Fantasy Islam (Kafir Edition)
John Esposito’s fairy tale version of Islam.
December 22, 2016
Dr. Stephen M. Kirby
Fantasy Islam (Kafir Edition): A game in which an audience of non-Muslims wish with all their hearts that Islam was a “Religion of Peace,” and a Kafir (non-Muslim) strives to fulfill that wish by presenting a version of Islam that has little foundation in Islamic Doctrine.
John Esposito is Professor of Religion and International Affairs and Professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. He is also the Founding Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He is the author of What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, a book in its second edition and presented as “the best single source…for answers to basic questions about Islam…”
The reality is that with his well-known book, Esposito played the Kafir Edition of Fantasy Islam. Here are some examples:
70 Virgins waiting in Paradise? – On pp. 143-144 Esposito wrote that there was nothing in the Koran that supported the idea of martyrs being rewarded with 70 virgins in Paradise. He noted that:
The reward of seventy virgins to martyrs is based on a “weak” Prophetic tradition used in medieval times to encourage Muslims to military activities…
Esposito is half right. There is no mention in the Koran of 70 virgins as a reward. However, he is wrong with his numbers and when he ascribes it simply to a “weak” tradition. In reality, Muhammad himself promised martyrs the reward of 72 virgins in paradise, and the following is from one of the six authoritative collections of Muhammad’s teachings (hadiths) compiled in the ninth century:
Al-Miqdam bin Ma'diykarib narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: "There are six things with Allah for the martyr…he is married to seventy-two wives among Al-Huril-'Ayn [virgins] of Paradise…"
Jami' At-Tirmidhi, Vol. 3, No. 1663, p. 410
At-Tirmidhi himself stated this hadith was “Hasan Sahih” (lit. Good Sound/Authoritative). Was a “Professor of Islamic Studies” not aware of Jami' At-Tirmidhi?
Greater Jihad vs. Lesser Jihad – On pp. 133-134, and again in the Glossary, Esposito made a distinction between the Greater Jihad, supposedly the struggle with oneself, and the Lesser Jihad, supposedly fighting in defense of Islam. He claimed this distinction was based on a “well-known Prophetic tradition.”
...
Conclusion
Esposito wrote about the “common future” of the West and the Muslim world, and he stressed the importance of the “knowledge of what Islam teaches” (xv-xvi). Unfortunately, Esposito chose instead to play Fantasy Islam.
But there is more to Esposito’s game playing. Part 2 will look at Esposito’s version of the Koran.
Fantasy Islam (Kafir Edition)
John Esposito’s fairy tale version of Islam.
December 22, 2016
Dr. Stephen M. Kirby
Fantasy Islam (Kafir Edition): A game in which an audience of non-Muslims wish with all their hearts that Islam was a “Religion of Peace,” and a Kafir (non-Muslim) strives to fulfill that wish by presenting a version of Islam that has little foundation in Islamic Doctrine.
John Esposito is Professor of Religion and International Affairs and Professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. He is also the Founding Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He is the author of What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, a book in its second edition and presented as “the best single source…for answers to basic questions about Islam…”
The reality is that with his well-known book, Esposito played the Kafir Edition of Fantasy Islam. Here are some examples:
70 Virgins waiting in Paradise? – On pp. 143-144 Esposito wrote that there was nothing in the Koran that supported the idea of martyrs being rewarded with 70 virgins in Paradise. He noted that:
The reward of seventy virgins to martyrs is based on a “weak” Prophetic tradition used in medieval times to encourage Muslims to military activities…
Esposito is half right. There is no mention in the Koran of 70 virgins as a reward. However, he is wrong with his numbers and when he ascribes it simply to a “weak” tradition. In reality, Muhammad himself promised martyrs the reward of 72 virgins in paradise, and the following is from one of the six authoritative collections of Muhammad’s teachings (hadiths) compiled in the ninth century:
Al-Miqdam bin Ma'diykarib narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: "There are six things with Allah for the martyr…he is married to seventy-two wives among Al-Huril-'Ayn [virgins] of Paradise…"
Jami' At-Tirmidhi, Vol. 3, No. 1663, p. 410
At-Tirmidhi himself stated this hadith was “Hasan Sahih” (lit. Good Sound/Authoritative). Was a “Professor of Islamic Studies” not aware of Jami' At-Tirmidhi?
Greater Jihad vs. Lesser Jihad – On pp. 133-134, and again in the Glossary, Esposito made a distinction between the Greater Jihad, supposedly the struggle with oneself, and the Lesser Jihad, supposedly fighting in defense of Islam. He claimed this distinction was based on a “well-known Prophetic tradition.”
...
Conclusion
Esposito wrote about the “common future” of the West and the Muslim world, and he stressed the importance of the “knowledge of what Islam teaches” (xv-xvi). Unfortunately, Esposito chose instead to play Fantasy Islam.
But there is more to Esposito’s game playing. Part 2 will look at Esposito’s version of the Koran.
Fantasy Islam (Kafir Edition)
