Rebuttals to the "science" of Islam

olivergringold
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Rebuttals to the "science" of Islam

There are plenty of efforts in modern American atheism debunking the myths of the Bible, but what about the myths of the Koran?  Are there any comprehensive data sheets which would allow us to have material enough to combat this:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyboXCIVJY0

 

 

"No end justifies the means of lying."
-Penn Jillette


triften
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olivergringold

olivergringold wrote:

There are plenty of efforts in modern American atheism debunking the myths of the Bible, but what about the myths of the Koran? Are there any comprehensive data sheets which would allow us to have material enough to combat this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyboXCIVJY0

Ah, blame the victim, great idea. Personally, I think I could be swayed in the case of death penalty for rape... but, he doesn't seem to be bringing up the fact that Islam also seems to proscribe the death penalty for the victim as well. Just because someone wants to kill in vengance, does not mean it's right.

Additionally, if you can get the death penalty for reporting rape (admitting you had sex outside of marriage), would you report it?

Then it seems like he's heading for a stopwatch argument. Difference: we've seen watch factories, not universe factories.

His claim about the moon seems unimpressive to me. Anaxagoras proposed that the Moon reflected light about 400BCE.

Yeah, the greeks knew the Earth was round as well. Still not impressed.

Ostrich eggs are rather oblong... not like a squished sphere.

Sigh... How does "We have built the heaven with might, and We it is Who make the vast extent (thereof)" have anything to do with the universe expanding. It seems like people who claim that the Bible mentions all sorts of scientific stuff if you read into it. It's grasping at straws. (I'll also note that he merely mentions the chapter and verse and says it in Arabic, perhaps so no one will think to actually call him on it.)

Bunch of verses cited on water cycle (again without actually repeating the text in the video):

Chapter 39:21 "Hast thou not seen how Allah hath sent down water from the sky and hath caused it to penetrate the earth as watersprings, and afterward thereby produceth crops of divers hues; and afterward they wither and thou seest them turn yellow; then He maketh them chaff. Lo! herein verily is a reminder for men of understanding."

Doesn't sound like a cycle to me. Kind of one-way.

30:24 "And of His signs is this: He showeth you the lightning for a fear and for a hope, and sendeth down water from the sky, and thereby quickeneth the earth after her death. Lo! herein indeed are portents for folk who understand. "

Still no cycle...

15:22 "And We send the winds fertilising, and cause water to descend from the sky, and give it you to drink. It is not ye who are the holders of the store thereof."

Seems to be areference clouds forming, but a little sketchy...

23:18 "And we send down from the sky water in measure, and We give it lodging in the earth, and lo! We are Able to withdraw it."

Nope, no cycle here.

24:43 "Hast thou not seen how Allah wafteth the clouds, then gathereth them, then maketh them layers, and thou seest the rain come forth from between them; He sendeth down from the heaven mountains wherein is hail, and smiteth therewith whom He will, and averteth it from whom He will. The flashing of His lightning all but snatcheth away the sight."

So far, the author appears to have figured out that rain comes from clouds...

30:48 "Allah is He Who sendeth the winds so that they raise clouds, and spreadeth them along the sky as pleaseth Him, and causeth them to break and thou seest the rain downpouring from within them. And when He maketh it to fall on whom He will of His bondmen, lo! they rejoice;"

Yes, the winds bring the clouds which bring rain... is he going somewhere with this?

Did he say 7:17 after that?

7:17 "Then I shall come upon them from before them and from behind them and from their right hands and from their left hands, and Thou wilt not find most of them beholden (unto Thee)."

That says nothing about rain!

25:48 And He it is Who sendeth the winds, glad tidings heralding His mercy, and We send down purifying water from the sky,

25:49 That We may give life thereby to a dead land, and We give many beasts and men that We have created to drink thereof.

Still, no cycle.

35:9 And Allah it is Who sendeth the winds and they raise a cloud; then We lead it unto a dead land and revive therewith the earth after its death. Such is the Resurrection.

Yeah...

36:34 And We have placed therein gardens of the date-palm and grapes, and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein,

Oh yeah. Springs. A very important part of the water cycle.

67:30 Say: Have ye thought: If (all) your water were to disappear into the earth, who then could bring you gushing water ?

The author of the Quran has duly noted that springs exist. Wow.

86:11 By the heaven which giveth the returning rain,

"Returning rain"? As in, "it rains over and over"? Most likely. As in "the water that rained down before and evaporated"? A stretch.

Hundreds? 13. One didn't mention water at all and only one could have possibly been construed as making any vague reference to the water cycle.

Regarding plants:

20:53 Who hath appointed the earth as a bed and hath threaded roads for you therein and hath sent down water from the sky and thereby We have brought forth diverse kinds of vegetation,

Diverse kinds == different sexes? What?! I see no mention of male and female flowers/plants. (As a side note, not all plants are divided like this.)

Regarding the seas:

25:53 And He it is Who hath given independence to the two seas (though they meet); one palatable, sweet, and the other saltish, bitter; and hath set a bar and a forbidding ban between them.

Has this guy ever been to a spot where fresh water mixes with salt? (Yes, they mix. They don't magically stay separate. This is just flat out wrong.)

55:17 Lord of the two Easts, and Lord of the two Wests!

55:18 Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that ye deny ?

55:19 He hath loosed the two seas. They meet.

55:20 There is a barrier between them. They encroach not (one upon the other).

(He said only 17 and 18... I gave him the benefit of the doubt)

But again... a body of fresh and salt will mix. If the fresh is flowing into the salt, it may appear as if they don't. If he's seen this happening with two actual seas, I'd love to sea, er... see it.

"The mountains prevent the Earth from shaking" ?! What?

Takes a lot more than water to make biological chemicals.

I have no doubt that people may have observed the behavior of spiders, ants, and bees 400 years ago and written about it.

96:1 Read: In the name of thy Lord Who createth,

96:2 Createth man from a clot.

Wow! Islam discovered the placenta! Amazing!

23:13 Then placed him as a drop (of seed) in a safe lodging;

23:14 Then fashioned We the drop a clot, then fashioned We the clot a little lump, then fashioned We the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!

I'm sure at some point, when some woman dared show too much skin, she might have been pregnant and someone saw a fetus. Still not impressed.

These "scientific facts" are little more than observations. Now if it said "Allah is he who makes your water jug empty of its own but he will return that water as rain", that might be on the way to something.

-Triften