Hotel literature in Riyadh

[The GM]

Forget the Gideons, folks. When you're a guest in a hotel in Saudi Arabia you receive a pleathora of books designed to convert. Fresh off the plane, The GM has the goods, compliments of someone who was a visitor to SA.

I have:
What the Bible says about Muhummed, PBUH, by Ahmed Deedat
Christ PBUH in Islam by the same author
A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam by I.A. Ibriham
And last but not least, Understanding Islam By the Islamic Center of Carbondale

Compared to Chick tracts, these books blow him away in aestetics. Easily on par w/ the JWs work, but actually a little nicer to look at. According to Understanding Islam, 32% of the people in the world are Christians, 20% Muslim, 19% Atheist, 13% Hindu, 5% Buddhists, ..3% Jews, and 10% others. You atheists are gaining! *gasp* You may also request the following literature from these folks: 50,000 errors in the Bible, The God that Never Was, Resurrection or Resuscitation? and naturally, Is the Bible God's Word?

I've only briefed through them, but they are actually more convincing in their arguments than a lot of Christian tracts I've come across. When I get around to it, I'll do a review.

 

[neutrino_cannon]

Funny, I never knew that 102% of the world's various religious denominations were accounted for, or did you mean .3% Jews, and I just screwed up?

I'm looking foreward to a review and synonpsis. Maybe you could scan any of the good art?

 

[The GM]

Funny, I never knew that 102% of the world's various religious denominations were accounted for, or did you mean .3% Jews, and I just screwed up?

I'm looking foreward to a review and synonpsis. Maybe you could scan any of the good art?

Yep, it's *point* 3%. I should have used a different color to make it stand out.
I'm hoping to find some of the stuff online to refer people to, such as the 'people made of clay' which also means leeches commentary.
If not, it's off to the scanner.

But here's a little preview to whet your palate:
"If we would like to know if a religion is true or false, we should not depend on our emotions, feelings, or traditions. Rather, we should depend on our reason and intellect." -A Brief Illustrated Guide to understanding Islam

Amen, brother. Already makes it better than fundy lit.

 

[neutrino_cannon]

I'm guessing that what's refered to is resonand logic based on supposedly infallible scriptures?

Oh well, I still prefer it to 1inC's Holy armor against "smokescreen of logic and reason".

 

[The GM]

I'm guessing that what's refered to is resonand logic based on supposedly infallible scriptures?

Oh well, I still prefer it to 1inC's Holy armor against "smokescreen of logic and reason".

Well, let's see if you think that after this data dump. Here ya go.

Review: A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam by I.A. Ibriham
www.islam-brief-guide.org
ISBN: 9960.34.011.2

This is a 75 page text, printed by the MAMY House Intl. for Printing and Publishing Distribution, Riyahd, SA. The cover is a computer animated Qur’an circling the globe (starting in South Africa and making it’s way into a spliced picture of the Haram Mosque in Makkah.) The back cover shows more CG northern lights type stuff in the sky w/ a spliced pic of the mosque in Madinah. A brief dedication on the inside over says, In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The book is separated into three chapters. Chapter one: Some evidence for the truth of Islam, Chapter two: Some benefits of Islam, and Chapter three: General Information on Islam. The inside is well laid out for a tract of this type, and unlike its Christian counterparts, has the editorial blessing of seven professors and 6 pages of references to scientific sources that support the assertions
made within the book. What these people are professors of, I have no idea.

Chapter One: Here the author is laying out proofs that Islam is the real deal. Six types of evidence are discussed: The scientific miracles in the Qur’an, the great challenge to produce one chapter like the chapters of the Qur’an, Biblical prophecies about Muhammad, Qur’an prophecies that have come true, miracles performed by Muhammad, and the simple life of Muhammad.

The Qur’an is said to be the literal word of God. As such, there are no authors like you find in the Bible. It was passed down to Muhammad through the angel, Gabriel. He memorized it, dictated it to his companions, and reviewed it w/ Gabriel once a year, and twice a year in his last year of life to make sure that it was accurate. The Qur’an was written 14 centuries ago.

The first scientific proof offered that shows the infallibility of the Qur’an is that of conception.

“We created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him as a drop in a place of settlement, firmly fixed. Then We made the drop into an alaqah (leech, suspended thing, and blood clot), then We made the alaqah into a mudghah (chewed substance)... “ (Quran, 23:12-14)
Literally, the Arabic word alaqah has three meanings: (1) leech, (2) suspended thing, and (3) blood clot. In comparing a leech to an embryo in the alaqah stage, we find similarity between the two as we can see in figure 1. Also, the embryo at this stage obtains nourishment from the blood of the mother, similar to the leech, which feeds on the blood of others.

This is offered as proof that Muhammad did indeed receive a divine communication, after all, how could he have know what an embryo looked like? The next point as scientific evidence comes from how mountains are formed.

This is how the Quran has described mountains. God has said in the Quran: Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs? (Quran, 78:6-7)
Modern earth sciences have proven that mountains have deep roots under the surface of the ground and that these roots can reach several times their elevations above the surface of the ground. So the most suitable word to describe mountains on the basis of this information is the word ‘peg,’ since most of a properly set peg is hidden under the surface of the ground. The history of science tells us that the theory of mountains having deep roots was introduced only in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Mountains also play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth. They hinder the shaking of the earth. God has said in the Quran:
And He has set firm mountains in the earth so that it would not shake with you... (Quran, 16:15)

The question is again asked, how could Muhammad have known? Obviously, divine inspiration. Next, the chapter moves onto the creation of the Universe.

The science of modern cosmology, observational and theoretical, clearly indicates that, at one point in time, the whole universe was nothing but a cloud of ‘smoke’ (i.e. an opaque highly dense and hot gaseous composition). This is one of the undisputed principles of standard modern cosmology. Scientists now can observe new stars forming out of the remnants of that ‘smoke’ (see figures 10 and 11).

The illuminating stars we see at night were, just as was the whole universe, in that ‘smoke’ material. God has said in the Quran: Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke... (Quran, 41:11)
Because the earth and the heavens above (the sun, the moon, stars, planets, galaxies, etc.) have been formed from this same ‘smoke,’ we conclude that the earth and the heavens were one connected entity. Then out of this homogeneous ‘smoke,’ they formed and separated from each other. God has said in the Quran: Have not those who disbelieved known that the heavens and the earth were one connected entity, then We separated them?... (Quran, 21:30)
Dr. Alfred Kroner is one of the world’s renowned geologists. He is Professor of Geology and the Chairman of the Department of Geology at the Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. He said: “Thinking where Muhammad came from . . . I think it is almost impossible that he could have known about things like the common origin of the universe, because scientists have only found out within the last few years, with very complicated and advanced technological methods, that this is the case.”

The book then lays out further evidence, which I’m too lazy to write out in full, but essentially it claims that the Qur’an accurately maps out the cerebellum, tells how rivers and seas form, the function and creation of clouds and other scientific miracles in the Qur’an.
Skipping ahead to Chapter two:
Here we get into the meat of the matter: How to get to Heaven. Simple, you need only to convert to Islam. There is a simple declaration of faith to be said aloud, and that’s it! Now you try to live a pious and good life, and Heaven will be waiting there for you at the end. If you don’t, it’s Hellfire for you. Simple as that.
Chapter two is super short. So, on to chapter three.
How does one be a good Muslim? You have to: believe in God, belief in angels, such as Gabriel, belief in the Qur’an, belief in the prophets, including but not limited to Muhammad, belief in the day of judgment (an interesting side note, the Qur’an seems to lay out Judgment day much like the JWs do. Everyone is resurrected, and then judged.) and finally belief in Al-Qadar (divine predestination). God knows everything, whatever God wills is what God wills. In the same paragraph we are told that we have free will, though God already knows what we’re going to do. A strange contradiction, but there it is. You also must believe in the sunnah, a book authored by Muhammad’s companions based on the teaching of Muhammad.
There is some info on what the Qur’an is, basically a rehash of chapter one, who Muhammad was (born in Makkah in 570). We also learn that Jesus (another prophet, but not the son of God) was no crucified, but rather God took him away and a doppelganger was put in his place. So the fake Jesus was slain, not the real one.
The book goes on to say that Muslims should not be bigots or racist, that women should be allowed their own property and should be treated very well by their husbands, that one should treat their parents w/ the utmost in respect, and that one should follow the 5 pillars of faith. You must testify your faith w/ convictions, pray five times a day, give to the needy, fasting during Ramandan, and pilgrim to Makkah at least once in your life.
For a tract, it’s jam packed w/ information, citations, and illustrations. These guys are serious about converting you. Resistance is futile.

edit: fixed tags

 

[neutrino_cannon]

While I find it touching (in about the same way as I find a solar-powered oil freighter) that Muslim apologists try to reconcile the Koran with science and general sanity, as opposed to eradicating the latter as our favorite people do State-side, their arguments require the same mental backflips and double think, and furthermore, carry exactly the same amount of validity.

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/denis_giron/islamsci.html

[Non sequitur]
I have tentatively concluded that Islam is scarier than Christianity because they managed to kill roughly the same number of people in less time. [/Non sequitur]

 

[phildonnia]

Originally posted by The GM (PBUH)
...You may also request the following literature from these folks: 50,000 errors in the Bible, ...

Interestingly, the Quran states in several places that the Christian and Jewish scriptures are the inerrant Word of God. Thus, every error found in the Bible would seem to be automatically a flaw in the foundation of Islam.

After them we sent forth Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming the Torah already revealed, and gave him the Gospel, in which there is guidance and light, corroborating what as revealed before it in the torah, a guide and admonition to the righteous.
Therefore let those who follow the Gospel judge according to what God has revealed therein. Evil-doers are those that do not judge according to God's revelations.

Quran 5:46, 47 (Dawood)

Tangential side note: A hotel I stayed at in Bangkok had the New Testament, and something called "Teachings of the Buddha". Already quite familiar with the first, I thumbed through the latter for the basic ideas.

 

[The GM]

Re: Re: Hotel literature in Riyadh

Originally posted by The GM (PBUH)

Hey, that puts me on the level of some of the religious great! Heh.
Well, PBUY, too. We could all use a little of that, eh?

My next review will be of Christ (PBUH) in Islam. A little footnote claims, "Christians, the meaning is not that they merely call themselves Christians, but that they are such sincere Christians that they appreciate Muslim virtues. They would say: It is true we are Christians, but we understand your point of view, and we know you are good men. THEY ARE MUSLIMS AT HEART, WHATEVER THEIR LABEL MAY BE." (emphasis, their's)

I wonder if most Christians would agree?

 

[Beerina]

> So the most suitable word to describe mountains on the basis
> of this information is the word ‘peg,’ since most of a properly
> set peg is hidden under the surface of the ground

Huh?!? Say whazis now?

A "properly set peg" is mostly above the ground. We know them better as "fence posts". And yes, even before cement was invented, most of the post was still above ground.

And what do they mean "below ground", anyway? 30 miles down it's all lava.

 

[UnrepentantSinner]

[Non sequitur]
I have tentatively concluded that Islam is scarier than Christianity because they managed to kill roughly the same number of people in less time. [/Non sequitur]

Radical Islam is scarier than radical Christianity at this juncture in history, that's for sure. For as out there as the religious right is in the U.S., we still don't have suicide bombers blowing themselves up trying to help foster a theocracy.

At least the radical Christians are "only" trying to do it via the ballot box and school board science decisions...