Followers

Friday, March 28, 2008

The Koran

The Koran is basically a group of phrases. The Koran is organized from the smallest phrases to the largest. The Prophet Mohammed lived from around 570 AD until 632 AD and spoke most of the content of the Koran. Since that time, Islamic legal rulings (jurisprudence) has grown around the Koran, in a similar way that U.S. law has grown around the Constitution. Islamic law has been the basis for law in many parts of the Middle East for 1400 years. Islamic scholars have argued over the centuries over which laws are ‘authentic’ and which have been added since 632 AD. ‘Authentic’ means that Mohammed actually spoke the words.

Some of the phrases are considered ‘authentic’ but still can be interpreted in multiple ways. A big part of this problem is because the meaning of words in Arabic is somewhat dependent upon pronunciation. In this way, it is similar to how Chinese words are also dependent upon how the word is spoken. This is the problem with the phrase that describes under what conditions that you may beat your wife. How some of the critical words were spoken can determine if you are to turn away, or actually strike a blow.

Islamic Jurisprudence has helped clarify many of these issues. As desirable as this may seem, we still face many serious problems. As you can tell from this discussion, Islam is not just a religion. Islam is a legal system on top of religion, which is on top of a governmental system. Many of the laws specified in the Koran deal with subjects that involve foreign policy. When to wage war and enter treaties, for example. It also has built in systems to ensure that Islam grows. The Koran has situations where taxes are to be imposed upon infidels.

Many of the problems that we face in Iraq and the Middle East have origins in the Koran and Islamic law. The current U.S. government realizes that many of the laws in ‘authentic’ Islam are hostile to our laws and those of the West. Many of the issues are worth fighting and risking your life for. (Or against) This is why I keep bringing them up. Please note that my efforts are not complete. The # 1 rule of warfare is to know thy enemy. The suicide attackers are all Muslim. It will only help to know what motivates and inspires them.

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