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Determining a good Muslim from a bad Muslim is as easy as comparing them to Muhammad

March 6, 2014 at 8:20 AM 5 comments

Muslims either live as Muhammad did or not and only one way is the correct way

Some argue that these are false Muslims because they are not peaceful. Really?

I think most would agree that a person claiming to be a Christian is immediately compared to the life of Christ. If that person doesn’t exhibit Christ-like traits, it is easy to conclude that he/she is lying or deluded.

People are judged by how they live – what they say and what they do. It simply stands to reason that people who claim to be Christian are judged in this way.

Shouldn’t the same criteria be used with Muslims? Just as it is fair to compare Christians with Jesus, it is also fair to compare Muslims to Muhammad. Therefore, the more we know about Muhammad, the more accurately we will be able to compare his followers with the man himself.

Today, we hear the constant refrain that we cannot judge all Muslims by the actions of “a few” radicals. If a Muslim shows no signs of being violent, then we should assume that they are not violent jihadists. To expect that one day, they will break out in violence is unfair, discriminatory, and bigoted, we are told.

We cannot say that every single Muslim in the world has perpetrated or participated in some violent act that has harmed or even killed innocent people. We can’t even say that every Muslims wants to do something like that. The most we can say is that out of all the terrorist acts that have occurred since the original 9/11, most have been perpetrated by Muslims acting in concert with their belief system.

But what is a Muslim’s belief system, or what should it be if they say they follow Muhammad? Certainly, people believe that all those who call themselves Christian should be loving (whatever that means to the individual making the judgment call), kind, and compassionate. Is there not a similar standard we can use to measure the integrity of the Muslim and if so, are we wrong to do so?

Christians are expected to love others to a fault, to turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, and do anything and everything to win another soul for Christ. After all, didn’t Jesus do that?

Jesus was despised, abused, beaten, condemned, and eventually crucified. In all that, He never responded in kind. He went to His death without complaining. He was (and remains) the epitome of love. It is natural then that the average person looks to the Christian to see what kind of love is evidenced in their life.

How about the Muslim? What type of life should the Muslim live? For the answer, we must look to Muhammad. We must look at the Muslim’s life and compare it to the person they claim to follow. Though we are often told that Islam is the religion of peace, determining how Muhammad actually lived tells us the true story.

We know several important things about Muhammad. First, as an adult, he was associated with a gang who robbed caravans. They overwhelmed people traveling through and took what did not belong to them. Often, these people were killed and women raped.

Muhammad lived much of his adult life as a violent jihadist, often slaughtering entire villages after being rejected by them. He carried a sword and used it often. Jesus carried no weapon and never harmed or took another’s life.

Muhammad took things that did not belong to him, often with force. Jesus never took anything that was not His in the first place.

Muhammad “married” a girl of six-years of age by the name of Aisha. Though he did not consummate the marriage until she was nine, he did “thigh” her for three years up to that time. Today, we call that pedophilia.

Jesus never married and never engaged in sexual intercourse of any kind with anyone.

In the same way a true Christian will attempt to emulate the life of Jesus in all areas, we would rightly expect Muslims to imitate the life of the founder of their faith. Muslims who claim to follow Muhammad have no choice but to endeavor to be like him by living as he lived, violently.

Jesus lived a life of peace and exhibited love. He never threatened anyone, much less physically harmed them. Jesus gave of Himself freely for the benefit of others.

Muhammad lived a life of violence, often taking life and taking spoils not his, for his own benefit. He lived for himself, not others.

Based on the life of Muhammad then, which Muslim today is the true Muslim? Is it the radical or the so-called peaceful Muslim?

We can fall into the trap of debating Muslims over aspects of the Qur’an or the Bible until we run out of breath. While it is important to know what the Qur’an states, the truth of Islam is found in the life of Muhammad, just as for the Christian, it is found in the life of Jesus.

Muslims need to be called out on the realities of Muhammad’s life. The world does it to Christians and they believe they are justified in doing so. Muslims cannot escape this same litmus test or become angered when we arrive at the only logical conclusion.

A true Muslim endeavors to imitate the life of Muhammad. If they don’t, then we need to ask why? They will likely try to redirect us away from such questioning and we need to return to it just as often.

A “peaceful” Muslim is really no Muslim at all because Muhammad himself was not peaceful. Muhammad was a true radical, a warring mercenary. That is the way he lived his life. The Muslims who say they follow Muhammad, yet do not live as he lived are either living a lie or ignorant.

There is only one type of true Muslim. We need look no further than Muhammad to learn that definition.

Entry filed under: Islam. Tags: islam is not peaceful, muhammad a mercenary, muhammad a terrorist, muhammad was violent.