Praise be to Allah.
First of all, we assure you that we will not laugh at you if you tell us that Hitler was the one who led the French campaign in Egypt, and not Napoleon, and we will never level major accusations against you. All that we can say is that we will regard you as someone who has wrong information, and we will point out your mistake, and present evidence to you to demonstrate that the matter is contrary to what you say and believe.
On this website, we welcome all seekers of truth, and we have no problem receiving questions and entering into discussion with anyone, no matter what religion or sect he follows, on condition that he is honestly seeking truth, is objective in his discussion, and adheres to proper etiquette of debate and discussion.
Even though you have not adhered to this basic condition and have ignored the etiquette of debate – we have edited your question to remove all insults, rudeness and ill-mannered remarks – nevertheless, we will answer your question, because we are keen for you to be guided to the truth.
Your question includes a number of fallacies that we cannot discuss in detail in this answer, because that is not how things are done on this website. We will limit our answer to highlighting some of them, if only in brief outline – without going into details, after which it is up to you to seek the truth.
I.
You say: “everyone in the world … has definitive proofs … that the one who was crucified was Christ”. This comment is far removed from the truth, and we do not know of anyone who made such a claim before. What is certain is that not everyone in the world believes in the crucifixion of the Messiah; in fact most of the world does not believe in that. The latest statistics (2014 CE) state that the number of Christians in the entire world, of all sects and denominations, is approximately 30% of the world’s population. This means that approximately 70% reject what the Christians say, or at the very least they do not believe in it.
This was also the case before Islam came. Not everyone in the world at that time – in fact this may be said of most of the people in the world – believed in the crucifixion. There were pagan Arabs, who knew nothing about this matter and never heard of it at all. There were also the Magians (Zoroastrians), who worshipped fire, and who at that time had a great empire which was hostile and opposed to the Christians on religious and political grounds. There were also people who did not believe in any religion … and many other peoples.
All of these people did not believe what the Christians believed, or at the very least you cannot say that they believed in that or include them among those who believed in it, if you are an honest researcher who respects himself and his intellect.
Furthermore, there were sects among the Christians themselves who believed that the Messiah was not crucified, and that the one who was crucified was a look-alike, as is proven in the Christian sources themselves.
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori said:
One of the innovations of the first century was that of Florian, according to which Christ was a non-holy force and was able to take whatever shape or form he wanted. Hence when the Jews wanted to crucify him, he exchanged forms with Simon the Cyrene, thus Simon was crucified whilst Jesus was mocking the Jews.
John Fenton, a commentator on the Gospel of Matthew, said:
One of the second-century Gnostic sects said that Simon the Cyrene was crucified instead of Jesus.
Seuss said in his book, ‘Aqeedat al-Muslimeen fi Masaa’il an-Nasraaniyyah [What the Muslims believe about some Christian issues]: The Basilidian sect denied the crucifixion. They were one of the first-century sects.
[We have taken these quotes from the book Silsilat Manaazirah ma‘a Qissees: Hal suliba al-Maseeh? [Series of Debates with a Priest: Was the Messiah crucified?] by Dr. Munqidh as-Saqqaar.]
So how can it be said, after this, that everyone in the world was certain that the Messiah was crucified? This is the first fallacy in your question.
II.
The second fallacy in your question is when you say “Then one person comes along … and says six hundred years after the crucifixion that the one who was crucified was not Christ.”
This “someone” is our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Yes, even if all the people of his era were to disagree with him, what he said is the truth which everyone should accept. Why is that?
That is because there is a great deal of definitive proofs – numbering in the hundreds – that he is indeed the Messenger of Allah. Once it is established that he is the Messenger of Allah, the Messenger cannot lie, because all that he says is revelation from Allah, may He be glorified and exalted.
If it were possible that one Prophet could tell a lie, that would be possible for all the Prophets, and that would lead to all the messages being rendered null and void.
Even the leaders of his enemies during his own lifetime affirmed that he was indeed a Prophet; some of them believed in him, and some of them continued to follow their own religions. They included the leaders of the polytheist Arabs, the leaders of the Jews and the leaders of the Christians, such as Heraclius, the ruler of Rome (Byzantium) and the Negus, the ruler of Ethiopia (Abyssinia), and thousands of clergymen at the highest levels of the church who became Muslims. Innumerable clergymen are still becoming Muslims, and Islam is reaching people in the highest levels of the church, including some assistants of the pope in the Vatican, and some priests who were leaders of major missionary organizations in Africa and elsewhere. Islam has also reached the families of clergymen themselves who have become Muslims, or their wives and children have become Muslims.
Look for evidence of the Prophethood of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) with the attitude of one who is seeking truth and knows that nothing could save him on the Day of Resurrection except following the truth. For the truth is clear, and there are signs that point to it. If Allah knows that you are sincere in your search for truth, and you are doing your utmost to find it, then He will enable you to find it, and this is our prayer for you, that He will help you to achieve that.
Moreover, the fact that this man (who is our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) told people [that Jesus was not crucified] – as you are saying – and that he differed from all the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] indicates that he was the Messenger of Allah who spoke on the basis of revelation, and did not try to appease anyone or speak of his own accord. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidences, those who do not expect the meeting with Us say, ‘Bring us a Quran other than this or change it.’ Say, [O Muhammad], ‘It is not for me to change it on my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. Indeed I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day’” [Yoonus 10:15].
Gen. Ahmad ‘Abd al-Wahhaab ‘Ali (who is one of those who are involved in debating Christian beliefs) stated that the fact that our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) denied the crucifixion is one of the signs that he is indeed a true Prophet, as he said:
If the Quran was not from Allah, and was fabricated by a human being who attributed it falsely to Allah and claimed that it had been revealed to him, the best and easiest way to propagate his message would have been to affirm the crucifixion of the Messiah, because that was something widely accepted among the people, and in that case the Christians would have been inclined towards him and there would have been fewer problems and obstacles that stood between them and their accepting Islam.
End quote from Munaazarah bayna al-Islam wa’n-Nasraaniyyah [Debate between Islam and Christianity] (p. 63).
III.
The third fallacy is your mentioning: “eyewitnesses” to the crucifixion, “namely the disciples, the followers of Christ”. This indicates that you have not read
our scripture and do not know what is in it; rather you are hastening to speak without thinking and saying something that has no basis and is far removed from knowledge, logical thinking and research.
Your scripture in which you believe says that the disciples (followers of the Messiah) did not see the crucifixion; rather on that day they were fleeing and hiding from their enemies, so how could they be eyewitnesses to something that they did not see?
We will quote from your scripture and the words of your scholars words to prove that:
Mark says:
“Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome.
In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there”
Mark 15:40-41.
Matthew says something similar (Matthew 27:55-56).
Luke says:
“But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things”
[Luke 23:49].
John says:
“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene”
[John 19:23].
John Fenton says: The disciples fled when Jesus was arrested, and even though Peter had followed him from afar to the courtyard of the high priest, we do not hear anything more about him, after he denied Jesus.
Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that the witnesses to the crucifixion were women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem; they saw his burial and discovered the tomb empty on the Sunday morning, and they met Jesus after his resurrection.
The scholars commented on what John said about Mary, the mother of the Messiah, being present at the cross by saying: That is not possible at all, that the relatives and friends of Jesus would be allowed to stand near the cross.
Similarly, the Encyclopaedia Britannica says, commenting on the differences in the gospels concerning those who witnessed the crucifixion: We find in the (three) synoptic Gospels that only the women followed Jesus, and that the list which was written very carefully and in precise detail did not include his mother – and that they were watching from afar.
But in John, we find that his mother Mary stood with the two other Marys and the “beloved disciple” beneath the cross, and from that time, the beloved disciple took this story to his close friends.
At the same time, his mother does not appear in Jerusalem – according to the ancient texts – except just before the feast of Pentecost, when she is accompanied by his brothers (Acts 1:14).
End quote from Munaazarah bayna al-Islam wa’n-Nasraaniyyah [Debate between Islam and Christianity] (p. 107).
So, according to what your scripture says, none of the disciples of the Messiah were present at the crucifixion at all; rather those who were present were some of the women, although the Gospels differ as to their number and identity.
IV.
The fourth fallacy is your mentioning of “recurring testimony [shahaadat at-tawaatur]”.
Tawaatur [translated above as recurring] refers to when a large number of people narrate something from a similarly large number, from a similarly large number, and so on, until the chain of narration ends with a large number of people who witnessed the event in question and reported it.
This is not applicable in the case of the crucifixion, as we have explained above. None of the followers of the Messiah were present at the crucifixion, apart from a few women, and some reports in the Gospels even doubt that they were there. This doubt comes from Christian scholars themselves.
If no one was present at the crucifixion except a small number of women, who stood some distance away and watched from afar, this did not give them the opportunity to verify or be certain who the person was who was being crucified. Moreover, some of his enemies crucified the look-alike, thinking it was the Messiah. Therefore it is not valid to say, after that, that the crucifixion of the Messiah was narrated via “recurring testimony”.
Imam Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
We looked at those who reported the crucifixion of the Messiah (peace be upon him), and we found a large number who were no doubt truthful in their transmission of it, generation after generation, all the way back to those who claimed to have witnessed his crucifixion. Then when it comes to that group, it is a different story, as they are no more than guards who were there under orders, and you could expect them to lie and accept bribes in return for saying something false.
The Christians affirm that they were not able to capture him by day for fear of the masses, and that they could only capture him at night when the people had dispersed following the Passover; and that he was only on the cross for six hours of the day, after which he was taken down; and that he was only crucified in a place outside the city, in a potter’s field that was used only for obtaining clay, and was not a place that was known for the carrying out of crucifixions and was not allocated for that purpose. Moreover, the guards were bribed to say that his companions stole his body, so they did that. Furthermore, Mary Magdalene – who was a woman of the common people – did not come close to the site of his crucifixion; rather she was standing and watching from afar. All of this is to be found in the text of the Gospel that they have. Therefore it cannot be true that the story of the crucifixion was transmitted via a process of tawaatur. Rather the apparent meaning of the story, as it was narrated, indicates that there was some discretion and concealment, and prior agreement on what story was to be told. On that night, the disciples – according to the Gospel text – were in a state of fear and were absent from the scene, having fled for their lives and hidden themselves, even though Simon Peter had entered the house of the priest Caiaphas by day, where the priest said to him: You are one of his followers, but Peter denied it and fled from the house.
Therefore you cannot find anyone who transmitted the report of his crucifixion that you can be sure is telling the truth. So how could anyone say that it was transmitted via a process of tawaatur (narrated by so many from so many)?
End quote from al-Fasl fi’l-Milal wa’l-Ahwaa’ wa’n-Nihal (1/55-56).
V.
With regard to the fifth fallacy, it is your saying, “the Gospels and the four authors who are agreed that he [the Messiah] was the one who was crucified”.
Before discussing this fallacy, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that the four Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) were not all written by disciples of the Messiah. Mark and Luke were not disciples; rather they were students of the disciples. With regard to Matthew and John, it was said that they were disciples, but some Christian scholars doubted that.
This is not the place to discuss this matter in detail; we simply wanted to draw your attention to it so that you can research the issue of who wrote the Gospels.
As for our response to this fallacy, we have previously noted that none of the disciples of the Messiah witnessed the crucifixion; rather it was narrated to them as it was narrated to others. Based on that, the writers of the Gospels were not present at this event at all, and they did not tell of something that they had seen so that we would have to believe them. Rather they narrated reports that were transmitted by people in their own era, which were not necessarily true. Rather we must examine them, because they may be true or they may be false.
If we examine what the Gospels say about the crucifixion and the events surrounding it, we will find that they differ about it from beginning to end.
It is sufficient to refer to what the Gospels say about the arrest and trial of Jesus, the timing of the crucifixion (day and hour), the cry of despair from the cross, the witnesses to the crucifixion, the resurrection from the grave… and so on, all of that and much more. It is sufficient to say that the Gospels differed greatly concerning that, which causes one to lose trust in all of these views, and the researcher does not know which of the Gospels to accept and which to reject.
See: Munaazarah bayna al-Islam wa’n-Nasraaniyyah [Debate between Islam and Christianity] (p. 105-108).
VI.
With regard to your saying, “Why did God decide to leave humanity to follow myths for six hundred years and worship Him in a wrong way?”
We have explained above that attributing this belief to humanity or to most of humanity is wrong. As for some group of humanity believing in something false, when has it ever been the case that there were no such people among the sons of Adam?! “And Allah guides whom He wills to a straight path” [al-Baqarah 2:213].
Moreover, we say to you that this is yet another fallacy, because simply believing – before the Quran came – that the Messiah was crucified was not regarded as disbelief, because the Messiah (peace be upon him) was human, and because he was human it was not impossible that his enemies could have killed him or crucified him, as the Jews killed a number of the prophets and messengers before him. The crucifixion was not the issue because of which the Christians went astray; rather the basic issue in that regard is deification of the Messiah and their belief that he was God or the son of God.
Were it not for the fact that the Quran came and denied the crucifixion categorically, there would be nothing wrong with someone believing in that until today. But after the coming of the Holy Quran and its categorical denial of the crucifixion of the Messiah, the one who still insists on that is a disbeliever, because he is rejecting what Allah, may He be exalted, says.
But before the coming of the Quran, whoever believed in the Messiah (peace be upon him) on the basis that he was a human being and one of the noble messengers of Allah, then followed him in his affirmation of Allah’s oneness and obeyed him, will be saved and will attain victory before Allah, may He be exalted, regardless of whether he believed that the Messiah was crucified or not.
On the other hand, whoever believes that the Messiah is divine and not human, and says that he is God or the son of God, is a disbeliever and will clearly be a loser on the Day of Resurrection, regardless of whether he believed that the Messiah was crucified or not.
Hence the Holy Quran did not discuss the issue of the crucifixion except in a few words. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“and their saying: ‘We slew the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary’, the Messenger of Allah - whereas in fact they had neither slain him nor crucified him but the matter was made dubious to them - and those who differed about it too were in a state of doubt! They have no definite knowledge of it, but merely follow conjecture; and they surely slew him not,
but Allah raised him to Himself. Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise” [An-Nisaa’ 4:157-158].
At the same time, the issue of the oneness of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, the One, the Unique, the Eternal Refuge, is seen throughout the Quran, because it is the focal point of Islam, the purpose for which the noble Messengers (blessings and peace of Allah be upon them) were sent.
From the issue of Tawheed stems the issue of denying the divinity of the Messiah (peace be upon him), because many verses in several soorahs of the Quran refute that and show it to be false.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary’ while the Messiah has said, ‘O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ Indeed, he who associates others with Allah - Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.
They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the third of three.’ And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment.
So will they not repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth. They both used to eat food. Look how We make clear to them the signs; then look how they are deluded” [Al-Maa’idah 5:72-75]
“The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, ‘Three’; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs” [An-Nisaa’ 4:171]
“The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah’; and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?
They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah , and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him” [At-Tawbah 9:30-31].
And there are many similar verses that affirm the oneness of Allah and declare false the deification of the Messiah.
As a result of this deviation from Tawheed and distortion of the true religion that the Messiah brought, there resulted their distortion of the holy book so that it would be in line with their distortion of their religion, which resulted in the Quran regarding them as disbelievers because of their deliberate distortion of their religion and their book, which led to it no longer being something holy, because it could no longer be regarded as such after being distorted by human hands.
Thus it becomes clear that the Quran did not describe as disbelievers those who believed that the Messiah was crucified. The only verse in the Holy Quran that speaks of the crucifixion does not clearly state that whoever believes that is regarded as a disbeliever, and it does not focus on that, even though that is obviously what it implies.
This is in contrast to those who believe in the divinity of the Messiah. The verses of the Quran clearly and definitively indicate that they are to be regarded as disbelievers. This issue, along with affirming the Prophethood of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), are the two essential issues that stand between us Muslims and the Christians.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say, ‘O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah.’ But if they turn away, then say, ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him]’” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:64].
The word that is equitable, and the basis for discussion and meeting on common ground, to which we call the Christians, is that we will worship Allah and not associate anything with Him. This requires believing that the Messiah (peace be upon him) is human and not divine.
The word that is equitable, to which the Quran calls the Christians, has nothing to do with affirming that the Messiah was not crucified; rather this issue (namely the crucifixion) is a minor issue in comparison to the major issue, which is affirming the oneness of Allah, may He be exalted, and not associating anything with Him, and believing in all of His Messengers, especially the final Messenger Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
Imam Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH – may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Before the Quran was revealed, people were not obliged to believe in any of that [i.e., with regard to the crucifixion], either affirming or denying it. Rather it was a story that was not so well-founded that there was no excuse for not believing it, nor was it established by definitive proof so that one who narrated it could be regarded as telling the truth, as many prophets before him had been killed, and it is possible that the narrator was lying when he told that story…
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, did not send down any books before the Quran that either affirmed or denied the crucifixion of the Messiah (peace be upon him). Rather, after the Quran was revealed, it became obligatory to reject all reports that spoke of his being crucified.
End quote from al-Fasl fi’l-Milal wa’l-Ahwaa’ wa’n-Nahal (1/57).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If it is said that the disciples, or some of them, or many of the People of the Book, or most of them, used to believe that the Messiah himself had been crucified, they were mistaken, but this mistake did not undermine their belief in the Messiah, if they believed in what he brought, and it would not cause them to enter the fire, because the Gospels that the People of the Book have mention the crucifixion of the Messiah. They believe that these Gospels were written by four men – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – none of whom witnessed the crucifixion of the Messiah, and none of his disciples saw it. In fact, none of his followers witnessed his crucifixion; rather those who witnessed the crucifixion were a group of Jews.
Some scholars say that they knew that the one who was crucified was someone else, but they deliberately lied when saying that they crucified him, and they made the matter dubious and confused the people to whom they told their lies. This is the view of a number of the scholars of kalaam, the Mu‘tazilah and others. It is also the view of Ibn Hazm and others.
Other scholars say that the matter was made dubious for those who carried out the crucifixion and they were confused. This is the view of most scholars.
The former say that the verse “in fact they had neither slain him nor crucified him but the matter was made dubious to them” [an-Nisa’ 4:157] means that the matter was made dubious to the people and they were confused because of what those who carried out the crucifixion told them.
The majority say that rather the matter was made dubious to those who carried out the crucifixion and they were confused about the identity of the person who was crucified."(Al-Jawaab as-Saheeh 2/302-304).
Your question: “Why did God decide to leave humanity to follow myths for six hundred years …?” could backfire on you with regard to what you believe of your own religion, because you believe that Allah, may He be exalted, left humanity for thousands or millions of years – Allah knows best how many – contaminated with the sin of their father Adam (peace be upon him), until He decided to forgive them through this crucifixion and redemption.
Why would Allah leave humanity for such a long time? What was the sin of the generations who died before the Messiah came, such that they were not purified from this sin?
The implications of this question are very many.
VII.
With regard to the seventh fallacy, it is your comparing the story of the crucifixion of the Messiah to the story of Napoleon. The story of Napoleon cannot be doubted, because there were hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, who were contemporary to those events and saw Napoleon and his army, and his occupation of Egypt in a real sense, and they wrote that testimony of theirs in well-documented books that have come down to us, or they narrated it verbally to successive generations, until it reached us.
In contrast, you do not even have ten people (and there is no way to suggest that they could be thousands or hundreds of thousands). Rather there are only ten people who saw the crucifixion and were certain that the one who was crucified was the Messiah, and spoke of that.
So how can you equate the two reports, one of which was transmitted by hundreds of thousands, or maybe even millions of people, on the basis of what they saw themselves, and the other was transmitted by two or three people, on the basis of conjecture, not on the basis of certainty?
VIII.
Finally, we will quote here some passages from the Gospels which indicate that the Messiah was saved from being killed by the Jews, and that they did not capture him and crucify him.
“The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
Jesus said, ‘I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me.
You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come’”
John 7:32-34.
“Once more Jesus said to them, ‘I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.’
This made the Jews ask, ‘Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, “Where I go, you cannot come”?’
… So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.
The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him” John 8:21-29.
The last thing the Messiah said to his disciples in the moments just before he was captured was:
“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
…. But take heart! I have overcome the world” John 16:32-33.
The Messiah said of his enemies among the Jews that they would never be able to reach him; they would look for him but not find him; and that Allah was with him and would never leave him to face his enemies alone, and that he had overcome the world. All of this indicates that his enemies were not able to reach him or kill him or crucify him; rather Allah saved him from them, because if he had actually been crucified, it would mean that his enemies had looked for him, found him and killed him, so what he had said about these matters would have been false.
Allah the Almighty spoke the truth when He said in the Holy Quran (interpretation of the meaning):
“and their saying: ‘We slew the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary’, the Messenger of Allah - whereas in fact they had neither slain him nor crucified him but the matter was made dubious to them - and those who differed about it too were in a state of doubt! They have no definite knowledge of it, but merely follow conjecture; and they surely slew him not,
but Allah raised him to Himself. Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise” [An-Nisaa’ 4:157-158].
For more information, please see the answers to question no. 110592 and 12615.
We have not commented on everything that you said in your question, because the nature of our website does not allow us to say more than this; it remains your responsibility to seek the truth and follow it.
We ask Allah to guide you.
And Allah knows best.
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