SOME SPECIAL ASPECTS OF ISLAM

SOME SPECIAL ASPECTS OF ISLAM

a) 'JIZIYA' OR POLL TAX

All non-Moslems living in an Islamic state is supposed to pay
the 'jiziya' or poll tax for the privilege of being there. It was
first imposed by Mohammed who bade his followers "fight
those who do not profess the true faith, till they pay the
'jiziya' with the hand of humility" (The Koran: IX/29). The
books on Moslem Canon Law lay down that the tax has to be
paid by the 'zimmi' or kafir allowed to live in the Islamic land,
personally. If the 'zimmi' sends the money by an agent, the
payment will be refused. The 'zimmi' must come on foot and
make the payment standing, while the Moslem receiver should
be seated and after placing his hand above that of the 'zimmi'
should take the money and cry out, "Oh, 'zimmi'! pay the
commutation money."

The 'zimmis' are those that agree to pay the 'jiziya' and are
allowed to live and work in the Islamic land under the
following 20 disabilities:

1 They are not to build any new places of worship;

2 They are not to repair any old places of worship which
have been destroyed by the Moslems;

3 They are not to prevent Moslem travelers from staying
in their places of worship;

4 They are to entertain for three days any Moslem who
wants to stay in their homes, and for a longer period if
the Moslem falls ill;

5 They are not to harbor any hostility or give aid and
comfort to hostile elements;

6 They are not to prevent anyone of them from getting
converted to Islam;

7 They have to show respect to every Moslem;

8 They have to allow Moslems to participate in their
private meetings;

9 They are not to dress like Moslems;

10 They are not to name themselves with Moslems names;

11 They are not to ride on horses with saddle and bridle;

12 They are not to possess arms;

13 They are not to wear signet rings or seals on their
fingers;

14 They are not to sell or drink liquor openly;

15 They are to wear a distinctive dress which shows their
inferior status and separates them from the Moslems;

16 They are not to propagate their customs and usages
among the Moslems;

17 They are not to build their houses in the neighborhood of
Moslems;

18 They are not to bring their dead near the graveyards of
the Moslems;

19 They are not to observe their religious practices publicly
or mourn their dead loudly;

20 They are not to buy Moslem slaves.

If there are some similarities between the above disabilities
and those prescribed by the Nazis for the Jews then the reason
is the similarity of motivation. In both cases a section of the
population was or is intent on insulting the other section.
There is quite an affinity between the Nazi Party Manifesto
and the Koran in this respect. The only difference lies in the
fact that the Nazi Party Manifesto is a mere political hand-
book while the Koran claims to be the holy book of a religion
Supposed to lift up the souls of the followers.

The important expression is 'with the hand of humility'. It is
thus that insult was heaped upon the kafir. During the Mughal
rule, the Hindus were shaved by Moslem barbers by washing
their heads not with water but with urine before applying the
razor.

The law of Islam also prescribes death penalty for those who:

1 question the exclusive claims of Islam and its prophet.
Those who question the prophet, would be beheaded and
those who question the Koran, would have their tongues
pulled out;

2 try to revert to their ancestral faith after having once
embraced Islam;

3 marry Moslem women without first getting converted
into Islam.

The laws of Islam discriminates against the kafirs in matters
of testimony in law-courts, taxation and appointment to public
offices. This is the reason why one does not see any non-
Moslem employees in the higher echelons of the government of
Pakistan or Bangladesh. To sum up, the status of a non-
Moslem in an Islamic country is that of a hewer of wood or
drawer of water. He is subjected to every indignity and
pressure to bring him into the fold of Islam.

b) 'JIHAD' OR HOLY WAR

Jihad is a fundamental tenet of Islam like 'kalima', 'namaz',
'hajj', 'rozah' and 'zakaat" [1].

According to devout Moslems, the best of all prayers in Islam
is 'Jihad'. 'Jihad' is the fight that the Moslems of the world
would like to wage to bring the whole world under the banner
of Islam. Islam wishes to destroy all nations, governments,
states anywhere on the face of the earth which are opposed to
the ideology and programs of Islam regardless of the country
or nation that rules it. The purpose of Islam is to set up a
state on the basis of its own ideology. Islam requires the
earth - not just a portion, but the whole planet - not because
the sovereignty over the earth should be wrested from one
nation or several nations and vested in one particular nation,
but because the entire mankind should 'benefit' from the
ideology and welfare program or what would be truer to say
'Islam' which is the program of 'well-being' for all humanity.
THE OBJECTIVE OF JIHAD IS TO ELIMINATE THE RULE OF
AN UN-ISLAMIC SYSTEM AND ESTABLISH IN ITS PLACE AN
ISLAMIC SYSTEM OF STATE RULE.

Islamic 'Jihad' does not recognise the right of the 'zimmis' to
administer state affairs. There are some apologists of 'Jihad'
who maintain that the real 'Jihad' in Islam is the fight against
one's baser instincts as in Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism and
Hinduism. But only a very few people among the Moslems hold
such a view and this definition of Islam and 'Jihad' is only a
way to mislead the kafirs. The renowned Sufi holy man named
Sarmad, who used to practice this kind of spiritual 'Jihad' was
executed by the Sunni king Aurangzib. For Aurangzib, the
true 'Jihad' was physical war on the kafirs.

c) POLYGAMY IN ISLAM

A Moslem is permitted to marry four wives at the same time.
Islam's apologists say that one should not marry more than one
wife if one cannot be sure of being equitable to all four wives.
However, it is often the economic factor that regulates the
number of wives in a Moslem's life. Even the four wives may
not be the same ones all through the life of the Moslem
husband. He can divorce his wives by pronouncing the magic
word 'talaq' three times. This puts divorce into effect. The
wives do not have this privilege.

Once divorced, the husband cannot marry the same divorced
wife again unless and until she had been married and divorced
in the meantime by another person and the marriage lad been
consummated.

There is a kind of marriage in Islam which is of predetermined
duration. The marriage ends in an automatic divorce at the
end of this predetermined period and it is not necessary to
pronounce 'talaq' three times. The Shiite Moslems practice
such marriage called 'mute' marriage. However, in recent
years scores of Sunni Moslems from Saudi Arabia hive con-
tracted such marriages with poor Moslem girls of H,derabad
area in India. At the end of the predetermined period, the
Indian girls are left by the Saudi 'believers' and thegirls, if
pregnant have to look after themselves.

Islam does not permit prostitution. However, thee is no
restriction on a Moslem's having sex with concubines or kafir
women. Such women do not have the legal rights of aproperly
married Moslem wife.

d) 'SHARIAT'IN ISLAM

Islamic Law or 'Shariat' is usually interpreted by the mullahs.
Islamic jurisprudence is heavily loaded in favor of the be-
lievers. It is therefore futile to expect justice in arIslamic
country in a court case between a believer and a non-believer.
Non-Moslems have very few rights in an Islamic country. The
entire legal system is based not so much on rights but on
power and this is true even when the two parties happen to be
Moslems. In fact, the Arabic word 'faisalah' meaning 'settle
ment' is derived from the Arabic word 'faisal' meaning the
'sword'. Islam's laws are very much based on selective justice.

The laws of Islam do not resemble those of other faiths. A
thief is punished by loss of his hand; this is also called 'fore-
shortening' of the hand. The first theft makes the Fief lose
one hand. The second theft takes away a foot frown the
opposite side of the body. The third theft robs hire of the
second hand and if he persists, then the other foot foes too.
Lashing and stoning to death are common punishments for
adultery. Molestation of non-Moslem women by Moslems in an
Islamic country falls outside of the Islamic Laws and no action
needs to be taken against the offending party.

Capital punishment is awarded in retaliation for another life
that has been taken illegally. It is also awarded for the
preservation of the Islamic state. If a kafir kills a Moslem in
an Islamic state, no matter for whatever fault on the part of
the Moslem, the kafir is executed, unless of course he wants to
embrace Islam, to save his life.

During prophet Mohammed's life time, a Jewish woman poet
once wrote a few verses against Mohammed as she was
embittered by the prophet's treatment of her people. She was
assassinated by a Moslem fanatic, a follower of Mohammed,
whereupon, Mohammed publicly praised the assassin in the
mosque.

Prophet Mohammed had said: "Unmarried man and woman
guilty of adultery should be punished with one hundred stripes
and one year's banishment. The married couple should be
given one hundred stripes and then stoned to death".

However, in spite of the apparent cruelty implied in the
punishments, it is often extremely difficult to prove adultery.
The 'law' requires that four male 'witnesses' have to answer
specific questions on the basis of which the punishment could
be administered. The questions are: 1 "What is whoredom?"
2 "In what manner have the parties committed it?" 3 "Where
and when?" 4 "With whom?" The four witnesses have to
testify that "they have seen the parties in the very act of
carnal action."

A distinction exists between sexual intercourse between un-
married partners with mutual consent and rape. A Moslem
man raping a Moslem woman will have a more serious punish-
ment than the 100 lashes and banishment. On the other hand,
if a Moslem man rapes a kafir or non-Moslem woman he will
not be punished to the same extent. The most that he may
have to undergo is a fine depending upon the status of the
kafir woman. If a kafir man rapes a Moslem woman, he would
be executed often after torture.

Any offense related to property, human body, reputation,
Islam, the Islamic state, public peace, decency or morals is
Treated as criminal offense.

For those who act against the religion of Islam or insult it, the
punishments are death, crucifixion, 'fore-shortening' of hands
and feet from opposite sides. Letting the accused fall to his
death f ram the top of the minaret of a mosque is another
method. 'Fore-shortening' of hands and feet are often done
inside a mosque. It is obligatory for all available Moslems to
be present to witness the punishments being administered.

In the eye of Islam, even the worst Moslem is better than the
best non-Moslem. Maulana Muhammad All of India used to
say: "According to Islam, even a meanest adulterer Moslem is
thousand times better than Mahatma Gandhi".

Islamic Laws are very much feared even by educated Moslems
and as a result sometimes they behave in a very shameful and
curious manner. Islam forbids music, dancing and painting etc.
Fine arts in other cultures are taboo in Islam. In non-Moslem
countries the few Moslem artists, film stars or dancers, often
change their names to kafir names in public life. In private
life they are known by their Moslem names and even practice
polygamy, multiple divorces etc. In public life they want to be
known as non-Moslems as they are ashamed to dishonor their
faith by practicing a profession that is specifically forbidden
by Allah. In an Islamic country such men and women would
have been whipped in public for dancing or taking part in a
movie. They however forget that in the Koran it is often
said: Allah hears all and sees all. Some say that Islam permits
such actions as subterfuges which are tolerated in some cases.
How can a Moslem survive otherwise economically in a land of
the kafirs and still not dishonor Islam? A little tolerance is
called for in such cases and as long as these men and women
practice Islamic codes of conduct in their private lives, Allah
will forgive them.

e) 'NAMAZ' OR PRAYER

The prayer in Islam is quite different from prayer in other
religions. Concentrating the mind, meditation and sitting still
to reduce any interference in focussing one's thoughts to the
Almighty are not indispensable elements of a Moslem's prayer
He has to pray at certain times of the day, five times in all
He is called upon to pray with others of the same faith. The
Friday prayer is very important as it is on Fridays the prophet
used to undertake his raids on the kafirs.

There are several body movements in 'Namaz', six in all. He
recites or mutters after the mullah who leads the prayer. All
praying Moslems are expected to stand up, sit down or bow at
the same time. If any non-Moslem procession happens to go by
and their festive noises become audible then under the pretext
that distraction of the believers' prayer has been caused by the
'unholy' kafirs, the Moslems come out of the mosque and
attack the non-Moslems. This 'unholiness' of the kafirs is
important for no Moslem has ever protested against similar
distraction caused by processions taken out by the Shiite
Moslems accompanied by sound of drums and trumpets.

The first prayer takes place early in the morning, while it is
still quite dark. The mullah is supposed to go up the minaret
and call the followers to prayer in Arabic. But human voice
does not go very far and so these days very powerful micro-
phones have been installed on the minarets and the mullah just
presses the button and the Arabic chanting comes out of the
tape. The petro-dollars have come to the aid of the mullahs
all over the world in this enterprise of spreading the message.
It is not quite clear how many believers actually get up and
attend these prayers at that time of the morning but it surely
wakes up a lot of non-believers, disturbing their sleep. In
Detroit such activities were stopped by the citizens who
protested against this invasion of privacy. To them, one's
religion is one's own private affair and it must not be allowed
to become a nuisance to others. The fact is that even in Saudi
Arabia, the 'namaz' is for servants only, the Sheikhs stay in
bed till noon.

f) 'HAREM" OR SERAGLIO

The word 'harem' is derived from the Arabic word 'harem'
meaning that which is forbidden. The whole region around
Mecca and Medina is 'harem' which implies that things which
are allowed elsewhere are forbidden there. This is, of course,
due to the inherent 'holiness' and 'inviolate nature' of the
regions. It also implies 'forbidden area' and so the word
'harem' implies a sanctuary which is forbidden to the outsiders.
This is where the women, both married and unmarried, the
slaves and the concubines, live.

No males are allowed inside the 'harem'. Small children born
of the women in the 'harem' of course are exennpt from this
requirement. The women are looked after and also watched by
eunuchs. Both white and Negroid eunuchs were extensively
used by the Turks. As castration is forbidden in the Koran, the
operation was done outside the city without too much pub-
licity. One conveniently forgot that 'Allah knows all and hears
all'.

Details of different types of castration in Islamic lands are
given in N.M. Penzer's renowned book 'The Harem' published
by George G. Harrap ~ Co Ltd. The kafirs of course could be
castrated any time as they do not fall in the category of
believers. There were many Abyssinian eunuchs in the
'harems' of Mughal India. Even today, castration is practiced
in many parts of the Indian subcontinent and most of these
eunuchs, surprisingly, are Moslems.

Sir Jadu Nath Sarkar writes in his 'History of
Aurangzib': ". . tin the houses of the Delhi nobility luxury was
carried to an excess. The 'harems' of many <of them were
filled with immense numbers of women, of an irifinite variety
of races, intellect and character. Under Moslem law the sons
of concubines are entitled to their patrimony equrally with sons
born in wedlock, and the children occupy no infer for position in
society. Even the sons of lawfully married wives become, at
the precocious age, familiar with vice from what they saw and
heard in the 'harem', while their mothers were insulted by the
higher splendour and influence enjoyed in the same household
by younger and fairer rivals of servile origin or easier virtue.
THE LOFTY SPIRIT AND MAJESTIC DIGNITY OF A COR-
NELIA ARE IMPOSSIBLE IN THE CROWDED I-IAREM OF A
POLYGAMIST; AND WITHOUT CORNELIA5 AMONG THE
MOTHERS THERE CANNOT BE GRACCHI AMONG THE
SONS."


        Footnotes

1. 'Kalima': special incantation to accept Islam;
'Namaz': prayer;
'Hajj': pilgrimage to Mecca;
'Rozah': fasting;
'Zakaat': charity, alms; money to be used in converting
non-Moslems or kafirs and also as ransom for the release
of Moslem prisoners.