|
October
4, 2003
JIHAD, THEN AND NOW, PT. I
by Srdja Trifkovic
Islam, the West, and the Serbs: Matica Srpska, September 11, 2003
The objective of my introductory remarks is to outline the tenets, historical
record, and implications of Islam as political ideology and program
of action, as they pertain to the Serbs and "the West." They will be
of necessity sketchy, and I suspect they contain nothing that will be
new to our panelists. Their purpose is to set the scene for our audience
gathered here in this wonderful hall today.
Islam is not "only" a religion; it is a complete way of life and an
all-embracing social, political and legal system that breeds a Weltanschauung
peculiar to itself. It is traditionally divided into dogma, Faith (Iman),
and practice (Din). The principal tents of Islam, its doctrine, law,
and outlook, are presented in the Kuran, the "recited Tradition." The
most important article of faith is expressed in the formula "There is
no God but Allah, and Mohammed is His Prophet."
The Kuran's chief theological message is that of Allah's absolute transcendence
and lordship-implying the impossibility of human free will: Nothing
will ever befall us save what Allah has written for us (Al-Badr spokesman
Mustaq Aksari, CNN, September 19,2001). Any notion of freedom distinct
from that implicit in the total submission to that will is impossible.
To paraphrase Marx, in Islam "freedom" is the realized necessity of
submission. "Freedom" in its non-Islamic sense is impossible, and the
yearning for it sinful.
In addition to tawheed, the unity of Allah, and risallah, the recognition
of Muhammad's prophethood, Muhammad introduced the "five pillars" of
Islam that are the basis of its practice: recital of the original formula
of belief (shahada), prayer (salat), fasting (sayam), almsgiving (zakat),
the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj), and-last but by no means least-the participation
in the holy war, jihad. A bona fide Muslim has to follow them all. It
is noteworthy that all but one-jihad-are rooted in pre-Islamic, pagan
beliefs and practices. Jihad is Muhammad's one fully original contribution
to humanity.
To summarize, Islam is a religious doctrine, but it is also much more
than that. It is, and had been ever since its emergence,
1) a self-contained world outlook;
2) a way of life that claims the primary allegiance of all those calling
themselves "Muslim," from Sarajevo to Sumatra, from Mecca to Marseilles;
and
3) a radical political ideology that dictates violent practical action
known as jihad.
In the last twelve years of his life, following his historic escape
from Mecca to Yathrib, Muhammad had progressively transformed himself
from the founder of a small sect into the leader of a violent cult,
and finally into the head of a totalitarian state. The metamorphosis
was complete when Muhammad revealed that when Allah decides to destroy
a people for transgression and disobedience, He destroys them utterly.
The destroying does not happen all by itself, however, and Allah orders
the believers to make sure his will is done: "O Prophet! Rouse the Believers
to the fight," the Koran orders, and promises that twenty Muslims would
vanquish two hundred unbelievers; if a hundred, they will vanquish a
thousand. The faithful must fight the unbelievers, and be firm with
them. "And slay them wherever ye catch them." The end of the fight is
possible only when "there prevail justice and faith in Allah," the two
being synonymous. The vanquished must pay the jiziya (poll tax) with
the hand of humility." Once it is all over the victors, good Muslims,
inherit the lands and property of the vanquished (17:16-17).
Muhammad's practice and constant encouragement of bloodshed, pillage,
rape and mutilation-amply legitimized in the Koran and in the Traditions-are
unique in the history of religions. He imbued his followers with a profound
belief in the value of bloodshed as opening the gates of Paradise, and
prompted Muslim rulers of "infidels" to refer to their prophet's example
to justify mass killings, looting, and destruction.
That Muhammad believed in uniting theory and practice was confirmed
in the manner he applied all of these injunctions, starting with the
destruction of three Jewish tribes of Medina. Already in his lifetime
the founder of Islam established the model for subsequent relations
between Islamic conquerors and non-Muslim subjects in all times and
all places. The view of modern Islamic scholars, that "Islam must rule
the world and until Islam does rule the world we will continue to sacrifice
our lives," (Al-Badr spokesman Mustaq Aksari, CNN, September 19,2001)
is neither extreme nor remarkable from the standpoint of traditional
Islam. It sees the world, and treats it, as an open-ended conflict between
the Land of Peace (Dar al-Islam) and the Land of War (Dar al-Harb).
Dar al Sulh is a possible intermediate stage when the Muslims are a
minority and need to adopt temporarily a peaceful attitude in order
to deceive their neighbors. Mecca before Muhammad's move to Medina is
the model for which the Muslim diaspora in the Western world provides
contemporary example. Jihad resumes as soon as the Muslim side feels
strong enough to dispense with pretense. Only after the Islamic Empire
had been established the notion of an "inner" jihad-that of one's personal
fight against his ego and sinful desires-also came into being, but it
was predicated on the assumption that the external, real jihad was nearing
its completion. The concept of spiritual struggle was never meant to
replace, let alone abrogate the original, warlike meaning.
The Muslims may contemplate tactical ceasefires, but never complete
abandonment of jihad, short of the unbelievers' submission; according
to the Kuran, "Those who believe fight in the cause of God." For the
fallen and victorious alike, the rewards are instant and plentiful:
"Let those fight in the cause of God who barter the life of this world
for that which is to come; for whoever fights on God's path, whether
he is killed or triumphs, we will give him a handsome reward."
The conquered peoples were "protected persons" only if they submitted
to Islamic domination by a "Contract" (Dhimma), paid poll tax-jizya-and
land tax-haraj-to their masters. Any failure to do so was the breach
of contract, enabling the Muslims to kill or enslave them and confiscate
their property. The cross could not be displayed in public, and the
people of the book had to wear special clothing or a belt. Their men
were not allowed to marry Muslim women, their slaves had to be sold
to a Muslim if they converted, and they were not allowed to carry weapons.
They had to take in Muslim travelers, especially soldiers on a campaign.
Muhammad was dead for only a decade when his second successor and son-in-law
Umar announced these terms to conquered Christians.
The resulting inequality of rights in all domains between Muslims and
dhimmis was geared to a steady erosion of the latter communities by
the attrition and conversion. Millions of Christians from Spain, Egypt,
Syria, Greece and Armenia; Latins and Slavs from southern and central
Europe, henceforth lived under shari'a. They endured for centuries the
lives of quiet desperation and occasional acute agony. The dynamics
of Islamization were at work, always following the same pattern determined
by the ideology and laws of jihad and shari'a. The objective in all
cases, and the outcome in most was also the same: to transform native
Christian majorities into religious minorities. In the ensuing centuries
what has happened to the Christian majorities in the Middle East, North
Africa, Bosnia, and Kosovo, has also happened to the Hindus in the Subcontinent.
In 1941, in what would become Pakistan, there were approximately 25
per cent Hindus and 30 per cent in what would later become Bangladesh;
in 1948, only 17 per cent in Pakistan and 25 per cent in Bangladesh;
in 1991, a bare 1.5 per cent remained in Pakistan and less than 10 per
cent in Bangladesh.
All
rights reserved, ¿ÞÓÛÕÔØ - 2003. ÓÞÔØÝÕ.
Design
and maintenance - www.proxy.co.yu web
master
| 
