Over the past three or four years, few Christian speakers have caused more confusion on the topic of Islam as the Catholic sociology professor Dr. Craig Considine. His popular books and videos have propelled his ideas into the mainstream discussion of Islam, but how reliable a source is Dr. Considine on Islam and on the person to whom he refers as ‘The Prophet’ Muhammad?
Dr. Considine’s most prominent claim is that the Prophet Muhammad encouraged racial equality and was not just neutral, but anti-racist. His most often-cited source for the Qur’an as anti-racist is Surah 49:13, which states:
‘O you people, surely we created you from male and female, and we have made you into peoples and tribes so that you may know one another. Surely the most generous among you, before Allah, is the most pious among you. Surely Allah is knowing, aware.’
This verse hardly establishes Muhammad as a great defender of racial equality. But we can turn to Dr. Considine’s most famous video on the matter, the Emir-Stein Center’s ‘Who Is the First Anti-Racist?’. Let’s ignore for a second the fact that the Old and New Testaments teach against racism, making Muhammad far from the first anti-racist; in fact, Muhammad was no anti-racist at all. Muhammad was an Arab supremacist and a racist, specifically against black African men, contrary to Dr. Considine’s claims.
Considine first discusses the story of a black Muslim, Bilal ibn Rabah, who was freed by Muhammad’s decision after being tortured for his faith. There is no hint of anti-racism here. The torture incident had nothing to do with race, either. Considine then invokes a saying by Muhammad rebuking some odd insults from his followers, but this hardly tells us anything about Muhammad’s own views. Considine’s final example is Muhammad’s supposed last sermon, but this is a very strange place to go. The last khutba was reported in the Hadith books of Muslim, Muwatta Malik, Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud and Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, but disagreements over particular statements have led to narrative issues. While the speech does show Muhammad preaching about the non-superiority of any one people over another, he says this in specific respect to piety. The statements in the last sermon are not inconsistent with some worrying hadiths.
Muhammad, a white slave owner with black slaves, seemed to suggest multiple times that black skin was one of the worst possible features a human being could have. In Sahih al-Bukhari 7142, Muhammad says: ‘You should listen to and obey, your ruler even if he was an Ethiopian (black) slave whose head looks like a raisin’. In Sahih Muslim 3138, he says: ‘If a slave having some limb of his missing and having dark complexion is appointed to govern you according to the Book of Allah the Exalted. listen to him and obey him’. When one considers these passages in light of his last sermon, it seems that Muhammad believes that black skin is a bad feature, but that even when Muslims are black, they are superior to other people because of their piety.
In Sahih Muslim 3901, black slaves are worth half of other slaves, as Muhammad buys a regular slave ‘for two black slaves’. Muhammad says Satan looks like a black man: ‘The apostle said, ‘Whoever wants to see Satan, let him take a look at Nabtal ibn al-Harith!’ He was a sturdy black man with long flowing hair, inflamed eyes, and dark ruddy cheeks’. (Ibn Ishaq 243) In Ash-Shifa, the penalty for calling Muhammad black is death. Muhammad also has sex with and impregnates a black slave in Ibn Ishaq. ‘Provisions of the Afterlife’ names many black slaves, one of which, Safina, Muhammad named ‘ship’, as he was loaded with cargo. Muhammad also had black slaves called Anjasha (Sahih al-Bukhari 6161 – English reference) and Mid’am (Sunan An-Nasa’i 3858).
When I reached out to see if Dr. Considine would be interested in engaging in a discussion with me, he politely declined a formal debate or dialogue; despite my specification that I would discuss with him any issue involving Islam, and he still appears eager to discuss these topics extensively on his own platforms.
mgoldberg says
Just happened to be listening to Charles Jacobs discussing slavery in the Sudan, and the total blind eye exhibited by black leaders in the US when he tried to engage them in this battle. The website to go examine all this is at https://www.peaceandtolerance.org/.
Also you can listen to his half hour discussion on this at Jamie Glazov’s youtube interview of Charles Jacobs discussion ‘Do Black Slaves lives Matter’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucKhTYrznM4&feature=emb_logo
mortimer says
According to US politicians, black lives do NOT matter if they are living in Africa. They are of no interest. Their sufferings are ignored.
Persecuted black Christians in Africa are of no interest to American politicians whatsoever. The US has no strategic interests in Africa and nothing to gain. They look the other way while the victims are beat up.
Mr. Smollett should help the Africans who have REAL problems and REAL persecution.
Wellington says
Agreed, mortimer. I would add that black lives do not matter to so many US politicians, certainly also to BLM, IF blacks are killed by blacks. Black lives matter in America only when whites kill blacks, regardless of justification in most instances existing.
James Lincoln says
Wellington says,
“Black lives matter in America only when whites kill blacks, regardless of justification in most instances existing.”
100% correct.
Amplified X 1,000 when it is a white police officer…
Ram Krishna says
I am a supporter of anti-racists. Unfortunately, Black Lives Matter is infiltrated by Islamo-Fascists and anti-Semites.
gravenimage says
Thanks, mgoldberg and Mortimer.
JW_Reader says
Craig Considine is a very weird case for an Islamic apologist. Someone with a PhD is presumed to have more comprehensive knowledge of a subject that interests him/her. Considine surely lacks that quality. He is totally oblivious to all the troubling aspects of Islam and Muhammad’s life. He regularly ends his tweets with the word perspective surrounded by emojis – very juvenile. About the treatment of blacks by Muslims, Considine should be aware of the degrading ways blacks are portrayed in Arab TV shows. But, he is going to ignore those even he watches.
mortimer says
https://craigconsidinetcd.com/2020/07/14/hagia-sophia-and-whataboutism/
Weird? Indeed. Look at the website. Kindly notice that a suppose “American Catholic” refers to Mohammed 100% of the time as “Prophet Muhammad”.
Mohammed is NOT a ‘prophet’ for Roman Catholics. Mohammed is a FALSE PROPHET for Roman Catholics.
It seems that Considine is a secret convert to Islam or he is secret hire for Islam. He gets paid to whitewash Mohammed.
Considine is popular in Pakistan. That should be a clear warning to people that Considine is not on the level.
mortimer says
Pakistan has banned youtube videos that are critical of Craig Considine.
gravenimage says
Interesting…
Isaac Marshall says
Wow, that is a strange fact. Thanks for that.
J Morgan says
Another liar scholar. Teaching lies that he won’t debate.
mortimer says
I call for a peer review of his unsubstantiated claims by an accredited scholar.
Does no credentialed scholar have the guts to take on this bowl of fluff? It should be fairly easy.
A number of credentialed scholars have taken on previous humbugs and blown them away … two or three peer reviews by certified experts in New Testament criticism blew Reza Aslan recycled humbug to smithereens.
The simplest explanation for Considine’s continual whitewashing of Mohammed is that he is working for an Islamist for hire.
maria says
Muhammad was the first racist ever. He let kidnap small boys from Africa castrate them so that they couldn´t have children. He let kidnap girls too, and when they got pregnant the kids were killed and the girls, too. Mohammed could never have children, the daughters of his first wives were her children not his.
He is the worst criminal ever
mortimer says
Islam’s primary texts teach ARABIAN RACIAL SUPREMACISM
Al-Tabari–Arabs are the most noble people in lineage, the most prominent, and the best in deeds. We were the first to respond to the call of the Prophet. We are Allah’s helpers and the viziers of His Messenger. We fight people until they believe in Allah. He who believes in Allah and His Messenger has protected his life and possessions from us. As for one who disbelieves, we will fight him forever in Allah’s Cause. Killing him is a small matter to us.
Ibn Timiyya–If the child is not of the race of Arabs, then he is definitely an owned slave according to the scholars, but the scholars disputed (his status) among themselves if he was from the Arabs – whether he must be enslaved or not because when A’isha (Muhammad’s wife) had a maid-slave who was an Arab, Muhammad said to A’isha, `Set this maid free because she is from the children of Ishmael.'”
Ibn Sa’d–Verily the Prophet said: God divided the earth in two halves and placed (me) in the better of the two, then He divided the half in three parts, and I was in the best of them, then He chose the Arabs from among the people, then He chose the Quraysh from among the Arabs, then He chose the children of ‘Abd al-Muttalib from among the Banu Hashim, then he chose me from among the children of ‘Abd al-Muttalib, and from them he chose me.
Sheikh-ul-Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah (ra) was of the opinion that Arabs ARE SUPERIOR (Afdal) than Non-Arabs and he claimed that this was the view that was held by the MAJORITY of the scholars – ‘Al-Jamhoor’- .
He wrote: “And the MAJORITY of scholars are of the opinion that the Arab species is better (Afdal) than the Non-Arab (species) just as the nation of Quraish is better (Afdal) than the Non-Quraish nations and (just as) the nation of Bani Haashim is better (Afdal) than the Non-Bani Haashim (nations).” Majm’u Al-Fataawa 19/29
“We have seen that Negroes are in general characterized by levity, excitability and great emotionalism. They are found eager to dance whenever they hear a melody. They are everywhere described as stupid.”
– Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), “The Muqaddimah,” trans. Franz Rosenthal, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1967), 63
“Jazz is the favorite music [of America]. It is a type of music invented by [American] Blacks to please their primitive tendencies and desire for noise.”
-Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), cited in John Calvert, “ ‘The World is an Undutiful Boy!’: Sayyid Qutb’s American Experience,” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Vol. 11, No. 1 (2000): 99
“The Negro nations are, as a rule, submissive to slavery, because (Negroes) have little that is (essentially) human and possess attributes that are quite similar to those of the dumb animals.”
– Ibn Khaldun, “The Muqaddimah,” 117 (The Sheikh of Islam)
Blacks are people who are by their very nature slaves. – Avicenna (Ibn Sina) a Moslem philosopher
Blacks are ugly and misshapen, because they live in a hot country. – Ibn Qutaybah
Beyond known species of black West Africa to the south there is no civilization in the proper sense. There are only negroes who are closer to dumb animals than to rational beings. They live in thickets and caves, and eat herbs and unprepared grain. They frequently eat each other. They cannot be considered human beings. – Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah
Tunisian-born, Algerian author Kamel Riahi wrote: “We still curse each other using “you’re Jewish” or “you’re Kurdish”, this is also racial and religious discrimination. Watch any Egyptian sitcom and tell me about the image of the Sudanese character. Listen to the Tunisian jokes about the Libyans or jokes about people from Hums in Greater Syria. Listen to the debates regarding noble families and family lineage… even horses now are divided between what is considered “noble” and what is not. We are racists to the bones. Attempting to hide or silence this fact will not help with the matter because we are a sick society which still suffers from the complexes of color and race.”
Terry Gain says
Once again Mortimer we are indebted to you for sharing your profound knowledge of Islam. Thank you. It seems clear that Muhammad was a racist.
Without question, he was also something just as bad: a violent religio-cist (c)
who taught his followers to kill those who refuse to accept his imagined “religion” and falsely claimed that this vile injunction came from God.
If one believes, as I do, that God is loving and just, then Mohammed was also a blasphemer of God. He ranks among the worst of men.
mortimer says
Thanks, Terry. The evidence of Mohammed’s racism is overwhelming. I believe that Considine could only deny this evidence because he is prostituting his credentials.
A real scholar could not make these preposterous claims without suffering shunning from the scholarly community. I cannot imagine why his college keeps him on its payroll. He is shaming his scholarly profession by following the oldest one.
BTW, I think that most of ‘Mohammed’ in the hadiths and Sira is fabricated to justify the barbarism of the caliphs.
Isaac Marshall says
That comment on Hadith is accurate. Usually I never use Hadith; they are too easily dismissed by opponents.
gravenimage says
Fine post, Mortimer.
mortimer says
Arab Racism: Islam’s Dirty Secret
Tabari II:21 “Ham [Africans] begat all those who are black and curly-haired, while Japheth [Turks] begat all those who are full-faced with small eyes, and Shem [Arabs] begat everyone who is handsome of face with beautiful hair. Noah prayed that the hair of Ham’s descendants would not grow beyond their ears, and that whenever his descendants met Shem’s, the latter would enslave them.”
Tabari IX:69 “Arabs are the most noble people in lineage, the most prominent, and the best in deeds. We were the first to respond to the call of the Prophet. We are Allah’s helpers and the viziers of His Messenger. We fight people until they believe in Allah. He who believes in Allah and His Messenger has protected his life and possessions from us. As for one who disbelieves, we will fight him forever in Allah’s Cause. Killing him is a small matter to us.”
Tabari II:11 “Shem, the son of Noah was the father of the Arabs, the Persians, and the Greeks; Ham was the father of the Black Africans; and Japheth was the father of the Turks and of Gog and Magog who were cousins of the Turks. Noah prayed that the prophets and apostles would be descended from Shem and kings would be from Japheth. He prayed that the African’s color would change so that their descendants would be slaves to the Arabs and Turks.”
Ishaq:243 “I heard the Apostle say: ‘Whoever wants to see Satan should look at Nabtal!’ He was a black man with long flowing hair, inflamed eyes, and dark ruddy cheeks…. Allah sent down concerning him: ‘To those who annoy the Prophet there is a painful doom.” [9:61] “Gabriel came to Muhammad and said, ‘If a black man comes to you, his heart is more gross than a donkey’s.'”
Ishaq:144 “A rock was put on a slave’s chest. When Abu Bakr complained, they said, ‘You are the one who corrupted him, so save him from his plight.’ I will do so,’ said Bakr. ‘I have a black slave, tougher and stronger than Bilal, who is a heathen. I will exchange him. The transaction was carried out.”
Qur’an 9:97 “The Arabs of the desert (Bedouins) are the worst in unbelief and hypocrisy, and most fitted to be in ignorance of the command which Allah hath sent down to His Messenger.” (My tribe is better than your tribe.)
Bukhari: V9B89N256 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘You should listen to and obey your ruler even if he is a black African slave whose head looks like a raisin.'” (Blacks are ugly compared with us Arabs.)
Ishaq:450 “It is your folly to fight the Apostle, for Allah’s army is bound to disgrace you. We brought them to the pit. Hell was their meeting place. We collected them there, black slaves, men of no descent.” (Arab supremacist racism)
Ishaq:374 “The black troops and slaves of the Meccans cried out and the Muslims replied, ‘Allah destroy your sight, you impious rascals.'” (Allah’s perfect religion…perfect in every way…did not forbid slavery, but confirmed and institutionalized it. The caliphs also used slave armies. Slavery is “perfectly” Islamic…all the way to 80,000 slaves each in paradise.)
Bukhari:V4B52N137 “The Prophet said, ‘Let the negro slave of Dinar perish. And if he is pierced with a thorn, let him not find anyone to take it out for him….(sadism) If he [the black slave] asks for anything it shall not be granted, and if he needs intercession [to get into paradise], his intercession will be denied.'”
“The root of the beginning of slavery is prisoners of war; the bounties have become lawful to the nation of Mohammed.”
Ibn Timiyya (Vol. 32, p. 89)
“Slavery is justified because of the war itself; however, it is not permissible to enslave a free Muslim. It is lawful to kill the infidel or to enslave him, and it also makes it lawful to take his offspring into captivity.”
Ibn Timiyya (Vol. 31, p. 380)
“These were the names of Mohammed’s male slaves:
Yakan Abu Sharh, Aflah, Ubayd, Dhakwan, Tahman, Mirwan, Hunayn, Sanad, Fadala Yamamin, Anjasha, Al Hadi, Mad’am, Karkara, Abu Rafi’, Thawban, Ab Kabsha, Salih, Rabah, Yara Nubyan, Fadila, Waqid, Mabur, Abu Waqid, Kasam, Abu ‘Ayb, Abu Muwayhiba, Zayd Ibn Haritha, and also a black slave called Mahran, who was re-named (by Mohammed) to Safina (ship).”
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya: “Zad al-Ma’ad” (his book) (part 1, p. 114, 115, and 116)
Mohammed’s Female Salves
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya in “Zad al-Ma’ad” (his book) continues:
“These are the names of Mohammed’s Female slaves (Maid Slaves or Concubines):
Salma Um Rafi’, Maymuna daughter of Abu Asib, Maymuna daughter of Sa’d, Khadra, Radwa, Razina, Um Damira, Rayhana, Mary the Coptic, in addition to two other maid-slaves, one of them given to him as a present by his cousin, Zaynab, and the other one captured in a war.”
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya: “Zad al-Ma’ad” (his book) (Volume One, p. 116)
So in addition to 21 wives, on average, Mohammed also owned 11 concubines and female sex slaves.
mortimer says
In fact, the black sons of Bilal ibn Rabah faced horrible racial discrimination from Mohammed’s companions and their Arab children.
Surely, the generations that knew Mohammed imitated his racism, and saw nothing wrong with it.
gravenimage says
Good posts, Mortimer.
Honest Ali says
In Islam’s defense… Islam can’t truly be racist… because Islam oppresses ALL races…
mortimer says
Islam does NOT persecute Arabs. They are superior to other Muslims and they get priority treatment.
gravenimage says
True, Mortimer. Islam is deeply Arab supremacist.
The only Muslims who persecuted the Arabs that I know of were the Ottoman Turks.
OTTER says
There is only one explanation for what garbage this professor is peddling: He is a leftist. Simple as that. Remember, to a leftist, facts NEVER matter.
James Lincoln says
Good point, OTTER.
jewdog says
He also was the first Bedouin Arab to use the internet. That’s how he was able to receive and collate all that voluminous material in the Qur’an. The angel that helped him was very tech savvy too, although he had to call the user hot line a lot in Mumbai (Have you tried rebooting?).
Terry Gain says
🙂
JamesC. says
I first read that as “A Rebuttal of Dr. Craig Considine’s Claim That Muhammad Was the First Anti-Christ”. ???
Isaac Marshall says
Freudian slip James ?
mortimer says
“The Arabian Anti-Christ” … that sounds like a good title for a truthful book about Mohammed.
gravenimage says
A Rebuttal of Dr. Craig Considine’s Claim That Muhammad Was the First Anti-Racist
……………..
More risible Taqiyya from the appalling Craig Considine.
Thanks for the expose from Isaac Marashall.
Isaac Marshall says
Thank-you very much 🙂
gravenimage says
Thank you.
Patricia Koenig says
American Universities are pillars of modernist nonsense and falsehoods.
the least of terry's says
He is but an islamist paid pseudo-intellectual, and noting more.
OLD GUY says
Just another liberal NUT, feeding at the trough of the American higher education system.
phil baram says
if you go on this dog’s blog, you will see the most incredible defamations of israel you can imagine. a real, vicious propagandist. he plays the good guy and poor irish bloke victimized by the Brits, and sees the Pals in the same way, totally victimized by those damn Jews/Israelis. what a sh*t and this crap artist is a big campus prof at RICE in Houston?!!