I admire the work done by Paul Marshall at Freedom House on the persecution of non-Muslims in Islamic societies, and related matters. But I have noted before his attempts to portray traditional and mainstream elements of Islamic law as “extreme Sharia.” In a mostly fine article in the generally clueless My Weekly Standard (unfortunately reprinted at FrontPage this morning) about the Centanni/Wiig forced conversions, he quotes a passage from the Hamas Charter as an example of its extremism — without noting that it is actually a quotation from the Qur’an:
Hamas’s explicit goal is to institute a state based on extreme sharia law. If that comes to pass, the rights of non-Muslims will be radically curtailed, and they will be required to pay a special tax, the jizya. Last year, Beth lehem councilor Hassan Al Masalmeh declared the authorities’ intention to implement such a tax. The preamble to Hamas’s 1988 founding covenant declares that not only Jews but also Christians “are smitten with vileness wheresoever they are found” unless they submit to Muslim rule and sharia. Article 13 emphasizes, “The Jews will never be pleased with you, neither the Christians, until you follow their religion.”
This is not some invention of Hamas “extremists.” This is from the Qur’an: “And the Jews will not be pleased with thee, nor will the Christians, till thou follow their creed. Say: Lo! the guidance of Allah (Himself) is Guidance. And if thou shouldst follow their desires after the knowledge which hath come unto thee, then wouldst thou have from Allah no protecting guardian nor helper” (2:120).
Also, the idea that non-Muslims are the “vilest of creatures” comes from Qur’an 98:6.
We can expect to see more forced conversions, and other travesties, as spreading radical Islam shapes not only terrorist groups but also governments, and we need the religious education to understand it. Currently, as reporting on the Fox duo shows, much of the media is intellectually unequipped to report on the Muslim world.
Ain’t it the truth.