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Following are the 39 principles of Jihad as described by Al-Qaeda in Al-salem's book:
1. Preparing and urging the mind for Jihad - Every Muslim must obey the call for the Jihad against the infidels out of sheer belief and intention.
2. Sincere desire to attain martyrdom - Al-Salem, basing his arguments on Sheik Abdallah Azzam (the spiritual leader of Osama Bin Laden, killed in Afghanistan in 1989), emphasizes the importance of the sincere endeavor in order to attain martyrdom from Allah. The believer can perform the commandment concerning the "preparation to the battle" (I'dad Al-'oda) and gain a reward from Allah equivalent to the Saheed's reward (72 virgins and secure a close place near the Divine presence in Heaven) even though he may die from natural causes.
3. Taking part in the Jihad - Every Muslim has to take an active role in holy war against the infidels, prepared to self sacrifice for the sake of Allah. Participation in Jihad is the most distinguished action in the eyes of Allah.
4. Financing Jihad - Muslims can take part in the Jihad by making donations dedicated to the Jihad and the Mujahideen. The donation's value is determined by its quality and destination and not by the sum total which is donated.
5. Supplying the fighters' needs - A believer who is unable to take part in the Jihad (for instance women and handicapped) can perform his duty by supplying the Mujahideens' needs in money and equipment. By doing so the donator is considered Mujahid and deserves the same reward.
6. Taking care of the Mujahid's family - A believer who supplies a Mujahid's family needs is considered Mujahid and deserves half of his reward. If one neglects this act it may bring him misfortune and death by the hands of God.
7. Assisting the fallens' families - by supplying the special needs of the orphans and widows.
8. Assisting the families of prisoners and wounded fighters - by supplying their necessities.
9. Fund raising for the Mujahideen - money is the lifeline of the Jihad. Its importance also stems from gathering donations which would arouse the spirit of Jihad in the believers' hearts. There are many ways of carrying out this duty: in mosques, public places, family gatherings, charity events, monthly donation or by urging the wealthy to open their hands to the Mujahideen.
10. Granting charity donations to the Mujahideens - who enjoy priority status in Islam.
11. Financing medical treatment for wounded Mujahideen.
12. Praising the Mujahideen and their deeds - It is essential to educate the Islamic Nation on their values and to see them as a role model.
13. Encouraging the Mujahideen to stick to their ways - in order to strengthen their spirit and moral.
14. Protecting the Mujahideen -avoid publishing any information that may place them in jeopardy or spoil the spirit of Jihad. Al-Salem warns his readers from the Arabic daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (Saudi orientated, published in London) which conducts the "crusader - Jewish scheme" against Islam by publishing false information designed to destroy the steadfastness of the Islamic Nation and the Mujahideens' spirit.
15. Publicizing the disgrace of hypocrites and defeatists - who strive to weaken the Islamic Nation.
16. Preaching to Jihad - Enormous reward is promised to every Muslim who serves as a catalyst for other believers to commit the duty of the Jihad.
17. Providing strategic advice to the Mujahideen - This can be translated in many ways including the supply of essential information on the enemy and his plans in order to be well prepared.
18. Keeping secrecy concerning the Mujahideen.
19. Prayers to Allah for the sake of the Mujahideen and for the defeat of the enemies.
20. Holding special prayer to avoid misfortune and to strengthen the Muslim community.
21. Publishing the Mujahideens' activities in order to arouse the notion of solidarity and strengthen pride and hope among the believers, to praise the ideal of self sacrifice for the sake of Allah and to break the media siege imposed by the enemy. There are varied ways recommended for distributing information praising Jihad including Internet websites and forums, distribution lists, circulating publications in public places (for instance mosques, schools), sending SMS, etc.
22. Participating in publishing process of books on the Mujahideen.
23. Publishing Islamic laws supporting the Jihad - This mission falls on the shoulders of the Muslim scholars who have the duty to guide the Islamic Nation in the light of the Jihad and to call believers to join the Mujahideen and pray on their behalf. Their followers are demanded to urge the scholars to act. In this context, Al-Salem glorifies the role of Sheik Hamoud Al-Oqala Al-Shu'aybi (radical Saudi scholar, deceased 2 years ago, backed the Taliban regime and al-Qaeda) as an adorable scholar who thrived to strengthen the Jihadi organizations worldwide by publishing Islamic laws justifying terror suicide attacks and holy war against the infidels.
24. Keeping steady, consistent contact with scholars and preachers in order to update them about the current happenings in connection with the Mujahideen. The believer is asked to assist Islamic scholars who on certain occasion are under government pressure or influenced by false information. He has to update them regularly with reliable information, to support them and urge them to persist with the call to Jihad.
25. Physical practicing - A Muslim who designates himself to become a Mujaheed has to start gradually by improving his physical fitness. Al-Salem elaborates in his book a recommended practicing program which includes enhancing the endurance of both the heart and lungs, increasing muscle mass and strength.
26. Acquiring shooting skills - Al-Salem calls on Muslims not to be satisfied solely with the tuition of Jihad but to prepare in performing in this duty by acquiring shooting skills.
27. Practicing swimming and riding horses - riding horses, explains Al-Salem is still relevant in the battlefields of Afghanistan, Chechnya and Iraq.
28. Learning first aid skills - to help wounded Mujahudeen (splicing broken bones, providing infusions, etc.).
29. Learning the doctrine of Jihad - Al-Salem recommends dozens of books, articles and Islamic laws published in recent years by Muslim radical leaders and scholars most of them Saudis by origin (Osama Bin Laden, Hamoud Al-Oqala Al-Shuaibi, Abd Aziz Jarbou', Yusouf Al-'ayyiri, Naser Al-Fahed, Ali Al-Khudier, Suliman Al-Olwan and more). One of them is the Al-Khudier's Islamic law which justifies the use of weapons of mass destruction against the U.S.
30. Supplying refuge and shelter to the Mujahideen.
31. Expressing hostility and hatred toward infidels - A call for reconciliation or co-existence with the infidels might weaken the Mujahudeen. One may call for a Hudna, but to place it in practice is forbidden.
32. Constant action to achieve the release of all prisoners - held in enemy jails and to use all means for their escape or release.
33. Distributing current information on the prisoners in order to keep their high moral.
34. Performing electronic Jihad - Al-Salem attributes paramount importance to the Internet as a component for Jihad. He calls believers to join the Jihad by participating in Internet forums to defend the Islam and Mujahideen, to preach Jihad and to encourage Muslims to learn more about this sacred duty. The Internet provides an opportunity to reach vast, target audiences and respond swiftly to false allegations. Computer experts are asked to use their skills and experience in destroying American, Jewish and secular websites as well as morally corrupt web sites.
35. Alienation of infidels - Believers in other religions have to be isolated from Muslim communities so they will be prevented from committing hostile actions.
36. Educating the younger generation to adore Jihad and the Mujahideen - The children, asserts Al-Salem are the "fuel" of the next stage of confrontation with the infidels. Parents have the duty to educate them to adore Jihad and the Mujahideen and to prepare themselves mentally for self-sacrifice for the sake of Allah. Al-Salem recommends believers to tell their young stories about the life of Prophet Mohammad, his associates, the great Muslim conquerors and the Mujahideen in our time. In addition it is recommended to display to the children Jihadi films and taped preaches which praise martyrdom.
37. Abandoning the luxuries of materialism - which might weaken the spirit of Jihad.
38. Boycotting enemy's commodities - as part of the economic Jihad.
39. Avoiding the employment of foreign workers - from enemy countries.
Palestinian poll: A husband may beat his wife if she hurts his manhood
By Itamar Marcus,
Palestinian Media Watch
9.10.02
Introduction:
A poll conducted in the Palestinian Authority by a Palestinian public opinion company shows that a majority of Palestinians are of the opinion that a husband may prevent his wife from working, that a woman should strive to devote herself to her husband and that a husband is entitled to beat his wife if he thinks that she "hurt his manhood". Nearly half the Palestinians believe that neither law enforcement nor social welfare agencies' intervention in husbands' violence towards the wife is warranted, while at the same time a the majority calls for tough punitive legislation for violence towards women. These two attitudes are, it seems, not viewed as contradictory. One possible explanation is that the support for punitive measures expressed by a majority of Palestinians does not apply to a husband's violence towards his wife.
The text:
"The Society for the Advancement of the Palestinian Working Woman, in conjunction with The Palestinian Center for Public Opinion Polls, conducted a poll under the supervision of Dr. Nabil Kokali, on the topic of violence against women..."
"56.9% of Palestinians feel that it is a husband's right to hit his wife if he thinks she hurt his manhood..."
"59.1% of Palestinians feel that it is a husband's right to prevent his wife from working outside the home..."
"66.4% of Palestinians declare that the crown of success of the Palestinian Woman is devoting herself to the care of her children and her husband above devotion to herself."
"47.1% feel that there is no need for intervention of social or law enforcement agencies in instances of husbands attacking wives, because that is a family problem..."
"73.9% feel that a woman must think of how to become a mother and wife rather than engage in her economic and social freedom..."
"86% of Palestinians feel that the [Islamic] traditions and customs retard advancement of women..."
"68.5% of Palestinians feel that the [Palestinian] Authority should legislate firm punitive legislation for violence against women...."
[Al-Ayyam women's supplement 'The Woman's Voice', October 3, 2002]
The Expendable Children of Islam
The National Unity Coalition - September 11, 2001
By Esther Levens
The Koran says: "The unbelievers are your sworn enemies." Al-Nisa (Woman), 4:96.
"Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, lie in ambush everywhere for them." Sal-Tawha (Penitence), 9:4. And again, "Kill them wherever you find them. Thus shall the unbelievers be rewarded." Al-Baquara (The Cow), 2:90.
Much is being made today of the need to paint Islam as a peaceful religion, and Allah as a kind and merciful God. It is being repeated by President George W. Bush on every possible occasion when he is able to work it into his script. We hear it repeated on CNN, MSNBC, et al, as the acceptable mantra against "McCarthyizing", witch-hunting and labeling a whole people. It has become politically incorrect to describe those who blew up the WTC and Pentagon, murdering thousands of innocent Americans, as "Islamic terrorists." Even Stephen Jukes, Reuters' global head of news, has warned his 2,500 journalists not to use the T-word.
We agree with an editorial in the October 9 WSTJ that says "What the world needs now is to hear from Muslim leaders who will also make Mr. Bush's point." We are aware that there is a shortage of Muslim followers and religious leaders who, perhaps out of fear of retaliation or like President Bush don't want to disrupt our fragile coalition, are afraid or unwilling to condemn the terrorist acts.
Perhaps we are being too scrupulously careful to avoid any religious implication or indictment of Islam. We long to hear the Muslim clergy leaders and followers of the Islamic religion speak out against the unspeakable horror brought on by their fellow religionists. We would like to have them dispel the belief that this savagery is rooted in the very religion that we, possibly out of Western naivete, are so anxious to exonerate and excuse from all blame.
We agree that it is necessary to be careful not to label all believers in Islam as co-perpetrators in this most heinous crime against innocent civilians from ----- countries. We must be cautious of fanning a flame that determines mass guilt because of a shared religion,
However, in light of the devastating WTC and Pentagon ruthless murders of thousands by suicide bombers we have an obligation to determine the cause of the carefully cultivated maniacal killer instinct, developed and nurtured to grow and reward human self-destruction. It is difficult to separate the phenomena of terrorist suicide bombers from the child religious fervor that is fomented and the reward system assiduously practiced in the Muslim world.
Even President Clinton, speaking at the Kennedy Center on October 9 before an association of business executives was shown on C-Span saying, "This is a religious war. Make not mistake, their aim is to take over Saudi Arabia and to supplant Israel, turning it into a Palestinian state. The word supplant is particularly important."
We would be remiss not to closely examine the factors that have produced these demonic youthful Islamic suicide bombers, We must look at how such an inhuman act on such a grand scale could possibly originate in a "civilized" society. And we must try to understand the teachings and the hatred that have been carefully bred into so many young people in the Muslim world who proudly took part in this cold-blooded massacre.
A look into the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat's fostering of child self-sacrifice is revealing as a `study in the care and training of young children to self-destruct.'
Brain-washing on a major scale. A chilling account.
Just as surreal as the images depicting the collapse of the World Trade Center are the videos providing graphic records of Palestinian children being trained by their elders to commit suicide.
We know so little about child raising in the Muslim world. But we do know that fundamentally different religious teachings have resulted in very different societies. Nowhere in our two opposing cultures is there a more stark contrast than in the attitude of Muslims toward their children. The differences are so great as to be incomprehensible to those reared by western Judeo-Christian standards. Protecting our children and keeping them from harm's way seems the most rudimentary of instincts to us.
How then to comprehend a culture bent on teaching little children that to kill others and die as a result should be their highest aspiration. Such a death as a martyr brings assurance of paradise, rewarded in heaven with 70 virgins, guaranteed by Islamic belief in Allah. To become a martyr is to win the highest approval of family members. A mother says that the death of her son as a martyr was "the happiest day of her life." A father says: " what more could a father ask than to have his son sacrificed to kill the infidels." Both quotes are taken word for word from a video taken directly from PA sponsored TV: The Story of Child Self-Sacrifice, by Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch. Funerals of children become celebrations with dancing and singing, accompanied by distributing sweets, as though a wedding is taking place. With all of this revelry, it is important to note that $2,000 is paid to the parents of each child who is killed, and $600 is received for a wounded child. The lesson here is that 'suicide pays', in more concrete monetary ways than heavenly rewards for the child.
Close examination reveals that nothing is left to chance. Scrupulously recorded Palestinian TV by authoritative documentaries provides us with proof. The teaching begins when children are younger than five. The Sesame-Street-like programming teaches children that they should "kill the Jew and drink their blood and eat their flesh." The message permeates TV where the highest praise is consistently heaped upon the suicide killers and these martyrs are exalted as heroes. Yasser Arafat constantly praises Ayad, the Palestinian terrorist mastermind and holds him up as a role model.
When the children become a little older, they have a choice of 90 summer camps (as reported by the NY Times) that they can attend. There the carefully cultivated ferocity is honed by teaching the use of armaments with live weaponry. All the while the hatred is fanned by screaming invectives against the presumed enemy - the Jews. In case this described scenario seems bazarre in the extreme, it is captured on film taken largely from PA official TV that is readily available through the National Unity Coalition for Israel.
Jack Kelly, in USA Today, had this to say, "At any time, Israeli officials believe, Hamas has from 5 to 20 men, ages 18 to 23, awaiting orders to carry out suicide attacks. The group also claims to have "tens of thousands" of youths ready to follow in their footsteps. "We like to grow them-from kindergarten through college. Israel has nuclear bombs. We have human bombs."
On June 1, 2001, 22 year old Saeed Hotari, was driven to the Dolphin Disco in Tel Aviv, a popular club often packed with Israeli teenagers. When he triggered the explosives the blast killed 21 people and injured nearly 100. Afterwards Hotari's father said, "My prayer is that Saeed's brothers, friends and fellow Palestinians will sacrifice their lives too. There is no better way to show God you love him." Such is the insanity taking place in Israel on a daily basis.
Norman Podhoretz writes in October issue of Commentary, "In the midst of this wave of suicide bombings.most Muslim clerics strongly endorsed the view that suicide bombings were a form of religious martyrdom and encouraged more of them. Only a week after this bloody incident [at the Tel Aviv disco] (and a few days after Arafat had agree-yet again!-to a cease-fire), Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi, in a sermon in Gaza that was broadcast on PA television, showered "blessings on whoever put a belt of explosives on his body or on his sons and plunged into the midst of the Jews." Not surprisingly, given all this, 76 percent of the respondents to a poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion supported suicide bombings against the Israelis. And the same sentiment was widely shared throughout the Arab world.. Words of dissent, besides being pathetically few and far between, fell on deaf ears. They were drowned out by sermon after sermon, speech after speech, and article after article in the Arabic-language press that went on praising the sacrifice of Palestinian children to the national cause. "We must educate our children on the love of jihad [holy war]," proclaimed an official of the putatively moderate PA during the broadcast on television of a sermon from Gaza.
One Egyptian writer said that suicide bombing was a most effective method for defeating the "racist Jewish entity,: whose people he was "not ashamed to speak about driving.into the sea, to hell, or to the trash heap they deserve." Despite Israel's arsenal of weapons, the young suicide bombers have been used successfully as a weapon in a massive public relations campaign, with the sacrifice of children in many cases carefully staged before television cameras.
The same suicide training and attacks have now been experienced by the U.S. on September 11-the only difference being one of degree and the number of body bags required. The pilot suicide bombers are of the same ilk, with similar training and motivation as those attacking Israel. Let us make no mistake-they are one and the same. It is an all out jihad to establish Islam as the dominant world religion. Christians and Jews internationally and Judeo-Christian inspired freedom and democracy are the target of this well-planned phenomena.
How sad that the Muslim weapon of choice is their own children. It is even truer today then when former Prime Minister Golda Meir said, "There will never be peace in Israel until the Palestinians learn to love their children as much as they hate the Israelis."
The very same awareness needs to penetrate our understanding in the U.S. as to the nature of the enemy. The young suicide bombers on September 11 were driven by hatred of the West -- and trained to become weapons of war.
Islam Can't Escape Blame for Sept. 11
by Amir Taheri, Iranian author and journalist, Editor "Politique Internationale", Paris (Wall Street Journal, 25 October, 2001)
"This has nothing to do with Islam", British PM Tony Blair told a delegation of Muslims.....referring to the Sept.11 attacks......Blair was echoing a view, popular both in Europe and the U.S. that it is impolite, not to say impolitic, to subject Islam to any criticism. Yet to claim that the attacks had nothing to do with Islam amounts to a whitewash. It is not only disingenuous but also a disservice to Muslims, who need to cast a critical glance at the way their faith is taught, lived and practiced.
Even worse, the refusal to subject Islam to rational analysis is a recipe for further fanaticsm. Unless we believe those who claim that the Sept 11 was organized by Israel, we have to assume that bin Laden and al Qaeda were responsible. And since there is no mechanism for excommunication in Islam, bin Laden and his gang have every right to describe themselves as Muslims. Al Qaeda did not materialize out of thin air. Nor have then been operating in a vacuum....To say that bin Laden has nothing to do with Islam and Muslims requires a big leap of imagination. When pressed hard, some Muslim leaders admit that bin Laden is "part of Islam" but try to minimize his place. Dalil Boubakeur, a French Muslim leader, says that bin Laden does not represent more than 1% of Muslims. Some comfort. That 1% means almost 13 million people.
There is more. All but one on the world's remaining military regimes are in Muslim countries. With the exception of Turkey and Bangladesh, there are no real elections in any Muslim country. Of the current 30 active conflicts in the world, no fewer that 28 concern Muslim governments and/or communities. Two-thirds of the world political prisoners are held in Muslim countries, which also carry out 80% of all executions each year. Anyone familiar with textbooks in most Muslim countries would know the TWISTED view of the world they propagate and the HATRED they promote. Anyone who follows the Media in the Muslim world would know that the VERBAL VERSION of the Sept. 11 attacks is an almost daily fare....Anyone listening to a sermon in virtually any MOSQUE, including many in the WEST, would be SHOCKED by the vehemence of the ANTI-WESTERN, especially ANTI-AMERICAN, sentiments expressed.
It is both dishonest and dangerous for Muslims to remain in a state of denial. And yet a state of denial is what we have. When Iran's Khomeinists BURNED 600 people ALIVE in a cinema, the whitewashers said that it had nothing to do with Islam....when the suicide bombings bloodied Beirut we were told that Islam had nothing to do with them. The Muslim world today is full of BIGOTRY, FANATICISM, HYPOCRISY and PLAIN IGNORANCE - all of which create a BREEDING GROUND for CRIMINALS like bin Laden....(whose) principal victims are Muslims who are prevented from developing a modern political culture without which they cannot reform their societies and rebuild their economies.
What I am saying is not meant as critique of Islam as a belief system; that's an issue for theologians..What is needed is a CRITIQUE of Islam as an existential reality. The Sept. 11 tragedies should trigger a rethink of the way Muslims live Islam. We should start with condemning those attacks WITHOUT "ifs" and "buts". Sadly, the way we Muslims live Islam today is a far cry from the way our ancestors lived it in the golden age when Islam was a builder of civilization, not a force for repression, terror and destruction."
A letter to Time.com: Islam was forged in war, not peace
To the editor of Time.com:
In order to acheive its temporary political goals, our present leadership insists that Islam is a peaceful faith. This does not mean, however, that our media should blindly accept this as gospel in place of reviewing the facts. In every part of the world where Islam encounters other faiths or cultures, its adherents invariably wage Jihad of the military sort which the Sheik Abdullah Nimr Darwish so vigorously insists is but one of thirteen types of jihad in your interview of him. That may be so, but the military pillar is the one which the rest of the world sees and experiences most intensely, and the sheik does little to downplay the impact of the abuse of the pillar to acheive political goals.
The Shiek also seems to explain that while suicide attacks are prohibited by Sharia, that the terror Palestinians wage on ordinary Israelis is justifiable, and that while it may or may not be jihad, that it is an acceptable form of mayrtyrdom. In reality, maytrydom is attained while waging this type of warfare is a form of suicide. It may be committed without the explicit intent of being killed, but with the tacet acceptance of its likelihood. Interpretation of Sharia is one thing, but true Jihad would insist that muslims everywhere take action to prohibit, banish and eliminate this type of behavior, in addition to that of suicide attacks.
It won't happen, and the sheik knows it. So should Time. That's because the problem lies deeper. To claim that Islam has its origins in peace is false in fact. The religion was born out of and spread like wildfire due to the war and conquest made in its name during the formative years of the faith. Yes, millions of muslims are assuredly peaceful people, but a religion whose origin is so closely tied to warfare, destruction, conquest, expulsion and forced conversion can hardly claim to have its origins in peace. This is especially true when so many murders and acts of violence are claimed to be made in its name. If Islam had its origins in peace, it is not a facet of the faith which many take seriously.
If it were, the Sheik could explain why the phenomenom of violence in its name, whether perpetuated by terrorists (so called freedom fighters), state governments, religious movements and Islamic institutions still persists, why so few of his colleagues speak out against it, and nobody takes action in that vein. The truth is that Islam is inseperable from its formation at the edge of the sword, and that is why violence continues to be accepted as a legitimate expression of religious zeal.
Adam Davis,
Chicago
A Call to the Muslims of the World from a Group of Freethinkers and Humanists of Muslim Origins
A Call to the Muslims of the World from a Group of Freethinkers and Humanists of Muslim Origins
Dear friends,
The tragic incidents of September 11 have shocked the world. It is unthinkable that anyone could be so full of hate as to commit such heinous acts and kill so many innocent people. We people of Muslim origin are as much shaken as the rest of the world and yet we find ourselves looked upon with suspicion and distrust by our neighbours and fellow citizens. We want to cry out and tell the world that we are not terrorists, and that those who perpetrate such despicable acts are murderers and not part of us. But, in reality, because of our Muslim origins we just cannot erase the "stigma of Islamic Terrorism" from our identity!
What most Muslims will say:
"Islam would never support the killing of innocent people. Allah of the Holy Qur'an never advocated killings. This is all the work of a few misguided individuals at the fringes of society. The real Islam is sanctified from violence. We denounce all violence. Islam means peace. Islam means tolerance."
What knowledgeable Muslims should say:
That is what most Muslims think, but is it true? Does Islam really preach peace, tolerance and non-violence? The Muslims who perpetrate these crimes think differently. They believe that what they do is Jihad (holy war). They say that killing unbelievers is mandatory for every Muslim. They do not kill because they wish to break the laws of Islam but because they think this is what true Muslims should do. Those who blow-up their own bodies to kill more innocent people do so because they think they will be rewarded in Paradise. They hope to be blessed by Allah, eat celestial food, drink pure wine and enjoy the company of divine consorts. Are they completely misguided? Where did they get this distorted idea? How did they come to believe that killing innocent people pleases God? Or is it that we are misguided? Does really Islam preach violence? Does it call upon its believers to kill non-believers? We denounce those who commit acts of violence and call them extremists. But are they really extremists or are they following what the holy book, the Qur'an tells them to do? What does the Qur'an teach? Have we read the Qur'an? Do we know what kind of teachings are there? Let us go through some of them and take a closer look at what Allah says.
What the Qur'an Teaches Us:
We have used the most widely available English text of the Qur'an and readers are welcome to verify our quotes from the holy book. Please have an open mind and read through these verses again and again. The following quotes are taken from the most trusted Yusufali's translation of the Qur'an.
The Qur'an tells us:
Is this the Islam you believe in? Is this your Most Merciful, Most Compassionate Allah whom you worship daily? Could Allah incite you to kill other peoples? Please understand that there is no terrorist gene - but there could be a terrorist mindset. That mindset finds its most fertile ground in the tenets of Islam. Denying it, and presenting Islam to the lay public as a religion of peace similar to Buddhism, is to suppress the truth. The history of Islam between the 7th and 14th centuries is riddled with violence, fratricide and wars of aggression, starting right from the death of the Prophet and during the so-called 'pure' or orthodox caliphate. And Muhammad himself hoisted the standard of killing, looting, massacres and bloodshed. How can we deny the entire history? The behaviour of our Holy Prophet as recorded in authentic Islamic sources is quite questionable from a modern viewpoint. The Prophet was a charismatic man but he had few virtues. Imitating him in all aspects of life (following the Sunnah) is both impossible and dangerous in the 21st century. Why are we so helplessly in denial over this simple issue?
When the Prophet was in Mecca and he was still not powerful enough he called for tolerance. He said "To you be your religion, and to me my religion" (109:6). This famous quote is often misused to prove that the general principle of Qur'an is tolerance. He advised his follower to speak good to their enemies (2: 83), exhorted them to be patient (20:103) and said that "there is no compulsion in religion" (2:256). But that all changed drastically when he came to power. Then killing and slaying unbelievers with harshness and without mercy was justified in innumerable verses. The verses quoted to prove Islam's tolerance ignore many other verses that bear no trace of tolerance or forgiveness. Where is tolerance in this well-known verse "Alarzu Lillah, Walhukmu Lillah." (The Earth belongs to Allah and thus only Allah's rule should prevail all over the earth).
Is it normal that a book revealed by God should have so many serious contradictions? The Prophet himself set the example of unleashing violence by invading the Jewish settlements, breaking treaties he had signed with them and banishing some of them after confiscating their belongings, massacring others and taking their wives and children as slaves. He inspected the youngsters and massacred all those who had pubic hair along with the men. Those who were younger he kept as slaves. He distributed the women captured in his raids among his soldiers keeping the prettiest for himself (33:50). He made sexual advances on Safiyah, a Jewish girl on the same day he captured her town Kheibar and killed her father, her husband and many of her relatives. Reyhana was another Jewish girl of Bani Quriza whom he used as a sex slave after killing all her male relatives. In the last ten years of his life he accumulated two scores of wives, concubines and sex slaves including the 9 year old Ayesha. These are not stories but records from authentic Islamic history and the Hadiths. It can be argued that this kind of behaviour was not unknown or unusual for the conquerors and leaders of the mediaeval world but these are not the activities befitting of a peaceful saint and certainly not someone who claimed to be the Mercy of God for all creation. There were known assassinations of adversaries during the Prophet's time, which he had knowledge of and had supported. Among them there was a 120 year old man, Abu 'Afak whose only crime was to compose a lyric satirical of the Prophet. (by Ibn Sa'd Kitab al Tabaqat al Kabir, Volume 2, page 32) Then when a poetess, a mother of 5 small children 'Asma' Bint Marwan wrote a poetry cursing the Arabs for letting Muhammad assassinate an old man, our Holy Prophet ordered her to be assassinated too in the middle of the night while her youngest child was suckling from her breast. (Sirat Rasul Allah (A Guillaume's translation "The Life of Muhammad") page 675, 676).
The Prophet did develop a 'Robin Hood' image that justified raiding merchant caravans attacking cities and towns, killing people and looting their belongings in the name of social justice. Usama Bin Laden is also trying to create the same image. But Robin Hood didn't claim to be a prophet or a pacifist nor did he care for apologist arguments. He did not massacre innocent people indiscriminately nor did he profit by reducing free people to slaves and then trading them.
With the known and documented violent legacy of Islam, how can we suddenly rediscover it as a religion of peace in the free world in the 21st century? Isn't this the perpetuation of a lie by a few ambitious leaders in order to gain political control of the huge and ignorant Muslim population? They are creating a polished version of Islam by completely ignoring history. They are propagating the same old dogma for simple believing people in a crisp new modern package. Their aim: to gain political power in today's high-tension world. They want to use the confrontational power of the original Islam to catalyse new conflicts and control new circles of power.
Dear conscientious Muslims, please question yourselves. Isn't this compulsive following of a man who lived 1400 years ago leading us to doom in a changing world? Do the followers of any other religion follow one man in such an all-encompassing way? Who are we deceiving, them or ourselves? Dear brothers and sisters, see how our Umma (people) has sunk into poverty and how it lags behind the rest of the world. Isn't it because we are following a religion that is outdated and impractical? In this crucial moment of history, when a great catastrophe has befallen us and a much bigger one is lying ahead, should not we wake up from our 1400 years of slumber and see where things have gone wrong?
Hatred has filled the air and the world is bracing itself for its doomsday. Should we not ask ourselves whether we have contributed, wittingly or unwittingly, to this tragedy and whether we can stop the great disaster from happening?
Unfortunately the answer to the first question is yes. Yes we have contributed to the rise of fundamentalism by merely claiming Islam is a religion of peace, by simply being a Muslim and by saying our shahada (testimony that Allah is the only God and Muhammad is his messenger). By our shahada we have recognized Muhammad as a true messenger of God and his book as the words of God. But as you saw above those words are anything but from God. They call for killing, they are prescriptions for hate and they foment intolerance. And when the ignorant among us read those hate-laden verses, they act on them and the result is the infamous September 11, human bombs in Israel, massacres in East Timor and Bangladesh, kidnappings and killings in the Philippines, slavery in the Sudan, honour killings in Pakistan and Jordan, torture in Iran, stoning and maiming in Afghanistan and Iran, violence in Algeria, terrorism in Palestine and misery and death in every Islamic country. We are responsible because we endorse Islam and hail it as a religion of God. And we are as guilty as those who put into practice what the Qur'an preaches - and ironically we are the main victims too. If we are not terrorists, if we love peace, if we cried with the rest of the word for what happened in New York, then why are we supporting the Qur'an that preaches killing, that advocates holy war, that calls for the murder of non-Muslims? It is not the extremists who have misunderstood Islam. They do literally what the Qur'an asks them to do. It is we who misunderstand Islam. We are the ones who are confused. We are the ones who wrongly assume that Islam is the religion of peace. Islam is not a religion of peace. In its so-called "pure" form it can very well be interpreted as a doctrine of hate. Terrorists are doing just that and we the intellectual apologists of Islam are justifying it. We can stop this madness. Yes, we can avert the disaster that is hovering over our heads. Yes, we can denounce the doctrines that promote hate. Yes, we can embrace the rest of humanity with love. Yes, we can become part of a united world, members of one human family, flowers of one garden. We can dump the claim of infallibility of our Book, and the questionable legacy of our Prophet.
Dear friends, there is no time to waste. Let us put an end to this lie. Let us not fool ourselves. Islam is not a religion of peace, of tolerance, of equality or of unity of humankind. Let us read the Qur'an. Let us face the truth even if it is painful. As long as we keep this lie alive, as long as we hide our head in the sands of Arabia we are feeding terrorism. As long as you and I keep calling Qur'an the unchangeable book of God, we cannot blame those who follow the teachings therein. As long as we pay our Khums and Zakat our money goes to promote Islamic expansionism and thatmeans terrorism, Jihad and war. Islam divides theworld in two. Darul Harb (land of war) and Darul Islam (land of Islam). Darul Harb is the land of the infidels, Muslims are required to infiltrate those lands, proselytise and procreate until their numbers increase and then start the war and fight and kill the people and impose the religion of Islam on them and convert that land into Darul Islam. In all fairness we denounce this betrayal. This is abuse of the trust. How can we make war in the countries that have sheltered us? How can we kill those who have befriended us? Yet willingly or unwillingly we have become pawns in this Islamic Imperialism. Let us see what great Islamic scholars have had to say in this respect.
Dr. M. Khan the translator of Sahih Bukhari and the Qur'an into English wrote: "Allah revealed in Sura Bara'at (Repentance, IX) the order to discard (all) obligations (covenants, etc), and commanded the Muslims to fight against all the Pagans as well as against the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) if they do not embrace Islam, till they pay the Jizia (a tax levied on the Jews and Christians) with willing submission and feel themselves subdued (as it is revealed in 9:29). So the Muslims were not permitted to abandon "the fighting" against them (Pagans, Jews and Christians) and to reconcile with them and to suspend hostilities against them for an unlimited period while they are strong and have the ability to fight against them. So at first "the fighting" was forbidden, then it was permitted, and after that it was made obligatory" [Introduction to English translation of Sahih Bukhari, p.xxiv.]
Dr. Sobhy as-Saleh, a contemporary Islamic academician quoted Imam Suyuti the author of Itqan Fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an who wrote: "The command to fight the infidels was delayed until the Muslims become strong, but when they were weak they were commanded to endure and be patient". [ Sobhy as_Saleh, Mabaheth Fi 'Ulum al- Qur'an, Dar al-'Ilm Lel-Malayeen, Beirut, 1983, p. 269.]
Dr. Sobhy, in a footnote, commends the opinion of a scholar named Zarkashi who said: "Allah the most high and wise revealed to Mohammad in his weak condition what suited the situation, because of his mercy to him and his followers. For if He gave them the command to fight while they were weak it would have been embarrassing and most difficult, but when the most high made Islam victorious He commanded him with what suited the situation, that is asking the people of the Book to become Muslims or to pay the levied tax, and the infidels to become Muslims or face death. These two options, to fight or to have peace return according to the strength or the weakness of the Muslims." [ibid p. 270]
Other Islamic scholars (Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi, Ga'far ar-Razi, Rabi' Ibn 'Ons, 'Abil-'Aliyah, Abd ar-Rahman Ibn Zayd Ibn 'Aslam, etc.) agree that the verse "Slay the idolaters wherever you find them" (9:5) cancelled those few earlier verses that called for tolerance in the Qur'an and were revealed when Islam was weak. Can you still say that Islam is the religion of peace?
We propose a solution.
We know too well that it is not easy to denounce our faith because it means denouncing a part of ourselves. We are a group of freethinkers and humanists with Islamic roots. Discovering the truth and leaving the religion of our fathers and forefathers was a painful experience. But after learning what Islam stands for we had no choice but to leave it. After becoming familiar with the Qur'an the choice became clear: It is either Islam or humanity. If Islam thrives, then humanity will die. We decided to side with humanity. Culturally we are still Muslims but we no longer believe in Islam as the true religion of God. We are humanists. We love humanity. We work for the unity of humankind. We work for equality between men and women. We strive for the secularisation of Islamic countries, for democracy and freedom of thought, belief and expression. We decided to live no longer in self-deception but to embrace humanity, and to enter into the new millennium hand in hand with people of other cultures and beliefs in amity and in peace.
We denounce the violence that is eulogized in the Qur'an as holy war (Jihad). We condemn killing in the name of God. We believe in the sanctity of human life, not in the inviolability of beliefs and religions. We invite you to join us and the rest of humanity and become part of the family of humankind - in love, camaraderie and peace.
| Link & Sources: |
 A Call to the Muslims of the World from a Group of Freethinkers and Humanists of Muslim Origins Palestinian Media Watch |
