Full-text (PDF) Ancient Age women were in a social order in which they do not haveany legal rights nor a social status. On the contrary, these women are also atthe.

LONDON — A country in the throes of war, America has been battling an ever elusive enemy: radicalism. A force with many names and many masks, this threat appears to have compounded into the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, arguably the world’s fiercest and most immediate enemy. Because of a self-professed affiliation with Islam, ISIS and other violent fundamentalist groups like it have left Muslims around the world to constantly defend themselves and justify their faith against the fury of fundamentalism. Often attacked and accused of harboring “genocidal” sentiments toward Christians and Jews, Muslims have suffered many humiliations because of the folly of a psychotic minority. Yet one Islamic scholar has vowed not to allow his faith to be slandered or exploited to hateful ends. John Andrew Morrow, a Canadian-born cleric, researcher and author, is building a movement to oppose terror at its root and inspire an interfaith network strong enough to weather the storm of intolerance.

“Rather than argue theology with blood-thirsty savages, we thought instead to lead by example. In Islam we had a tradition that was cultivated for over a thousand years called futuwwa, or chivalry. Muslims used to compete with each other in nobility.

As Imam Ali said: ‘Be a friend of the oppressed and an enemy of the oppressors,’” Morrow told MintPress News. With America’s military superpower securing just against ISIS, Morrow and others sympathetic to his cause have decided to step in and offer a different approach to this war of faiths. “ISIS is more than just a threat to world powers and world nations, ISIS is the very negation of civilization. It seeks to destroy to better subjugate. This group’s sole purpose has been to annihilate a region’s historical, religious, ethnic and social heritage to impose its dogma over the ruins of a people’s soul,” Rabbi Meir Hirsch from the, a Jewish organization that denounces Zionism as antithetical to Judaism, told MintPress.

Tens of thousands of Yezidis fell under ISIS fire last year in Iraq, pinned by its militants in the most abject conditions. This centuries-old religious community, rooted in the ancient land of Mesopotamia, faces complete annihilation. Recalling the horror of ISIS’ brutal campaign against Iraq’s Yezidis, a report in the early this month reads: “One year ago this week, the self-proclaimed Islamic State in the Levant — otherwise known as ISIS — perpetrated a genocide against the Yazidi in Sinjar. Tens of thousands of men, women and children fled to Mount Sinjar, where they were trapped for days. Hundreds were massacred by ISIS, and dozens of lives were taken by starvation and dehydration. Report noted other gross human rights abuses, forced conversions and the abduction of women and girls.” An estimated 500,000 Yezidis now risk death under the rule of. The Yezidis are not unique in being marked for death by ISIS.

The militant organization targets Christians, Alawites, Shiite Muslims and Sufis, as well. Even Sunni Muslims have been persecuted, although ISIS claims itself from this creed. The Islam of ISIS is rooted in, a harsh interpretation of the Scriptures which advocates for the annihilation of all dissenting voices. President Barack Obama held a lecture at on Aug. 5, where he discussed alternatives to war and military intervention in general, aiming to instead achieve peace through diplomacy. And though Obama was alluding to Iran and the recently inked Iran nuclear agreement, Morrow, American poet and metaphysician Charles Upton, and Detroit-based of the Eastern Rite churches, among others, also recognize the wisdom in not giving in to military impulses to bring about peace.

They choose to look toward mutual support and religious solidarity to oppose the creeping advances of radicalism, opting to defeat terror ideology with religious inclusion and tolerance rather than bombs and threats. While such interfaith efforts have mainly revolved around a Christian-Muslim collaboration, Morrow is hoping Jewish organizations and other religious denominations will also answer his calls. John Morrow and the Covenant Foundation In October 2013, Dr.

John Andrew Morrow published “.” Meant as both a testament and a witness to Islam’s commitment to interfaith solidarity, Morrow’s book has resonated with both Muslims and Christians. In denunciation of the dogma of Wahhabi-inspired radicals, Morrow’s book seeks to confirm and reaffirm the rulings of the true Islamic law, or Shariah, on the treatment of non-Muslims based on newly re-discovered documents that record the Prophet Muhammad’s actual words. The book features a trove of historical documents, each highlighting Islam’s commitment to peace and interfaith harmony. “Born not in war but in respect,” Morrow told MintPress, “Islam was never meant as weapon of war against other nations and other faiths — only as guidance for those who wished to accept its truth.” As word spread and as more gathered around Morrow’s work, all sensing the opportunity behind such a powerful and universal message of peace, the Covenants Initiative was born. Inspired by Morrow and organized by Charles Upton, an American intellectual and author, a movement began to take form, centered in the belief that there’s a better way to fight terror than endless war. Morrow described the outreach behind the book, as well as the response it’s enjoyed so far: “‘The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World’ has been endorsed by leading Western academics as well as leading Sunni, Shiite and Sufi scholars.

Our efforts have received the blessings of Al Habib Ali Al Jifri, the pope, and several Christian patriarchs. We have presented copies of the Covenants of the Prophet to all major Christian leaders in the Muslim world and abroad in an attempt to defend the dignity of the Prophet, improve Christian-Muslim relations, and, perhaps, save some human lives in the process.” Beyond a simple intellectual exercise, Morrow wants to encourage others, regardless of their religious denomination within Islam, to come forth and honor the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet Muhammad by standing for the oppressed. “In short, we refuse to stand still while atrocities are being committed in the name of Allah, the Prophet, Islam, the Quran, the Sunnah, and the Shariah,” Morrow stressed. “To do this we need all hands on deck: Christians, Jews, Muslims all.” The Genocide Initiative Intent on enacting Islam’s covenant with Christianity and all Abrahamic faiths, Dr. Morrow and Charles Upton reached out to clerics, researchers and men of the cloth, hoping to build a powerful network against religious extremism and intolerance. Morrow’s book and website both contain, a declaration Muslims can sign, acknowledging their acceptance of the treaties of Muhammad as legally binding for Muslims today.

The initiative, which has already been signed by over 20,000 people from all walks of life, offers Muslims a way to stand in solidarity with peaceful Christians, who are also under attack by corrupt and misguided terrorists who falsely claim to act in the name of Islam in the Middle East, Africa, and other parts of the world. In the light of to use as a weapon of mass destruction to promote a neo-colonialist agenda, Morrow’s efforts could help introduce new dynamics and dispel the misconception that ISIS and groups like it are pushing Islamic ambitions. On July 29, Bishop Francis Kalabat suggested the launch of the “Genocide Initiative” in partnership with the Covenants Initiative — Muslims and Christians united against those who have declared war on God himself by defiling His Message. Bishop Kalabat writes in a letter addressed to Morrow and Upton: “I believe that the Muslim community has a great role to play in this initiative but I am not a great believer in demonstrations.

The Pope himself has made many pleads to stop the atrocities committed by ISIS/ISIL/IS and I know that the continues to play a vital role. I do have an initiative that can bring greater focus on a common act that we can all work towards, and that is getting to proclaim the acts of ISIS/ISIL/IS to be genocide, not just in the media, not just in the wordings of some of our politicians, but by the US Congress and by the United Nations. But entities have proclaimed their acts as “crimes against humanity” but never proclaimed them for what they truly are; genocide.

This must be a coordinated effort that can be done on a local level with our elected leaders and the religious leaders playing a role. Greater awareness can then be brought to these persecuted Christians and maybe a greater response from the world leaders. Let’s begin the Genocide Initiative and ask God’s blessings in doing so.” Morrow answered the Catholic leader’s letter with a resounding yes. Political ramifications Bishop Kalabat’s offer to call on world leaders to recognize ISIS’ crimes as genocide have far-reaching political ramifications.

So much so that it could potentially change official narratives on terror and open new, unexpected avenues toward solving this modern plague. Mainstream American and Western media and officials have long held onto one basic position on terror: and Islam are to blame for the atrocities committed in the name of the faith. The fact that Muslims themselves have been and continue to be the primary victims and targets of ISIS and its brothers in arms — al-Qaida, the Taliban and Boko Haram — has been largely ignored by the media. “Rather than fathom that Muslims are not the enemy, for Muslims neither speak nor recognize the radical language of ISIS, the Western establishment has chosen to criminalize Islam and label its people under suspected terrorists ad nauseam,” said Dr.

He added: “This is what we hope to change with the Genocide Initiative. We want to make that first step where the world would recognize and hear the cries of all of our martyrs, whether Christians, Shiites, Sunnis, Yezidis, Alawites We cannot tolerate for men such as al-Baghdadi to speak the Quran and associate with Islam when everything his group stands for is a negation of the Islamic faith.” The Genocide Initiative came just as America shifted, even if ever so slightly, its policy toward Iran, a potential critical partner against ISIS. Iran has been Washington’s designated nemesis since the onset of the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979, when the Iranian people came together to reject the despotic rule of the U.S.- installed dictator the Shah to reclaim their political self-determination. Although the Iran nuclear agreement had been described as “” it nevertheless stands witness to Tehran and Washington’s desire to forge a new path and establish new relationships, if not friendships. Long before any deal was actually reached, Iran proved its worth in fighting ISIS in Iraq when it committed its military power to stop the advances of ISIS militias. “Iran has entered the fight to retake a major Iraqi oil refinery from Islamic State militants, contributing small numbers of troops – some operating artillery and other heavy weapons – in support of advancing Iraqi ground forces,” reported, citing a U.S. Defense official, in May.

The Genocide Initiative could be yet another cornerstone to this rapprochement of nations, people and faiths against terror. As Morrow pointed out, religious communities simply cannot afford to look on while Muslims and Christians alike are murdered and brutalized en masse, their sons and daughters enslaved and humiliated, their books defiled and their shrines broken, their faith mocked and their prophets insulted. “It is time for all faiths to come together and say in one voice: ‘Not in our name!’”. August 13, 2015 SHAFAQNA – Following much media attention Dr John Morrow’s groundbreaking work and efforts to dispel misconceptions and prejudices against Islam has inspired a group of British Muslims to develop his book “The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World” into a play.

The play is directed by Ali Panju and was put on by the Ridhayatullah Theatre Company based in the United Kingdom. The director described the play in the following terms: “The Covenant of Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of Mount Sinai was a document scribed by Imam Ali A.S. And sealed by the handprint of Muhammad pbuh. It accorded Christians of the world certain rights that they should not be denied under Muslim rule.

The covenant exists to present day at the Monastery of St. Catherine in Southern Sinai, Egypt and offers stark contrast to the treatment of Christians and Muslims under the current unjust Islamic State rule. This 20 min playlet highlights the miracle of the eagle and the sealing of the covenant. It will educate Christians, Muslims and those without faith about the generosity of Muhammad (PBUH).” The play premiered on Sunday 9th August. Research on the authenticity of the covenant has been carried out by Dr.

John Morrow and documented here: The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World by Dr. John Andrew Morrow is constructed around covenants that the Prophet concluded with various Christian communities of his time, which Prof. Morrow has discovered in obscure monasteries, collections, and book out of print for centuries, in some cases newly translating them into English, as well as providing cogent arguments for their validity. They uniformly state that Muslims are not to attack peaceful Christian communities, rob them, stop churches from being repaired, tear down churches to build mosques, prevent their Christian wives from going to church and taking spiritual direction from Christian priests and elders, etc. On the contrary, the Prophet commands Muslims to actively protect these communities “until the End of the World”. With the publication of The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World we may in fact be witnessing—unexpectedly, miraculously, at this extremely late date—the emergence of a third foundational source for Islam in addition to Qur’an and hadith: the application of western methods of textual and historical research to the documents composed by the Prophet himself during his lifetime. These documents—letters, covenants, treaties etc.—though known to a few scholars for many centuries, have been largely neglected by both traditional Muslim and modern western scholarship, and are virtually unknown to the mass of believers.

One of the most valuable contributions of this work is that it represents a comprehensive treasury of rare, ancient, Islamic sources, many of which have been quite difficult to obtain. Rather than spend their time scouring European and Middle Eastern archives, scholars will now have all the sources they need to conduct further studies on the Covenants and advance our knowledge in this fascinating field. Not only has Dr.

Morrow included the original primary sources in Arabic and Persian, he has provided corrected versions of most of these in modern Arabic typescript, along with a wide variety of translations for the purpose of comparative analysis. Consequently, the Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World represents a necessary and foundational resource and source of reference for all subsequent studies.

And now that we are witness to widespread Islamicist violence against Christians in places like Syria and Egypt—often perpetrated by groups fighting as proxies for the United States and Israel—It is nothing short of providential that The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World should see the light of day at this precise historical moment. By Bill Cleland Islamicity August 8, 2015 At a time when the name of Islam is being besmirched by extremists all over the planet, it is refreshing to come back to what the Islamic way of life is really about. Indeed the best antidote to both Muslim extremism and Christian-Zionist Islamophobia is the actual teachings of Islam. Even the most anti-rational extremist must be given food for thought in the very plain statement in the Holy Quran: To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight) because they are wronged and truly Allah is Most powerful for their aid. (They are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right (for no cause) except that they say “Our Lord is Allah”. Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another there would surely have been pulled down monasteries churches synagogues and mosques in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those who aid His (cause); for truly Allah is Full of Strength, Exalted in Might (Able to enforce His Will).

It has become unfortunately commonplace to read in the venomous tracts of the Islamophobes that Islam teaches Muslims to exterminate non-Muslims and that they must engage in “jihad” (a term they use for religious war) against them. Again the Holy Quran is clear: Allah forbids you not with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith not drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them; for Allah loves those who are just. Allah only forbids you with regard to those who fight you for (your) Faith and drive you out of your homes and support( others) in driving you out, from turning to them (for friendship and protection). It is such as turn to them (in these circumstances) that do wrong. This verse makes it a Muslim’s duty to treat peacefully coexisting persons with equity (qist) and birr. The term birr and its derivatives are the same expressions used in the Qur’an and Hadith to refer to one’s relationship with his or her parents. Such a relationship is more than kindness, since it includes also love and respect.

Many English translations of the Qur’an have translated this Qur’anic term as kindness, a translation that falls short of the richer meaning of the original Arabic term. The term qist has been translated as “justice.” Justice, however, is closest to another Arabic word `adl. This word, however, refers to giving the other his or her rights, no less and no more. July 29, 2015 By Catherine Shakdam for Shafaqna SHAFAQNA EXCLUSIVE -Terror has a face and it moves under the ominous black flag of ISIS. Under each of its denomination, whatever the language and whichever the angle, terror today, has found a powerful vessel in the ideology carried by Wahhabism – the fountainhead of radicalism and religious extremism. An evil onto the world, ISIS miasms have darkened the skies of Arabia, threatening to engulf regions and continents in their deadly and godless embrace. Before ISIS, no communities can claim shelter, no faith stands immune and no man, woman or child can hope to survive.

At such a time when terror is being debated in the public squares, its ideology dissected and its methodology studied; as experts and world leaders have scrambled to make sense of the nonsensical and thus find means to combat a movement rooted in hatred and blood, men of faith have stepped out of the shadow to reclaim God and reclaim Religion. It all started with one man and a universal message of peace.

In October 2013, Dr John Andrew Morrow published a book, “The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad and the Christians of the World.” Meant as both a testament and a witness to Islam’s commitment to interfaith solidarity, Dr Morrow’s book found a deep echo among Muslims and Christians. A bridge in between communities and a reminder of sacred oaths spoken long ago, was born under the impetus of men such as Dr Morrow and Charles Upton, a light shone forth against the darkness of radicalism, a shield against the evil of war. As words quickly spread and as more gathered around the Covenants Initiative, a plan began to form – one which would see men of all faiths come come together against takfirism.

Today, under the impetus of the Covenants Initiative and thanks to the courage of countless Muslims and Christians, a movement is being born – one which will fight evil with what is better, one which will answer violence with solidarity and unshakable resolve. Today Muslims and Christians have said to be ready to break ISIS where it stands and denounce its deeds for what they are: religious genocide. On July 29, Bishop Francis Kalabat of the Eastern Rite churches suggested the “Genocide Initiative” be launched with the help of the Covenants Initiative – Muslims and Christians united against those who have declared war on God himself by defiling His Message.

Bishop Kalabat writes in a letter addressed to Dr Morrow and Charles Cupton, “I believe that the Muslim community has a great role to play in this initiative but I am not a great believer in demonstrations. The Pope himself has made many pleads to stop the atrocities committed by ISIS/ISIL/IS and I know that the continues to play a vital role. I do have an initiative that can bring greater focus on a common act that we can all work towards, and that is getting to proclaim the acts of ISIS/ISIL/IS to be genocide, not just in the media, not just in the wordings of some of our politicians, but by the US Congress and by the United Nations. But entities have proclaimed their acts as “crimes against humanity” but never proclaimed them for what they truly are; genocide. This must be a coordinated effort that can be done on a local level with our elected leaders and the religious leaders playing a role. Greater awareness can then be brought to these persecuted Christians and maybe a greater response from the world leaders. Let’s begin the Genocide Initiative and ask God’s blessings in doing so.” Where ISIS sought to destroy religious communities, wielding ethnicities and faiths as one would do weapons, Shia Muslims, Yazidis, Sufis, Alawis, traditional Sunnis, Christians and all those who pledged themselves to God will rise, resist and unite.

When ISIS offers no hope, the Initiative will offer safety, when ISIS professes dogmatism, the Initiative will offer compassion – but no more will ISIS claim itself of Islam, no longer will the world believe its armies speak for the people of Islam. For all will know how under ISIS’ blades Muslims, like countless Christians, have been murdered and brutalized, their sons and daughters enslaved and humiliated, their books defiled and their shrines broken, their faith mocked and their prophets insulted. And so it is time for the world to hear the cries of the oppressed and name the fear which shackle them – ISIS.

ISIS knows no religion and speaks no faith. I do have an initiative that can bring greater focus on a common act that we can all work towards, and that is getting to proclaim the acts of ISIS/ISIL/IS to be genocide, not just in the media, not just in the wordings of some of our politicians, but by the US Congress and by the United Nations. But entities have proclaimed their acts as “crimes against humanity” but never proclaimed them for what they truly are; genocide.

This must be a coordinated effort that can be done on a local level with our elected leaders and the religious leaders playing a role. Greater awareness can then be brought to these persecuted Christians and maybe a greater response from the world leaders. Let’s begin the Genocide Initiative and ask God’s blessings in doing so. This book—The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World by Dr. John Andrew Morrow [Angelico Press/Sophia Perennis, 2013]—could change the course of Christian/Muslim relations. As a result of researching sources from obscure monasteries, ancient archives, and private collections, the author uncovered the Prophet’s treaties with Christians; they uniformly state that Muslims are not to attack peaceful Christian communities, but defend them “until the End of the World.” Now that Christians are being persecuted in Syria and elsewhere by extremists who present themselves as Muslims while receiving aid from the U.S. (New York Times, September 10, 2013, ), this book could not be more timely.

According to the author, if the documents brought to light in this book were known to the American people, and to Muslims around the world, the “clash of civilizations”—really a clash of barbarisms—might give way to a recognition that the religions face a common enemy dedicated to destroying them both. Already respected scholars and authorities from all over the Muslim world have taken notice of this ground-breaking work. (View endorsements at ) Ever since the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing, informed and conscientious Muslims have been shouting out: “we are not all terrorists!”, and searching for a way to effectively counter the extremists in the name of the traditional shari’ah.

(See overview: ) This book confirms the rulings of the true shari’ah—not its extremist perversion—on the treatment of non-Muslims based on newly-rediscovered documents that record Muhammad’s actual words; it also contains The Covenants Initiative where Muslims can sign a declaration accepting these treaties of Muhammad as legally binding on them today. (To view the Covenants Initiative, and the covenants themselves, click on ) This Initiative, which has already been signed by people from all walks of life, gives Muslims a way to stand in solidarity with peaceful Christians now under attack by corrupt and misguided terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam in the Mid-East, Africa and other parts of the world.

The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World contains much difficult-to-obtain material: facsimiles of primary sources in Arabic and Persian; corrected versions in modern Arabic typescript; and alternate translations. Scholars now have all they need to study the covenants of the Prophet in depth.

This book will almost certainly open a new field of action in Islamic studies, the antiwar movement, and interfaith relations. “This narrative has the power to unite Muslim and Christian communities. The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World.

By John Andrew Morrow. WA: Angelico Press.

£13.95 Dr John Andrew Morrow is currently a Professor of Foreign Languages at Ivy Tech Community College, Indiana, US. A Canadian by birth, Muslim by faith and an academic by profession, he specialises in Islamic studies, Spanish language and history, and world literature. He is an author and editor of several titles including Arabic, Islam, and the Allah Lexicon: How Language Shapes our Conception of God (2006) and Encyclopaedia of Islamic Herbal Medicine (2011). The book under review is a timely and impressive contribution not only from a scholarly point of view but also for its relevance today. Indeed, this book goes a lot further by providing the textual basis for the ‘Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization’ as the academic and historian Richard Bulliet had argued back in 2004. Consisting of a short introduction, three parts divided into seventeen chapters and endmatters (two appendices, bibliography and index), in this book, the author has collected, translated and contextualised Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be on him) covenants with many Christian communities of the time including the Monks of Mount Sinai, Christians of Persia, Christians of Najran, Armenian Christians of Jerusalem, Christians of Assyria, and the Christians of the World.

The purpose of these agreements was to remove suspicion and strengthen trust and mutual understanding and co-existence between Christians and Muslims. These Prophetic covenants were clearly inspired by the following Divine command: “and you are sure to find that the closest in affection towards the believers [Muslims] are those who say, ‘We are Christians’”. (Qur’an, Chapter 5, Verse 82) According to the author, the ‘covenants concluded by Prophet Muhammad (570-632 CE) with the Christiansare some of the most important, yet notably neglected, literary monuments in the history of Islam.

The Tabah Foundation in cooperation with the Canadian Embassy in the UAE, and under the auspices of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, organized a nighttime symposium replete with a diverse multitude of attendees on Tuesday March 10th, 2015 at the InterContinental Hotel Abu Dhabi’s Auditorium. The event’s keynote speaker was Dr.

John Andrew Morrow—a Canadian scholar who lectures at Ivy Tech Community College, USA—joined by prominent guests including Sheikh Ahmad Al Kubaisi, Sheikh Ahmad Abdul Aziz Al Haddad, Canadian Ambassador in Abu Dhabi Arif Lalani, and Chairman of the Tabah Foundation Habib Ali Al Jifri, alongside a select elite of diplomats and social dignitaries. في أمسية حافلة بحضور متنوع الفئات وافر العدد، وبرعاية كريمة من معالي الشيخ نهيان بن مبارك آل نهيان وزير الثقافة والشباب وتنمية المجتمع، نظمتها مؤسسة طابة للأبحاث والاستشارات بالتعاون مع سفارة كندا في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة، حيث استضافت د.

جون مورو وهو باحث كندي يعمل محاضرًا في جامعة آيفي تك بأمريكا وهو رئيس منظمة المعاهدات، باعتباره المتحدث الرئيس في الأمسية التي عقدت مساء الثلاثاء العاشر من شهر مارس في مسرح فندق انتركونتيننتال أبوظبي. وكان من أبرز الحضور فضيلة الشيخ د. أحمد الكبيسي و فضيلة الشيخ د.

أحمد عبد العزيز الحداد و سعادة عارف لالاني سفير كندا في أبوظبي ورئيس مجلس إدارة مؤسسة طابة الحبيب علي زين العابدين الجفري وعدد من الدبلوماسيين والأعيان في المجتمع. افتتحت الأمسية بجولة في معرض ضمّ عددًا من صور الوثائق والمخطوطات التي وجدها د. جون مورو في بحثه. وقد تحدث ضيف الأمسية د.

جون مورو في كلمته عن معاهدات الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام مع أهل الكتاب منذ صدر الإسلام وذكر أنّها ظلت مرعية في عهد الخلافة الراشدة، ثمّ الأموية فالعباسية، وكذلك من جاء بعدهم من الدول انتهاء بالخلافة العثمانية، مشيرا إلى أن تلك المعاهدات مثلما وجد عدد منها في المصادر الإسلامية فإنه قد وجد أعداد أخرى منها في مصادر مسيحية بالعربية ومترجمة إلى لغات كاللاتينية والإغريقية والآشورية والفارسية. جون مورو أيضًا في كلمته إلى أن معاهدات النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم مع نصارى نجران وفارس والنصارى الآشوريين والأرثوذكس وأقباط مصر ونصارى الحبشة تؤكد جميعها قيم التسامح والمساواة والتعايش السلمي بين الجميع في خطوة متقدمة لحقبة زمنية لا تقبل التعدد. ثم عقب رئيس مجلس إدارة مؤسسة طابة الحبيب علي الجفري على كلمة مورو ومما جاء فيها: إننا اليوم أمام منعطف تاريخي غير مسبوق في تاريخ المسلمين حيث إن هناك من ينسب ما يحدث من الجرائم والتصرفات الشاذة إلى كتاب الله وسنه النبي صلي الله عليه وسلم، وهذا أمر محرم ولا يجوز، و لا يوجد ما يسمى بالإسلام المعتدل لأنه ليس هناك إسلام متطرف، بل هناك مسلمون معتدلون ومسلمون متطرفون، ثم تحدث فضيلة الشيخ أحمد الكبيسي وسعادة عارف لالاني سفير كندا في الإمارات العربية المتحدة. هذا وقد تفاعل مع الحدث مغردون عبر شبكات التواصل الاجتماعي في موقع تويتر من خلال وسم الفعالية “هاشتاغ” #المعاهدات_النبوية للمتحدثين باللغة العربية وهاشتاغ #CovenantsUAE باللغة الإنجليزية. The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World John Andrew Morrow Tacoma, WA: Angelico Press and Sophia Perennis, 2013. AJISS 32.2 (2015): 117-119 With painstaking effort and much dedication invested in this groundbreaking work, John Andrew Morrow will surely manage to attract the attention of Islamic studies students and specialists. Not only is the topic novel, but surely the approach and method are new as well.

Indeed, The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World is a genuine call for reconsidering the relationship among the three revealed Abrahamic faiths, which is often viewed by some quarters with vested interests through the foggy lenses of suspicion and animosity, if not of utter aggressive hostility, especially these days. The author’s arguments stem from various perspectives ranging from Islamic jurisprudence to political science, economics, sociology, ethics, and leadership studies. He defends the covenants written to various groups of Christians, be they living inside the Arabian Peninsula (e.g., Najran), the monks of the Sinai Peninsula, Persia, or the world at large, as being genuine documents emanating from Prophet Muhammad himself, who assumed the responsibility of protecting these groups and pledged that his followers would do so until the last day: “This must not be violated or altered until the hour [of the Resurrection] and the end of the world” (p. Despite the volume’s relative length, its main substance is to be found in Part I, which contextualizes the genesis of these covenants. Its seven chapters (pp.1-202) deal with the Messenger’s early life: his travels, marriage, and relations with the Jews of Madinah, who disappointed him by choosing to rally the Qurayshi idolaters against him. Focal light is shed on his contacts with Christians before and after the revelation, as well as on the covenants as a pledge of protection and coexistence.

In chapters 2-7, the author deals systematically with the issue of the covenants’ texts and authenticity by striving to refute the arguments made by skeptics. Part II (chapters 8-12) presents the texts with their various versions (both in their Arabic original, whenever available) or as they evolved through time in translation. Part III, a brief section that deals with the challenges specified by the author in terms of authority issues, the question of transmissions, the contextualization of the covenants, ends by suggesting topics for future research. Part IV includes a set of appendices that cover “Witnesses to the Covenants,” “Possible Modes of Transmission,” and a useful set of illustrations.

Despite being a Muslim, of which he makes no secret, Morrow insists on following a meticulously sustained stand of an academic investigator, one who presents both the pros and cons of the case as well as the Islamic and non-Islamic views. Considerable space is allotted especially to western views, such as those emanating from such skeptical authors of the likes of Patricia Crone and Michael Cook (1977), Leon Arpee (1946), and others (pp. 31, 102-103, respectively, inter alia). He airs various aspects of this argument in question before providing his own view on the subject. A substantial part of the volume is devoted to defending the authenticity as well as the genuine existence of the Prophet’s covenants, despite what might have occurred to their texts in terms of additions or deletions during the course of their long existence.

Never tiring of producing evidence to refute rebuttals and counterarguments, including those coming from systematic negators, Morrow presents here an admirable case of a persuasive arguer. Perhaps for the sake of exhaustiveness regarding the case he proposes to make, a great deal of space is allocated to the Shi‘a perspective – beside the Sunni one – in his attempt to elucidate aspects of the covenants (see the author’s frequent reference to Muhammad Baqir Majlisi [2010], Reza Shah-Kazemi [2005], and Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai [1977], among others. This opens a window on a scholarship that may sound esoteric to some or even “unorthodox” to others. However, despite what may be said about this specific matter, the volume, in my modest opinion, has only gained in richness, depth, and breadth by this approach. If anything, the volume is an extended hand toward all monotheists to find a common ground of understanding, to look for what unites them rather than for what creates discord among them. It is a call for a more peaceful and harmonious coexistence among believers, and certainly a call for non-Muslims (and some Muslim zealots and bigots, for that matter) to reconsider their stereotyped, narrow-minded, and parochial views of Islam.

And if only for this reason, the work is timely, relevant, and much needed, especially these days, in a world that is being shaken by the horrendous acts of some self-proclaimed owners of “religious truth.” Suffice it to remind such people of the Qur’an’s clear message: “Had your Lord pleased, all the people of the earth would have believed in Him, one and all. Would you then force people to have faith?” (10: 99). This is indeed the essence of the message that permeates this book, which presents Islam as a religion of peace, universal humane moral values, and accepting others in their diversity and difference. After all, one may wonder philosophy- wise, what might be the purpose of a religion if it fails to unite the disunited and put together in harmony what is plural, divergent, and even conflictual? This is certainly the message that the author wishes to transmit. If his call reaches the minds before the hearts of the targeted readership (if only a section of it) and makes them rethink their positions, then it will have achieved its expected goal. Amar Sellam Mohammed the First University, Oujda, Morocco.

Journal of Shi‘a Islamic Studies Winter 2015 ∙ Vol. 1 Book Notes The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World by John Andrew Morrow, 2013. Tacoma, Washington: Angelico Press & Sophia Perennis, xx + 442 pp., $21.95. Isbn: 978-1-59731-465-7. If I should choose an adjective to define this book, it would be ‘precious’. There are many reasons to support such a statement: academically, it brings together for the first time six Covenants concluded by the Prophet Muhammad with distinct Christian communities, all of which were translated directly from the original Arabic; historically, it throws light on the early relationship between Muslims and the People of the Book and, religiously, it invites people to rediscover the respect and tolerance that each monotheistic faith owes to the others. The extraordinary work of the author – who retraced, perused, and compared numerous documents to try to recompose the history of each Covenant drawing on Sunni, Shia, and Christian sources – is commendable.

Since some of these treaties were never published before and others were known only to very restricted circles of scholars, this book represents a unique chance to get acquainted with the letter of the message of the Prophet Muhammad with regard to Christians. Many early edicts, letters, and covenants issued by the Prophet provided protection to the People of the Book, and they agree with the Constitution of Medina that declares that all are equal before God.

The provisions they contain are directed not only to the native Muslim ummah, but to the entire Christian Nation. Reading the Covenants, one notices that some main principles were always confirmed, for instance: it is not permitted to remove a Christian from his Christianity, a bishop from his bishopric, or a monk from his monastic life; nor is it permitted to destroy their churches or their businesses or to take their buildings to construct mosques or houses for believing Muslims; the capitation ( jizyah) will be applied to those Christians who are not clerics; if a Muslim takes a Christian wife, he must respect her Christian beliefs and will give her freedom to follow her own religion. The standards set by these treaties appear not only advanced for the time of the Prophet, they remain advanced in our own age.

Unfortunately, the pact of harmony and understanding which once existed between Christians and Muslims seems to be disregarded today. In order to follow the spirit and letter of the Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World, the Covenants Initiative has been launched, asking Muslims to adhere to such an initiative by signing a declaration aiming at reviving the original relationship between believers in the One God. A n n a M a r i a M a r t e l l i Italian Institute for Africa and the Orient, Rome, Italy. By Vandita April 21, 2015 The entire world’s 1.6 billion Muslims have been forced to carry the weight of ISIS’ guilt. An entire faith is being held responsible for the atrocities committed by a terrorist group that comprises less than 1 percent of the religious population. The world seems threatened by Islam, which is [allegedly] ‘inherently opposed to the Western core values of democracy, freedom of expression, and secularism’. But is the phobia valid?

John Andrew Morrow, a Canadian scholar and director of the, explained how such a premise is not only false but profoundly biased and xenophobic. “; on the contrary, it represents its very salvation. Islam is not opposed to democracy, secularism, and freedom of speech in the true sense of these terms. Islam has historically supported both direct and indirect modes of political participation,” Morrow told MintPress. “If Islam is portrayed as a mortal enemy to Western civilization and values it is because it poses a formidable obstacle to imperialistic hegemonic interests. Democracy, freedom of expression, and secularism are merely masks worn by the one-percenters (1%), the global elite that seeks to enslave all of humanity as it simultaneously destroys the planet in its greed for resources, wealth, and absolute power. Having succeeded in destroying, subjugating, and co-opting all remnants of resistance, only Islam stands in their path.

This explains why the globalists are engaged in a concerted campaign to use false ‘Islam’ to destroy true Islam,” he added. But then why has terrorism become synonymous with Islam? Is Islam at war with the world or the world is at war with Islam? Thousands of Muslims have perished at the hands of ISIS militants in both Iraq and Syria, while tens of thousands have been forced to flee their homes and communities to escape the violence of this black flag army. “Muslims more than any other community have a stake in this war against terror, as terror is directed at them. Do we blame cancer on healthy cells?

No, of course not, because that would be illogical. By labelling an entire segment of the world population are we not following the same irrational logic as those radicals?

Islam is not the problem, radicals are. Islam teachings are not the problem, radicals’ interpretation of religious texts is,” Prince Abdul Ali Seraj of Afghanistan told MintPress. When President George Bush in 2001, the Western world painted Islam as antithetical to democracy and secularism. Post 9/11, Muslims as a religious group and Islam as a faith were branded anti-Western; this belief was reinforced post the Charlie Hebdo shooting. 9/11 came as an attack on democracy, the attack on Charlie Hebdo editors was understood as a declaration of..

Though the KKK rose to dizzying heights with millions of members, much more than ISIS and al-Qaida combined, Americans were never forced to take ownership or even responsibility for the actions of a minority within their faith. Why doesn’t anyone realise that the elite in America and the broader Western world may have created a Muslim boogeyman to reduce the world to their own predetermined sets of values? Today, the Western world is filled with half truths, blurred facts and a wrong interpretation of Islam One which is barely politically correct, yet still objectively false. John Andrew Morrow​’s book is truly one of my favorite books ever. It has inspired me in ways that I never thought that a book could. It’s one of those reads.

Is also a must read for anyone that is studying Islam and the life of Prophet Muhammad. Here’s a description: It is a blessing, a warning, and a sign that these Six Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of His Time have resurfaced at this particular moment in history. Renewed by caliphs and sultans, supported by scores of fatwas, and accepted as law for nearly 1400 years, these documents were common knowledge to educated Muslims and Christians until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, after which they virtually disappeared from collective consciousness. Their rediscovery will certainly open a new field in both Islamic Studies and interfaith relations. As the written words of the Prophet Muhammad himself, peace and blessings be upon him, and a central part of the Sunnah, they should sit side by side with the Qur’an in both mosque and home. If Muslims are ever to recover the reality of Islam and undergo a collective awakening, these covenants of hope will play a major part in that restoration.

Those wishing to familiarize themselves with Dr. Morrow’s exhaustive arguments supporting the authenticity of these Covenants should refer to The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World (Angelico, 2013). Morrow has done unprecedented research on the message of peace that Prophet Muhammad left for Muslims as well as non-Muslims.

Morrow’s research will surely be recognized by the best scholars for many years to come. May God bless and protect John on his journey of sharing this knowledge with the world. John Andrew Morrow March 8, 2015 Updated: March 8, 2015 05: The Muslim world is currently experiencing unprecedented persecution at the hands of fringe, extremist, ideologically-driven, groups. Whether it is Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al Shabaab in Somalia, Al Qaeda both in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or ISIL in Syria and Iraq, mainstream Muslims, from all the major and minor schools of law and spiritual paths in Islam, are being targeted by violent militants who view them as infidels and apostates whose blood can legally be shed.

Although these terrorists also target non-Muslims, the overwhelming majority of their victims are Muslims. With the exception of some misguided souls, no Muslim can identify with any of these mercenary movements that pretend to be fighting for Islam and the Caliphate. As their ideas and actions show, these death cults are the antithesis of Islam and its diametric opposite. In fact, they relish the fact that they violate Islamic legal, moral and ethical norms, and take pride in attributing their actions to the Muslim faith, thereby soiling the image of Islam, and inciting a backlash against believers on a global scale. How, then, has a religion of beauty been rendered so ugly? For those who may have forgotten, the Prophet Mohammed, the Messenger of Allah was a gentle, caring and tender man with a message of love.

His soul was pure and spotless, shinning with spirituality. His primary approach to spreading Islam was preaching and setting an inspiring example. When attacked, he defended himself, but was also just and equitable. If he ever waged war, it was to liberate, not subjugate, and to bring justice instead of injustice. The Prophet’s mercy prevailed over his wrath. If God has given us the Quran, He has also given us the Sunnah, the example set by the Prophet in his words and actions. Although ignored by the majority of Muslims, one of the most important aspects of the Sunnah consists of the letters, treaties and covenants between the Prophet and communities in and around Arabia.

It is in these sources that the vision of the Prophet Mohammed is most clearly and meticulously articulated. How does one spread Islam?

How does one treat non-Muslims? Every aspect of the Prophet’s domestic and foreign policy is to be found in the covenants he concluded with the Christians of the Sinai, Egypt, Najran, the Levant, Assyria, Armenia, Persia and the world. These documents stipulate the rights and obligations of both Muslims and non-Muslims, enshrining freedom of belief, religious practice, property, life, honour, and dignity. The Covenants of the Prophet Mohammed were respected by the rightly-guided Caliphs as well as many of the empires and dynasties that ruled the Islamic world thereafter.

Renewed on a regular basis for nearly 1,400 years, the Covenants of the Prophet formed the basis of interfaith relations in Islam. As a result of the conditions of social justice, stability and fraternity that they created, the Covenants of the Prophet played a major role in the rise, spread and success of Islamic civilisation. The Covenants consist of official documents recording the words of the Prophet as issued during his lifetime. They possess authority equal to canonical traditions and since they confirm, as opposed to contradict, the Quran and the Sunnah, they can serve as a source of legal guidance and inspiration while showing the true spirit of Islam. The Covenants of the Prophet shed an enormous amount of light on the biography of the Prophet and early Islamic history. They demonstrate convincingly that the Muslim model is one of tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

The written words of the Prophet Mohammed are a central part of his message. They should sit side by side with the Quran in both mosque and home. If Muslims are to renew their understandings of Islam and undergo a collective awakening, these covenants of hope will play a major part in that restoration.

It is in this spirit that I come to Abu Dhabi to present the Covenants of the Prophet Mohammed with the Christians of the world. The disease of extremism is a sickness that plagues the modern world.

More than ever, Muslims need to become reacquainted with the Covenants as they consist of the best antidote to repel this disease which is becoming pandemic in our world. Dr John Andrew Morrow will present a lecture on Tolerance and Coexistence in the 21st Century: The Covenants of the Prophet Mohammed with the Christians of the World at the auditorium in the InterContinental Hotel, Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday at 7pm. The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad: The Antidote to Extremism Dr.

John Andrew Morrow The Muslim world is currently experiencing unprecedented persecution at the hands of fringe, extremist, ideologically-driven, groups. Whether it is Boko Haram in Nigeria, al-Shabaab in Somalia, al-Qaedah in North Africa and Arabia, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and ISIS in Syria and Iraq, mainstream Muslims, from all the major and minor schools of law and spiritual paths in Islam, are being targeted by violent militants who view them as infidels and apostates whose blood can legally be shed.

Although these terrorists also target non-Muslims, the overwhelming majority of their victims are traditional Sunnis, Sufis, and Shi‘ites, all of whom profess that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, believe in the foundations of Islam, observe the branches of the religion, and therefore are Muslims. With the exception of some misguided souls, no Muslim can identify with any of these mercenary movements that pretend to be fighting for Islam and the Caliphate. As their ideas and actions make manifest, these death cults are the antithesis of Islam and its diametric opposite. In fact, they relish the fact that they violate Islamic legal, moral, and ethical norms and take pride in attributing their actions to the Muslim faith, thereby soiling the image of Islam, inciting a backlash against believers on a global scale, and justifying foreign intervention in the Islamic world. How, then, has a religion of beauty been rendered so ugly? For those who may have forgotten, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings be upon him, was a gentle, caring, and tender man with a message of love.

The most beautiful of all beings, his soul was pure, clean, and spotless, shinning with spirituality. His primary approach to spreading Islam was preaching and setting an inspiring example. When attacked, he defended himself, but was also just and equitable. If he ever waged war, it was to liberate, not subjugate, and to bring justice instead of injustice. Like Allah, the Prophet’s mercy prevailed over his wrath. If God has given us the Qur’an, He has also given us the Sunnah, contained in the Hadith and Sirah; in books of tradition as well as history and biography.

Although ignored by the majority of Muslims, one of the most important aspects of the Sunnah consists of the letters, treaties, and covenants between the Messenger of Allah and communities in and around Arabia. It is in these sources that the vision of the Prophet Muhammad is the most clearly and meticulously articulated. How does one spread Islam?

How does one treat non-Muslims? Every aspect of the Prophet’s domestic and foreign policy is to be found in the covenants he concluded with the Christians of the Sinai, Egypt, Najran, the Levant, Assyria, Armenia, Persia, and the World. These documents stipulate the rights and obligations of both Muslims and non-Muslims, enshrining freedom of belief, religious practice, property, life, honor, and dignity. The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad were respected by the rightly-guided Caliphs as well as most of the Umayyads, the ‘Abassids, the Ayyubids, the Mamluks, the Safavids, and the Ottomans.

Renewed on a regular basis for nearly 1400 years, the Covenants of the Prophet formed the basis of interfaith relations in Islam. As a result of the conditions of social justice, stability, and fraternity that they created, the Covenants of the Prophet played a major role in the rise, spread, and success of Islamic civilization. Since nothing but Allah lasts forever, it was willed that Islam would gradually come to fade as a World Power. The reasons for this decline are complex; however, a major reason for the decay and downfall of Islamic Power was the failure to follow the true, traditional, understanding of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, including casting aside a major part of the latter, namely, the Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The Covenants consist of official documents recording the words of the Messenger of Allah issued during his lifetime. Not only do they possess authority equal to canonical traditions, they surpass them in established authenticity since they derive from chains of written evidence stretching back to the first days of Islam when the Prophet was still issuing treaties, letters and edicts.

And given that Muhammad identified certain of these documents as having been inspired and commanded by Allah himself, their authority is comparable to that of the Qur’an and the sacred sayings. Since they confirm, as opposed to contradict, the Qur’an and the Sunnah, they can serve as a source of legal guidance and inspiration while showing the true spirit of Islam. If they were once commonly known to most educated Muslims and Christians, the Covenants of the Prophet were eventually forgotten, hidden, and deliberately destroyed, during the dark days of colonialism and imperialism.

When Muslims finally regained their independence, they followed not Islamic Tradition, but Western political models. Ideologues of all ilks attempted to come up with an Islamic political model from Islamic States to Caliphates. While some have fared better than others, none can be called a success, and most have failed miserably. Invariably, the nominally Muslim models they imposed were often worse than the Western models that they replaced. Although the Qur’an is our compass, the Sunnah is our map. They need to go hand and hand.

While many ideologues inspired themselves by both, they forgot the most fundamental part of the Sunnah: the Covenants of the Prophet in which the Messenger of Allah himself provides all of the foundational principles that are to govern Muslims both regionally and internationally. Not only do the Covenants of the Prophet prove the historicity of the Messenger of Allah, they shed an enormous amount of light on the biography of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and early Islamic history.

They demonstrate convincingly that early Islam was inclusive as opposed to exclusive and intended to unite all believers in a monotheistic community; a confederation of Muslims, Christians, and Jews, which was open to other faith groups as well. The Muslim model is therefore one of tolerance and peaceful co-existence. It is therefore a blessing, a warning, and a sign that the Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad have resurfaced at this particular moment in history.

It seems that Allah, in His Infinite Wisdom, had delayed the dissemination of these previous manuscripts until the moment in which they were most desperately needed by Muslims. As the written words of the Prophet Muhammad himself, peace and blessings be upon him, and a central part of the Sunnah, they should sit side by side with the Qur’an in both mosque and home. If Muslims are ever to recover the reality of Islam and undergo a collective awakening, these covenants of hope will play a major part in that restoration. While many proponents of Political Islam are well-intentioned, others, of course, are not. Although they are aware that there is a disease affecting the Muslim world, they have misdiagnosed it.

Not only have they misdiagnosed it, they have applied a cure that is worse than the disease. The sickness that they see in others is the sickness that they have in their own soul: the disease of extremism. More than ever, Muslims need to become reacquainted with the Covenants of the Prophet as they consist of the best antidote to repel the plague is becoming pandemic in our beloved Ummah. It is in this spirit that I come to Abu Dhabi to present the Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the world. The disease of extremism is a sickness that plagues the modern world.

More than ever, Muslims need to become reacquainted with the Covenants as they consist of the best antidote to repel this disease which is becoming pandemic in our world. John Morrow will present a lecture on “ Tolerance and Coexistence in the 21st Century: The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World ” at the auditorium in the Intercontinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday, March 10 th, 2015, at 7pm. Pave the Way Foundation founder and President Gary L. Krupp gave a copy of “The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World” by Dr.

John Andrew Morrow of Auburn to Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, on Feb. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED March 1, 2015 JERUSALEM — A copy of an Auburn, Indiana, author’s book on the relationship between Islam and other faiths was presented Feb. 15 to an Islamic official in the Middle East, according to a press release. Pave the Way Foundation founder and President Gary L. Krupp granted a copy of “The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World” by Dr.

John Andrew Morrow of Auburn to Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is the Sunni Muslim cleric in charge of Jerusalem’s Islamic holy places, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the highest ranking officials in Sunni Islam.

Hussein issued a strong press release condemning the murders of the Egyptian Christians and the atrocious assassination of the Jordanian pilot. He visited the great synagogue in Jerusalem with Krupp and a group of rabbis to personally deliver his condolences for the Jews killed in France.

He also visited the Jordanian and Egyptian embassies to personally deliver his condolences. In a gesture of solidarity, Hussein provided Krupp with some books to present Morrow.

A copy of “The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World” was presented to Pope Francis last year. Morrow, along with Charles Upton, is at the head of the Covenants Initiative, a movement committed to disseminating traditional Islam, defending the oppressed of the Earth, including persecuted Christians, Sufis, Shiites and Sunnis, and improving interfaith relations.

The Pave the Way Foundation is a nonsectarian organization dedicated to achieving peace by closing the gap in tolerance, education and the practical relations between religions, through cultural, technological and intellectual exchanges. Morrow’s “The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World” recently was presented to Hussein by Gary L. Krupp, an American of Jewish faith and the founder and president of Pave the Way Foundation, a news release said. The non-sectarian organization works to encourage world peace by “closing the gap in tolerance, education and practical relations between religions through cultural, technological and intellectual exchanges,” it says on the group’s website,.

Hussein, who has been accused of encouraging anti-Israel action in the past, accompanied Krupp and several rabbis to the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem to offer his condolences for the terrorist attack in early January that killed four Jews at a market in Paris, the news release said. Hussein also issued a statement condemning Islamic State-affiliated terrorists’ recent murder of Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya and the burning alive of a captured Jordanian military pilot. Hussein also gave Krupp some books to give to Morrow, a co-founder of the Covenants Initiative. The initiative seeks to make world leaders and Muslims aware of six covenants that Islam’s great prophet, Muhammad, signed with Christian groups before his death in A.D.

632 and before Islam spread across the Middle East and world. Muhammad signed similar agreements with Jewish and other groups, Morrow, a foreign languages professor at Ivy Tech, said in a previous News-Sentinel story. In return for agreeing to live under the civil government of a Muslim confederation, the covenants with Christians guaranteed they would retain their rights, property and freedom of religion, Morrow said previously. The documents also said the groups’ clergy, churches and religious sites should be protected. Muhammad guaranteed this protection until the end of the world, Morrow said. GRAND MUFTI OF JERUSALEM GRANTED A COPY OF THE COVENANTS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD (SAW) Feb. 20, 2015 Gary L.

Krupp, Founder and President of Pave the Way Foundation, a non-sectarian organization dedicated to achieving peace by closing the gap in tolerance, education and the practical relations between religions, through cultural, technological and intellectual exchanges, recently granted a copy of “The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World” by Dr. John Andrew Morrow to Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. The Mufti issued a strong press release condemning the murders of the Egyptian Christians and the atrocious assassination of the Jordanian pilot. He visited the great synagogue in Jerusalem with Gary L. Krupp and a group of rabbis to personally deliver his condolences for the Jews killed in France. He also visited the Jordanian and Egyptian embassies to personally deliver his condolences.

In a gesture of solidarity, the Grand Mufti provided Gary L. Krupp with some books destined to Dr. John Andrew Morrow who, along with Charles Upton, is at the head of the Covenants Initiative, a movement committed to disseminating traditional Islam, defending the oppressed of the Earth, including persecuted Christians, Sufis, Shiites, and Sunnis, and improving interfaith relations.

The Prophet Muhammad once said, “By Him in whose hand is my soul, eat honey, for there is no house in which honey is kept for which the angels will not ask for mercy. If a person eats honey, a thousand remedies enter his stomach, and a million diseases will come out.

If a man dies and honey is found within him, fire will not touch his body.” [i] He is also reported to have said: “The condiment of drink is honey. It guards the heart, and drives away cold from the chest.” [ii] It is also related that he said: “He who desires protection, let him eat honey” and recommended that: “If any of you buys a female slave, first feed her honey, for this is the very best thing for her.” [iii] The Messenger of Allah also said: “Healing is in three things: a gulp of honey, cupping, and branding with fire [cauterization]. But I forbid my followers to use branding with fire.” [iv] Regarding honey, the Prophet said: “It sharpens the sight and strengthens the heart.” [v] The Prophet also told his followers: “There are two cures for you: honey and the Qur’an.” [vi] An Arabic writer, Ibn Majili, quotes the words of the Prophet: “Honey is a medicine for the body and the Qur’an is a medicine for the soul. Benefit yourselves from the use of the Qur’an and honey.” According to a tradition related by Ibn Ma‘sud, “You have two cures: the Qur’an and honey. The Qur’an is a cure for the soul, and honey is a cure for every illness.” [vii] The Prophet also said that “He who eats three radawat of honey per month will be protected from serious illness ( ‘azimah al-bala’, literally, catastrophe). [viii] It is related in Bukhari and Muslim that a person came to the Messenger of Allah and told him that his brother’s bowels were loose. Thereupon Allah’s Messenger said: “Give him honey.” So he gave him that and then came and said: “I gave him honey but it has only made him worse.” He said this three times; and then he came the fourth time, and the Messenger of Allah said: “Allah has spoken the truth and your brother’s bowels are in the wrong.” So he made him drink (honey) and he was recovered.

[ix] In another tradition, Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri complained to the Prophet that his son had a stomach ache. The Prophet told him to “Give him honey.” [x] The Prophet explained to him the importance of drinking honey because it was a cure from God. [xi] In another tradition, the Prophet explains that “Pain in the waist comes from the veins of the kidneys. Whosoever suffers from this ailment must treat himself with honey and hot, boiling, water.” [xii] According to ‘A’ishah, the Prophet was very fond of honey. [xiii] He used to drink a beverage made of milk, honey, and raisins. [xiv] Every morning, he would consume a glass of water sweetened with honey.

[xv] He also said that honey should not be refused: “Do not refuse honey when it is offered.” [xvi] According to Imam ‘Ali ibn Abu Ṭalib, “When one of you suffers from pain, ask your wife for two or three dirhams to buy honey, mix it with rain water, and drink it. It will do you much good as it is a healing and blessed water.” [xvii] According to Imam ‘Ali al-Riḍa, “He who wants to prevent the cold during winter should eat three mouthfuls of beeswax ( shahd). [xviii] Issues in Identification. It is the consensus that ‘ asal is the Arabic term for honey. Although not an herb, honey is an herbal by-product which is often used as an adjuvant.

Properties and Uses. Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers. Due to its high sugar content, it kills bacteria by plasmolysis. In fact, its single greatest medicinal property is its antibacterial activity which has been widely studied. The Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Monks of Mount Sinai: Issues of Historicity, Authenticity and Reliability Dr. John Andrew Morrow The Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Monks of Mount Sinai is attributed to the Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah, the Messenger of Allah.

The document was written in the handwriting of Imam ‘Ali during the fourth year of the Hijrah which would place us approximately around 625 CE. Assuming the possibility that such dating was a later attribution, it is conceivable that the document was issued, or re-issued, during the Year of Delegations, which took place approximately in 630 CE. Not only have the monks from St. Catherine’s Monastery consistently upheld its authenticity since the early days of Islam, so have the Jabaliyyah Arabs of the Sinai.

Although Islamic Tradition has been passed down almost exclusively by Muslims, this is one of the rare cases in which a Sunnah and a Hadith have been transmitted consecutively by both Muslims and Christians. According to the historical record, the freedoms granted by the Prophet to the monks of Mount Sinai, along with other communities, were honored by Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali, as well as the Umayyads, and the ‘Abassids. The Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Monks of Mount Sinai is next attested by Muhammad ibn Sa‘d al-Baghdadi (784-845), the early Muslim historian and scribe of al-Waqidi (748-822 CE), one of the earliest historians of Islam and biographer of the Prophet, in a document called the Treaty of Saint Catherine which is cited in his Ṭabaqat or Book of Major Classes. While it is shorter than the existing copies of the famous charter of rights, protections, and privileges, it contains all of the major provisions, virtually word for word.

If Ibn Sa‘d simply provided a summary of the major points, Isma‘il ibn Kathir (1301–1373), the hadith scholar, Qur’anic commentator, jurist, and historian, describes the document in meticulous and minute detail, paraphrasing every single article. Speaking of the period right after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, he relates the following in his Qisas al-anbiya’ or Stories of the Prophets: It was about this time [after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah] that the Prophet granted to the monks of the Monastery of St. Catherine, near Mount Sinai, his liberal charter by which they secured for the Christians noble and generous privileges and immunities. He undertook himself and enjoined his followers, to protect the Christians, to defend their churches and the residences of their priests and to guard them from all injuries. They were not to be unfairly taxed; no bishop was to be driven out of his diocese; nor Christian was to be forced to reject his religion; no monk was to be expelled from his Monastery; no pilgrim was to be stopped from his pilgrimage; nor were the Christian churches to be pulled down for the sake of building mosques or houses for the Muslims. Christian women married to Muslims were to enjoy their own religion and not to be subjected to compulsion or annoyance of any kind. If the Christians should stand in need of assistance for the repair of their churches or monasteries, or any other mater pertaining to their religion, the Muslims were to assist them.

This was not to be considered as supporting their religion, but as simply rendering them assistance in special circumstances. Should the Muslims be engaged in hostilities with outside Christians, no Christian resident among the Muslims should be treated with contempt on account of his creed. The Prophet declared that any Muslim violating any clause of the charter should be regarded as a transgressor of Allah’s commandments, a violator of His testament and neglectful of His faith.

(np) Apart from historical works, firmans of political authorities contain direct references to the ashtiname. The earliest of these were issued by the Fatimids (r. 901-1171), and include decrees dating from 965, 1109, 1110, 1134, 1135, 1154, and 1156 CE. Case in point, the Fatimid Caliph al-Hafiz commanded his governors to respect the Sinai Covenant in 1134 CE.

At the time, the document is said to have been several centuries old. The Ayyubids (r. 1174-1249) renewed the Covenant with the Sinai Monks in 1195, 1199, 1201/02, and 1210/11 CE. Both the Fatimid and Ayyubids issued medieval decrees with the monks of Mount Sinai that referred to the sijillat al-nabawiyyah or “Prophetic Decrees” (see 1169 Fatimid decree and 1505 Mamluk decree).

The Mamluks (1250-1517) confirmed it repeatedly in 1259, 1260, 1272, 1268/69, 1280 and 1516 CE. The Ottomans, who brought the ashtiname to the Royal Treasury for safe keeping in 1517, provided the monks with a certified copy which has served as the source of copies ever since, endorsing its authenticity either every year, every couple of years, or every few years from 1519 to 1818/19. In keeping with the spirit of the Covenant of the Prophet, the Sultan of Egypt made a treaty with the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in the year 1403 CE. Prior to 1517, the original prophetic decree was stored at the Monastery of St.

Catherine; it was this primary source document that was renewed by the Fatimids, the Ayyubids, and the Mamluks. Not only was the Covenant of the Prophet recognized and respected by the political and religious establishment, it was independently verified on a regular basis by the five schools of Islamic jurisprudence.

The Monastery of St. Catherine’s possesses nearly 2,000 fatwas from Isma‘ili, Maliki, Shafi‘i, Hanafi, and Hanbali scholars from 975 to 1888 CE both implicitly and explicitly acknowledging the rights that they received from the Messenger of Allah.

'Hamath, a Hittite word, yields its meaning only when we discover it in the native name of Japan which is Yama-to, the mountain door; and this again explains the Bible expression 'the entering in of Hamath'. Hittite colonists, or Greeks who had dwelt with Hittites in Asia Minor, carried the word into Europe as Haemus and Hymettus. The Kathaei carried it with them to India, where it became on Aryan lips Himavat, afterwards to change to Himalaya. Among the survivals of the ancient name on this continent I may mention Yuma, that of a tribe in south-western California to which, with the other members of the family so designated, I shall have occasion to refer more than once, and Yemez the name of a Pueblo people of New Mexico.

The languages of these two peoples are undoubtedly Khitan. Another group of Khitan names to which I can only briefly refer, as I have already directed attention to them in my paper on 'Hittites in America' has been linked with the Kathaei by written on ndian antiquities.'

The Hittites: Their İnscriptions and Their History: - Prof.John Campbell. In some particulars- as-might be expected from the contact into which the Sanskrit-speaking race was brought with the aborginal races of India-Sanskrit appears to differ less widely than the other Indo-European tnongues from the languages of the Scythian group. One of these particulars- the appearance in Sanskrit of consanants of the cerebral series- will be discussed fruther on in connection with the Dravidian system of sounds. Mr.Edkins in his 'China's Place in Philology' has opened up a new line of inquiry in regard to the existence of Turanian influences in the grammatical structure of Sanskrit. He regards the inflexion of nouns by means of case-endings alone without prepositions in addition, as the adoption by Sanskrit of a Turanian rule. This certainly seems to be the case with regard to the vernaculars which have been developed out of the old colloquial Sanskrit; but in so far as the Sanskrit of literature is concerned, the Turanian rule is far from being universally followed.

Mr.Edkins himself gives an illustration from a Sanskrit prose story (p315) which shows that a relative clause sometimes succeeds, instead of preceding, the indicative clause, and that the position of the finite verb is not always at the end of the sentence. Perhaps all that can be said with certainty is that in Sanskrit prose and in prosaic verse related sentences generally precede, and the finite verb generally comes last. Up to this point, therefore, it may perhaps fairly be held tahat Turanian influences have made themselves felt even in Sanskrit. .I described the conclusion I arrived at as similar to Rask's, not the same, because I did not think it safe to place the Dravidian idioms unconditionally in the Scythian group, but preffered considering them more closely allied to the Scythian than to the Indo-European.

In using the word 'Scythian', I use it in the wide, general sense in which it was used by Rask, who first employed in to designate that group of tongues which comprises the Finnish, the Turkish, the Mongolian, and the Tungusian families. Although the pottery tradition was accepted as the most important standpoint, just like their sculpture and architecture, Ionians are not indebted to Hellas their pottery tradition as well. Ionians owe their Gods and Goddess, their script, their cultural and intellectual achievements to Anatolia. The archaeological evidence on about the identity of the Ionians has already been proved with a recent find in Egypt, by an inscription mentioning “Great Ionia” dated at least two hundred years before the migration.

Therefore, it is the time questioning the definition of the “Hellenic identity” of the Anatolian civilizations with the scientific documents and evidences. EPHESUS being a LECTURE by HYDE CLARKE Aeolian and Doric invaders never peopled more of the country than the coast, leaving the aborigines in the interior, and though these aquired the use of the Greek language,they did not thereby become Greeks. The probability is that the present so callde Greeks of Asia minor are the descendants of the Iberians, as the Basques of Spain are, and that the Greeks on our coasts became ectinct, as they did in Greece itself, where they have been replaced by Albanians, where as if our Asiatic Greeks are the descendants of İberians, this will account for many of the contrasts of appearance among the various classes of so callde Greeks in this city. Olin Ross Or880 Manualidades more. It will account too, for resemblances between the present and the ancient populations, for as the Greece of that day was not homogenously Hellenic, but included Thracian, Macedonian,Epirot,Albanian and Asiatic İberian mixed up with Hellenics so does the present population include part of those elements. In earlier mytic epochs Ephesus was the reputed refuge of Latona, the birthplace of Apollo and diana, the place of the metamorphosis of Syrinx into a reed, the lurking place of Pan, a chief seat of the Amazons, so ancient that Bacchus contended with them and Herculus too defeated them, but both acknowledged the worship of Diana, whose birthplace was marked by the original olive tree even in the Christian era, and consecrated by a heaven born image.

On the migration of the Greeks to Asia Minor, Ephesus was occupied by an Ionian colony, the events connected with which are abscured by fable.