Idolatry

Thank you Almustafa for your response.

Shortly after posting I did come across the page you quoted regarding the instructors - I should have looked more carefully before posting and I apologize for this.

I did read your response, as well as the response you linked to at the bottom of your reply. I appreciate the time you have taken to complete these. However, with much respect, I feel the response did not address the core of my concern - that the prophet Muhammad is erected as (or treated as) a psychological idol. Perhaps I might add a context of my own life experience to drive at the core of my concern.

I met a Muslim women a number of years ago - myself having known nothing about Islam at the time. We started to have a relationship wherein she opened up and offered to me experiences in her life that she has not shared with anyone else.

She was raped when she was around six years of age. She was later forced into an arranged marriage wherein her Muslim husband beat her repeatedly until she couldn't take it anymore - she describing him as a "complete monster" - and fled to marry a non-Muslim. Her family disowned her and informed her that she was "dead" to them and they no longer have a daughter. Her marriage did not work out and her parents gave her an ultimatum wherein she could only return home and re-join the family if she agreed to be incorporated as part of a business transaction - that she would be given as a wife to finalize the deal.

There are more elements to this but this just a general overview. As any human being can imagine, this is exceeding unfortunate, especially given how wonderful of a person she is.

She told me that her and I could not possibly have a relationship unless I were a Muslim, as she couldn't bare to go through what she went through once already with her family. She told me she is not concerned about my own being a Muslim t all (she confided that I was a better person than "them" as she termed) This is want prompted me to start looking into Islam.

I started by looking at the central figure of Islam - the sunnah (life biography) of Muhammad as recorded by Ibn Ishaq (transcribed by A. Guillaume), some Hadith, and understanding the historical creation/compilation of the Qur'an. I spent the past four years researching these two things; having collected/read dozens of works dealing with the language of the Qur'an including Luxenberg, Crone, Luling etc. and found some startling things.

I found the original language of the Qur'an to be derived from the Syriac language - that the diacritical markings were added much later, and that current copy of the Qur'an has many differences to earlier copies. I also found that when the original Syriac is applied to the Qur'an, entire suras/passages are completely mistranslated. I also found that a proper application of the underlying Syriac clarifies all of the mysterious passages which even to this day Muslim scholars are at a loss of words to interpret.

These things run in stark contrast to the fundamental claims of Islam - that the Qur'an is the perfect, inerrant, unaltered word of god. This claim (with much respect) is simply not true, and this was the first alarm bell for me in researching Islam leading into the life of Muhammad.

According to the treatise of Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad frequently engaged in sexual activities resulting in the spilling of the seed. He gave his armies orders to take captive women for use as sex slaves but not to ejaculate inside of them, but rather outside. And as the student-writer in the other thread correctly pointed out (to which there is not yet a reply) it is documented that A'isha frequently washed semen from the clothes of Muhammad. When we incorporate these elements with the Qur'anic claim that Muhammad is to be treated as a "perfect pattern of conduct" and many Muslims today use Muhammad as justification for such things as child marriage and even pedophilia (intercourse with girls nine years old or older) everything started to make sense in my mind tying it all back to my experience I had with this Muslim women.

In this context many things are made clear for me: namely that the protectionism surrounding Muhammad (that he may not be depicted or spoken ill of) is actually a bi-product of idolatry itself - people are still killed to this day should they question anything Muhammad said or did in accordance to Sharia (no doubt based on the multiple assassinations Muhammad ordered of the poets of his day who likewise challenged his morals). We observe such terms as "Islamophobia" thrown toward critics of Islam (once again in accordance to Sharia curtailing criticisms of Islam) essentially labeling people as bigots. We observe women continue to be degraded and beaten (based on specific injunctions found not only in the Qur'an but the objective sunnah / Hadith of the "sayings" and "doings" of Muhammad). We observe two permanent divides in humanity (Sunni/Shia and Believer/Unbeliever now responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions which I alluded to in the first post) and, if one looks carefully, an all-out assault on Western democracy utilizing various form of Islamic-inspired non-military jihad involving infiltration of politics, social engineering, emigration-based, extraction of taxpayer dollars for use in social services such as housing etc. It is all connected to fundamental doctrines in Islam - notwithstanding that the Qur'an is intentionally arranged out-of-order to conceal the systemic and progressive pattern of how to invade and undermine a country from within. It seems the vast majority of Muslims themselves don't understand these things and why they exist in the form they do.

Now within this context; given that the Qur'an is actually mistranslated from Syriac; given that the record of Muhammad specifically instructs men to take females as sex slaves involving ejaculation; given that the Qur'an instructs people to take Muhammad and his "pattern of conduct" as a fixed (graven) framework upon which to base ones own life; and given that, indeed, hundreds of millions are dead, humanity is permanently divided in many ways, and people are killed for questioning the legitimacy of the Qur'an / Muhammad, my question remains: is Muhammad not an idol unto the people which serves the purpose of establishing/expanding (as we know, until the entire planet submits to Islam) an empire? If Muhammad were not a psychological idol, why is there so much protection around him? Why are people killed for engaging in criticisms of his ways? Why is Islam obsessed with subjugating everyone/everything under their rule based on (what is clearly) man-made laws that comprise the Sharia?

These are all questions that can hardly be addressed by the sweeping suggestion that 'many Muslims are ignorant of the gnostic basis of the Qur'an' etc. or similar assertions. Whereas where I am coming from - that perhaps Muhammad is a psychological idol which Muhammadans fixate themselves unto thereby perpetuating divisiveness based on false pretenses (perfection of the Qur'an, Muhammad's perfect example etc.).

The power of honesty brings with it predictive power - to understand the core mechanism and how it produces certain behaviors (as in the case of Islam) one can predict the future. I'm not sure if this is strictly what is termed 'clairvoyance' but the future seems clear to me - Islam will continue to impose itself on the rest of the world as it has been since its inception. It will continue to bring divisiveness owing to its central divisions within itself; it will continue to utilize the prophet Muhammad to justify killing people for questioning, taking of sex slaves, entering into girls nine years of age, subjugating all others, coveting of goods etc. It will be at the center of civil wars - and indeed perhaps WWIII should Islam continue to remain rooted in its idolatry of Muhammad. There are already rallies in Muslim-majority countries yielding signs "Muhammad is our leader!" which is a perfect example of idolatry - they are treating this man as an icon/figure at the center of war, hatred, divisiveness etc. Women will continue to suffer in Islam; Muhammad's decree that women can not refuse their husbands unless ill or menstruating carries with it the notion that women are to serve men's sexual desire - a draw to Islam that is favorable to only men. These are all things which are easily seen due to an honest understanding of the doctrine of Islam if it is viewed in its proper light, but the greatest obstacle I see is Islam being honest with itself. To turn ones head away from the fact that hundreds of millions are dead, women are suffering, yet to somehow suggest that the deliverance of Islam to humanity has benefited man moreso than it has harmed man is rather dishonest.

I apologize for the long reply but it seems there are fewer and fewer mediums through which people like myself can express (perhaps challenge) such things as (what I consider to be) entire institutions based on idolatry. If I have learned anything from Islam and the "example" of Muhammad, it is what happens to people (who do not understand the original teachings of the Torah) that pervert them to their own likeness and how to recognize things such as idolatry and false testimony, coveting of goods/women, neglect of sabbath etc. and how it sets in motions a progressive separation from the unity of creation - not the other way around. I understand this happens in all institutions - but Islam is a particularly unique institutionalization. I do not wish to insult by these things, but for me Islam has served as a practical model which can be used to inform our inner being to see how other people are fallen by such things as idolatry. My only wish is to help (in any way I can) bring an end to human suffering on this planet, but this requires honesty. I feel the religion of Islam is not honest with itself; it has not any mechanism with which to utilize for self-analysis, self-criticisms, adjudications etc. but rather utilizes blaming everything else for its woes - Christians, Jews, unbelievers, the West, Satan, Jinn etc. but never itself. Owing to its treatment of non-Muslims as inferior, to even suggest as much as a non-Muslim would never amount to anything aside from instigating further adoption of ego-inspired stances and behaviors by Muslims.

To close - I only ever had one, what one might call 'mystical' experience in my life. I was alone reflecting on these matters as I often do (there is not a weight heavier in my heart than how my Muslim friend was treated in her life owing to the institution of Islam) and I heard a voice within myself - not an audible voice in the form of speech, but like a flash of inspiration in the form of a sentence - that stated very clearly and bluntly 'use your words of power to persuade the righteous'. It is reflecting on such things that has led me to undertake the task of learning the original Hebrew and reading the Torah; the basis of all such scriptures and alleged prophets, which in turn has led me to this site. I once again apologize if my words prompt any ill feelings, but I feel we need to speak honestly about what Islam "is" and not what Islam "ought" to be based on a comprehensive gnostic understanding. In the meantime, my question will continue to stand - are figures/icons such as Muhammad not merely psychological idols?

Thank you for your time.

I am sorry to hear about your experiences. They are certainly common and demonstrate with exactitude how literal interpretations of religion are degenerated and produce suffering.

We will emphasize, however, that all religions, in their origin, contain the gnostic wisdom, including Islam. Samael Aun Weor spoke of Prophet Muhammad as a suprasexual, not an adulterer, polygamist, and sexual degenerate.

Suprasexuality is the result of sexual transmutation. Christ, Buddha, Dante, Zoroaster, Mohammed, Hermes, Quetzalcoatl, and many other great masters were Suprasexual....

The most ineffable part of Mohammedan mysticism is Persian Sufism. It has the merit of struggling against materialism and fanaticism and against the literal interpretation of the Koran. The Sufis interpret the Koran from the esoteric point of view as we, the Gnostics , interpret the New Testament. -Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony

We have resources and material that can explain this aspect of the gnostic teachings for you.

It seems the vast majority of Muslims themselves don't understand these things and why they exist in the form they do.

This is precisely the point. The public form of the religion is degenerated and does not represent the conscious values given to the initiates through the symbolic language of the scriptures.

We do not defend Islam nor concern ourselves with saving the tradition, to preach what it "ought" to be. What we are doing for our students is extracting the gnostic doctrine within the corpse of the religion, explaining the gnostic wisdom within it, just as we have done for Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.

Do not conflate the esoteric, gnostic doctrine within the cadaver of Islam: the misinterpretations of fanatical people who only see the dead letter (and are thereby killed by it).

He it is Who has sent down the Book upon thee; therein are signs [verses] determined; they are the Mother of the Book [a reference in the Qur'an to the Tarot, the Torah, the laws of the sacred arcana, especially the High Priestess), and others symbolic. As for those whose hearts are given to swerving, they follow that of it which is symbolic, seeking temptation and seeking its interpretation. And none know its interpretation save God and those firmly rooted in knowledge (marifah in Arabic, gnosis in Greek, Da'ath in Hebrew). They say, "We believe in it: all is from our Lord." And none remember save those possessors of understanding (Binah). –Al-Imran 7

It's important to remember that there have been (and continue to be) innumerable hasnamussen – black magicians with a double center of gravity in the Middle East – who have worked and are working very hard to destroy the gnostic teachings. This has occurred in many ways, one of them being the proliferation of degenerate hadith.

Lastly, and yes, humanity has made of Prophet Muhammad an idol that people worship in hell, which is why Dante depicted him in the inferno of the Divine Comedy. Yet this does not mean that the actual Master is in hell, only the mental representation people have of him due to their fanaticism, divisiveness, perversity, and confusion.