Criticism of the Western Civilization - Collection 20 (Alcoholism)

Criticism of the Western Civilization - Collection 20 (Alcoholism):

The issue of alcoholism was addressed before in Collection 3 of this series. We have 41 titles in this upload.

It is sad that the news last week was dominated by the release in the USA of a film that attacks Islam and describes Prophet Mohammad as a "fraud", and the subsequent violent responses against the film in several Muslim countries. The whole cycle of ignorance, prejudice and violence is repeated again and again.

So, let us here review some facts:

Islam is the only religion and system of life that condemns and prohibits the consumption of alcohol. Actually it prohibits all economical activities related to the alcohol industry: its production, marketing, transportation and distribution. It also prohibits drugs, gambling, and prostitution. It prohibits usury - the core transaction in the interest-based banking system - that is destroying the economies and the lives of the people in the Western countries.

These universal vices - among others - were rampant in the society at the time of Mohammad (1400 years ago) as they are rampant in current societies. So how could a man who rose against the beliefs and practices of his own people and condemned those universal vices be called a "fraud"?

Islam is a religion to all people not only to the Arabs. It calls for monotheism which is the pure worship of One God; it condemns the worship of idols, images or multiple gods. It is free of myths (like the original sin) and of pagan practices. It calls the people to surrender only to the One God - Allah, and to rise against tyranny and injustice. There is no religious compulsion or persecution in Islam. There is no INQUISITION in Islam. It calls for a strong family life that is based on love and respect among the family members; it condemns adultery and out of wedlock sexual relationships. It has a complete penal system, a system for marriage and divorce, for inheritance, etc.

Islam granted the woman the rights to choose her spouse, to work, to inherit, to own properties, and to participate in the political process. (in many western countries, women had to wait till the late 19th century to gain these rights)
Islam condemns racism. Under Islam, all people are equal irrespective of their race or color; they are only distinguished according to their levels of piety.

Could a "fraud" develop such a complete universal religion like Islam?

Unlike the other prophets before him, the revelations to Mohammad (the Qur'an) was preserved in memory and in writing during the prophet's lifetime. The Qur'an was revealed, transmitted and preserved in the same language: Arabic; it did not suffer any alterations due to translation from an old language to a new one. The Qur'an we have today is the same that was revealed to Mohammad 1400 years ago; it is free of corruptions, deletions or additions.

Also, unlike the prophets before him, Mohammad fulfilled his mission as a prophet as well as a political ruler; he established a state and ruled it for 10 years; and although he suffered some setbacks in the early stages, he eventually prevailed over his enemies. Within 5 years after Mohammad' death, his followers (the Islamic State) defeated the armies of the two major empires at that time: the Roman (Byzantine) and the Persian empires, and the whole world was ready to receive and accept Islam.

Currently, Islam has more than 2 Billion adherents. It is the fastest growing religion in the West. It is expected that within the next 25 years, Islam would become #1 religion in the world.