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The Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran

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If I had a nickel for every jihadist who wanted to kill Robert Spencer'well, you get the idea. If you don't believe Islam is a threat to infidels, or non-believers, try reading The Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran in front of a mosque and see what happens. Spencer's book explains why it happens, and the why is directly related to what is written in the Koran as it purports to be the absolute words of Allah. Not a single word can be disputed in the Koran for to do so would be apostasy, which is grounds for divorce from life, and an eternal sentence in hell where 'Surely, those who disbelieved in Our verses (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.). We shall burn the in Fire. As often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for other skins that they may taste the punishment. Truly, Allah is Ever Most Powerful, All-Wise. (4:56). As Spencer states, 'For more than a billion Muslims, the Koran is the unadulterated, pure word of Allah, eternal and perfect, delivered through the angel Gabriel to the prophet Muhammad.' The Koran attracts many converts to Islam and it 'must be treated with the greatest reverence,' and Spencer tells us that Muslims will not even touch the Koran unless they are in a state of purity.

But Spencer also discusses how some have compared this holy book to Hitler's Mein Kampf, like the late Oriana Fallaci, an Italian journalist who said, 'the Koran is the Mein Kampf of a religion which has always aimed to eliminate the others.' Winston Churchill, on the other hand, compared Mein Kampf to the Koran, calling it 'the new Koran of faith and war: turgid, verbose, shapeless, but pregnant with message.' And concurrent to this review, Geert Wilders, a Dutch parliamentarian, is on trial in defense of his freedom of speech for calling upon his country to: 'ban this wretched book like Mein Kampf is banned.'
The deep, disturbing question Spencer attempts to answer in this book is whether or not the Koran incites believers to violence. Osama bin Laden's communiqués have quoted the Koran to justify his acts of terror. Spencer talks about the 'Verse or the Sword' verse 9:5 and how it is often used this way: 'Then when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive) and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.' In other words, you can kill the nonbelievers once the holidays are over, but if they convert to Islam, or pay the poor-tax (the jizya, which must be paid as a form of submission), then they get to live.

But many Muslims and their apologists claim that Islam is a religion of peace. That is true if you add the words 'for Muslims' at the end of the sentence that quote from the Koran to justify that statement. According to the Koran, all verses (called suras), that came earlier in Muhammad's long career when he was in Mecca, and had only 150 followers, are abrogated by the later verses when he went to Medina with his band of thousands of merry Muslim men. These latter verses take precedent over the earlier ones, and these are the verses that are relentless in their anti-Semitism, anti-Christian, and anti-nonbelievers in general. These are the verses the apologists never mention, nor the law of abrogation within the Koran. This is the gist of Spencer's message, which he tells with irony, levity, and even a bit of sarcasm,(as he demonstrates, for example, in a section called 'Christ, who is not the savior , is born').

Spencer talks about Muhammad and how, in order to be allowed to marry his daughter-in-law, Zaynab bint Jahsh, Allah changed the law to accommodate him. She was the wife of Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd bin Harith, and when the prophet went to visit his step-son, he fell in love with his wife at which point Zayd began to dislike her (perhaps liking his head even more). Muhammad left them quickly in a state of agitation, muttering something to himself and then saying aloud: 'Glory be to God the Almighty! Glory be to God, who causes hearts to turn.' Afterward, Zayd approached the prophet and told him that he would separate himself from Zaynab so the prophet could have her. At first the prophet told him to keep her and to fear Allah, but then a miracle happened'one day the prophet was talking to his young wife, Aisha, when 'a fainting overcame him,' after which he smiled and asked 'Who will go to Zaynab and tell her the good news, saying that God had married her to me?' Spencer's take on this was that Allah planned the whole thing in order to teach that adopted sons weren't like natural sons and it was fine to marry their ex-wives and it wasn't incest like it used to be before Muhammad became enamored by one such creature. Lucky for the prophet to profit thus.

The Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran is chock full of examples of how the rules constantly changed in order to accommodate Muhammad and his followers. It also shows how a book that is supposed to be the infallible word of God for all time, is fallible. It is an interesting read, particularly for anyone who needs to better understand the mindset of what seems to be more of a political movement than a religion. Once you have read it, you will be much better prepared to discuss the Koran, Islam, and how it relates to radical Islamic behavior. You will then likely ask yourself, 'Is the only good Muslim a bad Muslim?'

Must read book for all of us in the West. Spencer has done the research... as have those who have personally experienced the terror resulting from those who live their lives according to the "understood/abbrogated" Koran.

A reading of the Koran silences forever those, who - like GW Bush - call Islam a "religion of peace"... and that "Allah" is just another name for God. There is only one God; and it ain't "Allah".

Thank you for your diligence, Mr. Spencer.

Robert Spencer is a fool who has written a book without any superficial, let alone any deep, knowledge of Islam. Do you think that as an educated person, if I were to seek an understanding of Islam, that I would look to a book written by a bigot? No. If you are ignorant, stupid and uneducated, brainwashed by American/Jewish media and looking to satisfy your own prejudices and be vindicated for your beliefs, then of course you're to applaud his work. If you're looking for real answers, then search them for yourself. Ignorance is a vicious cycle.