PARIS - He
is one of the spiritual leaders of Islam who best knows the land and the
people of Central Asia, the area which holds the world in suspense. He is the Imam, the religious leader and guide of the Ishamilite,
whose communities are spread in
various countries of Asia and Africa, but also in Europe and in North
America. Throughout Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and West China,
there are more than five million Ishmaelite.
......
"I think that
monotheistic religions, having an analogous belief in an only God, should and must dialogue.
The three religions which Abraham inspired
have many more common facets than those which divide them. Religion must be
a means by which to affirm the ethical significance of existence, irrelevant
of one's faith. If we want social development, to meet halfway, to dialogue,
peace, we cannot neglect ethics and the impact which education and culture have
on social growth.
=
EXCERPTS:
"ENHANCING
PLURALISM"
------------------
I HOPE THAT MY REMARKS MIGHT RELEASE
SOME MORE BUZZING, BECAUSE THE ESSENCE OF WHAT I WILL
SAY THIS EVENING REFERS TO "ENHANCING
PLURALISM".
Speech by His
Highness the Aga Khan
Keynote Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan Concluding the Prince Claus Fund's Conference on Culture and Development, Amsterdam, 7th September 2002
Your Majesty
Honourable Ministers
Excellencies
Directors of the Prince Claus Fund
Ladies and Gentlemen,
These initiatives constitute highly creative investments in the IDENTIFICATION AND PREMEATION OF FORCES WORKING FOR THE STRENGTHENING AND ENHANCEMENT OF THE
PLURALISM OF CULTURES that will provide strength into the future.
IT ALSO ALLOWS ME TO STATE MY CONVICTION THAT THE STRENGTHENING OF INSTITUTIONS SUPPORTING
PLURALISM IS AS CRITICAL for the welfare and progress of human society as are poverty alleviation and conflict prevention. In fact all three are intimately related.
The field of development has yielded more than its share of buzzwords. Phrases like, "civil society", "poverty alleviation", and "sustainable
development" are familiar to many of you, as is "enabling environment" for which I must carry responsibility, since it was the Enabling Environment
Conference in Nairobi sponsored by the Aga Khan Development Network, the World Bank and others which brought that phrase into common use.
I HOPE
THAT MY REMARKS MIGHT RELEASE SOME MORE
BUZZING, BECAUSE THE ESSENCE OF WHAT I WILL SAY THIS EVENING REFERS TO
"ENHANCING
PLURALISM".
I would go even further and say that the inability of human society to
RECOGNISE PLURALISM as a fundamental value constitutes a real handicap for
its development and a serious danger for our future. Perhaps the most common of these ingredients has been the failure of those involved to RECOGNISE
the fact that human society is ESSENTIALLY
PLURALIST, and THAT PEACE and development require that we seek, by every means possible, TO INVEST IN AND
ENHANCE, THAT
PLURALISM.
A necessary condition for PLURALISM to succeed is that the general
education of the populations involved must be sufficiently complete so that individual groups, defined by ethnicity,
RELIGION, language and the
like, understand the potential consequences of actions that might impinge on others.
I must say that, as a Muslim, I stand here in front of you in amazement that the Western world had to experience the revolution in Iran to learn about Shia
Islam, or the civil war in Afghanistan to learn about Wahhabi
Islam. Please remember that we are talking about a religion followed by one-fifth of the world's population! This is the equivalent of Muslims
being unaware of the distinction between Catholics and Protestants within Christianity. The point I wish to make is that the governments, civil
societies and the peoples of this world will be unable to build strong pluralist societies
with the present level of global cultural ignorance, and particularly about its
PLURALISM.
THE ACTIONS TO ENHANCE PLURALISM HAVE TO BE MATCHED IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD by programmes to alleviate poverty because, left alone, poverty will provide a context for special interests to pursue their goals in
aggressive terms.
I would like to leave you with a final thought, and some questions and
conclusions that flow from it. Developing support for PLURALISM does not occur naturally in human society. It is a concept which must be nurtured
every day, in every forum-in large and small government and private institutions; in civil society organisations working in the arts, culture, and public affairs, in the media; in the law, and in justice-
particularly in terms of social justice, such as health, social safety nets and education; and in economic justice, such as employment
opportunities and access to financial services.
In addition each of us can help ENHANCE PLURALISM in our own personal,
professional and institutional domains. We could play our role in favour of PLURALISM as public opinion makers. We could participate in and support the efforts of groups and NGOs that promote THAT CAUSE. We could volunteer
our professional competences in a variety of fields, such as academic, technical or managerial. We could, also, serve the cause of
PLURALISM simply through the conduct of tolerance, openness and UNDERSTANDING
towards other peoples' cultures, social structures, VALUES AND
FAITHS, and thereby set an EFFECTIVE EXAMPLE in our own society.
My hope is that society as a whole will not only accept the fact of its
PLURALITY, but, as a consequence, will undertake, as a
SOLEMN RESPONSIBILITY, to preserve and enhance it as one of ITS FUNDAMENTAL
VALUES, and an inescapable condition for WORLD PEACE and further human development.
Thank you.
=
PLURALISM
59:23. HUWALLAA-HULLAZII
-- He is Allah, than Whom there is no other Allah, the
Sovereign Lord--malikul, the Holy
One -- qudduus, Peace--salaamul, the Keeper of
Faith--mu'minul, the Guardian, the Majestic, the Compeller, the Superb. SUBHAANALLAAHI
-- HOLY IS ALLAH -- Glorified be Allah from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him).
=
17:110. Say: pray unto ALLAH,
or pray unto RAHMAN,
HE WHO ye pray to, His are the most beautiful NAMES. 110. Quli
odAAoo ALLAHA awi odAAoo ALRRAHMANA
ayyan MA
tadAAoo FALAHU AL-ASMAO ALHUSNA
=
YASIN 36:58. SALAAM
-- PEACE FROM THEIR LORD RAHIIM
=
'THE UNITY
OF GOD' & 'RELIGIOUS PLURALISM'
-
THE BIBLE
AND SALEM
'SALEM - PEACE'
'SHILOH
MEANS PEACE'
'ISLAM MEANS PEACE'
003.065 O People of the
Scripture! Why will ye argue about Abraham, when the
Torah and the Gospel
were
not revealed till after him ? Have ye then no sense ? 003.066 Lo! ye are
those who argue about that whereof ye have some knowledge: Why then argue ye
concerning that whereof ye have no knowledge ? Allah knoweth. Ye know
not.
002.062 Lo! Those who believe
and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabaeans - whoever believeth in
Allah
and the Last Day and doeth right - surely their reward is with
their
Lord, and there
shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.
=
ISLAM/IC GREETING IN THE BIBLE
JEHOVAH
- SHALOM 'THE LORD IS PEACE'
Judges 6:23 (DBY) And
JEHOVAH said to him,
PEACE BE UNTO
THEE: 24 And Gideon built there an altar to Jehovah, and called it
JEHOVAH
- SHALOM [THE LORD IS PEACE]. To this day it is yet in Ophrah of the
Abi-ezrites.
=
'until Shiloh
come'
Genesis 49:10 (KJV) The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the people [be].
Ge 49:10
The septre; an emblem of power and authority.
Shiloh; the Messiah, Prince of peace, sent as a Saviour. Isa 7:14; 9:6-7;
11:1-10; Jer 23:5-6; Da 9:25-27; Mt 1:21-23.
To him; to Shiloh.
The gathering of the people; or, the obedience of the people. See De
18:18-19. They shall accept him as their King, and he shall reign over them.
The fact that the sceptre has long ago departed from the tribe of Judah, who
have ceased to govern Israel, shows that the Messiah has come, and that
the expectation of a future Messiah is vain.
10. until Shiloh come--Shiloh--this
obscure word is variously interpreted to mean "the sent" (Joh 17:3), "the seed" (Isa 11:1), the
"peaceable or prosperous one" (Eph 2:14) --that is, the Messiah (Isa 11:10;
Ro 15:12); and when He should come, "the tribe of Judah should no longer
boast either an independent king or a judge of their own" [CALVIN].
The Jews have been for eighteen centuries without a ruler and without a judge
since Shiloh came, and "to Him the gathering of the people has been."
=
Luke 24:36 (KJV) And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them,
PEACE [BE] UNTO YOU. John 20:21 (KJV) Then said
Jesus to them again, PEACE [BE] UNTO
YOU: as [my] Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Hebrews 7:2 (KJV) To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also
KING OF SALEM, WHICH IS, KING OF PEACE;
Romans 3:17 (KJV) And the WAY OF PEACE have they not known:
1 Thessalonians 5:23
(KJV) And the very GOD OF PEACE SANCTIFY you wholly;
Philippians 4:9 (KJV) and the GOD OF PEACE shall be with you.
Romans 15:33 (KJV) Now the GOD OF PEACE [be] with you all. Amen.
Romans 16:20 (KJV) And the GOD OF PEACE shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
Ephesians 6:15 (KJV) And your feet shod with the preparation of THE GOSPEL OF
PEACE;
=
'SALEM'
- MELCHIZEDEK & THE PATRIARCHS
originally
the name of a locality of which
MELCHIZEDEK WAS THE KING (gen14:18), and
was times identified with jerusalem. ... it MUST
be emphasized, however, that the name SALEM
IS NOT properly another
toponym for jerusalem, nor an abbreviation of the name of the city,
the PRE-ISRAELITE [pagan] origin of which it is certain, but a poetic
AND RELIGIOUS APPELLATION, in spite of the fancy explanation of
jeosphus [antiq. l.x.2] and of medieval mentators.
the
identity of SALEM and jerusalem in gen. 14:18 has been variously
CHALLENGED in NON-JEWISH circles. jerome,
who had accepted it at first [hebrew questions on gen 33:18], GAVE IT
UP [letters 73.2], and finally came back to it [letters 108.9]. ... if
accepted, it might lead to the identification of SALEM
[genesis with SALIM
near which john baptized [john 3:23], tentatively localized at umm el-amdan.
see aenon.
according
to another tradition, based on the greek, latin and syriac of gen
33:18 REPRODUCED IN THE KJV, 'SHALEM,
a city of shechem, ' SALEM
might
tentatively be identified with the village of SALIM,
some four or five miles of
balatashechem. see shalem 2.
[the
interpreter's dictionary of the bible - an illustrated encyclopedia -
abington press - lib of c. c. # 62-9387
Money Of uncoined money the first notice we have is
in the history of Abraham
(Genesis
13:2; 20:16;
24:35).
Next, this word is used in connection with the purchase of the cave of
Machpelah (23:16),
and again in connection with Jacob's purchase of a field at Shalem
(Genesis
33:18,19) for "an hundred pieces of money"=an hundred
Hebrew kesitahs (q.v.), i.e., probably pieces of money, as is
supposed, bearing the figure of a lamb.
Salim peaceful,
a place near AEnon
(q.v.), on
the west of Jordan, where John baptized (John
3:23). It was probably the Shalem
mentioned in Genesis
33:18, about 7 miles south of AEnon, at the head of the great Wady
Far'ah, which formed the northern
boundary of Judea
in the Jordan valley.
Shalem perfect, a place (probably the village of Salim)
some 2 miles east of Jacob's well. There is an abundant supply of
water, which may have been the reason for Jacob's
settling at this place (Genesis
33:18-20). The Revised Version translates this word, and reads,
"Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem,"
thus not regarding it as a proper name at all.
Shechem shoulder.
The son of Hamor the Hivite (Genesis
33:19; 34).
A city in
Samaria (Genesis
33:18), called also Sichem
(12:6),
Sychem
(Acts
7:16). It stood in the narrow sheltered valley between Ebal
on the
north and Gerizim
on the south, these mountains at their base being only some 500
yards apart.
Here Abraham
pitched his tent and built his first altar in the Promised Land,
and received the first divine
promise (Genesis
12:6,7).
Here also Jacob
"bought a parcel of a field at the hands of the children of
Hamor" after his return from Mesopotamia, and settled with
his household, which he purged from idolatry by burying the
teraphim of his followers under an oak tree, which was afterwards
called "the oak of the sorcerer" (Genesis
33:19; 35:4;
Judges
9:37).
Josue
24:3 And I took your father Abraham from the borders of Mesopotamia: and
brought him into the land of Chanaan:
AND
I MULTIPLIED HIS SEED,
SALEM
SAMARIA:
SCHECHEM IN
THE NORTH
JERUSALEM
BETHLEHEM
JUDAEA:
IN THE
SOUTH
=
[the new
american bible, saint joseph edition, pp. 33]
IMPORTANT
1.
THE NAME
OF THE NORTHERN CITY OF 'SALEM'
WAS NOT THE OLD NAME OF THE SOUTHERN CITY OF JERUSALEM
2. THE NORTHERN CITY OF
'SALEM' WAS ALSO NOT THE OLD SOUTHERN CITY OF JERUSALEM
see the above
MAPS
=
ONLY JEBUSITE
WAS THE OLD NAME & CITY OF JERUSALEM
PROOF -
THE BIBLE,
MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS ONLY
please note that neither
ABRAHAM
nor his sons ISHMAEL
and isaac had ever been to the old southern city of 'jerusalem' during the patriarchal era. 'jerusalem' did not exist
then or, at least in name. and more importantly, none of these patriarchs
were ever associated with jebusites [jerusalem] either.
despite
these undeniable biblical facts, some people may even try to argue that abraham, after his temptation in the Philistines'
land, was guided to the 'LAND
OF
MORIAH'
and one of the mountains,
in or around jebusite [jerusalem],
where he prepared to offer his one and only son as a sacrifice to god, be he ISHMAEL
according to the islamic tradition or, isaac according to the biblical
tradition.
however,
an intelligent study of the biblical text in question will show that it is a
wild card indeed, which is further subject to certain interpretations, whether
they are based on some preconceived notions and/or unfounded biases. this may
be due to the fact that there is absolutely nothing specific therein, like so:
Genesis 21:34
(KJV) And Abraham sojourned in the
Philistines' land many days.
Genesis 22:1-5 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt
Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
And he said,
Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou
lovest,
as
shown previously, after exiling hagar and ishmael to the 'wilderness of
BEERSHEBA,' abraham WENT TO Beersheba
. he also dwelt in the land of Philistines,
that
is, with
or without sarah and isaac.
see genesis 21:14 & genesis 21:30-34.
AFTER
the said sacrificial EVENT, abraham RETURNED TO BEERSHEBA WITHOUT his one
and only son, which he loved very much. and perhaps, this explains why we hear
no more from or about both sarah and isaac until say, some 35 years later. whereas the ISHMAELITES were all over
the place BY THEN. see
Beersheba.
that said,
let's continue with the above interesting narrative:
and get thee into
the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon
one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning,
... and went unto the place of which God had told him.
Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw
the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass;
and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
Genesis 22:10
(KJV) And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld
thy son, thine only [son] from me.
=
this is all we
can gather from the godly inspired word. now, please follow
the following analysis of the same with some intelligence, if you will.
MORIAH, LAND OF
mo-ri'-a ('erec ha-moriyah; eis ten genitive ten hupselen): Abraham was directed by God to take his
son Isaac, to go into the land of Moriah, and there to
offer him for a burnt offering (Ge 22:2) upon a mountain which God would show him.
This land is
mentioned only here, and there is little to guide us in trying to identify it.
A late writer
(2Ch 3:1) applies the
name of Moriah to the mount on which Solomon's Temple was built, possibly associating it with the
sacrifice of Isaac.
A similar association with this
mountain may have been in the mind of the writer of Ge 22:1-24 (see Ge 22:14), who, of course,
wrote
long after the events described (Driver).
But in Ge 22:2 no special mountain is indicated.
1.
Abraham journeyed from the land of the
Philistines,
and on the 3rd day he saw the place afar off (Ge 22:4).
2.
This naturally suggests some prominent
mountain farther North
3.
than Jerusalem.
The
description could hardly apply to Jerusalem in any
case, as it could not be seen "afar off" by one approaching either from the South or the West.
The Samaritans lay the scene of sacrifice on
Mt.
GERIZIM (which see).
Instead of
"Moriah" in this passage Peshitta reads
"Amorites." This suggests a possible emendation of the text, which, if it be accepted, furnishes
a more
definite ides of the land within which that memorable scene was enacted. Both Jerusalem and
Gerizim, however, lay within the boundaries of the land of the Amorites.
No doubt the enmity existing between the
Jews and the Samaritans led them each to glorify their own holy places to the detriment of those of
their rivals.
Little stress can therefore be laid upon their identifications. With our present knowledge we
must be content to leave the question open.
W. Ewing
[map &
emphasis added, navali]
=
however, we know from the bible that the immensely despised
'city of a stranger' [Judges 19:10-12,18], in judea was called JEBUSITE vis-à-vis jerusalem. see below.
and more importantly, the nation and country of israel was only born
and named after jacob -- israel, abraham's grandson and not before him. in the
biblical terms only, these were the 'gentile hebrews or foreigners' from the
other side of the river, as depicted in the book of genesis and also confirmed
by joshua. see below.
the
bible unveils another of its long held 'secret mysteries'
-
& -
'THE
BIBLE MAINTENANCE SERVICES'
-
which of his 2 sons did abraham prepare
to offer him for a burnt offering?
was it
ISHMAEL or isaac?
although we all know the obvious answer to this question from the
bible, could there have been another possibility besides the obvious, which
might have been overlooked or deliberately suppressed altogether? that is quite possible.
please allow me to walk you through that maze as well.
after
several centuries of inactivity, we are literally seeing a resurgence of
'THE BIBLE
MAINTENANCE SERVICES' -
'in the name of the father,
the son and the holy ghost.' no pun intended.
we have
seen already as to how the old testament was composed or more likely,
compiled from several known sources including the pre-biblical, the pre-israelite,
the pre-judaic and the pre-mosaic writings, when it did. the new testament went through
the same pick and choose process over several centuries as well. however, that may
have been just the beginning in the latter case.
rest
assured, in the more recent editions of the holy bible, a few enthusiastic editors
have literally gone out of their way to show that jesus was either depicted as
'YHWH' or 'joshua' in the old testament.
nevertheless,
that very 'YHWH' & 'joshua' had also revealed something incredible,
which for the most part was either IGNORED and/or deliberately DISTORTED by
some of the bible
EDITORS, scholars and experts alike. take for example:
Joshua
24 3But I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the
Euphrates and led him into the land of Canaan. I
gave him many descendants T_H_R_O_U_G_H_
his son Isaac.4To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To
Esau I gave the hill country of Seir, while Jacob and his children went
down into Egypt.
=
think
about it. i will
return to this momentarily.
but first,
allow me to lay a strong foundation as well, explain the following
pertinent passages based only on the bible's own
internal evidence.
no
descendants -- male or female will be born to a father, without a
child or children being born to him first.
moreover,
according to the biblical law per se, and the mid-eastern traditions,
the family name and honor was usually carried on by the 'firstborn son'
-- BECAUSE that was his god-given birthright.
Deuteronomy 21:15
(KJV) If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children,
[both] the beloved and the hated;
and [if] the firstborn son be hers that was hated:
Deuteronomy 21:17 (KJV) But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated [for] the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he [is] the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn [is] his. {that...: Heb. that is found with him}
=
believe
me, some have even argued that the said mosaic law was UNKNOWN during the patriarchal
era and hence, it is invalid. hey says who? please explain the following, if you believe
otherwise.
rights
of the 'firstborn'
were taken away
despite
the lord god's promises to both abraham and sarah, the bible asserts that
her human weaknesses prevailed over her husband, the established tradition
of the time and ishmael's God-given birthright.
a.
Genesis 21:9 (KJV) And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son:
for the son of this bondwoman shall
not be heir with my son, [even] with Isaac.
=
and
just within a generation afterwards, history repeated itself in a
different garb yet. it REVISITED in the form of 'maternal greed and
brotherly DECEPTION' - and once again, prevailed over the
established tradition of the time and esau's God-given birthright.
b.
Genesis 27:35 (KJV) And he said, Thy brother came with
subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
Genesis 27:36 (KJV) And he [esau, the firstborn of isaac], said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away
my
birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my
blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? {Jacob: that is, A
supplanter}
=
and
for what it's worth, the informed and not so informed biblical
scholars have taken great pride in explaining it away as an
inconsequential matter.
even
so, the satanic cum human greed in all its forms, deceptions and/or ingenuities could not
supersede the lord god's predestined and ultimate divine
plan, as will be seen herein once more.
allow
me to continue from where we left off. my above comments were regarding:
in
addition to my earlier comments, please note that:
biologically speaking, only one
fertile couple was really required to produce several generations of
descendants.
however,
the first begotten may get married and have a family of his own;
i.e.,
long
BEFORE the 2nd born attains his manhood and begins his own independent
family.
and as
such, prudence dictates that
if the firstborn was NOT acknowledged as the man's son and also if the so-called
promised son, the 2nd born in this case - was not born as
yet, then the person in question will have no descendants at all. no two ways
about it.
and in that case,
'I
gave him many descendants,'
makes no sense at all since they came BEFORE the birth of the 2ND BORN and not after him,
as will be seen from several other editions of the bible, one of which was
very PRECISE in its purport.
this
small ','has
made the big difference
Joshua 24:3
(KJV) ....,
and multiplied his S_E_E_D,
and gave him Isaac. Jos 24:4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau:
b.
Joshua 24:3 (ASV and multiplied his S_E_E_D, and gave him Isaac. 4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau:
Joshua 24:3
(DBY) ....,
and multiplied his S_E_E_D
and gave him Isaac. 4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau;
Joshua 24:3 (KJ2000)
and multiplied his descendants,
and gave him Isaac. 4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau:
Joshua 24:3 (WEB) ...
and multiplied his S_E_E_D,
and gave him Isaac. 4 I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau:
Joshua 24:3
(KJVSL) ...
and multiplied <rabah> his S_E_E_D
<zera`>,
and gave <nathan> him Isaac <Yitschaq>. 4 And I gave <nathan> unto Isaac <Yitschaq> Jacob <Ya`aqob> and Esau <`Esav>:
MODERN KJV
Jos 24:3 and multiplied his S_E_E_D, and gave him Isaac.
Jos 24:4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau:
=
although there are other editions of the bible in which the verses under
review have been distorted to a large degree, the 'Joshua
24:3,4 :: New Living Translation (NLT)'
- edition/ translation was perhaps, the only one that had added the word - 'T_H_R_O_U_G_H'
- in order to give this biblical text a totally different and a brand new meaning, which
per se, runs contrary to all the known facts in this regard. please feel free to
verify the same. click on the above link and then compare this edition of the bible with all the others given at that
address as well.
in any
case, the lord god's own desire and abraham's, sarah's and hagar's own biblical
episodes are some of the best examples we have before us in the said
regard.
I HOPE THAT MY REMARKS MIGHT RELEASE
SOME MORE BUZZING, BECAUSE THE ESSENCE OF WHAT I WILL
SAY THIS EVENING REFERS TO "ENHANCING
PLURALISM".
Speech by His
Highness the Aga Khan
=
'RELIGIOUS
PLURALISM'
GOD CREATED A PLURALISTIC TRADITION & SOCIETY IN ABRAHAM
please
review this oft-repeated biblical text in this new shade of light, if you
will.
thy seed after thee in
THEIR GENERATIONS
Genesis 17:7
(KJV) And I will establish my covenant between me and thee
[ABRAHAM] and thy seed after thee in THEIR
GENERATIONS for an everlasting covenant, TO BE A GOD UNTO THEE, AND TO THY SEED AFTER THEE.
Genesis 17:9 (KJV) And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and
thy seed after thee in THEIR
GENERATIONS.
=
fighting
against god's desire
NOTE IT
WAS THE LORD GOD'S PROMISE & UTMOST
DESIRE 'TO BE A GOD UNTO THEE, AND TO THY SEED AFTER THEE.'
although both satan & the
'unbelievers' among the children of adam/ abraham have been since time
immemorial, FIGHTING against THE LORD GOD'S above promise and
desire;
rest assured,
he had created a PLURALISTIC SOCIETY of which, he wanted to 'BE THE GOD'
;
in other words, to be
'RECOGNIZED' as such.
he is the one and only
lord god of all mankind.
=
allow me to
explain
abraham's
was the first real 'PLURALISTIC
FAMILY' in the bible.
and
ISHMAEL was the
very foundation & focal point of that first 'pluralistic society'
please
review the following with some intelligence, if you will.
Genesis 15:1 (KJV) After these things the word of the
YHWH came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield,
[and] thy exceeding great
reward.
=
how
did abram [later abraham], take OR understand god's above ASSURANCE? remember that the
lord god said, 'I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great
reward.
2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me,
seeing I go
childless, and the steward of my house [is] this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
=
the
lord god's reply and promise
4 And, behold, the word of the LORD [came] unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir;
but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
=
in
other words, not only was THE FIRST EVER DIVINE PROMISE FULFILLED IN ONLY ISHMAEL;
but
also he was abraham's ONLY SON & SEED up to this point in time.
ISHMAEL
was isaac's senior by 13-14 solid years, says the book of genesis.
let
us continue in the light of this biblical background only.
YHWH
& Shechem
for
some inexplicable divine reason, YHWH had chosen Shechem
and its neighborhood for HIS DIVINE
MANIFESTATIONS--REVELATIONS--AAYAATS--AVATARS.
Genesis 16:15
(KJV) And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare,
Ishmael. 16 And Abram [was] fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare
Ishmael to Abram. Genesis 21:20 (KJV)
And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
Genesis 12:6
(ASV) And
Abram passed through the land unto
THE
PLACE OF SHECHEM, unto the oak of
Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And Jehovah appeared unto
Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there
builded he an altar unto Jehovah, who appeared unto him.
Joshua 24:1 (KJV) And Joshua gathered all the tribes of
Israel to Shechem, and they presented themselves before
God.
Joshua 24:2 And Joshua said unto all the people,
Thus saith the
LORD God of Israel,
YOUR FATHERS DWELT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FLOOD IN
OLD TIME, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and
they served other gods.
Joshua 24:3(KJV)
AND I TOOK YOUR FATHER ABRAHAM
FROM
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FLOOD,
and led him throughout all the land of
Canaan,
AND
MULTIPLIED HIS
S_E_E_D,
and
gave him
Isaac.
Joshua 24:4
(KJV)
And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau:
and
I gave unto Esau mount
Seir, to possess it;
but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
Moses and
Aaron
Joshua 24:5
(ASV) And I sent
Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did in the midst thereof: and afterward I brought you out.
=
please
review the above very carefully before you proceed any further.
1.
it
seems as though ISHMAEL'S
real identity - in this particular biblical narrative was deliberately CONCEALED
by the lord god himself and/or by its inspired author and, not so without a good reason.
THE
THREAT OF ISHMAEL'S
PREDOMINANT PRESENCE
WAS EVER SO REAL.
Genesis 16:12 (KJV) And he
[ISHMAEL] will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the
PRESENCE of all his
brethren.
[please note
that, 'all his brethren' were ONLY
ISAAC,
ESAU, JACOB-ISRAEL and their descendants among OTHER children of abraham.
hagar herself had no other children].
therefore, deliberate actions of various kinds were taken to minimize his role and
importance. as if that was not enough, conscious efforts were also made to
alter and/or expunge anything that might guide the seeker to him in the bible.
2.
as
just seen the phrase, 'AND
MULTIPLIED HIS
S_E_E_D'
- clearly alluded & applied to ONLY ISHMAEL.
PROOF
A.
THE FIRST EVER 'DIVINE PROMISE' WAS FULFILLED IN ONLY ISHMAEL
Genesis 15:4 (KJV) And, behold, the word of the LORD [came] unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall
come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
B. FULFILLED SOME 11
YEARS LATER
Genesis 21:13
(KJV) And also of the son [ISHMAEL] of the bondwoman will I make a nation, BECAUSE HE IS THY
[abraham] S_E_E_D.
C.
SEVERAL CENTURIES LATER 'JOSHUA-JESUS' - RECOGNIZED THAT
FULFILLMENT
Joshua 24:3(KJV)
'AND
MULTIPLIED HIS
S_E_E_D.'
=
3.
note again:
the said godly PROMISE [Genesis 15:4] - was fulfilled in only ISHMAEL
some 13-14 years BEFORE the birth of
isaac. he was abraham's 'sole seed and heir' at that time.
frankly,
the said FIRST PROMISE had nothing to do with ISAAC.
4.
whereas, after ISHMAEL'S BIRTH, abram did not yearn for another child.
he was 86 years old at the time.
5.
at age 99, god then changed his name to abraham and promised to make him a
father of many nations.
6.
then he made another covenant with ABRAHAM AND HIS SEED.
in other words,
'ONLY
ISHMAEL' was the son of the 'FIRST DIVINE PROMISE'
see genesis 15:4.
Ishmael
-- a two-fold blessing
HAGAR
Genesis 16:10 (KJV) And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will
multiply thy seed
exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for
multitude. 11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou [art] with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call
his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
{Ishmael: that is, God shall hear}
ABRAHAM
20
And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold,
I have blessed
him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him
exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget,
and I will make him a great nation.
=
paul
confirms
Galatians 4:23 (KJV) But
he [ishmael] [who was] of the bondwoman
[hagar]
was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman
[sarah] [was] by promise.
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two
covenants; the one from the mount
Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. {covenants: or, testaments} {Sinai: Gr. Sina}
25 For this
Agar is mount
Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. {answereth to: or, is in the same rank with}
=
moses
confirms
Deuteronomy 33:2 (KJV) And he said, The LORD came from
Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from
mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand [went]
a fiery law for them. {a fiery...: Heb. a fire of law}
=
please
note that, ISHMAEL was already
spoken of as 'thy seed.' also, he was PROMISED a large number of
descendants LONG BEFORE isaac was
ever born, a fact dwelt upon later by
joshua -- jesus himself.'
THAT
SAID, the
following promise was made when ISHMAEL
was already 13 years old.
Isaac
21 But
my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set
time in the n_e_x_t year.
=
'as
is' the
above promise was not fulfilled until a year later.
joshua--jesus
on the other hand, had handled this matter in precisely the same ORDER
& CONTEXT.
therefore, only
ISHMAEL
was the one alluded to and meant @ Joshua 24:3(KJV) ;
that
is, even BEFORE
any mention of isaac was made therein.
please
note that AFTER fulfillment of the first DIVINE
PROMISE, the lord god made ANOTHER promise to abraham
re: his 2nd 'son and seed' namely, isaac.
MEANING:
the lord god himself had already DRAWN up plans for the 2 ABRAHAMAIC
BRANCHES long before the 'promised sons' were born to abraham.
DESPITE the 2nd promise, NOWHERE
in the bible did the lord god himself say that 'isaac was abraham's sole
seed & heir' --
NOWHERE! furthermore,
he did not revoke any of the promises made re:
ISHMAEL.
that
was ONLY SARAH'S DECISION. see genesis 21:10.
NOW,
review the god's plan in another context
Isaac
Genesis 17:19 (KJV) And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name
Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him.
Ishmael
20
And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold,
I have blessed
him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him
exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget,
and I will make him a great nation.
Isaac
21 But
my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set
time in the next year.
Ishmael
22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
=
NOTE AGAIN
DESPITE the above promise, NOWHERE did the lord god say that isaac was abraham's sole heir or seed. on the contrary, he
BLESSED ISHMAEL and also PROMISED him 12 princes, multiply him exceedingly as well, make him a great nation.
the
lord god reiterated this PROMISE some two years before isaac's actual birth. this very
DIVINE and unmistakable trend was also reflected upon later @ joshua verses 24:3,4.
see below.
on the other hand, despite the said divine promises, etc., isaac's royal,
corrupt and impure dynasty
would have met with its TOTAL demise or annihilation long BEFORE ITS DUE TIME, had it not been for ITS god sent SAVIORS viz, the
ISHMAELITES.
STOP &
REFLECT
not only do we NOW have a more complete historical and biblical picture into the lives of these
patriarchs but also it was asserted in the above text that:
and
MULTIPLIED HIS SEED
and
gave him isaac.
And
I gave unto Isaac
what did it mean
then?
did the ORIGINAL
biblical meaning ever change in spite of isaac's birth?
on the other hand,
how did the lord god himself 'reinforce and implement' his own predestine plan?
i am sure
any grade 12 student can and will be able to explain these stupendous verses 'as is.' so here we
go again.
AMONG YOUR FATHERS
WERE ALSO INCLUDED
Joshua 24:2 (ASV) And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith
Jehovah, the God of Israel,
YOUR FATHERS
dwelt of old time beyond the River, even
Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.
Joshua 24:3 (KJV) And I took your father Abraham
from the other side of the flood,
and led him throughout all the land of Canaan,
and multiplied his seed,
and gave him Isaac.
and
and
but
=
this then, was the unarguable word of
Jehovah, the God of Israel, as just seen.
in
other words, even the lord god of israel recognized 'ISHMAEL'
as abraham's son and seed LONG BEFORE he recognized
isaac or even made any promises regarding
the latter.
PLEASE
FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING ANALYSIS VERY CLOSELY.
1. AND
MULTIPLIED HIS SEED
[incognito -- THE firstborn]
no
descendants will be born into this world WITHOUT THE FIRSTBORN CHILD.
2.
AND[isaac
-- the 2nd born]
3.
AND[unto
isaac]
4.
AND[esau
-- the firstborn of the twins]
5.
BUT
[jacob -- 2nd
of the twins]
=
notice
the order of narration per se, and also the priority given to the sons
and grandsons in order of their respective birth only.
ISHMAEL
Genesis 21:13 (KJV) And also of the son
[ISHMAEL] of the bondwoman will I make a nation,
BECAUSE HE IS THY
SEED.
Exodus 13:2 (KJV) Sanctify unto me all the
firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, [both] of man and of beast: it [is] mine.
=
see how god beats them at
their own game. the usual biblical tradition was to name he who was the
firstborn, ' for he [is] the beginning of his strength; the right of the
firstborn [is] his.'
however,
an exception in the following case was made by moses, the so-called author of
the pentateuch.
distortion of material
facts
Genesis 25:9
(KJV) And
his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of
Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which [is] before
Mamre; Genesis 25:11 (KJV) And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed
his son
Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.
Results: 100
For 'firstborn'
Ge 10:15 And Canaan begat Sidon his FIRSTBORN, and Heth,
Ge 19:31 And the FIRSTBORN said unto the younger, Our father is old,
=
however, the rule was
reinstated shortly thereafter.
the firstborn of
Ishmael
12 Now these [are] the generations of
Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham:
13 And these [are] the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations:
the firstborn of Ishmael,
Nebajoth; and
Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
=
therefore, could HE
have been
the 'only son of the sacrifice'? well, here are the facts and you be the
judge.
who was ABRAHAM'S ONLY SON & SEED prior to
isaac's birth?
and if ISHMAEL was abraham's ONLY
SON & SEED before the lord god gave him isaac;
then who was abraham's only
son for that long?;
WHOM, he was commanded
by the lord god to sacrifice unto him?
surely, it was none other
than ISHMAEL himself.
abraham's love
for ishmael
Genesis 21:12 (KJV) And God said unto Abraham,
Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
=
ISHMAEL, the firstborn of abraham
WAS NOT A FORSAKEN, denigrated or seen as a less important son by his loving
father or the lord god, who 'was with the lad and he
grew'. regardless, in this
incredible manner, the bible itself solved the very riddle and mystery it had left
UNSOLVED for all these millennia past.
as
noted elsewhere, every true aspect of the biblical narrative resonates and
revolves around ONLY ISHMAEL.
this
small ','has
made the big difference
'HIS
SEED,'
joshua--jesus
recognized the 'first pluralistic society' of his day
Josue assembleth the people, and reneweth the
covenant between them and God.
Josue 24:3 And I took your father Abraham from the borders of Mesopotamia:
and brought him into the land of Chanaan:
AND I MULTIPLIED HIS
SEED,
Josue 24:4 AND GAVE HIM ISAAC:
AND TO HIM again I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave to Esau mount Seir for his possession:
but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
[reproduced
'as is' -- only emphasis added, navali. please feel free to
verify the above @ 1. DOUAY RHEIMS
; 2.
DOUAY RHEIMS]
=
NOTE:
'HIS
SEED,'
not
only have the 2 SENTENCES, which had been joined by the conjunction
'AND'
before in other other editions cited herein, been separated by a comma ','
AFTER, 'HIS
SEED,'
;
but
also a complete new verse number was assigned to the separated part of
the sentence.
and
in that manner, isaac was SEPARATED
from ISHMAEL'S
DESCENDANTS ;
and
joined with his own descendants and their egyptian history, which
continued through moses and aaron.
=
Why
Should You Read Only the Douay-Rheims
Translation of the Bible?
The Douay-Rheims
Bible Fast gaining recognition as THE Bible in English...
The Douay-Rheims
Bible is a scrupulously faithful
translation into English of the Latin Vulgate Bible which St.
Jerome (342-420) translated into Latin from the original languages.
The Vulgate quickly became the Bible universally used in the Latin
Rite (by far the largest rite of the Catholic Church).
The
Douay-Rheims is a careful word-for-word translation
of the
Latin Vulgate Bible (the official bible of the Church), and a
word-for-word translation of the original languages. This new
edition is a laminated paperback book, 1407 pages, with
chapter summaries, footnotes and cross-references. Brief
explanation of each Book, eight maps of the ancient world, and
family record section also included. Handy size for reading -
6-1/2" x 9".
=
rest
assured, the holy qur'an not only lends more credence to my own interpretation
but also ISHMAEL
was not mentioned by name in a similar narration therein.
and
as incredible as it may sound, both moses and aaron [pbuth] have also been
mentioned in the same or similar context in the latter. that is, after their
eventful sojourn in the land of canaanite jacob followed joseph to egypt
with his family and descendants,
where began its remarkable 'new' phase of the israelite cum mosaic history.
1.
ISHMAEL
So We gave him tidings of a GENTLE SON
37:99. And he said: Lo! I am going unto my Lord Who will guide me. 37:100. My Lord! Vouchsafe me of the righteous. 37:101.
So We gave him tidings of a GENTLE
SON. 37:102. And when (his son) was old enough to walk with him, (Abraham) said: O my dear
son, I have seen in a dream that I must sacrifice thee. So look, what thinkest thou?
He said: O my father! Do that which thou art commanded. Allah willing, thou shalt find me of the steadfast. 37:103.
Then, when they had both surrendered (to Allah), and he had flung him down upon his face,
37:104. We called unto him: O Abraham! 37:105. Thou hast already fulfilled the vision. Lo! thus do We reward the good.
37:106. Lo! that verily was a
TEST MANIFEST. 37:107. Then We ransomed him with a tremendous victim. 37:108. And We left for him among the later folk (the salutation): 37:109. salaamun--Peace be unto Abraham! 37:110. Thus do We reward the good. 37:111. Lo! he is one of Our believing slaves.
=
2.
ISAAC
And we gave him tidings of the birth of Isaac
37:112.
And we gave him tidings of the birth of
Isaac, a prophet of the righteous.
=
3.
BLESSED HIM
a_n_d
Isaac
37:113. And WE
BLESSED HIM a_n_d
Isaac. And of their seed are some who do good, and some who plainly wrong themselves.
=
4.
Moses and
Aaron
37:114.
And We verily gave grace unto Moses and
Aaron,
=
and
that's not all. the lord god himself settled this issue in a very
erudite manner, like so:
1.
Deuteronomy 33:2 and
he saith: --
`Jehovah from Sinai
hath come,
[Hagar IS MOUNT SINAI
in Arabia
-- Ishmael's mother -- galatians 4:22-25
& moses]
2.
And hath risen from Seir
[esau married a
daughter of ISHMAEL--Genesis 28:9] for
them;
3.
HE HATH SHONE FROM MOUNT PARAN
[ISHMAEL -- Genesis 21:20,21],
Habakkuk 3:3 God from Teman doth come,
THE HOLY ONE FROM MOUNT PARAN [ISHMAEL].
Pause! Covered the heavens hath His majesty,
And His praise hath filled the earth.
=
De 33:2
Came from Sinai--Seir--Paran; these mountains in and around
the Arabian desert are here taken collectively, as the place
whence God manifested himself in a special manner, first to
Moses, and afterwards to the whole people.
=
so now we know why the
LORD GOD OF THE HEBREWS [namely,
abraham, ISHMAEL, isaac
and jacob ONLY],
manifested IN THE LAND OF KEDAR, ARABIA! for a complete ISHMAELITE
picture connect the same with isaiah 42:9-13; habakukk 3:1.
this was the BIBLICAL
ISLAM or islam in the BIBLE then.
this
then, is allah's and my holy imam's [pbuh] infinite grace and mercy upon those
who would follow the truth.
let's proceed to another important aspect of
islam in the BIBLE as well.
003.095
Say: Allah speaketh truth.
So follow the religion of Abraham [imam],
Lakum
Diinukum--Unto you your Religion
WA LIYA DIIN--AND UNTO ME MY RELIGION
Kaafiruun--Disbelievers - Surah 109:6
RELEASE
SOME MORE BUZZING, BECAUSE THE ESSENCE OF WHAT I WILL
003.065 O People of the
Scripture! Why will ye argue about Abraham, when the 
Torah and the Gospel
were
not revealed till after him ? Have ye then no sense ? 003.066 Lo! ye are
those who argue about that whereof ye have some knowledge: Why then argue ye
concerning that whereof ye have no knowledge ? Allah knoweth. Ye know
not.
friends of israel
and get thee into
[both] the beloved and the hated;
and [if] the firstborn son be hers that was hated:
Deuteronomy 21:17 (KJV) But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated [for] the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he [is] the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn [is] his. {that...: Heb. that is found with him}
THE AGA
KHAN IV 
