Allahu Akbar! (You Got That Right)

Last week’s hideous murder of British soldier Lee Rigby on a busy London street has led to earnest observations and guidance from all kinds of sources. As you know, two men repeatedly shouted Allahu Akbar! (translated from Arabic: God is greatest!) as they stabbed and chopped the defenseless Rigby. Then one of the men showed off his bloody hands as he boasted via video of the goodness of his deed.

The attack quickly was followed by spokesmen for Islamic organizations and the British government who insisted that the savages of London had no connection whatsoever with Islam. (Well, scratch my head. I guess. If you say so, then it must be true.) Of course, we were then scolded to be tolerant and non-judgmental and not even pass a thought that there just might be even a tiny little problem with Islam.

In connection to all of this, I keep thinking about Ahmed Deedat. Many disciples of Christ probably never have heard of Ahmed Deedat, the famous Islamic apologist. Maybe Deedat should be referred to as a polemicist, as he engaged in intensely snarky arguments to promote Islamic doctrine and belief. His particular energy was devoted to quoting the Qur’an, ridiculing the Bible, mocking Christians and denying the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Unlike some Muslim clerics who directly advocate killing we who are so-called infidels, we who believe in Jesus as the unique and only Messiah, Deedat did not directly advocate killing us. But he hurled nasty ridicule Christ’s way, our way. Deedat and his teachings are highly regarded by many Muslims. On internet discussion boards that I’ve been reading, Deedat is considered a great defender of Islam.

We can ponder a few of Deedat’s jewels from his Combat Kit Course Against Bible Thumpers (http://english.truthway.tv/). Teaching his students in Kenya how to answer Christian evangelists, Deedat cited a portion of Qur’an Surah 3:110 and said, The majority of them (Jews and Christians) are perverted transgressors. The Bible is the most dangerous book on Earth. Keep it under lock and key. Your children must not have access to it. It has an x-rating. It’s rubbish, crap, shit. This is not the book of God. You need an inoculation against the book. (Note: I added the boldface.)

To the claim that parts of the Qur’an actually were copied from the Bible, Deedat said that between the years 1800 and 1950, Christians wrote 16,000 books against Islam. They (Christians) behave like innocent little babes, like children, like cherubims. What do you have (in the Bible) that is worth copying?

Or, consider some of Deedat’s insights in Qur’an or the Bible, which is God’s Word? (http://english.truthway.tv/). Deedat said, There are 10 cases of incest in this book of God (the Bible). The types of incest that you can commit. A textbook if you want to know what types. And as a dessert . . . the whites in my country, in South Africa . . . most of them are Christians. Eight percent of the whites in South Africa commit incest with their own daughters. Thirteen percent of Americans are committing incest with their own daughters.

Deedat does not explain how he gathered these statistics, but similar diatribes are innumerable against the people of the book, as Muslims often derisively refer to Jews and Christians.

Deedat also attacks topics involving historical characters noted in the Bible: There’s rape, not only rape, but how to rape your own sister if you want to. It’s given to you in detail. One of the sons of David said what you must do if you wanted to rape your own sister. Gang rape is there. The crime rate in America increased because of the stories in the Bible. This is what you read and this is the result.

After many years of similar talk, Deedat stopped his work in 1996 when he was hit with a stroke. The stroke left him paralyzed from the neck down. He died in 2005. In the nine years that he lived after the stroke, he could not move or speak. He communicated only through eye movements. Maybe there’s no connection between Deedat’s fate and his hatred of Jesus Christ, his hatred of the Bible and his hatred of the people of Christ. Maybe there is a connection. It is interesting, but I don’t know. We know that Christians and all people suffer all kinds of fates.

I suppose we should just keep repeating, as directed by so many sources, that there is not the smallest connection between Islam and the now many despicable terrorist attacks. Of course, Deedat hated Christ and hated Christians. And so many others hate Christ today and hate Christians today. We disciples of Christ shouldn't need convincing of the direct connection between those who hate Christ and those who hate us. Christ warned us of this. John 15:18-21. No surprises, not anywhere. Not in any of it.