From

The Great Debate

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Before we built this website, I spent a lot of time debating people on Afro-centric message boards. However, I found that many combatants lacked depth or research to their arguments. Since we set this site up I have encouraged our audience to send in thoughtful well researched articles. The "Guest Book" section of our website is not the place for such discussion. Please forward these types of ideas to my email address: mailto:drridge@bellsouth.net. Here we can "get busy". Please read and respond to the articles below.

We thank "Teri" for starting the debate.

Peace, Doc

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From:
"Teri" <teri479@hotmail.com>
Date:
2004/02/24 Tue AM 01:46:04 EST
To:
<drridge@bellsouth.net>
Subject:
Here's the real truth about Islam and Allah!!!

Who is Allah? What are the REAL roots of Islam? Who was Muhammad really? What is the truth about Isaac and Ishmael?

Allah the Moon-God and

The Archaeology of The Middle East:

The religion of Islam has as its focus of worship a deity by the name of "Allah." The Muslims claim that Allah in pre-Islamic times was the biblical God of the Patriarchs, prophets, and apostles. The
issue is thus one of continuity. Was "Allah" the biblical God or a pagan god in Arabia during pre-Islamic times? The Muslim's claim of continuity is essential to their attempt to convert Jews and
Christians for if "Allah" is part of the flow of divine revelation in Scripture, then it is the next step in biblical religion. Thus we should all become Muslims. But, on the other hand, if Allah was a
pre-Islamic pagan deity, then its core claim is refuted. Religious claims often fall before the results of hard sciences such as archeology. We can endlessly speculate about the past or go and dig it
up and see what the evidence reveals. This is the only way to find out the truth concerning the origins of Allah. As we shall see, the hard evidence demonstrates that the god Allah was a pagan
deity. In fact, he was the Moon-god who was married to the sun goddess and the stars were his daughters.

Archeologists have uncovered temples to the Moon-god throughout the Middle East. From the mountains of Turkey to the banks of the Nile, the most wide-spread religion of the ancient world was
the worship of the Moon-god. In the first literate civilization, the Sumerians have left us thousands of clay tablets in which they described their religious beliefs. As demonstrated by Sjoberg and Hall,
the ancient Sumerians worshipped a Moon-god who was called many different names. The most popular names were Nanna, Suen and Asimbabbar. His symbol was the crescent moon. Given the
amount of artifacts concerning the worship of this Moon-god, it is clear that this was the dominant religion in Sumeria. The cult of the Moon-god was the most popular religion throughout ancient
Mesopotamia. The Assyrians, Babylonians, and the Akkadians took the word Suen and transformed it into the word Sin as their favorite name for the Moon-god. As Prof. Potts pointed out, "Sin is a
name essentially Sumerian in origin which had been borrowed by the Semites."

In ancient Syria and Canna, the Moon-god Sin was usually represented by the moon in its crescent phase. At times the full moon was placed inside the crescent moon to emphasize all the phases
of the moon. The sun-goddess was the wife of Sin and the stars were their daughters. For example, Istar was a daughter of Sin. Sacrifices to the Moon-god are described in the Pas Shamra texts.
In the Ugaritic texts, the Moon-god was sometimes called Kusuh. In Persia, as well as in Egypt, the Moon-god is depicted on wall murals and on the heads of statues. He was the Judge of men and
gods. The Old Testament constantly rebuked the worship of the Moon-god (see: Deut. 4:19;17:3; II Kngs. 21:3,5; 23:5; Jer. 8:2; 19:13; Zeph. 1:5, etc.) When Israel fell into idolatry, it was usually
the cult of the Moon-god. As a matter of fact, everywhere in the ancient world, the symbol of the crescent moon can be found on seal impressions, steles, pottery, amulets, clay tablets, cylinders,
weights, earrings, necklaces, wall murals, etc. In Tell-el-Obeid, a copper calf was found with a crescent moon on its forehead. An idol with the body of a bull and the head of man has a crescent
moon inlaid on its forehead with shells. In Ur, the Stela of Ur-Nammu has the crescent symbol placed at the top of the register of gods because the Moon-god was the head of the gods. Even bread
was baked in the form of a crescent as an act of devotion to the Moon-god. The Ur of the Chaldees was so devoted to the Moon-god that it was sometimes called Nannar in tablets from that time
period.

A temple of the Moon-god has been excavated in Ur by Sir Leonard Woolley. He dug up many examples of moon worship in Ur and these are displayed in the British Museum to this day. Harran
was likewise noted for its devotion to the Moon-god. In the 1950's a major temple to the Moon-god was excavated at Hazer in Palestine. Two idols of the moon god were found. Each was a stature of
a man sitting upon a throne with a crescent moon carved on his chest . The accompanying inscriptions make it clear that these were idols of the Moon-god. Several smaller statues were also found
which were identified by their inscriptions as the "daughters" of the Moon-god. What about Arabia? As pointed out by Prof. Coon, "Muslims are notoriously loath to preserve traditions of earlier
paganism and like to garble what pre-Islamic history they permit to survive in anachronistic
terms."

During the nineteenth century, Amaud, Halevy and Glaser went to Southern Arabia and dug up thousands of Sabean, Minaean, and Qatabanian inscriptions which were subsequently translated. In
the 1940's, the archeologists G. Caton Thompson and Carleton S. Coon made some amazing discoveries in Arabia. During the 1950's, Wendell Phillips, W.F. Albright, Richard Bower and others
excavated sites at Qataban, Timna, and Marib (the ancient capital of Sheba). Thousands of inscriptions from walls and rocks in Northern Arabia have also been collected. Reliefs and votive bowls
used in worship of the "daughters of Allah" have also been discovered. The three daughters, al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat are sometimes depicted together with Allah the Moon-god represented by a
crescent moon above them. The archeological evidence demonstrates that the dominant religion of Arabia was the cult of the Moon-god.

In Old Testament times, Nabonidus (555-539 BC), the last king of Babylon, built Tayma, Arabia as a center of Moon-god worship. Segall stated, "South Arabia's stellar religion has always been
dominated by the Moon-god in various variations." Many scholars have also noticed that the Moon-god's name "Sin" is a part of such Arabic words as "Sinai," the "wilderness of Sin," etc. When the
popularity of the Moon-god waned elsewhere, the Arabs remained true to their conviction that the Moon-god was the greatest of all gods. While they worshipped 360 gods at the Kabah in Mecca,
the Moon-god was the chief deity. Mecca was in fact built as a shrine for the Moon-god.

This is what made it the most sacred site of Arabian paganism. In 1944, G. Caton Thompson revealed in her book, The Tombs and Moon Temple of Hureidha, that she had uncovered a temple of the
Moon-god in southern Arabia. The symbols of the crescent moon and no less than twenty-one inscriptions with the name Sin were found in this temple. An idol which may be the Moon-god himself
was also discovered. This was later confirmed by other well-known archeologists.

The evidence reveals that the temple of the Moon-god was active even in the Christian era. Evidence gathered from both North and South Arabia demonstrate that Moon-god worship was clearly
active even in Muhammad's day and was still the dominant cult. According to numerous inscriptions, while the name of the Moon-god was Sin, his title was al-ilah, i.e. "the deity," meaning that he
was the chief or high god among the gods. As Coon pointed out, "The god Il or Ilah was originally a phase of the Moon God." The Moon-god was called al-ilah, i.e. the god, which was shortened to
Allah in pre-Islamic times. The pagan Arabs even used Allah in the names they gave to their children. For example, both Muhammad's father and uncle had Allah as part of their names.

The fact that they were given such names by their pagan parents proves that Allah was the title for the Moon-god even in Muhammad's day. Prof. Coon goes on to say, "Similarly, under
Muhammad's tutelage, the relatively anonymous Ilah, became Al-Ilah, The God, or Allah, the Supreme Being."

This fact answers the questions, "Why is Allah never defined in the Qur'an? Why did Muhammad assume that the pagan Arabs already knew who Allah was?" Muhammad was raised in the religion
of the Moon-god Allah. But he went one step further than his fellow pagan Arabs. While they believed that Allah, i.e. the Moon-god, was the greatest of all gods and the supreme deity in a pantheon
of deities, Muhammad decided that Allah was not only the greatest god but the only god.

In effect he said, "Look, you already believe that the Moon-god Allah is the greatest of all gods. All I want you to do is to accept that the idea that he is the only god. I am not taking away the Allah
you already worship. I am only taking away his wife and his daughters and all the other gods." This is seen from the fact that the first point of the Muslim creed is not, "Allah is great" but "Allah is
the greatest," i.e., he is the greatest among the gods. Why would Muhammad say that Allah is the "greatest" except in a polytheistic context? The Arabic word is used to contrast the greater from
the lesser. That this is true is seen from the fact that the pagan Arabs never accused Muhammad of preaching a different Allah than the one they already worshipped. This "Allah" was the Moon-god
according to the archeological evidence. Muhammad thus attempted to have it both ways. To the pagans, he said that he still believed in the Moon-god Allah. To the Jews and the Christians, he
said that Allah was their God too. But both the Jews and the Christians knew better and that is why they rejected his god Allah as a false god.

Al-Kindi, one of the early Christian apologists against Islam, pointed out that Islam and its god Allah did not come from the Bible but from the paganism of the Sabeans. They did not worship the
God of the Bible but the Moon-god and his daughters al-Uzza, al-Lat and Manat. Dr. Newman concludes his study of the early Christian-Muslim debates by stating, "Islam proved itself to be...a
separate and antagonistic religion which had sprung up from idolatry." Islamic scholar Caesar Farah concluded "There is no reason, therefore, to accept the idea that Allah passed to the Muslims
from the Christians and Jews." The Arabs worshipped the Moon-god as a supreme deity. But this was not biblical monotheism. While the Moon-god was greater than all other gods and goddesses,
this was still a polytheistic pantheon of deities. Now that we have the actual idols of the Moon-god, it is no longer possible to avoid the fact that Allah was a pagan god in pre-Islamic times. Is it any
wonder then that the symbol of Islam is the crescent moon? That a crescent moon sits on top of their mosques and minarets? That a crescent moon is found on the flags of Islamic nations? That
the Muslims fast during the month which begins and ends with the appearance of the crescent moon in the sky?

Conclusion

The pagan Arabs worshipped the Moon-god Allah by praying toward Mecca several times a day; making a pilgrimage to Mecca; running around the temple of the Moon-god called the Kabah; kissing
the black stone; killing an animal in sacrifice to the Moon-god; throwing stones at the devil; fasting for the month which begins and ends with the crescent moon; giving alms to the poor, etc.

The Muslim's claim that Allah is the God of the Bible and that Islam arose from the religion of the prophets and apostles is refuted by solid, overwhelming archeological evidence. Islam is nothing
more than a revival of the ancient Moon-god cult. It has taken the symbols, the rites, the ceremonies, and even the name of its god from the ancient pagan religion of the Moon-god. As such, it is
sheer idolatry and must be rejected by all those who follow the Torah and Gospel!

Allah is a false, pagan moon-god from Mecca who married a sun goddess--Allah is NOT the one, true God of the Jews and Christians!
Muhammad was a prophet of the false Moon-god Allah, and the Koran is a LIE! Everything Muhammad taught in the Koran is completely false and backwards, and the main reason why the false
teachings in the Koran were created dates back to God's sacred covenant with Isacc and Abraham!

Isaac vs. Ishmael--The Heart of the Conflict:

The Bible states that the last great battle will put Israel against the rest of the Middle East and its allies. How did it all begin and why have they remained mortal enemies for thousands of years?

Conflict between the two sons of Abraham began from the very start. In Genesis, chapter 21:9, it says the conflict began just after Isaac was weaned: "Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the
Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking."

Ishmael, now a teenager, was mocking the infant Isaac, the Bible tells us. Ishmael had been "born according to the flesh" and Isaac had been "born according to the promise" (Galatians: 4).
Ishmael was replaced by Isaac as the favored son and heir. This made him jealous and bitter. As a result, he mocked and disdained his half-brother. Eventually the situation became so intolerable
that Sarah demanded that Ishmael and his Egyptian concubine mother, Hagar, be expelled permanently from Abraham’s family.

But the Lord loved Hagar and her son and had mercy upon them. God promised her son would beget twelve princes who would become a great nation. Ishmael went to live in the wilderness region of
Hejaz in what became known as the Arabian Peninsula. He indeed had twelve patriarchal sons who became associated with the peoples known as Midianites, Edomites, Egyptians and Assyrians.
Here the Bible and Islamic tradition both agree that Ishmael became the leader of all the great desert peoples of the Middle East.

Obviously God provided many opportunities in this story for redemption of bad situations created mostly out of disobedience and lack of faith. Abraham agreed to impregnate Hagar at the request of
his wife Sarah. To be fair to Ishmael, God provided him a great kingdom of his own to the east of his brother, but it was never enough. Ishmael’s descendants have always been jealous that Isaac’s
descendants and Isaac’s descendants alone--faithful men like Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon and David--were able to claim the full inheritance of Abraham.

It is this jealously and resentment that have created a hate that has no parallel in history. This hatred has continuously set off wars and atrocities for four thousand years. And it is that title deed to
the land of Israel, which God promised to Abraham’s lineage, that has been the source of the friction between the Jews and the Arabs right up to this very moment.

Muslims believe the Jews changed and distorted the Bible in order to establish themselves as the heirs of Abraham’s Covenant blessings. However, they fail to explain how the New Testament,
written by Christians who had no motive for following Jewish falsifications, clearly teaches that the Covenants were made to Isaac and his descendants.

According to Islamic tradition, Abraham had eight sons rather than two. They say they were reared in Mecca not Hebron. They say it was Ishmael, not Isaac, whom Abraham was about to sacrifice
on Mount Moriah when an angel stopped him. According to the Koran, the Abrahamic covenant, with its promises-including the title deed to the land of Israel-was passed down to the Arabs through
Ishmael, rather than to the Jews through Isaac.

But, if you believe the Old and New Testaments were written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God as they claim, then there is no question that Israel is the Promised Land of the Jews. And
God’s words to Abraham in Genesis are some 2,500 years older than the creation of Islam.

"Sarah your wife shall bear you a son," God tells Abraham in Genesis I7: I9-2I. "And you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his
descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I
will make him a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac. . ."

God fulfilled His promise to Abraham. He fulfilled His promise to Isaac. And He fulfilled His promise to Ishmael. In fact, God gave much more land to Ishmael than He did to Isaac. He also made
salvation available to his descendants. But they were never satisfied with God’s blessings and few accepted His salvation. Therefore, The Holy Land of Israel rightfully belongs to the Jews--NOT the
Arabs!
God established His holy covenant with Isaac and his descendents, He did NOT establish it with Ishmael and his Muslim descendents!

Christianity is the only TRUE religion, and The Holy Bible is the only TRUE Word of God:

Know that there is a god who loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16)

(Jesus speaking}" I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" (that it might be full and meaningful) (John 10:10)

Confess that you are a sinner. Your sin separates you from experiencing god's love and plan for your life.

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

"For the wages of is death" (Romans 6:23)

Believe and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Then you will begin to experience and know God's love.

"But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become the children of God.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved" (Acts 16;31)

Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." (John 14:6)

Pray a prayer of confession and acceptance.

"Lord Jesus, I need You. I give myself to You and want to receive You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You for forgiving my sins. Take control of my life for I want to live for You. Make me the kind of
person You want me to be. Amen."

GET SAVED, IT ONLY TAKES 1 MINUTE, SO DO IT NOW!!!

Getting saved is so simple, but man tends to complicate it. It’s so easy, it's free, and all you need to do is ask God. Just say the simple prayer below.

"I come to You God in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. I now accept Your gift of salvation and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I confess that I am a sinner and ask You to forgive my
sins and I commit my soul into Your hands."

THAT'S IT, YOU'RE SAVED! There's nothing really complicated about it! Your name has been written in God's Book of Life.
Right now, Satan is probably telling you this can't be true. Well, don't let Satan trouble your thoughts, you're saved! Hold onto your confession, don't let anyone tell you differently. Remaining true to
Jesus Christ is your key to salvation. Welcome to the family of God!

There is one other important thing you need to do.

Jesus says, "Whosoever confesses Me before men, so will I also confess him before My Father in Heaven." Matthew 10:32.

Therefore, confess Him before someone today and spread the good news around! Remember, Jesus will acknowledge you before God the Father if you acknowledge Him first, but He will also deny
you if you deny Him before the world of men! So don't deny Christ and remain faithful to His side now and forevermore!

Here are a few of the most commonly asked questions people have when they first get saved.

1.) What if I don't feel any differently right away?

Some people feel differently, while others don't feel anything just yet. Don't be so concerned with a sudden, drastic change of feeling, you don't always have to have signs or miracles right off the bat
to be convinced. As long as you said the prayer of salvation, that's all that matters! A popular misconception most unbelievers have, is that God must part the sea or move a mountain in order to
prove Himself to the world. Sure, God has done these things and more before, but He wants you to act on faith--not just accept Him simply based on mindblowing miracles! God doesn't always have
to move a mountain before your very eyes in order to convince you of His worth or existence--just trust in Him, that's what He wants and expects the most from you. And furthermore, don't be afraid
of God. He is your best friend, as well as your Master Creator! Come boldly to Him, for He knows you better than you know yourself, and He knows your needs as well. Question Him on things you
don't understand, ask Him to help you with your daily problems and struggles--you can always count on Him for anything. Just believe and act on faith, and Jesus Christ will be right by your side
always--even in your darkest hours. Never rely on your human reasoning, just act on his word.

2.) If it's so easy and fail-proof, why don't more people get saved?

One reason is that Satan gets his 2 cents in and convinces people that, "There is no God", or they are not "good enough" to talk to God. Satan deceives people and twists everything into a pack of
lies to suit his own evil desires! Satan is the "Master Manipulator"!

As simple as this is for some people, there are millions who just will not accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour! It makes no sense that some people would rather risk spending an eternity in
Hell than accept Jesus as their Saviour, but many unsaved people are like that. It's such a tragedy--especially considering the inevitable fact that when their time is up in the world they will still have
to face Jesus Christ in their final judgement hour! Of course, in that tragic moment, it will be too late for them to get saved--for there will be NO more second chances! Satan has claimed the deed to
their soul, and that is something that should NEVER happen to anyone! Satan has hardened their hearts with rebellious pride, fear, resentment, and disbelief. Satan has even confused and misled
them with false religious, social, political, and scientific issues! The Devil is the "Master of Lies and Deception", therefore, do NOT believe or follow any of his nonsense! Just trust in Jesus Christ, for
He is the only truth!

3.) Can't I just wait until I'm old and on my deathbed to repent and get
saved?
That has always been one of Satan's biggest lies! "Just wait until later," Satan whispers in your ear, "if you do it now you'll have to start going to church, reading the Bible, or start being a
goody-goody, and all your friends and family will think you're a religious, fanatical nut!" Satan will fill your head with nonsense, lies, doubt, fear, intimidation, and even try to make you feel too
embarrassed to mention Jesus's name! The Devil will do anything to turn you away from Christ, so DON'T let him!

Here's what the Bible says about being saved:

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Romans 10:9.

Jesus also says, "Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest
unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.

Remember, Jesus Christ DOES want a relationship with you right now and He is knocking on the door to your heart--all you have to do is open the door and let Him in! Remember, God Himself has
declared that no one can receive eternal salvation and enter the Kingdom of Heaven EXCEPT through His Son Jesus Christ! Only by accepting Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as your personal
Saviour and obeying His true teachings can you truly become saved! Don't allow Satan to lie to you anymore with his nonsense and deception, you must believe the truth--and the truth is Jesus
Christ! Believe, accept, and follow Jesus Christ's teachings and you shall inherit the Kingdom of God. "For no man shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, except through My Son, Jesus Christ," thus,
says the Lord God in Heaven.
Jesus Christ IS the truth, the way, and the life. He shall rule forever and ever, for He is the Lord of lords and King of kings! Get to know Jesus today and let Him show you the path to eternal
salvation. Choose Jesus Christ today and be saved forever! God bless you!

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Re: "Here's the real truth about Islam and Allah!!!" by Teri

To get this debate started let's read: THE ORIGINS OF "ALLAH" by Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi at http://www.sharif.org.uk/allah.htm

Peace, Doc

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