#polemics — Public Fediverse posts

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – Screw It. We’re Gonna Speed Run Surah 2:159-202.

It’s been at least three months since I last wrote a Flippin’ Fatwa Friday post criticizing the Quran. We’ve gotten 158 verses into this thing, though I hoped to be in Surah 3 by now. So, I’m going to switch tactics and instead of going chunk by chunk, I’m just going to speed run a massive chunk of it, picking out the ridiculous stuff so we can finally be done with it sooner.

Starting with Surah 2:159-171, we get a bunch of stuff about Allah’s clear guidance, both as revealed in the Quran and in nature. It talks about how wrong non-Muslims are for not worshipping Allah despite those things, how they’re cursed by Allah and the angels, and how Muslims are to stay faithful to Allah. Real fun stuff.

Moving on from that into Surah 2:172-173, we get some food laws. One would think that the section on food laws would be longer, similar to what we get in the Torah, but no. Instead, we just get two measly verses, which say:

172.O ye who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you, and be grateful to Allah, if it is Him ye worship. 173. He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah. But if one is forced by necessity, without willful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits,- then is he guiltless. For Allah is Oft-forgiving Most Merciful.

Interestingly, the only reason I can think of why these food laws are here is because the Quran is the really bad fanfic of the Bible that tries to be like it but fails miserably. Other than that, I’m not sure why it’s here.

Then we have Surah 2: 174-176, which talks about people concealing Allah’s revelations for profit. These verses aren’t talking about the Quran, but, according to the Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir, are talking about the Jews allegedly hiding verses in the Torah that showed Muhammad to be a prophet. Some Muslims may try to use these verses to show how the Bible has somehow been corrupted, but in the context, it seems that the Quran is talking about them hiding these supposed verses in their oral recitations. It says nothing of the actual text itself.

Verse 177 illustrates how Islam offers a works-based salvation, giving readers a laundry-list of things to do to get in Allah’s good graces. Verses 178-179 talks about equal retribution, but not in the sense that we would think of it. The way we Westerners who have grown up in a world built on Christianity would see equality and justice would be in the sense that all men are made equal in the eyes of God. There is neither slave nor free, man or woman. However, when the Quran talks about it, it’s only referring to equal retribution for your specific group, saying:

178.O ye who believe! the law of equality is prescribed to you in cases of murder: the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the woman for the woman. But if any remission is made by the brother of the slain, then grant any reasonable demand, and compensate him with handsome gratitude, this is a concession and a Mercy from your Lord. After this whoever exceeds the limits shall be in grave penalty.

Surah 2:180-182 talks about what to do with your possessions after you die, and 183-187 talk about Ramadan. I’ve already written a post, on this, which you can check out here.

After that, verse 188 seems to be randomly thrown in, telling people essentially not to usurp other people’s wealth or possessions through various means, before jumping into the topic of times to worship Allah in verse 189 and how to enter a house.

Because how you enter a house is as important to Allah as how you pee. I wish I were joking, but that’s Islam for you.

Surah 2:190-194, however, isn’t so funny, as it commands Muslims to wage jihad. While Muslims will argue that the fighting mentioned here only refers to self-defense in cases of persecution, we need to ask what counts as persecution? Is persecution something that happens when you’re actually being attacked and your life and community is at risk just for existing? Or is it anything that you don’t like, such as mockery, and self-defense on their part? The reason I bring this up is because Islam has had a long history of its followers whining about being persecuted, even though they instigated the attack by mocking or attacking the other side.

As though that wasn’t bad enough, verse 195 then tells Muslims to spend money in the cause of jihad. The Quran literally tells them to finance wars against the infidels.

Finally, verses 196-202 talk about the Hajj, which I’ve also done a post on which you can read here.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – Muhammad was the Gayest Guy in Arabia – Part 3: Momo the Crossdresser.

As we wrap up this month’s series on how Muhammad’s gay tendencies, we need to take a look at one of the weirdest tendencies Muhammad had: crossdressing.

According to Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2813 and Sunan Abi Dawud 4032, Muhammad would wear a mirt made of goat hair. Why is this important? Well, a mirt is a garment that could be made of various things, that was worn by primarily women as a covering.

Already, this is weird. Why is Muhammad wearing clothing that was typically worn by women? But don’t worry, it gets weirder.

According to Sahih Muslim, Hadith Number 4415, Muhammad wouldn’t wear any old mirt. He would often wear his child bride, Aisha’s, mirt. It says:

Narrated by Abdel Malik ibn Shu’aib ibn Laith Ibn Sa’ad, narrated by his father, narrated by his grandfather, narrated by Ukail ibn Khalid, narrated by ibn Shihab, narrated by Yahya ibn Sa’id ibn al-Aas who narrated that Aisha, the wife of the prophet, and Uthman related to him that Abu Bakr requested permission from the prophet to enter when the prophet was lying down on Aisha’s bed WEARING HER GARMENT (mirt). So the prophet gave permission to Abu Bakr to enter while he (Muhammad) was in that state and Abu Bakr finished what he needed and left. Later, Umar came and requested permission to enter and the prophet gave him permission to enter while he (Muhammad) was in that state. So Umar finished what he needed and left. Later, Uthman requested permission to enter to the prophet, so Muhammad sat up and told Aisha, “TAKE ALL THE CLOTHING THAT BELONGS TO YOU.”

So Aisha did as the prophet requested and left. Afterwards, Aisha asked the prophet, “O prophet! Why is it that I didn’t see you anxious when Abu Bakr or Umar came like you were when Uthman came in?”

The prophet replied, “Uthman is a bashful man, and I feared that if I gave him permission to enter in the state that I was in, he would not have finished what he came for.”

Additionally, other hadiths say that Muhammad would receive revelations when he was in Aisha’s mirt. While on most hadith websites like Sunnah.com, the English translation says “blanket” or “covering,” the word used in the Arabic is mirt and in the context of the hadith above, it makes no sense for it to be referring to anything but Muhammad wearing some sort of clothing. Why would Muhammad tell Aisha to take all the clothing that belonged to her when the very bashful Uthman walked in if he was only wearing her blanket? After all, a blanket doesn’t count as clothing. That’s also not mentioning the fact that mirts were never used as blankets.

Now, some people might be wondering how Muhammad could have possibly fit into Aisha’s mirt given the fact that she was a child when she was married to him. The answer is pretty simple: a mirt was a single, large piece of fabric, as shown below. It would have been easy for Muhammad to wear it, especially as Aisha got older (she was 18 when he died).

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin Fatwa Friday – Muhammad was the Gayest Guy in Arabia – Part 3: Miscellaneous Creepy Accounts.

From the last two posts on this, we know that Muhammad had a very strange relationship with the angel Gabriel – who just happened – to look like a dude Muhammad knew who was known for his beauty; and that Muhammad had a midnight rendezvous with not one, not two, but thirty men in the desert. This should be enough evidence that Muhammad was bi, but those weren’t the only accounts that point to him having strange homosexual tendencies. There are loads of accounts of him being creepy towards men and boys scattered throughout numerous authentic hadiths.

#1: Muhammad’s Questionable Stains

It is hard to deny that Muhammad was a nasty person. From telling his followers to drink camel urine to having other people lick his hands clean, he was gross. However, one of the most well-attested reports in the hadith is the report that Aisha – Muhammad’s child bride – had the disgusting job of washing semen off his clothes.

This report appears in numerous hadiths, most notably Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, where several of the accounts are from Aisha herself. She even went in-depth on how she would get it off, saying that if it was still wet, she would wash it off with water, but if it was dry, she would rub, scratch, or pick it off the fabric.

Muslims claim that this hadith is educational, recording what to do if your clothes get stained with any sexual fluid, but the question has to be asked: Where was all this stuff coming from? To answer this, Muslim teachers say that it came from Muhammad sleeping with his wives or other normal causes. However, while this seems like a reasonable explanation at first glance, it doesn’t totally explain how much semen was on his clothes, since Aisha reported that even after washing his clothes, there was still stuff on it.

Though this isn’t totally damning evidence that Muhammad was gay, it does raise a lot of questions that point in that direction.

#2: Sucking on Boy’s Tongues

If you Google this, the main thing that will come up is a hadith about Muhammad allowing his grandkids to suck on his tongue because they were extremely thirsty and there was no water anywhere. Due to this, one would think that, while a strange way of dealing with things, it was at least somewhat justifiable. However, what calls even this into question is the fact that that’s not the only hadith about Muhammad sucking on boy’s tongues. In Mu’awiya Ibn Abu Sufyan 16245 it says:

I saw the prophet – pbuh – sucking on the tongue or the lips of Al-Hassan son of Ali, may the
prayers of Allah be upon him. For no tongue or lips that the prophet sucked on will be tormented (by hell fire).

Al-Hassan was Muhammad’s grandson. This isn’t just gay and pedophilic, it’s insanely creepy on the level of the Dali Lama telling a kid to suck his tongue a few years ago. And for the hadith to go on to say that anyone who sucked on his lips or tongue will be saved from Hell…it sounds like the type of thing someone would say to get some action in the name of salvation, like these creepy cult leaders who demand the women sleep with them to be saved.

That also not mentioning the hadith in which Muhammad puts his tongue in al-Hassan’s mouth for no reason, or the Syrian biography written by Al-Amin Al-Ma’moun that mentions that Muhammad had allowed a kid named Ali to suck on his tongue.

#3: Muhammad Allowed a Guy to Kiss His Chest

In Sunan Abi Dawud 5224, we get a very strange narration in which this happens:

AbdurRahman ibn AbuLayla, quoting Usayd ibn Hudayr, a man of the Ansar, said that while he was given to jesting and was talking to the people and making them laugh, the Prophet (ﷺ) poked him under the ribs with a stick. He said: Let me take retaliation. He said: Take retaliation. He said: You are wearing a shirt but I am not. The Prophet (ﷺ) then raised his shirt and the man embraced him and began to kiss his side. Then he said: This is what I wanted, Messenger of Allah!

I don’t think this is something any straight dude would ever allow.

#4: Muhammad Going to the Bathroom

According to Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 4, Number 152, whenever Muhammad went to the bathroom, he would bring some young boys with him to carry the tumblers of water needed to wash himself. Why would he need to do this? Why did he need the boys to come with him when he could have done it himself? It’s all extremely creepy.

#5: Muhammad and Zahir

In Al Seera Al Halabya by Al Halabya, we read that Muhammad hugged a slave boy from behind:

One day, Muhammad went to the market, there he found Zahir, whom he liked, so he hugged him from behind. Zahir said: let go of me, who are you? Muhammad told him: I’m the slave trader (literally, I’m the one who buys the slaves), and refused to let go of him so when Zahir knew it was Muhammad, he drew (stuck) his back closer to Muhammad’s chest.

Muslims argue that this was all an innocent prank being played by Muhammad, but this seems like a weird thing for a guy to do. To the dudes reading, is this something that straight guys do to prank each other or to express affection? From my knowledge, this is the type of thing that no truly straight guy would ever do.

#6: Muhammad and Young Boys

According to Majma al-Zawa’id, Ali ibn Abu Bakr al-Haythami, 299/9, Muhammad kissed the genitals of a kid named Husein. Need I say more.

#7: The Boys of Paradise

There are numerous verses and passages in the Quran that speak of the various pleasures to be had in Paradise. Several of them pay special attention to the young boys that will work as servers in Paradise. Surahs 52:24, 56:17-18, and 76:19 describe them as “scattered” or “hidden” pearls that will never alter in age. Already, this description is odd, since why would the servers be little boys when they could be anything else entirely, but it gets worse. New York Times columnist Judith Miller writes:

About two weeks before his murder, he mocked what passed for intellectual discourse among Islamists by citing a recent sermon by Egypt’s most popular preacher, Abdel Hamid Kishk, a blind sheikh who constantly attacked both the government and its official religious establishment. Kishk had been telling his audience that Muslims who entered paradise would enjoy ETERNAL ERECTIONS and the company of young boys draped in earrings and necklaces. Some of the ulema, the religious scholars at al-Azhar, the government’s seat of Islamic learning had disagreed. Yes, they said, men in paradise would have erections, BUT MERELY PROTRACTED, NOT PERPETUAL. Other experts disputed the possibility of pederasty in paradise.

That also doesn’t mention Islam’s long history of raping little boys, as well as women and girls that continues to this day in various forms.

It is clear from all of this that Muhammad had homosexual tendencies and even made it something to long for in eternity. Such sexual immorality should make one wonder if Allah truly is God, or if he’s the devil in disguise.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – Muhammad was the Gayest Guy in Arabia Part 1: Dihyah al-Kalbi

It’s June and you know what that means – it’s Pride month. Thus, to take advantage of this month’s unwanted theme, we need to talk about something extremely embarrassing for Islam: the fact that there is significant evidence in the hadiths that Muhammad was not only bisexual, but was a cross-desser.

You read that right. According to the hadiths, the founder of the most antagonistic religion towards the LGBTQ+ community was LGBTQ+ himself. Thus, we’ll look at three of the most damning instances of this recorded in the hadiths over the course of the month, starting with the story of Dihyah al-Kalbi, (a.k.a Dihyah bin Khalifa), one of the strangest people in the hadiths.

Dihyah was a young man from Medina – about 30 years younger than Muhammad – who was known for his looks. Sahih al-Bukhari 3634 describes him as a “handsome person amongst the companions of the prophet” and it’s frequently commented upon in numerous hadiths (including the one quoted) that he looked like the angel Gabriel. For example:

Sahih al-Bukhari 4980:

I was informed that Gabriel came to the Prophet (ﷺ) while Um Salama was with him. Gabriel started talking (to the Prophet). Then the Prophet (ﷺ) asked Um Salama, “Who is this?” She replied, “He is Dihya (al-Kalbi).” When Gabriel had left, Um Salama said, “By Allah, I did not take him for anybody other than him (i.e. Dihya) till I heard the sermon of the Prophet (ﷺ) wherein he informed about the news of Gabriel.” The subnarrator asked Abu Uthman: From whom have you heard that? Abu Uthman said: From Usama bin Zaid.

 Sunan an-Nasa’i 4991:

“The Messenger of Allah [SAW] would sit among his Companions and if a stranger came, he would not know which of them was he (the Prophet [SAW]) until he asked. So we suggested to the Messenger of Allah [SAW] that we should make a dais for him so that any stranger would know him if he came to him. So we built for him a bench made of clay on which he used to sit. (One day) we were sitting and the Messenger of Allah [SAW] was sitting in his spot, when a man came along who was the most handsome and good-smelling of all people, and it was as if no dirt had ever touched his garments. He came near the edge of the rug and greeted him, saying: ‘Peace be upon you, O Muhammad!’ He returned the greeting, and he said: ‘Shall I come closer, O Muhammad?’ He came a little closer, and he kept telling him to come closer, until he put his hands on the knees of the Messenger of Allah [SAW]. He said: ‘O Muhammad, tell me, what is Islam?’ He said: ‘Islam means to worship Allah and not associate anything with Him; to establish Salah, to pay Zakah, to perform Hajj to the House, and to fast Ramadan.’ He said: ‘If I do that, will I have submitted (be a Muslim)?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘You have spoken the truth,’ we found it odd. He said: ‘O Muhammad, tell me, what is faith?’ He said: ‘To believe in Allah [SWT], His Angels, the Book, the Prophets, and to believe in the Divine Decree.’ He said: ‘If I do that, will I have believed?’ The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘You have spoken the truth.’ He said: ‘O Muhammad, tell me, what is Al-Ihsan?’ He said: ‘To worship Allah [SWT] as if you can see Him, for although you cannot see Him, He can see you.’ He said: ‘You have spoken the truth.’ He said: ‘O Muhammad, tell me about the Hour.’ He lowered his head and did not answer. Then he repeated the question, and he did not answer. Then he repeated the question (a third time) and he did not answer. Then he raised his head and said: ‘The one who is being asked does not know more than the one who is asking. But it has signs, by which it may be known. When you see the herdsmen competing in building tall buildings, when you see the barefoot and naked ruling the Earth, when you see a woman giving birth to her mistress. Five things which no one knows except Allah [SWT]. Verily, Allah, with Him (alone) is the knowledge of the Hour up to His saying: ‘Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things).’ Then he said: ‘No, by the One who sent Muhammad with the truth, with guidance and glad tidings, I did not know him more than any man among you. That was Jibril, peace be upon you, who came down in the form of Dihyah Al-Kalbi.'”

 Ash-Shama’il Al-Muhammadiyah 13:

On the authority of Jabir ibn ‘Abdi’llah, that Allah’s Messenger said (Allah bless him and give him peace):

“The Prophets were presented to me, and there was Moses (peace be upon him), a specimen of the men of distinction, as if he were among the men of pure lineage and manly virtue [shanu’a]. I also saw Jesus the son of Mary (peace be upon him), and the nearest I have seen in resemblance to him is ‘Urwa ibn Mas’ud. I also saw Abraham (peace be upon him), and the nearest I have seen in resemblance to him is your Companion (meaning himself). I also saw Gabriel (peace be upon him), and the nearest I have seen in resemblance to him is Dihya.”

 This raises several questions. First of all, why would Gabriel be so vain as to appear in the form of the most handsome man in Arabia? Why not – as an angel – appear in a human form more beautiful than Dihyah if Gabriel was so intent on looking good?

Second, why appear as Dihyah at all when all it would do is just cause confusion? After all, in one account by Ibn Kathir, Gabriel passed by some people and when asked about it, they thought Dihyah had passed them. A similar account is also provided by Ibn Hisham. Wouldn’t it be easier if Gabriel appeared to people as a different dude?

Third, why would Gabriel appear to Muhammad as Dihyah? Why not appear to the prophet of Islam in his usual form? We know from Surah 53:5-18 and numerous hadiths about the revelation of this verse that Muhammad had seen Gabriel’s true form, so why didn’t Gabriel just go with that form?

Now, while the descriptions of Dihyah’s looks alone and the suspicious nature of Gabriel’s appearances as Dihyah don’t prove that Muhammad was bi, it does make this next hadith very suspicious. According to Sahih al-Bukhari 3227,  Sahih al-Bukhari 5960,  Sahih Muslim 2104a,  Sunan Abi Dawud 4157, Sahih Muslim 2105, Sunan Abi Dawud 4158, and other sahih (authentic) hadiths, Gabriel had promised to visit Muhammad at some point during the night. Muhammad waited, but Gabriel never showed up. Later, when Muhammad saw him again, Gabriel explained that he was prevented from coming into the house because there was a dog.

Already, this is very suspicious. Why would Gabriel be meeting Muhammad at night? And why would he be afraid of a dog when, if we’re to believe the Bible, angels aren’t afraid of animals at all?

Well, if we put together all the evidence that “Gabriel” was actually Dihyah al-Kalbi and take a closer look at this story, we can see that this likely wasn’t so much an angelic visit as a homosexual rendezvous. Why else would Dihyah, posing as Gabriel be coming to Muhammad’s house at night and be unable to enter because there was a dog? Likely, he was trying to be sneaky about it and didn’t want the dog barking, alerting everyone to his prescence.

Additional information that makes this story even more suspicious is that it was “Gabriel’s” tendency to visit Muhammad every night during Ramadan. Sahih al-Bukhari 3220 records:

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) was the most generous of all the people, and he used to be more generous in the month of Ramadan when Gabriel used to meet him. Gabriel used to meet him every night in Ramadan to study the Holy Qur’an carefully together. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) used to become more generous than the fast wind when he met Gabriel.

This event isn’t a standalone narration. Similar accounts are found throughout the hadiths, many of them sahih. I guess this was the original “study session,” if you catch my drift. The fact that this happened during Ramadan at night when the ban on fasting from food, drink, and intercourse was over makes this even more suspicious. It conveniently provided a religious cover for Muhammad and Dihyah while also allowing them to be together as everyone else was busy partying.

But trust me. This is only scratching the surface. We have yet to talk about Muhammad running around in Aisha’s mirt or the infamous night of al-Zutt.

Until next time,

M.J.

Gotta say, this is possibly the most beautifully-written #polemics against our current #CompSci state of insanity I've ever read.

Time to write some moody #polemics...

Queueing up "Shiver" by Lucy Rose.

Don't ask me why, it just works for me. I discovered that song while trying to write an honors thesis proposal in undergrad (the last time around). XD

Well, actually, I discovered it from #MushiShi, the #anime. But I discovered that song was useful as a writing mood song when I was writing my honors proposal. XD

https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=1o84y-5-cO0
https://yewtu.be/watch?v=1o84y-5-cO0
https://youtube.com/watch?v=1o84y-5-cO0

#writing #music

https://johntinker.substack.com/p/mapping-quotient-vectors-on-five
#psychology #sociology #politics #ai #dialectics #conflictresolution #polemics #fecklesstemerity #fascism #peacestudies #demographics #powertothepeople

If you want good policy, there's decades of actual literature from #PoliticalScience and #Economics on what actually works.

You want less total plastic? Tax plastic by weight. Want fewer plastic items? Tax plastic by item. Want both? #Tax both.

#PigouvianTaxes actually work!

Tax #bioplastic _less_ than plastic. Because it actually causes less harm.

You know what you can do with that money? Compensate #poor people who are disproportionally impacted by the tax. Though, say, #grocery #subsidies.

I find it really hard to believe that our #politicians don't know any of this. I believe that, instead, the just care a ton more about the #optics of their policies than they care about the #environment or about #poverty.

When #polemics substitutes for #policy it dooms us all.

5/5

Save the date! Our annual Celebration of Collections is taking place on November 9, featuring some heavily annotated books belonging to Yaakov Emden, a 14th century Masoretic Bible on parchment, and polemics in Ladino that were separated and reunited!

https://facebook.com/events/s/norman-e-alexander-celebration/215883144812987/?mibextid=Gg3lNB

#hebrewmss #polemics #mazeldon @bookhistodons

@cbeunas
Let me be the first to say that #WaPo is not a "source" 😀

But the article was one the first to "agglomerate" such a two-third figure from ~activists.
It was in 2008 and then Eric #Zemmour took it to help grow his showing 😠

#FRPol #polemics #commOdon #racePolitics

You can use #mastodon & the #fediverse whilst still being on #Twitter. The #twittermigration is not exclusive.

Now, whilst this is true, I suppose a fair number of people have put behind the constant #TriggeringForClicks, #Polemics that made #Twitter so awful. If you feel you have to cross-post it in the #fediverse then OK but don't force it.

Please
* Content Warn it, or
* Call it #Twitter (don't use funny names), or
* Call it an Elon Musc tweet
Just allow us to filter it easily.

One of my favorite historical religious events is the #Beeldenstorm aka the #IconoclasticFury.

After the #printingpress allowed mass distribution of the #Bible in common language, #tracts and religious #polemics became common. In the mid #16thCentury #Protestants rose up against all the pervasive #Catholic #idolatry and church wealth. They stormed churches throughout the #HolyRomanEmpire, tearing down idols.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeldenstorm

#Iconoclasm
#Histodon