TERROR WATCH www.terror-watch.net

Islam and the Claim of the �Golden Age� of Scientific Discovery

The Myth:

Muslims often claim that their religion fostered a rich heritage of scientific discovery, “paving the way” for modern advances in technology and medicine. On this topic, they usually refer to the period between the 7th and 13th centuries, when Europe was experiencing its “Dark Ages” and the Muslim world was conquering new populations and culture.

The Truth:

Although there is no arguing that the Muslim world was more advanced during this period than the “Christian” world, the reasons for this have absolutely nothing to do with the Islamic religion (other than its mandate for military expansion). In fact, the religion actively discourages knowledge outside of itself, which is why the greatest Muslim scholars throughout history tend to be students of religion rather than science.

First, the Muslim world benefited greatly from the Greek sciences, which were translated for them by Christians and Jews. To their credit, Muslims did a better job of preserving Greek text than did the Europeans of the time, and this became the foundation for their own knowledge. (One large reason for this, however, was that access by Christians to this part of their world was cut off by the Muslim slave ships and coastal raids that dominated the Mediterranean during this period).

Secondly, many of the scientific advances credited to Islam were actually “borrowed” from other cultures conquered by the Muslims. The algebraic concept of “zero”, for example, is erroneously attributed to Islam, but it was, in fact, created by the Hindus and merely introduced to the West by Muslims - along with the products of other cultures that were found to be useful to their new rulers.

In fact, conquered populations contributed greatly to the history of “Muslim science” until gradually being decimated by conversion to Islam (under the pressures of dhimmitude). The Muslim concentration within a population is directly proportional to the decline of scientific achievement. It is no accident that the Muslim world has had little to show for itself in the last 600 years or so, since running out of new civilizations to cannibalize.

Third, even the great Muslim scientists and icons were often considered heretics in their time, sometimes for good reason. One of the greatest achievers to come out of the Muslim world was the Iranian scientist and philosopher, al-Razi. His impressive works are often held up today as “proof” of Muslim accomplishment. But what the apologists often leave out is that al-Razi was denounced as a blasphemer, since he followed his own religious beliefs – which were in obvious contradiction to traditional Islam.

Fourth, even the contributions that are attributed to Islam (often inaccurately) are not terribly dramatic. There is the invention of certain words, such as alchemy and elixir, but not much else that survives in modern technology that is of any practical significance. Neither is there any reason to believe that such discoveries would not have easily been made by the West following the cultural awakening triggered by the Reformation.

As an example of this, consider that Muslims claim credit for coffee, since the beans were discovered in Africa (at the time, an important source for Islamic slave trading) and first processed in the Middle East. While this is true, it is also true that the red dye used in many food products, from cranberry juice to candy, comes from the abdomen of a particular female beetle found in South America. It is extremely unlikely that the West would not have stumbled across coffee by now (although, to be fair, coffee probably expedited subsequent discoveries).

In fact, the litany of “Muslim” achievement often takes the form of rhapsody, in which the true origins of these discoveries are omitted - along with their comparative significance to Western achievement. Scientific, medical and technological accomplishments are not something over which Muslim apologists want to get into a pissing contest with the Christian world. Today’s Islamic innovators are known merely for turning Western technology, such as cell phones and airplanes, into instruments of mass murder.

To sum up, although the Islamic religion is not entirely hostile to science, neither should it be confused as a facilitator. The great achievements that are said to have come out of the Islamic world were made either by non-Muslims who happened to be under Islamic rule, or by heretics who usually had little interest in Islam. Scientific discovery tapers off dramatically as Islam asserts dominance, until it eventually peters out altogether.

This Moderate Muslim has a dirty little secret

Ever have a feeling that your "moderate" Muslim colleague/friend has other ideas in his head about this country?

Could it be true that he actually DOESN’T want this country to stay free and democratic? Does it ever cross your mind that he doesn’t actually like the freedoms he so dearly has here, and rather would like to see Islamic rule be the law of the land someday?

I came across this post from a so-called moderate Muslim today which shows clearly his dirty little secret.

Total and utter disdain for anything "American", "Christian" or "Jew".

The other day, I attended an awards banquet for a Muslim organization. I was extremely surprised when I arrived. This was supposed to be a group of people, "doing the right thing" Islamically. They were supposed to be the religious Muslims, yet there they were, unveiled woman after unveiled woman. All the men were in Western suits, with barely a beard in the place. Other than the accents, there was nothing to distinguish these people from the non-Muslims. Had I seen it from far, I might have thought this was a group of non-Muslim Hispanics.

Why do I bring this up? Well had it stopped there, it would have been bad enough, but these people took it to a higher level. The ceremony itself was American figurehead after figurehead (Oh you dam Americans! -ed), from representatives, to mayors to Bank CEO’s. Once, the local Police Commissioner "stopped by" to say hello, and they halted all proceedings to give him an opportunity to speak. This man was completely ignorant of Islam. Made an inane comment about Persian rugs, and how "his people" love our rugs. What really struck me about this is that the Muslims actually clapped when he said it.

These Muslims were like dogs at the feet of their master, waiting for any scrap he might throw from his table. It did not matter what he threw, they took it as a sign of love and affection. During the dinner, I had to actually step out of the place because, of all things, they had a singer. Now get this. He was singing "God Bless America"!!!!! God Bless America! I was flabbergasted. Here was a Muslim, singing a song about blessing America which was written by a Jew for a nation of Christians. How far we have fallen from that "best of Statures" in which Allah created us.

I am not saying that we should hate this land, the opposite. This LAND belongs to Allah, as do all the lands of this earth. We should work hard to make this land a Muslim land. What I am saying is that the way to do this is not by bending down to the feet of the non-Muslims and puckering up! We are not supposed to be clamoring after them, seeking their approval.
As you can see this Muslim moderate living in America has other ideas for this country. He may be here, living off the prosperous American economy, living off the freedoms he’s granted but hates so much, doing his best to "make this land a Muslim land" using our own system against us, hoping to create, one day, a Sharia ruled "Islamic States of America".

I find it difficult, as an Infidel, to distinguish the good Muslims, from the bad ones. A lot of the time, Taqiya (lying sanctioned by Islam for Jihad) rules the hearts and minds of many so-called moderates living amongst us. Do they love Freedom more than the Islamic political system? I guess we’ll never know until their actions like this post shows otherwise what side they’re really on. We should question them and we should be suspicious. There is no fault in that.

There are TWO arms of the War on Islamic terror:

There is the Violent arm in which our boys our fighting abroad, snuffing out the terrorists wherever they find them
Then there is the ever important Political arm of the war on terror in which we are fighting and we will continue to fight against until this war is won.
Just a note: This blogger finished off his post with this:

We need to realize that these people are not our friends. Have the tragedies in Bosnia and Kosova taught us nothing? Did we not learn from the fact that the moment they have the opportunity, they will exterminate us? Has the current suffering of the Iraqi people taught us nothing? Its time to open our eyes. Look to the behavior of the Americans in the past. They fight against a country, destroy it, and rebuild it in their own image. Look to Germany and Japan as the prime examples. All they need is to get their foot in the door.

\"We know far more in the United States about what Britney Spears is doing than

While Islamic fundamentalist terrorists are seeking to destroy the Western way of life, Americans are more concerned about the life of movie stars and going out for a hamburger than issues crucial to their freedom, several senior retired American military officers said here.

"We know far more in the United States about what Britney Spears is doing than we know about the issues," said retired U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Norman Saunders.

Speaking to a small group of reporters on the sidelines of the fifth annual Jerusalem Conference, Saunders said that the U.S. faces a "very serious challenge from the fanatical Muslim population that would seek to do away with the way of life of the Western World as we know it."

"We listen to our presidential candidates - [in] what is probably a very critical election for our country if not the world - talk constantly about change without any definition of what that represents. What would they change? How would they confront the threats? Are there new ideas that they would bring forward?" Saunders asked.

Good questions. Here are some more.

Darkness falls on Gaza as Israel takes revenge for rocket attacks

One small problem with this version of events. It wasn’t Israel that shut down Gaza’s electricity supply. It was Hamas. What Israel did was close its border crossings to all goods (eased yesterday) in response to intensive Qassam rocket attacks on the western Negev – 220 rockets fired in four days.

Hamas promptly plunged Gaza into darkness, knowing that the west would uncritically swallow its claim that Israel was to blame for the distressing accounts that would follow of a humanitarian crisis.

Naturally they did -- just as they continue to pretend that Hamas has only the one border with Israel through which it can obtain supplies, and therefore it is Israel which always blockades it; whereas of course Gaza has a second border with Egypt through which it could certainly receive a flow of goods and fuel – especially since it continues to receive through it an uninterrupted flow of weapons with which to attack and kill innocent Israelis.

Islam�s Silent Moderates

The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication, flog each of them with 100 stripes: Let no compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. (Koran 24:]

IN the last few weeks, in three widely publicized episodes, we have seen Islamic justice enacted in ways that should make Muslim moderates rise up in horror.

A 20-year-old woman from Qatif, Saudi Arabia, reported that she had been abducted by several men and repeatedly raped. But judges found the victim herself to be guilty. Her crime is called “mingling”: when she was abducted, she was in a car with a man not related to her by blood or marriage, and in Saudi Arabia, that is illegal. Last month, she was sentenced to six months in prison and 200 lashes with a bamboo cane.

Two hundred lashes are enough to kill a strong man. Women usually receive no more than 30 lashes at a time, which means that for seven weeks the “girl from Qatif,” as she’s usually described in news articles, will dread her next session with Islamic justice. When she is released, her life will certainly never return to normal: already there have been reports that her brother has tried to kill her because her “crime” has tarnished her family’s honor.

read more...............

Breakout from Islam�s mental prison

When gutsy, progressive Muslim women such as Wafa Sultan speak out, the world must listen writes Janet Albrechtsen

I AM sitting in a small book-lined room in Sydney’s eastern suburbs with a petite woman in her late 40s dressed in a neat suit and sensible shoes. Can this be the woman recently described as an “international sensation’’? The woman who drove an American rabbi to publicly accuse her of being “Islam’s Ann Coulter’’? The woman who last year made it on to Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people? Is she really the “uncompromising firebrand in the defence of reason and liberty’’. Yes, she is. Meet Wafa Sultan.

Saudi fatwa against liberals raises fears of violence

A religious edict by a prominent Saudi cleric suggesting liberals are not real Muslims has enflamed debate over reforms in the conservative Islamic state, with self-professed liberals fearing they will be attacked.

Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries that rules by strict application of Islamic law, giving clerics a powerful position in society, but Islamists fear that liberal reformers are gaining ground under the rule of King Abdullah.

Looking forward to Anger

Its impossible to satisfy "Rage Boy" and his ilk. Its stupid to try.
By Christopher Hitchens

If you follow the link, you will be treated to some scenes from the strenuous life of a professional Muslim protester in the Kashmiri city of Srinagar. Over the last few years, there have been innumerable opportunities for him to demonstrate his piety and his pissed-offness.

And the cameras have been there for him every time. Is it a fatwah? Is it a copy of the Quran allegedly down the gurgler at Guantanamo? Is it some cartoon in Denmark? Time for Rage Boy to step in and for his visage to impress the rest of the world with the depth and strength of Islamist emotion.

Rage Boy: The Interview

The Study of Political Islam

FP: Bill Warner, welcome to Frontpage Interview.
Warner: Thank you Jamie for this opportunity.

FP: Tell us a bit about the Center for the Study of Political Islam.

Warner: The Center for the Study of Political Islam is a group of scholars who are devoted to the scientific study of the foundational texts of Islam-Koran, Sira (life of Mohammed) and Hadith (traditions of Mohammed). There are two areas to study in Islam, its doctrine and history, or as CSPI sees it-the theory and its results. We study the history to see the practical or experimental results of the doctrine.

A struggle for young Palestinian minds

Palestinian children spend more of their school day studying Islam. Critical jobs in public education are filled by Islamic stalwarts. A once-banned social studies reader, crammed with hard-line rhetoric, is now in classrooms.

During a year in power, the Islamic Hamas movement has begun taking control of Palestinian schools and is making changes.

Hamas leaders insist they are not trying to indoctrinate children. But moderate Palestinians say Hamas\\\' goal is nothing less than shaping the political views of future generations.

It\\\'s a battle for the Palestinian soul, part of a wider Hamas campaign to expand its influence in all spheres of public life, also including newspapers to unions, said Hanan Ashrawi, a secular former minister of higher education.

"You are seeing the gradual transformation of a largely secular national ... education system and curriculum into a more ideological, closed system," said Ashrawi.

Hamas shares power with the moderate Fatah movement it defeated in last year\\\'s election, and the terms of that coalition will keep it in control of the Education Ministry for three more years.

Hamas doesn\\\'t have completely free rein in the schools. It\\\'s being scrutinized by Fatah and by the largely secular Palestinian intelligentsia. Ashrawi, now an independent legislator, says she has asked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate who heads Fatah, to hand control of the curriculum to an independent commission of experts, but has gotten no commitment.

read more.