|
His Eminence
Pope Benedict XVI
Apostolic Palace
Vatican City State, 00120
Italy
Your Eminence,
I am grateful to you for responding to my letter. I had requested Your Eminence in my letter that Christians are insulting The Last Messenger For All Of Humanity, peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him, by sketching offensive caricatures, and being the spiritual head of the Catholic Church, you should have this reprehensible practice halted. I received a letter from you on March 13, 2010, in which your secretary, Peter B. Wells, informed me on your behalf that The Holy Father, Pope Benedict, had taken notice of my request, and that he prays for my health.
I am grateful for your prayers, Your Eminence, yet my remonstrance is that you have not taken any tangible steps against the sketching of the offensive caricatures, but instead you have emphasized that the Christian woman in Pakistan who had committed an act of blasphemy should be freed. You went even further and asserted that the Anti Blasphemy Law should be scrapped. Furthermore, Vatican City was instrumental in the formation of a committee which has been assigned the task of having the Anti Blasphemy Law done away with altogether, or at least having it amended to such an extent that it becomes practically ineffective. A minister for minority affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti Masih, has been appointed as the head of the said committee. We are amazed, Your Eminence, at your choice of action for ending blasphemy, that instead of striving to put an end to it, you have set out to promote it!
What sort of notice have you taken of my request, Your Eminence, that an American pastor, Terry Jones, talks about putting the Qurân on trial in a court, claiming that this book is responsible for terrorism in the world, and, therefore, there will be an announcement for immersing this book in water, setting it on fire, kicking it, and having it handed over to a firing squad to be shot at, etc., etc. (I seek Allaah's protection from all that!)
Your Eminence! In my first letter I had stated, with references from the Qurân, that if your people insult the Qurân then they also insult Meryam (Mary), peace be upon her, and 'Eesa (Jesus), peace be upon him, too, because the Bible does not come anywhere close to the way the Qurân, which was revealed to Muhammad, Leader of the Two Worlds, may peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, recounts the nobility of the pious Mother and Son, peace be upon them. Yet, your people still do not desist from carrying on their disrespectful attitude towards the Qurân. Today, therefore, I ask you and your fellow priests while providing references from the Bible, as to who actually is the terrorist?
Your Eminence! If you open your Bible and turn the pages of the Book of Deuteronomy of the Old Testament, your Holy Book informs us that Musa (Moses), peace be upon him, commenced jihad in the last period, when Bani Israel (The Children of Israel) had spent thirty-eight years roving the Sinai Desert and everyone from the older generation had passed away. King Sihon of the Amorites, ruler of Heshbon, came out with his army to confront Musa, peace be upon him, lost the battle, and was taken prisoner. And what did the Israelis do when King Sihon was taken prisoner? Kindly observe!:
“. . . and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army. At that time we took all his towns and utterly destroyed them—men, women, and children. We left no survivors. But the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves.” (Deuteronomy 2: 33-35)
Your Eminence! We have reproduced the original words of the Bible for you. As you are well aware already, the text further relates that the Israelis then confronted Og, King of Bashan, and this was the outcome: “At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom in Bashan. All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages. We completely destroyed them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying every city—men, women and children. But all the livestock and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.” (Deuteronomy 3: 4-7)
Your Eminence! This is how the Book of Deuteronomy of the Old Testament of your Bible begins. Your people have depicted Musa, peace be upon him, as a tyrant who was not hesitant in slaughtering even women and babies. May my life be sacrificed for the Noble Qurân which absolved Musa, peace be upon him, of all these accusations. Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him, has cleared the name of his brother, Musa, peace be upon him, in this Qurân which was revealed to him by Allâh, The Lord of the Worlds.
Indeed, Musa's, peace be upon him, has been portrayed in an entirely different light in the Qurân, one who bore mercy rather than tyranny. Musa, peace be upon him, has been mentioned one hundred and thirty-six times in the Qurân. Come, let us see how Musa, peace be upon him, has been portrayed in the Qurân in just two of these accounts:
In the first narrative the Qurân states: “When before it there was the Scripture of Moses, an example and a mercy; and this (Qurân) is a confirming Scripture in the Arabic language, that it may warn those who do wrong, and bring good tidings for the righteous.” (Ahqâf 12)
And in the second, Your Eminence, the Qurân states: “And verily We gave Moses and Aaron the Criterion (of right and wrong) and a Light and a Reminder for those who would guard (against evil).” (Al Anbiyâ 48)
All praise is for Allâh, Lord of the Worlds! A book which is a source of guidance, mercy, illumination, and brilliance, and is a cause of accord and benevolence; how could the messenger who bears such a book slaughter women and children? Indeed, the Qurân has defended and absolved Musa, peace be upon him, of these misrepresentations.
Your Eminence! According to the Bible your people stand accused of tyranny and barbarity. They stand accused of the slaughter of women and children. Your people have attempted to portray Musa, peace be upon him, as a tyrant in order to hide their own barbarous and tyrannous actions. It is now for you to decide: does the Qurân, which defends Musa, peace be upon him, as well as the Torah that was revealed to him, deserve to be burned, or do the inhumane (adulterated and tampered) passages of the Old Testament, which claim that women and children were ruthlessly butchered, deserve to be put to the fire?
How is it, Your Eminence, that your people can claim to be the guardians of peace after this incriminating attestation of the Bible, while those who believe in the Qurân, which absolves Musa, peace be upon him, by portraying him in an entirely different light, are to be called terrorists? Let us witness some equity and justice, Your Eminence, since that is what we request from you.
As far as Yəshū (Joshua), peace be upon him, is concerned, he had been under the tutelage of Musa, peace be upon him, and he used to serve him as well. After Musa, peace be upon him, had passed away, Yəshū replaced him as the apostle of the Bani Israel, as well as being their ruler and supreme commander. The first revealed text after five books of the Torah is named after him. Jerusalem, as well as several other territories, were conquered during his time, and the kings of those lands were taken prisoner by him. Yet, how did he deal with those kings and the people of those lands?
Let us take a look at what we find in the Old Testament in this regard in the book titled 'Yəshū' when the Israeli forces attacked Yerihu (Jericho): “When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.” (Joshua 6: 20-21)
Your Eminence! Here is an account of the destruction that took place at another town named Ai: “When the Israelite army finished chasing and killing all the men of Ai in the open fields, they went back and finished off everyone inside. So the entire population of Ai, including men and women, was wiped out that day—12,000 in all.” (Joshua 8: 24-25)
Furthermore (as if the carnage already mentioned above had not been enough): “Joshua impaled the king of Ai on a sharpened pole and left him there until evening. At sunset the Israelites took down the body, as Joshua commanded, and threw it in front of the town gate. They piled a great heap of stones over him that can still be seen today.” (Joshua 8: 29)
Your Eminence! The city of Jerusalem was also captured after this carnage, as well as five other territories, and the kings of these territories were taken prisoner. These included:
1. The King of Yeroshlem (Jerusalem): Adoni-zedek
2. The King of Jabroon (Hebron): Hohâm
3. The King of Yermoot (Jarmuth): Piram
4. The King of Lkees (Lachish): Yâphia (Japhia)
5. The King of Ajloon (Eglon): Debir
These five combined their resources to confront Yəshū, but after suffering defeat escaped and hid in a cave. This is what Yəshū did with them, their lands, and their people, after victory:
“During the battle the five kings escaped and hid in a cave at Makkedah. When Joshua heard that they had been found, he issued this command: “Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks, and place guards at the entrance to keep the kings inside.” (Joshua 10: 16-18)
“Then Joshua said, “Remove the rocks covering the opening of the cave, and bring the five kings to me.” So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. When they brought them out, Joshua told the commanders of his army, “Come and put your feet on the kings’ necks.” And they did as they were told.” (Joshua 10: 22-24)
“Then Joshua killed each of the five kings and impaled them on five sharpened poles, where they hung until evening.” (Joshua 10: 26)
And this was what Yəshū, after slaughtering these five kings and their people, did with the kings and the people of five other, smaller, lands:
“That same day Joshua captured and destroyed the town of Makkedah. He killed everyone in it, including the king, leaving no survivors. He destroyed them all, and he killed the king of Makkedah as he had killed the king of Jericho. Then Joshua and the Israelites went to Libnah and attacked it. There, too, he killed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. Then Joshua killed the king of Libnah as he had killed the king of Jericho.” (Joshua 10: 28-30)
“From Libnah, Joshua and the Israelites went to Lachish and attacked it. Here again, the Lord gave them Lachish. Joshua took it on the second day and killed everyone in it, just as he had done at Libnah. During the attack on Lachish, King Horam of Gezer arrived with his army to help defend the town. But Joshua’s men killed him and his army, leaving no survivors.” (Joshua 10: 31-33)
“Then Joshua and the Israelite army went on to Eglon and attacked it. They captured it that day and killed everyone in it. He completely destroyed everyone, just as he had done at Lachish. From Eglon, Joshua and the Israelite army went up to Hebron and attacked it. They captured the town and killed everyone in it, including its king, leaving no survivors. They did the same thing to all of its surrounding villages. And just as he had done at Eglon, he completely destroyed the entire population.” (Joshua 10: 34-37)
“Then Joshua and the Israelites turned back and attacked Debir. He captured the town, its king, and all of its surrounding villages. He completely destroyed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. He did to Debir and its king just what he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.” (Joshua 10: 38-39)
“So Joshua conquered the whole region—the kings and people of the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills, and the mountain slopes. He completely destroyed everyone in the land, leaving no survivors.” (Joshua 10: 40)
Your Eminence! As you can see, according to the testimony of the Old Testament of your Bible, the elders of your people not only:
1. Slaughtered all the men of the enemy
2. Slaughtered all their women too
3. Slaughtered all the children too
4. Slaughtered all the babies too
5. Slaughtered old and weak men and women too
6. Slaughtered all prisoners too
7. Hunted and slaughtered rulers in hiding too
8. Humiliated and insulted them by putting their feet on their necks
9. Abused and tortured them
10. Then slaughtered them
11. Then barbarically impaled their dead bodies on poles and put them on display
12. Animals; cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys, were also wantonly killed
13. They exterminated every living thing in the cities they attacked
14. Cities were completely destroyed and burned to the ground
15. Everything in the cities, that is, fields and orchards were also burned down
Your Eminence! We believe all these are mere accusations which have been leveled against Yəshū, yet you believe them to be true and they are a part of your faith. If that is the case, then this has been your holy conduct according to your holy book. These are records of your devout deportment as recorded in your Bible. A conduct that you believe to be pious and godly. A conduct which you claim to be righteous and peaceful, and which you claim to be pro-humanity. Indeed, that same conduct is still in action in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine. But we do reserve the right to ask: is such conduct not terrorism? If such a conduct is pro-humanity, then what would be the definition of enmity?
Your Eminence! I will be waiting for a reply from you and your fellow priests, especially Terry Jones. I shall wait, I shall wait, I shall wait . . .
Ameer Hamza
(Convener)
Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool`ﷺ Pakistan
Markaz Al Qadsia
4, Lake Road, Chowburji
Lahore, Pakistan
Phone: +92 300-407-8618
Dated: February 7, 2011
|
