About Daniel Shayesteh

Dr Daniel was born into a Muslim family in Northern Iran. He became a radical Muslim leader and teacher of Islam in the militant Free Islamic Revolutionary Movement, closely supporting Ayatollah Khomeini. However, after falling out of favor with Khomeini’s political group, he escaped to Turkey where there began an amazing journey to faith in Jesus Christ.

Daniel's mission is to help others understand and lovingly respond to those who do not know Christ. He is also deeply concerned for the future of Western societies, their loss of confidence in Judeo-Christian values, and their persistent naivete about the implications of the world-wide Islamic revival.

Islam Forbids Reasoning and the Freedom of Choice

The verses of the Quran and the life of Muhammad give prominence to the fact that Islam is against civilization in the context of human development and enlightenment, and is fully intolerant of any rational thinking and reasoning, especially that which draws individuals away from Islam:

  • Allah and his prophet cannot ever be questioned for his acts, but people will not only be questioned for theirs thoughts, words and actions, punishment is brutal and immediate (Q.21.23).
  • It is not for a believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and his apostle, to choose another option: If anyone disobeys Allah and his apostle, he is indeed on the wrong path, and the consequences are dreadful, painful, and imminent (Q.33:36).
  • Allah will cast a dread into the hearts of the infidels. He will strike off their finger-tips and heads. This, because they have opposed Allah and his apostle … (Q.8:12-13).

Muhammad suppressed individuality and forbade people to make moral decisions based on their own choices and consciences. In Islam, people do not have the right to use their God-given freedom and conscience to evaluate and choose their desired beliefs, or to plan for their own physical and spiritual life. Compare the above Quranic verses with what the Gospel of Christ speaks:

  •  …by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God (2Cor.4:2).

Muhammad called his religion the most perfect religion in the world and himself the “Seal of Messengers” who came to perfect the imperfect works of Christ and others. Is he right? Does his teaching really lead people to perfection and freedom? Did he want his followers to use their brains, hearts and consciences in order to understand perfection and freedom in the context of the world and in comparison with other beliefs and values? Did he respect the rights of his followers and others? Did he commend his Quran to people’s consciences rather than imposing it on them?

To respond to these questions, we have no choice but to use Muhammad's own life stories, his own comments on various issues of life as examples and rely on the verses of his Quran. As Jesus said, "By their fruits you will recognize them" (Matt.7:16). Muhammad must also be known by his own fruits. His words and deeds, and the teaching of his Quran prove that no one has the right to speak above his words. Whatever he and his Islam dictate, all others must obey no matter how much better the lifestyles and values of others might be. For this reason, the history of Islam, Muhammad’s legacy, is nothing but fighting against non-Muslims and the degrading of their cultural values and worldviews. Wherever Islam has gone, it has replaced the freedom of choice in relationships and responsibilities with violent authoritarianism and the cruel non-negotiable decrees of Muhammad. For example, Muhammad, although human, has declared for himself more rights than his followers, and if anyone stands to criticize him, they must be killed. In the same way, Muslims have more rights than non-Muslims; Muslim men have more rights than Muslim women, and so on. With all of these discriminating codes, Muhammad still exalted himself, claimed that his religion was a shelter for humanity, and stated that his followers are better than others.

Can Muhammad be called tolerant since he not only rejected individual’s rights to make decisions, he also forced them to choose Islam through the use of fear and violence? Clearly, for any rational mind, the answer is obvious. Islam's past history and the current restrictions in all Islamic countries concerning non-Islamic practices prove that Islam is against the civilization, or enlightenment, of man. Can a Hindu or a Buddhist or a Christian practice his religion freely and fully in any Islamic country? Certainly not, because their prophet Muhammad said, "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle " (Volume 1, Book 2, Number 24). Is there any Islamic country, either secular or radical, that allows the evangelism of other religions? Of course not. Why is Saudi Arabia free to build mosques in Western countries but Westerners are not allowed to build their churches or temples in Saudi Arabia? Because Islam is an oppressive religion and its prophet is a dictator: In a dictatorship, only the dictator is free to do whatever he likes. That is why, no matter how tolerant others may be toward Islam and Muslims, Islam still aims to utterly destroy them simply because they are not Muslims. You will not survive under the rule of Islam unless you decide to align yourself with the instruction of Muhammad and Allah. You will lose your head if your decisions conflict with the teachings of Muhammad.

As a former Muslim, having been wonderfully and graciously saved by Jesus Christ, it makes my heart exceedingly heavy to report that more than a billion Muslims around the world are bound to the dictatorship of Islam and will never be allowed to make a different choice. People are born under the dictatorship of Islam and are trained to keep quiet, never raising any questions about Islam for the sake of Islam.

We need to help Muslims listen to the voices of their consciences in order to set them free from the chains of Islam. Muslims need to understand that the Living God takes delight in both men and women who make moral choices based on decisions that proceed from a love for God. We also need to help non-Islamic countries understand the hostility of Islam towards freedom of choice and basic human rights.

Please continue with me in prayer for the souls of Muslims.

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