Flat Earth Koran 01 Of 13 - Introduction

The Flat Earth Koran 01 of 13 Introduction

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An interpretation of the Cosmology of the Koran & a critique of Islamic Fundamentalism

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Introduction 1.

Are you fed up hearing Islamic Fundamentalists proclaiming how wonderful their Religion is supposed to be and why the whole World should embrace Islam?

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Are you also fed up with Islamic Fundamentalists talking nonsense about the Koran supposedly being free from error?

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Have you heard claims that the Koran contains Scientific Miracles that prove its divine origin?

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If so, then read on.I shall attempt to falsify Islam by showing that the Koran assumes that the Earth is Flat and immobile at the centre of the Universe. A book written by God would never contain such beliefs.

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Islamophobia? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

When anyone criticises any aspect of Islam, some people are likely to say that it is wrong to criticise any Religion. Some may complain that criticism is “Islamophobia” or even Racism.Is criticism of Christianity “Christophobia?” But this is just an authoritarian attempt at censorship by people with extreme religious or political views. Many Muslims routinely criticise followers of other religions for supposedly being in error. The Koran itself strongly criticises nonMuslims, especially Jews and Christians. Labelling criticism of Islam as as Islamophobia is like saying that anyone who criticises Barrack Obama is a racist or that anyone who does not agree with the policies of Israel is anti-Semitic and a Nazi. Furthermore, the Koran challenges its readers to find any flaws in it.Therefore criticising Islam is actually encouraged by Islam.Muslims who do not like criticism of Islam are acting contrary to their own religion. (Surah 4:82)

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The Challenge of the Koran “Will they not ponder the Qur'an? If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found many inconsistencies in it.” (Surah 4:82)

These Presentations will seek it inconsistencies and errors and attempt to demonstrate that the Koran is a flawed human creation and not from Allah or any supernatural source.

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This picture contradicts the Koran Nowhere in the Koran is there any reference to the Earth being a Sphere. On the contrary, many verses of the Koran imply that the Earth is Flat. These verses are the subject of these Presentations. 8th March 2009

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Earth orbiting Sun not in Koran Nowhere in the Koran is there any reference to the Earth orbiting the Sun. In fact, the Koran says that the Sun orbits the Earth just as the Moon does. (Surah 21:33)

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Divine Revelation & the Koran. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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Many Religious Scriptures such as the Bible are believed by many to have been Divinely inspired. The Islamic Fundamentalist view of Divine Inspiration is very strict compared with Judeo-Christian ideas of Divine Inspiration. Islamic Fundamentalists deny that Mohammed is the author of the Koran.They say that he just recited what he was told to say. God or Allah, is said to have created the Koran in Heaven long ago before the Bible or other Scriptures were written. Mohammed is said to have been given the words of this Heavenly Koran by the Angel Gabriel and it is believed that he recited it in many instalments over many years to scribes who wrote the first Earthly Koran in the early C7th AD in Arabia. It follows from this belief that the Koran must be perfect and infallible in every way since its presumed author is perfect and infallible.

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Birth of Mohammed Left:The birth of Mohammed in Mecca, Arabia in AD 570. Contrary to popular belief & the claims of some Islamic Fundamentalists, There is no universal prohibition in Islam on depictions of the human form including images of Mohammed

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Mohammed meets the Angel Gabriel Left: In the year AD 610 Mohammed is said to have met the Angel Gabriel who revealed the 1st of 114 Surahs or Chapters of the Koran. The Koran actually says that Angels have wings. (Surah 35:1)

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Mohammed teaching his Disciples

Soon after his Religious Experience, Mohammed began to preach Islam to a small group of followers as shown in this traditional Islamic picture.

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Mohammed ascends to Heaven Left: In the year AD 620 Mohammed is said to have been taken to Jerusalem by Gabriel on the back of a magical creature called Buraq. He is then said to have then ascended into Heaven.

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Mohammed meets Biblical characters in Heaven While in Heaven Mohammed is said to have met Adam, Jesus, Moses, Enoch, Abraham and the other prophets of Islam

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Mohammed flees Mecca (The Hijra) In AD 622 Mohammed was forced to flee from Mecca by his enemies & he sought refuge in the City of Medina.

This is the starting point for the Islamic Calendar. 8th March 2009

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Mohammed preaching to followers in Medina Left: While in Medina, Mohammed gained a lot of followers and became the leader of the City.

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Mohammed returns to Mecca in triumph. In Medina Mohammed gained many followers. War ensued between Mecca & Medina. In 630 AD Mohammed conquered Mecca. 8th March 2009

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Death of Mohammed Left: The death of Mohammed in AD 632 while in Medina Azrail (or Malik) the Angel of death arrives in order to carry the Prophets soul to Heaven.

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Mohammed in Islamic Heaven Left: Mohammed up in Heaven after his death with various Angels. Some Islamic artists depict Mohammed, but with his face hidden as shown here.

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Modern Iranian picture of Mohammed. Many Muslims argue that the Koran does not explicitly forbid pictures of Mohammed. This picture and others like it are openly on sale in Iran with approval from religious authorities. Muslims in Iran, Turkey and Central Asia do not have any problem with images of the Prophet. The caption reads “There is no God but Allah & Mohammed is his Prophet.” 8th March 2009

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Angry Muslims protesting about Danish cartoons. Many modern Sunni Muslims do not like to see pictures of Mohammed though – even when they are drawn by other Muslims

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Islamic Fundamentalist Hypocrisy

Such attitudes are hypocritical since many Muslims will not hesitate to produce cartoons attacking other religious groups such as Jews.

http://somebodyhelpme.info/cartoons/anti-Semitic/anti-Semitic.html 8th March 2009

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Mohammed's successors conquer Middle East Left: By AD 750 the Muslims had conquered a huge Empire. This began the 500 years of the Golden Age of Islam in which Science and Learning prospered

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Islam Today

Today Islam is the 2nd largest Religion in the World with perhaps 1.5 Billion followers. (Christianity is thought to have about 2.2 Billion followers.) 8th March 2009

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Koran Science Some people have claimed that there is hidden Scientific knowledge in the Koran that proves its divine origin. Many books and articles have been written on this subject. In fact, the Koran, like the Bible presumes a Flat Earth. There are no explicit statements on the shape of the Earth, since everyone “knew” what shape it was. Instead, there are many statements that imply or assume a Flat Earth in the Koran. 8th March 2009

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Koran Science

In reality, “Koran Science” is an oxymoron. The arguments used are spurious and I shall examine them in detail in Presentation 10 of 11 in this series. 8th March 2009

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Definition of Islamic Fundamentalism • • • • •

The belief that the Koran is divinely inspired, of supernatural origin and not a human creation. The belief that the Koran is literally true in all instances and inerrant on absolutely all matters. The belief that the Islamic Fundamentalist interpretation of the Koran is the only acceptable one. The belief that non-Fundamentalists are enemies of God, either knowingly or unknowingly. The belief that the whole World should be a Theocracy based on the Fundamentalists interpretation of the Koran and related traditions.

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According to the Koran 1.

The Earth is Flat, Circular & sits in a Cosmic Ocean.

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The Sky is solid & held up by Pillars.

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Heaven is a place up in the Sky where God lives.

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The Sun, Moon & Stars are just little lights in the Sky moving around a stationary Earth.

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Dead people exist under the ground.

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Korans used 1. 2.

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It is difficult to find a reliable translation of the Koran that everyone will accept. There is always the possibility that Western Translations may contain some degree of AntiIslamic bias. However, there is also the possibility that Islamic Translations may contain some degree of ProIslamic bias. For this reason, twelve different translations have been used. Six are Islamic translations and six are Western Translations.

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Koran’s used (http://qb.gomen.org/QuranBrowser/) Orthodox Muslims Pickthall Yusuf Ali Hilali-Khan Shakir Non-Orthodox Muslims Sher Ali Khalifa Western Translations Arberry Palmer Rodwell Sale Irving (http://www.isgkc.org/translat.htm) Dawood (Penguin classics)

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No DIY Translations accepted 1. 2.

Only genuine published translations of the Koran will be accepted here. Some Muslims often say that the Arabic word translated as “X” really means “Y” if they run into difficulty.This is dishonest and unacceptable.

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No Circular reasoning accepted here Islamic Fundamentalists often use faulty logic and circular reasoning to “prove” a point. 1. They assume that the Koran is of Divine origin because it says so. 2. Based on this assumption, they further assume that there are no errors in the Koran. 3. When they find an apparent error, they try to think up some interpretation that still allows them to accept the Koran as infallible. 4. Often, their interpretation stretches and distorts the text to vaguely allude to some modern Scientific phenomena. 5. This “discovery” of modern Science in the Koran is then taken as “proof” of its divine origin.

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Circular reasoning (From previous Slide) 1 5

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This is the basis for the claims about modern Science being found in the Koran. See Presentation 10 of 11 – Koran Science in this series for more details.

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Map of the World of the Koran

Roman Empire Persian Empire Mecca Arabia Ethiopia

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All the parts of the World mentioned in the Koran fit into this map. The Americas,East Asia,Sub-Saharan Africa and Australia are not mentioned in the Koran.

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Another view of the World of the Koran

Canopy of the Sky

The World of the Koran is Flat & circular below a solid Sky dome or Firmament. Mecca is at the centre of the World.

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The Cosmos of the Koran (See legend on the next page) Contrary to the claims made by some Muslims, the Koran does not agree with modern Science. The Koran assumes a Universe like the one shown on the left. Dozens of verses in the Koran support this. 8th March 2009

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Legend for the Cosmos of the Koran

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Other Presentations in this Series Flat Earth Koran 01 of 13 - Introduction (This one) Flat Earth Koran 02 of 13 - The Flat Earth Flat Earth Koran 03 of 13 – The Two Seas & the Ocean of Heaven Flat Earth Koran 04 of 13 - The Solid Sky Dome Flat Earth Koran 05 of 13 - Heaven in the Sky Flat Earth Koran 06 of 13 - The Sun Moon and Stars Flat Earth Koran 07 of 13 - Beneath the Flat Earth Flat Earth Koran 08 of 13 - Cosmology in the Hadith Flat Earth Koran 09 of 13 - The Golden Age of Islam Flat Earth Koran 10 of 13 - Koran Science & Cosmology (Part 1) Flat Earth Koran 10 of 13 - Koran Science & Cosmology (Part 2) Flat Earth Koran 10 of 13 - Koran Science & Cosmology (Part 3) Flat Earth Koran 13 of 13 - Conclusions 8th March 2009

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Fundamentalist Denials 1.

Of coarse, Islamic Fundamentalists cannot accept this without rejecting their own Religious beliefs

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They are likely to respond to such suggestions with outright denials based on blind faith or Islamic pseudo-science

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They might even quote a couple of verses from the Koran to try and support their beliefs. (These do not stand up to scrutiny)

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In reality, there are dozens of verses in the Koran supporting the point of view outlined in these Presentations.

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The following Presentations systematically explore the Cosmos of the Koran and Hadith and provide numerous verses to support all the interpretations presented.

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Continued on next Presentation ……