By Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist ——Bio and Archives--April 4, 2011
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"the Mahommedan religion increases, instead of lessening, the fury of intolerance. It was originally propagated by the sword, and ever since, its votaries have been subject, above the people of all other creeds, to this form of madness…... civilisation is confronted with militant Mahommedanism. The forces of progress clash with those of reaction. The religion of blood and war is face to face with that of peace."Ambassador Haroon described the Koran as a book of "peace," "mercy," and "forgiveness." He said the Koran incorporated the scriptures of "all faiths, including Christianity and Judaism. So we believe that the three monotheistic religions should have respect for each other." How does Ambassador Haroon square his claim, that the Koran is all about such "respect" for other religions and about "peace," with quotes such as these from the Koran itself:
“O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust." 5: 51 “Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the last Day and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low.." 9:29The Hadith (the recorded deeds and sayings attributed to Islam's Prophet Muhammad, which Muslims consider supplemental to the Koran), called for the killing of all Jews in a passage which the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas liked so much that it is included in their Charter:
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdullah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews."However, rather than confront Ambassador Haroon with quotes such as these or engage in a theological debate with him, I decided to ask him some questions about intolerant Islamic practices today and whether he was willing to condemn them along with his condemnation of the Koran burning in Florida. For example, I asked him about the imposition of the death penalty under sharia law for a Muslim's declared intention to leave the Islam faith, known as apostasy. He dodged the question. I also asked him whether the OIC was prepared to call for the allowance of Christian and Jewish Bibles or the holy texts of other religions in all Muslim countries as well as the building of public places of worship for religions other than Islam, which are prohibited today in Saudi Arabia. And I asked him whether he was prepared to condemn the anti-blasphemy law in Pakistan, which includes a death penalty for criticizing Islam or the Prophet Muhammad - the law under which a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, has been sentenced to death and is currently languishing in jail. Ambassador Haroon responded that he could only speak for the situation in Pakistan. He said "There are Gideon Bibles in most hotels in Pakistan. They are not burned." Ambassador Haroon is either ignorant of Bible burnings in Pakistan or is lying. Muslim fundamentalists have burnt Bibles in Pakistan for years before the unfortunate Koran burning in Florida. For example, in 2008 Muslim fundamentalists burned a Bible and other sacred texts in a Pakistani church, leaving a letter threatening Christians that they will "burn in the fire of hell" if they do not convert to Islam. As bad as religious minorities have fared in Pakistan, at least churches are permitted there. In Saudi Arabia, the headquarters of the Organization of Islamic Conference for which the Pakistani UN ambassador had purported to speak at the UN press conference, the Saudi government burns and desecrates hundreds of Bibles its security forces confiscate after raids on Christian expatriates worshiping privately or at border crossings. No comment was forthcoming from Ambassador Haroon, who limited himself to the situation in Pakistan in responding to my questions. Ambassador Haroon noted that Pakistan's anti- blasphemy law had been written originally by the British, only obliquely acknowledging that the death penalty had been added by Pakistan after it gained its independence. Two Pakistani government officials critical of the anti-blasphemy law and its death sentence - one of whom was a Christian - were murdered by Islamic fundamentalists. Ambassador Haroon said that his government was reviewing the anti-blasphemy law, including the death sentence imposed on Asia Bibi, the Christian woman who remains in jail. He said he would not "pre-judge the outcome of the ongoing discussions." Ambassador Haroon added that no one in Pakistan had yet received maximum punishment for blasphemy and, he said, many accused of blasphemy had been freed. The problem with his claim, according to Saroop Ijaz, a human rights attorney in Lahore, Pakistan, is that while no one has yet been executed by the government under Pakistan's anti-blasphemy law, “at least 32 people have been killed while awaiting trial or after they have been acquitted of blasphemy charges.” Islamic mob justice does not depend on the outcome of a government trial. Ambassador Haroon and the Organization of Islamic Conference for which he purported to speak need to look within their own faith before lecturing the West about respect and tolerance for the beliefs of others. They should encourage Muslims who truly believe their religion can embrace reason and modern-day humanistic values to openly challenge those many intolerant Islamist ideologues whom are the most vocal in defining Islam today. Until they do so, they are merely serving as the ideologues' enablers.
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Joseph A. Klein is the author of Global Deception: The UN’s Stealth Assault on America’s Freedom.