Islam: A Revamped Astral Religion 2

The Light Shines in the Darkness...

The Rituals, Beliefs, and Symbols

The rituals, beliefs, and symbols of Islam clearly point to the fact that its roots are in the pagan astral religion of the ancient Arabians. As Professor Guillaume noted:

“The customs of heathenism have left an indelible mark on Islam, notably in the rites of the pilgrimage.”

-Alfred Guillaume, Islam (London: Penguin Books, 1954), p.6.

Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth and holiest month of the Muslim calendar. It begins and ends with the sighting of the crescent moon. Robert Morey notes:

“The dominant religion that had grown very powerful just before Muhammad’s time was that of the Sabeans’…They used a lunar calendar to regulate their religious rites. For example, a month of fasting was regulated by the phases of the moon.

The Sabean pagan rite of fasting began with the appearance of a crescent moon and did not cease until the crescent moon reappeared. This would later be adopted as one of the five pillars of Islam.”

- Robert Morey, The Islamic Invasion (Las Vegas, NV: Christian Scholars Press, 1992), p.42.

This alone does not prove that Islam has astral roots. Indeed, the Hebrew calendar was a lunar calendar, and they used it because it was easy, it was what everyone else used, and it was what they were used to. So, more evidence needs to be added.

Praying Toward Mecca

Every Muslim is religiously bound to pray a certain number of times a day, and to face in the direction of Mecca (called the Qiblah). The ancient pagans also prayed toward the Ka’bah a certain number of times each day because they believed that the only way that their god would hear them is if they faced where he was at. It must be noted that the Jews and Eastern Christians faced toward Jerusalem, but that was out of reverence. They never believed that they could not pray elsewhere, and they never set up a number of times that they would pray each day. Muhammad took this religious rite straight from the pre-Islamic Sabeans.

The Hajj

Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime called the Hajj. The pre-Islamic Arabians also believed that they should visit the temple (i.e. the Ka’bah) of their astral pantheon at least once in their lifetime. No such requirement was ever practiced by the Jews or Christians, and thus, it obviously did not come from the original ‘Abrahamic’ faith.

The Ka’bah

The Ka’bah is the shrine in Mecca where Muslims pray to and where they run around seven times during their pilgrimage. Likewise, the Ka’bah was the shrine where the pagan Arabs prayed to and where they ran around seven times during their pilgrimage. Because the Ka’bah was originally dedicated to the moon, the sun, and five of the stars, it is likely that the pilgrims ran around it once for each of the deities that the Ka’bah was dedicated to.

Second, it is believed by the Muslims that Abraham and Ishmael laid the foundations of the Ka’bah (Sura 2:127). However, this was a myth that was started in pre-Islamic times by the Haniffiyah, monotheistic Arabs who were disgusted by the polytheism of their day. The famous Egyptian professor of Arabic literature, Taha Hussein, comments:

“The case of this episode is very obvious because it is of recent date, and came into vogue just before the rise of Islam. Islam exploited it for religious reasons.”

-Taha Hussein, quoted in Mizar al-Islam by Anwar al-Jundi

[The article on the historical errors in the Koran also has a refutation of the belief that Abraham went to Mecca.] Despite the evidence that this was only a popular legend in pre-Islamic times, Muslims continue their attempt to defend it by trying to say that the Ka’bah is mentioned in the Bible. Silas from Answering-Islam notes:

“1) Muslims hope that Gen 35:4, 14, 15 refer to the Kaba. Since “Beth-El” = House of God, and that the Jewish temple wasn’t built until much later. But as the Bible shows, Bethel is a town, in Palestine - Genesis chapter 12. Also, Jacob built an altar, not a temple to God. Abraham also built an altar to the Lord in Gen 12:7.

2) Muslims claim that David mentions the Kaba in Psalm 84:6. If ‘Baca’ was a location, it was not known where it existed in the Bible. But a more correct interpretation, taken in context of the whole Psalm, is that since ‘baca’ means weeping, it means 'valley of tears'. David could be saying that he longs for the presence of God, and that even through difficult times (baca) God will be with him, and will turn his tears to joy.

3) Muslims also think that Isaiah 60:7 “All the flocks of Kedar” refers to Arabian people worshipping at the Kaba. Reading thru Isa 60:7, it shows that Kedar's flocks are going to be sacrificed on the altar. Are Muslims saying that Arabs were going to be human sacrifices?

4) Some Muslims think that since the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation is cubic, it also resembles the Kaba and thus is a prophecy of the Kaba! But the Kaba is not a perfect cube, not even close. The structure is 50 ft high, with a sloping roof, the shorter walls are 35 feet long, and the facade is 40 ft. long.”

-Silas, Answering-Islam, The Pagan Sources of Islam

http://answering-islam.org/Silas/pagansources.htm

The Black Stone

During the Islamic pilgrimage, the Muslim is to run around the Ka’bah seven times and kiss and caress the black stone. The pagan Arabs also kissed and caressed the black stone because it was a meteorite that fell from the heavens. The pagans believed it to be a gift from the gods (i.e. the moon, the sun, the planets, or the stars) because it came from the heavens. The kissing of the black stone, a meteorite, being part of monotheistic worship makes no sense unless it is understood that it started out as part of pagan polytheistic astral worship. Even Umar, one of Muhammad’s closest followers, and later on, one of Islam’s first Caliphs, stated:

“Narrated ‘Abis bin Rabia:

‘Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said “No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah’s Apostle kissing you I would not have kissed you.””

-Sahih Bukhari 2.667, Sahih Bukhari 2.675, Sahih Bukhari 2.676, Sahih Bukhari 2.679, Sahih Bukhari 2.680

Umar and (I’m sure) many of the Muslims knew that the kissing of the black stone was tantamount to idolatry. The kissing and caressing of the black stone could never have been part of original monotheism.

The Star and Crescent

On just about every Muslim country’s flag and on the top of every mosque and minaret is the Islamic symbol of the star and crescent moon. In pre-Islamic times, however, it was the common symbol for astral worship. In fact, the crescent moon pointing straight upwards was the banner of the ancient Carthaginians. The Carthaginians were related to the Phoenicians, and just like the Phoenicians, they worshipped Baal, the moon-god, who was the head of an astral pantheon. The symbol of the star and crescent, being the symbol of monotheistic religion makes no sense unless it is understood that it started out as the symbol of pagan polytheistic astral worship.

A Few Objections Answered

Muslims usually raise a few objections to the thesis that has been presented, and so, they shall be answered here:

Objection 1 (from the Muslim point of view):

All of what you stated above is probably true. However, the Koran states in several places that all of these beliefs and rituals were originally started by Abraham, and it was the pagans who perverted them and turned them into astral worship rites. Then, Muhammad came along and restored these beliefs and rituals to the original way and meaning they had during the time of Abraham.

Answer 1:

It is true that the Koran claims this, but many of the rituals listed above are specifically geared toward astral worship and could never have been part of original monotheism. For example, the Black Stone was more than likely a meteorite which the ancient astral worshipping Arabs thought was a gift from the gods (i.e. the moon, the sun, the planets, or the stars), and so, being that the meteorite was something from the heavens, they worshipped it. Why would original monotheism kiss and caress this meteorite unless, of course, it was the followers of the astral religion that placed it in the Ka’bah.

Another example is the star and crescent or just the crescent moon which is found on the flag of just about every Muslim country and the top of Mosques. As Robert Morey asked:

“Is it any wonder then that the symbol of Islam is the crescent moon? That a crescent moon sits on top of their mosques and minarets? That a crescent moon is found on the flags of Islamic nations? That the Muslims fast during the month which begins and ends with the appearance of the crescent moon in the sky?”

- Robert Morey, The Islamic Invasion (Las Vegas, NV: Christian Scholars Press, 1992), p.218.

Objection 2 (from the Muslim point of view):

Yeah, well your religion comes from paganism too!

Answer 2:

The charge that Christianity comes from paganism has been dealt with at the end of the article on the sources of the Koran. In short, the evidence against Islam is rock solid (as shown above) whereas the supposed ‘proof’ against Christianity and Judaism is a mere hypothesis that rests on shaky ground.

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Dr. Robert Morey’sCommon Logical Fallacies Made by Muslims is found here:

http://answering-islam.org/Resources/Morey/logic.html