New Book written by everyone's favriote troubled young muslim

New! Jesus in Christianity and Islam: The Truth you need to know.

 Read a part my new Book Jesus in Christianity and Islam: the truth you need to know now available on the internet for the first time. Read about Prophet Jesus, The New Testament, How the Torah, Psalms were changed over time, the role of Paul of Tarsus and how he changed the teachings of Christ, the teachings of Islam, etc. Hopefully will get published sometime this year or early next year. If you would like an early copy please message me or leave a comment. Prices are below.

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New! Ehteshaam is now on                Youtube!

 
You’ve read his entries, you’ve heard his kutbahs now Ehteshaam is on Youtube.

 Click the link and see reviews on the latest movies, see the infamous Inner Dimensional Travel, and watch Spider-Man 3 music videos along with fan trailers. Since I am on Youtube, I will now do videos instead of blogs . Check it out its pretty cool and if you happen to be on Youtube add me as a friend or subscibe to my vidoes. Hey at least this is better and more productive than facebook!

Introduction

 In the name of Allah, the One and Only God of the heavens and the earth.

 Praise be to Allah, the Lord and Creator of the universe, and peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad, the last and final messenger to humanity. There are many things in Islam which are important. One of the main things that is important is seeking knowledge as this hadith (or saying of Prophet Mohammed peace and blessings be upon him) indicates:

 I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned man over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham, leaving only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion. (Dawud[1] Book 25, Number 3634)

 Me, being a devoted Muslim for many years abide strictly by this. Knowledge is something that is acquired over time, and in my many years of research, I’ve acquired much knowledge about both Islam and Christianity by Allah’s (God’s) grace, but in no way am I a scholar on Christianity or even in my own religion Islam. Rather I am somebody who knows the truth about both and would like to share the information Christians need to know about their own faith.

 I grew up in a devoted Muslim household and can recall my father calling us all down sometimes are reading about Islam or the Quran. I listened carefully and attentively and as time went on, I started researching other religions instead of Islam, and the first religion I started with was Christianity. If you ask me why, I really don’t know. All I do know is that to me Christianity seemed a lot more interesting and so did Jesus Christ (peace be upon him). I also wanted to stop the false propaganda of Christian missionaries against Islam, which were being propagated all over the internet as well as book stores. I remember reading one book by Mark A. Gabriel an alleged convert from Islam to Christianity about comparing and contrasting Prophet Mohammad to Prophet Jesus. His goals were to call people to Jesus, however his method was to insult and slander Islam in the process. I remember reading the book and shaking my head after reading all the lies and vile propaganda in that book against Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him. His accusations against Prophet Mohammad inshallah (The One God Willing) are refuted in this book.

As I’ve researched this subject throughout my high school and freshmen college days, I began to read and understand more and more about Christianity and who really formed it, how the New Testament as well as the Old Testament were changed and how the Jesus of History went from being a great prophet and teacher to some mythological savior being copied off of pagan legends. The historical truth about Christianity and the basic beliefs Christianity teaches was even worse, as the historical records show that Christian teachings and Christian ideologies developed long and slowly, as well as early Christianity being very diverse in its early years with Churches and early Christian groups all having their own beliefs of Jesus.

 I remember while I was in my early days of Eastern Michigan University a girl was holding a sign yelling at the top of her lungs “ Be saved, Jesus loves, the end is coming near” having a huge sign with some verse from the book of revelation. I sighed and walked passed her. I though I would never see her again or anybody else plugging Christianity again. I was wrong.

 I happened to be walking on my campus to one of my classes and saw a Christian group holding a sign saying “We would like to pray to God for you”. I really had to get to class but I just could not pass up an oppurunity to speak about the truth of Islam over Christianity.  I walked over there and after a debate about Christianity and Jesus I pointed out that the New Testament says the world is flat (Matthew 4:8) I would see that he was losing our debate, so I left not without giving him the name of a book I recently read along with him giving me his email address. That was it. I decided that the world ought to know about Christianity. No I wasn’t going to write a novel about Christianity. Nor was I going to write a Islamic book. I was going to write a book about Jesus and Christianity. The following is my work.

 I would like to thank many people for helping me throughout my journey into the roots of Christianity especially my father Mohammed Gulam who told me to never give up or surrender no matter what. It was his words that kept me writing and kept my faith firm in Allah and Prophet Mohammed peace be upon him. I would also like to thank many others including my college professors, my friends and of course Allah Almighty for giving me the energy for writing this book. When  writing one must keep doing it over and over again without losing interest. And I thank Allah that I never lost my interest in doing so.

 I want to give both Christians and Muslims the information I’ve learned over the years about the Christian faith. I want to give what I was given. Knowledge and understanding of the worlds biggest religion. I find it strange that every where I go I find one or another Christian trying to sell others their faith. From Campus Crusaders to Just give me Jesus bumper stickers no body is really safe from the promotion of Christianity. Yet the sad thing is that nobody even knows about most of this religion to begin with. Its more like the Church said so therefore obey us or be damned to people. And that’s not right. People should have access to the truth. And here it is. To the Christians, I hope this book makes you rethink your faith and draws you closer to Islam. And to the Muslims I hope this Book makes you realize that your following the truth.

 Prophet Mohammad had also said to his followers to convey the teachings of Islam and the stories of the Israeli Prophets as this hadith demonstrates:

 Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: The Prophet said, "Convey (my teachings) to the people even if it were a single sentence, and tell others the stories of Bani Israel (which have been taught to you), for it is not sinful to do so. And whoever tells a lie on me intentionally, will surely take his place in the (Hell) Fire." (Bukhari Volume 4, Book 56, Number 667)

 So this book is aiming to clarify the truth about Jesus, who he really was, the truth about early forms of Christianity as well as the New Testament as well introduce the reader more towards Islam and clarify some misconceptions about Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him. I hope this book informs people about the biggest two religions in the world, Islam and Christianity.

-Ehteshaam Gulam

May 28^th, 2007.

Early Christianity and Church

Islam sees Jesus Christ as a prophet of God only. Christianity on the other hand sees Christ as the begotten son of God and many modern branches of Christianity sees Jesus as the lord and the savior. However it should be noted that Christianity was actually confused about the nature of Jesus in it’s early years. So much so, that early branches and groups of Christianity were actually confused over the nature of Jesus. As a matter of fact the New Testament actually more or less supports the Islamic claim that Jesus wasn’t divine and that he was a prophet as we can see here:

The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee." (Matthew 21:11 New International Version)

Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor."  (Mark 6:4 NIV)

They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." (Luke 7:16 NIV)

   "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. (Luke 24:20 NIV)

After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." (John 6:14 NIV) 

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. (Hewbrews 3:1 NIV)

Not only that but Jesus himself called to the worship of only one God as this verse from the New Testament indicates:

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Mark 12:29)

Not only that but the New Testament also denies any special powers Jesus had and states that these powers were not his own and these verses deny any divinity to Christ:

"...All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." (Matthew 28:18 NIV)

"...I cast out devils by the Spirit of God then the kingdom of God is come unto you." (Matthew 12:28 NIV)

By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:20 NIV)

"Jesus saith unto her, ...I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your." (John 20:17 NIV)

"I with the finger of God cast out devils" (Luke 11:20 NIV)

"Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, A man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know." (Acts 2:22)

Now a Christian might argue that the New Testament clearly indicates that Jesus was the son of God as these verses point out:

But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ the Son of God." (Matthew 26:63 NIV)

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1 NIV)

When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" (Luke 8:28 NIV)

But these are written that you maybelieve that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)

However it should be noted that this is just the way the language was spoken. It doesn’t necessarily mean a begotten sonship. Even in the Old Testment and the New Testament God has other sons who aren’t Jesus:

The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. (Genesis 6:2 NIV)

You are the children of the LORD your God. (Deuteromy 14:1 NIV)

"Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.' (Hosea 1:10 NIV)

"That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;" Philippians 2:15.

"Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD," Job 2:1 

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" Job 38:7.

Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, (Exodus 4:22 NIV)

I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. (2 Samuel 7:14 NIV)

He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.' (1 Chronicles 22:10 NIV)

I will proclaim the decree of the LORD : He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. (Psalms 2:7 NIV) (To King David)

The son of Adam, the son of God. (Luke 3:38 NIV)

Nature of Jesus throughout Early Christianity

I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. (Isiah 43:11 NIV)

There are two myths among Christians and Muslims. Myth one is that the Pauline Branch of Christianity was the only one and the New Testament came right after Jesus left the earth. The second myth is that the Early Christian church was monolithic. Or in other words the first christians were all Unitarian Christians. None of these claims are historically accurate.

The New Testament is discussed in a further chapter, The New Testament. Here I will focus on Early Christianity and the church. In the early years of Christianity, there were many churches such as the Church of Alexandria, the Church of Damascus, the Church of Jerusalem, the Church of Rome, The Church of Lyons, The Church of Corinth, etc that was different from every other church. Each and every church had its own bishop or leader, its own sense of scripture, and their own theology. For example one church would have the Gospel of Thomas as scripture, another the Shepard of Hermas, etc. So they were no orthodox beliefs in the early years of Christianity. There were, however Christian groups that had different beliefs about God and Jesus.

In early Christianity, Jesus was seen as a Palestianian Jew who worshipped the Jewish God, kept Jewish customs, interpreted the Jewish law, and acquired Jewish disciples who accepted him as the Jewish messiah. In other words, in the beginning Jesus was seen as a mighty prophet of the God of the Old Testament.

The first groups were of Jedeo-Christian beliefs. These were the Ebionites ,Theodotians and the Nazarenes. The Ebionites used to believe that God was One and that Jesus was a human. They used to believe that Jesus was a prophet like Moses sent to the Jews to reform them. Same view of the Theodotians. They too believed Jesus was a full human being.   The same with the Nazarenes who used to believe Jesus was the prophet of God. They refused to believe in the Pauline branch of Christianity. The Essenes were also of Jewish Christians. They regarded Jesus as the teacher of righteousness and that he was the Jewish  Messiah.  The word "Christian" had become established as the standard term for the followers of Jesus in Hellenistic and Roman cultural circles. Antioch was the place where followers of Jesus were called Christians for the first time after pagan influences propelled them to do so.

Of the particular groups, the Ebionites hold interest to this author. The Ebionites were Jews who stated that being Jewish was fundamental to have a relationship with God. They also insisted that there was only one God. Their scripture was the Old Testament along with other books such as the Gospel of the Ebionites. Another interesting fact about this group was that they saw Jesus as not divine but as a human being. They thought of him as being the Jewish Messiah sent from the Jewish God to the Jewish People. The Quran also confirms this as it states that Jesus was only meant for the People of Israel. The group had rejected the virgin birth of Jesus and said that Jesus was born out of both Mary and Joesph. They also rejected Paul of Tarsus as being an apostle and also followed one Gospel the Gospel of Mark.

Not only that but their Gospel the Gospel of the Ebionites which was perversed by early Church father Epiphanius states that Jesus was chosen by the choice of God and therefore was called the son of God. It also states that Jesus was the seed of man and not of God as these verses indicate: 

And on this account they say that Jesus was begotten of the seed of a man, and was chosen; and so by the choice of God he was called the Son of God from the Christ that came into him from above in the likeness of a dove. (Gospel of Ebionites quotations from Epiphanius in these passages of his Panarion: 30.22.4.)

The Arians or the Arian position of Christianity in  used to believe that the Father (God) and Son (Jesus) were two different beings, not equal to one another. Arianism denied the divinity of Jesus. As a matter of fact Arius an early bishop (250-336 CE) insisted on the unity of God, opposing the Trinity.  He had also taught that Jesus was pre-incarnate was a created being and even inferior to God the Father.

The adoption branch of early Christianity maintained that Jesus was not the begotten son of God but the adopted son.

In 100 CE, Elkesai, founded the Elkesaites, an early Christian group that preached an early Christain doctrine in Parthia. This early Christian doctrine was similar to the Ebionites doctrine of Christianity. Elkesai taught that Jesus Christ was only a prophet of God.

Early in the second century, Cerinthus preached a Gnostic version of the Adoptionists. Cerinthus deined that Jesus was born of a virgin birth, encouraged others to keep the so-called Mosaic law and taught that Jesus was a great man whom the power of Christ descended at the time of this Baptism. Cerinthus taught that Jesus was a propthet who received divine power.

Theodotus the Tanner of the 2^nd century was an early Christian writer from Byzantium. Theodotus taught that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirt as a mortal man, and that he was adopted by God or had a special relationship with God upon his baptism.

Paul of Samosta in 260 CE  was a bishop of Anitoch and had taught that Jesus was a man born of Mary and that Jesus was divine only to the extent that God used him to speak to mankind.

Eusebius of Nicomedia, an early Christian bishop of Berytus, Nicomedia and Constantinople refused to believe in a trinity and founded the Eusebian branch of early Christianity which taught that Jesus wasn’t the same substance as the father.

Nestorianism Christianity taught that Jesus existed as two people, the man Jesus Christ and the divine son of God rather than as one person. This doctrine was created by Nestorius (386-451), the Partiarch of Constantinople. This branch of Christianity had maintained objected against the title of “Theotokos” which means God bearer to the Virgin Mary and held on to the view that Jesus was a Prophet of God or had a special relationship with God by adoptionism. The Nestorians taught that Jesus was full human being and not divine. Nestorian Christianity taught that Jesus was a inspired prophet of God instead of being part of God.

There were also groups of early Christianity who had other beliefs. For example the Marcionites saw Jesus as completely divine and not human. They also believed that God was two.

Another group within early Christianity was Gnosticism. Gnosticism in the beginning thought there was only one God. Gnosticism was some form of Jewish Christianity. Most of the Gnostics believed that Jesus was the ultimate redeemer, as in his teachings were to be followed and that their God is the same as the Old Testament’s God, as in he is One. Most Gnostic Christians believed different things about Jesus, some maintained that he was human.[2] Gnostics had other beliefs as well such as Jesus being divided into two beings, one human and the other divine.

Monarchianism, or Monarchism as it is sometimes called, is a set of beliefs that emphasize God as being one, that God is the single and only ruler. Models of resolving the tension between the two principles in favour of God's oneness were proposed in the 2nd century, but rejected as heretical by the Church.

Debates were held by the Orthodox Christians, the Ebionites and the Theodotians over the nature of Jesus Christ, whether he was divine or simply an apodopted son of God, or had a special relationship with God, similar to how other Isrealie Prophets had. Later on, the Orthodox scribes who were copying the New Testament manuscripts occasionally edited their texts to clairify that Jesus was a divine character.

However what’s interesting is that non of these early Christians believed in the Trinity we have today, Father, Son and Holy Sprit. So how did we get the Trinity? Where did it come from?  

What we have now, is the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. This Council would establish a creed that would establish the basis of Christian orthodoxy for centuries to follow. It was shaped by Constantine. In the Council of Nicea, God was one in three. The father, the son and the holy spirt were therefore made. Jesus was now made divine. The first person to use the term Trinity was Tetullian a Latin Theologian. The word “Trinity” never occurs in the New Testament. Adrian C. Swindler says that the Trinity was an “absurdity borrowed from paganism”. Dr. Rocco Errico jokes that “God found out about Trinity in 325 AD”.  Many church leaders were called and the doctrine of the Trinity was made final. Only three bishops who were consistent with Arian point of view that the Son is not equal to the father did not vote for a Trinue godhead. Of further note is that Pauline Branch of Christianity which had beat out the other branches and forms of Christianity and Gnostism had split into different forms of beliefs such as Catholic, Protestant, Jehovah’s Witness, Baptist etc. Contatrly to popular belief, Constantine did not make Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. That was the work of Emperor Theodosios in 379 C.E. The official Nicene Creed went like this:

“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; he suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost.”

As seen from before, early Christians such as The Arians, the Ebionites, Gnostics, Marcionites, Anomoeism, Elkasites, Dynamic Monarchianism, Nestorianism all denied any Trinue Godhead and professed the Unity of God, and the humanity and created nature of Jesus. Modern day groups such as Jevoah’s witness, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, the Unitiarians and the Christadelphians all don’t believe in the Trinity.

The Christianity we have today appears to have been cut from the same fabric as pagan mythology, and some early Christians admitted it. Arguing with pagans around 150 CE, Justin Martyr said: "When we say that the Word, who is the first born of God, was produced without sexual union, and that he, Jesus Christ, our teacher, was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven; we propound nothing different from what you believe regarding those whom you esteem sons of Jupiter (Zeus)."

Conclusions:

Early Christianity was very diverse in its early years. Some groups of Christians claimed there were two gods. Some claimed there was One, others believed that Jesus was human while some believed that he was divine. There were no orthodox set of beliefs and the Jewish Christian groups Ebionites, the anti-Jewish Marcionites and the various Gnostic sects were all at odds with each other. The Council of Nicea was then held by Constantine and steps were taken to make Jesus divine and to make the Trinty, Father, Son and Holy Sprit.

Currently Reading The Meaning Of The Holy Quran (Meaning of the Holy Quran) By Abdullah Yusuf Ali see related

My Spider-Man 3 Review

      My Spider-Man 3 Review  

      By Ehteshaam Gulam

            ***Spoilers*****

 Assalamwacomb Everyone!

 Being a huge Spidey fan, I felt I had to give out my review on this film to the members here. I have to say I am very much disappointed with this film. I’ll explain. Oh Btw, this review is spoiler heavy, so if you prefer not to know what happens don’t read.

 I’ve always been a Spider-Man and a Batman fan. Not so much Superman or other comic book characters. I did see Superman shows like Smallville and Lois and Clark. Now Lois and Clark the New Adventures of Superman was a classic. Go rent the DVDs. This show was magic for me. I would stay past my bedtime to see this show. It was about Clark Kent and Superman, as they try to co-exist so one identity doesn’t take over the other. It was funny, touching and the CG is so bad, its actually pretty good for its time. However Smallville was your typical WB garbage. Smallville was so bad, its not even worth watching when your bored out of your mind. So why did I watch it? I really don’t know. Maybe it had to do with the fact that my other friends watched that crappy show and I wanted to be like them. Or maybe I was hoping it would have Superman. Instead all the viewers of Smallville got was a kid, Clark Kent, in high school after some girl, with a annoying reporter friend who’s also a girl, too many kryptonite villains, too much love triangle crap, way too much underused characters, and storylines which were so boring and dumb, looking back, I regret watching the dumb show when I could’ve been reading the Quran or something. Anyways, Spider-Man and Batman were the superheroes. I ignored everything else, especially heroes like Hulk, Iron Man, X-men, etc. Spider-Man and Batman were my superheroes because I could relate to them. They were cool. They were these humans who had problems and wanted to solve them, by helping others. Same thing with me, I also had a lot of problems, became religious and live by the rules of Islam, by helping others out and doing what’s good in this world like the Prophet.

 So when I saw Batman and Batman Returns, I was happy. I mean, both these movies aren’t great, However Micheal Keaton was awesome as Batman, the Music was great, the story for Batman was tight, and Batman was dark, quiet, disturbed and actually kind of scary. Batman Forever, Every kid in school (I was in 2^nd grade at the time it came out) was nuts over that movie. Why? Because it was Batman. Then I started watching the cartoon Batman the Animated series and I was like This is awesome. And I was in 3^rd grade. Batman and Robin came out when I was in 4^th grade, and I just wanted to shoot myself after seeing that awful movie. Then Batman Begins came out in 2005 and after that, I was a proud Batman fan again. I even dressed up as Batman in school, uh…I’ll tell you about that some other day.

 Now getting to Spider-Man. Spider-Man was cool. I mean it wasn’t great, it was cool. It did what it had to do. Green Goblin was awesome and the CG for its time was good not Star Wars great. And yeah, It had its cheesy moments, like that upside down kiss between MJ and Spider-Man, It’s cartoon violence and it’s one liners. But the movie was enjoyable, something that I would see over. Then Spider-Man 2 came out. And man, that was one of the greatest movies I had ever seen. No am not joking. This movie was so good, I saw it twice. Great story, CGI, Villian, everything. What more could a Spider-Man fan ask for? That movie had something for everyone. Even my mom liked it and she rarely watches American movies, being a Bollywood fan. I never really understood Desi Films…….they are just to boring for me. Anyways, Spider-Man 2 was so good, that I really wanted to see the third Spider-Man movie. I remember having dreams about seeing Spider-Man 3 and waking up and being mad that it was only a dream. The wait was killing me. And I along with thousands of Spider-Man fans, thought that because they are taking so long on this film (3 years) it has to be amazing. However we were all wrong.

 May 4^th 2007 finally came. I remember waking up and being exicited out of my mind. I went to my office in my basement and looked at my Spider-Man 3 posters then my Spider-Man 3 toys still in their packages. I was about to see Spider-Man 3 the movie I waited 3 years for. I saw the reviews for the movie which weren’t good. As a matter of fact they were really bad. But regardless I wanted to see this film.

 So I go to the theater by my house with my two friends, and my younger brother (who reads the Quran beautifully mashallah) and the theater was packed. The movie was sold out, which didn’t surprise me. It was a good thing we got our tickets hours before the movie played. So we go in, find really good seats, I get popcorn and drinks for everyone I was with. Things were good. What could possibly go wrong? Well the movie played, and I have to say, the beginning was awesome. But after about 30 minutes the movie just got worse and worse and worse. First of all, there are so many subplots, so many characters and so many villains this movie just doesn’t seem to juggle it well. Second, Everyone in this dumb movie cry. Third, the special effects were so good, that I believe that’s why the script was so badly done. And oh yeah, the biggest problem with this movie is its sloppy script. Sandman is underused. He has a sick daughter, and is revealed to be the killer of Uncle Ben. I mean don’t get me wrong, I liked the Sandman character, he was tragic and sad, and you actually feel bad for him. Its like he is given this power and has to use it for evil purposes to do something noble for his daughter. But again this great character, Sandman was underused and underwritten. And not to mention, Eddie Brock. This was another good character, however when he became Venom, he became pointless. All Venom does is swing around, beats Spider-Man rips off his mask, and Spider-Man beats him eventually by making loud sounds using steal bars. Then Both the Symbiote and Eddie explode and we don’t even see Eddies body. Its like they both evaporated or something. So yeah Venom had no purpose in this movie, along with the Gwen Stacy, a girl who has a crush on Spider-Man. Her character was boring and at times annoying. And Darker Parker, or when the symbiote takes over him and turns him “Bad” is just so dumb its actually funny. Darker Parker does stupid dance moves in the movie, is arrogant and even hits Mary Jane. I hated the Darker Parker character. And the symbiote Spider-Man or Black Spider-Man if you will is no better. Peter puts the black suit on, takes it off, puts it back on, keeps it on then rips it off. I mean make your mind. Seriously.   And let’s talk about the fight scenes. I mean there was a lot of potential for the Fight scenes however they were just not done right. Take for example the Subway fight with Sandman and Symbiote Spider-Man. That was something I was looking forward to. However that fight is just so short you really can’t enjoy it. Same with an earlier armored car battle. Another thing was that these fights were random in some ways. I think there are 5 battles and all of them are just lame. Especially the ending. The ending was also done very sloppy. Its like they didn’t know how to end the trilogy so they just threw together some lame scenes with Harry dying, Sandman flying and Peter and MJ crying and that was it.

 In the end, this movie became what everyone feared, there is just too much packed into this film. You just cant care about this film like you could for Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. The script is just so sloppy and so bad, that Sam Raimi the director just didn’t know what to do. Its like the entire cast and crew got lazy this time around. I never thought I would say this, but Spider-Man 3 is a disappointment and unsatisfying. It could’ve been the movie of the year and the best superhero movie ever. Instead what we have is just a cash cow, something the studio wants to make only for the profits, the money.  For once I agree with the critics. This movie is bad. A disgrace to the name Spider-Man. And the worse thing is everyone will see this film. Why? Because it’s a Spider-Man film.

 Overall, this was a huge letdown. I loved Spider-Man 2, that movie was awesome, this movie is just a huge joke. I couldn’t take anything seriously and not only that, it was too long and too dull. If they made a Spider-Man 4 I wouldn’t see it. Not after this. Things close in this chapter, this movie concludes a lot of chapters in the first two films and that’s a good thing. Hopefully the actors and the director can move on now and so can I.

 If you haven’t seen this film, don’t. Save your money. Go with your friends and get something to eat, rent a movie however don’t see this awful piece of crap. Skip it and wait for the DVD. Your really not missing anything. At least we have the Dark Knight in 2008 to look forward to……..

Currently Watching Spider-Man 2.1 - Unrated, Extended Cut (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) By Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina see related

   New!  3 Articles for the

  Price of 1.

        By Ehteshaam Gulam

 
School has been keeping Old Eddie busy, but fortunately by Allah’s grace I am getting my work done and not doing too bad, although I can say I really don’t like Eastern and this year or next I am definitely transferring either to Wayne State where me, Hamza Malek and Gangsta Bilal can rule the campus or U of M Dearborn where I am not going to be studying and goofing off and trying to be an Arab.. (from what I am hearing the campus is ruled by Arabs..)

 I’ve got three articles this week, the first was 15 reasons why I am not a Christian, which explain why I reject Christianity but of course not Prophet Jesus (pbuh).  However I took that out. I am done making fun of Christianity these days, I want to move back into Islam. So I decided to write about my office below. A Spider-Man 3 article and an article on Why We on earth. After your done reading these, Go watch Casino Royale on DVD, you won’t be sorry.

   Ehteshaam’s Office

    Come make yourself at Home….

 Having an office is pretty cool. It’s even cooler when Your office is pretty nicely set up. Recently I finished “remodeling” my downstairs office, and decided I gotta show it off. So here’s some pictures of my new Office, something I am proud of. And I know its no Extreme House makeover masterpiece But hey.. at least Its something. I want to Thank Allah (SWT) for blessing me with such. Check it out.

 
  SPIDER-MAN 3

Folks, I am super pumped for this movie. The opening day I am going there with a bunch of friends inshallah. If anyone wants to join just tell me, I’ve already got two people confirmed. Anyways, this movie is going to be huge. I am not talking the next gay Harry Potter huge, I am talking MEGA BLOCKBUSTER STAR WARS EPISODE ONE huge. With Sandman and Venom already confirmed as villains and with Spidey going black (you know the saying, once you go black you don’t come back) this movie is going to be unbelievable

 
Below are links for the exclusive seven minute clip shown on NBC last Monday. It features three scenes the best being a brutal fight between Peter Parker and his former friend Harry Osborn….or should I say THE NEW GOBLIN?! Also included is a short trailer shown during the movie 300 (which I saw and wasn’t that great… three hundred men fighting and yelling…come on). Anyways, during the clip they showed Venom for like a second, it was awesome. Well what are you waiting for? Click the links and prepare to be amazed.

                     Seven Minute Clip:

                       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxFidevwqL4                  

                                       New Spider-Man 3 Trailer:       

                     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0PaFLGwskc

                                                                    (WITH VENOM!)

 
 Now all we have to do is wait 2 more months…… Does anyone have a time machine? 

 

             Why are we on

    EARTH?  

                                                            By Ehteshaam Gulam

 
As Muslims, we gotta ask ourselves, why do we do pray? The answer to that, has nothing to do with cultural settings, or tradition. To me prayer is a way of thanking God that one he gave us life, two he gave us all our organs, body parts in tact, and three that he put us on this earth, when he could’ve flat out killed us all.

 Its also seen as somewhat as a spiritual discipline, a way of honoring God Almighty. To Muslims life is seen as a test, a trail, a challenge to do good and encourage good, since Allah is the source of all Good, Compassion and Mercy, And in a hadith it is said that Allah had sent one part of mercy into earth and has withheld the other parts unto himself. Therefore humans have gotten this mercy on earth, some how or another.

 Now for the purpose of life on earth:

 If one were to look into the Quran, sura 7 chapter 10, Allah tells mankind:

 It is We Who have placed you with authority on earth, and provided you therein with means for the fulfilment of your life: small are the thanks that ye give! (Quran 7:10)

 What’s further interesting is what the Quran says about Adam and Satan. Pay close attention to the following verses:

 It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels prostrate to Adam, and they prostrate; not so Iblis; He refused to be of those who prostrate. (Allah) said: "What prevented thee from prostrating when I commanded thee?" He said: "I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay." (Allah) said: "Get thee down from this: it is not for thee to be arrogant here: get out, for thou art of the meanest (of creatures)." He said: "Give me respite till the day they are raised up." (Allah) said: "Be thou among those who have respite." He said: "Because thou hast thrown me out of the way, lo! I will lie in wait for them on thy straight way: "Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor wilt thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for thy mercies)." (Allah) said: "Get out from this, disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow thee,- Hell will I fill with you all. O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and enjoy (its good things) as ye wish: but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression." Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said: "Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever." And he swore to them both, that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: "Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you?" They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: If thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us Thy Mercy, we shall certainly be lost." (Allah) said: "Get ye down. With enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood,- for a time." He said: "Therein shall ye live, and therein shall ye die; but from it shall ye be taken out (at last)." O ye Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your shame, as well as to be an adornment to you. But the raiment of righteousness,- that is the best. Such are among the Signs of Allah, that they may receive admonition! O ye Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as He got your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment, to expose their shame: for he and his tribe watch you from a position where ye cannot see them: We made the evil ones friends (only) to those without faith. ( The Holy Quran 7: 11-27)

 So we can see that Allah told Adam that he would be on earth not forever but for a time. After living a good and faithful life, he would be able to return back to heaven. That’s what the verse but from it shall ye be taken out (at last). Adam eventually made it back to heaven (Bukhari V. 1 Book 8 #345). How did he do it? He lived a good and faithful life. So after we humans live a good and faithful life as Muslims we can go back to where our father Adam once was, heaven. Allah also advises us about Satan and the traps he has laid out to seduce us.

 So the life of this world is a test, a trail, a challenge to do what’s good and to avoid what’s wrong and to fight the darkness within us and others so eventually we can make it back into heaven. Remember all of us are going to die one day, we can’t escape it, we can only prepare for it. And we can do so by following the commandments of Allah and Prophet Mohammed (Saw).

 Sometimes the greatest fight one must fight is the fight within. So my brothers and sisters, FIGHT THE DARKNESS WITHIN YOURSELFS, so one day we can join our father Adam back into heaven and never think that your alone in this world because Allah (SWT) is always there watching over us and helping us along the way.

Next week:  Another 3 for 1 special, including top TV shows you gotta watch before you die, Islamic Themes in Batman Begins & 10 reasons Why I am a Muslim and 15 reasons why I am NOT a Christian

New! When Stupid                “Muslims"take over

                  By Ehteshaam Gulam

Folks, enough is enough. Having ignorant muslims is one thing, but when these stupid muslims start talking about Islam to others….that’s when to blow the whistle. First off, non-muslims are extremely stupid when it comes to Islam… hell, most non-muslims are ignorant and arrogant when it comes about learning about Islam, but heres the problem… we have muslim girls who don’t know anything when it comes to Islam… but when it comes to teaching others about Islam they are the first to jump up and say “we’ll teach you”! What the $%^& is this? All of these girls don’t even come to the masjid, don’t wear hijab, etc. Now they magically know about Islam in order to impress their non-muslim folks about Islam. What is this?

Today we had a humanities thing in the masjid and non-muslims were there, and girls were teaching them things. Now I am not saying what they were teaching is wrong, it wasn’t, it was correct, but some of the things a girl was saying wasn’t apporiate. What this girl said is that you learn Arabic to read the Quran only…okay that’s great, but you also need to learn it in order to pray. Another thing is that this stupid girl wasn’t even praying! Instead she was sitting with those non-muslims and just watching us pray! And she had the nerve to put on her hijab! Praying to Allah (SWT) is extremely important in Islam. But apparently for this stupid girl, she has some get out of prayer free card. And shes not the only one… there are others too.

Another problem is low Masjid attendance.  I can understand during the week its difficult but atleast during the weekend they should make it and only a few do. Even our beloved Prophet Mohammed (SAW) said that one should come to the masjid even if he has to crawl. (When I find the hadith I’ll post it.)

Another sickening thing I saw was some muslim men who were pushed back and unable to speak.. they were just behind a table staring and I felt sorry for them.. here they can answer questions and speak about Islam, probably better than Asad (from what I am hearing he's too young, 25-26) can, yet they cant do anything, all they can do is announce that theres pizza and try to get those high school students to take some good Islamic literature. Its like no body cares what the older people have to say about Islam… and that’s just wrong. Prophet Mohammed (SAW) said to respect elders, yet these men are just pushed back, as if they are nothing. While the girls eat their pizza and talk about useless stuff and impress their non muslim friends, the Qualified people are pushed away.

 
So the moral of the story is that we should have QUALIFIED people to speak about Islam, Shiekh Ali, Imams, etc, not ignorant high school over achieving girls, or Asad. Who knows what these non muslims are learning… probably complete wrong interpretations about the beautiful religion of Islam, thanks to the ignorant Muslims that plague our community. In no way am I saying that I am better than these muslims because I am probably not, but we should at least have qualified people speaking about Islam… rather than stupid attention wanting high school girls trying to impress their daddys by becoming doctors and entering U of M Ann Arbor.

 What is this world coming to?

Btw: Be Sure to check out my other articles, How the New Testament is corrupt and Prophet Mohammed (Saw)reasons for his various marriages by scholar Reza Aslan below this article. There good ones.

Currently Reading The Meaning Of The Holy Quran (Meaning of the Holy Quran) By Abdullah Yusuf Ali see related

New! How the New Testament is:
            Corrupt

NT Scholar Bart Ehrman explains how the New Testament canon came to be in our possession today…..

One book which everyone should sit down and read especially Christians would be Lost Christianities: The Battles for the scripture and the Faiths we never knew by Bart D.Ehrman. Ehrman is a professor of religion at UNC Chapel Hill. This book explains how diverse Christianity was in the early years, how the New Testament came to be, and how orthodox Christianity came about. Overall it’s a very interesting and very good book, especially when it comes to proving the Islamic point of Jesus and the New Testament. Anyways, I was reading through his book in the Canton Public Library and came across the Chapter: The Invention of Scripture, which states many Islamic beliefs of the New Testament (that it is corrupt, see Quran Sura 4:157). As usual instead of paying my library fines and borrowing the book, I decided to copy the information and decided to post it. Here you go The Invention of the Scripture:

Lost Christianities: The Battle for the scripture and the Faiths we never knew By Bart D. Ehrman, Winners and Losers: The Invention of the Scripture page 234:

 Along with these authoritative accounts of Jesus’ life were the authoritative writings of his apostles, which were being granted sacred status before the end of the New Testament period. The final book of the New Testament to be written was probably 2 Peter, a book almost universally recognized by critical scholars to be pseudonymous, not actually written by Simon Peter but one of many Peterine forgeries from the second century (cf.the Gospel of Peter, the Apocalypse of Peter, the letter from Peter to James, etc.). One of the striking features of this letter is that it discusses the writings of the apostle Paul and considers them, already, as scriptural authorities. In attacking those who misconstrue Paul’s writings, twisting their meaning for their own purposes (some kinds of proto-Gnostics?), the author says:

            Our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him
Saying such things as he does in all his letters. Some things in them are hard to
Understand, which the foolish and unstable pervert, leading to their own destruction,  as they do with the rest of the Scripture. (2 Peter 3:16)

 By grouping Paul’s writings with “the rest of the Scripture” this author has made a significant move. Apostolic writings are already being revered and placed into a collection as books of Scripture.

 And so, by the end of the New Testament period, we have a movement toward a bipartite New Testament canon, consisting of the words (or accounts) of Jesus and the writings of the apostles. In speaking of this as a “movement” we should guard against being overly anachronistic. It is not that Christians at this time were all in agreement on the matter, as we have seen time and again, and it is not that anyone thought they were in a “movement” that was heading somewhere else. These authors understood that there were certain authorities that were of equal weight to the teachings of (Jewish) Scripture. They had no idea that there would eventually be a twenty-seven book canon. But looking back on the matter from the distance afforded by the passage of time, we can see that their claims had a profound effect on the development of proto-orthodox Christianity, as eventually some of these written authorities came to be included in a canon of Scripture.

Authors and Authorities Page 234-235

 Probably every Christian group of the second and third centuries ascribed authority to written texts, and each group came to locate that “authority” in the status of the “author” of the text. These authors were thought to be closely connected to the ultimate authority, Jesus himself, who was understood to represent God. Different groups tied their views to apostolic authorities in different ways: The Ebionites, for example, claimed to present the views advocated by Peter, Jesus’ closet disciple, and by James, his brother; the Marcionites claimed to present the views of Paul, which he received via special revelation from Jesus: the Valentinain Gnostics also claimed to represent Paul’s teachings, as handed down to his disciple Theudas, the teacher of Valentinus.

 The proto-orthodox claimed all of these apostles as authorities-Peter, James, Paul, and many others. But not all of the books used by the proto-orthodox churches, were written by apostles-or in some cases even claimed to be. The four Gospels that eventually made it into the New Testament, for example, are all anonymous, written in the third person about Jesus and his companions. None of them contains a first person narrative (“One day, when Jesus and I went into Capernaum…”) or claims to be written by an eyewitness or companion of an eyewitness. Why then do we call them Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Because sometime in the second century, when proto-orthodox Christians recognized the need for apostolic authorities, they attributed these books to apostles (Matthew and John) and close companions of apostles (Mark, the secretary of Peter; and Luke, the traveling companion of Paul). Most scholars today have abandoned these identifications, and recognize that the books were written by otherwise unknown but relatively well-educated Greek-speaking (and writing) Christians during the second half of the first century.

Other books that came to be accepted as authoritative were not anonymous but homonymous, that is, written by someone who had the same name as a person well known in Christian circles. Whoever wrote the New Testament book of James, for example, gives no indication that he is James, the brother of Jesus. Quite the contrary, he says nothing at all about a personal tie to Jesus. Moreover, the name James, for example, gives no indication that he is James, the brother of Jesus. Quite the contrary, he says nothing at all about a personal tie to Jesus. Moreover the name James was very common in the first century-as many as seven men named James are found just within the New Testament. In any event, the book of James are found just within the New Testament. In any event, the book of James was later accepted as apostolic on the grounds that the author was the brother of James, although he never claimed to be.

The name John was common as well. Even though the Gospel and Epistles of John do not claim to be written by someone of that name, the book of Revelation does (see Rev. 1:9). But the author does not claim to be John the son Zebedee, one of Jesus’ apostles. In fact, in one scene “John” has a vision of the throne of God surrounded by twenty-four elders who worship him forever (Rev.4:4, 9-10). These twenty-four elders are usually taken to refer to the twelve patriarchs of Israel and the twelve apostles. But the author gives no indication that he is seeing himself. Probably, then, this was not the apostle. And so, the book is homonymous, later accepted by Christians as canonical because they believed the author was, in fact, Jesus’ earthly disciple.

 Yet other books are pseudonymous-forgeries by people who explicitly claim to be someone else. Included in this group is almost certainly 2 Peter, probably the pastoral Epistles of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, quite likely the deutero-Pauline Epistles of 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, and Ephesians, and possibly 1 Peter and Jude. But why would someone claim to be a famous person from the past? As we have seen, it was principally in order to get a hearing for his views.

 So there you have it folks, the New Testament wasn’t written by any disciples and other documents in the New Testament are forgeries. My advice to Christians or atheists reading this, just surrender to Islam. We believe in Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus John the Baptist so your not going to miss anything if you do come into Islam. And believe me, Islam is the only religion on the face of this earth that actually has hard evidence for it.