Opus 2026-330: Is the Confusion Deliberate?

I have read the Koran, cover to cover, in a language I can understand, translated by Muslims so I can at least say it is what they want me to believe it says.  I have yet to meet an American who has done the same.  Most Americans have no idea what the Koran actually says.  When I say that I include American Muslims.  They also have not read the Koran in a language they can understand.

This is one of the important secrets that people don’t stumble across.  Most Muslims can recite portions of the Koran but even the parts they have memorized they do not understand.  Picture being a typical Catholic before the mass had Latin replaced by the local language.  For almost 1,200 years Roman Catholics only had the Bible in Latin.  When Jerome translated it into the Latin Vulgate most Catholics had already left Latin behind.  I remember attending Cathoic mass and following along in the missal.  I could kind of handle the Latin.  I recognized a few root words.  I had no idea what I was reading.  Picture that in medieval Europe with illiterate peasants and much of the clergy also illiterate.  That is modern Isalm.

What got me off on this was a meme that was titled, “This Is What Muslims Believe”.  As I looked down the list it seemed accurate.  I had heard all of the claims many times but being who I am I wanted a little more confirmation.  What do you do?  Look up what they claim is the source.  And then comes the hard part, thinking through what you have read.

The first item in the meme was “Rape, Marry, and Divorce Pre-pubescent girls.”  The source from the Quran was 65:4.  Surah 65 is titled “Divorce”.  My problem came when I went to read verse 4 and found this,

“4.  As to such of your wives as have no hope of the recurrence of their times, if ye have doubts in regard to them, then reckon three months, and let the same be the term of those who have not yet had them. And as to those who are with child, their period shall be until they are delivered of their burden. God will make His command easy to him who feareth Him.”

Even if you don’t pick up the theme it seems that this has nothing to do with what was claimed in the meme.  What I have printed is from what used to be the standard text, translated by an Englishman.  I checked my printed copy what was printed and endorsed by Muslims.  I then checked my most current translation, again by a Muslim.  It wasn’t until I had read the last one several times that the meaning of what I was reading became clear.

Just for clarification, this is saying that when you divorce a woman you must wait three months to make sure she is not pregnant.  Where do we get the treatment of pre-pubescent girls?  It is to some degree a reflection of the culture of the translator.  The key is in the phrase above, “... let the same be the term of those who have not yet had them.”

Rodwell’s translation was done in the time period of Queen Victoria.  Referring to body parts or body functions showed a lack of culture.  “The term” or “their times” refers to a woman’s menstrual period.  That initially flew under my radar.

My second source was a translation by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall.  He was raised in the home of an Anglican pastor and later converted to Islam.  His translation is dated in 1930, a period that was not known for the restraint of the Victorian Age.  He uses the term menstruation in this verse but muddies the refernce to pre-pubescent girls by using the phrase, “...along with those who have it not.”  QII, p. 402.  I would imagine he knew England was still not ready for child brides.

I did not see it clearly until it was waved in my face in the third translation.  When it got to this portion it said, “for such women who have not menstruated (for some other reasons)”.  QIII, p. 646.  The other reason would be that she was not mature enough to have a menstrual period.  This kind of brings it home.  Not only is it accepted to marry a young girl and be sexually involved with them, but you can then divorce them before they reach maturity.  Most of us would consider this sick.  Evidently there are a number of Muslims who feel the same.

Any way you want to cut it, this is what the Koran is teaching.  I have not spoken to many Muslims, never on this level but the people I am listening to would say that Muslims deny that this is what Islam teaches.  When you meet someone like that keep in mind church attenders you know who claim the Bible says nothing about homosexuality.  I had that discussion on the platform of a Methodist church with the worship leader.

Read and think.  Do your homework.  The truth can be hard to swallow but it is there.

All Koran quotes unless otherwise identified are from the translation by Rev. J.M. Rodwell, M.A. provided by the Gutenberg Project.

QII, The Glorious Qur’an Translation.  Translated by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall.  New York:  Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Inc., No date.

QIII, The Holy Qur’an, Based on explanation of ‘Allamah Nooruddin, First paperback edition, 2010.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-251: Trusting Turkey

Recently Powerline had an interesting article about a Trump initiative.  It involved developing a trade route through Armenia as a go around of the northern route through Russia and the southern path via Iran.  It is called the Trade Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).  It is an interesting idea but I don’t put a lot of long term confidence in it.

Why?

Because it involves Turkey.  Turkey went through a phase where the moderate, secular Muslims were in control.  That has changed.  They are moving back to the traditional stance.  That is a long history of treaties and promises that are broken at the first convenient place.  It goes back to Mohamad promising to go easy on the Jewish tribe if they would surrender and then beheading the men, raping the women and selling any left alive into slavery.  That was the pattern down through the crusades and the modern expression of Jihad.

Can a leopard change its spots?  If it did, it would still be a leopard.  Or remember the fable about the frog giving the scorpion a ride across the river.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-247: Acre Again

One of the sub-genres of science fiction is alternate history.  There are stories that chart history in a world where the South won the Civil War.  I remember enjoying one that had the earth invaded by alien armies in the middle of World War II.  It can be very entertaining if well written.

Currently I am reading a history of the Military Orders of the Crusades, the Templars and Hospitalers.  I just got through the part where the last Christian citadel was smashed and the survivors fled.  It was gruesome.  Of course you need to understand that the standards of the day were totally different than today.  It was still gruesome.  Basically every Christian who was not able to get on a boat was doomed.  The first step was to rampage through the city looting, killing and raping.  Somehow there were people who survived and they faces a very certain future:  slavery.  That was it.  Most men were killed, women raped and sold, children sold.  It was a brutal time.

My thoughts turned to modern times.  What if you were writing a story in the future about the fall of the modern nation of Israel to the forces of Islam that surround it.  It would be a replay of the Middle Ages.  The events of Hamas attacking on October 7 would give you a preview.  There would be slaughter that made the Holocaust look like a playground.

And, if the media plays its assumed role, we would know nothing about it.  Just like they ignored the real conditions in the Soviet Union and acted like there were no concentration camps in Nazi Germany you would hear nothing about the millions of Jews executed.

And what about the aftermath.  Would there still be Christian tours of the Holy Land?  Would Americans still be getting baptized in the Jordan?  Probably.  The mass graves would not be labeled.  The fees would be much higher but the potential for making money off of suckers would be a strong attraction.  Of course there might be occasional hiccups as tour buses were bombed but that would be blamed on Zionist terrorists.

Let us hope that those stories are never real history.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-113: Headlines: Conflict of Interest

The recent headlines coming out of New York proclaim the Muslim population is trying to ban dogs from Central Park.  We come to an interesting conflict of special interest groups.  On the one side, you have the Muslims with their attitude towards dogs.  On the other side, you have people with various emotional problems, but have service animals.  Now I don’t know all the details about the Muslims in New York, but it’s a classic example of the way in which the Muslims when they get to a certain percentage of the population, began demanding that everybody else adapt to their way of life.  Expect it in a city near you if this continues.

This demonstrates the way in which Islam lives out totalitarian government at work.  In a totalitarian government, you expect everyone to conform to what the elite declare because it’s good for the whole. The individual is submerged in the good of the whole.  Your personal opinion is only as important as the power you possess to force it on others.

Will guide dogs and emotional support animals survive?  Not if sharia law has its way.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-077: Controversy

There is a definite conversation that we as Americans need to have.  Patriotic Americans that believe in absolute truth and eternal values have a tendency to look at the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence as being semi-inspired documents.  They would be just slightly below the Bible itself.  Because of that, we tend to get a bit idolatrous about them.

What brings this up is the problem that we are having now with the invasion by the Muslims.  Islam is a religion, but unlike other religions, it is also a political system.  It demands total and complete obedience in every area of life.  Sharia law is to be implemented wherever Muslims go.  We on the other hand, have a tradition of religious freedom.  The idea of executing someone because they leave your religion is anathema to Americans and yet it is foundational to Muslims.

Can these kind of differences survive in the current understanding of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.  More and more people are beginning to doubt it.  So what do we do?  We need to have some serious conversations while we still have time to disagree in a civil manner.

That conversation needs to take place on the internet, in coffee shops, over family dinners and any other forum that has two or more people.  One of the basic rules of civilized conversation and debate is at the base or our freedom of speech.  People need to explore ideas.  Just because someone says we might need to review the clause in the Constitution that outlaws religion tests for public office does not make them a hater or a bigot.  We need to listen and come up with better responses than, “Well, Oh yeah?”  This requires a bit of intellectual activity on our part.  Did you ever stop to think that the person who is retarded enough to disagree with you might have some part of their argument that makes sense?

It will also require a bit of courage.  We need to get over being afraid someone will call us a name or hurt our feelings.  We need to embrace the insults.  I am ready to exult in the accusation of White Privilege.  I yearn to be called a chauvinist.  I would love to be called racist by someone who does not see their own racism.  Deal with it.  Glory in it.  It means you have connected at least on some level.

We need to address the controversy.  If we don’t it will not go away, it will eat us alive.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-327: Too Soon?

Has the Muslim invasion of Europe gotten serious too soon?

If you look historically at the times where Islam has tried to conquer Christendom you find that each time they’ve been backed by massive centralized governments with all the armies and resources that you can imagine.  In the West they when the French turned them back at the back of Tours an empire backed the armies of Islam.  They continued to fail as the Christian armies of northern Spain push them south back across the straits of Gibraltar.  In the East in the 1600s the armies of Islam tried to conquer Vienna and were turned back by the timely we arrival of the Polish Winged Hussars.  Again they had all of the resources of the Ottoman Empire at their beck and call and they still are not able to do it.  That was 1683.  Read that date again.  That was after the KJV was written, the Pilgrims and just before the Glorious Revolution in England.

The flames of conquest are being stoked again.  We see violence in France, Germany and other areas.  The rabble-rousers are pushing.  They are upping the ante and going for broke.  But is it too soon?

As far as I can see for all of their military might when it comes to bombing Israel there are no nations rooted in Islam that are strong enough to take on the countries of Europe.

I guess the real question would be, “Is Europe ready to surrender and be turned into a Muslim enclave or will there be enough people who refused to go along with that?”  Examine what’s happening in England.  The people are just rolling over and playing dead.  Will all of Europe follow their example?  Will the United States?

Interesting times.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-145: Click Bait: Charles the Last

Great Britain does not seem to have great luck with kings named Charles.  Charles I had his head cut off. The current Charles might be heading toward the same feat.  I refer to the click bait headlines which try to tell us that Charles III might be converting to Islam.  I have no idea where they get this or if there is any substance to it.  I am not going to bother reading the articles because they would be full of nonsense and a pure waste of time.

One of the issues that I would address if I were concerned is that Charles is considered to be the head of the Church of England.  Now I admit that’s not exactly a high spiritual post considering the state of the Church of England, but there is still millions of Englishman who feel strongly about it.  Part of his coronation, I believe, involved a profession of faith, and a pledge to uphold the faith.  The faith being addressed was not his own.  It wasn’t even Baptist or Methodist.  It was the faith of the Church of England.  It is the source of the title “Defender of the Faith.”

Would he be allowed to stay on the throne if he abandoned the church of England and expressed his conversion to Islam?  Americans have a default of separating church and state.  In fact there is a place in the Constitution that prohibits religion being a qualification for office.  Not so in England.

And what about the country as a whole?  Historically the conversion of a king, or emperor would lead to the conversion of his kingdom or empire.  Much of that conversion was because the rank and file had little real allegiance to the official religion.  That would fit England very well today.  The Christian content of their character is almost nonexistent at this point.  At the same time they have a very sizable Muslim population, who are very rabid, or should we say devout, and would welcome the nation into the fold with great joy and celebration.

It would be a mistake for Charles to think of playing around with this.  Once he takes the step of praying to Allah through Mohammed, he would be expected to follow that path the rest of his life.  If he tried to switch back, then we might see a picture of Charles on a beach in northern Africa, wearing an orange jumpsuit with someone standing behind him with a scimitar.  Déjà vu.  That might make Charles the last.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-399: Unraveling Mysteries

A couple of years ago we had an election for our representative to the state assembly.  I didn’t know much about either candidate.  I found the mailers they sent out to us relatively useful because I read them with discernment.  One candidate made encouraging noises, and I liked what she had to say.  The other candidate seem to be saying the right things, but there was an element of discordance in what he wrote.  As I read what he had to say and considered it based on what I knew, I realize that he was lying through his teeth.  That helped me decide who had the high ground and how to vote.

I relay that because I am in the process of examining a new translation of the Quran.  In that Koran’s introduction, I find a number of statements that sounds really good, but they are totally inconsistent with the introduction to another translation of the Koran.  They also fly in the face of what other authorities have said.  What does one do?

One of the things I look for is statements that defy logic and go against everything I know about human nature and history.  When a writer makes frequent use of “never” and “always” I tend to scratch my head and say, “Really?”  The same goes for “all” and “none.”  Extreme claims that are easily refuted are a red flag.  Take this from the introduction,

“It claims to be the mother and source of all other languages.” QIII, p. 3a

There is a certain attitude of certainty that comes through with certain people.  It is not exclusive to Muslims.  I have a friend who is a King James Only man and one of the books he gave me to try to indoctrinate me has this referring to the King James Bible on the back of the title page,

“God’s perfectly preserved word.”

My point here is not spiritual.  It is logical.  Extreme claims are usually in need of some qualifications.  Our responsibility is to keep our minds plugged in and active.  With a little bit of thinking we can cut through a lot of nonsense.

QIII, The Holy Qur’an, Based on explanation of ‘Allamah Nooruddin, First paperback edition, 2010.

McLean, Terence D.  Basics of Mid Acts Dispensationalism.  Alpha, Ohio:  Discerning the Times Publishing Co., Inc., 2006.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-013: The Habit of Holocaust

How would we rank the Holocausts or attempts at genocide of history?

I am not thinking of the common movements of tribes and peoples who pushed weaker cultures off their land.  The group pushed off tends to move a bit and push another bunch off.  That has been going on around the world since God pushed Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden.  I am talking about the organized, systematic annihilation of a weaker group by the dominant culture.

Most people who know which end of straw to drink out of have heard of the Jewish Holocaust.  They may be deniers.  They may have been in the cheering section.  They still know about it.  If we were going to rank these tragedies the Jewish Holocaust is mainly useful in setting a standard for the others since it is the best known.

The Noble Savages of North America were participants.  The Iroquois destroyed at least eight other tribes in their area.  I think it is possible that the Cherokee ended up in Georgia to escape the depredations of their indigenous brothers.  Then came the Trail of Tears.  Some groups face repeated problems but it is not genocide.  

We have the Armenian holocaust of the early 20th century.  According to the Turks who did the honors, it didn’t happen, or, if pushed, will say it wasn’t as bad as portrayed.  I think the methodical murder of over a million people qualifies as more than just a misunderstanding.  

When you think of mass murder don’t leave the Communist party out.  Which one?  It doesn’t really matter.  It could be the kulaks of Ukraine, the peasants of China or the middle class in Cambodia.  Dead is dead.  In shear numbers the Communist version of socialism dwarfs the efforts of the Nazi version.  Both tried hard.  If you show up on their radar at the wrong time it is the end of the road.

The October 7 slaughter is fresh in our minds.  Compared to other atrocities in history the numbers are a bit small.  It comes into this discussion only because it is one step in the historic jihad holocaust.  If you go back in history this has been a 1400 year effort to eradicate the Jews.  We ignore it at our peril because it isn’t really just the Jews.  Everyone who is not a Muslim is on their list.  

How many other holocaust can we think about if we range through history?  My guess is that the list would be long and most we would not even know about because the receiving group of genocide does not write the history books.

Stay alert and pay attention.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-318: The Danger of Tradition

I am coming across real parallels between Islam and Rabbinical Judaism.  

The Hadith and the Talmud are both transcribed oral traditions.  Both religions have a written source of truth.  For the Muslims it is the Koran.  For the Jews it would be what we traditionally call the Old Testament.  That is established.  Then we have the teachings that exist today in written form but were passed down orally for centuries before being recorded.  For Muslims this is the Hadith.  For Jews it is the Talmud.  Both oral traditions are vastly longer than the written originals.

Reading excerpts from Rabbis, you come across a lot of the medieval phrases that you find in the quotes of mullahs.  I would assume these were matters of etiquette and the culture of the Middle East.  

It is interesting also that Mohammad talked about the people of the Book, Christians and Jews.  He seemed to teach that there was a written source that came from God.  The problem, according to Mohammad, was that the Book had been perverted by Christians and Jews.

He may have had something there.
    
His knowledge of Christianity was formed by the works that were never accepted into the Christian canon.  The area he lived in was hotbed of gnostic heresy.  It makes me wonder if his knowledge of Judaism was based on the interpretations of the Rabbis.  Another complication would be the Septuagint.  There are numerous places where the Septuagint is different than the Hebrew text.  In other places it has sentences added.

I wonder if a Jew from the time of David would recognize modern Judaism in any of its forms.  I wonder the same about Islam.  We face the same temptation in the world of Christian theology.  Much of what we believe is based on tradition and hearsay rather than what the Bible text actually says.  It is a challenge to all of us.  It is a challenge that only we, as individuals, can answer.

homo unius libri

Opus 2022-234: Headlines: He Spoke Too Soon

Even the New York Times lets some light shine on a subject at times.  We have a report of multiple murders in New Mexico.  The victims are all Muslims.  In typical left knee jerk reaction the White House screams about a hate crime.  That was before a suspect was arrested.

“The New York Times reported that Syed, a Sunni Muslim, might have targeted the men because they were Shiite Muslims and he was reportedly angry that his daughter married a Shiite Muslim.”

Is it still a hate crime?  If there ever was a hate crime it would be killing someone because they were a different religion than you were?  In that case this would qualify but I think Biden is wishing he had never said anything.  How can a non-Anglo be guilty of a hate crime.

In case you have not been doing your homework the Sunni Muslims and the Shiite Muslims are both Muslims in the same way that Catholics and Protestants are both Christian.  Back during the Reformation the hatred between the two groups of Christendom would have exercised that same animosity but most of that has calmed down by now.  Even though the split between Sunni and Shiite goes back even further they still have the ancient hatred for people who are different.

These murders are non unacceptable in a Muslim culture.  Welcome to the religion of peace.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-187: Vive la France vs Allahu Akbar

French patience may be running out.  The news last week published the letter written by a group of French military leaders.  I believe all, or most, were retired.  A similar letter came out from American generals and admirals.  The point was that these people were not willing to let their country be destroyed by those who hate it.

This reminds me of an article I read long ago.  It was focused on France and how the people of France were willing to be very tolerant.  They also have a limit.  Because that early tolerance is interpreted as weakness and carte blanche to commit mayhem without consequence, the Muslim immigrants are of the opinion that there will never be any genuine lines drawn.  The article speculated about how the anger builds up, swells and eventually explodes.  The concern was that France would eventually take drastic steps to bring sanity back and in the stepping would set sanity aside.  The prediction was a blood bath.

I don’t remember if the article had a solution other than violence.  All I remember is the prediction that the kid gloves would eventually come off if the Muslims kept acting like spoiled children.  We may be seeing that happen.  I have my doubts.  Ever since the defeat of Napoleon the French have a history of talking big but having little iron to back it up.  One of the jokes I have heard is that in World War II France had the distinction of being the only country in the world to surrender to itself.  Of course the Muslim world has been the same way for centuries.  

Come back in twenty years and we will find out how it works out.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-218: Monday Pulpit: Juxtaposition

I was reviewing some old sermon notes and I came across something I still find interesting.  It involves a basic difference between Christianity and Islam.  It deals with a passage relating how Jacob wrestled all night with what is assumed to be God or at least an angel.  He demands a blessing and gets this:

(Gen 32:28 NAS77) And he said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed."

Christians have permission to wrestle, or strive, with God.  We see frequent references showing how different Biblical personalities would argue with God.  Moses comes to mind.  We are told to come and reason.  The call is to an active faith that understands and buys into the covenant. 

Islam is different.  The name itself means submission.  Muslims traditionally have been fatalistic.  They assume that Allah is going to do what He wants and their opinions are not required.  I remember reading about how it was almost impossible to train Muslims to be marksmen with a rifle.  They tended to think that all you had to do was point the rifle in the general direction and God would guide the bullet where he wanted it to go.

It is a difference in philosophy that brings radical differences when expressed in culture.  It is one of the reasons that the west based on Christian values overtook Islam and moved into the modern scientific age.  Even in the “Golden Age” of Islam much of the gold was from non-Muslims.

Little differences make big differences. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-220: Reform Illusion

I love it when famous people agree with me.  Jonah Goldberg writes (before he became a Never Trumper),

“Those yearning for a ‘Muslim Martin Luther’ don’t realize there are Muslim Martin Luthers all over the place, and they’ve been fomenting religious oppression and cruelty in the Middle East and terrorism abroad for generations now.”  p. 238

I have always been mystified by people who call Islam a religion of peace.  They obviously have only read the Readers’ Digest translation of the Koran which was prepared by undercover Muslims for gullible snowflakes.  The only peace that Islam offers to the world is a peace based on submitting to slavery or accepting death.  The idea is that the grave is very peaceful. 

And I have wondered what carousel people fell off of when they claim that Islam needs to be reformed.  That is what the “kill the infidel” of jihad is all about.  Those involved in the violence are the reformers.  They feel that Islam has drifted into the state that Christians feel about the United Methodist Church.  They think the average Muslim is a Muslim in name only and a clone of the dominant culture.

So don’t root for the reformers of Islam.  They want sharia to be your next experience in law.

Goldberg, Jonah.  The Tyranny of Cliches.  New York:  Sentinel, 2012.

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Opus 2019-136: Humor Based on Wishes

Every once in awhile I see humorous posters referring to the dietary laws of Islam.  They go along the path that you can screen out terrorist in a group by requiring everyone to eat a ham sandwich.  This comes from a limited awareness of the Koran.  It does say that faithful Muslims should not eat pork.

173a.  But that which dieth of itself, and blood, and swine's flesh, and that over which any other name than that of God hath been invoked, is forbidden you.

But it does not stop there.  The Koran continues with an escape clause.

173b.  But he who shall partake of them by constraint, without lust or wilfulness, no sin shall be upon him. Verily God is Indulgent, Merciful.

Your little test will not work.  In that situation they might even ask for seconds.  And of course you remember when the Gitmo internees were complaining about the food.  It didn’t need to be halal. 

All Koran quotes are from the translation by Rev. J.M. Rodwell, M.A. provided by the Gutenberg Project.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-257: Liberty Is Not Tolerance, part 2 of 2

Why is it important that we stand up for religious liberty today?  In one word, Islam.  Islam is one of those realities that you need to look into yourself.  Do not take anyone else’s word for what Islam is, even mine.  Get a Koran and read it yourself.  If you are not a reader, you have my sympathy but do not accept the carefully chosen “sound bites” that are given to you by the media.  Islam is like Christianity in that it is given a charge to convert the entire world.  The difference that effects our lives is that the Bible never gives Christians the commission to use force or coercion.  The Koran does.  If you read it you will also find that it condones lies if they advance the cause. 

America and Americans are willing to grant Muslims religious liberty.  That is no problem.  The problem comes when you realize that their religion, if they truly believe it, demands that they bring you to your knees in submission.  It can be the submission of conversion.  It can be the submission of servitude or slavery which they call “dhimmi”.  When you research it and see it means “protected person” then understand the jargon.  Slaves in the south were protected people also.  People locked into rubber rooms and straight jackets are protected also.  The final classification of submission is death, the ultimate peace.

We have home-grown religious groups that are determined to convert everyone.  I immediately think of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons.  They are very aggressive in presenting their beliefs but last time I heard Mormon missionary teams were not armed.  There are religions rooted in other countries that suppress those who differ but they are not set on conquering the world and forcing it into one mold with violence and suppression.  I have not heard of Buddhist suicide bombers trying to take down American democracy.  Maybe that is because I don’t read the New York Times.

We still have religious liberty although the left is working hard to throttle it.  In the past year the mayor of Austin, Texas tried to require pastors to turn over their sermon material and e-mails so she could scan it for what she would call hate language.  She was stopped.  The next bright light of the left may get away with it.  Some probably have by using zoning laws, parking regulation and parade permits. 

Religious liberty is a protection that goes both ways.  Don’t give it up in the name of tolerance.

Background

Thomas M. Cooley was on the Michigan State Supreme Court after the Civil War.

Dennis Prager covers the distinction between liberty and freedom well in many forums.  You can do a search for “Dennis Prager on liberty” and find many listings.

Blakely, William Addison, Ed.  American State Papers and Related 
   Documents on Freedom in Religion, Fourth Revised Edition. 
   Washington, D.C.:  The Religious Liberty Association, 1949.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-212: 9/11 from Two Sides

It is time to remind ourselves of the evil in the world.  9/11 represents that evil.  That is true if you are a believer in conspiracy theory or if you feel we were attacked as a nation by the fanatical arm of a warlike religion.

The conspiracy theorists are alive and well.  If you have not been following their posts they believe that there is a world-wide conspiracy of the elites to bring America to its knees and institute the reign of the few.  They believe that George Bush was in on the planning that brought down the Twin Towers.  There is an international banking cabal led by the Rothschilds who are using their money to make slaves of the rest of us.  The hidden leaders of the deep state assassinated JFK with the aid of the CIA.  They are all involved in grotesque rituals involving murdered children and human trafficking.  If you have any questions, ask my wife.

A more rational view is that the United States was attacked by the forces of jihad with the enthusiastic support of the world’s Muslims.  The Twin Towers were brought down by a plot that was well financed and carefully planned by followers of Islam who believe America is the great Satan and will do anything they can to destroy us.  For us 9/11 was a wake up call to the fact that we are in a war for survival.  If we don’t remain awake then Sharia law will eventually replace the liberty enshrined in the Constitution and we will look like another third world country.

Stay awake.  Never forget.  The battle is just beginning.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-135: Headlines: Who Is Tommy Robinson?

If our Progressive (Liberal, Democrat, Socialist, Elite, RINO) leaders have their way the experience of Tommy Robinson will soon come to a community near you.  If you don’t know about Tommy Robinson then you either are not paying attention or their plan has already isolated you in a Nanny State cocoon. 

Tommy Robinson was standing outside a courthouse in England where some Muslims were on trial for rape and assorted other crimes.  He was using Facebook to report on what was happening.  He was arrested for “breaching the peace”.  That sounds pretty serious.  Evidently he had done such a heinous things before and standing in public making comments on his Facebook page was a violation of his parole.  Within five hours he appeared before a judge and was locked up again for thirteen months.  It seems he was locked up in the same prison that contained the Muslims.  Then the judge passed down a gag order telling the news media not to tell anybody about it.  In this country you don’t have to do that because the media is so one sided, but London still has competing newspapers that like to get a scoop.

This is what the English system of justice has become.  It is what the Progressives want to see in this country.  I have often noted that our basic Bill of Rights is based on the English Declaration of Rights of 1689.  One noticeable difference is in the right to what we call Freedom of Speech.  It contains a mention of such but it only applied to members of Parliament.  The common, every day, man on the street had no such protection.

Our Founding Fathers made it clear that they were determined to break from the European model.  Today’s Bumbling Bureaucrats are doing everything they can to repair the damage.  The European Model involved hereditary class systems.  The European Model made common people subjects more than citizens.

Which brings us to the case of Tommy Robinson.  He is in jail because he spoke out against the politically correct desire to cover up and protect the atrocities being unleashed on the British people my the growing Muslim minority.  With his incarceration we are slapped up side the head with an awareness that England is not the land of the free.  It isn’t now.  Maybe it wasn’t then. 

It is time for the United States to renew its commitment to not being like Europe.  If we don’t then many of us will be facing jail time and a lot of misery.  Elections are coming.  Don’t vote for anyone who is not proud to be different from the rest of the world.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-105: One Man’s Suppression Is Another Man’s Genocide

You always need to ask yourself the bias or slant of a source.  One of the books I read this year involved the history of the Arabs.  It was written by a British professor with an Arabic name.  He was born in Lebanon to a Christian family.  I worked with a teacher who had a similar background and, although I enjoyed the spirited discussions we had, he was a total left winger who embraced most of the anti-American and anti-Israel memes of our day.  I would guess Hourani would be similar, a great human being as long as you didn’t cross certain lines.

I say that leading up to his book, A History of the Arab Peoples, and what it had to say about the Armenian Holocaust.  In a word, nothing.  He did mention something that hinted that there might have been a few problems, but genocide or holocaust, no.  Here is how he dealt with the event commemorated today,

“This was shown in the 1890's, when nationalist parties in another Christian community, the Armenians, began to work actively for independence the Ottomans were able to suppress the movement with great loss of life, and without effective European action,...”  p. 280

From his point of view it was just another example of how Muslims have responded to Christians through the ages.  1890 is a bit early.  I would guess that the serious attempts to kill Christians were put off until the world was distracted by World War I.

As with the Jewish Holocaust, never forget.

Hourani, Albert.  A History of the Arab Peoples.  Cambridge:  The Belknap
        Press of Harvard University Press, 1991.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-080: Headlines: Business As Usual in Islam

The headline and the article are full of rage.  According to the Sun a man raped a woman and instead of putting the rapist in jail the families made a deal.  They would let another rape take place to balance the scales.  This is not just an English newspaper exaggerating another scandal.  This is accurate reporting.  According to the primitive world view of Islam, this is justice.

It is an aspect of sharia that the MSM usually does not report on.  In a discussion of the sharia law of Islam, Albert Hourani makes this observation involving murder:

“...homicide was regarded as a private matter between the families of those involved, rather than one in which the community should intervene through the judges;...” p. 161

The concept is rooted in the tribal nature of Arabic Muslim countries.  Their sense of independence and individual honor means that the laws of the nation are second to the loyalty to the clan and family.  When some horrible crime is committed it is not a case for the courts.  It is a matter of family justice and vengeance.  Often a crime can be made right by paying a money penalty.  As long as the families are satisfied, all is well.

This is not just a concept from Islam.  Many cultures in their primitive stages have such a safety valve.  The Germanic cultures called it weregild.  Different crimes had a monetary value assigned.  In a barbaric, warrior culture it seemed to slow down the fighting.  Whether it has a place on modern society, I have serious doubts.

Share this article with some of your friends who are into diversity and multi-culturalism.  I doubt if they will be horrified but you can always hope.

Hourani, Albert.  A History of the Arab Peoples.  Cambridge:  The Belknap
      Press of Harvard University Press, 1991.

homo unius libri