SERIES ON ISLAM: "THREE FACES EAST PART 101" - BY HJS - THE FINAL CHAPTER!

Modi (Moderate): While we were chatting the other day, Radi, you asked a question that I have been turning over and over in my mind. Where do we go from here?

Radi (Radical): Yes, I remember. Suppose the war were to end tomorrow. Where are we? Are we still at war with the West? Do we still have a chance of winning the entire planet for Allah?

Mani (Mainstream): Now that you mention it, I would like to get in on that answer also.

Modi: Mani, you guys have been half-right all along. The Chinese once said, “Do nothing, and all things will be done.” Indeed, Mani, that is what your friends were doing—nothing. We could have used your help against Radi’s friends, not kicking and screaming and whirling knives around as they were but just standing up once in a while and saying that those people do not speak for you.

Mani: Well, they did not speak for us, not all the time.

Modi: You had a right, and I would add that you had a duty, to stand up and say that you disagree with what the radicals were saying and doing.

Mani: We did not always disagree with what they were saying and doing. We would not do it or say it, but we felt that they had every right to say what was in the Qur’an and the Hadiths, no matter how terrible it sounded and no matter how many people had to die because of it.

Modi: Because of the hatred shown by Radi’s friends and the absolute intolerance they showed to other people of the other great religions, we have turned the clock back again and are not getting the converts we want.

Radi: We are getting plenty of converts. You must be lying.

Modi: Our religion should be drawing even more, but we are losing more than we are gaining because Radi’s friends keep trying to radicalize the new ones who want to be left in peace. If we did not threaten to kill people who want to leave the religion, we might spring a leak because of the present attitudes. Our religion started with Judaism and Christianity and did not do very much that was different, except that we taught that the Qur’an was authored by Allah, while the Christians and Jews go only so far as saying their scriptures were inspired.

Mani: But Modi, the Qur’an was created by Allah and given to our beloved Prophet over the course of 23 years.

Modi: That is what we have been told—by men who have an agenda; they want to keep us here in the religion, and they are able to do that because almost every violation of anything is a sin against God. Mani, an elderly man was killed because while he was sweeping debris from his yard someone reported he accidentally touched the mosque wall with the dust. That is NOT religion! That is just crass murder!

Radi: That is not murder; he was rightfully killed for a sin against Allah, blasphemy.

Modi: The man probably loved Allah with all his might but was elderly and probably had bad eyes and shaky hands. But besides that, sweeping dust on a WALL? How about if you look at the mosque with dirty glasses? Would that be a sin?

Radi: Hey, it might be. Mani. What do you think?

Mani: I will wait for the movie.

Modi: A friend of mine told me that there are many beautiful things that we should be sharing in our religion; some wonderful thoughts and ideals. But along with the beauty, you must take the ugly: women and non-Muslims as second-class citizens, a death sentence for leaving the religion, death sentences for saying the wrong thing, terrible-looking clothing, death sentences for girls not marrying whomever their fathers choose, honor killings, death sentences for being raped, female circumcisions that maim and kill young girls, pre-teen forced marriages, and I can go on and on. But besides all of those, you can also be killed just for saying it is time to reform the religion.

Mani: We had tried to reform the religion earlier, but it did not work.

Modi: The religion, like Judaism and Christianity, was well on its way to developing into a much more beautiful and tolerant religion when another ill wind blew out of the Najaf and gave us Wahhabism. Mani, we are strong in the Middle East, we are the number 2 religion in Europe, we have many adherents in America—what more do we need? We do not have to take over the world—besides we tried that and bungled the whole thing.

Radi: How do you figure that?

Modi: Read our history, Radi. I just showed you how Europe was trying to prop us up before World War I, stepping in and saving us from our own incompetence more than once. Europe wanted like crazy to keep the Ottomans as a powerful Eastern empire. When we rule, we go crazy and lose everyone’s respect because we corrupt ourselves. We should never rule.

Radi: Are you saying we should be slaves?

Modi: No, Radi. Does the Catholic Church rule? Is there a rabbi pope? No. The religions are just that, religions. They do not rule lands or countries; they do not maintain standing armies and threaten the world. They try to convince everyone that threats and violence, killings and massacres have no place in the world and must stop. The great religions are there not just as guides but as information centers to show how things can be done, and why certain things shouldn’t be done.

Radi: You don’t mean like the United Nations?

Modi: Don’t talk to me about those clowns. We should keep some of the organizations but shut down their administration! If we cannot build a better organization than that, we are a disgrace to our second-grade curriculum.

Mani: So what should we do?

Modi: I do not know for sure, but we must change. First, change the rules on apostasy and blasphemy. As Mao said when he came to power, “Let a thousand flowers bloom, and let a thousand schools of thought contend.”

Mani: But won’t that lead to chaos?

Modi: Let our people give their opinions and ask their questions without killing them for it! What on earth is wrong with letting go and letting the people live, thrive, and ask lots of questions? It could be lots of fun.

If we stop trying to conquer and rule the world, the world might even be given to us. Why not discuss merging with the other monotheistic religions on a trial basis to allow for Islam to begin and develop. Of course, this is just brainstorming ideas on my part, Mani. Some of it may not work, but some
may. We have everything anyone wants in a religion, but we also have too much they don’t want.

Radi: Mani, I think Modi is nuts. Should we call the wagon?

Modi: Look, you guys, my Christian friend said that we have the same God, so how come we say ours is always angry and threatening and whipping and cutting off heads? His God is awesome but very tolerant and merciful.

Radi: God is what He is. We have no choice in the matter. And what are you doing with a Christian friend?

Modi: You still do not get it, Radi. We are not made in God’s image. Our entire idea of God is ceated in our image. Religion does not make us. It gives us ideas, but it is the person who makes his religion beautiful. And you must allow for change; if you don’t, what would a pond look like after 1300 years of no rain or other fresh water or anyone looking after it? We have wonderful, modern houses now, with showers that indeed make a ghusl 1 out of every wudu,2 yet some try to tell me that we must continue with the early way of Muhammad (pbuh), when our beloved Prophet would be the first to use a convenience that makes the religion easier for everyone. Sometimes we have to think ahead, not look back. The future is ahead of us wanting us to join it. We can’t fix yesterday.

Mani: I must say, Modi, you are all over the planet, but it is beginning to make sense.

Radi: Oh, yeah? Explain it to me.

Modi: Perhaps it is a way of saying, Mani, that we should find a way to love the entire world and everyone in it.

Radi: Oh, yeah? Who died and left you boss?

Modi: Well, there are exceptions to every rule.

Mani: Yes, I see.

Modi: I guess it is time to open the mosques, the churches, and the synagogues and let people take away with them whatever ideas and prayers they like from each religion. And let them love God and each other the best way they can.

The End
__________________________

So from Modi (Hope we meet again), Mani (Have a nice life), and Radi (I am not talking to any infidels) I hope we have brought you a little learning, a little fun, and a little hope.

HJS

_____________________
1Wudu, ablution before prayer (minimal).
2Ghusl, ablution before prayer (full body wash).

SPECIAL THANKS TO HJS FOR HIS EXCELLENT, THOUGHT PROVOKING SERIES ON ISLAM. HJS IS A WELL KNOWN EXPERT ON ISLAM & ON BEHALF OF ALL THE POLITICO MAFIOSO READERS, I WISH TO THANK HIM FOR HIS HARD WORK!

Series On Islam: "THREE FACES EAST Part 100" - By HJS

Radi (Radical): I accuse the West of engineering the demise of the Ottoman Empire.

Mani (Mainstream): And why, pray tell, would the Europeans want to do that, Radi?

Radi: Because they wanted to destroy our religion. We were too powerful for them.

Modi (Moderate): The reality of the situation, Radi, might shock you. During the extended period of Ottoman decline, the European powers were not slowly picking the Ottoman Empire to pieces, they were trying to shore up our Muslim empire.1

Radi: What? That is a terrible lie. Why should the Europeans want to do that?

Modi: Imperialism was important to the imperialists and they did not want a fellow imperialist power to disintegrate before the world. Such a decline would be bad news for other imperialist powers, seeing that such a power could deteriorate without a major war or a terrible catastrophe.

Mani: I can understand that. If you are an imperialist power, you want everyone to know that you are bigger and more powerful than any one or two countries.

Modi: Right. If the Ottomans sank into oblivion, the world would recognize that such a thing is quite possible and that an empire was only as strong as the sum of its parts. You know, the Ottoman Empire was threatened by Napoleon III and then by Egypt, and both times the infidels in Europe saved her.

Radi: That is hard to believe. Every imam I know has come down hard on Europe for killing our wonderful Ottoman Empire. They say that anything we do to any European is payback and they deserve it.

Modi: I keep telling you, Radi, that those numbskulls will drive you crazy if you listen to them. They hate everybody except other Muslims – and they are not too fond of Muslims who are not Salafists, the ones with the seventh century mindset.

Radi: I had seen in writing, Modi, how the Ottomans were picked apart. You cannot say they were not. It is a fact.

Modi: Facts are very stubborn things, Radi, but you must get to know them before you introduce them to others. In World War I, the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria were line up against the Allied Powers of Russian, France, Great Britain, and other smaller nations with the United States coming into the fray later.

Radi: What has that got to do with anything?

Mani: Don’t you remember your Muslim history, Radi? The Ottoman Empire at first was neutral.

Modi: Exactly. Virtually all of the most powerful nations had emissaries talking to the Ottomans, assuring them that if they maintained their neutrality, the nations would guarantee her safety during the fighting and would ensure her territorial integrity at the conclusion of hostilities.2

Mani: The European powers did not want the Ottoman Empire in the war and just about everyone not associated with Germany told her to stay out for her own interest.

Modi: But somehow she had the idea that Germany would win and after the war she would be in for some great gains in prestige and resources. She did not take into consideration that if she lost, she would lose everything.

Mani: I remember reading that Europeans kept pouring everything they could into the Ottomans to keep them neutral, but to no avail. She came in anyway, on the side of Germany. The Central Powers lost the war and both empires, the Ottomans and Austria-Hungary disappeared.

Radi: And you say that the Europeans tried like crazy to keep her out?

Modi: Right, Radi. And the Ottomans did not have to do anything at all for Europe to give her all those guarantees. She could have just sat out the war and stayed neutral. She might be still there and more powerful than before the war. The Ottomans blew it, Radi.

Mani: So you see, Radi, Europe did not even contribute to the death of the Ottoman Empire. If anything, she committed suicide despite the help and counseling that she received from Europe.

Radi: What about the Armenians. Didn’t the Armenians sell them out?

Modi: Not hardly. Every Armenian church, the masses of Armenians, even the school kids prayed for an Ottoman victory. Even the school kids, Radi. There were only a fhandful of Armenians that were against an Ottoman victory, and they were not enough to worry about.

Mani: Aha! It was the perception that made the difference!

Modi: Yes, just like now. To the Muslims it was the perception that was the reality. Because of a few disloyal Armenians, millions of faithful Armenians died. Didn’t the Americans lock up many Germans and Japanese in World War II because the perception was that they would probably be disloyal to the war effort?

Radi: Of course.

Modi: Well, the Ottomans did not lock up their perceived enemies; they slaughtered them by entire villages and towns. Men, women, and children were cut to pieces, burned alive, tortured to death, or otherwise left to the mercy of whoever was in charge of each area. And remember, most of the Armenians were loyal to the Ottomans and prayed for their success in the war.

Radi: But they were not Muslims, so who cares. At the very least, we will not have to deal with them later.

Modi: Let me tell you something, Radi. Islam will never rule the entire world because nobody is stupid enough to continue the dumb programs in Europe that let you get this far. Even Europeans will learn. Some have already.

Radi: We should be consolidating our gains now and taking control of the smaller countries. The liberals kept pushing for having smaller families while we always wanted larger families. We are producing more and more babies while the Europeans are opting to not have children and aborting the ones that manage to get by the firewall.

Mani: But Radi is right about taking the planet for Allah, Modi. He said that at his farewell sermon.

Modi: If you go back to the very beginning of our religion, if you read the words of our prophet (pbuh), he himself will tell you in his own words that the documents of Judaism and Christianity are the basis for the start and the development of our own religion.

Radi: But he said that the Jewish scholars corrupted their own scriptures and as a result, Allah had to send another prophet – a final prophet – to straighten them out.

Modi: When the prophet visited the Jewish scholars, Radi, he announced to them that he was the new Jewish prophet and he knew the Jewish scriptures. Why did he not establish some rapport with them first? According to the verses in the Qur’an, starting with Sura 2, Muhammad (pbuh) was angry with the scholars. How much did he really know of Jewish scriptures? We do not know. However, Jewish scholars have a great reputation for being very concise and even overly conservative with respect to exact meanings.

Mani: What are you trying to say, Modi? Are you arguing with the Qur’an?

Radi: I will have your head if you argue with God’s word.

Modi: I would like to point out that it is the Qur’an and the Hadiths that will make my case.

Mani: What case are you trying to make?

Modi: That some things may have been misinterpreted over the years, or perhaps when things were in chaos following the death of our prophet (pbuh).

Radi: I am glad I brought my knife.

Modi: Well, I pointed out a few weeks ago when we were discussing each of the suras that quite a lot of anger was displayed concerning the Jews after their visitor stormed out on them. What happened to the Jews next? One tribe after another was either exiled without their assets, and their land was confiscated; of their land was confiscated and the Jewish “owners” we required to continue working the land for Muslim profit, or in the case of the Banu Qurayzah, about 800 were murdered by beheading. Now, try to tell me that was not the result of Muhammad's anger! Remember, Muhammad (pbuh) insisted on staying and watching the entire massacre, having torches brought so that the beheadings could continue into the night.

Mani: We know what happened to those Jews, Modi. So what? They deserved it.

Modi: Mani, there was no evidence they ever did anything -- they were silversmiths!

Mani: They must have done something to deserve it.

Modi: Is that what you would tell the Jews at Babi Yar, Mani? You and I have agreed that the Holocaust existed, no matter what some of our co-religionists have said. And every time I bring up the Banu Qurayzah, I cannot help but see the similarities with Babi Yar.

Radi: I am going to kill him.

Modi: Right, Radi, think like a Neanderthal again.

Radi: Psst, Mani, what is a neon-something—whatever he said?

Modi: Mani and Radi, if you have serious questions about the Torah or either of the Christian Testaments, can you ask your rabbis or priests and get answers?

Mani: Of course.

Modi: If you have serious questions about the Qur’an, Radi, can you ask your friendly imam here why something does not make sense to you?

Radi: No. There are some things you had better not bring up or you would lose your head.

Modi: Can you become a Catholic, leave after a while. Then become a Methodist, or a Baptist, or even just decide to become an atheist without consequences? Can you become a Muslim, decide it is not for you, then go be something else?

Mani: What is your point?

Modi: We have too many negatives. It is time to think. THINK! I love this world and humanity. I am tired of being pushed into hating people I don't even know!

HJS


1 Islamic Imperialism, Efraim Karsh, Yale University Press, 2007, page 99.
2 ibid, page 107

Series On Islam: "THREE FACES EAST Part 99" - By HJS

Radi remains unmarried, so Zaina, his fiancée, agreed to host Modi, Mani, and him for coffee, cakes, and conversation, supervised by her father, Mahmoud bin Samir. Zaina has just poured the coffee.


Modi (Moderate): Radi, this young vision’s coffee is so good you need to marry her before others find out.

Radi (Radical): Don’t say things like that in front of her. She will be after me now for days.

Mani (Mainstream): And well she should. We thought you two would be married last year.

Modi: It is not good for men to be unmarried.

Radi: I have heard all of that. Why can’t you guys let me alone about that?

Mani: Just think of all of the young men who would like to be in your place. You have a woman whom you love and who obviously loves you. And you just sit there. Zaina is a great catch. Why she wastes her time with you, I just do not know. You should be bouncing babies on your knee.

Modi: Yes. I have heard that Zaina had dozens of suitors and could have been happily married with nice kids by now. And there you are.

Mani: One of my cousins was head over heals with a young girl who helped her father with his shop, but he does not have a job and no income, so he could not talk to her family about marriage and could not even talk to her. Her father married her to that old fart that has the vegetable cart. He must be 60 if he is a day.

Modi: Oh, yes, I know who you mean. She does not look like a young girl any more. Sad.

Zaina: It is our tradition unfortunately. But what kind of life would a young bride have if she married for love but her husband could not find work and could not house her or feed her.

Modi: Radi has a job and can afford a wife and kids. He drives me crazy. I too had a cousin who was heart broken. He had a little sister whom he loved more than life itself. His father was from the old school and thought that a marriage contract for her when she was only eleven was great, something worthy of bragging.

Mani: Don’t tell me. . . .

Modi: Yes, before my cousin could do anything, his father fulfilled the contract, and his little sister was taken away, kicking and screaming. Her husband was in his fifties.

Mani: That poor little girl. She should be playing with dolls.

Radi: You two people are nuts. There was nothing wrong with marrying a girl of eleven. Aisha was younger than that when she married the Prophet (peace be upon him), and she was betrothed to someone else before that. Our Shi‘ite brethren have established nine years as the marriageable age for girls.

Zaina: I always wondered how some people can do their ablutions five times per day and still remain dirty old men.

Mani: To tell the truth, although I love my little nieces and nephews, I really can’t stand being around them for more than a few minutes at a time. How can an older man look at some tyke playing in a sandbox as a wife? What in hell is the matter with our people?

Modi: It is an old tradition. Arabs have always wanted younger girls for their wives, even after our Prophet (pbuh) chose, as his first wife, someone fifteen years his senior.

Zaina: Ah, but she was rich. There is something about gold that makes some folks look a lot younger.

Mani: Yep. I was drinking some of Modi’s Saudi coffee and happened to mention to Barma, my wife, that the more I drink of that good stuff, the younger she looked. Then she ran out of the house. When I caught up with her and asked where she was going, she said to get some more Saudi coffee. (Zaina had to laugh at that; Modi smiled)

Modi: I would like to ask Zaina a question, Radi. (Radi nodded)

Zaina, what about your cousin down the street? She was supposed to be married, but something went wrong. What happened?

Zaina: Mutilation, Modi, mutilation. You wonderful guys have been talking about going to the USA and taking us with you. I would like to stay here and try to teach our young girls. I cannot do anything with the old ones.

Mani: That is a nice thing to do. But what about the young bride-to-be here?

Zaina: It was butchered so bad it just could not be undone. Any attempt at undoing it led to excruciating pain and screaming.

Modi: What about hospitals here?

Zaina: European medical teams have found that in some areas, 60 to 70 percent of women have been “circumcised.” It is a huge problem all over Iraq.1 The teams have accomplished great things while here, but they cannot cure everyone.

Modi: I assume that not only has too much been cut away, but the unsanitary conditions in the procedures and the unprofessional and sometimes bizarre stitching have led to scar tissue that results in impossible odds of repairing.

Zaina: That is what happened here. All of this has been outlawed, and even many imams have declared it is illegal within the religion, but the old know-nothing hags know nothing else but how to cook, sew, and circumcise their granddaughters. Sometimes I think that is their main purpose in life. They use an old, weak Hadith with no credibility as their justification. No wonder some of the Bedouins toss them out to starve.

Mani: Perhaps the Americans will take an interest in what they call FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) and do some studies on how best to repair it.

Zaina: Look how quiet Radi is. I have told him that removing Saddam has been good fortune for Iraq women. He does not want to hear the Americans are good for us. Yet he wants to go there.

Mani: Logic-tight compartments.

Zaina: The Americans and the Europeans and even the Asians have been very good about coming here and helping us, even to the point of repairing it for as many patients as they could see. (Modi and Mani noted tears starting in her eyes.) Little girls dying of blood poisoning, just barely getting to a hospital in time.

Mani: My wife Barma had said a few times that it would be wonderful if our little girls could grow up away from these disgusting old men who keep the rules from changing because of a belief many others do not have. In our Prophet’s (pbuh) time, city people sent their boys to Bedouin camps for years to be brought up by the brave, cruel, and unyielding nomads.

Modi: So you are now advocating sending our little girls to America or somewhere to learn how to be sweet, pretty, little girls.

Zaina: And then you would bring them back here to Iraq, unprepared for the cruelty and savagery of some of our institutionalized slavery factories. What about a family calling their 12-year-old back after four wonder-years in the USA and then telling her they have a contract of marriage with someone over fifty? You teach her how beautiful the world can be and then show her she is nothing but meat.

Modi: We must redo the country, Zaina. But we cannot do it all at once. There are too many people against any type of change or reform.

Zaina: And if both you and your wives leave, that means four people are lost to us; four people who understand the problem and could do something, anything, to help.

Mani: Radi’s friends are bad enough, Zaina, but when you add the officials, the radical imams, and the people who will do nothing to help themselves or anyone else, it is not just swimming upstream. It is swimming upstream with teams of bears in the water waiting for us.

Zaina: I guess you guys will have to become imams. You must do something special to help. You do not have a choice. You love your country and your people—and your little nieces to come. We cannot sacrifice any more to the Neanderthals.

Modi and Mani look at each other. Radi just shrugged his shoulders.

Modi: Well, Mani, this looks like the beginning. . . .

Mani: Oh, shut up!

HJS

1.

http://albionmonitor.com/0502a/femalegenitalmutilation3/html

NOTE: This series will end with Part #101. It was a pleasure to bring this series to you. HJS

Series On Islam: "THREE FACES EAST Part 98" - By HJS

Modi (Moderate): You fixed up your house, Mani.

Mani (Mainstream): Barma did most of it. Here's Radi now.

Radi (Radical): Modi, that new imam I was telling you about, he gave the sermon today and was ranting about how horrible the Crusades were.

Modi: The Crusades? What do some of these new imams know about Crusades?

Mani: But are they not a very somber part of our history?

Modi: A part of our history, yes. But the Crusades were hardly a somber part. Very few of our people knew about the Crusades, even when they were in progress. For example, in Iraq here, some people may have heard something about the Franks raiding around Palestine or part of Syria, but everywhere else was quiet.

Radi: I don't understand. I thought the Crusader wars were terrible catastrophes and many people were slaughtered.

Modi: Hardly, Radi. They actually helped more than they caused harm. Just as soon as they entered the Middle East, the first leaders they came across wanted an alliance of some kind. Our people were still fighting among themselves and calling upon the Franks to help defend against one tribe or another.

Mani: I remember one imam telling us that there was much more trade than fighting going on. In fact the only reason that Saladin attacked the Franks — and it was not much of a battle — is that they sacked a trade caravan and would not return the goods.

Modi: You are right, Mani, and afterwards they were all friends again. The Franks did nothing to upset the national, cultural, or political situation throughout the Middle East. If anything, they allowed for opening up markets with other European countries. Don't ever let anyone tell you that the Crusades were a catastrophe.

Radi: But one after another imam was ranting about wars and how Saladin saved Islam by defeating the huge Western armies.

Modi: Well, I hate to cut the string on someone’s kite, but at no time did any of the Crusaders seriously threaten the region or Islam. Islam was never affected at all. As I said, people who came across the Crusaders were more interested in trade. Radi, the Shi‘ites and the Sunnis hated each other more than they disliked the Franks.

Mani: Maybe that other imam last year was right. He said that in some cases, because of the Muslim predilection for alliances, it was not unusual for one tribal chief to align himself with the Franks while another with the British, and still others with whoever else was around.

Modi: You bet. Look, the Fatimids1 exploited the situation to win back Palestine and Lebanon, which they lost to the Seljuks.

Mani: But what about our great Arab hero, Saladin?

Modi: I have no complaints about Saladin, Mani, but I hate to tell you that he was a Kurd. Not only that, but while his mentor was fighting it out in Transjordan with a Western army, Saladin was consolidating his position with other tribes and cities in the area, sometimes with the compliance or the actual help of the Franks.

Radi: That does not sound like the Saladin that I know.

Mani: Isn’t truth the first casualty of war?

Radi: No, the first casualty always winds up being Jewish.

Modi: Look, you guys, Mani is right. Look at the way the imams and leaders from other Muslim countries were characterizing the Iraq War. I remember one peaceful day when Hayat and I were shopping in downtown Baghdad. We went home and turned on the BBC and were absolutely shocked at the videos and the frantic reporting of what was supposed to be going on in downtown Baghdad – where we were.

Mani: (Laughing) I remember some of that. We used to call it the BBC Daily War Movies.

Radi: I am shocked at what you say about Saladin.

Modi: To make you feel better, when the Franks took another trade caravan and again refused to make restitution, Saladin decided the time had come to declare jihad.

Mani: The whole attack of Crusaders wasn’t a holy war?

Modi: Certainly not. It was not considered an attack, and neither the politics of the Middle East, nor Islam was ever in jeopardy, as I said. Saladin called on his brother’s army and a few other alliances, and together they won a great battle. Afterwards, however, the alliances fell apart, and Saladin turned his attention to Muslim tribes that were giving him trouble.

Radi: I can’t believe these imams are such dolts.

Modi: Not all of them, Modi. There are some with agendas that create spin, cover-ups, and downright lies.

Mani: Like that imam in London that time?

Modi: Oh, I forgot about him. He was speaking to some young liberals who were seriously considering converting.

Mani: Yes. And he was telling a Hadith of two camel drivers who committed a few crimes and Muhammad tortured them by putting their eyes out, cutting off a hand and foot of each one, and then, because they left the religion, ordered that they be left in the open to bleed to death.

Radi: Whoa! That is even a little much for me.

Modi: Well, the imam changed the ending so that the young people would not know the penalty for leaving the religion.

Mani: I cannot understand why the scholars do not find a way to undo the penalty for apostasy. I think it is long past time. In addition, who in his right mind would join our religion if they knew they could not leave under penalty of death.

Modi: There are a few changes that should be made, no matter what the imams say. The scholars know that there are some little problems with the basic documents as they have been taught to us. The people know this but must always lie to others because it is dangerous to really tell what they believe.

Radi: You mean. . . .

Mani: Don’t you dare say it, Radi. It is not worth it.

Modi: The scholars are not stupid, and the non-Muslim scholars actually say what our scholars won’t.

Radi: I still do not understand why people get so scared of us.

Mani, Modi: IT’S THE VIOLENCE, STUPID!

HJS

1Followers of the family of Muhammad’s daughter, Fatima.
Adapted from Efraim Karsh: Islamic imperialism, 2007, Yale University Press, chapter 4, pp. 76-85.

PLEASE NOTE: This series will end with Three Faces East #101. It has been a pleasure bringing to you.
hjs

Series On Islam: "THREE FACES EAST Part 97" - By HJS

Modi (Moderate): Good morning, Mani, Radi. Peace be unto you.

Radi (Radical), Mani (mainstream): And unto you peace, Modi.

Radi: I would like to know the actual basis for the Sharia. I am told that it is only from the Qur’an, which I am inclined to believe. Is that right? The Sharia is actually from the Qur’an reworded?

Modi: First you must accept that Islam is a complete life, not a religious component of a life. Where the precepts of Christianity end, the secular law begins.

Radi: I do not understand. What are you saying?

Mani: I can answer that one, Radi. Modi is saying that in the Christian world, there are many nations and cultures. The leaders of Christianity find ways to adjust or tweak their precepts so that the nations and cultures within Christianity can work cooperatively with each other.

Radi: But what about a Christian going from one culture to another? Will he not find differences that may trouble him seriously?

Modi: Good question, Radi, and you are right. I remember reading of a Scotsman, whose tradition included the bearing of a knife[1] worn in their stockings, finding himself in England where the bearing of any arms is illegal. He soon found himself a guest in a British jail, despite the best defense in court about the power of some traditions.

Mani: And closer to home, some of our people continue to emigrate to the United Kingdom and Europe with two or more wives, despite the laws against polygamy in those countries.

Radi: I have not heard of any deportations for that reason.

Mani: Of course not. Europeans and the British are a little weak when it comes to immigrants breaking their laws. British lawyers for the immigrants have only to state that the polygamists would face prosecution in their own country if they were deported. European judges go wacko over that concept and seldom ask for proof.

Modi: Be that as it may, Islam is unlike Christianity in that its precepts go further into each person’s life. Islam takes the entire ummah, the entire Muslim world, and provides its teachings of the principles of life so that it applies to every aspect of humanity in every nation and culture on the globe. Indeed, Islam is a culture-producing force that also welcomes entire nations to its bosom.[2]

Radi: But what about the Qur’an? Where does that come in?

Modi: According to Muhammad Asad, “From the very outset, Muslim civilization was built on foundations supplied by ideology alone.” If you remember, Radi, Muhammad was building this civilization in Medina while fighting to convert his own hometown, Mecca.

Mani: So it was never a nation by itself, nor was there ever a racial element, so it did not have the “national or racial homogeneity” that organized it into a nation or race.[3]

Modi: And since the Qur’an was the basis of our “ideological civilization,” it stands to reason that the Qur’an would also be the basis for all of our laws. The total source of course would be the Qur’an and the Sunna.[4]

Mani: The other source, Radi, is not really an independent source, but a source that must analyze various parts of the Sunnah as they arise in the law.

Radi: That makes as much sense as telling me about aerodynamics.

Modi: What Modi means, Radi, is that whenever we must turn to a Hadith that is not clear enough for our purposes, we must turn to our own scholars for discussion and argument and then accept their decision.

Radi: Oh. Well, that seems clear enough.

Modi: Radi, there is still one more element that is not discussed in the Islamic law books. In some cases in which there are national laws in play, the national governments may determine that in capital cases, for example, their laws and especially the penalties must be according to the national laws and not the Sharia.

Radi: What?

Mani: If you take your favorite pastime, killing apostates, you may never do that again in Iraq. Although the Sharia not only endorses such killing, but urges it, Iraq and many other Muslim nations do not. Apostasy is not a capital offense.

Radi: (Storm clouds appear in his eyes) If the Qur’an and the Sharia both call for the killing of apostates, on what authority does the nation prevent it?

Modi: For one thing, Radi, it has signed the International Declaration of Human Rights and may eventually be subject to the ICC on that issue. Second, there is no legal basis for a country, any country, to declare leaving a religion a crime.

Mani: In some backwater countries authorities turn a blind eye to the national law and lightly prosecute only if it becomes an international issue.

Radi: I still do not understand the nations’ positions in removing apostasy as a capital crime.

Modi: After the Prophet died, many tribes left the religion partially because they considered their covenants a personal bond between themselves and the Prophet, and his death ended the covenants.[5] Caliph Abu Bakr pursued these people vigorously and slew many of them; but he did not refer to them as apostates. He was after their share of the zakat, the poor tax.

Mani: Modi, I think Radi is stunned. He is standing there with his mouth open.

Modi: You had better sit down now. I tried to explain this to you once before, but my words did not seem to penetrate. Apostasy by itself is not a crime; it must be accompanied by something else that makes it one. In the seventh century, an apostate left the religion and either spied for the Meccans or left Medina for Mecca, where he fought the believers. That sort of apostasy was actually treachery, or treason.

Mani: Aha! So you are saying that if you just stop going to mosque on Fridays and eliminate your prayers and the fasting, your neighbors might ostracize you if they found out, but they couldn’t remove your head, as Radi wants to do.

Modi: That is about it. But if someone takes the command to kill apostates seriously, he may do it and either get awqay with it or get a wrist slap. You just never know.

Mani: What about the zakat? But, I think that is also considered a state tax also.

Modi: As of today, only the Saudis do that, but soon probably all of the Muslims states will include the zakat as an income tax. Well, Yemen maybe, but not Morocco. In Morocco, you must only provide the money to whomever you choose, even if it is your less fortunate relatives.

Mani: I heard that the shops there have coins that will be enough to buy a meal and that a homeless person or one down on his luck need only show up and take one from the shop counter.[6]

Modi: Oh, that is wonderful. Why cannot we all do something like that?

Radi: If it were one of my relatives, he’d be the first one there and take all of the coins.

Mani: See how one person can spoil things for everyone else?

Modi: I am sure that even Radi’s relative can be brought into the spirit of things, Mani.

Mani: I suppose so. I will have to forget what he said; he spoiled a beautiful, true story.

Modi: Radicals are known to do just that. I hear Bilal calling. You know what, I will say a special prayer today just for those shopkeepers in Morocco. They deserve a special prayer to Allah.

Radi: I will say a special prayer, too.

Mani: To have Allah bless those Moroccan merchants?

Radi: No, just to hope any family of mine there finds out about them.

They chase Radi out of the house by bombarding him with cushions.

HJS

[1] “Sgian dubh” (/skin doo/ ‘dagger black’) Once worn near the armpit, now worn by Highlanders in the stocking (“stocking dirk”).
[2] The entire paragraph is adapted from Muhammad Asad, This law of ours, 2002, Islamic Book Trust, pp. 27-28.
[3] ibid., p. 29.
[4] The words and deeds of Muhammad.
[5] Efraim Karsh: Islamic imperialism, 2007, Yale University Press, p. 30.
[6] http://ramadankareem.blogspot.com/2007/09/zakat-in-morocco.html

Series On Islam: "THREE FACES EAST Part 95" - By HJS (ONLY 5 MORE LEFT IN THIS SERIES)

Radi (Radical): (At Modi’ house, Modi’s wife Hayat has just served coffee) Modi, your wife is a jewel and she makes great coffee.

Modi (Moderate): Thank you, Radi, but you should tell her that. You have my permission.

Radi: I came a little earlier because I am bothered about Muhammed’s (peace be upon him) reasons for leaving Mecca for Yathrib. Why were the Meccans so set against his message?

Modi: When he began preaching, Radi, he claimed he was a prophet. Well, the merchants and the families in Mecca were not ready for something like that, not in Mecca. And one of their own, being a prophet, that was too much to expect.

Mani (Mainstream): Wouldn’t anyone believe him, besides his family and small circle of friends?

Modi: No. And the Mecca merchants boycotted his entire clan. The clan was not too pleased about that. They warned him continually about the dangers involved in preaching the messages he said was given him. In one place, people actually threw stones at him.

Radi: What? Why did they do that?

Modi: He preached reform, Radi. Mecca was like a wide-open town we see in those Wild West films. And along came Muhammad to spoil their fun. With one powerful, angry God they could not see, they could not punch Him or kick Him as they did the littler icons that they came to know as gods, when they did not provide the expected favors or relief.

Mani: And with a single God, the merchants stood to lose a great deal of revenue from the pilgrim trade.

Radi: I know all about that, what part of the message affected everyone so badly?

Modi: It was a cultural and social message, building a new civilization based on justice and eliminating the disputes and retaliations of a society almost out of control. But the old, solid tribal and clan lines were also endangered. The rules laid out by God would be the law of the land and not the rules of the family or the tribe. In short, the change was to be dramatic and entirely too much for the Meccans. The allegiance would now be to God and not to the tribe or the family.

Mani: We know about the plot to assassinate the prophet and we know about his escaping to Yathrib to become a dispute mediator for the tribes there. But what about Yathrib itself? What sort of place was it before Muhammed got there and changed its name?

Modi: Well, it was close enough to the trade routes to enjoy light trade, but relied mostly on agriculture for its survival. Now, as far as the disputes were concerned, that was no small issue. There had been no one in charge for a long period of time and some of the disputes resulted in much violence. Some of the Jewish tribes had been evicted by the Romans. They settled in Yathrib along with Bedouins, who were just trying out a new life, away from the hazards of nomadic life.

Radi: So between the Jews, the Bedouins, and the settled farmers, it was a very mixed community.

Mani: And so every little problem metastasized into an unacceptable crisis.

Modi: True. But Muhammad found his niche as mediator and found himself growing in stature and spreading out into other areas, wherever his management skills were needed.

Radi: What do you mean by his management skills?

Modi: As I mentioned, Yathrib, or now Medina, was now a thriving community of Jews, Bedouins, and farmers, but now added to that were incoming Muslims making their way there from Mecca. Before Muhammad reached Medina, many of this helpers went there first to begin preaching and introducing the new religion. The local Arabs, having heard the talk about the coming of a new prophet, hurried to become a part of this new religion, looking for the salvation that so far was just rumors. After Muhammad took up residence there, the trickle of people to Yathrib increased little by little.

Mani: That must have been a madhouse.

Modi: You have that right! A madhouse it was. There were more new people coming in all the time and it now included the wives and families of Muslims who preceded Muhammad. Food was becoming scarce and so was housing. The old residents were becoming incensed at the new boom-town and they and the Muslims complained about each other.

Radi: I think I know what is coming. Is that when he began raiding caravans?

Modi: Yes, it was. He had to provide for his own people and at the same time ensure that the original residents had customers for their goods and services. The only income available to him there was raiding caravans. With the booty that the robberies provided, each Muslim taking part was able to use his share to provide for his family and at the same time provide profits for the merchants and the farmers.

Mani: That would lead to the Meccans becoming more than just miffed at their losses from the caravans and perhaps fewer people from Syria and other places becoming more reluctant to trade with Mecca.

Modi: Mecca had good reason to be angry. Muhammad, an upstart, was giving them fits and they could not get to him to crush him. So they waited patiently for a Muhammad mistake. You and I all know that there are no secrets in the Middle East -- except to Westerners. Muhammad heard about a fat caravan about to leave Syria for Mecca, and they knew the route the caravan was taking. So Muhammad prepared not only to take the caravan, but also to protect the robbers.

Mani: I don’t think I heard about that.

Modi: Well if you heard about Badr, you heard the story in a different way -- a miracle battle because even though greatly outnumbered, he won the battle. Well, it seems that the leader of the caravan discovered that Muhammad knew about his caravan and was going to intercept it at a certain place.

Radi: So, did he take a different route?

Modi: Oh yes. However, he also sent a rider ahead to advise the Meccans his caravan was in danger from the Muslims.

Radi: So they assembled their army and rode off to protect the caravan?

Modi: In a manner of speaking, they did. But the army they assembled was only partially Meccan. There were other tribes in the area that had covenants with the Meccans to join them when going into battle. So, the Meccans were not all that many in number starting out, but their numbers grew considerably by the time they reached the caravan rendezvous area. Now here is where things became iffy and why the Meccans needed better management.

Mani: The caravan wasn’t there?

Modi: Worse. The caravan was already safe in Mecca and the caravan leader sent word to Badr, where the makeshift army was waiting. When the tribes found out there was no caravan to protect, they took the opportunity to leave the scene as fast as their horses would go. They did not relish the idea of attacking the Muslim army -- whose size and toughness they did not know -- without a good reason. Some Meccan units departed as well, leaving the Meccan leader with a force much smaller than he needed.

Radi: So he departed the scene as well?

Modi: He should have, but he stayed around too long and the Muslims attacked him. He had never seen the ferocity that the Muslims brought to the battle. He did not know that Muhammad had told his fighters that if they were killed in battle, their families would receive there share of the booty, and they would be in paradise in the blink of an eye with luscious gardens and women ready to wait on them. One fighter, resting from the tough battle is said to have seen the prophet nearby and asked him if it was really true, that he could see those luscious gardens and be waited on hand and foot if he were killed in the battle. When Muhammad replied in the affirmative, the man grabbed his sword and shield, said “Out of my way,” and without armor, laid into a group of Meccans. Others followed the man back into the battle and before long, the Meccans were not sure the battle was worth it -- the Muslim ferocity was simply too much for them. So they all departed, leaving the field to Muhammad.

Radi: (laughing) So the Muslims were too much for them, Ha.

Mani: They were all Arabs and many of them were really neighbors. But look at the situation. The Meccans really had nothing to fight for. The caravan was safe in Mecca, their allies disappeared, and there they were trying to keep these mad Muslims from overrunning them.

Modi: Thus was the opening battle of the Muslims. Even today, as Muslims fight, you can hear them refer to Badr in their shouting and their boasts.

Radi: So that was the beginning of the Muslim battles?

Modi. That was it, the Battle of Badr. After Badr, the Meccan leadership knew what they were facing and tried to put together an army they could trust. Unfortunately, neighboring allies had to join each fray, and they were just not as committed as the Meccans. And no one had the incentive that the Muslims showed, to risk their lives as if they were better off if they were killed.

Mani: How can you fight people like that?

Modi: That is the type of fighters the anti-government insurgents use against the Americans. But the Americans can beat those fighters, no matter what they do. The only people that Americans fear are their own leadership. If the party somebody renamed Defeat, Retreat, and Porn increases their power in the United States, the troops know that Iraq will be gone, along with the rest of the Middle East . Before long, the congressional dummies will become Dhimmis, second or third class citizens of the Neanderthals.

Radi: Are we ready for tea and biscuits?

Mani: I need something stronger (Modi calls for Hayat to bring the Saudi coffee).

HJS

Adapted from Legacy of the Prophet, by Anthony Shadid, Westview Press, 2001, pages 22-25.

Series On Islam: "THREE FACES EAST Part 94" - By HJS

Mani (Mainstream): I did not like losing to Sadr.

Modi (Moderate): I don’t blame you. I feel the same way. It is disgusting that we could not rely on those people to empty that armory.

Mani: It is not their fault. Allah wills what He wants, but I just do not understand his purpose in letting Sadr win.

Modi: Why would you think Allah willed it for Sadr to avoid this?

Mani: If it happened, Allah willed it. You know as well as I that everything is already in place and He knows who wins, who loses, and who goes to heaven and who burns in hell.

Modi: Now wait a minute! I though you already rejected predestination when we talked about it months ago.

Mani: I have a new imam and we have gone over this problem again. He calls it qismah, the will of Allah. He said that everyone has a life-cycle about which we can do nothing. No matter what befalls us, good or bad, it has already been set--even who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. Allah knows all of this well in advance.

Modi: Are you then telling me that he creates people and puts them on the path to hell? I just cannot accept such a notion.

Mani: The world is his to do with as He pleases.

Modi: It does not sound like the Allah I worship.

Mani: I guess that is one way of putting it. Perhaps He did not plan who goes where, but created a system in which everyone falls in little blocks in the middle of a maze. Perhaps more than one path leads to the fire, but only one leads to paradise. Perhaps He allows newborn souls to fall where they will randomly and they must find their own way out to the fire or to paradise.

Modi: That is a little bleak also, Mani. Is that from your new imam?

Mani: Not exactly, but pretty close. I asked him if we love and worship Allah, keep His laws, and are a benefit to our community, wouldn’t Allah go so far as to will us on the right path to avoid a hell we did not deserve? He said that nothing anywhere even hints that He would do that.

Radi: See. You must wade into the unbelievers, your sword flashing in the sunlight or the moonlight. You must kill for Allah and be killed for Allah in order to guarantee paradise.

Modi: Well, that’s not encouraging. There must be some way of breaking that life cycle and taking some control without killing people no matter who they are. Why should I care that there are Jews, Christians, and even polytheists and animists in the world? What harm have they done us?

Radi: They have tried to subjugate us and take our lands and our oil. They deserve to die for what they did and are doing.

Mani: I will defend Islam with my life, Radi, martyrdom or no martyrdom. But I will not point my AK in the wrong direction. As much as I love my countrymen and hate aggressors, I will pour lead into that crooked cleric Sadr and his henchmen before I harm a single coalition soldier. Radi, you hated Saddam Hussein and cursed more than a dozen times will someone not rid us of him.

Modi: Yes, I remember that, Radi. You were miserable under Saddam. He killed at least two of your relatives that I know of. Saddam is dead now because of the Americans. How much oil have they taken? I saw on Fox News that the Americans are paying out billions to stay here and fight for us. Mani is right. Some of us Sunnis are hateful beasts that give our people the wrong guidance and ensure they are on the path to hell.

Radi: How can they help being misguided?

Mani: Misguided is no excuse for being stupid. It is written that everyone must know his religion, his community, and the world around him. If one does not learn what he needs to learn, he shares the responsibility for any harm to his community or to Islam.

Modi: Bravo, Mani. You could be an imam.

Mani: But I could also be a radical, Modi. It takes a great deal of effort, too much sometimes, to stay focused. There are too many other imams with agendas that will give us no peace and point to us as if we are the pariahs. You know, it would be so much easier to just throw my hands up, rely on the imams telling me the truth, and just run around blowing up schools and killing people indiscriminately.

Modi: Yes, it takes sometimes every ounce of strength to be a good person. And everyone tries to tell you it is not worth it. And yes, it is much easier to be a Neanderthal.

Radi: You both are confusing me. If I don’t die before too long, I must seek to be a martyr. I do not want to take any chances on the fire. I am taking the shortcut!

Modi: I keep hearing that, but I do not believe it. Martyrdom is not zipping on a vest, then going over to the Israeli side and getting on a crowded bus. Martyrdom is when you are fighting for Allah with no intention of getting killed, but you catch a bullet or a grenade fragment and die. Once you decide to get yourself killed for one reason or another, that is suicide and you will not see paradise. To the real martyr, life is still dear to him, but he takes the chance because he loves Allah that much.

Mani: Then why would the imam disagree?

Modi: I would guess that his agenda includes recruiting people to use for homicide bombing and the only way he can do that is to lie to his candidates about what constitutes martyrdom.

Mani: It never occurred to me he could be a recruiter.

Modi: There is a lot of money floating around for fighters and for martyr-candidates, Mani. I am certain that some of that wealth can fall into the hands of recruiters.

Mani: That makes me sick, Modi.

Radi: That would not be my way at all. I can see myself wading into a crowd of Jews or Christians, waving my sword and slicing this way and that until I cannot lift my arms to strike again. The Jews will kill me in anger, but I will die smiling.

Mani: Have you ever met a Jew or a Christian, Radi. (Radi frowns)

Mani: I thought so. Radi, dress the part and go to Israel. Knock on any door and you will find one of us. They will be Jewish, of course, but nonetheless you will recognize another Modi, yourself, or me.

Modi: Our religion does not make us what we are. There are hundreds of millions of Muslims in this world who would never hurt another person, no matter what religion he is. You will hear “Live and let live,” more than you hear “Kill them wherever you find them.”

Radi: I have never heard that type of talk before. Just today I sharpened my knife. I may have to use it this day.

Mani: The world is changing, Radi, and we have already been left behind too long.

Mani: Yes, here we are looking for more 21st century weapons and munitions, but we are led by imams who are still thinking as if we were still in the 7th century. We cannot catch up here.

Modi: You know, Mani, you are right. We cannot catch up here. We are trying to walk upright and live in peace, but we cannot because we are constantly being stirred up by the Neanderthals among us. We must leave.

Mani: Where could we go and learn in peace? Egypt? Jordan? Europe? What about our families and our friends? How would we live?

Modi: We both have cousins in America. That one cousin in Florida that sent you the photographs of his home and swimming pool, write him and ask for his advice. He brought up his kids in America and has a fine job. He should know.

Mani: I also have a cousin that teaches at the University…

Modi: No, by no means, not him. He probably is giving us a bad name in America already. How can he teach in a university? He is stupid! And he has the attitude of a little Zarqawi.

Radi: Sounds like my kind of guy. (Modi and Mani laugh)

Mani: I have that aunt in Arizona that married the Christian.

Modi: You would have to convince her we are not coming to murder her.

Mani: I will let Radi talk to her. (Modi laughs so hard he falls)

Radi: I will miss you guys if you leave Iraq.

Mani: I will talk to Zaina. You two can get married and come with us.

Radi: They might have a price on my head--I am notorious!

Modi: Not to worry; the price on you will be so low, no one will notice.

Radi: Always the comedian, Modi. Ah, Bilal calls.

HJS

Series On Islam: "THREE FACES EAST Part 93" By HJS

Modi (Moderate): The last two nights have been a little exciting, Mani. We both managed to do some shooting. I am amazed at the number of fighters in that Mahdi Army. I was exhausted last night.

Mani (Mainstream): I really feel bad about shooting at fellow Muslims.

Modi: I do not think it is right, even if they are Shi‘ites.

Modi: For one thing, Mani, they were shooting at you. Besides that, you cannot consider them Iraqi because they are fighting against our government. They are part of the problem that keeps us from uniting under one banner. If the Americans had not intervened, our government would soon collapse and Iran would send more fighters in to take over. They have already bought up most of the available residential homes here.

Mani: You mean if it comes to another vote, our own Iraqis may be outvoted by those newcomers?

Modi: You guessed it. But even if the Iranians salted the field, they did it with common people like you and me. If we keep winning against whoever tries to divide us, they will eventually side with the winner.

Mani: I am sure we did not win this battle. Whenever I looked around, the government people were either dead or retreating. I don’t think we took the arsenal.

Modi: I guessed that we did not. But Maliki’s people did not run. Those Sadr people had too much of everything. If we were not in such a good position, we would have moved or retreated; it was too hot. Now that your cousins know better, they will plan better next time.

Mani: I hope you are right. Meanwhile, shooting at countrymen is making me ill. What would our most beloved Prophet (pbuh) say about it?

Modi: He would say, “Kill them wherever you find them.” Remember, he killed Meccans because they refused to listen to him. His followers raided commercial caravans and killed innocent drivers—fellow Arabs who were not part of the fighting. He killed other people for being Jewish.

Mani: I know that, but it still does not seem right for me to do it.

Modi: You are enjoined to do anything the Prophet (pbuh) did. He was the perfect man who led a perfect life. You know all of this.

Mani: I guess so, but I just do not like it.

Modi: You remember Zarqawi, right? He was killing Muslims wholesale in the name of Allah. The people were sick of him and told on him to the Americans, who killed him. It is the same thing.

Mani: But they did not pull the trigger.

Modi: Yes, they did. As soon as they gave up his schedule, he was as good as dead. The Americans were their weapons. Look, how many Iraqis, how many Sunnis would Zarqawi have killed had he lived? It would have been a very high number. How many Sunnis were killed by Sadr’s people? That too is a high number. By fighting here, Mani, you are saving the lives of other Muslims, and by helping our government you are helping to further the cause of Islam. You are a hero.

Mani: (Looks directly into Modi’s eyes) You are serious about this!

Modi: Quite so. When I squeeze a 7.62 round off from my Kalashnikov, with one of Sadr’s fighters in my sights, I know that the person wilting under my fire is a source of trouble for my tribe and my family and is holding back our unity. My wife and kid may live another day, another month, maybe a full lifetime because of what I did last night.

Mani: If we died there, Modi, would we be martyrs?

Modi: Forget all the rumors about that, Mani. We are all human. When good men do good things and it costs them their lives, they will see paradise. Many others who have ulterior motives for putting on a vest and walking onto a bus filled with Jewish children may be unpleasantly surprised after they pass beyond.

Mani: Are they told where to go and when to detonate?

Modi: Of course, some of them are told when to detonate, but they really do not have control. They personally may want to pass up groups of kids playing nicely together, but the handler doesn’t. Such a handler to me is a murderer as bad as Zarqawi.

Mani: I would not do that, Modi.

Modi: But would you kill the handler if you knew he was going to kill children at play, even if they were Jewish children?

Mani: I don’t know. I don’t think so. It is none of my business. I might hate the idea that someone is doing it, but I cannot interfere with that brigade. I can say truthfully that I wish they would stop it.

Modi: Had I the opportunity to keep the handler from doing it and have some reasonable chance of escaping notice, I would certainly try to stop him.

Mani: What if the handler turned out to be Radi?

Modi: That is an unfair question, Mani, but I will answer it. Since Radi knows me, I would call for him to stop first. If he detonated the bomb anyway without turning around, it would be too late. I could not shoot him after he did it; that would be retaliation. He would no longer be my friend, so the next time I would not call him.

Mani: Would you advocate stopping the homicide bombing?

Modi: Yes, but not by going after the handlers, that would be too dangerous. And if we had protesters outside their headquarters, they would have to send out only one or two bombers, and no one would ever protest there again.

Mani: Then how could you stop it?

Modi: Blow them up without warning. Have the government notify the brigades that they are now an outlaw organization. Have a fatwa issued that without government sanction no one may command such a brigade. Once the people have been given the word that homicide bombing is a ticket on Hell’s express, they will not be so quick to volunteer.

Mani: The government will have to maintain its vigilance and find as many imams as possible to sign off on a law prohibiting such slaughter.

Modi: When we are unified and not threatened by imbeciles here and in the American Congress, we will be able to do much more than we are doing. I just wish that before an American official speaks to the public he is required to take a polygraph first. We all need the truth.

Mani: Unfortunately, those Leftists do not know the truth. To them it is only what you can make the people believe.

Modi: Then it is going to be a long, long war. Here comes Radi.

Radi (Radical): Good morning. Ready for some breakfast?

Mani: Good idea. I am really starved.

Radi: I have not seen you for a couple of days. Off visiting another cousin?

Modi: We needed to get away from Baghdad for a while.

Radi: I don’t blame you. But if you stay around for a while, you may have a chance to get in on the new war.

Mani: New war?

Radi: I think that Iran is going to pull Sadr’s strings again, and if he is able to back up Maliki’s troops, al-Sadr will ask for Iran’s help, and they just might get the UN’s approval to oblige. That will put a different face on the war, and the Americans may have to leave.

Mani: Iran had better think twice about that one. I think General Petraeus is ready for anything coming out of Iran.

Modi: We know he is, and so is the US armed forces. But are Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid ready? Do they know what Iran is?

Radi: Good point, Modi. Perhaps I will have their heads after all.

Mani: It would not be worth the trouble, Radi. They are not warriors by any stretch of the imagination. They are only playing a game of politics. They do not realize yet that they do not pick up their marbles and go home when they lose. When they lose this time, they will not have homes. If they are lucky, they will have graves.

Radi: On that note, I say let’s go to breakfast. Thinking about beheadings always gives me an appetite.

Modi: Oops. I think I just lost mine.

Mani: Me too!

HJS

Series On Islam: "THREE FACES EAST Part 91" - By HJS

Mani (Mainstream): Good morning, Modi. I received a note from another cousin last night. We are invited to spend some time with his family and friends.

Modi (Moderate): I expected as much, listening to that blow-hard Sadr. I guess they are going to set up some defenses to protect themselves from his thugs.

Mani: Actually not. As I understand it, our people want to go after his armory as quickly as possible, especially the one in Sadr City. I will know more about it later on. Don’t say any more, here comes Radi.

Radi (Radical): Good morning. I have a verse I would like to discuss right off the bat, Modi, Sura 8:57.

"If thou comest on them in the war, deal with them so as to strike fear in those
who are behind them, that haply they may remember."

Modi: I remember that one right away. In the Qur’an, Allah appears to be addressing his remarks to His prophet; however, it also seems to be general advice to us all. Again, it is about non-Muslim states or communities who sign treaties with the Muslims. Allah wants the Muslims to know that they must make examples of those who break their treaties, especially if they find them as part of the enemies arrayed against them in war. Others need to know we are not taking it lightly.

Mani: I suspect that it is okay when we do it--the Treaty of Hudaibiyya, for example--but not okay if someone does it to us.

Modi: Good point, Mani. Yes, many Muslims throughout history, including Yassir Arafat, signed treaties they knew they had no intention of keeping. Arafat held up a Camp David document, laughed, and shouted “Hudaibiyya”! All Muslims and Jews instantly knew it was a treaty to be broken. The West had no clue. (Radi laughs at that)

Radi: I have a couple from Sura 9, verses 9:5 and 9:14. The Qur’an seems to be talking about the same situation.

"So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever
you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them
in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate,
leave their way free to them."

"Fight them, Allah will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace..."

Modi: Suras 8 and 9 are regarded by some as a single sura; indeed, you will not find Bismillah beginning the text, as there is in every other sura. But in any case, Allah begins this sura or part sura declaring that He disavows anyone who ascribes divinity to anyone but Him. In Muhammad’s eyes, this would include Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Some Christian heretics do not believe in the divinity of Christ, and Muhammad could not possibly agree with such a divinity himself because 1) he could not understand the concept of the Trinity, 2) people he knew did not agree with it, 3) as God’s messenger/prophet, he would have to explain the concept, and 4) having “The Son of God” in the equation between Allah and him would be rather awkward. Having Allah declare that He alone was God, and no sons or daughters to share his divinity, was a relief for him.

Mani: I can see that. I read here in verses 1 through 3 that Allah would be very angry with those who still insist on making arguments for Christ’s divinity.

Modi: Most assuredly. However, in verse 4, He excepts from His chastisement anyone who makes a treaty with the Muslims and keeps it, not assisting anyone else bent on attacking the Muslims. But it only sets up verse 5. Another way of putting verse 5 could be this way:

When our yearly traditional four months of cease-fire is up, do everything
allowed in warfare to gain victory over these stubborn people. However, if
they repent and convert to Islam, or at least pay their jizya tax, then let them
go on their way.

Mani: Muslims found that the exorbitant jizya tax paid by Dhimmis that allowed them to live in Muslim lands as a third-class citizen, was another form of income that was affecting their vision of solidarity. Sometimes they refused to allow Jews or Christians to convert--they would lose too much money.

Radi: Are you sure about that, Mani?

Mani: It is part of our history. Modi, I see here that Allah continues to discuss the divinity problem and allowing them to either convert or pay the jizya up through verse 11. In verse 12, He brings up the idea that some of the people with the perverse divinity concept may break their pledges and again attack the Muslims, thus the reason behind 9:14.

Radi: So what we are looking at is simply that polytheism or Trinity-speak should be stamped out, unless those unbelievers are friendly with you and have covenants or treaties with you. Eventually, though, you will have to fight them. However, if they convert to Islam or enter Dhimmitude with its taxes and humiliations, then you can forget about them. Later on, if they act up again, just step on them again.

Modi: Seems as if you understand it now.

Mani: I found two that sound particularly eerie, but I think I understand them. They are 9:38 and 39.

"O ye who believe! what is the matter with you,
that, when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, ye cling heavily to
the earth? Do ye prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is
the comfort of this life, as compared with the Hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He
will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your
place."

In this case, Muhammad was not just trying to get up an army to go after some Meccans or Jewish silversmiths. He was intent on attacking a Roman Legion at Tabuk. The people knew the difference and told him so. Abu Bakr and Uthman both gave everything they had to the campaign. The people were not stupid; they knew the Muslim army was no match for the Romans. But the Qur’an came out with verse after verse, urging people to enlist and give money, and threatening them if they did not. That is what the verse is all about, along with a companion verse, 9:41, that said,

"Go forth, light-armed and heavy-armed, and strive with your wealth and your
lives in the way of Allah! That is best for you if ye but knew."

Modi: You are right. Good job.

Radi: You talked about that several weeks ago, Modi. Considering all of the consternation in the Qur’an about the “coming war” with verses flying hither and thither and Allah demanding more and more money for arms, equipment, and horses, what went on in the minds of the faithful when Muhammad reached Tabuk and there was no one there? Did anyone not ask, if Allah knew the Romans would not be there, why did He create all the ruckus?

Mani: He has a good point, Modi.

Modi: As it turned out, my good friends, the Romans knew about the Muslims, but to them it was more like a raiding party and was not worth detaching a unit to drive them off or demolish them. They had other things to do. Of course, Muhammad saw it differently and said so. And, since apparently no one else was interested in that area, Muhammad claimed it (unknown to the Romans), and the nearby nations, not privy to the truth, got in line to sign treaties and pledges with the Muslims, who seemed to be the new power in the region.

Mani: So, just going there to meet the non-existent Romans, then coming back intact, made everyone believe we were invincible. So, as it turned out, it was good that we outfitted ourselves and went.

Radi: I would like to jump forward a little and look at Sura 48:29. It seems to me, though others think it rather harsh, I consider it reasonable.
"Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard (ruthless) against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves"

Modi: I tend to agree with you. You must know that the sura itself was “revealed” to Muhammad during his return to Medina from Hudaibiyya. He would have been very high on what he considered a great victory. Of course, the victory came from deceit, for he never intended to complete the terms of that treaty. And so, from verse one in this sura to verse through verse 28...

Mani: Oh, I know that part of it. Allah spoke of the trials and hardships that led to this “manifest victory.” He spoke gently of the believers who volunteered to accompany His prophet on this journey, and chastised those Bedouins who were given the opportunity, but declined.

Radi: (looks over Mani’s shoulders) I can see that the Meccans were continually described as “those who are bent on denying the truth” or other expressions akin to that, and the Muslims, of course, are the believers.

Modi: (laughs) I have a lot of help today. Finally, Allah said, as another translation has it, “Muhammad is God’s Apostle; and those who are [truly] with him are firm and unyielding towards all deniers of the truth, [yet] full of mercy towards one another. Thou canst see them bowing down, prostrating themselves [in prayer], seeking favor with God and [His] goodly acceptance: their marks are on their faces, traced by prostration.” Allah finishes up by saying, “[they are] like a seed that brings forth its shoot, and then He strengthens it, so that it grows stout, and [in the end] stands firm upon its stem, delighting the sowers…[Thus will God cause the believers to grow in strength,] so that through them He might confound the deniers of the truth.”

Mani: I would not have said it that way, Modi.

Radi: But you are not God, Mani.

Modi: Did you understand that Allah pushed the idea that Muhammad was firm with the Meccans during the treaty negotiations, and that was what the Qur’an mean about being “unyielding to the deniers of the truth.”

Radi: Now that you mention it, yes. But why bring that up?

Mani: We just discussed a few verses, Radi, that were printed on posters, and appeared to be very nasty and belligerent, downright warlike. How are we going to make these people stop doing that? They are lying about what the Qur’an is saying and exploiting the lies to further immoral and illegal causes.

Modi: They will never stop no matter what. The people that are too stupid to know any better, will stay that way because they are too lazy to learn. That American comedian, Ron White, who we watch a lot, said it all when he said “You can’t fix stupid!”

Radi: What actually does that mean? I don’t get it.

Mani: Case in point.

Modi: Let’s saunter down to the restaurant before Radi figures it out.

Mani: Oh, we have time.

HJS