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NEW MAPI Course: "Islam in the 21st c." (June 20 - Aug 8)
HURRAY! We have now finished all 10 of our MAPI Courses for our 'Master's Degree in Apologetics and Polemics to Islam' program, and are about to start all over again teaching the 10 courses for a second time (it takes 2 years to finish all 10 courses)!
We currently have around 150 students who have taken one or more of the courses in the past 2 years, in one or more of the 3 categories we offer it.
So, beginning on Monday the 20th of JUNE, 2022 (beginning at 8:00p.m. - Eastern Time) Dr Daniel Janosik and Dr Jay Smith will be teaching the first of the 10 course, entitled: IS501-'Islam in the 21st Century'.
We will be looking at the many groups within Islam today, studying who they are, where they came from, what their agenda is, who are the main players, and how we as Christians can engage with them publicly.
To register for the course just e-mail before June 20th to: info@ves.edu
We will be teaching this course 'live', via Zoom Webinar, every Monday evening, from 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time - USA), from June 20th - August 8th, so you can watch the lectures from the comfort of your own home, anywhere in the world, or at any time.
But you need to be a Christian to take this course, due to the fact that it is being taught at the 'Veritas International University' (VIU) which is a Christian seminary, and, therefore, can only permit Christian students to participate.
Every lecture will be recorded, and the URL along with the PowerPoint and PDFs for every lecture will be sent to every registered student, so that those who cannot be at the 'live lectures' (via the Zoom Webinar), can still watch them wherever they are in the world, and at any time they choose.
As we have in the past, we are offering this course for 3 categories of students:
1) Full-TIme Master's or Doctoral Degree Students:
The first category are those students who want to take this course for a Master's or a Doctorate academic credit. This is a 3-credit course, so the fee for each credit is $330, which makes the cost for the whole course around $990 - $1,100 (depending on whether you are a returning or a new student). For these full-time students, the full course itself continues for 15 weeks, stretching from June 20 - September 30 (though there are only 8 weeks of lecture). This will give you ample time to read and then write logs of the books required for the course, participate in the discussions, write your Research papers, and write your final 'open book' exam.
2) Audit Students:
The second category are those students who want to simply audit the course. The fee for this 8-week course is $280. An Audit student will have access to the Populi site where the discussions and assignments are found (like the Full-time academic students), and will have access to the lectures and will be sent the PowerPoints and PDFs to download.
3) Personal Enrichment Students:
The third category are those students who simply want to take this course for their 'Personal Enrichment'. Their fee for the 8-week course is $185. Unlike the Full-time students or the Audit students, they will not have access to the Populi site, but will still have live access to all of the lectures and will be sent the PowerPoints and PDFs to download.
To underline the distinctions, while all of the students in all 3 categories will have access to all of the lectures and to all of the PowerPoints and PDFs for the entire course, the full-time Academic as well as the Audit students will also have admission to the Populi site to participate in the ongoing weekly discussions, and will have access to the reading lists and assignments, though the full-time students will only be required to fulfill them.
If you are interested in any of these 3 levels, simply e-mail the registrar 'Noelle' or 'Peter' at: info@ves.edu
But you need to hurry, as the first lecture begins on Monday, June 20th, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (US).
Just e-mail: info@ves.edu and tell them 'Jay sent you'
Lecture Topics:
Part 1: Introductions & 'Where is Islam and what is its agenda today?
Part 2: A Breakdown of the various Islamic Groups, and their agendas
Part 3: Defining Radical, Nominal, and Liberal Islam and their examples
Part 4: Comparing Political vs Theological Islam, and Popular vs Academic Islam
Part 5: The Rise of Radical Islam today, and a look at its Roots
Part 6: The Christian Response to Islam in the 21st Century (Evangelism)
Part 7: The Muslim Response to Christianity in the 21st Century (Da'wah)
Part 8: The Future of Islam and what we need to do as Christians
We're looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Monday, June the 20th, but you need to register first at: info@ves.edu
© Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2022
(65,390) Music: "Sweet Sunset" by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ogoebpJ878
We currently have around 150 students who have taken one or more of the courses in the past 2 years, in one or more of the 3 categories we offer it.
So, beginning on Monday the 20th of JUNE, 2022 (beginning at 8:00p.m. - Eastern Time) Dr Daniel Janosik and Dr Jay Smith will be teaching the first of the 10 course, entitled: IS501-'Islam in the 21st Century'.
We will be looking at the many groups within Islam today, studying who they are, where they came from, what their agenda is, who are the main players, and how we as Christians can engage with them publicly.
To register for the course just e-mail before June 20th to: info@ves.edu
We will be teaching this course 'live', via Zoom Webinar, every Monday evening, from 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time - USA), from June 20th - August 8th, so you can watch the lectures from the comfort of your own home, anywhere in the world, or at any time.
But you need to be a Christian to take this course, due to the fact that it is being taught at the 'Veritas International University' (VIU) which is a Christian seminary, and, therefore, can only permit Christian students to participate.
Every lecture will be recorded, and the URL along with the PowerPoint and PDFs for every lecture will be sent to every registered student, so that those who cannot be at the 'live lectures' (via the Zoom Webinar), can still watch them wherever they are in the world, and at any time they choose.
As we have in the past, we are offering this course for 3 categories of students:
1) Full-TIme Master's or Doctoral Degree Students:
The first category are those students who want to take this course for a Master's or a Doctorate academic credit. This is a 3-credit course, so the fee for each credit is $330, which makes the cost for the whole course around $990 - $1,100 (depending on whether you are a returning or a new student). For these full-time students, the full course itself continues for 15 weeks, stretching from June 20 - September 30 (though there are only 8 weeks of lecture). This will give you ample time to read and then write logs of the books required for the course, participate in the discussions, write your Research papers, and write your final 'open book' exam.
2) Audit Students:
The second category are those students who want to simply audit the course. The fee for this 8-week course is $280. An Audit student will have access to the Populi site where the discussions and assignments are found (like the Full-time academic students), and will have access to the lectures and will be sent the PowerPoints and PDFs to download.
3) Personal Enrichment Students:
The third category are those students who simply want to take this course for their 'Personal Enrichment'. Their fee for the 8-week course is $185. Unlike the Full-time students or the Audit students, they will not have access to the Populi site, but will still have live access to all of the lectures and will be sent the PowerPoints and PDFs to download.
To underline the distinctions, while all of the students in all 3 categories will have access to all of the lectures and to all of the PowerPoints and PDFs for the entire course, the full-time Academic as well as the Audit students will also have admission to the Populi site to participate in the ongoing weekly discussions, and will have access to the reading lists and assignments, though the full-time students will only be required to fulfill them.
If you are interested in any of these 3 levels, simply e-mail the registrar 'Noelle' or 'Peter' at: info@ves.edu
But you need to hurry, as the first lecture begins on Monday, June 20th, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (US).
Just e-mail: info@ves.edu and tell them 'Jay sent you'
Lecture Topics:
Part 1: Introductions & 'Where is Islam and what is its agenda today?
Part 2: A Breakdown of the various Islamic Groups, and their agendas
Part 3: Defining Radical, Nominal, and Liberal Islam and their examples
Part 4: Comparing Political vs Theological Islam, and Popular vs Academic Islam
Part 5: The Rise of Radical Islam today, and a look at its Roots
Part 6: The Christian Response to Islam in the 21st Century (Evangelism)
Part 7: The Muslim Response to Christianity in the 21st Century (Da'wah)
Part 8: The Future of Islam and what we need to do as Christians
We're looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Monday, June the 20th, but you need to register first at: info@ves.edu
© Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2022
(65,390) Music: "Sweet Sunset" by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ogoebpJ878
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VIDEO
063-J
063-jay's-2nd-series-introduction
After an absense of over two years, Jay Smith is back bringing videos to you concerning issues relevant to Christianity and Islam. In this new series, along with his normal discussions to the camera, Jay will be offering snippets from some of his time down at the world famous 'Speaker's Corner', in London. This venue is one of the only places where people can say exactly what they believe, without censuring their comments. Finally you will be able to see and hear what Muslims really are saying, and how they behave when confronted with some of the difficult truths concerning their religion, their revelation, and their prophet Muhammad.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSBCEOmH1kE
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VIDEO
FAQ-6
faq-66-the-qur'an's-view-on-women-is-not
Moving on to whether the Qur’an is applicable for us today, or any day, and whether it is applicable for you, or anyone, we approach the status of women in the Qur’an, probably one of two most popular themes when delving into the question of the Qur’an’s relevancy.
To understand what the Qur’an says about women you need to refer to two primary chapters, or Surahs, chapter 4 and chapter 2.
Starting with Surah 4:3 where it mentions that a man can have up to 4 wives, if he can treat them justly, or equally. That simply is not relevant for today. Not only because a man simply cannot treat each of his wives equally, but notice what that implies for the wives, who must share their husband with up to three other women? Where is there equality in that? Notice that there is no equivalent rule for women who may desire to have more than one husband, suggesting clearly that in the Qur’an there is one law for men and another law for women; at least in this first example we have from the Qur’an.
When we look at the Bible, it is clear that from the very beginning God’s intention was that the marriage was only to be between one man and one woman. Genesis 2:24 says that a man is to leave his mother and his father, and he and his wife will then become ‘one flesh’. The two, in marriage, then become one.
In 1 Timothy 3:2 Paul stipulates that the leader of any church must only have one wife. In both instances it is implied that the union between one man and one wife is for life. So, at the very beginning of time, and at the beginning of the church God had intended a monogamous relationship for marriage.
Returning to the Qur’an, and specifically to Surah 4, we look at verse 11, where it says that when a father dies, the son gets twice the inheritance as his sister, suggesting that even in death the woman is discriminated against.
Muslims will try to defend this verse by claiming that in divorce, the husband in Islamic law gets control of the child, which requires more finances, and thus logically it stands to reason that the son therefore should have twice the inheritance of the daughter.
The problem with this defence is that this would only make sense if the son was married and had children, and only viable where Islamic Law was practiced. But it makes no sense if the siblings were not married, nor even less sense today in the West, where in most cases of divorce the child is given to the wife, because women tend to be better carers of children than men, and thus are awarded the child for that reason; proving that this verse would once again not be relevant for today.
A few verses later, in Surah 4:24 it mentions that a man can have as many women “as his right hand possesses” (i.e. the right hand, which is the hand used in warfare). The
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RehPGY_eac
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VIDEO
USING
using-5-dots-3-vowels-we-get-30
The official 30 ‘Ahruf’ and ‘Qira’at’ different Qur'ans pose a real 'headache' for modern Muslims because it goes against their previous narrative that there is only "ONE QUR'AN".
So, what exactly do we mean by the Qira'at differences?
In the modern Arabic language 6 of 28 Arabic letters are Unique. The other 22 letters need dots to distinguish them. This wasn't always the case.
Before dots and vowels were introduced in the 8th century, there were around 16 unique letters in Arabic, which when combined together with other letters made it difficult to read, because no one knew which combinations of letters were being used for every word. Thus, dots had to be invented to show the differences between the different letters in a word.
So, take the image of a smile. It could be 5 different letters in Arabic. Thus, the 8th century Arabs would add one dot above the smile, and it became a ‘nuun’ (or the 'n' sound in English). Two dots above the smile became the 'taa' (or the 't' sound in English). Three dots above the smile became the 'thaa' (or the 'th' sound in English).
One dot below the smile became the 'baa' (or the 'b' sound in English). Two dots below the smile became the 'yaa' (or the 'y' sound in English).
So one smiley line could be 5 different letters: either the ‘nuun’, or the 'taa', or the 'thaa', or the 'baa', or the 'yaa', depending on where you put the 5 little dots.
Now, if you had three letters made up of 3 smiley lines together, depending on where you put the 5 dots, you could have as many as 19 different words, with most of them meaning completely different things.
Can you then understand why it became so confusing when they began to add the 5 dots, and then began to add the 3 short vowels to the Rasm, skeletal text? These vowels included the 'fatah' = the English 'a' vowel, the Dhamma' = the English 'u' vowel, and the Kasrah' = the English 'i' vowel).
Depending on how you combined the 5 dots and 3 vowels, you could have a whole rash of different words, which would create different sentences, and different verses within the text.
The responsibility to combine these 5 dots and 3 vowels to make sense of the Qur'anic text fell at first to 7 "readers", chosen by a scholar named Ibn Mujahid between 916-936 AD.
Al Jazari, another scholar who spent 35 years trying to decide just how many official Qira'ats could be authorized, then added another 3 "readers" between 1409-1429 AD, which gave a total of 10 official Qira'ats by 1429 AD.
Following this it was decided (no one seems to know when exactly) that each of the 'readers' could have 2 later "'transmitters" apiece, so that another 20 transmitters with their completely different sets of 5 dots and 3 vowels were added to the list until today we have 30 official
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wk91XWGnhQ
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VIDEO
EULOG
eulogy-for-joe-carey,-a-colleague-friend
It's always difficult when we lose a brother in Christ, a friend, and a colleague. Yesterday, our dear friend Joe Carey passed away.
Jay, and others on the Pfander team, both in the UK and in the US, have had the privilege of working alongside Joe over the past 10 years.
They have loved his knowledge of Islam and Christianity, and his complete dedication to the ministry of engaging publicly with Muslims.
He had a real love for Muslims, and showed it in the many classes he taught, and the many videos he filmed on Islam.
We will certainly miss him, but we know that he is finally home with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
© Pfander Centre for Apologetics, 2017
(17,225)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToFwf0aYMOQ
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VIDEO
MUSLI
muslims,-why-throw-stones-at-3-devils-in
One of our viewers, Polak, asks this question: “Are the three pillars (Jamarats) in Mecca:
a) to accommodate the large amounts of people, or
b) to symbolize the three times that Abraham was allegedly confronted by the devil?
Why did Muslims change the number of Jamarats from one to three?”
Polak asks a good question. Theologically speaking there is only one devil, not three. And in Petra there was only one Jamarat (pillar) at which the pilgrims threw rocks at.
In Mecca today, however, there are 3 Jamarats, not one, suggesting that they must have added another two over the intervening years.
So, why did they do it?
I imagine it had to do with the increasing volume of pilgrims who came to Mecca, and the need to accommodate the increasingly larger crowds which were descending upon Mecca over the subsequent 13 centuries.
The problem is that once you increase the number of Jamaraats, you then have to create a back-story to accommodate it, and make sense of them. So, you come up with Abraham stoning the devil three times, to symbolize his 3 confrontations with the devil.
Yet, where is that story in the Qur’an, or even in the earliest traditions? They just don't exist, suggesting that the entire practice is based on legend, and nothing more.
© Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2021
(46,800) Music: Adding the Sun, by Kevin Macleod - from filmmusic-io
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9P1K6koL1E
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VIDEO
AL FA
al-fadi-jay-explain-how-dr-qadhi-damaged
Al Fadi invited Dr Jay Smith to come on to his CIRA International YouTube channel on June 8, 2022 to help unpack and explain what happened two years earlier, on June 8, 2020, when Mohammed Hijab asked in a YouTube interview with Dr Yasir Qadhi (one of the leading authorities on the Qur'an in the English speaking world), to tell him which of the 30 official Qira'at Qur'ans was the one which was given to Muhammad in the 7th century?
While much of the academic world knew of this problem, no one of any note from within Islam had ever admitted publicly that there were 30 different Qur'ans, nor that the differences were in the tens of thousands of variant letters and differing words.
By admitting this problem in such a public forum, hundreds of Muslims have subsequently left Islam, and have blamed Dr Qadhi for their apostasy.
This interview did so much damage to the integrity of the Qur'an, destroying any notion that the Qur'an has been perfectly preserved eternally, that we have decided every year to commemorate this day, June 8, as the "Hole in the Standard Islamic Narrative" day, and plan to remind the world of it each year as an annual celebration.
So, enjoy this interview between Al Fadi and Dr Jay as they help explain exactly what happened that fateful day, two years ago
© Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2022
(65,500) Music: "Quantum Technology" by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC6pPeZHYtw
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VIDEO
#24:
24-the-hajj-is-pure-idolatry,-built-on
Al Fadi and Dr. Jay continue their discussion concerning the many aspects of the Hajj (the Pilgrimage to Mecca) which have simply been pilfered from other religious practices, but with an idolatrous twist.
They begin with the Jamaraat or the pillar in Mecca where the faithful followers of Islam fling 49 or 72 stones at a pillar to represent the stoning of the devil by Abraham.
At least it was one pillar up to the 1980s. By that time the crowds in Mecca became so large and unmanageable that the officials decided to add two more pillars, and subsequently changed the narrative from stoning one devil to now stoning the 3 times that the devil tried to seduce Abraham.
If in the last 40 years Islam has changed the meaning of one of the 5 stages of the Hajj due to crowd control without so much as a whimper from the theologians, then why should we be surprised that since the very beginning of Islam the narrative surrounding the Hajj has likewise been changed numerous times.
What's more, if the Hajj can be co-opted so unceremoniously, then why could not the story of its origins be likewise co-opted centuries later and redacted back to the 7th century?
Muslims insist that Islamic theology and philosophy never evolved over the first few centuries, claiming that what they practice and believe today is exactly the same as their prophet practiced and believed in the 7th century. Yet, they then quickly change a belief and a practice in full view of everyone, and don't see the irony?
A similar problem concerns the black stone, which is placed on the eastern corner of the Kabah and is kissed by the pilgrims as they circumabulate around the Kabah 7 times. And why do they kiss it? According to the Standard Islamic Narrative, in order to have their sins forgiven, suggesting that at the very center of Islam, a religion whose statement of faith is based on the 'one-ness' of god, sits a stone whose function of forgiveness equates with that of Allah himself, permitting an inanimate object the same power as god himself, proving just how idolatrous Islam really is.
What's also interesting are the number of stones which are included in the 5 stages of the Hajj. The Kabah itself is a large stone structure around which the pilgrims circulate 7 times. Safah and Marwah are two stones between which the pilgrims run back-and-forth 7 times. Mt Arafat is a hill made up of stones which the pilgrims stand on top of to pray. 49 stones are used to throw at 3 stone 'Jamarat' towers. Stones are used to line the ZamZam well from which inexhaustible water is drawn for the millions of pilgrims who drink from. And finally, the black stone itself is kissed by the pilgrims as an alternate for Allah's forgiveness.
How can Muslims claim that their religion stands against idolatry, or that their prophet came to eradicate that very sin 1400 years ago, when at the very center of their faith, at the holiest shrine for almost 2 billion believers sits idolatrous stones which take on the functions of Allah, their god?
© Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, April 26, 2023
(72,760) Music: "Joy at Work" by Musiclfiles, from filmmusic-io-BOUGHT-2022-04-28
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JidhA1uuzKI
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VIDEO
DID T
did-thomas-say-what-i-think-he-said
Nope, Thomas did not say what many of you thought he said...
There were 3 areas where some of you thought Thomas was incorrect in his history of the Anti-Trinitarians, so I've asked him to do this short video in order to clear the air concerning what you thought he said...
Below are the 3 questions viewers were concerned about:
1) Was Ignatius of Antioch an Anti-Trinitarian?
Thomas' response: Nope, he believed in the Trinity, though the word itself wasn't coined for another few decades. There were others in the 2nd century, who took what he wrote and expanded beyond what he would have intended in order to come to their anti-Trinitarian conclusions. But we shouldn't then blame him for those conclusions.
2) Did the Nestorians not believe in the cross for salvation?
Thomas' response: Yes, they did believe in the cross, but it was small groups of Christians in the East who didn't believe in the cross for salvation, and were in fact against the Nestorians.
3) Were the Ebionites the embodiment of the Early Church?
Thomas' response: No, the Ebionites were quite heretical, and, though they had some influence on later anti-Trinitarians, they did not exist during the time Islam began, so could not have had any direct influence on Islam's stance concerning the Trinity.
© Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2021
(60,310) Music: "Travels" by Aleksound, from filmmusic-io
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN7FSxJGo48
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VIDEO
SO, W
so,-where-do-the-germans-say-the-qur'an
Where then was the Qur'an Compiled?
Thomas puts forward where the Germans believe the Qur'an was finally compiled, and the place he introduces will probably be new for almost all of you!
So, watch the video to find out!
So, now you have it...the German school, Thomas informs us, believes the Qur'an was compiled as a holy book, not in the towns of Mecca or Medina, as the Standard Islamic Narrative tells us, but in the city much further north, and much further to east, situated near to present day 'Mary' or 'Bayramaly', in Turkmenistan!
It has all the ingredients which were needed for such a book to be compiled!
But, do you agree with the Germans? Let us know...
© Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2021
(58,000) Music: "Travels" by Aleksound, from filmmusic-io
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZWI68mWDkk
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