July 14,1983In the following some statements about this issue, authorised by Mr. Armstrong, to speak on his behalf.
NEIL A. ARMSTRONG
LEBANON, OHIO 45036
July 14,1983
Mr. Phil Parshall Director
Asian Research Center
International Christian
Fellowship 29524 Bobrich
Livonia, Michigan 48152
Dear Mr. Parshall:
Mr. Armstrong has asked me to reply to your letter and
to thank you for the courtesy of your inquiry.
The reports of his conversion to Islam and of hearing
the voice of Adzan on the moon and elsewhere are all
untrue.
Several publications in Malaysia, Indonesia and other
countries have published these reports without verifi-
cation. We apologize for any inconvenience that this
incompetent journalism may have caused you.
Subsequently, Mr. Armstrong agreed to participate in a
telephone interview, reiterating his reaction to these
stories. I am enclosing copies of the United States
State Department's communications prior to and after
that interview.
Sincerely
Vivian White
Administrative AideComments: In our possession is a photocopy of this letter which is identical in text to the above, except that the street address and phone number of Mr. Armstrong contained in that copy are deleted. The above also shows where this idea came from, that Mr. Armstrong supposedly lives in Lebanon. Yes, Lebanon is true, yet this
"Lebanon" is not in the Middle East, but in the Midwest of the United States of America. *** *** ***
June 1985/Ramadan 1405 ArabiaFurthermore, the following letter to the editor was printed in the Journal
Arabia, The Islamic World Review, Issue June 1985/Ramadan 1405, page 5:
A MUSLIM OVER THE MOON?
Arabia is by far the superior newsmagazine regarding what is going on in the Muslim world today. Your reporting is extremely thorough and seeks to be as objective as possible. Your willingness to criticise political policies as well as religious happenings in the Muslim world is refreshing. As an American I would feel your slant on the West is basically fair.
It would be most helpful if you would dispel a misconception prevalent in almost all Muslim countries. From Morocco to the Philippines it is commonly believed that Neil Armstrong heard the Azan on the moon, converted to Islam and is now engaged in the full-time propagation of the Muslim faith.
The US State Department has issued a memo saying that the story about Armstrong's conversion was untrue. The memo said "While stressing his strong desire not so offend anyone or show disrespect for any religion, Armstrong has advised Department that reports of his conversion to Islam are inaccurate." The memo further says, "if post receives queries on this matter, Armstrong requests that they politely but firmly inform querying party that he has not converted to Islam and has no current plans or desires to travel overseas to participate in Islamic religious activities."
N.B. The memo was sent to all our diplomatic and consular posts.
Dr Phil Parshall
Director, Asian Research Centre Manila, PhilippinesSadly, as documented above, this rumor still goes round and round in the Islamic world, over a decade after it has been denied over and over again. Not only in mouth to mouth propaganda but it is even spread by Muslim radio stations.Yet even when the Muslims tell their brothers that it is a false rumor, they are not convinced, the newest newsgroup tidbit is
Subject: Re: Neil Armstrong -first man on the moon!
From: Farzad <ccfarzad@showme.missouri.edu>
Date: 1997/01/17
Message-Id: <32DF44F7.5655@showme.missouri.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.islam
> No it is false, it is a myth spread in Muslim world. Armstrong denies
> this story. He is not Muslim ...
He perfomed prayers in Turkey in the same masjid where Malcolm X
prayed and huge crowd prayed behind him.
salaams,Is this rumor ever going to die? My question to Farzad would be (as to all others who spread the rumor): Were you there when he prayed in this masjid? -- No? Thought so.
But never shall they be satisfied ...
Anyway, this person gives at least some references for the rumors.
Subject: Re: Neil Armstrong - first man on the moon!
From: mdamron@aol.com (M Damron)
Date: 1997/02/02
Message-Id: <19970202002400.TAA19712@ladder01.news.aol.com>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.islam
I thought he did convert. As an American that converted to Islam I have
come across this story in both Islamic and Non-Islamic sources. Two of
these include the book A Muslim Primer by Ira Zepp and another book titled
Defenders of God.Somebody sent me this response:
By the way, I heard from an authoritative source that Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman has just announced that he has become an astronaut!--- --- ---
Ini ada lagi dari:
a. <http://ajnorge.0catch.com/Turkish/Armstrong.htm> atau...
b. <http://www.occidentalis.com/article.php?sid=1756> (06 janvier 2005)İstanbul İlâhiyat Fakültesi’nde öğretim üyesi olan bir profesör radyoda şöyle konuşuyor:
“Batı ülkelerinin bütün ilim ve teknolojide ilerlemelerini sağlayan bütün bilgileri Kur’an-ı Kerim’den almaktadırlar. Çünkü onlar, gece gündüz Kura’an-ı Kerim’i labratuarlarda, mikroskop altında, cümle cümle, kelime kelime, harf harf ve nokta nokta tetkik etmektedirler.”
terjemahan ke bahasa jawa...
A Turkish professor teaching at the Islamic university (Ilahiyat Fakultesi) of Istanbul in Turkey speaking on the radio said:
“ I tell you why western nations are advanced in science and technology; because they take all the knowledge by studying the Holy Koran in their laboratories day and night under the microscope, sentence by sentence, word by word, letter by letter and dot by dot!”
---
Bizim çok gerçekçi Basın ve Yayın Görevlilerimiz ise, güzel çekilmiş resimlerin altına yazıp Ay Dede’nin üstünde yürüyen Amerika’lı Astronot Neil Armstrong hakkında şöyle bildiriyorlar:
“ Amerika’lı Astronot Neil Armstrong Ay’a ayak basar basmaz ezan sesini duymuş ve: Bu dünyada tek gerçek din ancak İslamdır, deyip hemen müslüman olmuş!”
terjemahan ke bahasa jawa...
Also, Turkish media teaches Turkish nations by showing the brilliant pictures of the American Astronaut Neil Armstrong walking on the moon by declaring:
“ As soon as Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, he heard the Moslem call of Ezan (call to prayer) as ‘Allah-hu-akber’ then, he said: ‘the real religion in the whole world is only Islam and immediately he became Moslem!”
---
Bu durumları bilen kişiler olarak, Türk ve Arap basınlarında, gazete ve mecmualarda Astronot Armstrong için basılan güzel resimlerin altına yazılan gün-görmemiş yalanları, hep İngilizce diline çevirip onun Washington, D.C. USA adresine gönderdiğimiz zaman, nezaketle bizlere cevap verip şöyle yazıyor:
“Dear brothers we must pray for our Moslem friends, because they have been kept ignorant with all manners of false information in all ages of their Moslem history!”
terjemahan ke bahasa jawa...
When we cut the pictures of Mr. Neil Armstrong from Turkish newspapers and Arabic magazines we translated the reports about him how he became a Moslem on the moon and sent them to his address in Washington, DC . He kindly answered us with a letter writing:
“Dear brothers we must pray for our Moslem friends, because they have been kept ignorant with all manners of false information in all ages of their Moslem history!”
---
Ini ada lagi contoh muslim bernama irham yang doyan melihat fenomena lalu mencari ayat-ayat sedekat mungkin agar nyangkut kejadiannya. Targetnya entah muslim atau me me-mualaf-kan non-muslim. Kalau melihat fotonya dia sepertinya masih remaja . http://irhamkasyful.multiply.com/journal/item/12/Kisah_Neil_Armstrong_Masuk_Islam_Karena_Mendengar_AdzanKisah Neil Armstrong, Masuk Islam Karena Mendengar AdzanDi post pada tanggal 8 maret 2009
Tambahan:Di postingan pertama tertulis alamat lama. Ini yang baru <http://www.answering-islam.org/Hoaxes/armarabia.gif> atau
<http://www.answering-islam.org/Hoaxes/neil.html>