By Peter Burrows elburropete@gmail.com 5/23/17

As this is being written, authorities have determined that a Muslim suicide bomber was responsible for killing 22 people and injuring over 100 at a concert in Manchester, England.

We should all be horrified, but none of us should be surprised. He was merely following the Koran. Devout Muslims believe the Koran is God's timeless guide for humanity that sets forth laws for Muslims to obey. Furthermore, the Koran commands that God's messenger, Muhammad, be emulated and obeyed. (See sura 33:20 and sura 4:80 in the Koran. Sura means “chapter.”)

People who think Islam is religion of peace should read sura 9 in the Koran. It is virtually the last chapter and unquestionably the most important chapter in the Koran. It's a chapter I'm sure the Manchester bomber read and obeyed.

For example, 9:41 commands: “March forth whether light or heavy, and strive in the way of Allah with your belongings and your lives.” The Manchester bomber could have jumped in a car or truck and driven through a crowd of infidels, but he chose instead to get a little “heavier” and built himself a bomb, probably following directions published at least twice by al-Qaeda.

His own death would have been a “trivial” concern. Sura 9:38 says “Believers! What is amiss with you that when it is said to you: ‘March forth in the cause of Allah,' you cling heavily to the earth? Do you prefer the worldly life to the Hereafter? Know well that all the enjoyment of this world, in comparison with the Hereafter, is trivial.” Sura 9:39 drives the point home: “If you do not march forth, Allah will chastise you grievously --.”

The fact that the bombing occurred at a concert starring a female vocalist should also not come as a surprise. Muhammad did not like music, and he especially warned against listening to women singing. Too seductive, don't you know, for the weak Muslim male. The Sunni book of Islamic law, Reliance of the Traveller (sic), r40.1(2), quotes Muhammad: “On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress.”

You might think the Manchester bomber was usurping one of Allah's Judgment Day prerogatives, but nowhere in any Islamic text does it say something such as, “Vengeance is mine, sayeth Allah.” In fact, I know of one verse, 9:14, there may be more, where Allah, referring to apostates, commands: “Make war on them. ALLAH WILL MAKE WAR ON THEM THROUGH YOU and humiliate them.” (My emphasis.)

In my opinion, there is much in the religion of Islam that encouraged the Manchester bomber and nothing that discouraged him. Apologists for Islam might want to ponder the venue the bomber chose and the lack of any musical accomplishments from, or by, Muslims. No Mozart, no Ellington, no nothing.

I'll wager there are quite a few infidels out there like myself who have spent many a pleasant hour “listening to a songstress.” I've fallen in love with quite a few, starting with June Christy (damn, I'm old) and Joan Baez, and more recently Sissel and Rene Fleming. Allah will need buckets of molten lead for yours truly.

Muhammad's songstress warning is further proof that he was no “Prophet” but merely an all-too-human, evil little man, albeit one of extraordinary charisma and intellect. In my opinion, listening to Rene Fleming cannot be a sin when her voice is manifest proof that God exists.

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