What is the source of religious hatred in the modern world?

The AP reports that "The U.N.'s top human-rights body approved a proposal by Muslims nations Thursday urging passage of laws around the world to protect religion from criticism."

The article says

The resolution urges states to provide "protection against acts of hatred,
discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of religions
and incitement to religious hatred in general."

"Defamation of religions is the cause that leads to incitement to hatred, discrimination and violence toward their followers," Pakistan's ambassador Zamir Akram said.

"It is important to deal with the cause, rather than with the effects alone," he said.

The greatest source of defamation and incitement to religious hatred is the Qur'an and Islam. Does this mean that the Qur'an should be banned and Islam's preachers of hate muzzled and prosecuted?

Pope Benedict XVI - Genuine religion ... rejects all forms of violence and totalitarianism.

Pope Benedict XVI recently told Muslim leaders in Cameroon:

Genuine religion thus widens the horizon of human understanding and stands at
the base of any authentically human culture. It rejects all forms of violence
and totalitarianism: not only on principles of faith, but also of right reason.

Certainly, the Pope's comment expresses the Christian faith tradition. However, according to Islamic tradition, Islam was founded on conquest and murder. Muhammad was the leader of a band of murderers and thieves. The Qur'an itself calls for continual war against non-believers.

Westerners generally assume that all religions reject violence and that Muhammad taught the same precepts as Jesus. Unfortunately, the Qur'an and the Islamic traditions show otherwise.

Far from suggesting the essential unity of Islam and Christianity as being genuine religions that reject all forms of violence, many Muslims would have to understand the Pope's remarks as indicating that he does not view Islam as a genuine religion. Unlike Christianity, Islam requires its followers to kill or be killed for Islam. Its fundamental nature is one of violence and hate of all it views to be non-believers.

"All homosexuals should be stoned to death, says Muslim preacher of hate."

Every Westerner must consider the implications of these Muslim hate mongers as reported in the Daily Mail when they argue that all religions are the same. Anjem Choudary demands that Britain adopt Sharia law for the country. Under Sharia law "adulterers and homosexuals would be killed by stoning."

This does not represent the wild rant of an isolated preacher, but the accepted understanding of Sharia law throughout the Muslim world. Westerners may not want to believe it, but the Qur'an and Islamic traditions fully support the hate mongers preaching.

The article cited "fellow hate cleric Omar Bakri, who warned that Britons should 'wake up before it is too late' or suffer another 7/7 terror attack." The Qur'an describes a vengeful Allah who destroys city after city for not accepting the warnings of messengers not to worship other gods beside Allah. This occurs in page after page of endless repetition.

One can easily see how these self-righteous hate mongers see themselves as warning Britain and the West of their sinful ways. Having issued the same warnings as the Qur'an's messengers gave to the various cities, they can then murder as many Westerners as possible in the name of Allah and Islam just as Allah did in the Qur'an.

The article quotes a "third firebrand, Abu Abdullah, 30, [who] branded the British Government 'tyrannical' and warned: 'Do not relax, do not recline, or you will be touched by the fire of hell.'" However, the Qur'an does not simply warn that Allah punishes the sinner in the afterlife. It teaches that he destroys cities in this life whose people worship other than as the Qur'an teaches. That underlies the treats of another 7/7 terror attack and the "fire of hell" threat.

Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the article is the life story of Ajem Choudary. His student days were filled with "swigging beer, cavorting with women and puffing on a cannabis joint - offences for which he would be lashed and stoned under his version of Sharia law." Even a life in the West does not prevent a Muslim from preaching hate against the West. In fact, it may lead to even more radical hatred to atone for past sin.

Christopher Hitchens warns about the UN's attempt to criminalize opposition to Islam.

Christopher Hitchens takes on the UN's attempt to criminalize any opinions that differ with Islam. Hitchens quotes paragraph 6 of the UN resolution that "[n]otes with deep concern the intensification of the campaign of defamation of religions and the ethnic and religious profiling of Muslim minorities in the aftermath of the tragic events of 11 September 2001."

No one defames a religion by merely quoting the hate spouted by its preachers and the murders perpetrated by their followers in the name of the faith. Rather than attacking non-Muslims who oppose violence committed by Muslims, the UN and Muslims in general should demand that such violence end.

I don't see many Methodist preachers calling on Methodists to blow themselves up to kill some Muslims. I see continual calls by Muslim preachers for the faithful to kill Jews and Christians in the name of Muhammad. Aren't the Muslim preachers engaging in defamation of the religion of Islam far more than Christians' pointing to actual violence perpetrated by Muslims?

Why don't the UN and Muslims take on the Muslim preachers for their identification of Islam and Muhammad with beheadings and murder of non-Muslims? Of course, if they took such action, they would have to begin with the Islamic traditions that describe Muhammad as a murderer and leader of thieves and murderers. They would have to take on the Qur'an that calls for continual war against Christians and Jews.

Islam without political correctness.

The time has come to face the realities of Islam without the constraints of political correctness. This does not imply hatred or prejudice against Islam as a religion or Muslims as individuals. It simply requires that we apply the same standards and techniques of the historical critical method to Islam and the Qur’an as have been applied to Judaism, Christianity and the Bible for over 100 years. Obviously, many in the West as well as committed Muslims find it beneficial to use the tools of political correctness to attack anyone who raises any questions about Islam.

Islam radically opposes all enquiries into the historical origins of the Qur’an and the faith. The great embarrassment of Islam and its Achilles tendon arises from the lack of historical or archaeological evidence to support its claims. It desperately seeks to hide that reality by insisting that the Qur’an and traditions were passed by word of mouth for generations until carefully written down by devoted followers of Muhammad.

Christianity looks to the gospels written approximately 40-70 years after the death of Jesus while Paul’s letters date about 20-30 years from Jesus’ death. The question of faithful transmission of Jesus’ words constitutes a major issue as a result of the generation between spoken and written word. However, this gap pales to insignificance when compared to the Qur’an and Islamic traditions.

Extant writings of the Islamic traditions date from 150-200 years after the supposed death of Muhammad in 632 AD, an enormous period of time for accurate oral transmission. This gap of more than 7 generations may explain the creation of Aisha, the 9 year old bride of a 52 year old Muhammad as a desperate attempt to bridge the vast gap of generations between Muhammad’s death and the writing of the traditions.

Scholars question the accuracy of the oral transmission of Christian traditions across 40-70 years, yet most historians seem to accept as accurate the oral transmission of Islamic traditions across 150-200 years. However, recent scholarship raises serious doubts as to the historical origins of the Qur’an and Islam. Scholars point out that no historical or archaeological evidence supports the existence of either Muhammad or Mecca as described in Islamic traditions.