Hi again from Lebanon. I might become a displaced person soon if they keep escalating, but I’m safe so far. I feel like a war correspondent writing this. This series has been a dream come true. I’ve said it over and over in multiple comments now and it’s not an exaggeration at all. One of my favorite channels creating hours of engaging storytelling about my country, for everyone to see. I’ve been happy to provide personal context in the form of long ass comments, your videos have jogged my memories. I’ve sent your videos far and wide to great reception. Though the spy video still gets the best reaction. I haven’t been on TH-cam in the past weekish, I just got the notification for this video. I can’t watch, I’m exhausted. I’m sure it’ll be great when I do watch it later. I wish I could watch it but I can’t. Not after the two weeks we’ve had. I’m safe tonight but it’s day by day and a safe town one day could be an unsafe town the next. 2000 of us are dead, mostly some of the poorest folks in the country. Over 100 medical workers. I think 1/4 of the population is now displaced. I’ve seen bombs fall on places I’ve had special memories in. My original hometown is being bombarded a little and might get annexed like it did in the 80s. I wish we could live a normal life without this cartoonishly evil thing haunting us and turning neighborhoods (and ambulances….) into ashes and craters. You never get used to the dull, deep thuds at night and the low flying war plane noises. It’s 3 am here. The shelters I’ve been helping out in have been overwhelmed since day one and are still accepting people because what else can you do? We’re struggling to get everything these people need - the country has been straining already before the war opened up. And the price gouging from these opportunistic suppliers who know they have shelter essentials, disgusting. I almost punched a man I was supposed to buy foam mattresses from this morning. There’s been a lot of heartwarming displays of goodwill, from unexpected places as well. But also a lot of bad. You know, on top of being bombed for the unforgivable crime of being born in the wrong country. I invite anyone who can help to please donate to the Lebanese Red Cross (they have an international-facing donation page and need all the money they can get) and please please protest against these endless crimes, in your countries. Your politicians are making this war to be something it absolutely is not. They are not even giving you the option to say you are against this, so you must *make* the option and make them know that they cannot keep pretending these crimes are a normal part of life if they happen to us. We are normal people like you. We are not nameless extras in a movie. We speak the same languages, watch the same media, and wear the same clothes as you. We do the same jobs as you. Imagine the worst natural disaster you can think of destroying your part of the world, and now imagine it’s being pumped full of war dollars as a reward for every time it kills enough people. This is absolute madness. A fraction of what has been happening to our cousins in the occupied territory, but the same madness. Sorry for the kind of irrelevant comment @RareEarthSeries, I promise I’ll be back with what I hope is an insightful comment about the actual video. I’m sure I’ll love it. I’ve been waiting for it. But I feel obligated to write something like this under your video, as it’s fresh and I’m sure the right type of people will be reading below it. If you have to delete it for being irrelevant, please point people to the Lebanese Red Cross donation page (I don’t want to type a link as to not get stuck in a spam filter). I think it shows up reliably on Google. And thank you for your coverage. Your whole team has done great work. If I ever move to a country with a functioning banking system, I’m DMing you on Patreon.
Hello from Lebanon as well. This series on my country is a gem, and though you've taken some historical and theological liberties the narration is exceptionally well written and shows that a lot of research went into it. I would like to second that call for donating to the Lebanese Red Cross, they've always acted heroically in a country chronically short on means and beset by misfortune (though partly self-inflicted). However I would also like to add that if you're going to protest the US funding Israel, then please also protest Iran funding Hezbollah and holding our country hostage for their insane Islamist agenda. Also, we as Lebanese should have enough honesty to admit that we bear some responsibility for the mess we're in. If we want change we have to look ourselves in the mirror too.
@@Dunendilbear responsibility for the mess were in? How? By caring for our arab brothers and sisters ? Should we just give our country right over to Isntreal?
@@LamarPackson420 See this is exactly what I'm talking about. As long as many Lebanese like you still adhere to the lie of the Palestinian cause and support genocidal terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, you'll only have yourselves to blame for the never ending conflicts. Israel didn't start this war, Hamas and Hezbollah did, on the orders of Iran. Hezbollah has murdered our politicians and journalists, destroyed our sovereignty, ruined our country for the interests of foreign power, corrupted our institutions, blew up our capital, sent their thugs to strongarm every democratic protest, and more, and you really think their purpose is defending Lebanon? That's like saying Isis is defending Syria.
I saw your episode on Forehead Fables, and thought this channel looked neat. A couple weeks later and 30+ videos of yours watched, I can safely say this has become one of my all-time favorite TH-cam channels. What you do here on this channel is incredibly important, and it doesn’t go unappreciated. Keep up the amazing work
@@BrandanLee when people know how to correctly use the pineapple chunks, ie; let them drain off any excess juices or the tinned fruit's preserving syrup water, then there is nothing wrong with pineapple on pizza, - except most Italian run (or lazier operated/ran establisments) Pizzarias do not understand the concept of draining off fruit/preservative-liquids.
My best friend all throughout high school was a Lebanese immigrant to America, and seeing all of this history giving context to his culture is really cool and bringing me back. His family were legitimately the nicest and most welcoming people I have ever met in my life, followed Islam, but did not care that I did and never judged me. They treated me as a part of their own family and their wonderful warm heartedness gave me such a beautiful idea about the people from Lebanon from a young age.
Without any exaggeration or hesitation of the 130+ countries I have been through none were as friendly and welcoming as the Lebanese. I cannot praise enough their hospitality and welcoming nature.
The Qurand mandates Muhammadans to not keep any non-muslim friends. Those "nice muslims" are nice because they are not following the true Islaam. They are hypocrites as per hooley quran and are fuel for hell.
@@RareEarthSeries The Qurand mandates Muhammadans to not keep any non-muslim friends. Those "nice muslims" are nice because they are not following the true Islaam. They are hypocrites as per holey quran and are fuel for hell. I left this cult few years ago. Ex-Muslim from India.
@@WindandTruth420 God, stop being such a war monger. There is something called escalating a conflict that the Israeli heads have decided to take steps to carry out. And regarding the constant barrages, have u thought to actually see the statistics? 80%+ of the missiles shot in this ridiculous conflict has been launched by Israel so pretending Lebanon is 'asking' for a war is crazy. Right now the leader of Israel is only going to remain in power as long as conflict continues. There will be no peace in any conflict as long as he in power. Israel will not benefit from this Lebanon war or Gaza barrage. Its just gonna continue this cycle of hatred.
This is such a good series of videos, thank you for highlighting this history at such a moment like now. Also, I just noticed this is part two of eight!! Looking forward to the rest of these.
I worked at a Lebanese restaurant for 5 years,(Hedary's in Vegas) very different from what I usually work at, but I'm so glad I learned about all the food. I still get the red sauce when I'm marinating shrimp or chicken for kabobs or something. AND the lemon garlic sauce is so good on salads/chicken, one of the top three dressings I love.
18:54 "......and this way, Mohamed would not become the type of prophet to sacrifice himself for our sins, but rather the type to sacrifce others for their own." Ooof, those are some Lord Farquaad "some of you may die but that is a sacrifice i am willing to make" vibes right there.
it's really just a matter of perspective. From the islamic point of view, they are just fighting the people that wanted to eradicate them, and because they won, they gained. The context you take away and put into what had happened changes what you see. Islam, at least originally, will only wage defensive wars. The modus operandi goes like this, they will send people to spread the word of god, and then when the people inevitably form armies to fight against what they are doing, they'll fight. And somehow through just repeating that over and over again, their rule became huge. If you take away the context, it just looked like the typical expansion through conquest, which don't necessarily have to be full of the shebang of debauchery and looting and destruction and everything. But one do tend to imagine all that when it was represented without context.
Muhammed did not preach Meekness, he preached "If a man comes to take your property, do not give it to him. If he fights you, fight him back. If you are killed, you are a martyr, and if you kill him, he is in the Fire." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 140)
While early on there were all kinds of sects there is no evidence that early Christians were anything other than minority pacifists, it wasn't cited as an issue for conscripts into the army which it would have been if they developed an aversion to stabbing. For the early Muslim empire collecting taxes made more sense than trying to convert the people. I have visited the Maronite community in Cyprus who speak a dialect of Greek but pray in Arabic.
Never forget that to turn the other cheek does _not_ mean passivity in the face of violence. To turn the other cheek means not to waver, not to falter, to stay your course even when you are struck down and not to kneel to the pointless exercise of power.
Discussing the philosophy, hardships and crimes by Pagans, Christians and Muslims in one video. I just hope no one would unnecessarily argue if they disagreed a slight bit.
This story makes me understand Nietszche's On the Genealogy of Morals so much better - I am reading it for my philosophy class and this story follows his very closely and comes to similar conclusions
From my somewhat shallow study of history and religion I came to a bit of a different conclusion: that schisms, i.e. religious differences, almost always derive first from a political need or desire for separation first. Conditions on the ground require a separation, various arcane religious disputes always exist and one is chosen as justification for the split, then blood is spilled in the name of God. Millions killed, justified by religion. But religion never really had anything to do with it. It gets the blame though because that is what is convenient. Ironic that religion, but its very nature a personal inconvenience, conveniently takes the blame for the bloodshed. I disagree with the way you've presented this history, I guess that's what I'm saying.
There are many political schisms but that's a disingenuous way to frame it because many of those political schisms are only understandable within the religious community that is creating them. The political struggle between those who viewed Jesus as God and those who viewed Jesus as a man wouldn't have existed without religion. So, yes, it is political most often than not but that's just because all community debate is by definition political. Even when it is inter-religious philosophical disagreement. If you said this was purely a political matter you'd be missing the real picture of why it was happening.
This is a great video which I intend to share with my friends. However, there were two minor factual mistakes which I wanted to point out: (1) technically Constantine did not convert to Christianity around AD 313, because according to holy tradition, the moment of conversion is considered to be the moment of Baptism, which in Constantine's case was upon his deathbed; (2) it is stated in the video that the Council of Chalcedon led to the separation of the Syrian, Egyptian, Armenian, Ethiopian, and Eritrean churches; however, the Eritrean church did not exist until the 20th century (and the Ethiopian church was at that time firmly subordinate to the Egyptian church).
They didn't exist yet, yes, however that's where they would be originally split down their own unique lines. But I appreciate the correction, I'll think if it need changing. I will adapt the line about Constantine in the bigger combined episode thank you!
It's more like anyone trying to dominate reduces things to singular authority. It doesn't happen because they're related by causation, but coincidence of their driving factors.
So, what were the years when the area of today’s Lebanon was Christian? I mean it was Christian under the Eastern Roman Empire until Heraclius, but it was never all Maronite, was it? A passionate narration but could use clarity, thanks.
I watched this with four sets of eyes. One set is of a curious person interested in the history of civilizations through interest in the histories and relationships of languages. Another is that of a Roman Catholic educated by the word of the homily (More to unpack there than any .zip file). The third is a pair of eyes is very curious about how the various religions of the world arose and evolved. These eyes view Christianity as an Eastern religion and sees a thread of commonality among them: Karma. I have a special set of eyes for looking through the non theist microscope. So watching this video took a while, "re-winding" bits over and over, but I'll do myself a favour and watch the series once again after the final upload. I really enjoy your unbiased as possible approach to everything explored. And I try to "not take your word for it" just because you said it.
To the best of my understanding, there's reasonable secular concensus that during the prophet's lifetime, he, and Muslims more broadly, were not involved in wars of aggression. Perhaps a few caravan raids of questionable nature, but there's a pretty strong evidence of a religious community that was not concerned with conquering or comverting. These began virtually overnight after the prophet died. Based on my understanding of historical concenses, there's some mischaracterization around this point.
They weren't "wars" of aggression (although they are often called such) but they were deliberate violence from Mohammad's followers towards their neighbours, and was undertaken during the time of Mohammad as a means of cementing his tribal control. This conflict would be dramatically increased upon his death but the idea that they weren't engaged in the warfare of conquest before his passing is definitely a hard sell for any secular person. If you send out soldiers to raid caravans and they send soldiers to protect those caravans, and you clash with those soldiers until over a hundred people die that's certainly not a non-violent rise. It might not be a "war", depending on how you frame that when one side is so small - but it is certainly "warfare". The conquest of Mecca, of course, also required violence and the inflicting of death.
@@RareEarthSeries The raiding of Quraish's caravans is not unprovoked. The mekkan tribe has prosecuted the early muslims and took their belongings. The raidings successfully isolated mekka from northern trade as well as returned some of the money that they lost. The destruction of the Roman empire is due to the Ceaser refusing to allow the spreading the message. The protection of minorities is a hard coded issue of the muslim law that saw clerics decrying violations by rulers. Minorities still thrive in the muslim world today which can not be said of the other cultures or religions.
The protection of some minorities, sure. Others are hard-coded for genocide. What if those minorities are pagan or polytheistic? What happened to those minorities? What about the ones who question the existence of God? I can think of many other cultures, in fact most of the world's cultures, who have laws hard-coded to protect minorities. In fact, I can think of very few that don't. The most obvious examples of ones that don't are the attempted caliphates currently rising in the middle east. What happened to the Yazidi, for example? You say provocation made it ok for the caliphate to have eradicated their enemy. Do you also think this is the right of Israel against those they consider provoking them? Or is provocation only an allowance of slaughter for your side? Seems like a confused message to send. The moment Mohammad died the Caliph immediately declared a war of eradication against all those who opposed them in Arabia due to their "provocation" of them being polytheistic (in actuality, just opposing Mohammad's claims of talking to God). Seems to me more like awful human behaviour being masked in a religious dogma that is used to justify it when they do it to others but not when others do it to them.
Interesting video, as always, and I look forward to the next six episodes of this series. I think that you got one fundamental statement wrong about Mohammad. He never claimed to be divine nor would any of his followers accept that notion. One of the principles of Islam is that there is only one God and that s/he is without any ancestors or descendants. When the Council of Nicaea (325CE) was convened to determine the true nature of Jesus, the politically expedient decision was to accept the middling position that he was both man and god. All the (gnostic) gospels disagreeing with this were to be destroyed. Islamic theology is an offshoot of the gnostic gospels that denied the divinity of Jesus and the Ebionites (a defunct Jewish movement that accepted Jesus as the Messiah but not as the son of God). Of course, I'm leaving much out, but ultimately, like Jews, Muslims believe in the oneness of God. Like Christians, Muslims believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Indeed, he is the one who welcomes those who enter heaven, not Mohammad (whom Muslims would claim wanted to correct the mistake of making Christ divine).
Yes, when I say they each had a "form of divinity" what I mean is that they claimed to be a conduit for God who could speak prophecies. Not that they were literal divine aspects of God. That is just a theological argument that can only exist after already accepting the initial divination of the prophecy you're being told. This is a secular commentary, not an inter-religious one. To me, anyone who claims to speak for God is calling themselves in some way divine (usually for personal and socio-political reasons). Saying "I'm not divine like the God that I'm the messenger and sole living conduit of" is of no real distinction outside the religion itself. In the secular perspective, there is no fundamental difference between claiming to be a form of God and claiming to be the only one who knows what God demands. It is only after accepting the primary theology that this distinction can exist.
Islam is the true religion of the prophets. Not your Paulist greek pagan version of chrsitianity that wiped all others out. Your statements about islam are thoroughly debunked. Look-up what you are talking about. We have more evidence and scripture from God and the prophet than christians have about jesus, which are lost and can not be reliably traced.
Just a few days ago Israel dropped bombs on Aitou in northern Lebanon, on a little town in the mountains where Maronite Christians have a significant follower ship. And that was just a day after they had dynamited a small village Mhaibib in the southeast of Lebanon, where there is a Shiite Muslim majority. They also destroyed a shrine of Benjamin, a prophet who plays a role in historic Judaism but also in Islam. What is their intention? Is Israel fighting a religious war?
As a Christian (who is doing their level best to be a good one), this was well told. It’s the truth, and how things were and how things got where they are. Its interesting how a religion of peace was used for war more often than not. For the record my Christianity follows the carpenter of Galilee and what he said to do, not what man thinks he said.
It is interesting how the religion of love has orchestrated more cleansings than any others in history. Religions and cultures still survive in the muslim lands to this day. Whilst that can not be said for your bloody history.
I've really enjoyed your work for years, but I feel it is necessary to bring up a minor correction here. The claim that "if you refused the divinity of Muhammad, some little patch of sand was turning red" is a strict misunderstanding of Islamic theology. Muhammad is certainly not considered divine within any branch of Islam that I know of; he is the messenger of god, no more, no less, much in the same way that Jesus of Nazareth within Islam is considered an antecedent prophet, rather than the son of god or within the trinity. I was raised Lutheran, and am in no way an expert on Islamic theology, but from what I do know, claiming that Muhammad was divine would have been considered heretical in the early days of the Caliphates and now in the present day. This is a minor point, and not one that I think compromises the overall argument and narrative of the video, but it stuck out to me as worth mentioning.
He isn't considered 'divine' within the ideology of the religion, no. But if a man came up to you and said he existed before the first soul and was now the last prophet to grace the earth, on par with Jesus, you would understand what it means when others would see what he was doing as claiming to be divine. (There are still problems today stemming from the disagreement on if he's able to offer redemption from hell or has no divinity whatsoever, for example, even though the Qur'an directly states it.) But truly, it is only once you are already within the frame of religion that this can be parsed out as a non-divine divine person. In communism, the system claimed men had equality. And yet in practice, if you tested that theory a patch of dirt was turning red. Virtually the first thing that his followers did after Mohammad died was declared war on the surrounding prophets and murdered them all. They denied that Mohammad was the one among them who was God's conduit, and they died for it. But I will clarify that in the larger video, as you are entirely correct in what you're saying - thank you.
Saying a thing and doing a thing are not the same. I you say you're not divine but they worship your name as second only to god, you're functionally deified. Be it Joseph Smith or Karl Marx or Mohamed, when the state says you are a holy man, you're a holy man. It doesn't matter if you reject the title if you use it in practice.
@BrandanLee I will have to reject your claim. Because by comparison, the US constitution can be considered divine because any entity that declares rejection of the constitution is considered sedition. In a religious sense, the prohet is simply our leader and whom we consider more valuable to us than our parents or families. Surely, you do not say that your parents divine in a religious sense because you will feel bad about someone insulting them.
Those mountains will once again have to be a sanctuary for the Lebanese people. It's kept Evan alive for the last few weeks. I'm still struggling to imagine how he'll make his way out of the country.
Sorry just want to point fundamentally wrong information you gave from 17:41 to 18:20. Pretty much your introduction to Muhammed (pbuh). A lot is known about his beginning. I do not want to compare to the time of Jesus (pbuh) but a lot lot lot more is known about prophet Muhammed. So your introduction is fundamentally wrong. You said at 17:41 that he's more divine than others. Prophet Muhammad did not claim to be more divine than other prophets. And he preached exactly the other way around! In Islam, Muhammad is considered the final prophet, often referred to as the "Seal of the Prophets," but he did not claim divinity for himself or assert that he was superior to other prophets in terms of their spiritual status. Instead, he is seen as a messenger of God, just like previous prophets such as Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Islam teaches that all prophets were sent by God (Allah) with the same core message of monotheism, calling people to worship the one true God. The Qur'an emphasizes the equality and respect for all prophets. It states that Muslims should make no distinction between them also at multiple places in the quran (ex: surat 2:285). All muslims know that. So I was curious to know where you got that info. You also say that he claimed to be the first in creation and the last creation. That he was created before the earth. That also is 100% not accurate I have never heard of that and he certainly never said that. Immediately after these 2 wrong information that make him look like a egocentric person. You go on to say that he ruled by the sword. Which is another long topic but certainly very much taken out of context for the purpose of the video which is to make all religion look bad. The jizia is for everybody. Muslim pay 2% for the poor (zakat). Non-muslim pay (jizia/tax) which is 2% for the state. So everybody is on equal ground. There is no escaping the 2% it's fair for everybody. But the way you put it is as if they you are in a disadvantage money wise if you don't convert. Thank you for the video. That was mistakes that were very obvious to me because I am muslim. For Maronite and Christianity I don't know enough to give feedback. Thank you. PS: you might not see my message! But I've followed you for the past 7 years. I don't want to be rude. Just want to understand how the errors were made?
As a recent convert to islam who studied all the major religion for the past 5 years (Christian before) I second your comment. Nothing that I've learned ressemble the introduction of Muhammed made. Cheers
@@12345678922a The first soul created by Allah in the baarzakh, before Adam ("I was a prophet while Adam was between water and clay"), was the soul of Mohammad. Although he is the said to be equal of all prophets in ideological terms, and none are said to be divine except God, in human practical terms by separating himself as the first soul and the final prophet the religion has created a clear delineation as to who is the most revered and closest to God. Communism claimed all men were equals as well, but anyone who wanted to survive understood Stalin was first among them. To say "all prophets are the same except I was the first one and also I'm the last one" only sounds like equality within the bounds of the religion. But not if we're talking about a man. The other living prophets of Arabia would be killed by his followers for a reason. Saying that Islam didn't rise by the dove is not my egocentrism nor an attack on all religion but a recounting of the recorded history of the start of the Rashidun caliphate and the conquest of Arabia. Further, the jizya is often presented as equality between religions by the Muslims who impose it - but rather tellingly rarely by their subjects who experience it. Your presentation here is a misunderstanding of what the problems with being restricted from Imperial markets were. It isn't about the percentage levied, which absolutely changed between political eras and did not always strictly follow the exact lines of religious text it should have (for example at times decades of tax would be collected in advance, meant without any question as punishment against non-Muslim subjects - it would be the cause of multiple Maronite and Mardaite rebellions) Yes, Muslims also paid a tax, but they also had access to non-Christian trade networks and administration opportunities. It was extremely rare and generally speaking only in areas with virtually zero Islamic market presence where the Jizya wasn't an economic hurdle for non-Muslims. It was no different than being made a second class citizen by law. Imagine if in Alabama black and white citizens are taxed the same but black people aren't allowed to trade with or enter the stores of white people and vice-versa. Even if you could find some examples where this helped them in all-black communities, presenting this as a form of equality would be a farce. But I appreciate the comment and I'll deliberate on how to fix this messaging to be more understandable in the larger video
@@RareEarthSeries thanks for your answer. Means a lot. I don't want to debate by respect cause it's your channel of course. Just want to point out that the "clay" passage that you are referring is understood in the context of Islamic theology to mean that Muhammad's prophethood was part of God's eternal plan, preordained before the creation of humanity, but not that he existed physically before Adam. As for everything in life. Already written. For someone who is not familiar with that it is a rude introduction in his mind. Knowing that he doesn't know that. That' all thank you again. Even the rest of what you answered I would like to answer with details. But the fact that you read me suffice me! Thanks again
The J in Germanic languages that Rome turned to Latin letters was then and now pronounced as a Y. It's a linguistic fossil. The germanic converts to latin supremacism were writing it Jesuah, because of that J-Yeh. The Anlosaxons, then invading Britton, writing in Anglosaxon Runes better suited to Anglish, or Inglish, encountered their own fossil of original Latin writers from Ireland and the newly emergent Inglund. (Ironically, Irish churches were the last salvation of the original Latin, because Vulgate had taken over and the march towards Spanish and Italian had begun.) That J was preserved as the Angles and Saxons merged with the Latin Brittons, and we get Jesus, now, ironically, with a Hard J, "Juh," mispronounced based on the misunderstanding of the J-Y. All because the Saxons stopped using Runes because the church outlawed Runic writing (they couldn't read it) and felt that the Latin letters were the supreme language of God! So we ended up writing a spoken English language in Latin letters instead of the Runes it was meant for, based on an Arameic word from a Hebrew origin, leading to infinite hilarity and pain in learning English today, cakedu nder layers of Dutch, French, German, Norse, Anglish, Saxon, and Welsh. It's misunderstandings all the way down.
One thing about Jizya is sometimes the caliphs didn't want too many people to convert because that tax was a significant income for the caliphate. There was also a Muslim-only tax (Zakat) which depending on the period would be or less than Jizya.
Greek Orthodox, Melekite and other Christian communities are also present in Lebanon and deserve to be mentioned. Christians remained a majority in Lebanon until probably the 1980s. So, the brutal Islamic oppression of Christians was so tough that it only took 13 centuries for Muslims to take over? I understand that youtube isn't always the best place to express nuance and that obviously the power dynamics between Muslims and Christians in Lebanon is one where the Muslim rulers can easily be seen as the bad guys, but this telling of this history here plays into tropes.
No wonder a Lebanese Christian I'm following on FB spoke in Arabic... What a shame, but at least they can speak many languages...however, they should not forget Aramaic, too.
It's not atheistic, but I agree it doesn't present organized religion in the way organized religion expects to be presented after multiple millennia of suppressing free speech about their beliefs
I am an atheist. I have no personal or familial relationship with religion whatsoever. With that being said, I am concerned with how you paint Islam as a fundamentally violent religion/ideology. I don't think this was necessarily your intention, but being mindful of the constant Islamaphobic rhetoric used to justify atrocities committed in the Middle East by the west for decades upon decades now (including the current genocide), such a one-dimensional portrait the religion only serves to enable such warmongers as they portray every muslim as a "terrorist".
@@cheese7960 I would argue that you should be wary of doing the opposite where you see the history of the rise of Islam and attempt to justify the atrocities that are associated with it due to a fear of being considered Islamophobic. There are two sides to one-sidedness, and just because imperial expansion came with a religious backing doesn't change it being imperial expansion. It is written in the Quran (and the prevailing belief among scholars of Islam today) that in an Islamic system you personally can and should be killed for admitting to being an atheist. In my opinion you shouldn't be supportive of that view of the world just to appear welcoming. I guarantee you wouldn't approve if an Islamic system took control of your government, and associating that truth with the equally valid truth that warmongers paint the middle east as entirely full of terrorists falsifies the deeper picture. You can support individual humans while denouncing the foundations of their religion and pretending otherwise is not open-mindedness in any sense. You do not want to live in a caliphate. You would be killed.
@@RareEarthSeries"You would not approve if an islamic system took over your government". Where are you getting this information from? Today maybe with all the crap you hear on the media. But it is not the case. It was not the case in indonesia, malaysia, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Morocco, Tunisia, Tanzania, Comores, Seychelles, Maldives, Bangladesh, etc. Islam spread mostly peacefully in all those countries. And these counties are still largely muslims. If they were forced or did not want it they would have abandoned it long time ago. Europe/Us/Canada have litterrelay abandoned Christianity. Because it was "forced" on them and after studying it don't want it because it does not make sense. Islam is completely different and you can see why today. The large majority of those countries are still Muslims and Muslims converts in the west is increasing. Your life experience/encounters does not represent the reality of the world. Your reality is not The reality
I didn't say an islamic government emulating secularism, I said a caliphate. If you don't understand the difference between those two I'd recommend looking into it before getting upset. Those governments aren't operating as the caliphates did, nor do. They are certainly not following the commands of the Qur'an or the governance of the original caliphate. So that's a weird frame for you to make, I'd say. I wouldn't like living in a theocratic Christian system, either, as I've made clear in other videos of this series. Germany being a historically and ostensibly Christian nation doesn't make it a theocratic system any more than having believers of Islam in power makes Malaysia a caliphate. Saying that the people who didn't want it would have removed it is blaming people for being conquered. It doesn't really make sense. Do you believe that African-Americans wanted slavery because they weren't the ones to stop it? That they wanted to be Christianized? It's a nonsense comment that doesn't actually work outside of the sentence it is in.
@12345678922a revionist history is the only way that Islam is able to justify itself. The truth of the matter is that Islam was conceived (and I don't say this to be condescending), but it was conceived from a barren desert landscape, from a group of people who the Romans considered barbaric (which is saying alot since the Romans were brutal) and whose culture was and still is inferior to the cultures of the Levant and Persia. Unfortunately, this backward culture has permeated itself in great swathes of the MENA and turned what was once the most prosperous and culturally vibrant provinces, into a backward hell hole. And before you start blaming the West, the West or the US didn't even exist back when Islam drew the Levant and Persia and North Africa into the abyss.
Religion is such a curse. What crimes humanity has committed both in it's creation and in its name. If you want a good man to do evil acts, you need god, whether it be Jahweh, God, or Allah.
@@mattcy6591 are u sure ? religion is dogma, and the master conspiracy agency that coined the term "conspiracy theory" is very dogmatic, as well as the 2 extremes of each side of the divide created by that term ! like the credits of these videos say : "don't let anyone think for you, most people can't even think for themselves" aka dogma
This isn't a video about Islam, of course it's not going to cover the whole spectrum and all the details of the religion. It's also a 20min video, you gotta choose what to include and exclude.
@@joaomramalho1 they definitely aren’t the victims at all. Look at the Christians and Jews in Lebanon, and in Syria, and in Iraq, and Egypt. They practically RUN those countries 🙄 It’s the Judeo-Christian caliphate
If he was indeed an Israeli spy, you would not have even the slightest clue... the pager thing (aka the tale of the grim beeper 😉) should demonstrate that quite clearly.
Arguably, that is exactly what has happened in the last few decades throughout western civilization, and our mental health is at an all time low... So I really don't know if rejecting "superstitious stuff" and "facing reality head on" would really be better for humanity.
Your understanding of Islam is actually hilariously wrong. You know who else don’t agree with the divinity of the prophet Muhammad ? Muslims. He’s not divine and no serious sect of Islam considers him to be so.
@@chahineboudemagh9596 Meticulous process of what exactly? You have time machines? It forms the entire basis of your life. From the number of times a day you need to stop what you're doing and do the rites, at exactly what hour, at exactly what position, what exact words to say, what you need to wear, who you can talk to, what you can eat and drink, who you can love, who you can be friends with, and so on. The vast majority of which are not found in the book. No room for nuance. Every deviation and disagreement is a huge deal, often with tragic outcomes. Remember that time when people drew him? And how did you react?
@@AngryKittens so history and anthropology are just not a reliable serious field of study at all because we don’t have time machines? Is that what you’re implying ?
@@chahineboudemagh9596 You say the Quran supersedes it, but Quranists are the minority today and even persecuted. Despite the Quran clearly saying that guidance is sent individually, not through rigid interpretations of certain people, it seems the words of human leaders have become more important. Almost everything practiced today and viewed as essential, are not in the Quran.
you're more of a narrator seeking to craft a poetic story than a historian, too bad that so many will take this video as a historical overview rather than the work of literature that it is.
How to say that in all respect. But your knowledge of islam is just wrong. You sure know a lot. But you've been misguided/misthought by someone/somehow. Many are your statement are false. Simply put. Maybe one day you should do a video on the topic of the genesis of islam and the life of the prophet. I am no one to tell you what to do! It is still a religion followed by almost 1/3 of the earth. Surely this video will be popular Sincerely! And thanks again
Hi again from Lebanon. I might become a displaced person soon if they keep escalating, but I’m safe so far. I feel like a war correspondent writing this.
This series has been a dream come true. I’ve said it over and over in multiple comments now and it’s not an exaggeration at all. One of my favorite channels creating hours of engaging storytelling about my country, for everyone to see. I’ve been happy to provide personal context in the form of long ass comments, your videos have jogged my memories. I’ve sent your videos far and wide to great reception. Though the spy video still gets the best reaction.
I haven’t been on TH-cam in the past weekish, I just got the notification for this video. I can’t watch, I’m exhausted. I’m sure it’ll be great when I do watch it later. I wish I could watch it but I can’t. Not after the two weeks we’ve had.
I’m safe tonight but it’s day by day and a safe town one day could be an unsafe town the next. 2000 of us are dead, mostly some of the poorest folks in the country. Over 100 medical workers. I think 1/4 of the population is now displaced. I’ve seen bombs fall on places I’ve had special memories in. My original hometown is being bombarded a little and might get annexed like it did in the 80s. I wish we could live a normal life without this cartoonishly evil thing haunting us and turning neighborhoods (and ambulances….) into ashes and craters. You never get used to the dull, deep thuds at night and the low flying war plane noises. It’s 3 am here.
The shelters I’ve been helping out in have been overwhelmed since day one and are still accepting people because what else can you do? We’re struggling to get everything these people need - the country has been straining already before the war opened up. And the price gouging from these opportunistic suppliers who know they have shelter essentials, disgusting. I almost punched a man I was supposed to buy foam mattresses from this morning. There’s been a lot of heartwarming displays of goodwill, from unexpected places as well. But also a lot of bad. You know, on top of being bombed for the unforgivable crime of being born in the wrong country.
I invite anyone who can help to please donate to the Lebanese Red Cross (they have an international-facing donation page and need all the money they can get) and please please protest against these endless crimes, in your countries. Your politicians are making this war to be something it absolutely is not. They are not even giving you the option to say you are against this, so you must *make* the option and make them know that they cannot keep pretending these crimes are a normal part of life if they happen to us. We are normal people like you. We are not nameless extras in a movie. We speak the same languages, watch the same media, and wear the same clothes as you. We do the same jobs as you. Imagine the worst natural disaster you can think of destroying your part of the world, and now imagine it’s being pumped full of war dollars as a reward for every time it kills enough people. This is absolute madness. A fraction of what has been happening to our cousins in the occupied territory, but the same madness.
Sorry for the kind of irrelevant comment @RareEarthSeries, I promise I’ll be back with what I hope is an insightful comment about the actual video. I’m sure I’ll love it. I’ve been waiting for it. But I feel obligated to write something like this under your video, as it’s fresh and I’m sure the right type of people will be reading below it. If you have to delete it for being irrelevant, please point people to the Lebanese Red Cross donation page (I don’t want to type a link as to not get stuck in a spam filter). I think it shows up reliably on Google.
And thank you for your coverage. Your whole team has done great work. If I ever move to a country with a functioning banking system, I’m DMing you on Patreon.
Not an irrelevant comment at all. I'll pin and add it to the description.
www.redcross.org.lb/
Hello from Lebanon as well. This series on my country is a gem, and though you've taken some historical and theological liberties the narration is exceptionally well written and shows that a lot of research went into it. I would like to second that call for donating to the Lebanese Red Cross, they've always acted heroically in a country chronically short on means and beset by misfortune (though partly self-inflicted). However I would also like to add that if you're going to protest the US funding Israel, then please also protest Iran funding Hezbollah and holding our country hostage for their insane Islamist agenda. Also, we as Lebanese should have enough honesty to admit that we bear some responsibility for the mess we're in. If we want change we have to look ourselves in the mirror too.
@@Dunendilbear responsibility for the mess were in? How? By caring for our arab brothers and sisters ? Should we just give our country right over to Isntreal?
@@Dunendil I must be missing something is there another group defending Lebanon besides Hezbollah?
@@LamarPackson420 See this is exactly what I'm talking about. As long as many Lebanese like you still adhere to the lie of the Palestinian cause and support genocidal terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, you'll only have yourselves to blame for the never ending conflicts. Israel didn't start this war, Hamas and Hezbollah did, on the orders of Iran. Hezbollah has murdered our politicians and journalists, destroyed our sovereignty, ruined our country for the interests of foreign power, corrupted our institutions, blew up our capital, sent their thugs to strongarm every democratic protest, and more, and you really think their purpose is defending Lebanon? That's like saying Isis is defending Syria.
Brother turned my country's history into a JRPG third act. Based
Next week I turn it into an early 1800s horror novella
@@RareEarthSeries spoiler alarm🚨
That's funny because I came across this video researching Lebanon for a Christian RPG game.
@@RareEarthSeriesbut what we really wanna know is…will you be including some dank memes in the process?
Inquiring minds wanna know…🤓🤓🤓
I saw your episode on Forehead Fables, and thought this channel looked neat. A couple weeks later and 30+ videos of yours watched, I can safely say this has become one of my all-time favorite TH-cam channels. What you do here on this channel is incredibly important, and it doesn’t go unappreciated. Keep up the amazing work
Hahaha no way he was on forehead fables I have to watch that
All of this footage is 10 times better knowing that you were arrested for it.
You, sir, are a brave man. There are no end of people who will be livid about one thing or another in this telling.
Well done!!
I love it when Evan leaves no stone unturned. Pineapple on pizza is the true sacrilege. If he'd rendered a picture of it that would be peak haram.
@@BrandanLee when people know how to correctly use the pineapple chunks, ie; let them drain off any excess juices or the tinned fruit's preserving syrup water, then there is nothing wrong with pineapple on pizza, - except most Italian run (or lazier operated/ran establisments) Pizzarias do not understand the concept of draining off fruit/preservative-liquids.
The line, "Seeing the very lions who ate him now wearing the skin of their lamb" goes unbelievably hard.
My best friend all throughout high school was a Lebanese immigrant to America, and seeing all of this history giving context to his culture is really cool and bringing me back. His family were legitimately the nicest and most welcoming people I have ever met in my life, followed Islam, but did not care that I did and never judged me. They treated me as a part of their own family and their wonderful warm heartedness gave me such a beautiful idea about the people from Lebanon from a young age.
Without any exaggeration or hesitation of the 130+ countries I have been through none were as friendly and welcoming as the Lebanese.
I cannot praise enough their hospitality and welcoming nature.
The Qurand mandates Muhammadans to not keep any non-muslim friends. Those "nice muslims" are nice because they are not following the true Islaam. They are hypocrites as per hooley quran and are fuel for hell.
@@RareEarthSeries The Qurand mandates Muhammadans to not keep any non-muslim friends. Those "nice muslims" are nice because they are not following the true Islaam. They are hypocrites as per holey quran and are fuel for hell.
I left this cult few years ago.
Ex-Muslim from India.
Your whole channel is such top-tier content it's unreal
Bro just pulled the Best Timing of this new millennium with the topic and timing of this one
If you like the show, please support it:
www.patreon.com/rareearth
ko-fi.com/rareearth
Praying for Lebanese people to get through this war safely
@@WindandTruth420 God, stop being such a war monger. There is something called escalating a conflict that the Israeli heads have decided to take steps to carry out. And regarding the constant barrages, have u thought to actually see the statistics? 80%+ of the missiles shot in this ridiculous conflict has been launched by Israel so pretending Lebanon is 'asking' for a war is crazy.
Right now the leader of Israel is only going to remain in power as long as conflict continues. There will be no peace in any conflict as long as he in power. Israel will not benefit from this Lebanon war or Gaza barrage. Its just gonna continue this cycle of hatred.
@@WindandTruth420 unprovoked huh.
@@WindandTruth420 You cant believe your own lies.
@@WindandTruth420 please please please history has not begun on october 7
Look at all the people defending the unspeakable atrocities commited by a terrorist organisation. Have they no shame?
This is such a good series of videos, thank you for highlighting this history at such a moment like now.
Also, I just noticed this is part two of eight!! Looking forward to the rest of these.
“We are born of free with but with no clear meaning” has been tumbling through my head all day. Great work Evan as always
Some of the best content on TH-cam hands down
I worked at a Lebanese restaurant for 5 years,(Hedary's in Vegas) very different from what I usually work at, but I'm so glad I learned about all the food. I still get the red sauce when I'm marinating shrimp or chicken for kabobs or something.
AND the lemon garlic sauce is so good on salads/chicken, one of the top three dressings I love.
I share your passion. Food is peaceful, joyous and nurturing! Wish there was peaceful a way out of the current conflicts.
18:54 "......and this way, Mohamed would not become the type of prophet to sacrifice himself for our sins, but rather the type to sacrifce others for their own."
Ooof, those are some Lord Farquaad "some of you may die but that is a sacrifice i am willing to make" vibes right there.
Classic momo 😂
it's really just a matter of perspective. From the islamic point of view, they are just fighting the people that wanted to eradicate them, and because they won, they gained. The context you take away and put into what had happened changes what you see.
Islam, at least originally, will only wage defensive wars. The modus operandi goes like this, they will send people to spread the word of god, and then when the people inevitably form armies to fight against what they are doing, they'll fight. And somehow through just repeating that over and over again, their rule became huge.
If you take away the context, it just looked like the typical expansion through conquest, which don't necessarily have to be full of the shebang of debauchery and looting and destruction and everything. But one do tend to imagine all that when it was represented without context.
Mohammed, the Chad of prophets.
Muhammed did not preach Meekness, he preached "If a man comes to take your property, do not give it to him. If he fights you, fight him back. If you are killed, you are a martyr, and if you kill him, he is in the Fire."
(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 140)
@macrinus-mauri he also taught his men to rob merchant caravans LOL...
Joshua's message, or at least Pauls version of it. lol! You really touched on so many of my thoughts in this episode. Thank you.
Constantine didn’t convert until much later in his life but he was a Christian apologist starting in the night before the battle
While early on there were all kinds of sects there is no evidence that early Christians were anything other than minority pacifists, it wasn't cited as an issue for conscripts into the army which it would have been if they developed an aversion to stabbing. For the early Muslim empire collecting taxes made more sense than trying to convert the people. I have visited the Maronite community in Cyprus who speak a dialect of Greek but pray in Arabic.
Never forget that to turn the other cheek does _not_ mean passivity in the face of violence. To turn the other cheek means not to waver, not to falter, to stay your course even when you are struck down and not to kneel to the pointless exercise of power.
I do enjoy Rare Earth Sunday's.
That was the best summary/overview of the historical timeline of the region I've ever seen. Very interesting.
Discovered you on Forehead Fables & I’ve been binging all your stuff! Love every video and loved your episode on FF ⛽️ ⛽️
Created by Even Hadfield, who believes in a thing called love, just listen to the rhythm of my heart. This is what the world needs more of right now.
“Wherever you go, there you are.”-Buckaroo Banzai.
Holy fucking mother of God.
This channel should be nominated for a Oscar.
I didn’t have to hear the story to tap like. The channel never disappoints. Thanks again for sharing.
A glance at the infinite is right, that felt like staring into a window through time. Incredible incredible video. Excited for the next one
Incredible video. Long time fan. I'm finally subscribing to your Patreon!
I truly appreciate you sharing your sojourn with us.
Discussing the philosophy, hardships and crimes by Pagans, Christians and Muslims in one video.
I just hope no one would unnecessarily argue if they disagreed a slight bit.
Don't forget the Judeans. They're still here arguing with ordinance.
This story makes me understand Nietszche's On the Genealogy of Morals so much better - I am reading it for my philosophy class and this story follows his very closely and comes to similar conclusions
I'll look up "Nietszche's On the Genealogy of Morals". Is this where FN states "there was only one Christian, and he died on the cross?"
Did he write that one before or after he developed tertiary syphilis?
Well now you see why they were so nervous when you got detained.
This has to be some of the most dramatic writing I've seen in a while
From my somewhat shallow study of history and religion I came to a bit of a different conclusion: that schisms, i.e. religious differences, almost always derive first from a political need or desire for separation first. Conditions on the ground require a separation, various arcane religious disputes always exist and one is chosen as justification for the split, then blood is spilled in the name of God.
Millions killed, justified by religion. But religion never really had anything to do with it. It gets the blame though because that is what is convenient. Ironic that religion, but its very nature a personal inconvenience, conveniently takes the blame for the bloodshed.
I disagree with the way you've presented this history, I guess that's what I'm saying.
There are many political schisms but that's a disingenuous way to frame it because many of those political schisms are only understandable within the religious community that is creating them.
The political struggle between those who viewed Jesus as God and those who viewed Jesus as a man wouldn't have existed without religion. So, yes, it is political most often than not but that's just because all community debate is by definition political. Even when it is inter-religious philosophical disagreement. If you said this was purely a political matter you'd be missing the real picture of why it was happening.
Always great content!
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword"
This is a great video which I intend to share with my friends. However, there were two minor factual mistakes which I wanted to point out: (1) technically Constantine did not convert to Christianity around AD 313, because according to holy tradition, the moment of conversion is considered to be the moment of Baptism, which in Constantine's case was upon his deathbed; (2) it is stated in the video that the Council of Chalcedon led to the separation of the Syrian, Egyptian, Armenian, Ethiopian, and Eritrean churches; however, the Eritrean church did not exist until the 20th century (and the Ethiopian church was at that time firmly subordinate to the Egyptian church).
They didn't exist yet, yes, however that's where they would be originally split down their own unique lines. But I appreciate the correction, I'll think if it need changing.
I will adapt the line about Constantine in the bigger combined episode thank you!
How often wondered if Christianity did not start with Akhenaten trying to get the Egyptians to believe in only one God?
It's more like anyone trying to dominate reduces things to singular authority. It doesn't happen because they're related by causation, but coincidence of their driving factors.
Another awesome video!
Before you take this video seriously, read the credits at the end.
So, what were the years when the area of today’s Lebanon was Christian? I mean it was Christian under the Eastern Roman Empire until Heraclius, but it was never all Maronite, was it?
A passionate narration but could use clarity, thanks.
I watched this with four sets of eyes.
One set is of a curious person interested in the history of civilizations through interest in the histories and relationships of languages.
Another is that of a Roman Catholic educated by the word of the homily (More to unpack there than any .zip file).
The third is a pair of eyes is very curious about how the various religions of the world arose and evolved. These eyes view Christianity as an Eastern religion and sees a thread of commonality among them: Karma.
I have a special set of eyes for looking through the non theist microscope.
So watching this video took a while, "re-winding" bits over and over, but I'll do myself a favour and watch the series once again after the final upload.
I really enjoy your unbiased as possible approach to everything explored. And I try to "not take your word for it" just because you said it.
Always intrigued. Thanks as usual.
To the best of my understanding, there's reasonable secular concensus that during the prophet's lifetime, he, and Muslims more broadly, were not involved in wars of aggression. Perhaps a few caravan raids of questionable nature, but there's a pretty strong evidence of a religious community that was not concerned with conquering or comverting. These began virtually overnight after the prophet died. Based on my understanding of historical concenses, there's some mischaracterization around this point.
They weren't "wars" of aggression (although they are often called such) but they were deliberate violence from Mohammad's followers towards their neighbours, and was undertaken during the time of Mohammad as a means of cementing his tribal control. This conflict would be dramatically increased upon his death but the idea that they weren't engaged in the warfare of conquest before his passing is definitely a hard sell for any secular person.
If you send out soldiers to raid caravans and they send soldiers to protect those caravans, and you clash with those soldiers until over a hundred people die that's certainly not a non-violent rise. It might not be a "war", depending on how you frame that when one side is so small - but it is certainly "warfare". The conquest of Mecca, of course, also required violence and the inflicting of death.
@@RareEarthSeries
The raiding of Quraish's caravans is not unprovoked. The mekkan tribe has prosecuted the early muslims and took their belongings.
The raidings successfully isolated mekka from northern trade as well as returned some of the money that they lost.
The destruction of the Roman empire is due to the Ceaser refusing to allow the spreading the message.
The protection of minorities is a hard coded issue of the muslim law that saw clerics decrying violations by rulers.
Minorities still thrive in the muslim world today which can not be said of the other cultures or religions.
The protection of some minorities, sure. Others are hard-coded for genocide.
What if those minorities are pagan or polytheistic? What happened to those minorities? What about the ones who question the existence of God? I can think of many other cultures, in fact most of the world's cultures, who have laws hard-coded to protect minorities. In fact, I can think of very few that don't. The most obvious examples of ones that don't are the attempted caliphates currently rising in the middle east. What happened to the Yazidi, for example?
You say provocation made it ok for the caliphate to have eradicated their enemy. Do you also think this is the right of Israel against those they consider provoking them? Or is provocation only an allowance of slaughter for your side? Seems like a confused message to send. The moment Mohammad died the Caliph immediately declared a war of eradication against all those who opposed them in Arabia due to their "provocation" of them being polytheistic (in actuality, just opposing Mohammad's claims of talking to God). Seems to me more like awful human behaviour being masked in a religious dogma that is used to justify it when they do it to others but not when others do it to them.
love how that Aquilina of byblos kid was turned into a saint and has a day, like wtf dudes how insane can you be : D
Interesting video, as always, and I look forward to the next six episodes of this series.
I think that you got one fundamental statement wrong about Mohammad. He never claimed to be divine nor would any of his followers accept that notion. One of the principles of Islam is that there is only one God and that s/he is without any ancestors or descendants. When the Council of Nicaea (325CE) was convened to determine the true nature of Jesus, the politically expedient decision was to accept the middling position that he was both man and god. All the (gnostic) gospels disagreeing with this were to be destroyed. Islamic theology is an offshoot of the gnostic gospels that denied the divinity of Jesus and the Ebionites (a defunct Jewish movement that accepted Jesus as the Messiah but not as the son of God). Of course, I'm leaving much out, but ultimately, like Jews, Muslims believe in the oneness of God. Like Christians, Muslims believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Indeed, he is the one who welcomes those who enter heaven, not Mohammad (whom Muslims would claim wanted to correct the mistake of making Christ divine).
Yes, when I say they each had a "form of divinity" what I mean is that they claimed to be a conduit for God who could speak prophecies. Not that they were literal divine aspects of God. That is just a theological argument that can only exist after already accepting the initial divination of the prophecy you're being told.
This is a secular commentary, not an inter-religious one. To me, anyone who claims to speak for God is calling themselves in some way divine (usually for personal and socio-political reasons). Saying "I'm not divine like the God that I'm the messenger and sole living conduit of" is of no real distinction outside the religion itself. In the secular perspective, there is no fundamental difference between claiming to be a form of God and claiming to be the only one who knows what God demands. It is only after accepting the primary theology that this distinction can exist.
@@RareEarthSeries Even knowing how much of a way you have with words, I'm kind of in awe of how succinct and well-stated this is.
Islam is the true religion of the prophets. Not your Paulist greek pagan version of chrsitianity that wiped all others out.
Your statements about islam are thoroughly debunked. Look-up what you are talking about.
We have more evidence and scripture from God and the prophet than christians have about jesus, which are lost and can not be reliably traced.
17:33 based depiction of nothing more than a man
Just a few days ago Israel dropped bombs on Aitou in northern Lebanon, on a little town in the mountains where Maronite Christians have a significant follower ship. And that was just a day after they had dynamited a small village Mhaibib in the southeast of Lebanon, where there is a Shiite Muslim majority. They also destroyed a shrine of Benjamin, a prophet who plays a role in historic Judaism but also in Islam. What is their intention? Is Israel fighting a religious war?
No, Israel is not fighting a religious war. Quite the opposite, even.
superb, as alwaysw!
loved the video!
Amazing video thank you for it ❤
Beautiful documentary.
People should know their history and learn enough not to repeat it
Hi Hadfield, I’ve been looking for one of your videos about coffee for a long time. Has it been deleted?
Nope. It's called "the Muslim drink"
@@RareEarthSeries found it, thank you so much.
As a Christian (who is doing their level best to be a good one), this was well told. It’s the truth, and how things were and how things got where they are. Its interesting how a religion of peace was used for war more often than not. For the record my Christianity follows the carpenter of Galilee and what he said to do, not what man thinks he said.
It is interesting how the religion of love has orchestrated more cleansings than any others in history.
Religions and cultures still survive in the muslim lands to this day. Whilst that can not be said for your bloody history.
I've really enjoyed your work for years, but I feel it is necessary to bring up a minor correction here. The claim that "if you refused the divinity of Muhammad, some little patch of sand was turning red" is a strict misunderstanding of Islamic theology. Muhammad is certainly not considered divine within any branch of Islam that I know of; he is the messenger of god, no more, no less, much in the same way that Jesus of Nazareth within Islam is considered an antecedent prophet, rather than the son of god or within the trinity. I was raised Lutheran, and am in no way an expert on Islamic theology, but from what I do know, claiming that Muhammad was divine would have been considered heretical in the early days of the Caliphates and now in the present day. This is a minor point, and not one that I think compromises the overall argument and narrative of the video, but it stuck out to me as worth mentioning.
He isn't considered 'divine' within the ideology of the religion, no. But if a man came up to you and said he existed before the first soul and was now the last prophet to grace the earth, on par with Jesus, you would understand what it means when others would see what he was doing as claiming to be divine. (There are still problems today stemming from the disagreement on if he's able to offer redemption from hell or has no divinity whatsoever, for example, even though the Qur'an directly states it.) But truly, it is only once you are already within the frame of religion that this can be parsed out as a non-divine divine person.
In communism, the system claimed men had equality. And yet in practice, if you tested that theory a patch of dirt was turning red. Virtually the first thing that his followers did after Mohammad died was declared war on the surrounding prophets and murdered them all. They denied that Mohammad was the one among them who was God's conduit, and they died for it.
But I will clarify that in the larger video, as you are entirely correct in what you're saying - thank you.
Saying a thing and doing a thing are not the same. I you say you're not divine but they worship your name as second only to god, you're functionally deified. Be it Joseph Smith or Karl Marx or Mohamed, when the state says you are a holy man, you're a holy man. It doesn't matter if you reject the title if you use it in practice.
@BrandanLee
I will have to reject your claim. Because by comparison, the US constitution can be considered divine because any entity that declares rejection of the constitution is considered sedition.
In a religious sense, the prohet is simply our leader and whom we consider more valuable to us than our parents or families.
Surely, you do not say that your parents divine in a religious sense because you will feel bad about someone insulting them.
why does he call Jesus Joshua?
Because that's his name
What a great video. Thank you!
Those mountains will once again have to be a sanctuary for the Lebanese people. It's kept Evan alive for the last few weeks. I'm still struggling to imagine how he'll make his way out of the country.
That is incredibly good writing
Amazing video
the detectives that detained you, saw your Girl with the White Flag segment
I feel like there is a parallel to be drawn but can't put my finger on it
Very important series.
Why he calling jesus joshua?
It's his name
Sorry just want to point fundamentally wrong information you gave from 17:41 to 18:20. Pretty much your introduction to Muhammed (pbuh). A lot is known about his beginning. I do not want to compare to the time of Jesus (pbuh) but a lot lot lot more is known about prophet Muhammed. So your introduction is fundamentally wrong.
You said at 17:41 that he's more divine than others. Prophet Muhammad did not claim to be more divine than other prophets. And he preached exactly the other way around! In Islam, Muhammad is considered the final prophet, often referred to as the "Seal of the Prophets," but he did not claim divinity for himself or assert that he was superior to other prophets in terms of their spiritual status. Instead, he is seen as a messenger of God, just like previous prophets such as Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.
Islam teaches that all prophets were sent by God (Allah) with the same core message of monotheism, calling people to worship the one true God. The Qur'an emphasizes the equality and respect for all prophets. It states that Muslims should make no distinction between them also at multiple places in the quran (ex: surat 2:285). All muslims know that. So I was curious to know where you got that info.
You also say that he claimed to be the first in creation and the last creation. That he was created before the earth. That also is 100% not accurate I have never heard of that and he certainly never said that.
Immediately after these 2 wrong information that make him look like a egocentric person. You go on to say that he ruled by the sword. Which is another long topic but certainly very much taken out of context for the purpose of the video which is to make all religion look bad.
The jizia is for everybody. Muslim pay 2% for the poor (zakat). Non-muslim pay (jizia/tax) which is 2% for the state. So everybody is on equal ground. There is no escaping the 2% it's fair for everybody. But the way you put it is as if they you are in a disadvantage money wise if you don't convert.
Thank you for the video. That was mistakes that were very obvious to me because I am muslim. For Maronite and Christianity I don't know enough to give feedback.
Thank you.
PS: you might not see my message! But I've followed you for the past 7 years. I don't want to be rude. Just want to understand how the errors were made?
I agree with you. Saw the same well said. Good video
As a recent convert to islam who studied all the major religion for the past 5 years (Christian before)
I second your comment. Nothing that I've learned ressemble the introduction of Muhammed made. Cheers
@@12345678922a The first soul created by Allah in the baarzakh, before Adam ("I was a prophet while Adam was between water and clay"), was the soul of Mohammad. Although he is the said to be equal of all prophets in ideological terms, and none are said to be divine except God, in human practical terms by separating himself as the first soul and the final prophet the religion has created a clear delineation as to who is the most revered and closest to God. Communism claimed all men were equals as well, but anyone who wanted to survive understood Stalin was first among them. To say "all prophets are the same except I was the first one and also I'm the last one" only sounds like equality within the bounds of the religion. But not if we're talking about a man. The other living prophets of Arabia would be killed by his followers for a reason. Saying that Islam didn't rise by the dove is not my egocentrism nor an attack on all religion but a recounting of the recorded history of the start of the Rashidun caliphate and the conquest of Arabia.
Further, the jizya is often presented as equality between religions by the Muslims who impose it - but rather tellingly rarely by their subjects who experience it. Your presentation here is a misunderstanding of what the problems with being restricted from Imperial markets were. It isn't about the percentage levied, which absolutely changed between political eras and did not always strictly follow the exact lines of religious text it should have (for example at times decades of tax would be collected in advance, meant without any question as punishment against non-Muslim subjects - it would be the cause of multiple Maronite and Mardaite rebellions)
Yes, Muslims also paid a tax, but they also had access to non-Christian trade networks and administration opportunities. It was extremely rare and generally speaking only in areas with virtually zero Islamic market presence where the Jizya wasn't an economic hurdle for non-Muslims. It was no different than being made a second class citizen by law. Imagine if in Alabama black and white citizens are taxed the same but black people aren't allowed to trade with or enter the stores of white people and vice-versa. Even if you could find some examples where this helped them in all-black communities, presenting this as a form of equality would be a farce.
But I appreciate the comment and I'll deliberate on how to fix this messaging to be more understandable in the larger video
@@RareEarthSeries thanks for your answer. Means a lot. I don't want to debate by respect cause it's your channel of course.
Just want to point out that the "clay" passage that you are referring is understood in the context of Islamic theology to mean that Muhammad's prophethood was part of God's eternal plan, preordained before the creation of humanity, but not that he existed physically before Adam. As for everything in life. Already written.
For someone who is not familiar with that it is a rude introduction in his mind. Knowing that he doesn't know that. That' all thank you again.
Even the rest of what you answered I would like to answer with details. But the fact that you read me suffice me! Thanks again
@@12345678922a I would like to know more details, if you don't have a problem writing them. Thanks anyway, mate. :)
Great video.
incredible story, i was never taught how these religions came about!!!
Joshua came from Yehoshua יהושע
Jesus came from Yeshua ישוע
You’re technically right. Joshua is just the anglicized version of Yeshua and Jesus is the Hellenized version of Yeshua.
@@Emymagdalena So Joshua is both Yeshua and Yehoshua?
@@VaderFuntime Yeah, it’s just what English-speakers have decided to translate both Yehoshua and Yeshua
@@Emymagdalena Now let's talk about the Islamic name for him, Isa.
The J in Germanic languages that Rome turned to Latin letters was then and now pronounced as a Y. It's a linguistic fossil. The germanic converts to latin supremacism were writing it Jesuah, because of that J-Yeh. The Anlosaxons, then invading Britton, writing in Anglosaxon Runes better suited to Anglish, or Inglish, encountered their own fossil of original Latin writers from Ireland and the newly emergent Inglund. (Ironically, Irish churches were the last salvation of the original Latin, because Vulgate had taken over and the march towards Spanish and Italian had begun.)
That J was preserved as the Angles and Saxons merged with the Latin Brittons, and we get Jesus, now, ironically, with a Hard J, "Juh," mispronounced based on the misunderstanding of the J-Y. All because the Saxons stopped using Runes because the church outlawed Runic writing (they couldn't read it) and felt that the Latin letters were the supreme language of God! So we ended up writing a spoken English language in Latin letters instead of the Runes it was meant for, based on an Arameic word from a Hebrew origin, leading to infinite hilarity and pain in learning English today, cakedu nder layers of Dutch, French, German, Norse, Anglish, Saxon, and Welsh.
It's misunderstandings all the way down.
Nicely concise summary of some pretty contentious history. Why do I think some people will react emotionally?
One thing about Jizya is sometimes the caliphs didn't want too many people to convert because that tax was a significant income for the caliphate. There was also a Muslim-only tax (Zakat) which depending on the period would be or less than Jizya.
Many a war was started over pineapple on a pizza. Just not in recorded history
So you're saying Last Thursdayism isn't the fundamental original story? How can that be, the universe was created last thursday!
Is there any religion that says feeling good isn’t a sin?
Sure, there's plenty. A leading one being consumerism
This was very interesting
Greek Orthodox, Melekite and other Christian communities are also present in Lebanon and deserve to be mentioned.
Christians remained a majority in Lebanon until probably the 1980s. So, the brutal Islamic oppression of Christians was so tough that it only took 13 centuries for Muslims to take over? I understand that youtube isn't always the best place to express nuance and that obviously the power dynamics between Muslims and Christians in Lebanon is one where the Muslim rulers can easily be seen as the bad guys, but this telling of this history here plays into tropes.
I'm here from the Forehead Fables show
No wonder a Lebanese Christian I'm following on FB spoke in Arabic... What a shame, but at least they can speak many languages...however, they should not forget Aramaic, too.
2:52 Judas of Galilee? Curious
The Middle East really hasn't moved out of ancient times.
The interpretation of Christianity by modern American Evangelicals is certainly closer to the Roman view than the pacifist view.
This is a better title.
That name transition from Joshua to Jesus with the Rome's conversion into Christianity was just *chef's kiss*.
the president must always be christian in syria and lebanon, part of the independence deal with france after wwI
absolutely incredible
Spooky opening shot
Despite the resentful atheistic framing this documentary has been fascinating
It's not atheistic, but I agree it doesn't present organized religion in the way organized religion expects to be presented after multiple millennia of suppressing free speech about their beliefs
I am an atheist. I have no personal or familial relationship with religion whatsoever. With that being said, I am concerned with how you paint Islam as a fundamentally violent religion/ideology. I don't think this was necessarily your intention, but being mindful of the constant Islamaphobic rhetoric used to justify atrocities committed in the Middle East by the west for decades upon decades now (including the current genocide), such a one-dimensional portrait the religion only serves to enable such warmongers as they portray every muslim as a "terrorist".
@@cheese7960 I would argue that you should be wary of doing the opposite where you see the history of the rise of Islam and attempt to justify the atrocities that are associated with it due to a fear of being considered Islamophobic. There are two sides to one-sidedness, and just because imperial expansion came with a religious backing doesn't change it being imperial expansion.
It is written in the Quran (and the prevailing belief among scholars of Islam today) that in an Islamic system you personally can and should be killed for admitting to being an atheist. In my opinion you shouldn't be supportive of that view of the world just to appear welcoming.
I guarantee you wouldn't approve if an Islamic system took control of your government, and associating that truth with the equally valid truth that warmongers paint the middle east as entirely full of terrorists falsifies the deeper picture. You can support individual humans while denouncing the foundations of their religion and pretending otherwise is not open-mindedness in any sense.
You do not want to live in a caliphate. You would be killed.
@@RareEarthSeries"You would not approve if an islamic system took over your government". Where are you getting this information from? Today maybe with all the crap you hear on the media. But it is not the case. It was not the case in indonesia, malaysia, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Morocco, Tunisia, Tanzania, Comores, Seychelles, Maldives, Bangladesh, etc. Islam spread mostly peacefully in all those countries. And these counties are still largely muslims. If they were forced or did not want it they would have abandoned it long time ago.
Europe/Us/Canada have litterrelay abandoned Christianity. Because it was "forced" on them and after studying it don't want it because it does not make sense.
Islam is completely different and you can see why today. The large majority of those countries are still Muslims and Muslims converts in the west is increasing.
Your life experience/encounters does not represent the reality of the world. Your reality is not The reality
I didn't say an islamic government emulating secularism, I said a caliphate. If you don't understand the difference between those two I'd recommend looking into it before getting upset. Those governments aren't operating as the caliphates did, nor do. They are certainly not following the commands of the Qur'an or the governance of the original caliphate. So that's a weird frame for you to make, I'd say. I wouldn't like living in a theocratic Christian system, either, as I've made clear in other videos of this series. Germany being a historically and ostensibly Christian nation doesn't make it a theocratic system any more than having believers of Islam in power makes Malaysia a caliphate.
Saying that the people who didn't want it would have removed it is blaming people for being conquered. It doesn't really make sense. Do you believe that African-Americans wanted slavery because they weren't the ones to stop it? That they wanted to be Christianized? It's a nonsense comment that doesn't actually work outside of the sentence it is in.
Because it is a violent ideology ! It is a spiritual pathology based on a deformed theology that has produced a dysfunctional culture.
@12345678922a revionist history is the only way that Islam is able to justify itself. The truth of the matter is that Islam was conceived (and I don't say this to be condescending), but it was conceived from a barren desert landscape, from a group of people who the Romans considered barbaric (which is saying alot since the Romans were brutal) and whose culture was and still is inferior to the cultures of the Levant and Persia. Unfortunately, this backward culture has permeated itself in great swathes of the MENA and turned what was once the most prosperous and culturally vibrant provinces, into a backward hell hole. And before you start blaming the West, the West or the US didn't even exist back when Islam drew the Levant and Persia and North Africa into the abyss.
Evan do you have a theory on the Baalbek megaliths, it could be an episode in itself
Religion is such a curse. What crimes humanity has committed both in it's creation and in its name. If you want a good man to do evil acts, you need god, whether it be Jahweh, God, or Allah.
Even without religion we would still have the conspiracy theorists.
@@mattcy6591 are u sure ? religion is dogma, and the master conspiracy agency that coined the term "conspiracy theory" is very dogmatic, as well as the 2 extremes of each side of the divide created by that term ! like the credits of these videos say : "don't let anyone think for you, most people can't even think for themselves" aka dogma
How many millions were killed by Atheist regimes ? And that was only in the last century
Yeah because Napoleon was cool, the Marxists were angels and hitler was a priest.
Right?
@@mattcy6591even without politics there would be conspirators
Very unbalanced take on islamic history - not sure what sources you’re reading but defn dont cover the spectrum of scholarly discourse on this.
This isn't a video about Islam, of course it's not going to cover the whole spectrum and all the details of the religion. It's also a 20min video, you gotta choose what to include and exclude.
He makes it look like Jews and Christians were victims of Islam somehow, that’s the tone of the video...
@@joaomramalho1 they definitely aren’t the victims at all. Look at the Christians and Jews in Lebanon, and in Syria, and in Iraq, and Egypt. They practically RUN those countries 🙄 It’s the Judeo-Christian caliphate
Sir, I regret to inform you: Given the timing, you're *not* beating the Israeli Spy Accusations.
If he was indeed an Israeli spy, you would not have even the slightest clue... the pager thing (aka the tale of the grim beeper 😉) should demonstrate that quite clearly.
Lebanon is cool!
Pineapple on pizza! YES! All praise be unto the fruit!
It would be better for the human race if we all got past the superstitious stuff,and faced reality head on...
Arguably, that is exactly what has happened in the last few decades throughout western civilization, and our mental health is at an all time low... So I really don't know if rejecting "superstitious stuff" and "facing reality head on" would really be better for humanity.
And what exactly IS reality, pray tell?
Your understanding of Islam is actually hilariously wrong. You know who else don’t agree with the divinity of the prophet Muhammad ? Muslims. He’s not divine and no serious sect of Islam considers him to be so.
And yet his every word is considered law. Even hearsay ones with no historical record of him ever saying it.
@@AngryKittens absolutely not. Hadith has to go through a gruelingly meticulous process of authentication and Hadith does not supersede the Quran.
@@chahineboudemagh9596 Meticulous process of what exactly? You have time machines?
It forms the entire basis of your life. From the number of times a day you need to stop what you're doing and do the rites, at exactly what hour, at exactly what position, what exact words to say, what you need to wear, who you can talk to, what you can eat and drink, who you can love, who you can be friends with, and so on. The vast majority of which are not found in the book.
No room for nuance. Every deviation and disagreement is a huge deal, often with tragic outcomes.
Remember that time when people drew him? And how did you react?
@@AngryKittens so history and anthropology are just not a reliable serious field of study at all because we don’t have time machines? Is that what you’re implying ?
@@chahineboudemagh9596 You say the Quran supersedes it, but Quranists are the minority today and even persecuted. Despite the Quran clearly saying that guidance is sent individually, not through rigid interpretations of certain people, it seems the words of human leaders have become more important.
Almost everything practiced today and viewed as essential, are not in the Quran.
Sums up quite well how Islam took root so quickly in the christian middle east.
It took many centuries for Muslim majority to emerge
Good video but it should be titled Religion not Invasions Lebanon went through many actual invasions you can talk about
you're more of a narrator seeking to craft a poetic story than a historian, too bad that so many will take this video as a historical overview rather than the work of literature that it is.
Pineapple pizza is super good.
How to say that in all respect. But your knowledge of islam is just wrong. You sure know a lot. But you've been misguided/misthought by someone/somehow.
Many are your statement are false. Simply put.
Maybe one day you should do a video on the topic of the genesis of islam and the life of the prophet. I am no one to tell you what to do! It is still a religion followed by almost 1/3 of the earth. Surely this video will be popular
Sincerely! And thanks again