AboutJohn of AllFaith Expertise I can answer most questions on Hinduism.
My knowledge and experience with the Sanatana Dharma is fairly extensive. I have studied with various masters of diverse traditions. I am most interested in the Personalist views of people such as Madhava, Caitanya and so on, however I am also familiar with most branches of Vedanta as well as others.
See my questions and answers at allfaith.com/questions
A Statement to Students about Plagiarism any why I answer questions:
Plagiarism is a crime.
Plagiarism can end careers, lead to expulsion from school, the loss of financial aid, and can even result in fines and imprisonment in some cases. Its not worth it!
Despite this a small percentage of those who ask questions at AllExperts, Yahoo Answers etc. copy and paste our answers as their own, often without giving credit. This is plagiarism. Its not worth it!
We all know that one can google a homework question and in many cases find an easy response, but so can your teachers! Many teachers are aware that some students do this and catch their cheating students.
To read more about this go to the following link. Its a conversation between one such teacher from a respectable institution of learning and me: where she writes: ...I have had over 20 students copy your work in the past 3 months...
Understand that if you plagiarize you are cheating your instructors, your answerer, your fellow students, everyone who respects you... and ultimately yourself. Its just not worth it!
Please use our answers to help in your research, not to replace it.
Learn, don't cheat.
Experience I have studied with various branches of the Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampredaya, with Swami Muktananda, with Guru Maharaj Ji's Divine Light Mission, with Swami Brahmananda, with Sri Maa and Swami Satyanananda and several others. I have translated the Srimad Bhagavad Gita into English from the Sanskrit (http://www.allfaith.com/Religions/Hinduism/gita.html) and will happy to attempt to answer your questions.
Education/Credentials I'm a Gaudiya Vaisnava brahmin, hold an MA in Religious Studies and an Ordination in Interfaith counseling.
Question QUESTION: I am preparing for a speech on "terrorists have no religion." I am a Muslim and have got quiet a lot of information. But I can't find any evidence about the stance of Hinduism on terrorism - I m talking about quotes from the Bhagwad Gita or other religious books (atleast not on the first couple of google and yahoo search results). Is their anything about terrorism in Hinduism?
P.S. If this is not within your area of expertise please let me know that on which section of this website should I look.
Thanx
ANSWER: Hi Usman,
Islam is the only religion that promotes terrorism.
Hinduism's essential teaching of ahimsa (non-violence) prohibits it.
Hinduism's teachings are known as Sanatana Dharma or Universal Truth. Hindus believe God is present in all religions and all persons and that all should be honored.
Hope this helps,
~ Jagannatha Prakasa
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Wow!!! U can make statements without proving...u tell me where can I clear your mad concepts abut Islam
By the way...what the heck made u say Islam promotes terrorism...u cant judge a religion by its so called followers but only by its teachings.
Answer Hi Usman,
As I said, every point I made is verifiable.
I made no "mad concepts abut Islam" as a former Muslim and as one who has studied the deen and ummah I know what I am talking about.
How can a tree be known if not by its fruit?
A TINY example from al Qur'an:
According to al Qur'an: 002.010 -- YUSUFALI: In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease: And grievous is the penalty they (incur), because they are false (to themselves).
002.039 -- SHAKIR: And (as to) those who disbelieve in and reject My communications, they are the inmates of the fire, in it they shall abide.
002.090 -- PICKTHAL: Evil is that for which they sell their souls: that they should disbelieve in that which Allah hath revealed, grudging that Allah should reveal of His bounty unto whom He will of His slaves. They have incurred anger upon anger. For disbelievers is a shameful doom.
002.098 -- YUSUFALI: Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and messengers, to Gabriel and Michael,- Lo! Allah is an enemy to those who reject Faith.
002.113 -- YUSUFALI: The Jews say: "The Christians have naught (to stand) upon; and the Christians say: "The Jews have naught (To stand) upon." Yet they (Profess to) study the (same) Book. Like unto their word is what those say who know not; but Allah will judge between them in their quarrel on the Day of Judgment.
002.120 -- SHAKIR: And the Jews will not be pleased with you, nor the Christians until you follow their religion. Say: Surely Allah's guidance, that is the (true) guidance. And if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, you shall have no guardian from Allah, nor any helper.
002.161 -- YUSUFALI: Those who reject Faith [i.e. Islam], and die rejecting,- on them is Allah's curse, and the curse of angels, and of all mankind;
002.191 YUSUFALI: And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have Turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith.
003.004 -- YUSUFALI: Then those who reject Faith in the Signs of Allah will suffer the severest penalty, and Allah is Exalted in Might, Lord of Retribution.
003.151 -- YUSUFALI: Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority: their abode will be the Fire: And evil is the home of the wrong-doers!
"Kill the mushriqeen (pagans, polytheists, kuffar) where ever you find
them." [Al-Quran 9:5]
All religions other than Islam are a disease that should be rooted out according to Islam.
Al Hadith records account after account of "righteous Muslims" including Muhammad performing horrible atrocities and calling them righteous.
But there is more to a religion than it teachings. There is also its impact on its followers. Muslims as a people (there are exceptions) including untold numbers of imams and others are calling for the genocide of all Jews, Christians, Hindus and other "infidels." They murder men, women and children in Israel and throughout the world.
Websites like Jihad Watch: http://www.jihadwatch.org chronicle the evils and acts of terrorism regularly committed in the name of Islam by devout Muslims.
Sharia law is evil. It demands the most barbaric punishment imaginable for even mild infractions and things the civilized world considers normal (like a woman going shopping alone).
Al Ikhwan (The Muslim Brotherhood) has spelled out how it plans to take over the world and it is following this plan to a tee, including placing a Muslim in the White House:
... Rather than focusing on terrorism as the sole method of group action, as is the case with Al-Qaeda, in perfect postmodern fashion the use of terror falls into a multiplicity of options available to progressively infiltrate, confront, and eventually establish Islamic domination over the West. The following tactics and techniques are among the many recommendations made in The Project:
- Networking and coordinating actions between likeminded Islamist organizations;
- Avoiding open alliances with known terrorist organizations and individuals to maintain the appearance of “moderation”;
- Infiltrating and taking over existing Muslim organizations to realign them towards the Muslim Brotherhood’s collective goals;
- Using deception to mask the intended goals of Islamist actions, as long as it doesn’t conflict with shari’a law;
- Avoiding social conflicts with Westerners locally, nationally or globally, that might damage the long-term ability to expand the Islamist powerbase in the West or provoke a lash back against Muslims;
- Establishing financial networks to fund the work of conversion of the West, including the support of full-time administrators and workers;
- Conducting surveillance, obtaining data, and establishing collection and data storage capabilities;
- Putting into place a watchdog system for monitoring Western media to warn Muslims of “international plots fomented against them”;
- Cultivating an Islamist intellectual community, including the establishment of think-tanks and advocacy groups, and publishing “academic” studies, to legitimize Islamist positions and to chronicle the history of Islamist movements;
- Developing a comprehensive 100-year plan to advance Islamist ideology throughout the world;
- Balancing international objectives with local flexibility;
- Building extensive social networks of schools, hospitals and charitable organizations dedicated to Islamist ideals so that contact with the movement for Muslims in the West is constant;
- Involving ideologically committed Muslims in democratically-elected institutions on all levels in the West, including government, NGOs, private organizations and labor unions;
- Instrumentally using existing Western institutions until they can be converted and put into service of Islam;
- Drafting Islamic constitutions, laws and policies for eventual implementation;
- Avoiding conflict within the Islamist movements on all levels, including the development of processes for conflict resolution;
- Instituting alliances with Western “progressive” organizations that share similar goals;
- Creating autonomous “security forces” to protect Muslims in the West;
- Inflaming violence and keeping Muslims living in the West “in a jihad frame of mind”;
- Supporting jihad movements across the Muslim world through preaching, propaganda, personnel, funding, and technical and operational support;
- Making the Palestinian cause a global wedge issue for Muslims;
- Adopting the total liberation of Palestine from Israel and the creation of an Islamic state as a keystone in the plan for global Islamic domination;
- Instigating a constant campaign to incite hatred by Muslims against Jews and rejecting any discussions of conciliation or coexistence with them;
- Actively creating jihad terror cells within Palestine;
- Linking the terrorist activities in Palestine with the global terror movement;
- Collecting sufficient funds to indefinitely perpetuate and support jihad around the world;
In reading The Project, it should be kept in mind that it was drafted in 1982 when current tensions and terrorist activities in the Middle East were still very nascent. In many respects, The Project is extremely prescient for outlining the bulk of Islamist action, whether by “moderate” Islamist organizations or outright terror groups, over the past two decades.
At present, most of what is publicly known about The Project is the result of Sylvain Besson’s investigative work, including his book and a related article published last October in the Swiss daily, Le Temps, L’islamisme à la conquête du monde (Islamism and the Conquest of the World), profiling his book, which is only available in a French-language edition. At least one Egyptian newspaper, Al-Mussawar, published the entire Arabic text of The Project last November.
In the English-language press, the attention paid to Besson’s revelation of The Project has been almost non-existent. The only mention found in a mainstream media publication in the US has been as a secondary item in an article in the Weekly Standard (February 20, 2006) by Olivier Guitta, The Cartoon Jihad. The most extensive commentary on The Project has been by an American researcher and journalist living in London, Scott Burgess, who has posted his analysis of the document on his blog, The Daily Ablution. Along with his commentary, an English translation of the French text of The Project was serialized in December (Parts I, II, III, IV, V, Conclusion). The complete English translation prepared by Mr. Burgess is presented in its entirety here with his permission....
There is NO such thing as Radical Islam.
There is NO such thing as an Islamic Fundamentalist.
There are NO Extremist Muslims.
There are only devout and less devout Muslims.
And according to Islam the non-devout are Muslims in name only!
I've said this many times and the reaction is all too often the same... I'm not being tolerant, or I'm being prejudiced or I must not understand Islam, or I was just with a radical group etc.
It is NOT respectful of Islam to teach that it is something it is not!
It is NOT respectful of Islam to deny that Muslim doctrine clearly means what it says.
Most people in the West knew NOTHING about Islam before 9-11 and most still know next to nothing about this, the world's 2nd largest and by far fasting growing religion. It is imperative that we have accurate knowledge!
Islam is more than a religion (deen).
It is a political system (ummah), a legal (sharia) and economic system ( al ajr, al-fard al-kifa'I etc.) and more. The deen is only one part of the Islamic world view.
If we hope to survive in the world now that Islam is reawakening it is vital that we properly understand it.
The TEACHINGS of Islam and a large percentage of devout Muslims around the world make it utterly obvious to anyone who knows Islam whether they have practiced it (as I have) or not that it is a religion of terrorism, violence and enslavement.
Insulting me changes nothing.
~ John of AllFaith
~ formerly Muhammad Yahya Saleem
