The following pages have been added newly or substantially revised during the year 2006 at the following dates:
December 24, 2006
James Arlandson finishes his series on Pacifism and the sword in the New Testament.
Part 5: Should the State turn the other cheek?,
Part 6: Questions and answers on pacifism and the sword,
and concludes with a Summary of the ground
that was covered. Sam Shamoun presents two rebuttals to Bassam Zawadi:
Pondering the Mercy of Allah and
Muhammad's treatment of the Uraynians revisited,
discusses Allah's omnipotence and
the "impossibility" of the incarnation, and observes a contradiction in the Qur'an regarding
the age of marriage. Sura 4:3, a verse
that is foundational to marriage laws in Islam, is rather incoherent and causes a lot of confusion:
Should they marry the orphans, their mothers, or other women?
Finally, a short entry was added with links to Islamic rulings on CHRISTMAS.
December 11, 2006
James Arlandson provides a Brief Explanation of the Sword
in Matthew 10:34, and he continues his series on Pacifism and the Sword in the New Testament
with Part 3: Officers, soldiers, and God and
Part 4: Church and State—and the Sword.
The Deaths of Asma and Abu Afak –
Part 1: Examining the Historical Basis for these Murders,
Part 2: Does the Quran Prohibit the Killing of Mockers?
It is really hard to avoid the conclusion: Islam is the problem!
Muhammad is the problem!
November 27, 2006
The topic of today's update is the use of force.
James Arlandson starts a series expounding on the Biblical teaching in regard to the use
of the sword versus pacifism. Part 1: Jesus,
Pacifism, and the Sword, Part 2: Pacifism
and the Sword in the Gospels. Two articles regarding the position of the sword in Islam:
The Cart Before the Horse: Terrorism and violence
in Islam, and Silas invites you to take an Islam Test
to gain a deeper understanding in this matter. One example that stands for many: Former Muslim
sheikh and author Bahaa el-Din el-Akkad is now in prison for no other reason than coming to
the conclusion that the Gospel is true:
EGYPT:
CHRISTIAN CONVERT FROM ISLAM JAILED.
November 2, 2006
The Trinity and God's Attribute of Love
responds to a critique by Bassam Zawadi. More
on Muhammad and Poison is a response to Abdullah Smith's attempted denial that Muhammad
died from being poisoned.
Whether Moon-gods Were The High-gods In
South Arabian Religions by Yoel Nathan examines the recent "devastating refutation"
of the "Allah is the moon-god" theory that was published by Islamic Awareness.
A lengthy footnote was added to one of the articles on one of the problematic statements
in Sura 9:30: Is Ezra ‘a son’ or
‘the Son’ of God? (or neither).
October 19, 2006
Sinking to Dead Sea levels: In search of the lowest
point in Muslim apologetics examines the alleged scientific miracle that the Qur'an
speaks about the Dead Sea area as the lowest land on the earth. An answer to MENJ's alleged
Bible contradiction concerning the role of faith and/or good works as the basis for salvation,
Part 1: Salvation According to the Old Testament,
Part 2: Salvation According to Islam.
Response to Bassam Zawadi's critique of an illustration for the Trinity:
Allah's need for sinners, and
a response to Sami Zaatari: Moonlight Musings.
October 10, 2006
Silas takes a detailed look at Muhammad, Islam, and Sex.
Some of Muhammad's inconsistent statements on the use of coitus interruptus are listed
and compared in Islam and birth control.
An observation on some traditions about Muhammad's
Sexual Prowess has consequences far beyond this issue itself. Rebuttals to three Muslim
polemicists: (1) Abdullah Smith continues with his preference for suicidal arguments, this time
by claiming pagan roots of Christianity.
(2) A second installment in a series on problems, errors and logical fallacies in the book
"Holy Wars, Crusades, Jihad" deals with Jalal
Abualrub's distortion of Biblical statements regarding the use of force. (3) The second part
of examining Umar's arguments regarding the
Crucifixion.
September 26, 2006
A first installment in a series of articles exposing problems, errors and
logical fallacies in the book "Holy Wars, Crusades, Jihad" deals with
Jalal Abualrub's definition of abrogation.
Two rebuttals to Umar: On the Crucifixion
and A Muslim’s Second Attempt of Addressing
the Issue of the Holy Spirit Being Gabriel, And Why He Still Falls Short.
More inconsistencies and contradictions in the Qur'an are discussed in these articles:
The Profit of the Prophet,
Can They Disbelieve in the Last Day and be Safe?,
Whom does he talk to?
— The Affect Allah’s Intercession has on Divine Unity,
What is the Day of Congregation?
September 18, 2006
September 12 was a really bad day for Osama Abdallah. Apparently his brain had collapsed down
to ground zero the day before, since on that day he published several articles and challenges
with incredibly bad arguments. Receiving several rebuttals today, he can certainly not complain
about an "attention deficit", though all of this may leave him in some kind of disorder.
Okay, enough of these introductory words. Here is the beef:
We added a second part to the earlier
article Osama Abdallah and the concept of fair
and balanced lies, refute his absolutely ridiculous claim that Mary made Jesus wear her
garments in Are Diapers Now Women's Garments?,
and the article The 360 Joints Issue Revisited
examines his newest interpretation of Muhammad's saying that human beings have 360 joints.
Another one of their sick attacks is the claim that the book of Revelation describes
Jesus as having female breasts which is now debunked in the article
Abdullah's Breasts.
September 11, 2006
An Open Letter to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
a rebuttal to Jalal Abualrub countering his response on the topic of
Allah's knowledge
and two responses to answering-christianity.com:
Abdullah Smith's war against the Crucifixion:
Examining one Muslim's intellectual suicide mission and another
Mixed Bag of Bad Arguments.
More Qur'an Contradictions: Do all of God's messengers eat food?
and Should Muslims Accept Peace or Not? The latter problem
is obviously far more important than merely constituting a logical contradiction. The final article
points out two fatwas in which a Mufti encourages Muslims to break
the law of their country of residence.
September 3, 2006
Osama Abdallah and the (Islamic?) concept of
fair and balanced lies, and so that he does not think we are not giving enough attention
to his top article (the "best of his deceptions", so to speak), we added two appendices
to our counter-polemic on "GOD's Stupidity".
More Islamic deception is found in articles by Abdullah Smith, another writer of the same
website, and now exposed in The Amazing
Scholarly Level of Islamic Apologists. Sam Shamoun provides more discussion on
the problem of Allah as a Deceiver,
and his paper, The Quran and the Holy Trinity,
examines several of Islam's mistaken views of basic Christian doctrines.
Several new entries in the section of Qur'an Contradictions:
(1) A Messenger from among the beasts?,
(2) Will it be accepted of them or not?,
(3) Are they all obedient and prostrating to Allah?,
(4) Did Joseph's parents go to Egypt?,
(5) Is Satan an Angel or a Jinn?
August 20, 2006
Sam Shamoun presents a fundamental critique of Islam and Monotheism,
and in the two articles, The Inspiration of
the New Testament and The Love of God, he takes up
some arguments made by Shabir Ally in debates with Dr. James White and Dr. William Lane Craig. A rebuttal
to Umar: A Muslim’s Attempt of Addressing the issue of
the Holy Spirit being Gabriel, And Why He fell Short. Osama Abdallah receives even two answers to
a polemic that he considers to be the pearl of his site: Oh,
A Wise Guy, Huh? is a guest article by J.P. Holding of tektonics.org, and
Answering a fool according to his folly
includes contributions by two Arab ex-Muslims. Also dedicated to Osama Abdallah is the first of
two new Qur'an contradictions: Do not say, "Three"!?
and Allah and other Walis. A translation comparison
regarding Sura 77:30 was added to the section of
Qur'an Versions. After a long time, the next update of
the Answering Islam CD-ROM is finally available.
August 9, 2006
Roland Clarke reflects on The Missing Peace
in the Middle East. Part 9 and
Part 10 of James Arlandson's
Dialogue with a Saudi Muslim.
Sam Shamoun finishes his rebuttal to Bassam Zawadi regarding
Jesus the Divine Lord of the Sabbath,
adds a further section in the rebuttal in regard to Mary,
Muhammad's concubine, challenges Muslims about the
Quran’s teaching on the Trinity, provides a summation of the evidence for the Satanic Verses
in Muhammad and the Daughters of Allah, asks where
the Qur'an allowed Muhammad to have more than
four wives, and finally poses the question: Is Muhammad
really the Last Prophet?
August 3, 2006
Part 7 and
Part 8 of James Arlandson's
Dialogue with a Saudi Muslim.
Sam Shamoun continues his discussion of Muhammad's marriage to nine-year old Aisha:
Part 2: Analyzing the Claims of Muslim Polemicists,
and provides further background information on marriage to very young girls in
Part 3: The Marriage of Umar ibn Khattab and Umm Kulthum.
Narrations about Aisha having been Muhammad's only virgin bride provide further evidence
that Mary was Muhammad's concubine, not his wife.
The paper on Allah and Nudity was updated with an appendix
on Muhammad's public nudity.
In his series of answers to common questions, Sam Shamoun provides two new articles:
What does it mean that Jesus was made Lord?,
How can Jesus be God if he is given the name Lord
only at his exaltation?, and expanded Jesus allegedly
emptied himself of Deity, which is impossible for God to do with an addendum.
Finally, Silas comments on some statements by Dean Esmay in
Another Useful Idiot.
July 21, 2006
Women in Islam Versus Women in the Judaeo-Christian
Tradition is a response to one of the most popular Muslim polemics regarding the position
of women, covering many issues. Sam Shamoun looks at some not so widely known details in
Muhammad's ‘divinely appointed’ marriage(s),
Muhammad, Zaid and Zaynab Revisited, and
Analyzing Muhammad's Treatment of Sauda Bint Zamah, and
he responds to yet another reply by Umar on the issue of Mary,
Muhammad's concubine (Round Four). An article by David Wood examines one of the most emotionally
charged issues in the life of the prophet of Islam: Was Muhammad
a Pedophile? Finally, Allah and Nudity answers a common
Muslim polemic levelled against the Bible.
July 9, 2006
Crossing Over: An Intellectual and Spiritual
Journey from Islam to Christianity by Nabeel Qureshi. Muslims occasionally challenge
Christians to a cursing contest. As this is a very strange concept to Christians, they
often do not know what to do. Many Christians would simply reject such a contest. One
Christian wrote up his reasons to refuse the invitation.
On the other hand, Mubahala: A Prayer-Duel With A Muslim
is David Wood's detailed report about such a challenge, how he responded and what happened so far.
Was the Muhammad Cartoonist burned alive?
was added to our section on rumors and hoaxes. Sam Shamoun presents
More Open Challenges to Muslims and
quotations from various Bible expositors on the interpretation of a text that was challenged
by Bassam Zawadi: Honoring Jesus as God:
The Meaning of John 5:23.
June 22, 2006
Part 4,
Part 5 and
Part 6 of James Arlandson's
Dialogue with a Saudi Muslim.
Sam Shamoun takes a detailed look at 1 Corinthians 15:28 in
Jesus Christ: The God Who is All in All
and provides a number of rebuttals to various Muslim authors:
Jesus the Divine Lord of the Sabbath
continues his rebuttal to Bassam Zawadi, rebuts Omar Alhabeshi regarding the sins /
sinlessness of Muhammad and
Jesus, and presents a
Refutation of Shabir Ally’s Assertion
that Matthew 24:42 Improves the Image of Jesus Over that of Mark 13:35. Moreover, we recently
discovered this Muslim comment on Shabir Ally's
Islamic Knowledge and Standing in the Muslim Community.
P. Newton provides a general article on The Place
of Women in Pure Islam, and a detailed look at the story of Muhammad's wife
Sauda bint Zam'ah.
Finally, two reviews of Muslim-Christian debates:
In the section providing Responses to Zakir Naik,
we added a link to Ali
Sina's review of a debate between Dr. Zakir Naik and Dr. William Campbell on
the topic The Qur’an and the Bible in the Light of Science, and Wildcat
reviews a debate between
Sam Shamoun and Sami Zaatari that took place on Paltalk.
June 12, 2006
Two booklets by by M. Rafiqul-Haqq and P. Newton:
Allah: Is He God? and
Tolerance in Islam.
Six articles and rebuttals by Sam Shamoun:
What is the Seal of Prophethood?,
Where is Allah Exactly?,
Is the Prophet Daniel Worshiped as God?,
Jesus Christ: The Divine Angel of Glory,
Jesus Christ: The Eternal Maker of all Creation,
Jesus Christ’s Descent into Hades:
A Response to a Muslim Inquiry.
June 6, 2006
Part 3 of James Arlandson's
Dialogue with a Saudi Muslim.
Dallas Roark ponders, If I were a Muslim ....
Sam Shamoun discusses The Concept of Messiah
in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, and he responds to several articles by Muslims:
The accounts of John and Matthew
regarding the calling of the first disciples,
The Gospel Accounts: Evolving Texts
or Accurate Summaries?, and The Glory of Jesus,
Jesus Christ: The God of the Prophets,
Jesus Christ: The Unique and Divine Son
of the Most High. Already five days ago, we added a reply to a Muslim response to Sam Shamoun's
Open Challenge to Muslims.
May 27, 2006
James Arlandson engages in A Dialogue with a Saudi Muslim
(Part 1,
Part 2).
Sam Shamoun questions some aspects of the Islamic world view in
Islam and the Magical World of Genies and Dragons
and Islamic Science Fiction: The Thunder and the Moon.
The article Is John greater than Jesus?
responds to Bassam Zawadi, and The Spirit and
the angels answers to a posting by Jalal Abualrub. Finally, we added the letter "Q",
"R" and "S" entries of Hughes' Dictionary of Islam.
May 20, 2006
Jesus and Muhammad: Fifteen major differences
are examined by James Arlandson. Muhammad's Vulgar Face
takes another look at the violence in Muhammad's life. A number of rebuttals to articles
by Muslim apologists: On variant readings in Bible
and Qur'an, Sura 10:94 and Muhammad's doubts,
Thomas' Confession "My Lord and my God!"
(Round Three of the discussion with Bassam Zawadi), Mary,
Muhammad's concubine (Round Three of the discussion with Umar). Finally, an
Open Challenge to Muslims.
May 12, 2006
James Arlandson looks at Prophecy:
Jesus in Messianic Bible Prophecies, and
compares Jesus and Muhammad in Bible Prophecy.
Sam Shamoun explains one of the titles of Jesus in Christ
the Heir. We present some rebuttals to articles by various Muslim authors:
The "Samaritan" Error in the Qur'an
by Andrew Vargo responds to an article published by Islamic Awareness.
Florida Imam Jalal Abualrub made a series of claims alleging a superiority of Islam
over Christianity. Is 'Isa the true
name of Jesus? answers one of these claims in greater detail, and Sam Shamoun
presents Part 1 and
Part 2 of a comprehesive
response to Abualrub's entire article. Finally, two rebuttals to Bassam Zawadi on
Thomas' Confession "My Lord and
my God!" (Round Two), and on Jesus' claim to deity that is implicit in the title
Lord of the Sabbath.
May 1, 2006
James Arlandson compares The death of Jesus and
the death of Muhammad. Rebuttals to Sami Zaatari: Surah 61:6
— The Awesome Qur'an Verse that Christians NEVER dare to talk about, to Karim:
Will all Muslims go to Hell?, and a
Discussion on Marriage and Abrogation
(follow-up on a response to a Qur'an contradiction), and to Bassam Zawadi:
Muhammad and the Arab Criteria of Demon Possession,
also a follow-up, answering to Zawadi's response, and
Thomas' Confession "My Lord and my God!"
April 13, 2006
Abdul Rahman's trial for apostasy in Afghanistan has grabbed the attention of the world. A number of
Muslim apologists have written articles to either defend the Islamic law or to deny that the Sharia is
really so harsh against those who convert to another faith. We provide responses to two such articles:
Undistinguished nonsense from a distinguished
professor and Apostasy: What is the Real Issue?
Five rebuttals to polemics by Bassam Zawadi on
punishing adulterers,
divorce and remarriage,
unclean food,
and the question whether or not
God can repent or
refresh himself.
Finally, Were Jesus and Muhammad sinless?,
and another Qur'an contradiction: Should Jews
and Christians follow the Bible or the Quran?
April 3, 2006
Two articles reflecting on the law of apostasy in Islam:
Apostasy and Freedom of Conscience by Roland Clarke and
Why Islam today shuts down freedom of religion:
Apostasy in the Quran, Traditions, and Islamic Law by James Arlandson. The latter author
also looks at the topic of Jesus and Muhammad on wealth.
A Bible question: Did Jesus deny the ascension of Elijah and Enoch?
A Qur'an contradiction: Will Allah reward or reject the good deeds
of Unbelievers? Rebuttals to articles by Bassam Zawadi:
Muhammad and Contemporary Arab Criteria of Demon Possession,
Was the Apostle Paul a deceiver?, and yet again:
What Torah is the Quran talking about?
An answer to Illias Suttar: The Challenge
(or: Did Paul distort the Torah?)
March 28, 2006
James Arlandson examines a recent speech by an Islamic apologist:
Islam and coexistence: What Dr. Habib Siddiqui
should have said at Vanderbilt. Sam Shamoun answers to a critique regarding the divinity of Jesus
in Was Jesus a created being after all?, raises questions
in Muhammad and Poison, and provides rebuttals to various
Muslim polemicists: Saami Zaatari: Jesus the Eternal Lord
of Glory; Bassam Zawadi: Zawadi on Omniscience;
Osama Abdallah: Abraham's marriage to his sister Sarah;
Shabir Ally: The One True God;
and deals finally with Akbarally Meherally's polemic regarding the term "only begotten Son of God"
in Jesus THE Unique Son of God.
March 16, 2006
James Arlandson examines Jesus and Muhammad:
their roles and natures. Sam Shamoun presents some observations on
The Imperfection of Allah,
Muhammad and the treatment of wives,
and Muhammad the compromiser and doubter.
Four rebuttals to articles on Answering Christianity:
God’s, Christ’s or Paul’s Gospel?,
Who Broke the Covenant: Paul or Muhammad?,
Serious Sins,
Mary, Muhammad's concubine
(round two in this discussion with Umar).
March 7, 2006
Sam Shamoun answers to a common Muslim argument: Since
the Bible states that Jesus has a God, he cannot be God himself. Several rebuttals to responses
by Bassam Zawadi, a prolific Muslim apologist: More
on the Shahadah, Jesus is indeed Yahweh God
the Son!, Jesus is Holy because He is God,
and more on Allah's Justice. Finally,
On the Quran Contradiction of Marriage
to Christian Idolaters responds to one Muslim attempt to resolve the problem.
February 24, 2006
What really defames Islam? and
Muhammad's peaceful non-assassinations of mockers.
A response to a Muslim polemic claiming that If Jesus
is God because he is called good, then so is Joseph of Arimathea, and more responses to the same
author regarding an alleged contradiction on Who
Raised Jesus?, his attempt to undermine the doctrine of atonement,
Jesus: God's Sacrificial Lamb of Redemption,
his claims about The Justice of God,
and yet again, Muhammad and poetry. Finally,
On the Deity of the Holy Spirit
examines Abdullah Smith's response to Sam Shamoun's paper on that topic.
February 15, 2006
James Arlandson examines the quranic version of Saul
and Gideon: revelation or error? and Muhammad's
atrocity against the Qurayza Jews. Roland Clarke follows up on responses to his earlier
articles with Salvation and Sacrifice.
Answers to some alleged Bible contradictions propagated by Muslims:
God's Word is indeed eternal!,
A Contradiction regarding Clean Foods?
Another addition to the section on inconsistencies of Muhammad:
Stone Kissing and Idolatry.
A short entry on the concept of Jihad by Birth Rate
was added to our Index to Islam.
February 8, 2006
As the Muslim rage about the Muhammad cartoons races around the world, our article
Is Islam above criticism?
has been updated many times with new material since it was published six days ago.
One of the most important discoveries is described in
The Cartoon Hoax (also read
this comment), confirming
again that whatever serves Islam, including deception, is permissible in Islam,
see LYING. Further background information:
Are Pictures of Muhammad Really Forbidden In Islam?
Looking even closer, the teachings of Islam on the issue are confused:
Muhammad and Images.
February 2, 2006
All over the world Muslims are protesting against some cartoons published several months
ago by a Danish newspaper. What is the background to these protests? Should non-Muslims
have the right to publically critique Islam, the Qur'an or the person of Muhammad?
Is Islam above criticism?
is a timely article that examines some aspects that are presently missing from this debate.
January 28, 2006
Why I do not convert to Islam
is James Arlandson's answer to some Muslim emails that questioned him in this regard. Samuel
Zwemer's The Use of Alms to Win Converts was added to
the Classical Library. Sam Shamoun answers a couple of questions occasionally raised by Muslims:
Doesn't Jesus say that the Spirit does not know
everything? How can he then be God?, Does
the Apostles' ability to forgive sins imply their deity, too? Two observations regarding
Islamic issues: The (In)Justice of Allah Examined
and How to Greet Nonbelievers
According to the Quran and Sunna. Several rebuttals to Bassam Zawadi, a prolific writer
who recently joined Osama Abdallah's Answering Christianity:
On Jesus the Judge of all people and
On the sign for a true believer
answer to alleged Bible contradictions, a rebuttal of a rebuttal on
Muhammad's cruelty against the people of Ukl,
and two rebuttals of rebuttals of rebuttals regarding Muhammad's
Treaty at Hudaiybiyyah and his
relationship to poets and poetry. Finally,
an article on Mary, Muhammad's concubine examines
a response by Umar.
January 20, 2006
Al-Kitab is a Bible study course for Muslims who
are seeking to understand the message of the Bible. Several articles clarifying the relationship
between the Old and New Testaments of the Bible and the difference to Quranic abrogation: Biblical
Consummation versus Islamic Abrogation ([Part 1],
[Part 2]) by Sam Shamoun,
Promise and fulfillment in the Bible
(in contrast to abrogation) and How Christians
benefit from the Old Testament by James Arlandson. Dallas
Roark answers to some of the arguments he has received in response to his articles.
Was Muhammad the Last Messenger? is a new
addition to the section on the Incoherence of the Qur'an.
Some thoughts on A Quranic Criterion for a True Prophet,
an article examining Muhammad's Excessive Cruelty in punishing
the people of Ukl, and finally four rebuttals to Muslim responses to some of our articles:
Jeremiah 8 and the trustworthiness of the Torah,
Muhammad and the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah,
Muhammad and Poetry,
On the Quran Contradiction of Angels Creating and
Causing Death.
January 11, 2006
Women in the Bible ([Part 1],
[Part 2]) and some supplementary
material on Islam and Women. A look at
Muhammad’s Multiplicity of Marriages,
and a specific observation on the way he married Safiyyah:
Muhammad and the law of 'Iddah. Two new
additions to our long list of Contradictions in the Qur'an:
An article discussing the inconsistency of 'Iddah rules for divorced
and widowed women in the Qur'an and Shariah and To
Marry or Not to Marry? Roland Clarke asks, What Connection
is there between Eid ul Adha and Christmas? Three responses to articles on Islamic websites:
Another look at Muhammad's Bewitchment,
Revisiting God's Command to Kill the Amalekites
(analyzing one Muslim's response to our recent article), and an answer to another Muslim article which
completely missed the target: Islam and homosexuality?
James Arlandson contrasts two very different reactions in the article,
Insulting and threatening Jesus and Muhammad.
January 7, 2006
Adding a third reply in
the discussion about Bismikaallahuma's use of Hans Küng's opinion on the prophethood
of Muhammad (read it from the beginning,
if you have not seen the earlier parts yet).
January 5, 2006
James Arlandson raises some issues regarding Torture
in the Quran and early Islam. Sam Shamoun answers a common question,
What about God commanding the annihilation of the Amalekites?
One of our last articles raised the ire of some Muslims, so that an expansion and follow-up article
became incumbent on us in regard to Hans Küng's
opinion on the prophethood of Muhammad. The same website also slandered the prophet Daniel, alleging
that he was a homosexual. This issue is answered in Daniel,
Allah and Muhammad: How a common three letter word can turn you into a homosexual.
Two testimonies of Malay converts are now translated into English:
Siti Zainab,
Sharafuddin.
Finally, an addition to the section of Qur'an contradictions:
Can Allah be seen and did Muhammad see his Lord?
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