The USA and Islam

Critic:-

Muslim come to the USA and stay there because they like it here. If Muslims in America want to be accepted (which they deserve to be), they would do well to state clearly that they accept secular governance and will not argue for Islamic laws.

A Muslim:-

Living within the boundaries of the laws of the land is in fact part of the Islamic Law.

Critic:-

Why do the Muslims in America say things like this:-

"Islam is not in America to be equal to any other faith but to become dominant. The Quran should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth." (07/01/1998) Omar M. Ahmad, Chairman of the Board and founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Comment:-

Islam is the only true and acceptable religion in the sense of its meaning, that it is surrender to God, and that is what religion is, or ought to be, by definition. All who surrender to God or try to do so are Muslim by definition. It has nothing to do with sectarianism.

The Constitution of the United States begins:-

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The US Bill of Rights: Amendment I states:-

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

In The Declaration of Independence it is stated:-

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Abraham Lincoln in the famous Gettysburg Address said:-

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honoured dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

The USA was to have a Democracy under God. This is exactly what Islam requires.

In so far as the USA claims to champion freedom it ought to tolerate all Religions as long as they do not attack each other. This is also the Islamic attitude.

People should be free to live according to their ideals. Free Speech implies that Criticism of the government is allowed and that people can affirm and propagate their ideals. It is affirmed that the people have the right to change the government.

In fact, the above four documents that are, or ought to be, the foundations of the USA can be seen as compatible with Islam. It is even implied that the Creator is Supreme and that all rights are derived from Him.

But the ideology incorporated in these US Foundation Documents is incomplete and lopsided because it leaves out two other factors - the obligations, duties or responsibilities and the consequences, rewards and punishment that also derive from God.

We could say that the ideals on which the USA was founded are Islamic implicitly but only partially so explicitly. The reason for this might be that the Founding Fathers were Free Masons and the roots of Free Masonry lie in Islam, as several researchers have discovered.

Question:-

You say that the Founders of the USA were Freemasons and that Free masonry has roots in Islam. Can you elaborate on this?

Answer:-

You will have to do the research yourself, but here is a quotation from some research I did:-

Start:-

The contact with Islam also encouraged the secret transmission of the original teachings of Moses and Jesus within Christianity, via the Templars and later, the Freemasons. The Templars were a secret society started by Hugues de Payen in 1119 A.D in order to excavate under the ruins of Solomon's Temple for scrolls about the secret teachings of Moses and the real history and teachings of Jesus which were thought to be interred there. Its purpose was to re-establish a New Jerusalem in Europe i.e. a Kingdom of God. This movement at first flourished but its secret beliefs began to leak out. A plot between King Philip of France (who was looking for a way of increasing his wealth) and Pope Clement V led to the arrest, torture and death of a great number of Templars and their property was confiscated. Among the charges brought against them were the following:- They were secret Muslims having more "Mohammadan infidelity than Christian faith"; despising the Pope and the authority of the Church, scorning the sacraments, especially those of penance and confession; that the Order works to put the Holy Land into the hands of the Saracens; that "many statues of the Order are unlawful, profane and contrary to Christianity. Note also that Jesus used the symbolism of "rebirth", but the Quran replaces it with reconstruction as if of a building, a mosque or place of worship. This symbolism reappears among the Templars and the Freemasons.

This persecution brought the movement to an end but not before the secret scrolls had once again been secreted. This was probably done by Robert St. Claire (Sinclair) in Scotland in a place called Rosslyn Chapel. Freemasonry was developed as a method of continuing the transmission of this secret. As the word suggests it appears to have something to do with building, the craft of masonry, but this is an outer symbol for both Social and Spiritual construction. The collision with Islam had led to the inflow into Christianity of Islamic ideas which led to the Reformation and the establishment of the Protestant Churches. The power of the Pope was broken and Freemasonry was then able to flourish. This movement became a powerful force in the development of Western Civilization. Among its members was King James I of England who brought several reforms, Cromwell who tried to establish Religious Puritanism and Parliamentary Democracy instead of Autocracy and Kingly amoral whims in Britain; and Francis Bacon, said to be the Father of Science, who also studied in the Muslim Universities in Spain and was promoted by James I. Later, Freemasons established The Royal Society for the advancement of the Sciences, obtaining official recognition through a charter from King Charles II in 1662. One of its members, also a freemason, among many other famous scientists, was Sir Isaac Newton, a follower of Pythagoras.

The establishment of the USA appears to be another result of the indirect influence of Islam. Several of the first members who drew up its constitution, including George Washington, and many later statesmen, were Freemasons. They wished to establish an ideal God-cantered nation. Freemasons were also responsible for the establishment of many industries and political, civil and charitable institutions. Certainly the American political system as originally conceived is quite unlike the Christian Church or the Monarchies which flourished in Europe, but much more like Islam in the following respects:- The recognition of God and an objective ideal (though somewhat vaguely understood); the notion of a written Constitution; the supremacy of the law rather than human rulers; An elected Head of State rather than hereditary kings and aristocracies; mutual consultation and consent (3:159) instead of regimentation and authoritarianism; religious tolerance (5:69, 2:256 etc.); equality of peoples, races and the sexes; abolition of slavery (90:13, 4:92, 5:89, 58:3); the acceptance of differences of culture and habits (22:67); desire for freedom ("oppression is worse than slaughter" 2:191), human dignity and individualism in the sense of personal responsibility ("Ye have charge of your own souls" 5:105), and the acceptance of no authority but God (5:44, 6:56); unlike Christianity, the need for retaliation (2:178), striving for justice and against evil in the world (2:218, 5:35, 3:104); morality and law rather than expediency (4:58, 135), respect for knowledge, natural truths and reason, rather than speculation (17:37); the idea that knowledge should not only be sought, but it should be applied for useful purposes. There are a greater number of scientists and scientific research establishments in the USA and it is the greater application of science to the various aspects of life which has ensured their position in the world. Though a number of new religious sects and syncretic "new age cults" have appeared, there is also a great amount of research into meditation, prayer and other religious and spiritual practices gathered from the rest of the world and new powerful techniques of development are emerging which, being increasingly applied by an increasing percentage of the population, points to a new phase in human evolution.

All this could not have taken place but that America was a new country with enormous unexplored natural resources and vast spaces, which attracted the more intelligent and vigorous from many nations, often with dreams and ideals, seeking freedom to realize them. This caused a mingling and mutual stimulation between many cultures and ideas, and owing to the relative shortage of labour encouraged invention, mechanization, the development and application of the emerging sciences and technology. All this took place at a distant from the congestion, traditions and power structures of Europe, in a place where new ideas could be freely applied. But this did not take place in Central and South America where the Catholic Church held power. Many of the newly emerging ideas, principles and tendencies passed from the USA back to Europe and also to other parts of the World bringing transformation to them also.

However, like all Ideals, these were gradually ignored, forgotten or eroded. Powerful men arose and gradually took control of affairs; an increasing number of laws and institutions created an ever increasingly rigid tradition, and minds came to be controlled by the increasing strength of the media of communication. But the people are still ambitious and motivated by a self-image that strives for success, usually conceived of in monetary, material and social terms. Religion in general has declined. And yet the American may be regarded as having taken a further step on the ladder of evolution. They have developed what has been called nafs-i-ammara (12:53), the commanding or egotistical soul, to a much more general degree than in the past and in other nations where it was confined only to relatively small ruling groups. It is likely that this development must necessarily precede the development of nafs-i-Lawwama (75:2), the self-critical soul, which is the next stage in the spiritual or psychological evolution of humanity.

End

Having started with high ideals, the USA has now become, through its political and economic policies, its wealth, military power and secret services, a global terrorist organisation that maintains military bases throughout the world, bullies nations, conducts spying, intrigue, subversion, lying propaganda, deception, concealment, provocation, torture, and atrocities. It has supported and set up dictators and tyrants, toppled elected governments, invaded and bombed, incited civil wars, caused destruction, chaos, impoverishment and misery in many countries. It has been responsible or implicated, directly or indirectly, in most of the wars and the death and mutilation of many tens of millions of people in the last 50 years. The USA has become the greatest threat and obstruction to human welfare and progress.

The USA appears to be surviving today on its past moral and spiritual legacy and the constant "brain drain" to it from the rest of the world. But these are likely to run out soon.

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