Islam
General Islam
A Declaration of Women’s Rights in Islamic Societies (1997) (Off Site)
Ibn Warraq on the World Trade Center Atrocity (2001) (Off Site) by Ibn Warraq
The Terrors of Islam (1994) (Off Site) by Antony Flew
Jihad and Civilization – Part 1 (The Battle of Badr) (1999) (Off Site) by Anwar Shaikh
Negationism and the Muslim Conquests (1999) (Off Site) by Francois Gautier
New Secularism in the Arab World by Ghassan F. Abdullah
Protocols of the Followers of Baha’ullah (2001) (Off Site) by Abdu’l-Bab as-Sahyuni
Flew argues that Islam is one of the “Great and terrible systems of divinity and philosophy that lie round about us, which, if true, might drive a wise man mad.” He demonstrates the Koranic basis for Islamic hatred of infidels and then points out why this religion is not credible.
“Not all Muslims or all Arabs are terrorists. Nor are they implicated in the horrendous events of Tuesday. Police protection for individual Muslims, mosques and other institutions must be increased. However, to pretend that Islam has nothing to do with Terrorist Tuesday is to willfully ignore the obvious and to forever misinterpret events. Without Islam the long-term strategy and individual acts of violence by Usama bin Laden and his followers make little sense.”
An article from the May 1999 issue of the monthly newsletter of the Internet Infidels. The author brings to light a growing movement of secular writings in Arabic despite strong Islamist opposition. Many assume there are very few secular minded people within the Islamic world, but Abdullah’s article mentions many people and writings who dared to challenge Islam.
Religious Attitudes toward the Disabled (2015) by Michael Moore
In this essay Michael Moore provides ample evidence that discrimination against the handicapped is often doctrinally justified in all five of the major world religions today. Moore cites not only direct scriptural support for discriminatory attitudes toward the disabled, but also actual instances of such discrimination by religious perpetrators and even apologists’ use of explicit arguments for holding handicapped persons in low regard. The specific example of religiously inspired discrimination against the disabled illustrates the more general point that believers can use scripture to rationalize virtually any human behavior.
The Skeptic’s Annotated Quran (Off Site)
“It is time for us all to stop believing in, or pretending to believe in, a book that is unworthy of belief.”
Toplumsal Geriliklerimizin Sorumlulari: Din Adamlari [ Index ] by Ilhan Arsel
Anwar Shaikh, a popular critic of Islam in India, discusses the true meaning of Jihad (Jehad). Shaikh cites the battle of Badr between Muhammad’s followers, and an army of Arab warriors there to protect a commercial caravan. For related material, see Shaik’s book ISLAM: The Arab Imperialism.
Gautier discusses negationism, which he defines as “the denial of historical crimes against humanity”, in Muslim-Hindu conflict. The article classifies the Muslim invasion of India as a Holocaust inflicted on the Hindu “infidels”. Although it is not part of the Secular Web, the article has a link leading back to this page.
In the 1930s, Ismail Adham wrote Limaza ana Mulhid? (“Why I am an Atheist”). Numerous Muslims assume Ilhad (Atheism) is strictly a reaction to Christianity, and that Atheists are wholly ignorant of Islam’s truth. This article is an attempt to answer all those Muslims who asked something along the lines of “well, yeah, I understand you don’t believe in Christianity, but why not Islam?” Basic atheist arguments are applied to the concept of Allah.
This article gives a short run through numerous atrocities that Muslims have committed against the gentle Baha’is. The persecution that Baha’is suffer in today’s many Islamic countries is very similar to the persecution Jews suffered in medieval Christendom. This includes mass hysteria and hatred that is corroborated by forged documents not unlike the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Reviews of Why I Am Not a Muslim
Review of Why I Am Not a Muslim by Ibn al-Rawandi
The problem with a book such as this is that it will most likely never reach those most in need of it. That is to say young people in general and young Muslims in particular, those whose minds have not already been closed by fanaticism. How many libraries will stock it, or dare to stock it if they knew its contents? A hardback at over twenty pounds, published by an American publisher, is not likely to find its way on to high-street book shelves alongside all those uncritical, paperback apologies for Islam that seem to be appearing in ever increasing numbers. What is needed is more books like Ibn Warraq’s, published by British publishers, at reasonable prices and with good distribution. But dare they do it?
Turning away from Mecca: A Review of Why I Am Not A Muslim (1996) (Off Site) by Antony Flew
Renowned philosopher Antony Flew gives a short but positive review of the book, and argues that it should be in libraries everywhere.
Qur’an and Hadith
Cosmology and the Koran: A Response to Muslim Fundamentalists (2001) by Richard Carrier
Muslim Fundamentalists are fond of claiming that the Koran miraculously predicted the findings of modern science, and that all of its factual scientific claims are flawless. There are two important objections to this claim that I will make, one pointing to a general problem, the other a specific example of the failure of the claim.
Introduction to Hadith (1999) (Off Site) by Steven Carr
Steven Carr’s wonderful introduction to the absurdity of the ahadith (singular: hadith) was written by an Atheist for Atheists. The article is a short collection of traditions that highlight the silliness of the base of Islamic law and culture. Also note that Mr. Carr’s thoughts on the Qur’an can be found off site here: [1] [2]
Islamic Science: Does Islamic literature contain scientific miracles? by Denis Giron
Over the last decade growing numbers of Muslims have declared the Qur’an to be a book filled with scientific miracles that demonstrate it is of divine origin. Numerous web sites, books and videos have been produced that proclaim Islam to be truly a religion of divine origin, citing “scientifically accurate” statements in the Qur’an and Hadiths. The author critically examines this claim and concludes that the numerous and obvious scientific errors within the Qur’an point to a wholly human origin. A similar article, written by another author, is The Miracle of Reinterpretation (off site).
The Koran Predicted the Speed of Light? Not really. (2002) by Richard Carrier
Yet another bogus claim about the Koran (this time, it predicted the speed of light!). The claim is analyzed and debunked.
Predicting Modern Science: Epicurus vs. Mohammed (2004) by Richard Carrier
Michael Corey claimed in a recent debate that the Koran predicted the expanding universe. But did it? Only if you employ a liberal reading of the original text. Carrier uses the same interpretive methods on the poetry of Lucretius to show that Epicurus was a far more amazing prophet of modern science than Mohammed. Yet if Mohammed really had a pipeline to God, surely he would have done better than a mere mortal who used nothing more than human reason and observation.
Qur’an: A Work of Multiple Hands? by Denis Giron
Biblical criticism, often applied to Judeo-Christian texts, is here applied to the Qur’an. What is often assumed by Muslims to be the word of Allah, or by many critics to be the word of Muhammad, is proposed by the author to be a compilation of variant traditions, possibly with multiple authors. Mr. Giron addresses the many contradictions and conflicting statements found within the Qur’an, the tendency of Muslim apologists’ to sacrifice their intellectual integrity in order to salvage their cherished beliefs as found within other religions, and examines many multiple stories within the Qur’an itself, all which differ in detail. In conclusion, the author repeats the claim that the Qur’an is “the product of belated and imperfect editing of materials from a plurality of traditions.”
Super-Scientific Religious Scriptures! (Off Site) by Avijit Roy
This article debunks claims made about the scientific accuracy of the Qur’an.
What is the Koran? (1999) (Off Site) by Toby Lester
Researchers with a variety of academic and theological interests are proposing controversial theories about the Koran and Islamic history, and are striving to reinterpret Islam for the modern world. This is, as one scholar puts it, a “sensitive business.”
See also: Related Sites