© 2006 Dawoud and Jonathan Zap

(from Dawoud:)

Peace;

I read the blog you posted on your website. While there is a great deal in it that is beyond dispute (for which you have earned my respect), I must admonish you for your shortsightedness and limited vision in the matter of the religion of Islam. Frankly, I expect better of someone who is skilled in dream interpretation, and has had a glimpse of the Other Side.

Before I begin, I must make clear that what I am writing is from an Islamic perspective - but not the Islamic perspective you are accustomed to. I append this caveat because I am the embodiment of a great many human imperfections; yet I represent a large percentage of Muslims / Sufis that get no voice outside our community - and whose existence almost all non-Muslims are completely unaware. But it would be to your profit to attempt to see things from an alternative perspective - which I remember is precisely what you wanted (further evidence of your deserving of my respect). I pray I am able to live up to the task; and that you forgive me some occasionally harsh comments.

Your strong pro-Jewish stance is not lost on me. Is it possible to be pro-Islamic, and not against the Jewish people? Yes. You may be surprised to hear this. A friend of mine, a Jewish radio producer, told me that when he was in Israel, he hung out with some Palestinians. They told him "We hate the Israeli government, but we love the Jewish people". In other words, the Palestinians he spoke to could separate the crimes against humanity that Israel commits regularly from the true essence of the Jewish people. I find, if I am to accept the evidence of my senses, the same conclusion. I know or know of Jews who are deeply religious / spiritual, generous, creative, courageous, and to whom many great contributions to the whole of humanity may be rightfully attributed. They are more Muslim than many Muslims!

I also know some Jews who are not fit to be called human. In fact, for this precise reason they are not fit to be called Jews; except in matters of descriptive convenience. I do not accept Zionism as being in any way a part of Judaism. It is secular and denies the essence of Judaism; while pretending to do the exact opposite. I do not recognize Israel as a legitimate nation. BTW; I read your blog. I find the evidence to support Israel unacceptable - and the opinions of those who disagree are to me irrelevant.

The following statement may confuse you: there is not at this time a single Islamic government anywhere on earth. Neither I nor a great number of Muslims accept the House of Saud, HAMAS, the Taliban, etc. as Islamic governments. The Saudis are part of a deviant sect called the Wahhabi. They were founded in the 17th century by Muhammad abdal Wahhab, a man whom many denounce as a deviant from authentic Islam. His successor (whose name escapes my memory at the moment) was the leader of a band of rebels. He was caught, tried, and sentenced to death. Some learned Sheikhs then questioned him about his beliefs; and found that he was not a true Believer after all; and was an apostate. He was executed without being allowed to make a prayer.

In other words, an early leader of Wahhbbism - the sect that dominates Arabia today - was found to be an infidel. Interesting, huh?

A equally deviant, yet opposing sect of Islam, the Salafiyyah (which claims that any progress in Islam is a deviation from the authentic Salafiyyah: who were those closest to the Prophet.Yet, their beliefs and methods bear little resemblance to those of the Prophet and the authentic Salafiyyah), are vying for dominance of Islam. In the prisons, they are especially troublesome (I know this because I am an Imam in the prisons myself). Osama bin Laden, and his Al-Qaeda network are all aficionados of the Salafi cult.

Both are not only vying for dominance but are being played against each other.

Lets address a currently controversial subject: the Prophet Muhammad's alleged pedophilia.

Doubtless you are unaware of his biography (beyond the self-serving drivel anti-Islamic propagandists peddle as truth). His first (and most beloved) wife was Khadija. She was 15 years his senior. How can accusations of pedophilia explain this?

Lets look at the facts. First of all, everyone who is remotely informed knows Aisha (the one who was betrothed to Muhammad) was 12 when they married. That's about the same time as some American girls and boys lose their virginity (I lost my virginity when I was 13). He married her. You must admit that this is more noble than what an actual pedophile would do. And he waited until she began menstruating before consummating the marriage; which means that biologically, she was a woman. Besides, in those times, people has a lower life expectancy rate. If one usually died at 35 or 40 (due to the lack of medicine and technological advances) marrying at about 12 is expected. Romeo and Juliet were about 14 when they drank that potion. And consider this: the father of Aisha, Abu Bakr Siddiq, was actually the one to give his daughter to Muhammed. He begged Muhammed to take her...he was a Prophet. Who wouldn't want their daughter married to a messenger of God? Not to mention that Semitic and other ancient cultures used marriage to strengthen ties of tribes and families. It still happens today.

I was truly amused by your quote from the "Koran" (probably N. J. Dawood's translation; published by Penguin Classics - which is useful only as an excellent addition to a fireplace or paper recycling plant) "Men are the masters of women because Allah made one to excel the other, and as to those whom you fear desertion or disobedience leave them alone in the bed and beat them."

You misquoted the worst existing English translation. Pitiful. You should know better than that.

This is what the verse REALLY says"
4: 34-35. "Men are the "qawwaamuuna" (overseers / protectors: from the word "Wali" which means trusted protector who watches over and advises) of women, because Allah has given men more strength than the other, and because men are required to spend their wealth for the maintenance of women. Therefore, honorable women are devoutly obedient and guard their husband's property and their own honor. As to those for whom you fear (rebellion, corrupt or immoral behavior, possible infidelity), first admonish them and refuse to share your bed., Then if necessary, " alayhinna sabiila" (usually translated as "beat them: but implies a different type of beating, as in beating someone down with an argument or harsh statement - and not a physical beating). Then, if they amend their conduct, take no further action against them, and make no excuses to punish them."

Quite different from what your version implied, isn't it?

Furthermore, the Qur'an mandates that ANYONE who accuses ANYONE of such crimes, is required to produce four reliable eyewitnesses. If one of them is untrustworthy (i.e. a liar or slanderer), then he is to receive the same punishment that the accused would have received. This is in place to protect a woman's honor.

What puzzles me is why the people who commit crimes of abuse against their women have the audacity to call themselves Muslims. The Qur'an and the uswatun hassanatun (beautiful example) of the Prophet (sas) makes it clear that women are not to be treated like this, but honored.

The denizens of the North African / Arab communities who believe that the oppression of women is part and parcel of Islam are clearly in a state of kuf (disbelief / infidelity / disconnectedness from God / incapable of decency). True Islam means nothing to them; it is only a thin decoration crudely pasted over their own lust for political power - a power they neither understand nor merit.

I also believe that the leaders of these communities in their indigenous and adapted lands are economically enslaved to the kuffar (one who practices / accepts / embodies kuf)Â banking elite in one way or another - by choice and consent. Examine the history of the last 250 years, and you will not find a single example of an oppressive "Muslim" nation or community that was itself not economic slaves to the international banking elite. The intolerable and subhuman attitude the have towards their own women is a clear symptom of this. The prevention of economic autonomy always causes a backlash of oppression towards a weaker group.

It is an act of nihilistic suicide: differing from suicide bombing only by the speed in which the senseless destruction takes place. It is little wonder that many of these communities are in a state of arrested development! How can they learn anything when their "first teachers" are not permitted to know anything or to evolve as is the right Allah granted them? 

They should not be permitted to enjoy the same rights that Muslims are entitled to; until they change. It is a sad state of affairs that this is permitted to continue. I recall a Hadith where the Prophet (sas) said that the day would come when the Light of Islam would dim in the east and shine in the west. It's evident that we here in the west are destined to inherit Islam; the east is losing it. The only way these blasphemers of Islamic rules regarding women could find my statements offensive is if they recognized themselves in what I said. Their "honor" is not damaged - because they have none to begin with.
 
You quoted 9:5 (When the sacred forbidden months for fighting are past, fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, beleaguer them, and lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war.). You (or www.teawithterrorists.com) very conveniently omitted the beginning of the chapter; which addresses Muhammad directly. Taken in the whole context, it is a direct instruction to the Prophet for a specific historical event: i.e. a truce in the war between the Muslims of Medina (the city where Muhammad and his followers were exiled following 10 years of persecution for which they took no acts of revenge - something no slanderer of Islam ever adequately explained); which afterwards, the war - which the Quaraesh Arabs and NOT the Muslims started - would resume. Furthermore, there is no implication in this verse to substantiate anyone's insistence - Muslim or non-Muslim - that this is a "standing order". 

It may interest you to know that in my work as an Imam in the prisons, I bring in literature for the inmates. Not a single piece that I bring in is published in Saudi Arabia.
 
I'd write a comment about the article in the Saturday Guardian Review; but I'm laughing too hard to write. The writer is an idiot - his citing of N.J. Dawoood's "celebrated" translation confirmed this. His kind quoting Hadith does not impress me or anyone else who knows Islam.
 
Jonathan, I could debunk every single one of the misquotes I found in the article, and website you linked to with ease, were it not to make undue demands upon my time and your patience. 

Furthermore, I could easily offers an identical critique of your Torah and Talmund. I don't; because it resolves nothing. But I am laughing at your whole image of Islam.
 
And I'm not apologizing for what some so-called Muslims have done. I and many others admonish them quite severely. Did you know that there are over three dozen fatwas issued by several Islamic authorities against Osama bin Laden, al Zaqawri, al-Qaeda, terrorism, and suicide bombing? And you will, if you are observant, notice that every single Western city that suffered a severe terrorist attack hosts an Islamic community that issued such fatwas. Yes; including New York City. You never heard of these fatwas because your only sources are biased against Islam; and they will never give us a fair voice in their publications. Never.
 
Do you remember when you read bin Laden's fatwa announcing "Jihad" (a concept he doesn't understand and doesn't want to understand anymore than you do) against the West? I can't imagine how you couldn't. Anyway, he is, if you were to humor me and accept my interpretation of Qur'an and Hadith, guilty of the exact same misinterpretation of Islamic Scripture as any dyed-in-the-wool Zionist - except that it superficially supports his political agenda. What further escapes your notice is the clear facts that: 
1. Jihad does not mean Holy War (holy war translated into Arabic is "Qataala al-Qudus: a contradiction in terms in classical Arabic - and not the "Arabonics" some people speak)
2. The declaration of offensive war by a body of Muslims must, according to Shari'ah (Islamic Law) follow strict guidelines - none of which bin Laden followed at any time of his life.
3. Terrorism does not in any way conform to the Shari'ah on the conduct of warfare.
4. Bin Laden does NOT, nor has he ever, had the authority to issue fatwas. Do you have the authority to edit and append additions to the Talmund?
 
Furthermore, suicide bombing is strictly forbidden in Islam - despite what ANYONE, Muslim or non-Muslim, says about martyrdom. Suicide bombers are not going to heaven. Most of the young boys that do this sort of thing are misinformed. They can't go to school, since the Zionists put curfews and build walls around their cities. They think their families will be rewarded for their suicide deeds, but this is a lie. ANY suicide bomber or their leaders would, in a real Islamic court of law, be guilty without question. The only question that would need to be addressed would be if they were actual Muslims; and should be allowed to make a prayer before the death sentence is executed (like in the case of the early Wahabbi criminal). 

Allow me to append my own views to the recent controversies about the cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad (sas). As a Muslim who refuses to resort to violence, I think an alternative opinion is in order. 

The cartoon is blasphemous, no argument. Those who made and published it are guilty of blasphemy and an unforgivable insensitivity to Muslims. But, in the Qur'an, Allah said to us "Leave the kaffriun (plural of kuffar) to Me". To be honest, I'm not worried about these things. Of course, I oppose the blasphemies of the kaffriun. But I'm not worried. I've heard worse things said about the Prophet (sas) than that cartoon; and I responded; but not with hysteria or violence. Allah said in His Qur'an, to respond with logic and gentle arguments. 

Some cry "Freedom of Speech!". But isn't freedom a means to an end? What about the responsibilities that go with it? And I'll tell you this: those who point their fingers at Muslims who speak out against this are blissfully ignorant of an important fact: while Muslims have made disrespectful and often uncalled for comments about some Jews, Christians, etc.: WE HAVE NEVER SLADERED YOUR PROPHETS. If you don't understand the significance of this, you will never understand us.
 
As far as those Muslims who are howling and becoming violent, they only harm themselves (although I suppose an emotional catharsis of some kind is necessary). It solves nothing, and only offers a temporary victory to the Kaffriun (the only kind of victory the Kaffriun will ever enjoy). I make no apology for them; only an explanation. The nihilistic mindset that has contaminated Muslims for decades has damaged our spirit and prevented us from realizing our human potential. The world had changed into a soulless, global dictatorship that has sapped the strength and spirit out of everyone. It enslaves in a manner that hides the chains that bind us. Islam, for which I speak, was meant to be joyful, beautiful, heroic, romantic, and a means of enlightening and nearness to the Supreme Being. It has been contaminated; as has all life. We watch heroism on TV; but are not allowed to participate in it ourselves: and this slavery, this cage with invisible bars is called "World Peace". 

And those in power, who are trying to engulf the world in this "peace' while consolidating all wealth and power to themselves, must feed parasitically off the rest of humanity. Those who find their backs against the wall react in what way they are able - even to their own destruction and the destruction of that which they believe they're fighting for. This is because most have little or no understanding of the nature of the world.
 
The state of Kuf carries within it a self-destruct mechanism. They are destroying themselves - an at the same time spitting on the only people who can guide them out of their suicidal actions! History is full of people who slandered the Prophet (sas) and tried to destroy Islam. The passage of time proved them to be irrelevant; and Islam rose triumphant. Allah is best to know. Perhaps some of the Kuffar will change. In a week, or ten years. It can happen. It does happen. I refer my fellow Muslims to Surat-ul Asr. 

In other words, hysteria will solve nothing; and will only exacerbate the problem. Worse; it will strengthen the means by which we are kept in a state of ignorance and slavery - a state few people are even aware of. 

The military and the governments are not in power. They have no real power in and of themselves. Furthermore, the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, China, Japan, France, Germany, Israel, Palestine, etc. etc ARE NOT NATIONS. They are postal divisions whose governments and military exist to administer local policies for the REAL nations of the earth. Who are they? They include but are not limited to the IMF, the WTO, The World Bank, the Bilderberger Group, the Club of Rome, the Paris Club, the Trilateral Commission, and the Federal Reserve. All governments and armies are absolutely powerless against them. It is important to understand this.
 
Furthermore, one must understand that their attitude toward us is not one of hate. In their view, we are not important enough to be hated. We are an expendable resource. Do you hate the chicken that you ate for dinner the other night? 

Many of the controversies in the world are really symptom of greater problems. Many Muslims can't see what's really happening in the world and become worked up into a frenzy over near-meaningless controversies: while the Kaffriun become more and more powerful. I remember hearing a Bosnian Imam tell of how the women and children would be raped and murdered in the streets; while the men were in the mosques arguing about what the Shari'ah says about the proper length of their beards!
 
But what few really see is how Islam relates to the aforementioned "nations", and the International Banking Elite. Their power is based upon a disingenuous form of usury. They create an ever increasing enslavement through debt for money that doesn't exist. Paper money being a prime example: it has no intrinsic value in itself, and is worthless - not even backed by gold or silver anymore, but represents a debt. How can a people - ANY people - be expected to realize their human potential and be free of the kind of psychological and spiritual illnesses that plague us today if they are not economically free? 

The SWIFT network is a private banking internet system that trades over 1.5 trillion dollars a day - but less than .0001% of this represents goods and services that exist in the real world. The rest is fiction; abstract, intangible. A lie! Ecological systems can become polluted. Human bodies can become polluted and carry disease. Machines accumulate dirt and require cleaning. Why do we not see that monetary systems also become polluted? 

Islam is the only spiritual and political force that exists with the means to dismantle their power base - and at the same time set up an alternative economy that is holistic and useful to all humanity. No economic system based on usury can tolerate this. This is the REAL reason why Islam is "The Enemy"; but few people understand this. The Kaffriun (or at least their leaders) don't really care what we believe or if we make five daily prayers or grow beards. Only that we are an economically and psychologically domesticated, docile and spiritless parody of Islam.
 
In the light of these facts, we see that racism and other ills of society are not only symptoms of a greater problem, but concentration on them to the exclusion of the real causes diverts our attention from the true nature of the problems facing us. 

The Matrix has us. I took the red pill a long time ago. What pill do you chose?
 
From what I gather, you are in serious danger; despite your sincere intentions. You are very close to saying, in effect, "since I have no direct experience of "good" Muslims, and I have not permitted the development of the ability to extrapolate the possibility of their existence, they do not and cannot exist". What follows is that since you would believe the "good" Muslim to be a fictitious creature that cannot exist within your carefully constructed reality, those Muslims who do exist are a clear and present danger; and it is irresponsible to continue to allow them to exist. The logic of your position demands it.
 
Adolph Hitler once said "The greatest strength of the totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it". You are ripe to fulfill his prognostication. If you cannot overcome your "blind spot" you will degenerate into the very thing you hate. 

I say this to everyone (myself included): if you want to find your true enemy, you have no need for maps of Afghanistan or Israel or the location of your neighborhood mosque, synagogue, deli, or halal cab stand. All you need is a mirror.
 
Do yourself a favor: stay away from websites that peddle hate propaganda (and that's exactly what it is - an you should be ashamed of yourself for not seeing it), and don't watch FOX or ABC or NBC or CBS or CNN. Insha Allah, you may develop an unbiased viewpoint.

Ma'a Salaam
 
Please don't be offended by my blunt statements; no disrespect is intended. I eagerly anticipate specific questions from you and pray this email finds you well.

response from Jonathan: