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Here are ten questions for you: Do you think it is fine to beat your wife, but wrong to eat pork sausages? Do you think there is no error in the Quran, because the Quran says so? Is everything bad that ever happened to you someone else’s fault? Do you loudly demand respect from everybody, but respect nobody else? When you see a Jew do you get angry? Do you think homosexuals should be stoned to death but it is OK for old men to have sex with little girls? Do you fly into a rage when you hear about a teddy bear called Mohammed, but blowing up tourists leaves you indifferent? Do you believe you are better than other people, and non-Muslims are like apes and pigs? Do you think refining heroin for a living is just fine, but have a moral objection to liquor? Do you like alternative medicine, particularlycamel urine? If you answered “yes” to any of them, then you should definitely convert to Islam.

Perhaps one very simple but crucial fact always gets missed out in this: The belief system of any religion ALWAYS predates the text it holds as sacred. This is also the case in Islam: the Qur'an we have to day is the result of searching and, yes, some editing, (we have hadith confirming that, and even the Qur'an shows signs of it...) quite some time after Mohammed died. Muslims predate the Qur'an by several decades, at least, if not a whole century. There is the same pattern in Christianity: First there were Chrstians, and then, later there were Christian writings.The new Testament texts were all written quite some time after Jesus died, some a considerable time later. This writing process did not suddenly stop, and it was up to the Church to agree a line. In general the expectation was that the author of a text that may be eligible for inclusion into the New Testament was that he should either have known Jesus or at least know people who knew Jesus personally and have consulted with them. So many later gospels were not included. To most Christians, the biblical texts are not claimed to be a dictation by God. They are a collection of writings, over at least 1500 years, by many different people, in many different styles and types, all telling us their religious insights and experiences, things they thought are important for us to know. To orthodox and chatholic (and many protestant) Christians the bible is the most important but not the only stream of tradition that explains the faith. They have human authors, but they are believed to be influences or inspired by God to write their texts. Some texts, well, are more inspired than others, and work is required to the the development and growth of belief through the ages. The claim the the bible as a whole is is corrupted does not stand up to historical investigation. The texts the Qur'am confirms are the exact same texts we have today. How would, at a time without a printing press, people living all over the ancient world, far apart from one another, conspire together to remove Mohammed's name from the Tanakh? How did they all make the SAME changes exactly? And what would be the motivation for such a thing? To me the "corruption" hypothesis is a rather shaky one porposed by some, but not all Muslims to explain discrepancies between the bible and the Qur'an. It is also true that without at least some rudimentary knowledge of biblical texts many narrations in the Qur'an make no sense at all.

One thing that always saddens me greatly is how Jews and israel is frequently demonised when Muslims talk about the Middle East. It takes two to a conflict. Neither israel nor "the Jews" are monsters, or even "apes and pigs". They are people, like you and me. And they can be kind people too, which many Muslims are incapable of understanding. Here is a story of a little very sick girl who has fled Syria with her mother. It is a very moving story. http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-syria-heart-girl/ There are a fair number of such tales, and doctors from Syria , in desperation, send people by the bus load to israel for treatment, as things get from bad to worse there. They get help. They are not imprisoined, hated or used as a bargaining chip. That is as it should be. Have a look at the map. israel is a tiny speck on the map of the "Muslim world". Making peace is in everybody's interest.

Who are you to tell me who my God is? The Islamic Allah is no more than the main idol from the Kaaba, promoted by Mohammed to be the "only" god, and given a lick of Jewsih and Christian paint, to see if he could trick the local Jews and Christians. It didn;t work, so Mohammed grew resentful and hateful, and his imaginary deity alongside with him, culminating in a blanket order to fight and kill them all, until they pay protection money. Gabriel "contacted" Jesus? By email? Gabriel is mentioned in the Gospels as the person announcing to MARY (who Mohammed mixed up with Miriam, Aaron's sister) the forthcoming birth of Jesus. Gabriel in the bible is merely a bringer of a message, and possibly quite human. The "Gabriel" in Islam is merely a figment of Mohammed's imagination, cleverly exploited by his first wife, the real founder of Islam.

No, I don't believe that Mohammed is a prophet. I also don't believe that the Islamic Allah is the Chirstian and Jewish God. Allah to me is a false god. And I don't believe in the Qur'an having any kind of divine origin. And I am afraid I am quite sure that Mohammed was a fraud and much worse besides. But whatever gave you the idea that I "left" Christianity? If you read the post I left in the thread you banned me for, then you would know the answer for sure. And why does it matter to you what I believe? Does it relate to the opening post in any way? Or are you merely trying to derail this thread before it even starts, by using me as a diversion?

Ok... let's have a think about that... so Allah CHANGES some laws. Some incredibly quickly, during Mohammed's lifetime. Why? were the old ones no good? If Allah reveals a text for ALL MANKIND and ALL time, why would he need to make changes? Surely he would know the best possible law from the start? Of is Allah changing laws according to specific situaltions? Well, does not strike you as odd? In a book valid until the end of days? Muslims are kind of "stuck" with the last version of instructions provided in the Qur'an. Surah 9, is pretty much the last word. So this means that Muslims are required to be violent. Then, if SOME laws got changed, why can we not revise/abrogate others? Things like premission to beat one's wife, to kill adulters (which is not even in the Qur'an), homosexuals or apostates, can they be abandoned? If not, why would Allah make situational laws for Mohammed's times in Arabia, but all the rest of us who live later, are stuck with a legal system that looks decidedly antiquated, so much so that many Muslims counries, such as Turkey tried to to get rid of most of it? I tend to think that law making is best left to politicians, to be honest. That way, as society changes, the law can be adapted and improved. I have some trouble in accepting that the almighty creator of all the universes would have any interest in which way I face when going to the toilet, for example.

The Jalalain explain this verse as follows: Other Tafsir are similar. This verse dicouragages the asking of questions AFTER Mohammed has gone. Questions may lead to answers. Answers may not agree with Islamic teachings,and may lead to apostacy. Modern Muslims are not encouraged to be inquisitative. It is a characteristic of a cult that demands of its follower UNQUESTIONING obedience. In fact, almost all Muslims are quite good at following this advice... Almost all of them are virtually completely ignorant about Islam and will make lots of efforts to stay that way. I doubt that people merely asked Mohammed where their camel was and such things. I mean, is there any sane Muslims who would go to the Masjid today in order to ask the imam where he left his car keys? What we ask religious leaders today is much what Mohammed's contemporaries would have asked. Questions about life and death, and the meaning of life, about doctrince, or maybe some advice about difficult decisions.I refuse to accept that all of Mohammed's followers were really that stupid.... "where is my camel?" ... honestly... Some muddles in the Qur'an were discovered during Mohammed's lifetime, like the Miriam issue, and Mohammed was forced to make a rapid, lame excuse which does not stand up to scutiny. So it is not surprising that Mohammed was not hugely keen on questions. He prefered to preach and run... By now we know over 1000 factual and historical errors, or self contradictions. And Allah resolved his own contradictions neatly with the doctgrine of abrogation... I wonder why nobody ever asked Mohammed why an all-knowing God would need to correct himself, and even have a rule for that.

Hi, have you ever heard of a "strawman argument"? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man It is a logical fallacy. You basically draw a silly caricature of the other person's position, and then attack that and knock it down. Evolution and creation are not mutually incompatible ideas at all. Even Darwin said so. I would be happy to explain that to you, but I probably get banned again.

If it helps, this kind of operation is a fairly common one these days, and once done she will have much more energy and you will see her smile and run about. There will be a scar, most commonly on the lower left hand side of the rig cage, and when she gets older, there is a chance she may need another operation.I do not deny it is still a dangerous thing, but much less so that perhaps 20 years ago. Entrust your sister to God and tell God that whatever he gives he may also take. Ask for the life and the health of your sister. God hears your prayer before you can even think of it.

Here is a very simple question.... In a court of law "hearsay" evidence is not allowed. That is because it is considered unreliable. Hearsay means evidence that like this: "he said that so and so said". In other words, hearsay means second hand evidence. You are telling not what you saw or heard but what someone else did. Now,imagine this: Someone says his invisible and unavailable friend called Gabriel said to him, and only him, that some other invisible and very shy friend called Allah said something. Nobody has ever seen either of there two people, and nobody has even been able to check. However, we are told that this Gabriel has 600 pairs of wings, and hates pictures, statues and even dogs, for some reason.Aged female breasts also seem to drive him away the story goes... You only have this someone's word for this chain of hearsay, and we cannot even be sure that the words have not be messed about with later, as the text you have has been written a long tome later, and variant versions have been burnt. In addition, many people who actually knew this "someone" personally described him as a "bewitched", "mad" or a "poet"? Even his own uncle thought he was a faker, and he thought himself mad and wanted to kill himself once. He also admitted freely that at least on one occasion he tranmitted a message NOT given to him by this Gabriel, but he was tricked, he claims. So we have a double hearsay account from someone described by many (and himself) as somewhat unhinged. Would you say you have a good and solid foundation to build your life on? Let's face it, whould you trust him enough to by a car of him?

Ok this will be most likely my last post, as I am clearly not welcome here. I bear no grudges so I wish you well, and I hope one day you will get to understand that your are the first victims of Islam. Before I go, I would like to show you the "warning" I received from a "moderator": On the contrary, I have a great deal of interest in learning about Islam. In fact, my interest started some 20 years ago when several of my bothers in religion who lived entirely quietly in a monastery in Algeria, were dragged out of their beds at night and brutally murdered. I was one of the monks who buried them and then closed the monastery. I was lucky for having been away at the time on business. I have been told repeatedly by many Muslims since that "they had it coming", because we dared to live in complete seclusion in a place Muslims consider entirely their own, Algeria. Even the fact that we tended the local sick and helped people without food an not once tried to convert anybody (it is not what we do) did not save us. So I obviously want to know the reason for such hate. So I wanted to learn why people hate us so. Sadly, I did. It is very simple: Islam is the cause. Yes, I will tell what I see to be the truth about Islam, after 20 years of study, but that does not I attack or hate Muslims. Muslims are my brothers, and I would offer my life to save even one of them. I told you what I did to help you, not to hurt you. I have not insulted anyone here (that I know of), and I would not do that on purpose. However, I have been insulted and even threatened on this forum. All I have done is to show you what Islam's texts say, just for a very short time. I have held up a mirror and I was reprimanded and banned. If you find Muslim texts insulting, I cannot help that. Complain to the people who wrote them. I am not surprised. The man in charge of the extermination camps for Jews in Germany, Heinrich Himmler, remarked about Islam "It is very similar to our own ideology" . He was a close friend of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem at the time who visited him in Germany and fully and eagerly supported the extermination of the Jews. While being a Christian belonging to a religious order is a bannable offence here, calls to violence clearly are not: How interesting. So, when you have succeeding in subduing Europe, you will not kill the ENTIRE propulation. Very re-assuring. What percentage are you planning to exterminate? 50%? Anyone who refuses to be a dhimmi or a Muslim? That would be pretty much what Muslims have done up until now... To be honest, I will not live to to see that day, being nearly 80,. so I am not majorly worried. Also I trust that God will in the end put right what man messes up. Anyway, good bye and may God bless you and give you understanding.Hopefully one day at least some of you will realise you deserve better things than Islam, and that they are easily available to you. Again, my best wishes and fare well.

In case it needs to be a little clearer, here we go:

You are telling ME to research myself? That is what I do. How about you? For a start, I take most things that Muslims tell me about Islam with a very big pinch of salt, as their religion allows and encourages them to deceive me. To you I am "the worst of people", basically worthless, "fuel for hellfire". Well, let’s have a look at the verse you mention… It is a corrupted/modified version copied from the Jewish Talmud. First note who is addressed here: the “Children of israel”, not Muslims. Then note who the verse explicitly exempts (unlike the original Talmudic version): the ones “doing “mischief”. Those are ALL unbelievers.Rejection of Islam is "mischief". I can show you many Islamic clerics loudly and openly saying that there is nothing wrong in killing unbelievers. Well, this is the standard lame excuse I have heard many times from Muslims. I also notice no Muslim ever actually supplies the “context” I am supposed to have missed. I gave the historical context of the surah. I discussed three whole consecutive verses.The rest of it has much the same message. It is one long call to violent jihad. Do you want me to discuss the rest as well? So, why don't you add anything I missed? As you don't, I must conclude I must be generally right. And then, you rightly claim that Allah does not contradict himself. He merely replaces older verses with new ones, so contradictions are instantly resolved. (Why he can’t get it right in the first place, is maybe something you want to think about…) Now, as I said, surah 9 is the LAST major one, so it abrogates anything that has a conflicting message if it was revealed earlier, which is almost all of the rest of the Qur’an. Finally, the tu quoque argument, is a logical fallacy.Here is why: “you are accused of murdering your wife”, the judge says. “do have anything to say before sentence is passed?” “Hitler murdered millions, and you are going on about one little wife?” Is that a good argument? Will it reduce the sentence? The Old Testament quotes are the views of the ancient authors, writing for a specific occasion long ago, and certainly offer no guidelines to Christians today. (Ok, there are always nutters…) And your quote from Luke is part of a STORY Jesus tells. A character in the story speaks those words, not Jesus.

Well, maybe the Qur’an can explain all this… The context of the following verses are: Mohammed had just conquered Mecca. With an army. Not with gentle persuasion. He then ordered that no more pagans should be allowed to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. Some of followers were uneasy: they thought they would lose the income the pilgrimage machine normally generates. (An unfounded fear, as it turned out…) But, as so often, instantly Allah gets ready to help Mohammed out of this fix: So we read: 9:28 O ye who believe! Truly the Pagans are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Masjid. And if ye fear poverty, soon will Allah enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for Allah is All-knowing, All-wise. Notice what Allah is saying? Unbelievers are DIRTY. For this reason Allah agrees (as always) with Mohammed, and they should not be allowed to come the Kaaba. But then Allah addresses instantly the anxiety of the Muslims. “If you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you” Ahhh…. So there is going to be an ALTERNATIVE source of income. Well, what might that be? If we read on, Allah tells us: 9:29 Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. This is a very interesting verse. Muslims are told in the last major surah of the Quran to FIGHT the unbelievers. It abrogates any previous instructions.It does NOT say fight the unbelievers who fight Muslims, the text is very clear: Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book. Fight those who reject Mohammed and Islam, including the people of the book, in plain English. So fight them because of what they honestly believe. Fight them not because they attack you, it does not say that. Fight them because they do not believe in Islam. That is what it says. Why? Well, that is also explained clearly: The point of the fighting is: until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. So here Allah tells the Muslims to fight all non-Muslims, including the people of the book, IN ORDER to collect protection money. Don Leone, weep, you have been divinely outclassed. Allah is not only the greatest of deceivers, but it seems he runs a protection racket too. Muslims are commanded by Allah to fight non-Muslims until they pay them. Well, you will not get any cash out of me…. And just in case anyone has any doubt at all why to fight the people of the book, Allah spells it out, right in the next verse: 9:30 The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth! In fact both the assertions about the Jews and the Christians are wrong, but that is another topic. Allah CURSES the people of the book for their (apparent) beliefs, and he says they are not really different from the “unbelievers of old”. So it is entirely false to say that Islam only allows defensive wars. The Qur’an orders, loud and clear, aggressive, offensive warfare against ALL non Muslims, in order to collect money. In a way I prefer the Osama bin Laden type Muslim. He is at least honest about that. The so called “moderate” Muslim is merely trying to use deception to achieve the same aim. This little passage also proves to any reasonable person that Allah is not any kind of divine being at all, but merely Mohammed’s glove-puppet. That is why I find it highly offensive when Muslims tell me that Allah is the God of the Jews and the Christians. To suggest that God would order or condone violent extortion is blasphemy.

Muhammad said that he was commanded by Allah to spread Islam this way: It was easy to become Muhammad's enemy. If you did not acknowledge him as your ruler and prophet then you were his enemy. Those who joined Muhammad joined the fight against those who did not accept Muhammad's religion: This time of conquest was a great source of pride to Muhammad and his Companions. Many poems were composed to celebrate their victories. Here is a section of a poem that Ka'b b. Malik composed before the Islamic conquest of Al-Ta'if. These battles were not self-defence, they were offensive battles whose aim was to spread the Islamic empire and the rule of Muhammad. This was missionary warfare and violent jihad. Throughout this period of warfare, Muhammad's teaching was still very important. He inspired his soldiers to fight with the promise of paradise. For those who fought there was the promise of forgiveness, status, virgins, expensive clothes, watered gardens with abundant fruit, rivers of wine, milk and honey, slave boys and beautiful houses. Consider these verses from the Qur'an: Those Muslims who did not fight for Muhammad were not equal in status to those who did: These promises of Muhammad inspired the Muslims to give their lives towards the spread of the Islamic empire. Consider the example of `Umayr b. al-Humam: Thus warfare and the preaching of paradise were important methods that Muhammad used to spread Islam. Muhammad did not send out preachers and evangelists instead he sent out armies. Warfare on Muslims Muhammad's use of warfare was not just aimed at non-Muslims. On some occasions he called for war on Muslims. This was part of the way he strengthened the hold of Islam on the early Muslims community. The context of the above verses is that some Muslims wanted to get the interest that was still owed to them before they became Muslims. They are warned that if they seek this interest then Allah and Muhammad will make war on them. We see a similar command in 9:73. The context here is that Muhammad is calling the Muslims to Jihad. Some of the Muslim tribes do not want to fight, therefore, they are called hypocrites and Muhammad is to fight against them until they join the Jihad. Muhammad had their Masjid burnt down. In sura 33 Muslims are again called hypocrites and threatened with war if they continue to question Muhammad's moral and military judgement. In sura 49 Muhammad is commanded to fight Muslims until they "return unto the ordinance of Allah". In sura 66 those Muslims who questioned what Muhammad was doing are called hypocrites and were to be treated harshly. Muhammad commanded the true Muslims to make war on those Muslims who did not stop using alcohol. To conclude, Muhammad used warfare on Muslims who questioned him or did not follow the laws he gave. They were called hypocrites. In this way Muhammad strengthened and spread the influence on Islam on the newly converted tribes. Money and Gifts Warfare was not always the best option for Muhammad. As he gained wealth he also used money and gifts to spread Islam. After Muhammad had conquered Mecca he ordered the alms money (zakat) be used for certain purposes. One of these purposes was to encourage people to embrace Islam: Commenting on "those whose hearts are to be reconciled", Ibn Kathir writes: Thus sometimes Muhammad used money and gifts to spread Islam. Assassins Some tribes did not respond to warfare or money. Ibn Ishaq records how Muhammad used the fear and intimidation generated from assassinations to convert a tribe: Thus, sometimes Muhammad used the method of assassination to convert a tribe to Islam. Compulsion Sometimes Muhammad did not use compulsion to spread Islam. But on other occasions he did use and approve of compulsion. Thus on some occasions Muhammad used and approved of compulsion to spread and keep people in Islam. Torture Muhammad needed a lot of money to finance the expansion of his religion and empire. One of the richest cities in the region was the Jewish city of Khaybar. The Jews there did not accept Muhammad as a prophet or his claim to rule over them. After Muhammad had conquered Khaybar we read what he did to get their riches to finance his jihad. Thus Muhammad sometimes used torture to finance the spread of his religion and empire. 3. REMOVING OPTIONS Destroying the Ka'bas and Shrines The Ka'ba in Mecca was not the only ka'ba in Arabia. There were other ka'bas and shrines that the Arabs would make pilgrimage to during the year. Muhammad spread Islam by destroying these other ka'bas and making the Islamic worship at Mecca the only option for the Arabs. Destroying Independent Masjids Muhammad commissioned the construction of many Masjids. However, on one occasion an independent group built a Masjid and invited Muhammad to it. These Muslims did not want to fight in Muhammad's Jihad. Muhammad had their mosque destroyed. Thus Muhammad spread his Islam by making his Masjids the only option. Rejecting Other Prophets At the same time that Muhammad was claiming to be a prophet there were men from other tribes who claimed to be prophets too. These men and their tribes accepted Muhammad as a prophet but Muhammad did not accept these men as prophets. During this time these tribes had two prophets: Muhammad plus their own. During his life Muhammad as not able to kill these other prophets but when he died his followers killed them. This will be shown in section 5. Thus Islam spread by making Muhammad the only option for a prophet. 4. INCORPORATING THE PRE-ISLAMIC RELIGION Muhammad spread Islam by making the transition from the pre-Islamic religion to Islam easy. He did this by making very few changes to it. The idols were removed and people now had to submit to him, but nearly all of the other practices remained the same. In practice Islam is very similar to the pre-Islamic religion. Here are a few examples. Fasting Muhammad initially continued the pre-Islamic time for fasting: As-Safa and Al-Marwa The pre-Islamic religion also had a special walk that was done between the mountains of Safa and Marwa in Mecca. Muhammad continued this practice too. Again, some of the early Muslims were uncomfortable with this and thought that this pagan practice should be stopped. Later Muhammad transformed the meaning of these mountains to be "symbols of Allah": The Black Stone The pre-Islamic religion was animistic with special attention to sacred stones. The most sacred stone in the pre-Islamic religion was the Black Stone. It was part of the Ka'ba in Mecca. Even though the worship of stones is animistic Muhammad continued this practice. Some of the early reformer Muslims found this very uncomfortable. But for the majority of the early Muslims being able to continue their previous practice of venerating the Black Stone made it easy for them to accept Islam and so Islam spread. Incantations Incantations were part of the animistic pre-Islamic religion. Muhammad allowed this practice to continue as long as the incantations were transformed to be Islamic: Thus Muhammad spread Islam by making an easy transition from the pre-Islamic religion to Islam. He did this by retaining most of the animistic pre-Islamic practices. Animistic Blessings Many hadiths record that Muhammad and his followers believed that substances from his body had special powers to bless people. This is a pre-Islamic animistic belief. The early Muslims venerated Muhammad's saliva, ablution water, sweat, hair and possibly even his urine (1, 2). ... (I)f he (Muhammad) spat, the spittle would fall in the hand of one of them (i.e. the Prophet's companions) who would rub it on his face and skin ... (Bukhari: vol. 3, bk. 50, no. 891, Khan) Narrated Mahmud bin Ar-Rabi': I remember Allah's Apostle and also the mouthful of water which he took from a bucket in our house and ejected (spat on me). ... (Bukhari: vol. 1, bk. 12, no. 801, Khan) Narrated Abu Juhaifa: I saw Allah's Apostle in a red leather tent and I saw Bilal taking the remaining water with which the Prophet had performed ablution. I saw the people taking the utilized water impatiently and whoever got some of it rubbed it on his body and those who could not get any took the moisture from the others' hands. ... (Bukhari: vol. 1, bk. 8, no. 373, Khan) Narrated Abu Hazim: ... A man among his companions, seeing him (Muhammad) wearing it (a sheet), said, "O Allah's Apostle! Please give it to me to wear." The Prophet said, "Yes." (and gave him that sheet). ... That man said, "I just wanted to have its blessings as the Prophet had put it on, so I hoped that I might be shrouded in it." (Bukhari: vol. 8, bk. 73, no. 62, Khan) Anas b. Malik reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) came to the house of Umm Sulaim and slept in her bed while she was away from her house. ... She came and found him sweating and his sweat falling on the leather cloth spread on her bed. She opened her scent-bag and began to fill the bottles with it. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) was startled and woke up and said: Umm Sulaim, what are you doing? She said: Allah's Messenger, we seek blessings for our children through it. Thereupon he said: You have done something right. (Muslim: bk. 30, no. 5762, Siddique) Abu Bakr reported: (Muhammad called for) the barber and, pointing towards the right side of his head, said: (Start from) here, and then distributed his hair among those who were near him. (Muslims: bk. 7, no. 2992, Siddique) Muhammad continued the practice of venerating the marabout (holy man) with himself being the object of veneration. This practice is often mistakenly said to be "folk Islam" and not genuine Islam, however, Muhammad clearly accepted his veneration. This was part of the way Muhammad spread Islam. Venerated in Prayer Though Muhammad is dead he is venerated and addressed in the Islamic prayer (salaat). As Salaamu 'alaika ayyuhan nabiyyu wa rahmatul laahi wa barakaatuh Greetings to you, O Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of Allah. (Salaat) Venerating saints/marabouts was a pre-Islamic practice that Muhammad continued with himself. This made Islam easy for his followers and helped to spread it. 5. AFTER MUHAMMAD'S DEATH (Immediately after the death of Muhammad) The situation that Abu Bakr faced on assuming the caliphate was very grim. Many tribes apostatised from Islam and refused to pay Zakat. Many false prophets rose throughout the length and breadth of Arabia, and many people offered allegiance to them. The argument that weighed with them was that a living prophet was to be preferred to one who was dead. (Prof. Masud ul-Hasan, The History of Islam, vol. 1, p. 97) The following is a summary of Prof. Hasan's account of the wars against these apostate Arab tribes. The Arab tribes around Medina were prepared to stay Muslim but they did not want to pay the Zakat (tax) to the Islamic authorities. These tribes tried to attack Medina but were repelled. Abu Bakr chased and conquered them and took their land. Abu Bakr then turned his attention to the rest of the Arabian Peninsula, much of which had now chosen to leave Islam. To the north of Medina was the tribe of Asad. They followed their prophet Taleaha. The Muslim forces marched against them and defeated them at Buzakha. They then returned to Islam. Next the Muslim forces marched to the tribe of Fazara and fought at Zafar. The Muslims won and the defeated tribe offered submission and was readmitted to Islam. The tribe of Sulaim were attacked by the Muslim forces and defeated. Their leader Abu Shajra was captured and taken to Medina were he accepted Islam. The Muslims force marched against the tribe of Tamim. This tribe offered no resistance nor did they offer submission. Their leader was killed and his wife married by the Islamic general, Khalid. The tribe then accepted Islam. The tribe of Hanifa was led by the prophet Musaylima. The Muslims fought hard against this tribe and finally won though they suffered a great number of casualties. Once Musaylima was killed and the tribe subdued they accepted Islam. After this battle Abu Bakr sent an army to Bahrain. In Bahrain a new king had come to power and he rejected Islam. There was much internal fighting. The Muslims tried to conquer them but were not successful until reinforcements arrived. Having been defeated, the people of Bahrain repented and were admitted to the fold of Islam. In Oman, Laquit ibn Malik was the prophet. A Muslim force was sent against him. Laquit and ten thousand of his followers were killed. Then the people of Oman reconverted to Islam. In Mahrah there was civil war with the death of Muhammad. The Muslims sided with the weaker party and fought with them. When this region was conquered the people of Mahrah repented, and were reconverted to Islam. In Yemen there was a prophet called Aswad Ansi. He had a large following. The Muslim forces marched against them, defeated them and killed Aswad. Once defeated, this region returned to Islam. At Hadramaut the people resisted Islamic rule. The Muslim forces conquered them and they were readmitted to the fold of Islam. The apostasy campaigns began in August 632 C.E. and these operations were over by February 633 C.E. Within the short space of six months, Abu Bakr succeeded in exterminating apostasy and winning back all the tribes in Arabia to the fold of Islam. (Prof. Masud ul-Hasan, The History of Islam, vol. 1, p. 102) Thus when Muhammad died the Islamic empire fragmented and many of the Arab tribes left Islam. They did this for various reasons. Some didn't want to pay tax to Mecca/Medinah, others wanted to follow their own prophet for they did not see Muhammad as the final prophet. Muhammad's companions compelled these tribes to return to Islam. This is how Islam spread and established itself in Arabia. CONCLUSION How did Muhammad spread Islam? As this survey demonstrates he used many methods. These included teaching Islam, reciting the Qur'an, warfare, money and gifts as bribery, loot from robbing caravans, assassinations, compulsion, torture, removing other religious options and incorporating much of the pre-Islamic religion into Islam. After Muhammad's death his companions continued some of these methods. It is wrong to exaggerate any one of these methods; Muhammad used all of them to spread Islam. To this day all of these are used.