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An innocent girl appeared on TV some days ago. She looked scared and shaken. Many people accused her and still accuse her of lying. They say, "she wants attention". They accuse her of being brainwashed. Instead of feeling sympathy for her and trying to protect her like they would do in case a 17 year old was in danger, they throw baseless accusations at her. Why? What is it that she did that was so evil that it was proof enough for the mainstream media and everyday individuals to decisively conclude that she was lying? Her biggest sin and crime: She claimed that she was from a Muslim background, she had converted to Christianity and because of the teaching of Islam, her father threatened to kill her.

Her story surfaced on the blogs and ABC News. "Is she for real?" Was the question. Instead of trying to see whether she was in real danger or not, people tried to discredit what she was saying and they did that so many times that now she has disappeared from the news altogether. There are no further updates. We don't know what happened to her excpet that there's a court hearing on August 21.

It is true that she has been attacked. But she has been attacked not because of anything wrong that she said. No one took what she said and examined it against Islamic scriptures. She has been attacked because she said something about Islam that people don't want to hear. "Islam is a religion of peace", we hear, "what she claims is impossible". "A father can never actually kill his child...its an empty threat that she is blowing out of proportion"--is she really? When Cassius Clay converted to "Nation Of Islam", he didn't claim his parents were threatening to kill him. When Cat Stevens converted to Islam, he didn't claim that either. Take any example out there of people that convert into Islam and you won't find anyone being threatened like this. Why is it that only people that leave Islam are threatened? Is it a fabrication? Are all ex-Muslims lying? Does everyone really hate Islam so much as to create lies upon lies just like these Muslims claim? Or is Islam really getting a free pass here? Doesn't it sound like we have already accepted the Dhimmi status without actually raising the white flag?

Why do I care about this girl who is being treated in America exactly like she'd be treated in Saudi Arabia? Do I know her personally to vouch for what she is saying? Do I even know her full name? No. I care about her because 5 years ago, these were the fears I had to deal with. I had to think where to run and how to escape if my parents found out about who I was. Did I think back then that my parents were just evil people out to kill anything and everything in their way? No, I knew well enough that they loved me and I don't doubt that even today. Just like I don't doubt that their love for Islam is far greater than anything else in this world, including their children. And that is what Rifqa knows to be true about her parents. She knows her parents love her but she also knows that her parents love Islam more--they can't be Muslims if they didn't. However, I have to ask this question. Are my and Rifqa's fears based on anything real? Has it ever happened before that parents have killed their children for Islam or is it only a figment of my and Rifqa's imagination as the media seems to assume? I will write breifly about two such cases. Lets see:

A Saudi father cuts his daughter's tongue off and then burns her to death for converting to Christianity. Her crime? She converted to Christianity. Did this happen in 640 AD? Is this a story of a serial killer that kills for fun? Was the father mentally (and medically) deranged? The answer to all those questions is NO. The father loved his daughter but he loved Islam more. Read the whole story here.

A Jordanian man stabs his daughter 5 times and then smashes her skull with a large rock. Her crime? Her husband and her converted to Christianity. Again, it didn't happen in 640 AD nor is it a story of a serial killer nor was the father mentally (medically) deranged. Again, the father loved his daughter but he loved Islam more. Read the whole story here.Before accusing Rifqa of lying through her teeth, people should have investigated a little. People that criticized should have realized that Islam, just like anything else in the world, is not above critcism.

If the readers read the two stories mentioned above with open minds then they might want to know the answer to the following questions: What is it that makes a parent take their own child's life? What makes the parents have the courage to lift up their hand and end the life they started in the first place? Mohammed once said, "None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind" (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 14). While its true that Jesus said something to that effect as well, he never said this, "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him" (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57). Neither would one be able to find the Christian version of, "Allah's Apostle said, 'The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 83, Number 17). It is no secret that Mohammed was able to gain support in Medina through words like these. It is no secret that even early on Mohammed was able to turn fathers against children, siblings against one another and tribe members against their tribal brethren.

There is a popular tradition about Abu Bakr, Mohammed's most loyal follower, best friend and the first caliph of Islam. He was the closest to Mohammed. He loved Mohammed with all his heart. Ayesha, Mohammed's child bride, was his daughter. If anyone other than Mohammed would know Islam, it would be Abu Bakr. A dialogue took palce between Abu Bakr and his then "infidel" son in a well known story: "'O Father, at Badr, you were twice under my sword, but my love for you held my hand back.' To this, Abu Bakr replied, 'Son, if I had you only once under my sword, you would have been no more.'" (Encyclopedia of Islam, Page 192). Abu Bakr was known as "Siddiq" which means "truthful". He was known as a moderate man who was even merciful to his enemies. The quote above is this moderate Muslim's words. When people call someone a moderate Muslim and then try to present that as proof that this guy is a peaceful person who just wants to live peacefully with the rest of humanity, to us "apostates" that doesn't make any difference. A Muslim is a Muslim. Call him moderate or fundamentalist, it doesn't matter. Now, I've presented examples from the hadiths that show Muslims would, should and can kill "infidels", but is there anything similar in the Quran?

"What aileth you that ye are become two parties regarding the hypocrites, when Allah cast them back (to disbelief) because of what they earned? Seek ye to guide him whom Allah hath sent astray? He whom Allah sendeth astray, for him thou (O Muhammad) canst not find a road. They long that ye should disbelieve even as they disbelieve, that ye may be upon a level (with them). So choose not friends from them till they forsake their homes in the way of Allah; if they turn back (to enmity) then take them and kill them wherever ye find them, and choose no friend nor helper from among them." This quotation is from the Quran's Sura 4, verses 88-89. Read it without the special notes in parentheses, for these are additions by interpreters. It is little wonder then that the whole of Sunni Islamic world, which is comprised of over 85% of the Muslim world, is unanimous on the punishment of apostates--that they should be killed. The scholars only differ on whether to kill the apostates when they make it public or even when only a couple of people know about it.

After reading all that, I would ask another question: Why are people so loyal to Mohammed? It wasn't just his friends that would raise their sword at one word from Mohammed, it is all his followers. This calls for another article altogether, or maybe a book. However, in short, there are many reasons for this loyalty, however, one of the biggest reasons is fear and love of Mohammed. This love (or fear) is not baseless. Allah adorns Mohammed with praise verse after verse. We read, "Say:(O Muhammad)! “If you do love Allah, follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for Allah is oft-forgiving, most merciful.” (Sura 3, verse 31). Again Allah informs us that, "Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example for him who looketh unto Allah and the Last Day, and remembereth Allah much." Yes, the Quran tells you that if you want to go to paradise then do what Mohammed did and said. And what Mohammed did and said is recorded in his bioigraphy and the hadiths, some of which I have quoted above.

But would anyone love Mohammed so much as to be able to kill their own children? What is it that drives a human being to do that? What is it that gives him that power? When the Quran tells you to not have pity at all, no compassion whatsoever when you're punishing an adulterer or an adulteress with a 100 lashes (Sura 24, verse 2), how much more are you prone to not have any compassion when someone insults the god of Islam by leaving his religion and announcing it publicly? However, still its hard to believe that a parent would kill their child but is that how Islam views it? "O ye who believe! Choose not your fathers nor your brethren for friends if they take pleasure in disbelief rather than faith. Whoso of you taketh them for friends, such are wrong-doers." (Sura 9, verse 23). Mohammed made sure every step of the way that the people that followed him were loyal to him and only him. He made sure that none of the tribal connections or blood relations were going to come in the way. He was very successful in that as we see in the history of Islam. It was tribesmen attacking their own tribes, parents attacking children, brothers attacking brothers. For Mohammed to be successful, this had to be instilled in the minds of Muslims. Only Muslims are your friends and everyone else is your enemy. To a Muslim, you're either a Muslim or a non-Muslim. Family values are secondary, Mohammed comes first. All family bond are broken once you leave Islam.

I have tried here to show why it is easy for a Muslim parent to "pull the trigger" and kill their child. This post is way too brief for a topic like this. Islam is not just a religion that teaches you spirituality. Islam controls every aspect of your life. You don't just go to the mosque and pray 5 times a day, but you live and breathe Islam. Whatever you do, Allah and Mohammed come first. You are a Muslim before you become a child, sibling or a parent. You are a slave of Allah before you become a human. When Rifqa cries on camera and says, "you guys won't understand", I know what she means. I can try to write a 100 posts about why Rifqa is so scared but you would never know the actual depth of Islam until you actually experience it yourself. I hope you never do, but it is nearly impossible to comprehend how strong the clutches of Islam are. I said "nearly impossible", however, not "completely impossible". Finally, I just want to close this post with another terrifying reminder to ALL OF US from the Quran: "There is for you an excellent example (to follow) in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people: 'We are clear of you and of whatever ye worship besides Allah: we have rejected you, and there has arisen, between us and you, enmity and hatred forever,- unless you believe in Allah and Him alone." (Sura 60, verse 4).