Another anti-Christian movie.

People just like to get worked up over nothing...thanks Fox news.

You have absolutely no idea regarding the Qur'an, otherwise you wouldn't be making such incorrect statements. My M.A. is in Middle East Politics, and I'm able to read and comprehend the Qur'an (which is only considered to be in Arabic).

I make the following challenges to you:

1. Where in Surah Al-Fatihah does it mention slaves?
2. The term "abd" for servant is one employed in endearment. For instance, the verse that states "so enter amongst my servants, enter in my Paradise." The tone employed is one of extreme love.
3. Provide a Quran'ic verse stating non-Muslims are dogs, or less than dogs! On the contrary, the Qur'an actually speaks favorably concerning Christians and Jews.There are numerous passages in the Qur'an teaching tolerance: "Verily those closest to you in faith are Christians, for there are among them priests who are without arrogance, and their eyes swell with tears when they hear the Words of God." Also, the Qur'an says in two other areas to stress its emphasis; "Verily, those who are believers, Christians, Jews, and Sabians who says 'our Lord is Allah' on the Day of Judgment they shall be pleased with their Lord and shall have no fear." Yet, another verse states, "Verily, had Allah not checked one group of people with another, there would be numerous churches, mosques, and synagogues wherein the name of Allah is remembered much torn down." This verse places the status of non- Muslims places of worship equal to that of Muslims. Another verse says, "O Mankind, We created you from a single male and female (Adam and Eve, showing mankind's brotherhood) and separated you into nations and tribes so that you will become intimately familiar with one another. Verily, the BEST AMONG YOU IN THE EYES OF ALLAH ARE THOSE WHO ARE CONSCIENCE OF ALLAH." Notice the verse does not say you must be Muslim, just conscience of God, while there is not a single Biblical verse which speaks favorably of other faiths. The Bible even commands the "honor killings" of children who worship other gods, and dishonor their parents and priests.
"You Ethiopians will also be slaughtered by my sword," says the LORD. And the LORD will strike the lands of the north with his fist. He will destroy Assyria and make its great capital, Nineveh, a desolate wasteland, parched like a desert. The city that once was so proud will become a pasture for sheep and cattle. All sorts of wild animals will settle there. Owls of many kinds will live among the ruins of its palaces, hooting from the gaping windows. Rubble will block all the doorways, and the cedar paneling will lie open to the wind and weather. This is the fate of that boisterous city, once so secure. "In all the world there is no city as great as I," it boasted. But now, look how it has become an utter ruin, a place where animals live! Everyone passing that way will laugh in derision or shake a defiant fist. (Zephaniah 2:12-15 NLT)

After Joshua died, the Israelites asked the LORD, "Which tribe should attack the Canaanites first?" The LORD answered, "Judah, for I have given them victory over the land." The leaders of Judah said to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon, "Join with us to fight against the Canaanites living in the territory allotted to us. Then we will help you conquer your territory." So the men of Simeon went with Judah. When the men of Judah attacked, the LORD gave them victory over the Canaanites and Perizzites, and they killed ten thousand enemy warriors at the town of Bezek. While at Bezek they encountered King Adoni-bezek and fought against him, and the Canaanites and Perizzites were defeated. Adoni-bezek escaped, but the Israelites soon captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. Adoni-bezek said, "I once had seventy kings with thumbs and big toes cut off, eating scraps from under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them." They took him to Jerusalem, and he died there. The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it, killing all its people and setting the city on fire. (Judges 1:1-8 NLT)

"Suppose a man has a stubborn, rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him. In such cases, the father and mother must take the son before the leaders of the town. They must declare: 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a worthless drunkard.' Then all the men of the town must stone him to death. In this way, you will cleanse this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid." (Deuteronomy 21:18-21 NLT)
"When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property." Exodus 21:20-21 NAB
"Go up, my warriors, against the land of Merathaim and against the people of Pekod. Yes, march against Babylon, the land of rebels, a land that I will judge! Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them, as I have commanded you," says the LORD. "Let the battle cry be heard in the land, a shout of great destruction". (Jeremiah 50:21-22 NLT)

Regarding the jizya, Western Christian societies taxed Jews far more excessively than Muslims. Another challenge to you, try to justify the "Jewish Tax," the Jewish Port Tax, the Leibzoll, Tolerance Tax, Opferpfennig, etc. All taxation systems imposed upon Jews by Western Christian countries which exceeded the jizya. Additionally, according to the Islamic jurisprudence text "Reliance of the Traveler" non-Muslims were permitted and often received charity from the jizya, just as Muslims pay the zakah (poor tax), even at our local mosque charity is provided to non-Muslims. Reliance of the Traveler also states, "It is collected with leniency and politeness, as all debts, and is not levied on women, children, or the insane (pg. 608). The text continues, "It is obligatory for the caliph to protect those of them who are in Muslim lands just as he would Muslims, and to seek the release of those of them who are captured." So, within the Muslim world, dhimmiyun were nit singled out to pay taxes, even Muslims did so. Unlike the Christian West, the Jews dud not receive any benefit from their taxes.

If Christians and Jews are so evil, then why are Muslim men permitted to marry Christian and Jewish women, with the condition that they do not impose Islam upon them? Muslim scholars are unanimous that when a Muslim male marries a Christian/Jewish woman he is obligated to provide a home environment made comfortable for her to practice her faith and is considered "oppressive" if he attempts to convert her. When I married my wife, who was a Christian at the time, I refused to even explain Islam to her. I told her that if she wanted to learn about Islam, then she can read among the selection of books in our private library (which I also stocked with books written about Christianity by Christians). After conducting her own research, she eventually converted to Islam a couple of years later. However, I was not told she did so until afterwards. Additionally, why are Muslims obligated to honor their parents, even if they are Christians or Jews. Surely, a religion which despises Christianity or Judaism would also instruct its converted adherents to disassociate themselves from their parents. I recall during my childhood, that I had friends who were Jehovah's Witnesses, and they were forbidden from interacting with those who were of other faiths, even relatives.
4. In virtually every society, a girl has been determined as entering marriageable age upon her first menstrual period. The age for Aisha has never been determined, but if she had her first period then it would have been considered normal. Even as late as the 16th century, we find the Vatican Church issuing Bulls (Papal Orders) validating marriages of girls as young as 12 years of age, as long as they had their periods. In the US, a US Senator Daniel Sickles who was 33 years of age married a 15 year old name Teresa Bagioli, which was considered perfectly normal. Since primordial time, men have always favored girls as the concept of age differed significantly. An many civilizations an unmarried 18 year old girl was considered a "hag." Particularly, considering people died much earlier than in contemporary period, additionally, because child birth was considered a deadly act, it was preferable to conceive at a youthful (i.e. strong) age to increase the probability of survival. This also relates towards inheritance: in many cultures, the males are responsible for the maintenance of women. Therefore, the distribution of inheritance was not a result of male superiority, rather it was specifically related to taking care of the family. This was a responsibility, not a privilege. We even see in contemporary Western societies when a woman receives an inheritance from a deceased spouse and remarries. How many anecdotes are there that the man turns out to be a swindler and takes the woman's possession? I worked for child support for over a decade, and the sad reality is that I have witnessed countless women choose the new man in her life above her children. I'm not suggesting that all women fit within this prism, nor that women inherently possess poor decision making skills. However, with a separate family member involved who has everyone's best interest in mind, protects the family. Let's face it, even in Western civilization, "it's a man's world."
5. Concerning multiple wives: Again, this is nothing abnormal. In many societies plural marriages were the constant rather than the norm, particularly in the Middle East. In fact, I have Christian friends from Ethiopia who have numerous wives. The remarkable aspect concerning Islam is that it placed a limit to how many wives a man can have, whereas previously in Arab society a limit did not exist. Moreover, there were conditions imposed upon men which did not previously exist; the man must provide for each wife in equal manner. It isn't like the television series "Sister Wives" where all live underneath a single roof. In Islam, each wife must be provided her own house, automobile, etc. Whatever, you provide for one, you must provide in equal measure for the other(s), again a regulation placed which did not previously exist. In essence, Islam made polygamy more "humane" for women by placing conditions and responsibilities upon the men. This makes perfect since, as a social scientist, I was evaluating US history during the First and Second World Wars. What I've noticed (along with sociologists) is that an increase of illegitimate children were produced. As there was a shortage of available single men, women often resulted to engaging in extramarital affairs with married men. These children often went without having fathers due to the stigma associated with extra relationships and men were under no obligation to provide for these children, there's also a direct correlation with an increase of crime 15-50 years later. The reality is that some men will always have extramarital relationships and children will be produced as a result. In many circumstances, these children will not have the father present in their lives, and corpus research supports that two parent homes are healthier for children than a single parent. There is no coincidence that in societies where polygamy is permitted, there is less juvenile delinquency, this is even substantiated in the US among Mormon families.
You are sorely misguided regarding your misunderstanding of marriage in Islam. The woman is not deemed inferior to men, the Qur'anic verse states "men have a degree over women," but this degree pertains to responsibility not superiority, as I will prove by quoting Muslim scholars, the following is taken from islamqa.com which is a website whereby Muslim scholars ask questions posed to them. Mind you, these are Muslim scholars answering questions which were posed to them from other Muslims, eliminating the excuse that this is Islamic propaganda:

1 – The Qur’aan enjoins good treatment of one's wife: she is to be honoured and treated kindly, even when one no longer feels love in one's heart towards her. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “and live with them honourably. If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing and Allaah brings through it a great deal of good” [al-Nisa’ 4:19]

2 – The Qur’aan explains that women have rights over their husbands, just as their husbands have rights over them. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And they (women) have rights (over their husbands as regards living expenses) similar (to those of their husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect) to what is reasonable, but men have a degree (of responsibility) over them. And Allaah is All-Mighty, All-Wise”

[al-Baqarah 2:228]

This verse indicates that the man has additional rights, commensurate with his role as protector and maintainer and his responsibility of spending (on his wife) etc.

3 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined kind treatment and honouring of one’s wife, and he described the best of people as those who are best to their wives. He said: “The best of you are those who are the best to their wives, and I am the best of you to my wives.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3895; Ibn Maajah, 1977; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

4 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) spoke beautiful word concerning kind treatment of one’s wife, stating that when the husband feeds his wife and puts a morsel of food in her mouth, he earns the reward of doing an act of charity. He said, “You never spend anything but you will be rewarded for it, even the morsel of food that you lift to your wife’s mouth.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6352; Muslim, 1628.

4 – And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Fear Allaah with regard to women, for you have taken them as a trust from Allaah and intimacy with them has become permissible to you by the words of Allaah. Your right over them is that they should not allow anyone to sit on your furniture whom you dislike; if they do that then hit them but not in a harsh manner. And their right over you is that you should provide for them and clothe them on a reasonable basis.” Narrated by Muslim, 1218.

What is meant by “they should not allow anyone to sit on your furniture whom you dislike” is that they should not allow anyone whom you dislike to enter your houses, whether the person disliked is a man or a woman, or any of the woman’s mahrams [close relatives to whom marriage is forbidden]. The prohibition includes all of them. From the words of al-Nawawi.

The hadeeth may be understood as meaning that a man has the right to hit his wife, in a manner that is not harsh and does not cause injury if if there is a reason for that, such as her going against his wishes or disobeying him.

This is like the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“As to those women on whose part you see ill‑conduct, admonish them (first), (next) refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly, if it is useful); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means (of annoyance). Surely, Allaah is Ever Most High, Most Great”

[al-Nisa’ 4:34]

If a woman rebels against her husband and disobeys his commands, then he should follow this method of admonishing her, forsaking her in bed and hitting her. Hitting is subject to the condition that it should not be harsh or cause injury. Al-Hasan al-Basri said: this means that it should not cause pain.

‘Ata’ said: I said to Ibn ‘Abbaas, what is the kind of hitting that is not harsh? He said, Hitting with a siwaak and the like. [A siwaak is a small stick or twig used for cleaning the teeth - Translator]

The purpose behind this is not to hurt or humiliate the woman, rather it is intended to make her realize that she has transgressed against her husband’s rights, and that her husband has the right to set her straight and discipline her.

6. I challenge you to provide a single Qur'anic verse which allows Muslims to lie to non-Muslims under general conditions. You will not be able to do such. Why?! There is nothing in Islam that permits Muslims to lie to non-Muslims! Muslims can lie during moments of warfare to deceive the enemy, the adage, "war is deception," is universal. the Qur'an says "Be truthful at all times, even if it is against yourselves." This invariably prohibits dishonesty at all times. Another verse says, "So avoid the uncleanliness of false idols, and avoid false statements" (22:30). It doesn't say "avoid false statements except to non-Muslims," rather it's a general prohibition against lying. You are misinterpreting "taqiyyah" which according to Muslim scholars is this: "during periods of religious oppression, Muslims are permitted to verbally deny their religion in order to preserve their life, while retaining Islam in their hearts." This is primarily a religious edict initiated with Shi'a Muslims, as it was conceived by Jaf'ar Al-Siddiq, a Shi'a scholar. The Shi'a comprise less than 20% of the entire Muslim demographic, hence this notion is not widely practiced. However, during periods such as the Spanish Inquisitions, the Crusades, etc this may have been relevant-since Muslims were either forced to renounce Islam or die. In Islam preservation of life is more important than anything else. For instance, Muslims are prohibited from eating port and drinking alcohol, however, if it is a matter of life or death, than the prohibition is lifted.

Yes, Muslims are instructed to indoctrinate their children with Islam. As a parent, every ideology passed towards children is indoctrination/brainwashing. If you teach you children that homosexuality is perfectly normal, despite this being the contrary since primordial times, this is also "brainwashing." To instruct children that men or women having sex with one another is natural, while a significant portion of society says otherwise is nothing less than brainwashing. Instilling traditional morals and ethics is considered "good parenting" it's only when those very ideals contradict another's way of life that it is classified as "brainwashing." Personally, I disagree with homosexuality. How a man can allow something poked up his rear end is beyond me. However, I do not believe that their rights or dignity should be denied because of their lifestyle, nor do I care what they do behind closed doors. Even the Qur'an condemns the act of homosexuality, not the inclination of emotions. If you believe that teaching your children that homosexuality is natural, then surely I (and any other parent)have the right to instill our sense of morality within our children-without it being misconstrued as "brainwashing."

It sounds to me that you are exceptionally ignorant of Islam, and decided to misconstrue the religion in order to justify your participation of indulging in a lifestyle which is not condoned in the religion. You could at least be honest and say you left the religion because you enjoy the same sex, rather than lying about the religion. Now, I challenge you to provide Qur'anic verses that substantiate ALL of your bogus claims which I explained away.

Additionally, my Christian mother frequently boasts to her friends that I have become a far more dutiful son since I converted to Islam, and she will quickly defend Islam when she hears people attacking it.

The Qur'an instructs tolerance towards other faiths and people, especially Christianity and Judaism. Have you not considered why the Qur'an refers to Christianity and Judaism as "ahl al-kitab?" The meaning being "People of the Book." But, "ahl" actually means a "family" or a small group of people residing under the same roof in a family unit." While "kitab" literally means "book," in the theological construct it means "scriptural revelation." The insinuation is that Muslims, Christians, Jews, and other faiths are a family unit connected by God's guidance via revelation. Unlike other faiths, Islam teaches that God sent Prophets and Messengers to every nation, not just one, or a couple.

If you left Islam because you enjoy having other men ramming their penis inside your butt then just say it. Don't create and disseminate lies about an entire religion just to justify your lifestyle.

P.S. I intentionally used that phrase regarding "ramming" in order to convey a particular sensitivity. As mentioned aforetime, I do not believe same sex individuals should be discriminated against in any fashion. Everyone deserves to be treated with equal dignity and respect.