ISLAM'S MISCONCEPTIONS

Islam commands the loyalty of over a billion followers, but numbers alone do not make a case for truth. If Muhammad was mistaken in the claims made through his Koran, then all those who are Muslims share the same fortune. My purpose here is not to make enemies of the Islamic Nation, but to appeal to their rational faculties so that we can be friends on equal grounds.

Muhammad made the claim that his messages came from God through the angel Gabriel, but anybody can make such claims. The volume of his work gives credence to his religious dedication. It is not an automatic approval of the validity of his message. Where is the proof for such an extraordinary claim? Excepting courts in Islamic states, no judge or jury would consider the Koran evidence that Muhammad was the recipient of revelations from God. If I were to make that claim (I am not!) as the author of the book Ercian Testament, would Islamic courts believe me as they believe Muhammad? If not, then why not? Am I not a child of God, just as Muhammad was?

That brings me to the second misconception of Islam, the belief that the Islamic revelation is the third and final revelation of monotheism. Giving credit to the prophets of Judaism and to Jesus does not seem like such a magnanimous act. By including them, it sets up a nice platform from where to declare and include the validity of Islam. Various problems arise.

First, except for believers in Judaism or Christianity, naturally, who establishes the validity of revelations in those two groups? Perhaps their ethical commandments are the product of human intelligence and good will, not the result of revelations from God. Thus, I would ask them the same question I asked Islam, where is the proof you have the Word of God?

Second, by presenting itself as the final revelation of monotheism, Islam implies there is something wrong with Judaism and Christianity, something Muhammad’s message will fix. Although Muslims may say Islam complements Judaism and Christianity, what they really think is that it supplants those religions. They think Islam is superior to those religions. Therefore, they think Islam should have supremacy over those religions and, of course, over all other religions, monotheistic or not. If any Muslim groups deny this, then let them prove it. Let them prove it with actions, not just words.

In Ercian Testament - Part One, the “Introduction,” after mentioning there is good and bad in all “holy” books, I declare that my book “negates, supersedes and complements the books of the ancients." The reason is not that I claim myself the recipient of the latest revelations, but that proligion goes beyond religion. Proligion does not claim to have the truth, but to be in search of the truth. As such, it calls for all religious people in the world to share their beliefs and experiences, without any particular group claiming preeminence. Let us debate the worth of our beliefs and ideas. The latter do not bleed. Let them do the fighting, and let us pick the winners. Through ethical communication and the free exchange of ideas, we should be able to eliminate unnecessary religious discord.

Third, making Muhammad “the Seal of Prophets,” that is, the last one to come, shows complete disregard for the value and the rights of all human beings that have been born and will be born after Muhammad. What, in principle, are we not equal before God? Have we not the right to try to communicate with God as Muhammad tried? How dare you exclude us from our Father’s and Mother’s House? In that House, neither Abraham, nor Moses, nor Jesus, nor Muhammad seat at a different table from ours. When it is time for supper, we all say Grace and eat together.

When Islam says, “There is no God but God,” Islam is right. As an Ercian, I call that God, “Erc” God-Unconscious, the Infinite Source and ultimate God. Islam calls that God “Allah,” but they err in affirming Allah is one, a Divine Unity. The following quotation is from
Ercian Testament - Part Two, chapter 11, “Erc is not one being”:

Since God-Unconscious is, among other attributes, infinite space, Erc cannot be One Being, One Entity, One Mind, One Spirit, One Light, or One any other thing.

If Erc is BOUNDLESS, existing EVERYWHERE, Erc can never add up to a whole, or a one hundred percent. Ert is always more than any “one thing.”

Anytime we use the article “a” before a noun it means one of that kind of thing, one horse, one car, one house, or one some other class of thing. It means that you can see, feel, or conceive of one hundred percent of that thing.

If you have “a” table with its four legs and a top and there are no parts missing, you can say that you have one hundred percent of that “one” table. If you now cut it in half and throw a half away, fifty percent of the table is all that remains.

Likewise, if you buy “a” gallon of milk and drink twenty-five percent each day, that "one” gallon will be gone in four days. You would have consumed and exhausted one hundred percent of it.

Infinite space does not make a whole. We cannot break or split infinite space into percentages that add up to one hundred percent. Think about it. Can you ever say you have conceived of one hundred percent of infinite space? Try it. (Marchante, 2005, pp. 66-67).

Therefore, neither “Erc” nor “Allah” is One Being. The ultimate God is infinite / endless / boundless, and not a Divine Unity. The best we can hope for is to find that Divine Unity in a God that evolved from Erc. That is my belief. As an Ercian, I give that God the name of Ellael, God-Conscious, our Personal God and Holy Self.

I give Islam complete credit for its contributions to human civilization, but it needs to do more. It needs to become truthful in its presentation, and renounce the claim of superiority. Judaism, Christianity, and any other religions suffering the same affliction should follow suit. I know it is a sacrifice to leave behind the ways of old, but it is necessary if the human race is to have a good future. Become proligious, and the world will be better for it. Love God a thousand different ways, and enjoy the fruits of your labor in the company of all your brothers and sisters. God bless you all.