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Iran, Islam and Israel (2)

By Patrick Dele Cole
20 October 2015   |   1:04 am
ISLAM, on the other hand, sells itself short by the insistence that its religion is not a smorgasbord in which they can pick and choose, that it is a way of life, that the Koran was the word of (God) Allah given directly to the Prophet Mohammed : that it is not subject to reform.

BibleBlue-Quran-with-BeadsContinued from yesterday
ISLAM, on the other hand, sells itself short by the insistence that its religion is not a smorgasbord in which they can pick and choose, that it is a way of life, that the Koran was the word of (God) Allah given directly to the Prophet Mohammed : that it is not subject to reform.

Yet the very many splits within the Islamic faith must be the evidence of the fragility of its claims that it is a way of life, unchangeable and ordered by God, through his Prophet Mohammed. The way the princes of Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, the Sultanates of Brunei, etc ired was certainly not the way prescribed by the Prophets in the Koran. Nor does the Koran prescribe the perpetual enslavement of a people to royal families in perpetuity. Many modern refinements include the possession of atomic weapons which obviously does not exist in the Koran, although the Koran enjoins on leaders to protect their people.

There are many passages in the Bible as in the Koran which talk about annihilating the enemy. But this enemy is because he is an anti-God, not because some caliph or priest or the other proclaims him as such. Being against the teachings of Islam cannot in itself, in the modern world, be a reason for annihilation. Ultimately, God fights His own battles in ways unknown to man.

The Geneva Convention (I assume the Ayatollah is opposed to this) prescribes, inter alia, the sanctity of human beings and the rights adhering to a person; it moves on to declare that genocide is a crime against humanity and calls upon all nations to uphold the principle. It was this principle that led to the Second World War and the condemnation of Hitler’s treatment of the Jews. The Iranians and the Ayatollah are bemused by the horror tales of the holocaust which they deny ever happened. If a man refuses to see his own reflection in the mirror such a person is dysfunctional, deluded and incompetent.

The precepts to go and convert are precisely the same in Christianity and Islam. Whereas Christianity has leant the ultimate lesson to give under Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God which is God’s, it will seem that Islam is still to understand that dichotomy which is the basis of secular and religious realms in society.

Islam pretends that no such distinction exists between the secular and the political; but this is no more than a pretence. There are many states, not necessarily Islamic, which regard the United States as the Great Satan; but such an interpretation is just that – an interpretation. The Koran does not talk of the United States as the Great Satan. Other aspects of modern life which Islam has adapted to include diplomacy, passports and immigration, railways, airlines and other means of transportation, a mega change in clothing, eating, housing; I could go on and it would be tedious.

The orthodox Muslim would counter that all the above are peripherals: that the core of the religion enjoins proselytization, the killing of one’s enemies, plus the other five fundamental pillars of Islam. If there is such agreement, why are Muslims killing so many of their own faith? Are we witnessing a purge – getting rid of the unwholesome Muslims so as to leave the true Muslims whose duty would be the establishment of world Islam? I have heard, otherwise sane people, proclaim this – the insignificance of human life and human rights. But when these are denied Muslims/ Moslems, a mighty furor is raised against such deprivation.

The Geneva Convention (I assume the Ayatollah is opposed to this) prescribes, inter alia, the sanctity of human beings and the rights adhering to a person; it moves on to declare that genocide is a crime against humanity and calls upon all nations to uphold the principle.

It was this principle that led to the Second World War and the condemnation of Hitler’s treatment of the Jews. The Iranians and the Ayatollah are bemused by the horror tales of the holocaust which they deny ever happened. If a man refuses to see his own reflection in the mirror such a person is dysfunctional, deluded and incompetent. The previous Ayatollah was saved from imprisonment and even death by fleeing to France – a country whose code of existence is equality, freedom and brotherhood.

It was from there he came back to impose a peculiar form of government – a quasi democratic theocracy. The Iranians have, theoretically, a right to nuclear power, peaceful or otherwise. What they do not have is a right to acquire nuclear weapons solely for the purpose of exterminating Israel. They may rightly argue that no nation has the right to nuclear power and if one has, so others have a right to seek them. But this is a cyclical argument at the moment because all nations eventually must agree that the possession of such a terrible weapon is a danger to the whole world.

The Iranians must find other animals to hunt in the forest. This singular aim to hurt Israel cannot be sustained and the end will lead to Iranian perdition.
• Concluded
• Dr. (Ambassador) Cole (OFR) is a Consultant to The Guardian Editorial Board

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