Has Islam been misunderstood for the last fourteen centuries? Part 2
H. Eighth century of Islam: 14th century AD
Qazi Mughisuddin
Writing to the Sultan Alauddin Khalji about the legal status of Hindus within his domain,
“These are called payers of tribute, and when the revenue officer demands silver from them, they should without question, and with all humility and respect, tender gold. If the officer throes dirt in their mouths, they must without reluctance open their mouths wide to receive it…The due subordination of the Dhimmi is exhibited in this humble payment, and by this throwing of death in their mouths. The glorification of Islam is a duty, and contempt for religion is vain. God holds them in contempt, for he says “Keep them in contempt”. To keep the Hindus in abasement is especially a religious duty, because they are inveterate enemies of the prophet and because the prophet has commanded us to slay them, plunder them and make them captive, saying “Convert them to Islam or kill them, and make them slaves, and spoil their wealth and property”. No doctor but the great doctor [Hanifah] to whose school we belong, has assented to the imposition of Jizya on Hindus, doctors of other schools allow no other allow no other alternative but Death or Islam.”
Amir Khusrau,
The Sufi scholar and poet writes of the conquered territory of Hindustan,
“Happy Hindustan, the splendour of religion, where the law finds perfect honour and security. The whole country, by means of the sword of our holy warriors, has become like a forest denuded of its thorns by fire…Islam is triumphant, idolatry is subdued. Had not the law granted exemption from death by payment of poll-tax, the very nature of Hind, root and branch, would have been extinguished”
The founding of the Janissaries by the Ottoman Empire
In 1359, Murad founded the janissary corps, a crack force of young men who were seized as boys from their Christian families, enslaved, and forcibly converted to Islam. This was the seizure and enslavement of twenty percent of the Christian children from the predominantly Christian areas of the Ottoman empire. These boys, once seized from their families, were given the choice of Islam or death. Those who chose Islam were, after rigorous training, enrolled in the Janissary corps.
Of these Janissaries, the sixteenth century Italian diplomat would later write of what he witnessed, they,
“…either persuaded or forced to be circumcised and made Muslim….The first thing they were made to learn is the Turk’s false religion, which they know so well as to put us [Christians] to shame…they make them drudge day and night, and they give them no bed to sleep on and very little food…they were allowed to speak to each other only when it is urgently necessary…[were made] to pray together without fail at four prescribed times everyday…for any little offense, they beat them cruelly with sticks, rarely hitting them less than a hundred times, and often as much as a thousand. After punishments the boys have to come to them and kiss their clothing and thank them for the cudgelings they have received. You can see then that moral degradation are part of the training system”
Tamerlane
Regarding the Hindus, he stated,
“Fight them; Allah will punish them by your hands [Surah 9:14]. All these infidel Hindus were slain, their wives and children were made prisoners and their property and their goods became the spoils of the victors”
To his fellow Muslim, Bayezid, the emir of the Ottoman empire, who was spoiling for a fight with him,
“What is the foundation of your insolence and folly? You have fought some battles in the woods of Anatolia; contemptible trophies! You have obtained some victories over the Christians of Europe; your sword was blessed by the Apostle of Allah; and your obedience to the precept of the Quran, in waging jihad against the infidels, is the sole consideration that prevents us from destroying your country…”
Bayezid I
In the words of contemporary Greek historian Doukas,
“…was a feared man, precipitate in deeds of war, a persecutor of Christians as no other around him, and in the religion of the Arabs, a most ardent disciple of Muhammad, whose unlawful commandments were observed to the utmost, never sleeping, spending his nights contriving intrigues and machinations against the rational flock of Christ…His purpose was to increase the nation of the Prophet and to decrease that of the Romans. Many cities and provinces did he add to the dominion of Muslims”
Notable Islamic Jihad attack: Janissaries, Persecution of the Hindus, Persecution of Jews and Christians by the Ottoman Empire.
I. Ninth century of Islam: 15th century AD
Sack of Constantinople
The Byzantine scholar Bessarion wrote to the Doge of Venice in July 1453,
“…sacked by the most inhuman barbarians and the most savage enemies of the Christian faith, by the fiercest of wild beasts. The public treasure has been consumed, private wealth has been destroyed, the temples have been stripped of gold, silver, jewels, the relics of the saints, and other most precious ornaments. Men have been butchered like cattle, women abducted, virgins ravished, and children snatched from the arms of their parents”
Mahmud Khalji
At Mandalagh in 1456, he issued orders that trees should be uprooted, houses should be demolished and no trace should be left of human habitation.
When the Muslims defeated the Hindus,
“Sultan Mahmud offered thanks to Allah in all humility. Next day, he entered the fort. He got the temples demolished and their materials used in the construction of a Jami Masjid [Mosque]. He appointed there a Qazi, a Mufti, [Islamic scholars]…and established order in that place”
Emperor Manuel II Paleologus on Islam
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
Bartolomeo de Giano (Franciscan writing in 1438)
“…in the meantime, the Turk snuffs out the name of Christ and has already sworn, has already vowed himself to his own God, not to remain at peace under any agreement until he hears the praises of Muhammad sung…”
and again, he wrote of,
“…the calamitous and lamentable slaughter that we see in these days…so great a quantity it would seem unbelievable to anyone who had not seen it with their own eyes”
On survivors, he stated they were either enslaved to,
“…to serve their master’s filthy pleasures”
Or forced into becoming,
“Saracens who will later be enemies of the Christians”
Pope Pius II
“Mahomet will never lay down his arms until he is either wholly victorious or completely vanquished”
Notable Islamic Jihad attacks: The sack of Constantinople, Islamic conquest of India continues
J. Tenth century of Islam: 16th century AD
Ottoman Sunni Muslims wage jihad on Shia Muslims
In declaring the Shia sect heretics, a decree went forth,
“According to the precepts of the holy law, [the Shia Ismaili followers of the Safavid Shah Ismail are] unbelievers and heretics. Any who sympathise and accept their false religion or assist them are also unbelievers and heretics. It is a necessity and a divine obligation that they be massacred and their communities dispersed”
Ottoman Sultan Selim
To the aforementioned Safavid Shah Ismail wrote,
“You have subjected the upright community of Muhammad…to your devious will [and] undermined the firm foundation of the faith; You have unfurled the banner of oppression in the cause of aggression [and] no longer uphold the commandments and prohibitions of the divine law; you have incited your abominable Shia faction to unsanctified sexual union and the shedding of innocent blood”
The aforementioned Sultan also boasted in his diary entry for August 31st 1526, after his invasion of Hungary,
“The Sultan, seated on a golden throne, receives the homage of the viziers and the beys; massacre of 2,000 prisoners; the rain in torrents”
Fatwa on land previously under Islamic control
Sultan Salim also sent a request to his Islamic scholars for a fatwa on the following matter,
“A land was previously in the realm of Islam. After a while the abject infidels overran it, destroyed the colleges and mosques, and left them vacant. They filed the pulpits and galleries with the tokens of infidelity and error, intending to insult the religion of Islam with all kinds of vile deeds, and by spreading their ugly acts to all corners of the earth…When peace was previously concluded with the other lands in possession of said infidels, the aforenamed land was included. An explanation is sought as to whether, in accordance with the [sacred law], this is an impediment to the Sultan’s determination to break the treaty”
ANSWER:
There is no possibility that it could ever be an impediment. For the Sultan of the people of Islam (may God glorify his victories) to make peace with the infidel is legal only where there is benefit to all Muslims, When there is no benefit, peace is never legal. When a benefit has been seen, and it is then observed to be more beneficial to break it, then to break it becomes absolutely obligatory and binding.”
Notable Islamic Jihad attacks: Battle of Lepanto, persecution of Shia Muslims
K. Eleventh century of Islam: 17th century AD
The Decree of Sultan Murad IV (Ottoman Empire) in 1631
“Insult and humiliate infidels in garment, clothing and manner of dress according to Muslim law and Imperial statue. Henceforth, do not allow them to mount a horse, wear sable fur, sable fur caps, satin and silk velvet. Do not allow their women to wear mohair caps wrapped in cloth and “Paris” cloth. Do not allow infidels and Jews to go about in Muslim manner and garment. Hinder and remove these kinds. Do not lose a minute in executing the order that I have proclaimed in this manner”
Treatment of Slavic slaves by the Tartars
In 1630, a Lithuanian wrote,
“Among these unfortunates [Slavic slaves] there are many strong ones; if they [Tartars] have not castrated them yet, they cut off their ears and nostrils, burned cheeks and foreheads with the burning iron and forced them to work with their chains and shackles during the day-light and sit in the prisons during the night; they are sustained by the meager food consisting of the dead animals’ meat, rotten, full of worms, which even a dog would not eat. The youngest women are kept for wanton pleasures”
Father Dan on the state of Muslim slaves in Algiers
“[The entire village of Baltimore was raided], 237 persons, men, women and children, even those in the cradlw [seized]…”
“It was pitiable to see them exposed for sale. For then they separated wives from their husbands, and infants from their fathers. They sold the husband to one and the wife to another, tearing the daughter from her arms, without any hope of ever seeing her again…No Christian could witness what took place without melting into tears, to see so many honest girls and so many well brought up women abandoned to the brutality of these barbarians”
Missionaries concerned for male slaves
Missionaries often expressed their concern that “young men would allow themselves to be seduced sexually as well as religiously, to become catamites even as they became Muslims. Indeed, many clerics, insofar as they had any notions of Islam, acted as if the two forms of seduction were linked. In other words, becoming Muslim and/or submitting to the sexual desires of one’s Muslim master were seen as two sides of one coin that could potentially buy slaves leniency. Others simply made themselves Muslims in despair.
(Sword and Scimitar, Raymond Ibrahim p.283)
Notable Islamic Jihad Attacks: Siege of Vienna, Islamic slavery thrives across their various empires
L. Twelfth century of Islam: 18th century AD
Thomas Jefferson (March 28th, 1786)
Writing to congress on the result of his correspondence with Tripoli’s ambassador to Britain, Abdul Rahman Adja (in order to quell toe continued assault of American vessels by Barbary pirates),
“We took the liberty to make some inquiries concerning the grounds of their pretensions to make war upon nations who had done them no injury, and observed that we considered all mankind as our friends who had done us no wrong, nor had given us any provocation. The ambassador answered us that it was founded on the laws of their prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Musselman [Muslim] who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise”
The rise of Wahabism
Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahab in the 1740s started preaching a return to pure unadulterated Islam, an Islamic reformation if you will. He wrote to the people of Qasim in Arabia,
“I assert that jihad will always be valid under the imam’s leadership whether he is righteous or a sinner.
Jihad cannot be stopped by the injustice of the unjust or even the fairness of those who are just”
The nineteenth century French historian Louis Alexandre Olivier de Corancez writes,
“At the moment when they were least expected, the Wahabis would arrive to confront the tribe they wished to subject, and a messanger from Abd-al Aziz ibn Saud would appear bearing a Koran in one hand and a Sword in the other. His message was stark and simple; “Abd el Aziz to the Arabs of the tribe of__, hail! Your duty is to believe in the book I send you. Do not be like the idolatrous Turks who give God a human intermediary. If you are true believers, you shall be saved; otherwise, I shall wage war upon you until death.”
Notable Islamic Jihad attacks: Barbary piracy attacks against America, the rise of Wahabism.
L. Thirteenth century of Islam: 19th century AD
William Eaton on the Barbary pirates harassing American Vessels in 1801
“I touched upon the affinity of principle between the Islam and Americans religion…We find it almost impossible to inspire these wild bigots with confidence in us or persuade them that, being Christians, we can be otherwise than enemies to Musselmen (Muslims). We have a difficult undertaking!”
Muhammad Ahmad (The Sudanese Mahdi)
Writing to Muslim leaders, he says,
“It is evident that times have changed and that the Sunnah has been abandoned. No one with faith and intelligence will approve of that. Therefore it would be better that he leave his affairs and his country in order to establish the Religion and the Sunnah…Emigrating with the religion is obligatory on the strength of the Book and the Sunnah. Allah has said “Oh ye who have believed, respond to Allah and to the messanger when He calls you to what will give you life [Surah 8:24] The prophet has said; “He who flees with his religion from one territory to another even if it is [only the distance of] an inch, will be worthy of paradise and Mohammed and be the companion of his father, Ibrahim, Allah’s bosom friend, and of His prophet Muhammad.” And [there are] similar Koran verses and Traditions…if you understand this, [know then that] I have ordered all those who are legally capable, to emigrate to us for the sake of jihad in the way of Allah, or to the country that is nearest to you, on the strength of Allah’s words; “Oh ye who have believed, fight the unbelievers who are near to you.”[Surah 9:123]…If you understand this, then: onward to the jihad in His way”
British consul James H Skene
On the Christians in Syria, he wrote,
“the Christian subjects of Aleppo still live in a state of terror”
He attributed this to the trauma the Christians suffered nine years earlier when,
“…houses were plundered, men of distinction among them were murdered and women violated…They were not allowed to ride in the town, not even to walk in the gardens. Rich merchants were fain to dress in the humblest garb to escape notice; when they failed in this they were often forced to sweep the street or act as porters in order to give proofs of their pateince and obedience; and they were never addressed by a Mussulman (Muslim) without expressions of contempt”
Slavery in Tripoli under Sultan Yusuf Karamanli
Historian Lyon writes concerning the Sultan,
“The sultan possessed about fifty young women, all black and very comely…guarded by five eunuchs, who keep up their authority by occasionally beating them”
He also wrote an eye witness account of a shipment of slaves arriving in Murzuq,
“…a large caravan of Arabs, Tripolines and Tibboo, arrived from Bornou bringing with them 1400 slaves of both sexes and all ages, the greater part being females…We rode out to meet…It was indeed a piteous spectacle! The poor oppressed beings were, many of them, so exhausted as to be scarcely able to walk; their legs and feet were much swelled, and by their enormous size, formed a striking contrast with their emaciated bodies. They were all borne down with loads of firewood; and even poor little children, worn to skeletons by fatigue and hardships, were obliged to bear their burden, while many of their inhuman masters rode on camels, with the dreaded whip suspended from their wrists, with which they, from time to time, enforced obedience from these wretched captives. Care was taken however, that the hair of the females should be arranged in nice order, and that their bodies should be well oiled, whilst the males were closely shaven, to give them a good appearance on entering the town. All the traders speak of slaves as farmers do of cattle”
The Armenian Genocide
The German historian Lepsius who visited the devastated areas at the time and chronicled the atrocities. He referred to the cover-up of these horrific events that had already begun,
“Are we then simply forbidden to speak of the Armenians as persecuted on account of their religious belief? If so, there have never been any religious persecutions in the world….We have lists before us of 559 villages whose surviving inhabitants were converted to Islam with fire and sword; of 568 churches thoroughly pillaged, destroyed and razed to the ground; of 282 Christian churches transformed into mosques; of 21 Protestant preachers and 170 Gregorian priests who were, after enduring unspeakable tortures, murdered on their refusal to accept Islam. We repeat, however, that those figures express only the extent of our information, and do not by a long way reach to the extent of the reality. Is this a religious persecution or is it not?”
One Ottoman soldier wrote home,
“My brother, if you want news from here we have killed 1,200 Armenians, all of them as food for the digs…Mother, I am safe and sound. Father 20 days ago we made war on the Armenian believers. Through God’s grace no harm befell us…There is a rumour afoot that our Batallion will be ordered to your part of the world — if so, we will kill all the Armenians there. Besides, 511 Armenians were wounded, one or two perish every day.”
Notable Islamic Jihad attacks: The Armenian genocide, oppression of Christians in Muslim lands, slavery in the Islamic caliphates continues
M. Fourteenth century of Islam: 20th century AD
Al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
In his address titled, “Islam and the Jews” stated,
“The battle between Jews and Islam began when Mohammed fled from Mecca to Medina…In those days the Jewish methods were exactly the same as they are today. Then as now, slander was their weapon. They said Mohammed was a swindler…They tried to undermine his honor…They began to pose senseless and unanswerable questions to Mohammed…and then they tried to annihilate Muslims. Just as the Jews were able to betray Mohammed, so they will betray the Muslims today…the verses of the Koran and the Hadith assert that the Jews were Islam’s most bitter enemies and moreover try to destroy it”
Eichmann's assistant Dieter Wisliczeny testified of Al-Husseini’s role in the holocaust,
“The Grand Mufti has repeatedly suggested to the Nazi authorities — including Hitler, von Ribbentrop and Himmler — the extermination of European Jewry. He considered this a comfortable solution to the Palestinian problem…The Mufti was one of the initiators of the systematic extermination of European Jewry and had been a collaborator and adviser of Eichmann and Himmler in the execution of this plan. He was one of Eichmann’s best friends and had constantly incited him to accelerate the extermination measures. I heard him say, accompanied by Eichmann, he had visited incognito the gas chambers of Aushwitz.”
The Mufti in a broadcast on July 7th 1942 exhorted Muslims in Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Palestine to kill Jews based on a blatant lie,
“A large number of Jews residing Egypt and a number of Poles, Greeks, Armenian and Free French, have been issues with revolvers and ammunition in order to help them against the Egyptians at the last moment, when Britain is forced to evacuate Egypt
In face of this barbaric procedure by the British we think it best, if the life of the Egyptian nation is to be saved, that the Egyptians rise as one man to kill the Jews before they have a chance of betraying the Egyptian people. It is the duty of the Egyptian people to annihilate the Jews and destroy their property…
You must kill the Jews, before they open fire on you. Kill the Jews who appropriated your wealth and who are plotting against your security. Arabs of Syria, Iraq, and Palestine, what are you waiting for? The Jews are planning to violate your women, to kill your children and to destroy you. According to the Muslim religion, the defense of your life is a duty which can only be fulfilled by annihilating the Jews. This is your best opportunity to get rid of this dirty race, which has usurped your rights and brought misfortune and destruction on your countries. Kill the Jews, burn their property, destroy their stores, annihilate these base supporters of British Imperialism. Your sole hope of salvation lies in annihilating the Jews before they annihilate you”
Zahir Muhsein
PLO executive member in a 1977 interview with the Dutch newspaper Trouw:
“The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means of contininuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today, there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand we posit the existence of a distinct “Palestinian people” to oppose Zionism.
…the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan”
Ayatollah Khomeini
“Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those [who say this] are witless. Islam says: Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all! Does this mean that Muslims should sit back until they are devoured by [the unbelievers]? Islam says: Kill them, put them to the sword and scatter their armies…Islam says: Whatever good there is exists thanks to the sword and in the shadow of the sword! People cannot be made obedient except with the sword! The sword is the key to Paradise, which can be opened only for the Holy Warriors! There are hundreds of other [Quranic] Psalms and Hadiths urging Muslims to value war and to fight. Does all this mean that Islam is a religon that prevents men from waging war? I spit upon those foolish souls who make such a claim”
1979 Constitution of Iran
The section titled “Creedal armed forces” reads,
“The main consideration in establishing and equipping the country’s defense forces is that faith and creed must be the basis and criteria. Therefore, the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) shall be organized in accordance with the above-mentioned goal, and they shall be responsible not only for securing and protecting the country’s borders, but also for fulfilling the ideological mission of Jihad in the path of God and fighting to expand the sovereignty of God’s law in the world (in accordance with the verse of the Holy Quran: “Mobilize against them whatever you can of power and war-horses, awing thereby the enemy of Allāh and your enemy and others after them” [8:60])”
1988 HAMAS Charter
‘The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: ‘O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.’
(Article 7)
“The HAMAS regards itself the spearhead and the vanguard of the circle of struggle against World Zionism… Islamic groups all over the Arab world should also do the same, since they are best equipped for their future role in the fight against the warmongering Jews.”
(Article 32)
“Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement… Those conferences are no more than a means to appoint the infidels as arbitrators in the lands of Islam… There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are but a waste of time, an exercise in futility.’ (Article 13)
Notable Islamic Jihad Attacks: Jihad against the state of Israel (six day war, Yom Kippur war, First and second Intifadas) Islamic revolution in Iran, Muslim brotherhood.
N. The 21st Century
What need is there to write about the deeds of Islam in this century? The website https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/ has, at the time of writing this, chronicled 47,449 Islamic terrorist attacks since 9/11. Highlights include the Manchester bombings, London bombings, beheading of Lee Rigby in Britain, 70 Christians beheaded in Congo, Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria, The October 7th massacre by HAMAS, The New Orleans bombing, the Kashmir attacks on tourists in India to mention a few.
The century has also witnessed the rise to prominence of groups such as ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Shabab, Al-Qaeda e.t.c. In the UK, at least 57 out of 81 proscribed terrorist organisations are Islamic in their goals and self identification, the counter terrorism police say 75% of open threats are Islamic while Islamic terrorists account for 60% of terrorists in prison.
Not only that, we have the grooming gangs situation in the UK carried out by men of predominantly British-Pakistani Muslim heritage on mainly white British underage girls, the murder of Salwan Momika in Sweden, constant ramming of vehicles into Christmas markets, all brought to us by Islam.
Finally, we have Youtubers like Mohammed Hijab (aka mr Misyar marriage, allegedly!) teaching Muslims about their “Warrior religion” where they are ordered to fight Christians and Jews only because they are Christians and Jews!, you have Ali Dawah calling for the death of apostates from Islam, you have Sheikh Al-Hakim teaching about Jihad where people are given 3 options to convert to Islam to pay the Jizya or be fought, we have Daniel Haquiqjatou defending child marriage in a three hour long debate.
Has Islam been misrepresented and/or misunderstood in the last 14 centuries or is all the mayhem we see today just Islam simpliciter?
…to be continued
Quotes culled from the following books:
Sword and Scimitar by Raymond Ibrahim
History of Jihad by Robert Spencer
