Goals:
03/14/02 Intelligence Briefing #22:
From fas.org, the Federation of American Scientists, 2/23/98.
FAS Note: The following statement from Usama bin Laden and his associates purports to be a religious ruling (fatwa) requiring the killing of Americans, both civilian and military. This document is part of the evidence that links the bin Laden network to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. [The original Arabic text of this statement may be found here: http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/fatw2.htm]
Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders
World Islamic Front Statement
23 February 1998
Shaykh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin; Ayman al-Zawahiri, amir of the Jihad Group in Egypt; Abu-Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, Egyptian Islamic Group; Shaykh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan; Fazlur Rahman, amir of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh
Praise be to Allah, who revealed the Book, controls the clouds, defeats factionalism, and says in His Book: "But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)"; and peace be upon our Prophet, Muhammad Bin-'Abdallah, who said: I have been sent with the sword between my hands to ensure that no one but Allah is worshipped, Allah who put my livelihood under the shadow of my spear and who inflicts humiliation and scorn on those who disobey my orders.
The Arabian Peninsula has never since Allah made it flat, created its desert, and encircled it with seas been stormed by any forces like the crusader armies spreading in it like locusts, eating its riches and wiping out its plantations. All this is happening at a time in which nations are attacking Muslims like people fighting over a plate of food. In the light of the grave situation and the lack of support, we and you are obliged to discuss current events, and we should all agree on how to settle the matter.
No one argues today about three facts that are known to everyone; we will list them, in order to remind everyone:
First, for over seven years the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples.
If some people have in the past argued about the fact of the occupation, all the people of the Peninsula have now acknowledged it. The best proof of this is the Americans' continuing aggression against the Iraqi people using the Peninsula as a staging post, even though all its rulers are against their territories being used to that end, but they are helpless.
Second, despite the great devastation inflicted on the Iraqi people by the crusader-Zionist alliance, and despite the huge number of those killed, which has exceeded 1 million... despite all this, the Americans are once against trying to repeat the horrific massacres, as though they are not content with the protracted blockade imposed after the ferocious war or the fragmentation and devastation.
So here they come to annihilate what is left of this people and to humiliate their Muslim neighbors.
Third, if the Americans' aims behind these wars are religious and economic, the aim is also to serve the Jews' petty state and divert attention from its occupation of Jerusalem and murder of Muslims there. The best proof of this is their eagerness to destroy Iraq, the strongest neighboring Arab state, and their endeavor to fragment all the states of the region such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan into paper statelets and through their disunion and weakness to guarantee Israel's survival and the continuation of the brutal crusade occupation of the Peninsula.
All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on Allah, his messenger, and Muslims. And ulema have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries. This was revealed by Imam Bin-Qadamah in "Al- Mughni," Imam al-Kisa'i in "Al-Bada'i," al-Qurtubi in his interpretation, and the shaykh of al-Islam in his books, where he said: "As for the fighting to repulse [an enemy], it is aimed at defending sanctity and religion, and it is a duty as agreed [by the ulema]. Nothing is more sacred than belief except repulsing an enemy who is attacking religion and life."
On that basis, and in compliance with Allah's order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims:
The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies civilians and military is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque [Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty Allah, "and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together," and "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah."
This is in addition to the words of Almighty Allah: "And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)? women and children, whose cry is: 'Our Lord, rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will help!'"
We with Allah's help call on every Muslim who believes in Allah and wishes to be rewarded to comply with Allah's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.
Almighty Allah said: "O ye who believe, give your response to Allah and His Apostle, when He calleth you to that which will give you life. And know that Allah cometh between a man and his heart, and that it is He to whom ye shall all be gathered."
Almighty Allah also says: "O ye who believe, what is the matter with you, that when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, ye cling so heavily to the earth! Do ye prefer the life of this world to the hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least. For Allah hath power over all things."
Almighty Allah also says: "So lose no heart, nor fall into despair. For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in faith."
Insight:
Will Islam Cause WWIII?
By Dr. Robert A. Morey
from Faith Defenders.com: http://faithdefenders.com/islam/will_islam_cause_wwiii.html
Introduction
When everyone is saying "peace and safety," sudden destruction will come upon them (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
With the collapse of the Soviet Empire and the demise of the cold war, the threat of Communism vanished in a twinkling of an eye. The tearing down of the Berlin Wall is one of the greatest moments in human history. Russia is now so impoverished by the arms race that it will take a long time for its economy to recover.
Communism was a religion that was harsh and cruel. It murdered more people than any other ideology in the history of mankind. The atrocities committed in the name of Marx and Lenin can only be compared to Hitler and his Third Reich who fine-tuned mass murder into an art form.
In the flush of victory, the West in general and Americans in particular assumed that peace had finally been established on earth. A new world order of peace, prosperity, and unity was just around the corner. We can safely dismantle our military and disarm our missiles of mass destruction. The threat to world peace is over. We can now relax our guard and rest in the confidence that World War III will not happen in our lifetime.
An Old Enemy
Thus the world is lulled to sleep while an old Enemy of truth, justice, peace, and democracy gathers its strength for an all out offensive against the civilian populations of the West. This old Enemy has attacked the West before. Its armies invaded Europe on several occasions and even reached Vienna, Austria.
This evil force destroyed everything it touched and left only mangled corpses and burned cities behind it. Its blood thirst and genocide campaigns far exceed any atrocities committed by the Nazis and the Soviets. These enemies of all that is good and righteous can kill innocent women and children without mercy and shame.
They have stated time and time again that their great goal is the subjugation of the entire world to the civil laws, totalitarian political forms, and cultural norms dictated by their religion. Instead of religion being the tool of the state, the state is the tool of religion.
This requires the destruction of all other religions, especially Christianity and Judaism. And, throughout history, whenever they had the political means to suppress other religions, they did so with religious zeal.
This ancient enemy of freedom is the religion of Islam. It imposed itself in and beyond the Arabian Desert through wars of violence and political intimidation. It views all that is not Islam as Satan.
No Sense Whatsoever
In this light, it makes no sense whatsoever for the West to be disarming while Islam is arming. While we are dismantling our missiles and nuclear warheads, Islamic nations are buying and building intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of showering nuclear death on any city in Europe or America.
We stand in some ways like those few brave Americans and Europeans who just before World War II warned people of the Nazi threat to world peace. They took the rhetoric of Hitler at face value and saw the buildup of war and terrorism across the world. While others dismissed Hitler and his 'brown shirts' as buffoons, a few people sounded the alarm. Sad to say, their warnings were ignored. "Peace in our time" was Chamberlain's swan song and the world was lulled to sleep while the Third Reich armed itself for war.
The Same Today
We are in much the same situation today. The Muslim threat to the peace and security of America is as real as was the threat of Nazism and Communism. If God does not intervene, the day will come when a mushroom cloud will appear over a major American city signaling death and destruction unparalleled in U.S. history.
The apostle Paul warned us that if the trumpet is not blown loud and clear, the people will not prepare for war (1 Corinthians 14:8). Ezekiel tells us that we are watchmen who have the responsibility to warn the city of an approaching army of death and destruction. If we fail to warn people of the coming war with Islam, their blood will be on our hands (Ezekiel 33:1-6).
In order to convince people that Islam constitutes a clear and present danger to the peace of the world, we must first demonstrate that Islam has the will and the desire to destroy us and, second, that they now have the means to do so.
I. The Muslims Have The Will And Desire To Destroy Us.
The Qur'an commands its followers to launch jihads or holy wars of conquest to force conversions to Islam. Fight and slay the unbelievers wherever you find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war. (Surah IX:5) Fight those who do not believe in Allah or the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and his apostle, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth (i.e. Islam), (even if they are people of the Book), until they pay the tax with willing submission and feel themselves subdued. (Surah IX:29) Seize them and slay them wherever you find them. (Surah IV:89,91)
At the beginning, Muhammad's armies attacked defenseless caravans during times of truce and peace. He then sent out his armies to conquer and loot small villages. Cities were later put under the sword. Ultimately, entire nations fell to the sword of Islam. Entire populations were slaughtered and great cultural treasures were either looted or destroyed. (For the documentation: see the book The Islamic Invasion, Harvest House, Eugene, OR)
Whereas Jesus told his disciples to put away their swords, Muhammad commanded his followers make war in his name. Recorded in the Hadith, the second most important duty in Islam according to Muhammad, is Jihad or Holy War.
The blood lust of Islam is thus rooted in a perverted religious impulse to kill and mutilate in the name of Allah. This is what makes it so insidious and wicked. The killing of innocent men, women, and children in the name of Islam becomes a thing of praise and a badge of honor. The more you kill, the more Allah is honored. The greater the destruction, the greater the glory of Islam. Listen carefully to what the most influential leaders of Islam have said.
- "We are at war against infidels. Take this message with you, 'I ask all Islamic nations, all Muslims, all Islamic armies, and all heads of Islamic states to join the Holy War. There are many enemies to be killed or destroyed. Jihad must triumph...Muslims have no alternative... to an armed Holy War against profane governments... Holy War means the conquest of all non-Muslim territories... It will... be the duty of every able bodied adult male to volunteer for this war of conquest, the final aim of which is to put Koranic law in power from one end of the earth to the other.'" - Ayatollah Khomeini
- "The U.S. is the devil on this planet." - World Islamic Popular Command
- "Death to America, the Great Satan!" - Muslim mobs in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, etc.
- "Muslims must kill the enemies of Allah, in every way and everywhere in order to liberate themselves from the grandchildren of the pigs and apes who are educated at the table of the Zionists, the Communists, and the Imperialists." - Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman
- "The United States is a den of evil and fornication... I will show all Americans that they will not be happy if they do not follow Islam." - Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman
- "Any doubt about the need to struggle against the U.S. means being enslaved by the Great Satan, and losing the honor and the life the Islamic Revolution has brought to this country and the whole Islamic Ummah." - Ali Akbar Mohtashemi
- "It is a matter of time... In 10 years you will have quite a number of countries united under the banner of Islamic fundamentalism." - Hassan al-Turabi
- "There is fury, fury everywhere ... Islam is escalating and cannot be resisted. I pray that Allah may tear apart America just as the Soviet Union was torn apart ..." - Sheik al-Tamimi
- "[I] wanted to topple one [tower] into the other and kill thousands to send a message to American that they were at war." - Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the blowing up of the World Trade Center
Lest you think that these statements are just a lot of wind and noise, come with me to the World Trade Center in New York City which was blown up by the disciples of Sheik Omar. 1. Come with me to the crash sites of airplanes that were blown out of the air by Muslims. 2. Visit the gravesites of American citizens killed by Muslim terrorists in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. 3. In Washington DC, Muslims entered a home to kill everyone they found in the house. They took a nine-day-old baby boy and drowned him in the sink. They shot in the head his ten-year-old brother, his 23-year-old sister, his 25-year-old brother, and their mother. 4. What can we say about the slaughter of thousands of innocent Christians in Egypt, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Indonesia, and Malaysia? 5. World War III has already begun and most Americans do not know it.
II. The Muslims have the means as well as the will to destroy us in America.
Islamic fundamentalists plan on putting together an Islamic empire composed of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, the former Muslim Soviet states such as Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other Muslim nations in Asia.
Their plan is on schedule and they are taking over country after country while the West sleeps securely with its naive dreams of endless peace and prosperity of a new world order called the Pax Americana.
Listen to politicians and other leaders trying to wake up America.
- "The trial and subsequent conviction of the terrorists that bombed the World Trade Center and planned other terrorist acts should put to rest any doubt about the deadly threat to American citizens posed by radical extremists." - Henry Depippo, Federal Prosecutor of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman
- "Each day's headlines demonstrate the timeliness this important analysis of the emerging trans-national radical Islamic movement... and the growing danger that extremist Islamic elements may seek to exploit our present vulnerability to missile attack with devastating results." - Frank Gaffney, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security
- "The agenda of these people is to attack us for what we are... It's something very hard for Americans who live in a multi-cultured and secular society to understand." - L. Paul Bremer, former head of the counter terrorism office for the State Department
- "[Muslim fundamentalists] make no secret of their contempt for democratic political procedures." - Bernard Lewis, noted Middle East scholar
- "The public must always remain vigilant against acts of terrorism to ensure that terrorism does not become commonplace in this country as it has in many other countries." - William Sessions, former Director of the FBI
- "Today we have no protection from even a single ballistic missile." - Ambassador Henry F. Cooper
- "In short, the coming Islamic Empire will be a world power in every sense of the word, whose people will share a vibrant religion and a common Islamic culture. Like its Muslim predecessors, the Islamic Empire of the early 21st Century will also have an appetite for territorial expansion and military conquest. A modern, worldwide jihad against non-Muslim populations and societies complete with nuclear weapons promises to bring the highest casualty rates in the history of mankind. World War III, if it does come, will probably occur between the Islamic Bloc and the Western nations. It will be the deadliest war ever fought by humanity." - Anthony Dennis
- "Islamic fundamentalism, like communism... is bent on the expansion of its dominion to as many corners of the world as possible." - Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
- "It doesn't matter what they tell you - Islamic fundamentalism is a worldwide menace...Allah is rapidly equipping Khomeini's followers with a sword to carry out their master's wishes. He has offered Islam the fire in which the Koran says those who follow false faiths are destined to burn: nuclear weaponry. He has also provided the long-range missiles needed to use it. According to the late Imam's logic, there may be only one just and righteous thing to do: employ this technology to wipe out recalcitrant heathens like you and me." - Howard Bloom
With the break up of the Soviet military complex, the Muslims have been able to buy intercontinental ballistic missiles that are capable of striking anywhere on the planet. They have nuclear bombs that can fit into a steamer trunk and it is feared that such a device may already be in this country. There is a real danger that we will one day face nuclear blackmail just as we faced Arab oil blackmail in the 1970s.
Secrets of the Koran
'A Review of Excerpts'
of the Don Richardson Book
Reviewed by
www.bibleone.net [2003]
See sections: Islam's Koran and War Verses; Islam's Koran and Old Testament Morals; Islam's Koran and World Domination
www.bibleone.net Editor's Note:
Other fascinating, if not startling, passages in Don Richardson's book depicts Islam's key strategies for world domination, e.g.
(1) Exploit Massive ImmigrationLegal and Illegalof Muslims into Western Nations,
(2) A Behind-the-Scenes Takeover [the worldwide takeover of parliamentary forms of government],
(3) Widening Islamic Influence [the influencing of political leaders to achieve Islamic objectives],
(4) A Multibillion Dollar International Mosque-Construction and Koran-Translation Program;
(5) Infiltrate Christian Colleges and Churches Expressly to Seduce Christian Women. And what is most effective,
(6) Islam's Penetration of Western Culturethe inroads of Muslim controlled oildollars in the establishment of departments of Islamic studies in Western universities and collegesan on-going program with great success.
www.bibleone.net Editor's Conclusion:
It is totally a misinterpretation that today's terrorists are an outlaw or renegade group who has "high jacked" a "peaceful religion." Islam, by order of the Koran, has at its heart the destruction (death) of all ideologies and peoples that do not conform to its teachings. It will never stop until it achieves this end. Furthermore, its brainwashing techniques throughout the world are far superior to any present efforts by the United States to defeat Islamic terrorism. Islam (not just the "terrorist") is one of gravest, if not the most grave, threat to Christians in these "last days" prior to the return of Jesus Christ to rapture His bridethe Church. As a Christian, don't be fooled by it!
What Muslims Really Believe
— by John Perazzo —
The Schwarz Report, July 2016 Volume 56 Number 2
"Equally pitiful has been the Left's propensity for turning two blind eyes to the very obvious problems posed by Islam and the value system inherent in its scriptures.
"Implicit in each of these criticisms is the premise that newcomers from all faith traditions are more-or-less equally able, and equally willing, to assimilate into Western society, embrace Western values, and abide by Western laws; in other words, that it ultimately makes no difference what religion is practiced by those who immigrate to America. But quite frankly, no informed individual could possibly believe such a thing, particularly in light of the fact that in recent years researchers have accumulated a great deal of data regarding the attitudes, beliefs, and allegiances of Muslims around the world.
[Or use: What Muslims Really Believe]
Background:
The following are excerpts from:
A Reply To Shabir Ally's Attack On Dr. Robert Morey
By Dr. Robert Morey
http://www.faithdefenders.com/from-the-desk/shabirally.html
The word Allah was most likely derived from al-ilah, which had become the generic term for whatever god was considered the highest god. The Meccan pagans used Allah to refer to their own particular high god. This is why they prayed to Hubal using the name Allah. Different tribes preferred other names such as Sin or Ilqamah. Allah was NEVER called YHWH or Jesus.
The following citations reveal that there is a general consensus among Islamic scholars that Allah was a pagan deity before Islam developed in the 7th century. He was only one god among a pantheon of 360 gods worshipped by the Arabs. Even if he was at times viewed as a "high god", this does not mean he was the one true God.
Some Islamic scholars are quoted below:
- "Allah: Originally applied to the moon; he seems to be preceded by Ilmaqah, the moon god...
- Allat: the female counterpart to Allah." - Dictionary of Non-Classical Mythology, p. 7
- "Allah: Before the birth of Muhammad, Allah was known as a supreme, but not sole, God." - Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, p. 48
- "Before Islam, the religions of the Arabic world involved the worship of many spirits, called jinn. Allah was but one of many gods worshiped in Mecca. But then Muhammad taught the worship of Allah as the only God, whom he identified as the same God worshiped by Christians and Jews." - A Short History of Philosophy, (Oxford University Press) p. 130
- "Historians like Vaqqidi have said Allah was actually the chief of the 360 gods being worshipped in Arabia at the time Mohammed rose to prominence. Ibn Al-Kalbi gave 27 names of pre-Islamic deities. Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah was already being worshipped at the Ka'ba in Mecca by Arab pagans before Mohammed came. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this." - G. J.O. Moshay, Who Is This Allah? , (Dorchester House, Bucks, UK, 1994), pg. 138.
- "Islam also owes the term "Allah" to the heathen Arabs. We have evidence that it entered into numerous personal names in Northern Arabia and among the Nabateans. It occurred among the Arabs of later times, in theophorous names and on its own." - Ibn Warraq, Why I Am Not A Muslim, (Prometheus, Amherst, 1995) p. 42
- "In any case it is an extremely important fact that Muhammad did not find it necessary to introduce an altogether novel deity, but contented himself with ridding the heathen Allah of his companions subjecting him to a kind of dogmatic purification." - Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, I:664
- "The name Allah, as the Qur'an itself is witness, was well known in pre-Islamic Arabia. Indeed, both it and its feminine form, Allat, are found not infrequently among the theophorous names in inscriptions from North Africa." - Arthur Jeffrey, ed., Islam: Muhammad and His Religion, (New York: The Liberal Arts Press, 1958), p. 85.
- "Allah is a proper name, applicable only to their [Arabs'] peculiar God." - Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, I:326.
- "Allah is a pre-Islamic name ..." - Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, I:117.
- "Allah is found ... in Arabic inscriptions prior to Islam." - Encyclopedia Britannica, I:643.
- "The Arabs, before the time of Muhammad, accepted and worshipped, after a fashion, a supreme god called Allah." - Encyclopedia of Islam, eds. Houtsma, Arnold, Basset, Hartman (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1913), I:302
- "Allah was known to the pre-Islamic Arabs; he was one of the Meccan deities." - Encyclopedia of Islam, ed. Gibb, I:406.
- "Ilah ... appears in pre-Islamic poetry ...By frequency of usage, al-ilah was contracted to allah, frequently attested to in pre-Islamic poetry." - Encyclopedia of Islam, eds. Lewis, Menage, Pellat, Schacht (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1971), II:1093.
- "The name Allah goes back before Muhammed." - The Facts on File: Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, ed. Anthony Mercatante (New York, The Facts on File, 1983), I:41.
- "The source of this (Allah) goes back to pre-Muslim times. Allah is not a common name meaning "God" (or a "god"), and the Muslim must use another word or form if he wishes to indicate any other than his own peculiar deity." - Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, (ed. Hastings), I:326.
- "Allah was already known by name to the Arabs." - Henry Preserved Smith, The Bible and Islam: or, The Influence of the Old and New Testament on the Religion of Mohammed, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1897), p. 102
- "Allah: Perceived in pre-Islamic times as the creator of the earth and water, though not, at that time, considered monotheistically... Allat: Astral and tutelary goddess. Pre-Islamic... One of three daughters of Allah." - Encyclopedia of Gods, p. 11
- "Manat: Goddess. Pre-Islamic... One of the so-called daughters of Allah." - Encyclopedia of Gods, p. 156
- "The name Allah is also evident in archeological and literary remains of pre-Islamic Arabia." - Kenneth Cragg, The Call of the Minaret, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1956), p. 31.
- "In recent years I have become increasingly convinced that for an adequate understanding of the career of Muhammad and the sources of Islam great importance must be attached to the existence in Mecca of belief in Allah as a "high god". In a sense this is a form of paganism, but it is so different from paganism as commonly understood that it deserves separate treatment." - William Montgomery Watt, Muhammad's Mecca, p. vii.
- "The use of the phrase "the Lord of this House" makes it likely that those Meccans who believed in Allah as a high god - and they may have been numerous - regarded the Ka'ba as his shrine, even though there were images of other gods in it. There are stories in the Sira of pagan Meccans praying to Allah while standing beside the image of Hubal." - William Montgomery Watt, Muhammad's Mecca, p. 39.
- "The customs of heathenism have left an indelible mark on Islam, notably in the rites of the pilgrimage (on which more will be said later), so that for this reason alone something ought to be said about the chief characteristics of Arabian paganism. The relation of this name, which in Babylonia and Assyria became a generic term simply meaning 'god', to the Arabian Ilah familiar to us in the form Allah, which is compounded of al, the definite article, and Ilah by eliding the vowel 'i', is not clear. Some scholars trace the name to the South Arabian Ilah, a title of the Moon god, but this is a mater of antiquarian interest ... it is clear from Nabataen and other inscriptions that Allah meant 'the god'.
- The other gods mentioned in the Quran are all female deities: Al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat, which represented the Sun, the planet Venus, and Fortune, respectively; at Mecca they were regarded as the daughters of Allah ... As Allah meant 'the god', so Al-Lat means 'the goddess'." - Alfred Guilaume, Islam, (Penguin, 1956) pgs. 6-7.
- "As well as worshipping idols and spirits, found in animals, plants, rocks and water, the ancient Arabs believed in several major gods and goddesses whom they considered to hold supreme power over all things. The most famous of these were Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, Manat and Hubal. The first three were thought to be the daughters of Allah (God) and their intercessions on behalf of their worshippers were therefore of great significance.
- Hubal was associated with the Semitic god Ba'al and with Adonis or Tammuz, the gods of spring, fertility, agriculture and plenty ... Hubal's idol used to stand by the holy well inside the Sacred House. It was made or red sapphire but had a broken arm until the tribe of Quraysh, who considered him one of their major gods, made him a replacement in solid gold.
- In addition to the sun, moon and the star Al-Zuhara, the Arabs worshipped the planets Saturn, Mercury, and Jupiter, the stars Sirius and Canopies and the constellations of Orion, Urea Major and Minor, and the seven Pleiades. Some stars and planets were given human characters. According to legend, Al-Doberman, one of the stars in the Hades group, fell deeply in love with Al-Thruways, the fairest of the Pleiades stars. With the approval of the Moon, he asked for her hand in marriage." - Chair al-Sash, Fabled Cities, Princes & Jin From Arab Myths and Legends, (New York: Chicken, 1985), p. 28-30.
- "Along with Allah, however, they worshipped a host of lesser gods and "daughters of Allah." - Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, I:61.
- "Allah was the name of a god whom the Arabs worshipped many centuries before Muhammed was born." - The World Book Encyclopedia, (Chicago, 1955), Vol. 1, p. 230.
- "But history establishes beyond the shadow of doubt that even the pagan Arabs, before Mohammed's time, knew their chief god by the name of Allah and even, in a sense, proclaimed his unity ... Among the pagan Arabs this term denoted the chief god of their pantheon, the Kaaba, with its three hundred and sixty idols." - Samuel M. Zwemer, The Moslem Doctrine of God, (New York, 1905), pp. 24-25.
- "There is no corroborative evidence whatsoever for the Qur'an's claim that the Ka'aba was initially a house of monotheist worship. Instead there certainly is evidence as far back as history can trace the sources and worship of the Ka'aba that it was thoroughly pagan and idolatrous in content and emphasis." - John Gilchrist, The Temple, The Ka'aba, and The Christ, (Benoni, South Africa, 1980), p. 16.
- "That Islam was conceived in idolatry is shown by the fact that many rituals performed in the name of Allah were connected with the pagan worship that existed before Islam. And today, millions of Moslems pray towards Mecca, where the famous revered black stone is located.
- "Because the rituals involved with the Islamic Pilgrimage are either identical or very close to the pre-Islamic pagan idol worship at Mecca. Because of other Arabian history which points to heathen worship of the sun, moon, and the stars, as well as other gods, of which I believe Allah was in some way connected to. This then would prove to us that Allah is not the same as the true God of the Bible whom we worship, because God never changes." - M. J. Afshari, Is Allah the Same God as the God of the Bible?, pp. 6, 8, 9
- "If a Muslim says, 'Your God and our God is the same,' either he does not understand who Allah and Christ really are, or he intentionally glosses over the deep-rooted differences." - Adb-Al Masih, Who is Allah in Islam? (Villach, Austria, Light of Life, 1985), p. 36.
- Before Islam, Allah was reported to be known as:
- -the supreme of a pantheon of gods.
- -the name of a god whom the Arabs worshipped.
- -the chief god of the pantheon.
- -Ali-ilah, the god, the supreme.
- -the all-powerful, all-knowing, and totally unknowable.
- -the predeterminer of everyone's life (destiny).
- -the chief of the gods.
- -the special deity of the Quraish.
- -having three daughters: Al-Lat (Sun), Al Uzzah (Venus), and Manah (Fortune)
end of quotations : A Reply To Shabir Ally's Attack On Dr. Robert Morey, by Dr. Robert Morey
Information about Islam:
The origin of the name Allah: faithdefenders.com/islam/is_allah_just_another.html; www.faithdefenders.com/from-the-desk/shabirally.html; and this site claims Pagan authority for the names Al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat as MotherGoddesses. www.mothergoddess.com/Gmiddleeast.html
"There is always a chance that Al'Lat did become linked with a lunar cult at some point, but little evidence to suggest that she or her sisters were moon-goddesses. On the whole, the pattern presented here suggests that Al'Lat is essentially a chthonic mother-goddess, a deity of the underworld also associated with fidelity and covenants - a later form of Ereshkigal, who has retained many of her older attributes, albeit in a slightly distorted form." [See for references: www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/blston2.htm]
Extensive Index to Quran: answering-islam.org/Index/index.html
Glossary of Islamic terms: www.islam101.com/selections/glossaryA.html
Facts about Islam and the Quran: www.americanthinker.com/articles/2011/05/the_truth_about_islam_and_book.htm and Islam Versus Christianity
The three Islam holy sites:
Kaba (The Holiest Mosque of Islam) - Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
The Prophet's Mosque - Medina, Saudi Arabia.
The Dome of the Rock - Jerusalem, Israel