I’ve devised this simple test to help people determine whether or not a given atrocity committed by Islamists has anything to do with the religion of Islam. You needn’t satisfy each and every limb of this test to rationally associate an atrocity with Islam, but the more limbs you satisfy, the more justified the association will be. Also, given the theological structure of the Islamic religion, satisfying the first limb will carry more weight than satisfying the second or third limbs.
The Nothing-To-Do-With-Islam Test:
1. Can you locate justification for the atrocity (behaviour) in the Qur’an (central pillar of the religion)?
2. Can you locate justification for the atrocity (behaviour) in the Sunnah (biography of Muhammad) and/or the hadith?
3. Can you locate justification for the atrocity (behaviour) in Islamic history and/or Islamic Jurisprudence (common practice/tradition)?
Testing the Test – Female Captives and Rape
When the Islamic leader of ISIS was reported to have raped Syrian captives, members of the Regressive Left took to Twitter to distance the religion of Islam from this heinous atrocity.
Here is what the exposed plagiarist C.J. Werleman had to say:
Okay, so let’s test his claim by applying the test.
First Limb: The Qur’an (Primary Pillar of Islam)
From the Qur’an (Yusuf Ali Trans.) we read:
Qur’an 23:1-6: The Believers must (eventually) win through—those who……abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess—for (in their case) they are free from blame.
These verses (ayah) clearly relieve Muslim men of blame for raping captives of war, and sex slaves (those whom their right hands possess) purchased or acquired by other means. This teaching is reiterated:
Qur’an 33:50: O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee…
And again:
Qur’an 70:22-30: Not so those devoted to Prayer—those who remain steadfast to their prayer…..and those who guard their chastity, except with their wives and the (captives) whom their right hands possess—for (then) they are not to be blamed.
This first limb has certainly been satisfied. Remember, the claim being tested is that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s rape of Syrian captives has nothing to do with Islam. We could rest the test here, but before moving on to examine this claim under the remaining two limbs of the test, I’ll pre-emptively refute an anticipated apology.
The Historical Context Apology
In his dramatic failure of a book Koran Curious, C.J. Werleman lays the following charge against Sam Harris:
‘‘He [Sam Harris] quotes numerous verses including: “Never think that those who were slain in the cause of God are dead.
The Nothing-To-Do-With-Islam Test
By Michael A. Sherlock
Atheist author - Founder, Human Rights for Atheists, Agnostics & Secularists