Here is the video, my thoughts are below… http://player.theplatform.com/p/2E2eJC/nbcNewsOffsite?guid=mtp_10kareem_full_150125
By Pastor Jermin
I have, since my childhood, had a great respect for Mr. Abdul-Jabbar and his many accomplishments, both on and off the basketball court. I must say here that while early on he does make an excellent point about the lack of opportunity in some Muslim countries, and makes the valid point that the situations do have a role in the types of actions that we see, he seems duplicitous here.
While saying that these people are not real Muslims, (he calls them ‘these people that claim to be Muslims’) and says that they do not represent the teaching of Islam and that they have ‘made it impossible for real Muslims to be understood…’
At the .45 second mark – Clearly, just because US Presidents say something, does not make it true… The interviewer using them as some sort of bastion of truth is foolish. Both Presidents Bush and Obama have clear motives for their assertions and they have more to do with ‘politics’ than the ‘jihadists’. Mr. Abdul-Jabbar doesn’t say anything about that…
He laments the rise of ‘Islamophobia’ and he seems also to make the statement (at the 1:41 mark) that what is needed is ‘some enlightenment’. What does this mean?
It means that the people who are committing these acts ARE in fact real Muslims, and he KNOWS it. They are reading the Quran and Hadith faithfully, and adhering to its teachings, they just haven’t had the opportunity to integrate into modern enlightened society… That is hypocritical.
To say incredulously ‘who believes in witchcraft?’ )when the Qu’ran his Holy Book clearly quotes his prophet speaking against it in Surah 2:102) says what? Who believes the Qu’ran here? The so called jihadists, or Mr. Abdul-Jabbar?
The KKK quote is classic false equivalence in that there is NOTHING in the Bible that justifies the KKK’s actions, and yet one quite easily finds plenty of Qu’ranic support for the actions of these ‘jihadists’ (see below)
His points are absolutely right about the fact that there is no one body that controls all Muslims, and his examples given are true.
Clearly though, he has adjusted his view of Islam to fit with his American upbringing, citizenship and western context.
That makes sense; given his life and lifestyle, and his history (does anyone remember the massacre that took place at his house On January 18, 1973, when a group of Muslims, calling themselves ‘The Black Mafia’ murdered 7 Hanafi Muslims. Two adults and five children, aging 9 days to 10 years. The adults and one child were shot while the other children were drowned.)
I am sure that this horrific event both scarred and shaped his understanding of his religion, but he glosses over by saying of violence ‘that’s not Islam is about’
He also seems to not realize that Islam teaches unequivocal Theocracy, and commands violence to obtain and maintain it, hence that is EXACTLY what Islam is about. Hence though he is right to say that it is pointless to criticize them, he is DEAD WRONG to say that they do not believe in any ‘rule of law’.
Perhaps he has not heard the term ‘Sharia. From Wikipedia:(/ʃɑːˈriːɑː/; also shariah, shari’a, sharīʿah; Arabic: شريعة šarīʿah, IPA: [ʃaˈriːʕa], “legislation”) means the moral code and religious law of a prophetic religion. There are two primary sources of sharia: the precepts set forth in theQuranic verses (ayat), and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah.
He is right to say that Islam is ‘a religion of peace’ but he leaves out the second part of the sentence; ‘with other Muslims, but war on everyone else…’
Could it be that Mr. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, (his name means ‘Generous servant of the All-compeller’) could be guilty of a form of kitman?
What is kitman? In Islamic jurisprudence kitmān (كتمان “secrecy, concealment”) is a subfield of Ḥiyal (the science of deception or legal trickery), consisting of the art of making ambiguous statements, paying lip-service to authority while reserving personal opposition, in a kind of political camouflage or reservatio mentalis.
Is that what’s really going on here, or is Mr. Abdul-Jabbar just misinformed about his own faith and books?
Here is but a partial list of Qu’ranic scripture that makes this point clear:
Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them(2:191)
Muslims must not take the infidels as friends (3:28)
Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable (3:85)
Maim and crucify the infidels if they criticise Islam. (5:33)
Terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Qur’an (8:12)
Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorise the infidels (8:60)
The unbelievers are stupid; urge the Muslims to fight them (8:65)
When opportunity arises, kill the infidels wherever you catch them (9:5)
The infidels are unclean; do not let them into a mosque (9:28)
Kill the Jews and the Christians if they do not convert to Islam or refuse to pay Jizya tax (9:29)
The Jews and the Christians are perverts; fight them (9:30)
Make war on the infidels living in your neighboorhood (9:123)
Punish the unbelievers with garments of fire, hooked iron rods, boiling water; melt their skin and bellies (22:19)
Do not hanker for peace with the infidels; behead them when you catch them (47:4)
There is MUCH more here : What does ‘The Religion of Peace’ Teach About… Violence?
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