protestants had been expelled!" Online source.
Voltaire: "His entire life was a parodox. He despised mankind and yet he was passionately fond of men. He ridiculed the clergy and dedicated one of his books to the pope. He made fun of royalty and he accepted a pension from King Frederick the Great. He d bigotry and he was bigoted in his attitude toward the Jews. He sneered at the vanity of riches and he acquired a vast fortune (by means that were not always honest). He disbelieved in God and he tried all his life to find Him. He had no respect for religion and he created a new religion of laughter... His father was a Jansenist, which in itself was a paradox. For the Jansenists were a sect of 'Protestant Catholics.'... His father imposed his doctrine of abstract mysticism so vigorously upon him that Voltaire grew up with a rebellious thirst for concrete reality. He cordially d Jansenism. But he grew up with another hatred--a hatred against the persecution of Jansenists. Against any kind of persecution."; Pg. 185: "He was not, as is commonly believed, an atheist. He was a deist. He believed in the existence of God. Indeed, 'if God did not exist,' he said, 'it would be necessary to invent him.' But Voltaire's God is not an exclusive king of a single ecclesiastical order. He is the world's 'supreme Intelligence, a Workman infinitely able'--and infinitely impartial. He has no favorite people, no favorite country, no favorite church. For the true worshiper there is but a single faith, equal tolerance to all mankind."; Pg. 186: "...he helped them in the preparation of the great Encyclopedia of Free Thought. The Encyclopedists accused him of being a Christian and the Christians accused him of being an infidel, and between the two parties he had his hands full." (Source: Henry and Dana Lee Thomas. Living Biographies of Great Philosophers, Garden City, NY: Garden City Books (1959); Other source: "Late in li