Islam: War Cult

Another target rich comment too good to pass up.

http://snooper.wordpress.com/2007/10/01/myth-vs-fact-118/#comment-2308

Comment by navedz | January 6, 2009

Islam is a religion of PEACE. It doesn’t teach us to kill unlike other religions. Muslims start their greetings with “As-salaam-wa Alaikum Wa Rahmatu Allah Wa Barakatuh”, which means in English “May GOD’s peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.”

Allah states: “Whoever kills a human being… then it is as though he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a human life it is as though he had saved all mankind.”

No one probably ever heard of such a stunning message of peace, which considers killing just one person (be it innocent or not) tantamount to killing the entire humanity? Now the doubters should not have any more skepticism about Muslim’s claim that “Islam is a religion of peace”.

The unjustified criticisms of and spitting venoms at Islam by the hateful Islam-bashers got to stop now..

Navedz attached his comment to Myth vs Fact #118, reproduced here.

Myth	Fact
Islam: Religion of peace.	33:26-27 And those of the people of the Scripture who backed them (the disbelievers) Allah brought them down from their forts and cast terror into their hearts, (so that) a group (of them) you killed, and a group (of them) you made captives. And He caused you to inherit their lands, and their houses, and their riches, and a land which you had not trodden (before). And Allah is Able to do all things.
Tafsir	Allah drove back the Confederates disappointed and lost The Campaign against Banu Qurayzah

Examine the other texts mentioning that conquest:

• Abu Dawud Book 38, Number 4390: evidence of genocide.
• The Campaign of the Confederates (Al-Ahzab)

What did the Muslims do? They invaded, terrorized, killed, enslaved & plundered. After the men surrendered, Moe had their heads cut off. He had the boys examined; those who reached puberty were decapitated, the juveniles were sold as slaves.

• Islam is a religion of PEACE
• Yeah, right, genocide is the hallmark of a peaceful religion. It is so peaceful that its purpose is fighting in Allah's cause, killing and being killed[9:111]. Another installment shows us how peaceful Islam is.

  Myth	Fact
  Islam: Religion of peace.	8:39:And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone [in the whole of the world ]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allah), then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do. [8:39]
  Tafsir	Righteousness comes from TaqwaThe Disbelievers spend Their Wealth to hinder Others from Allah’s Path, but this will only cause Them Grief The Order to fight to eradicate Shirk and Kufr The Order to fight until there is no more Fitnah
  Bottom Line:	Allah orders Muslims to make war on disbelievers until all resistance ceases and only Allah is worshiped. This is confirmed in Bukhari1.8.387 and enshrined in Islamic law though not directly referenced by Reliance of the Traveller Book O9.9.

• It doesn’t teach us to kill unlike other religions.
• Islam does not teach you to kill, it commands & orders¹ you to make war (fight)[8:39, 9:29{Myth vs Fact #2}] and tells you how to kill "smite at their necks".
• Muslims start their greetings with “As-salaam-wa Alaikum Wa Rahmatu Allah Wa Barakatuh”, which means in English “May GOD’s peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.”
• That is how they greet Muslims. As for greeting Kuffar, see: XDIII. People of the Book {Aisha Bewley's translation of Bukhari's Book of Adab} For the benefit of those too indolent to click a link I offer a similar hadith from Abu Dawud's collection. Book 41, Number 5186:
  Narrated AbuHurayrah:
  
  Suhayl ibn AbuSalih said: I went out with my father to Syria. The people passed by the cloisters in which there were Christians and began to salute them. My father said: Do not give them salutation first, for AbuHurayrah reported the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) as saying: Do not salute them (Jews and Christians) first, and when you meet them on the road, force them to go to the narrowest part of it.
• Allah states: “Whoever kills a human being… then it is as though he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a human life it is as though he had saved all mankind.”
• The quote is from Surah Al-Ma'idah 32. Of course, Muslims don't like to quote the next ayeh to Kuffar. But I like to, and I like to cite Ibn Kathir's tafsir of 5:32.
• The recompense of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and do mischief in the land is only that they shall be killed or crucified or their hands and their feet be cut off on the opposite sides, or be exiled from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and a great torment is theirs in the Hereafter.
• What is the meaning of "wage war against Allah"? Ibn Kathir gives an explicit answer: `Wage war' mentioned here means, oppose and contradict, and it includes disbelief, blocking roads and spreading fear in the fairways.. Notice the phrase I emphasized. disbelief is one of the definitions of waging war, which subjects one to the specified hudud.
• No one probably ever heard of such a stunning message of peace, which considers killing just one person (be it innocent or not) tantamount to killing the entire humanity?
• The catch is: only if that person is a Muslim! The parenthetical 'or not' is totally bogus. Islam does not recognize the sanctity of life of Kuffar
• And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us[Bukhari 1.8.387].
• Now the doubters should not have any more skepticism about Muslim’s claim that “Islam is a religion of peace”.
• We are not in doubt; we know blessed well that Islam is a war cult, not a religion of peace. I have published 490 excerpts from Islam's canon of scripture, tradition & jurisprudence which leave no doubt. Those texts form a congruent pattern of unmistakable clarity.

• The unjustified criticisms of and spitting venoms at Islam by the hateful Islam-bashers got to stop now..

• Criticism of Islam is not unjustified. A trail of blood & tears; the bones of millions of innocent victims from Medina to Mumbai testify to this fatal fact. Those of us who understand Islam; who have read its revelation, tradition & exegeses will not be silent. Morality demands that we share our knowledge with others less informed.

Further confirmation is found in Shari'ah. Reliance of the Traveller is recognized as authentic by Al-Azhar. Book O, Chapter 9 defines Jihad, tells us how frequently it must be performed and against whom. This is Islamic law, and it condemns the war cult in the eyes of all sentient persons with a scintilla of morality.

• Chapter O9.0: Jihad

  (O: Jihad means to war against non-Muslims, and is etymologically derived from the word mujahada signifying warfare to establish the religion. [Refer to translator's notes to 2:190.]

• O9.1 : The Obligatory Character of Jihad ...

  As for subsequent times, there are two possible states in respect to non-Muslims.

  The first is when they are in their own countries, in which case jihad (def: o9.8) is a communal obligation, and this is what our author is speaking of when he says, "Jihad is a communal obligation," meaning upon the Muslims each year. ...

• O9.8: The Objectives of Jihad

  The caliph (o25) makes war upon Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians (N: provided he has first invited them to enter Islam in faith and practice, and if they will not, then invited them to enter the social order of Islam by paying the non-Muslim poll tax (jizya, def: o11.4) -which is the significance of their paying it, not the money itself-while remaining in their ancestral religions) (O: and the war continues) until they become Muslim or else pay the non-Muslim poll tax (O: in accordance with the word of Allah Most High,

  "Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day and who forbid not what Allah and His messenger have forbidden-who do not practice the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book-until they pay the poll tax out of hand and are humbled" (Koran 9.29),

  the time and place for which is before the final descent of Jesus (upon whom be peace). After his final coming, nothing but Islam will be accepted from them, for taking the poll tax is only effective until Jesus' descent (upon him and our Prophet be peace), which is the divinely revealed law of Muhammad. The coming of Jesus does not entail a separate divinely revealed law, for he will rule by the law of Muhammad. As for the Prophet's saying (Allah bless him and give him peace),

  "I am the last, there will be no prophet after me,"

  this does not contradict the final coming of Jesus (upon whom be peace), since he will not rule according to the Evangel, but as a follower of our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) ).

• O9.9

  The caliph fights all other peoples until they become Muslim (O: because they are not a people with a Book, nor honored as such, and are not permitted to settle with paying the poll tax (jizya) ) (n: though according to the Hanafi school, peoples of all other religions, even idol worshippers, are permitted to live under the protection of the Islamic state if they either become Muslim or agree to pay the poll tax, the sole exceptions to which are apostates from Islam and idol worshippers who are Arabs, neither of whom has any choice but becoming Muslim (al-Hidaya sharh Bidaya al-mubtadi' (y21), 6.48-49) ).

Jihad is defined as fighting Kuffar to establish Islam. It's minimal requirement is one military expedition per year. It is carried out against people of the book until they are subjugated & extorted and against all other people until they are converted. That is not my opinion, it is Islamic law derived from Qur'an & Sunnah as applied by the Shafi'ite school. Which mainstream Madh'hab rejects it? What does the Hanafi school say?

Sheikh Burhanuddin Ali of Marghinan, d. 1196, hanafi. The Hidayah, cit. ur T.P. Hughes, A Dictionary of Islam (London 1895/1994), s. 244-5.

The destruction of the sword is incurred by infidels, although they be not the first aggressors, as appears from various passages in the traditions which are generally received to this effect. […] When the Muslims enter the enemy’s country and besiege the cities or strongholds of the infidels, it is necessary to invite them to embrace the faith, because Ibn Abbas relates of the Prophet that he never destroyed any without previously inviting them to embrace the faith. If, therefore, they embrace the faith, it is unnecessary to war with them, because that which was the design of the war is then obtained without war. […] If the infidels, upon receiving the call, neither consent to it nor agree to pay capitation tax, it is then incumbent on the Muslims to call upon God for assistance, and to make war upon them […]

How about the more pacifist Sufi? What did Al-Ghazali say?

al-Ghazali, d. 1111, shafi’i, sufi. Kitab al-Wagiz fi fiqh madhab al-imam al-Safi’i (Beirut 1979), s. 186, 190-1, 199-200, 202-3, övers. Michael Schub.

One must go on jihad (i.e. warlike razzias or raids) at least once a year […] one may use a catapult against them [non-Muslims] when they are in a fortress, even if among them are women and children.

1. Ibn Kathir's Tafsir uses ayat & hadith to explain the meanings of ayat. Allah's imperatives are contained in clear verses, requiring no explanation. The following list consists of the titles of several tafsir which explain Allah's commands & orders to fight. These titles are linked to the tafsir; click them, read and understand how peaceful islam ain't.

• The Command to strike the Enemies' Necks, tighten Their Bonds, and then free Them either by an Act of Grace or for a Ransom
• The Order to fight until there is no more Fitnah
• Permission to fight; this is the first Ayah of Jihad
• The Order for Jihad against the Disbelievers, the Closest, then the Farthest Areas
• The Order to fight to eradicate Shirk and Kufr
• The Order to fight People of the Scriptures until They give the Jizyah
• The Order for Jihad against the Disbelievers and Hypocrites
• The Good News that Muslims will conquer the Known World, and ultimately the Entire World
• The Good News that Muslims will Dominate the People of the Book
• The Good News that Islam shall prevail