Mr Yusuf Irfan, an acclaimed Sydney-based lawyer and Islamist columnist, in an article entitled "Another attack - in the name of whose Islam", slammed the latest suicide attack at Islamabad's Marriott Hotel that killed at least 60 and injured hundreds, saying:

"The timing of the attack - during the last 10 nights of Ramadan - could not have been more sacrilegious..."

...He wrapped terror expert Dr Merv Bendle of the James Cook University for his ignorance of Islam and The Australian newspaper for publishing an allegedly baseless report on the latest Islamabad hotel bombing.

A historical and theological investigation, however, proves that it is self-proclaimed scholars like Prof Khan and Mr Yusuf, who are ignorant; not those whom they accuse of the same.

It was in Ramadan that the Muslims of the subcontinent inaugurated the violent Jihadi quest for dividing India to create Pakistan. Muhammad Ali Jinnah,

"It has become abundantly clear that the Muslims of India would not rest with anything less than the immediate establishment of an independent and full sovereign State of Pakistan…"

Calcutta...was chosen as the venue for unleashing the Direct Action. The date chosen was the 18th day of Ramadan... Secret pamphlets, circulated amongst Muslims by the Muslim League (also read out in mosque sermons), read:

"Muslims must remember that it was in Ramzam that the Quran was revealed. It was in Ramzan that the permission for Jehad was granted...we have become slaves of the Hindus and the British. We are starting a Jehad in Your Name in this very month of Ramzan." [Khosla, p51-52; Khan, The Great Partition, p63-64]

I wonder who need to go to school to consolidate their knowledge of the resplendent Islam, of Jihad in the holy month of Ramadan in particular. Should it be Irfan Yusuf and Prof. Muqtedar Khan, the self-proclaimed scholar of Islam, or those whom they criticize?

And Mr Yusuf, Another attack - in the name of whose Islam? Undoubtedly, it is in the name of Allah's Islam; Quran's Islam; Prophet's Islam.

http://www.islam-watch.org/MA_Khan/Ramadan-Jihad-and-Scholars-Ignorance.htm

Mmmmmm, delicious copypasta. You must eat it!

Yes Phillip Tang,I gave up on Irfan ages ago.He walks both sides of the track in true lawyer fashion.Religion is all about power over people via superstition and ignorance.
Do not give them any more oxygen.We have bigger fish to fry,ie our economic survival.

Probably the most important aspect of the opening article to focus on is the phrase "Who's Islam".....

This is the starting point of the various diverse reactions to most of what is termed 'Whack-a-mozzie' on OLO.

We have our usual suspects who react negatively to anything suggestive of real Islam being violent or aggressive, and they point to the vast majority of Muslims (as opposed to the religion itself...Islam) to support their view that it ain't that bad afterall.

Unfortunately, using the contemporary outward expression of a faith to evaluate that faith itself is logically unsound. The most we can reasonably do is evaluate the behavior of particular individuals or Churches or Buddhists or Hindu's etc.

If we used that method, we would be saying [Name the Religion]=Bad/good/bad/evil/not sure/bad/good/excellent/poor/deceptive/seditious/power hungry/exploitative and any other adjective we might choose which best fits the behavior of the particular group or practioner at a given point in time.

This is Cart before the Horse thinking. It would be helpful for us all to look more closely at the teachings of any faith we seek to understand.

For example, there are people who have become Muslims based on reading the first chapter of the Quran. It must be conceded that this is a most beautiful peace of writing. Unfortunately, it is not the sum of the faith nor is it indicative of how it relates to many different practical areas of life.

We could equate this with some beautiful poetry written by a psychopath, just before he goes out and slices and dices his next victim.

With Buddhism, Islam,Christianity, Sikhism,Hinduism etc.. it is most important to ask "Where did this come from?" and if it came from an individual, we must examine that individual for any flaws in his character and behavior which will give us more insight into the real person/thinking behind the faith.

Poly,

Please elaborate on why you believe "Unfortunately, using the contemporary outward expression of a faith to evaluate that faith itself is logically unsound"?

If you judge a faith purely by what some ancient documents say, the Old Testament is full of the actions of a vengefull god, wiping out whole civilizations because they got in the way of the 'chosen people'. Surely the behaviour of the faithful and priesthood as a whole is a better indicator of the heath and value of a cultural institution such as a religion.

I think the problem people have with your approach Poly, Philip Tang et al, is that you refuse to see any good in Islam, and only ever focus on either the extreme parts, or on selected parts of the Quran.

Perhaps a post praising the parts of Islam you admire the most would bring some balance to your arguments?

cheers,

gw

The attempt to make sense of any religion is basically a fool's errand, the jihadis are psychopaths and should be treated as criminals, reference to scripture is a waste of time. Millions of innocent trees have died and huge areas of cyber-space have been wasted examining the Quran in order to score some obscure point. Your basic religious loonie can extract whatever he fancies from the Bible, Talmud or Quran.