Not long ago I replied (here and here) to two National Review pieces by the Turkish writer Mustafa Akyol, showing how they were inadequate to refute the radical Islamic understanding of jihad, which so desperately needs refuting. Now Andrew Bostom marshals an impressive array of evidence from Islamic sources and respected pre-Edward Said scholars to show that those mujahedin who behead captives are acting entirely in accord with Islamic norms.
This is the material that must be refuted by any moderate if he really intends to create a form of Islam that is not given to violence and fanaticism. Bostom's article is also valuable for showing the incredible disingenuousness of world-renowned scholar Bernard Lewis in misleading the public about the Islamic character of these actions.
From FrontPage:
The spectacle of jihad terrorism on display in Beslan, Russia, culminating September 3, 2004, with the murder of at least 350 innocent Russian non-combatants, including 156 children - highlights an ongoing debate about the links between such bestial acts, and the core theological and juridical teachings of Islamic jihad.In two recent articles, the latter responding to a rebuttal by Andrew McCarthy, based largely on an earlier essay of my own, Mustafa Akyol has attempted to demonstrate that the killing of prisoners of war and non-combatants violates “Islamic principles”. Despite Mr. Akyol’s interesting discussion and noble intentions, his omission of voluminous evidence amounts to yet more stifling apologetics. Akyol’s arguments, which ignore a vast array of writings, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, regarding Islamic sacred texts, law, and history, undermine his own stated goal of reform. The crux of Mr. Akyol’s thesis, is reiterated at the outset:
“…my position — that killing noncombatants or captives is against Islamic principles — still holds.”
Robert Spencer has posted a very lucid summary analysis of the flaws in Akyol’s essays, focusing on sacred texts from the Koran and hadith. I will review some of the enormous amount of evidence indicating that Akyol’s thesis is untenable when one studies the uniquely Islamic institution of jihad war from an historical perspective, based on both primary and secondary sources.
Akyol begins with a novel example of jihad, as “…an intellectual endeavor against atheism…”, before acknowledging that there is “also [emphasis added] military jihad in the Koran”, which we nevertheless need to “redefine”. A specific Koranic source for this non-military campaign against atheism is not provided, nor, importantly, does Akyol discuss what follows if the non-military jihad fails to persuade the atheist. Regardless, Akyol should not have ignored an unequivocal Koranic verse-Q.9:5, which states that all infidels (“atheists” certainly included), other than “People of the Book” (the latter, i.e, Jews and Christians, are referred to in Q.9:29, a verse also omitted by Akyol), must accept the call to Islam, or face the sword. Indeed, Akyol omits any discussion of Sura (chapter) 9, which Richard Bell, in his authoritative1937 translation and exegesis of the Koran, demonstrates “…is a chapter of war proclamations…”, verses Q.9.29 to Q.9-35, for example, being
“…in effect a proclamation of war against Jews and Christians, and probably belong to the year IX [9-years after the Hijra] when an expedition was designed for the North which would involve war with Christians and possibly also with Jews.” 1
Moreover in classical exegesis, sura 9, both its individual verses, and as an overall chapter, abrogates the pacific Koranic verses like those Akyol cites in his article section subtitled, Discovering the Good Unbelievers. Ibn Warraq summarizes the Muslim concept of abrogation:
“Contradictions do abound in the Koran, and the early Muslims were perfectly well aware of them; indeed they devised the science of abrogation to deal with them. It is a very convenient doctrine that, as one Christian unkindly put it, ‘fell in with that law of expediency which appears to be the salient feature in Muhammad’s prophetic career’. According to this doctrine, certain passages of the Koran are abrogated by verses revealed afterward, with a different or contrary meaning. This was supposedly taught by Muhammad himself, at Sura 2, verse 105: 'Whatever verses we cancel or cause you to forget, we bring a better or its like.' …Now we can see how useful and convenient the doctrine of abrogation is in bailing scholars out of difficulties- though, of course, it does pose problems for apologists of Islam, since all the passages preaching tolerance are found in Meccan (i.e., early suras), and all the passages recommending killing, decapitating and maiming, the so-called Sword Verses are Medinan (i.e., later); ‘tolerance’ has been abrogated by ‘intolerance’. For , the famous Sword verse, Sura 9, verse 5, 'Slay the idolators wherever you find them,' is claimed to have canceled 124 verses that promote tolerance and patience.” 2
Writing over six decades ago, Arthur Jeffery belittled as “the sheerest sophistry” attempts
“..made in some circles in modern days to explain away all the Prophet’s warlike expeditions as defensive wars or to interpret the doctrine of Jihad as merely a bloodless striving in missionary zeal for the spread of Islam…The early Arabic sources quite plainly and frankly describe the expeditions as military expeditions, and it would never have occurred to anyone at that day to interpret them as anything else…To the folk of his day there would thus be nothing strange in Muhammad, as the head of the community of those who served Allah, taking the sword to extend the kingdom of Allah, and taking measures to insure the subjection of all who lived within the borders of what he made the kingdom of Allah...[Muhammad] did at least propose that all Arabia should be the land of Allah and planned vigorous measures to insure that within its borders the religion of Allah should be supreme. Communities of the People of the Book [Book= Bible; thus referring primarily to Jews and Christians] might remain within the land, but they must be in subjection….deriving their rights from the supreme Muslim community, not from any recognized rights of their own. As the Arabs did not accept this without struggle, it had to be forced on them, and that meant war. But war in the cause of Allah is Holy War, and so even in the Prophet’s lifetime we have the question of Jihad…” 3
Within several centuries of Muhammad’s death, Muslim theologians and jurists, Sunni (including all four main schools of jurisprudence), Shi’ite, and Sufi (both Sunni and Shi’ite), constructed from Koranic verses, the hadith collections, and the sacralized biographies (sira) of Muhammad, a remarkably consistent body of law describing jihad war as a permanent institution to Islamize the known world. Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), jurist (Maliki), renowned philosopher, historian, and sociologist, summarized these consensus opinions from five centuries of prior Muslim jurisprudence with regard to the uniquely Islamic institution of jihad war:
“In the Muslim community, the holy war is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the [Muslim] mission and [the obligation to] convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force... The other religious groups did not have a universal mission, and the holy war was not a religious duty for them, save only for purposes of defense... Islam is under obligation to gain power over other nations.” 4
There is much more to this much-needed article. Read it all.
The Truth Behind the Russian Academy Siege
JIHAD CV
Name Mohammed
Religion Muslim
I am a faithful follower of the Prophet and mighty
Allah .Every day for last six months have been reading my Al Quaeda Training Manual. Also latest
edition of Al Battar : can assemble bombs and explosives, Allah swt willing. Mean to take as many Infidels as possible when I explode myself in their filthy Unbeliever faces. Before this have been practising beheading on Kurds and feel
very close to Allah swt, when I cut through windpipes and hear Allah's enemies ' gurgling and gasping for breath. How dare Kurds think they may take back land which belongs to Arabs! I should like to behead Infidels before I detonate myself...There is something very satisfying about
sawing flesh and sight of fresh, red blood. Yes, the life of a Holy Warrior is awesome and I recommend Jihad
to all my Brothers.
In the Name of Allah swt, the Most Merciful and Compassionate LET ME KILL HUNDREDS OF WICKED INFIDELS SO RIVERS OF BLOOD WILL FLOW IN FRAGRANT SACRIFICE
TO ALLAH AND ADMIT ME TO PARADISE...
Your link doesn't work Khaled, Please do enlighten us to the 'truth' of the terrorists holding 1200 women, but mainly children hostage.
By the way ...if its just a link to 'Jihad Unspuns' 'spin' on the truth...then save your time and trouble..we're not interested.
Regards,
kc
"...moderate if he really intends to create a form of Islam that is not given to violence and fanaticism."
The logical extention would be to create a different "pantheon of gods," bespeckeled with new prophets, new traditions, etc. -- in other words, make something up. This would be a kind of "new age islam" I suppose.
Look, islam is what islam is -- one either accepts it or rejects it -- and faces the consequences of either decision.
I think Political Correctness may be starting to erode your thinking just a bit here Mr. Spencer; it sounds like you are being tempted by the seduction of revisionism.
Get another cup of coffee and think this one over again.
Something as nefarious, ugly, hateful, and evil as islam -- can not be "prettied up," no matter how much one would like to deny it or "redefine" it.
Just ask those first and second grade kids in Russia.
The Truth Behind the Russian Academy Siege
Khaled,
By defending satanic worshipping baby killers, you have exposed yourself to be a typical Islamic scum. Please go blow yourself up in a remote corner of the desert. Allah will love you for it!
Errr...sorry Khaled, maybe you hadn't read the second part of my post, so let me re-itterate it again;
"By the way ...if its just a link to 'Jihad Unspuns' 'spin' on the truth...then save your time and trouble..we're not interested."
Get that Khaled??
We're NOT interested in 'taqqiya'.
Regards,
kc
Khaled,
Since permission to lie is codified in the Qur'an, why should we believe ANYTHING a Muslim tells us?
And I saw the list of 10 "demands" (from Jihad Unspun) from the Chechan terrorists.
Any Muslim that thinks Putin would agree to these demands, is dumber than that black rock in Mecca.
Here's what a lot of us think happened. A group of armed Muslims (demostrating typical Islamic courage) took over a school full of children. Then they made a list of totally unrealistic demands. And so, after the situation exploded, they basically said, "It wasn't OUR fault. WE were trying to negotiate."
Also note that that instead of trying to fight off the attacking Russian security forces, they "wasted" time and ammunition killing children. This indicates to me that the original goal (all muslim protests aside) WAS to create an atrocity.
jay
Khaled-
I am appalled that you would post such a piece of tripe in order to make us "understand" or see the "truth," as it must appear in your hate-addled brain.
These killings cannot be justified in any manner and there is absoutely NO moral parity concerning this heinous crime.
It's time to seriously evaluate your allegiance to barbaric tribalism and a religion which is becoming more soaked in blood every day. I guess the big question is, do you want to join the human race, or continue to defend the actions of creatures who are lower than the lowest animal?
The Chechen terrorists videotaped themselves commiting atrocites, including the rape and murder of children. Are we now not even to believe the evidence they themselves supplied?
Oh wait, I forgot . . . the CIA fabricated that tape, and the terrorists were all Jews just trying to give islam a bad name. And I'm the Tooth Fairy.
Mr. Spencer, could you please check Khaled's IP address against Reza's? I've already caught a few linguistic whiffs from other posts. Not enough yet to be certain, but the troll might be trying to sneak back in and avoid the banning you promised.
Khaled - Perhaps you have not read the Koran and the ahadiths that do allow this type of combat against women and children if the country or culture resists Islam. Thus, your truth is a falsehood. Your ideology is a death cult. We see the result of this the world over. Islam has been nothing but an agony for each and every culture it has touched during the 1400 year siege it has perpetrated on the world.
Remember the strategy of taqiyya, holy lying, and kitman, deception for the purposes of putting forward the aim of Islam. You are in that mode, attempting to deceive us.
This encapsulates an amazing amount of material, lucidly and relentlessly presented. The entire article should be read by all who come to this site, and re-read, and thoroughly understood, and its contents assimilated. And it should be sent on to others, including those in government (more likely to be read, alas, by intelligent members of a Congressman's staff than by the Senator or Representatives themselves). It should be read by those who are students in Middle Eastern programs, caught in a nightmare of deliberate and sly misinformation, and who suspect they are being underinformed, or deliberately guided in a certain direction away from the truth to all sorts of distracting and irrelevant matters, by apologists for Islam -- both Muslim and, of course, a considerable number of non-Muslims as well, fellow travellers and Defenders of the Faith -- the Faith bizarrely chosen being Islam.
One of the best and most devastating articles to appear on Islam in recent memory. There is no conceivable answer to the facts set out -- and facts include, of course, the opinions of Muslim jurisconsults and theologians and historians (even the philosopher Averroes, even that "dreamy, mystical, Sufi" al-Ghazali (a favorite of the non-Muslim aesthetes), even the historian Ibn Khaldun. No, the most ruthless rules of Jihad were not figments from Bin Laden's fervid imagination; nor are they limited to a handful -- Ibn Taymiyya -- of scholars. They are part and parcel of Islam.
And the comments by Bat Ye'or and Ibn Warraq form a perfect ending: an appeal, and a challenge, to those people who, born into Islam, and perhaps not fully aware of its doctrines, and wishing out of filial piety, and an inability to come to grips, or even to closely examine, either the central tenets of Islam (Bin Laden has those tenets on his side) or the history of Muslim conquest and the fate of non-Muslims under Islam (at least until the 19th century, when pressure from European powers caused the position of dhimmis in some places and times, to improve a bit, though resistance was constant, and relapse, as one can see, into the old ways was a strong and constant impulse), to study, to rethink, and even to revise.
The most significant work of early Russian prose was the autobiography of Father Avvakum. In the French translation done by Pierre Pascal, once a supporter of the Bolsheviks, and even a secret agent for them (see Victor Serge), who later abandoned Bolshevism entirely, embraced Christiantiy, and became a mild-mannered and learned scholar of Russian literature, the last sentence reads: Prie Dieu, prie Dieu, prie Dieu derechef. Pray, pray, and pray yet again.
That formula should be revised here for all those who wish to take history, and Islam, seriously: Read this article, and read this article, and read this article yet again.
And understand that for most Muslims, the past is as real, or even more so -- a kind of necessary Sorelian myth -- than the present. And the texts are immutable. And therein lies the hideous and possibly insoluble, but containable, problem. Without understanding, however, and half this demi-semi-civilised world of ours is hellbent on not understanding, no sensible policy of containment can conceivably be devised.
I don't know how many of you visit old threads, but you may wish to read Naseem's latest threats on the Sept. 8 "Beslan: They knifed babies . . . " thread.
I just finished reading the article by Bostom. This needs to be emailed around the world and translated into as many languages as possible.
(Vlad Tepes is starting to sound more and more like a meek peacenik with each passing day!)
September 9, 2004
The Senate is letting the aslault weapons ban go by-by YEA BABY!!!
Armed an dangours Americans Just like when the Germans walked around ? of t day?
Got my sh-t-kickers on today?
Interesting Pak. Takes out a camp for Islamic Terrorist training Arabs,Chen,and other’s ? Seams Russia’s reach was a little nerve racking ?
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/9/8/155734.shtml
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/475577.html
Who do you trust Gen. Tommy Franks Or some Adm. Who you never herd of?
Do you want to play an away game or a home game? I pick an away game!!
Termite truck chase in L.A.?
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/9/8/183955.shtml
Why did The Times omit any mention of the wartime treason of the Chechen people – one of 120 or more ethnic groups making up the then Soviet Union? The Chechens allied themselves with the Nazi armies that had invaded Russia in 1941 and were on the verge of overrunning the entire Soviet Union. Had the Soviets been defeated, the allies, England and the United States, would likely have been defeated as well and, at the very least, been required to sue for peace with the Nazis.
Who the F-en are the Times yes they are Islamic Terrorist apologist! I Remember who was that guy [Blair] Yes LIER!
Did anyone look into Blair to find out if he was a convert?
Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spidder Killer
God Bless the USA and her Fighting Forces and All who Fight with her give them Strength,Wisdom and Courage to stay the course to Defeat islamic terrorist Amen
The mujahideen's demands were ten-fold:
• Putin must be put on trial (with Islam as the judicial process) as a war criminal for Genocide in Chechnya
• A clear timetable for the withdrawal of the occupying Russian forces from Chechnya must be laid out
• A "Release to Release" policy where for every ten academy hostages released the Russians would release a hundred Chechan prisoners languishing in Russian jails, some 6500 to date
• Economic compensation for the Russian aggression
• The result of the recent rigged elections must be overturned
• To leave the country by the agreed date and to let the people in Chechnya take authority
• The removal of all foreign forces in the region
• To allow all the displaced Chechan's to return back to Chechnya from the surrounding areas
• To put the Chechans who work with the Russian authority on trial as traitors who have committed a grave crime in the sight of Islam.
Such simple requests.How could the Russians be so selfish not to fulfil these reasonable demands?
The chechen rats knew these demands were unfair and ludicrously unatainalbe. They knew they'd getr to live out their child-molesting/butchering fantasies. They always wanted to grow up to be just like their vile prophet.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/9/9/25443.shtml
Clinton Legacy Inside Russian Missiles
Russia finds explosives in St. Petersberg theater?
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/9/8/140636.shtml
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/8/93115.shtml
But while Kerry supporters are demanding that President Bush personally apologize for Cheney's words, they have nothing to say about the substance of the charge, for which there is indeed some evidence. From North Korea to the appeasement government in Spain, from France to the al-Qaida News Network, al-Jazeera, those opposed to America's war on terror seem to be backing Kerry.
In March, London's Financial Times reported:
"In the past few weeks, speeches by the Massachusetts senator have been broadcast on Radio Pyongyang and reported in glowing terms by the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), the official mouthpiece of [Kim Jong-il's] communist regime.
The same month, Al-Jazeera weighed in with words of praise for Kerry:
Seams for a person with a PhD is easy to give up info? This is how we will defeat them like when the crusaders finely had enough? Remember it started in England the push? Or maybe Hugh could give us a brief ?
Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
God Bless the USA and her Fighting Forces and All who Fight with her give them Strength,Wisdom and Courage to stay the course to Defeat the islamic terrorist and Open the Worlds Eyes to the threat Amen
There is a method to madness.
Jihad is being waged with startegy and intelligent purposeful minds directing it, not some anarchists causing chaos here and there at random..
One Mr. E David wrote some beautiful words in the letters section of asia times which i reproduce hereand which I think maybe useful for us all to consider. Here it goes:
" What disturbs me nearly as much as the awful prospect of an eventual al-Qaeda triumph is that the US doesn't understand that to the Islamists, this war has been going on for over 900 years, since the launching of the First Crusade. Many of Osama bin Laden's followers might not care if the battle rages for another nine centuries, so long as they ultimately win. People willing to blow themselves up in cafes or crash airliners into buildings know they won't be attending the victory parade, so what matter is it to them whether triumph comes tomorrow or during the next millennium? Surely the Islamists are smart enough to realize that a drawn-out, low-intensity conflict is the only one in which they stand a chance against their enemy's huge financial and technological advantage. Those who predict a nuclear suitcase-bomb attack on an American city [within] the next few years have it wrong, or at least I certainly hope so. My reasoning here is that such a monumental attack would change the entire paradigm of the war, causing an all-out mobilization by the US and probably much of the rest of the non-Islamic world. All bets would be off. Iran and Iraq would be leveled. Pakistan and Afghanistan likely would be turned into a sea of radioactive molten glass. "
Read it all here:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Letters.html
I've just read the link posted by khaled and it actually is worth reading. It thinks it is a defence of the chechen/islamic terrorists, it thinks it shows russia to blame. All it shows is that time and time again, mohommadans care about no one else at all.
It is the perfect link from the Boston article, as it confirms that mohommadans accept that what these maniacs did was ok, because it was all for the umma.
Obviously it also contains outright falsehoods, but it is a foul window on the jihadi soul.
An mild example of what they think of all of us.
" If the Russian's were really sincere (and they are not because they are Kuffar and the Kuffar by default are mujrim (criminals))"
Back in the 1930's, William Shire a "Daniel Pipes style journalist" warned America about antrocities commited by Hitler's Nazis. He was not getting much attention until the second world war broke out. We are in the same situation. We have Paul Reveres- Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer,Franklin Graham, Jerry Faldwell, et al. and no one takes them seriously. Is history going to repeat itself if no one listens?
Peter's quite right - read the posting carefully. It says some very, very horrible things - all "kaafir" journalists are lying unless they can PROVE they're not lying, children of enemies are legitimate targets, etc etc. I personally thank Khaled for posting it. It's hard to tell if he did it to refute or support islamofacism though. But I'm going to use it to great effect over at http://www.jamaat.net/jforum/index.php
Thanks for the ammunition against islam, Khaled! I think I might send it to the local newspapers too.
Geoff
Hugh writes:
And understand that for most Muslims, the past is as real, or even more so -- a kind of necessary Sorelian myth -- than the present. And the texts are immutable. And therein lies the hideous and possibly insoluble, but containable, problem.
Thank You Hugh. This is the one ray of hope that stood out like a beam of light on a page that alternately disgusted me and left me with a feeling of helplessness regarding Islam and its insidious methods and genocidal goals...
Could you expound on how you would contain this "problem"? If you already have, then a link would be fine...Thank you!