MA Khan's Preface
I was born and brought up in a conservative Muslim society. After graduating in India, I moved to the West for furthering my education. Despite my conservative Muslim background, I grew up with a liberal outlook. In my school and university days, my closest friends were Hindus and Sikhs: I felt more comfortable with them as they were more liberal, easy-going and humble with fewer religious scruples. I had wholly given up religious rituals by the time I completed my university studies: they just didn’t attract me.
When 9/11 occurred, I had lived in a liberal society for over a decade. I had become consciously convinced that religious rituals—prayers, fasting, pilgrimage—were all meaningless. I should be rewarded, I felt, for working hard, and intelligently, not for aping some wasteful rituals, which brings good to nobody. Non-Muslims were my best friends; shocking my Muslim peers, I ate haraam (prohibited) foods, drank alcohol (in moderation).
Despite the kind of a liberal person I had become, let me be honest that I was not excluded from those Muslims who felt that the 9/11 attacks were justified, although I felt those perished in it died undeserving deaths. Muslim societies universally portray America as a mortal enemy of Islam, particularly for its stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. America’s mindless support for Israel has been causing terrible oppression and untold sufferings to Palestinian Muslims. There was, undoubtedly, an overriding sense of justification for the 9/11 attacks amongst Muslims; it gave the unjust superpower a bloody nose: I, so little a Muslim, thought that way too.
Weird as it may sound, I still believed in Islam. I thought the terrorists, acting in the name of Islam, were misguided. After 9/11, I slowly started reading about Islam: Quran, Sunnah and Prophet Muhammad’s biographies; I hadn’t read them in the thirty-five years of my life. I was shocked. I had been told all my life that Prophet Muhammad was the ideal human being: most merciful and just; that Islam is the most peaceful religion; and I believed it. But the Quran reads like a manifesto of open-ended war against non-Muslims for converting them or for subjugating them into horribly degraded dhimmi subjects. In his prophetic career, especially during the critical last ten years, Prophet Muhammad was anything but what a peace-loving, merciful and just person stands for.
My curiosity grew. Over the past years, I have done extensive research on Islamic theology as well as on Islamic history: from Prophet Muhammad to modern times. It has been a harrowing tale of forced conversion, brutal imperialism and devastating slavery. It’s a saga of great human tragedy—all in the name of Islamic holy war or Jihad, the foundational creed of Islam. This tragic tale is the subject of this book.
Inside the Book that will change your mind and open it forever:
Peek inside
Obviously, there is a great deal of disagreement or denial about this extremist discourse of Jihad.
Yet, it is undeniable that, out of misconception or not, the violent Islamist groups—with their unquestioned belief that they are fighting in the cause of Allah—will continue unleashing violence and terrorism against innocent men, women and children in the years and decades to come, causing incalculable damage and destruction to human life and society. Indisputably, Muslims are now a substantial and established group in almost every nation in the world. Due to high birth-rates amongst Muslims, their continued influx from the overpopulated Islamic world and decline of the native population, they may become, according to current demographic trends, the dominant religious group in many Western countries by the middle of this century. If the current tide of ascendant violent radicalism continues to thrive amongst Muslims, the stability of the tolerant, civilized world may face peril in the not-too-distant future. To secure the stability of the modernist, secular-democratic and progressive future of the world, nations must work unitedly for countering the ideology and activities of these radical Islamist groups, using both military and ideological means.
As violent Islamists wreak havoc around the world, more so in Islamic countries, understanding the ‘true meaning’ of Jihad, their central cause, is of central importance for both Muslims and non-Muslims in order to devise effective counter-measures against them. Without understanding what Jihad truly means, it is impossible for authorities and the people to devise effective remedies against the growing violent trend in the name of Jihad amongst Muslims.
This book is a small effort to give readers an idea of what Jihad truly means. It goes through the life of Prophet Muhammad as he progressively received revelation from the Islamic God (Allah) as contained in the Muslim holy book, the Quran. It will examine when and under what circumstances, Allah introduced the concept of Jihad into Islamic doctrines. It will demonstrate—based on the Quran, authentic prophetic traditions, and original biographies of Prophet Muhammad—how the Prophet of Islam had applied the doctrine of Jihad as he founded the Islamic creed during the last twenty-three years of his life (610–632 CE). Having thus made a sense of the religious foundation and prophetic model of Jihad, it will examine how this prototypical model of Jihad was perpetuated by Muslims through the ages of Islamic domination.
It is worth noting beforehand that, in putting Allah’s doctrine of Jihad into practice at the birth of Islam, Prophet Muhammad had established three major models of Jihadi actions:
I was born and brought up in a conservative Muslim society. After graduating in India, I moved to the West for furthering my education. Despite my conservative Muslim background, I grew up with a liberal outlook. In my school and university days, my closest friends were Hindus and Sikhs: I felt more comfortable with them as they were more liberal, easy-going and humble with fewer religious scruples. I had wholly given up religious rituals by the time I completed my university studies: they just didn’t attract me.
When 9/11 occurred, I had lived in a liberal society for over a decade. I had become consciously convinced that religious rituals—prayers, fasting, pilgrimage—were all meaningless. I should be rewarded, I felt, for working hard, and intelligently, not for aping some wasteful rituals, which brings good to nobody. Non-Muslims were my best friends; shocking my Muslim peers, I ate haraam (prohibited) foods, drank alcohol (in moderation).
Despite the kind of a liberal person I had become, let me be honest that I was not excluded from those Muslims who felt that the 9/11 attacks were justified, although I felt those perished in it died undeserving deaths. Muslim societies universally portray America as a mortal enemy of Islam, particularly for its stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. America’s mindless support for Israel has been causing terrible oppression and untold sufferings to Palestinian Muslims. There was, undoubtedly, an overriding sense of justification for the 9/11 attacks amongst Muslims; it gave the unjust superpower a bloody nose: I, so little a Muslim, thought that way too.
Weird as it may sound, I still believed in Islam. I thought the terrorists, acting in the name of Islam, were misguided. After 9/11, I slowly started reading about Islam: Quran, Sunnah and Prophet Muhammad’s biographies; I hadn’t read them in the thirty-five years of my life. I was shocked. I had been told all my life that Prophet Muhammad was the ideal human being: most merciful and just; that Islam is the most peaceful religion; and I believed it. But the Quran reads like a manifesto of open-ended war against non-Muslims for converting them or for subjugating them into horribly degraded dhimmi subjects. In his prophetic career, especially during the critical last ten years, Prophet Muhammad was anything but what a peace-loving, merciful and just person stands for.
My curiosity grew. Over the past years, I have done extensive research on Islamic theology as well as on Islamic history: from Prophet Muhammad to modern times. It has been a harrowing tale of forced conversion, brutal imperialism and devastating slavery. It’s a saga of great human tragedy—all in the name of Islamic holy war or Jihad, the foundational creed of Islam. This tragic tale is the subject of this book.
Inside the Book that will change your mind and open it forever:
Peek inside
Obviously, there is a great deal of disagreement or denial about this extremist discourse of Jihad.
Yet, it is undeniable that, out of misconception or not, the violent Islamist groups—with their unquestioned belief that they are fighting in the cause of Allah—will continue unleashing violence and terrorism against innocent men, women and children in the years and decades to come, causing incalculable damage and destruction to human life and society. Indisputably, Muslims are now a substantial and established group in almost every nation in the world. Due to high birth-rates amongst Muslims, their continued influx from the overpopulated Islamic world and decline of the native population, they may become, according to current demographic trends, the dominant religious group in many Western countries by the middle of this century. If the current tide of ascendant violent radicalism continues to thrive amongst Muslims, the stability of the tolerant, civilized world may face peril in the not-too-distant future. To secure the stability of the modernist, secular-democratic and progressive future of the world, nations must work unitedly for countering the ideology and activities of these radical Islamist groups, using both military and ideological means.
As violent Islamists wreak havoc around the world, more so in Islamic countries, understanding the ‘true meaning’ of Jihad, their central cause, is of central importance for both Muslims and non-Muslims in order to devise effective counter-measures against them. Without understanding what Jihad truly means, it is impossible for authorities and the people to devise effective remedies against the growing violent trend in the name of Jihad amongst Muslims.
This book is a small effort to give readers an idea of what Jihad truly means. It goes through the life of Prophet Muhammad as he progressively received revelation from the Islamic God (Allah) as contained in the Muslim holy book, the Quran. It will examine when and under what circumstances, Allah introduced the concept of Jihad into Islamic doctrines. It will demonstrate—based on the Quran, authentic prophetic traditions, and original biographies of Prophet Muhammad—how the Prophet of Islam had applied the doctrine of Jihad as he founded the Islamic creed during the last twenty-three years of his life (610–632 CE). Having thus made a sense of the religious foundation and prophetic model of Jihad, it will examine how this prototypical model of Jihad was perpetuated by Muslims through the ages of Islamic domination.
It is worth noting beforehand that, in putting Allah’s doctrine of Jihad into practice at the birth of Islam, Prophet Muhammad had established three major models of Jihadi actions:
The historical accounts of these legacies of Jihad will be discussed in separate chapters in this book.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
JIHAD: THE CONTROVERSIES ...................................................... 1
CHAPTER II
BASIC BELIEFS IN ISLAM .............................................................. 7
CHAPTER III
LIFE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD & THE BIRTH OF JIHAD.............. 13
The birth and early life (c. 570–610) ............................................ 14
Prophetic mission in Mecca (610–622) ........................................ 17
Was Muhammad driven out of Mecca? ...................................... 18
Were the Meccans a cruel people? .......................................... 22
Exemplary tolerance of Meccans. ............................................. 25
Muhammad’s campaign of terror against Meccans (623–630).......... 26
The Seeding of Jihad: ............................................................... 27
The Raid of Nakhla: ................................................................. 30
The great Battle of Badr: ........................................................... 31
The disastrous Battle of Ohud: .................................................. 32
The Battle of the Ditch (Trench): ................................................. 34
The conquest of Mecca and capture of the Ka’ba: ....................... 34
Muhammad’s exemplary forgiveness of Meccans ........................ 39
Muhammad’s Dealing with the Jews ............................................... 42
Jewish influence on Muhammad’s mission: ................................. 42
Muhammad’s Exhortation to draw the Jews to Islam: ................... 43
Jewish doctrines in good light in Islam: ........................................ 43
Muhammad’s bitterness with the Jews: ........................................ 44
Muhammad’s violence against the Jews: ...................................... 45
Muhammad’s dealing with the Christians ......................................... 51
Christian Influence on Muhammad’s mission and creed: ................ 52
Influence of other beliefs and legends on Muhammad’s creed ......... 56
Christian thoughts in Islam: ......................................................... 58
Condemnation of Christianity in the Quran: ................................... 61
Muhammad’s hostility toward Christians: ...................................... 62
Muhammad’s anti-Christian hostility in his death-bed: .................... 63
Muhammad’s threatening missives to Christian rulers: .................... 64
Muhammad’s expeditions against Christians: ................................. 64
Muhammad’s dealing with Christian delegations: ............................ 65
Status of non-Muslims in Islam as accorded by Muhammad ................ 67
Idolaters in Islam: ......................................................................... 67
Jews in Islam: .............................................................................. 68
Christians in Islam: ........................................................................ 69
Muhammad’s Jihad and its outcome .................................................. 71
CHAPTER IV
PROPAGATION OF ISLAM: BY FORCE OR PEACEFULLY ..................... 73
The early wars for spreading Islam ..................................................... 74
Propagation of Islam: Quranic commands and prophetic model............. 77
Muslim scholars on the wars for spreading Islam ................................ 79
Protecting sovereignty of the Islamic state: ..................................... 81
Overcoming tyranny of foreign rulers: ............................................. 83
Freeing weak countries from oppressive rulers: ............................... 85
Removing tyranny and oppression: ................................................ 86
Welcome in Spain: ....................................................................... 89
How so many Hindus survived in India? ............................................... 92
Why so many people in India are still Hindus? ..................................... 97
How conversion took place in India? .................................................... 99
Conversion by the sword: ................................................................ 99
Conversion through enslavement: .................................................... 101
Enslaved women as reproduction tools: ........................................... 102
Humiliation & economic burdens contributing to conversion: .............. 105
Conversion under brutal Aurangzeb: ................................................ 109
Brutal Conversion in Kashmir: ......................................................... 111
Deceptive propaganda about conversion ............................................... 112
Voluntary conversion: ...................................................................... 112
Conversion of lower caste Hindus: .................................................... 112
Peaceful conversion by Sufis: .......................................................... 115
Conversion by traders in Southeast Asia: .......................................... 133
What enabled the conversion of the otherwise resistant infidels of
Southeast Asia to Islam so quickly after Muslims gained political
power? ............................................................................................. 139
Conclusion ........................................................................................... 146
CHAPTER V
THE ARAB-ISLAMIC IMPERIALISM ......................................................... 147
Islamic imperialism: Quranic commands & prophetic model .................... 149
The Perception of Islamic rule ............................................................... 152
Why Islamic rule is not colonialism? ....................................................... 155
Economic exploitation in Islamic expansion ............................................ 158
The cultural imperialism of Islam ............................................................. 164
Contribution of Islam to conquered lands ................................................. 172
The underdeveloped society of the Arabs: ............................................ 174
Prohibition of intellectual pursuits in Islam: ............................................ 177
Islam egalitarian or racist? .................................................................. 179
Islam’s extirpation of egalitarian Buddhism: .......................................... 183
How the Muslim world excelled intellectually and materially? .................. 185
Calling colonies home ............................................................................. 188
CHAPTER VI
ISLAMIC IMPERIALISM IN INDIA ................................................. 191
The Islamic conquest and rule ................................................................. 194
India before the coming of Islam ............................................................... 201
An advanced civilization: ..................................................................... 201
A tolerant and humane society: ........................................................... 205
Muslim codes of war: ......................................................................... 207
Indian tolerance in the eyes of Muslim chroniclers: ................................ 210
Tolerance & chivalry of Hindu rulers during Muslim period: ..................... 212
Hindu-Muslim divide: A British invention? ................................................. 217
Hindu-Muslim discord, Partition of India & British complicity ..................... 220
The 1947 Riots and Massacres: Who is Responsible? .............................. 225
The Mopla Rebellion: ......................................................................... 225
Direct Action riots in Calcutta. ............................................................ 226
Anti-Hindu riots move to East Bengal: .................................................. 231
Hindu counterattack in Bihar: .............................................................. 232
Riots move to Pakistan: ....................................................................... 234
Sikh and Hindu Retaliation: .................................................................. 237
Premeditated ethnic cleansing of Hindus and Sikhs: .............................. 239
Ethnic cleansing of Muslims: ................................................................ 242
Who bears the responsibility? ................................................................ 245
Islam’s impact on the social, intellectual and cultural life of India .................. 246
On Education and learning: .................................................................... 246
Caste system worsened: ....................................................................... 249
Islam created the practice of Jauhar: ....................................................... 252
Sati worsened under the Muslim rule: ..................................................... 252
Islam promoted child-marriage: .............................................................. 253
Islam created the deadly thuggee cult: .................................................... 254
Islam’s impact on religious demographics: past & present ............................ 257
Muslim rule and poverty ............................................................................. 259
Legacy .................................................................................................... 263
CHAPTER VII
ISLAMIC SLAVERY ..................................................................................... 267
Quranic sanction of slavery ....................................................................... 269
The prophetic model of slavery ................................................................... 271
Slavery in the ancient world ........................................................................ 272
Enslavement by Muslims in India ............................................................... 274
Enslavement by Muslims elsewhere ........................................................... 285
The Ottoman ‘Dewshirme’ ......................................................................... 288
Status of slaves ........................................................................................ 290
Suffering of slaves ..................................................................................... 291
Fate of slaves ........................................................................................... 299
Sex-slavery & concubinage ....................................................................... 308
Eunuchs and ghilman ................................................................................ 312
Islamic slave-trade .................................................................................... 315
European slaves ........................................................................................ 320
The Viking slave-trade & Muslim connection ............................................... 322
European slave-trade & Islamic complicity ................................................. 324
Denials of Islamic slavery .......................................................................... 327
Humane treatment of slaves in Islam: ......................................................... 329
Islam aggravated slavery: .......................................................................... 331
Slavery, theologically & historically, an integral part of Islam ....................... 332
Special cruelty and casualty of Islamic slavery ........................................... 334
Abolition of slavery & Islamic resistance .................................................... 335
European struggle against Islamic slavery in North Africa ............................ 336
The British struggle: ............................................................................. 336
The U.S. struggle and strike-back: ........................................................ 341
The British-led European strike-back: .................................................... 344
Muslim resistance against the Ottoman ban on slavery .............................. 345
Continuation & revival of slavery in Muslim countries .................................. 346
Muslims bring slavery to the West ........................................................... 349
Conclusion ............................................................................................. 350
CHAPTER VIII
THE LAST WORD ....................................................................................... 353
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................... 359
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