David Bukay on Islamic Abrogation

Posted by johnhouk on Jun 21, 2008
 John R. Houk
© June 21, 2008

Well I am still trying to catch up on my e-newsletter reading. I am a bit behind.

I just finished reading a Political Islam e-newsletter posted by Bill Warner; however the essay is by Dr. David Bukay (Ph. D.), a teacher of Political Science at the University of Haifa in Israel.

I’ll let Bill Warner continue the introduction of Dr. Bukay.

Dr. Bukay’s theme is the Mohammedan concept of “Abrogation.” I was enthralled by the reading because the essay has brought further clarity about the Mohammedan propaganda that Mohammedanism is a religion of peace. Dr. Bukay is specific on how the “Abrogation” doctrine in Mohammedanism demonstrates that Mohammedans that tell Westerners that “Jihad” is an inner struggle for peace and not an outer violent struggle to violently spread Mohammedanism to the Kafir (infidels) or enslave them or kill them.

When I read this essay I thought of a clear difference between Mohammedanism and Christianity. That difference being Mohammedans “Abrogate” certain (considered) holy writings to abrogate other holy writings. I’ll allow Dr. Bukay to enlighten you on the specifics which he does way better than I could.

Being a Christian Right kind of guy this Biblical Scripture leaped into my mind:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13: 8 NKJV)


From a Christian Trinitarian perspective is three persons in ONE GOD. Much like a human being is a spirit that has a soul (mental faculties of emotions) and lives in a body: that existence is a three in one proposition.

Keep that in the back of your mind when you read this essay on “Abrogation” or when a Mohammedan might try and tell you his “Allah” is just as never changing and thus the same as the Christian God.

One more thing: This essay is lengthy. Take your time to read it. You might to come back to it two or three times to finish it. The post is so long that I believe Political Islam poster Bill Warner’s Blog could not handle the entirety of the post. The post is incomplete at the link I will provide. Now the e-newsletter has the entirety of Dr. Busay’s essay which I hope my blog can fit all in one post.

JRH
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Abrogation and the Koran

Guest Columnist
June 18, 2008
Political Islam

Dr. Bukay and I have differing opinions about abrogation and how it fits into the concept of duality. But we both agree that knowledge about the foundational doctrine of Islam is essential for having any rational discussion about Islam. This idea is denied by the FBI, Homeland Security, politicians, universities and the media. They advocate asking a Muslim and believing whatever he says. You just need to find the right Muslim and then say the others are not "real" Muslims. Our authorities are Muslim-ologists, while Dr. Bukay and I are foundationalists. We study the doctrine found in the Koran, Sira and Hadith. We know that Islam makes Muslims. It is simple cause and effect.

You should know as you read this article, that it is the final word. There are no more subtle arguments or intricate intellectual moves that can refute it. Dr. Bukay deals with the very DNA of Islam and his work is authoritative. This article lacks one thing that would make it academically proper--footnotes. The footnotes did not move from his Word document to our HTML editor and I just did not want to put in the hour needed to do that work. This is a political newsletter, not an academic paper. My apologies, but if there is any source you want, let me know by email.

David Bukay (Ph.D.), teaches at the School of Political Science in the University of Haifa. His main fields are: International Terrorism and Islamic fanaticism; al-Qaeda and World Jihad; Inter-Arab Relations and the Arab Israeli Conflict; State and Conflict in the Middle East; the Arab State: Militarism vs. Islamism; Syria, Lebanon and Israel: the Politics of Power Politics.

His last two books are: Yasser Arafat: the Politics of Paranoia (Mellen Press, 2005); and From Muhammad to Bin Ladin (Transaction, 2007). He has written numerous articles (mostly in Hebrew). his forthcoming book is Arab-Islamic Colonialist Expansionism: Islamization and Arabization of the Dar al-Islam.

Mekkan Peace or Medinan Jihad? Abrogation in Islam

David Bukay
School of Political Science - The University of Haifa

In his e-mail to Robert Spencer on February 14 2005, Dr. Jamal Badawi, one of the best known Muslim speakers in the West for the last two decades, wrote: The Qur'an prohibits compulsion in religion [2:256]. It teaches the Oneness of God, acceptance and respect of all prophets [2:285], broad human brotherhood [49:13], acceptance of plurality [5:48; 11:118], universal justice and fair dealing [4:134, 5:8]. It demands just, kind and respectful treatment of those who co-exist peacefully with Muslims [60:8-9]. Peaceful dialogue with the People of the Book and the emphasis on common grounds with them is a repeated theme in the Qur'an [3:64; 29:46, 5:5]. Those who erroneously claimed that all such definitive verses have all been "abrogated" by what they called "the verse of the sword" were mistaken and failed to give any definitive evidence of their claims. There is no single verse in the Qur'an properly interpreted in its context and historical circumstances that ever allowed the Muslim to fight non-Muslims simply because they are non-Muslims…

This list sums up most of the contemporary Islamic propaganda in hundreds of internet sites and thousands of various publications. Muslim propagandists purposely quote verses from the Qur'an that were written in the early days of Islam at Mecca, where Muhammad was weak and his followers were few and vulnerable, passages that make Islam appear a religion of peace. However, the Islamic propaganda that claims that the Meccan verses are dominant in Islamic teaching, is either ignorant of actual Islamic doctrine and tidings, or it practices a sophisticated deception. The second option is a possibility, since Muhammad is quoted to have saying: "war is deceit," and it is also sanctioned in the Qur'an that Allah deceives the unbelievers and the hypocrites:


    The hypocrites try to deceive Allah, but he deceives them…
    Remember, when the infidels contrived to make you a prisoner, or murder or to expel you, they plotted, but Allah also plotted, and Allah's plot is the best. [wa-Allah jabur-l-micriun]


It is not only because there are so many aggressive verses that incite for killing, slaughtering and decapitations from the Medina period, the second era of Muhammad's career when he became strong and victorious, but also mainly because the Meccan verses were nullified, abrogated, and rendered void. The problem is the Western politicians, many members of the academia and communication media who are not only unaware and perhaps ignorant of this reality, but also disseminate, intentionally or unintentionally, the tidings of the Islamic propaganda. This behavior is contrary even to the basic interests of the Free World, but also exacerbates the reality as it is seen by contemporary Islamic terrorism, violence and aggressiveness.

Indeed, Medinan verses are totally different from the Meccan's, concerning treatment, the relationship and the practical policies toward the infidels, or actually all the non-Muslims. Nevertheless, even without entering the argumentation of which of these two periods is better qualified, it is suggested to investigate the abrogation (al-Nasikh wal-Mansukh) principle. If it exists and proven practical according to the most important authoritative and reliable Islamic exegetes and religious scholars, then it ends any possible debate: Meccan verses concerning the relevant conflicting issues were nullified and rendered void, and the Medinan verses are the important and decisive.
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 Okay, I have like 34 pages of a Word Document. I know there is no way I can get this all on one post. Thus I will post this and considered it continued. Thus the next post will have a minuscule explanation and labeled part two.

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