Let's start this off with the Koran. Although some sections of the Koran state that those who are martyred for Islam will be immediately transported to Paradise, this doesn't seem to be the case with Arafat, who died of apparent illness. As such, he seems to be bound by the following verses. Sura 19:71-72 says: "Every single one of you must see it[Hell]; this is an irrevocable decision of your Lord. Then we rescue the righteous, and leave the transgressors in it, humiliated." Thus, even though I do not believe that the Koran is the holy word of God, it does appear that according to the Koran, Muslims should agree that Arafat is in Hell. If he is counted as righteous later on, then he is to be rescued from Hell and taken to Paradise. On that judgement day, according to the Koran, Arafat's works will be counted for and against him. I believe that those works will include many counts of fraud, corruption, murder, complicity in murder, and child sacrifice. As such, I can't say I'd expect him to go to Paradise according to the rules of Islam.

As I said, I don't believe that the Koran is the holy word of God. There is a book that I believe is the holy word of God, however, and that is the Holy Bible. The Bible has much to say that is relevant to this issue.

Let's start with the basics. What is the default destination of mankind? Quite simply, it is Hell. This is supported, biblically, by Romans 3:23, which states, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9 says, "No unrighteous shall enter the kingdom of God."

So, how does one gain access to the Kingdom of God? How does one get to Heaven instead of their default destination of Hell? Romans 10:9-10 states, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

But Arafat doesn't confess Jesus as lord. He, as a muslim, denies the divinity of Christ. Muslims believe that Jesus was merely a man with the gift of prophecy. They do not believe that he was the son of God, or that he was a personification of God. They believe, wrongly, that the whole concept of the trinity is impossible if God is only one God. There is a word for people who believe that Jesus is not the divine son of God, who died on the cross as a sacrificial lamb to carry away the sins of mankind. That word is antichrist. Arafat, along with most muslims, was an antichrist. Do not confuse this term with the specific term THE Antichrist which is meant to describe a single man. I am not accusing Arafat of being THE Antichrist, but I do accurately describe him as AN antichrist. 1 John 2:22 and 23 state, "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also."

Jesus said, in John 8:24, "Unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins." By "I AM" Jesus was describing himself as God. The specific word in Hebrew that meant I AM was a word reserved for God himself.

Muslims believe that salvation comes through works. If you do enough good works in life, you will be saved from Hell and given a place in Paradise. The Bible, on the other hand, says otherwise.

So, when I said that Arafat was in Hell, I didn't say so out of hate, or intolerance. When I said that the muslim paradise was the christian equivalent of Hell, I did not do so out of hate or intolerance. By denying the divinity, kinship and power of Christ, muslims deny themselves access to Heaven. Thus, by following their own beliefs, they condemn themselves to Hell, believing that they are destined for Paradise. This, to me, is very sad.