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Islamic Morality
by Anwar Shaikh |
Man is born with a moral sense which enables him
to differentiate between right and wrong. Without subjecting behaviour to a
common standard of vice and virtue, social evolution is not possible. This is
the reason that even the primitive societies had words which denoted differenc
between good and bad.
All societies did not practise universal standards of
vice and virtue, yet it is well known that almost all communities knew what was
good and bad. For example, mutual fidelity of consorts, speaking the truth,
keeping promises, respecting family ties, helping the poor and weak, were
considered signs of good morality. Of course, morality cannot be coded but its
rules are well understood. From this attitude arose the famous maxim: "Do
not do to others what you do not want to be done to yourself."
It means that you must wish others what you wish for
yourself. Since every one desires security of person and property, liberty to
worship, fair trial, freedom of speech etc., these facts, over a period of time,
rose to become what is called Human Rights. He who violates these rights is held
the enemy of humankind.
When Islamic morality is judged by universal standards,
this Arabian religion fails to qualify as the friend and guide of humanity. In
fact, it constitutes a major threat to the survival of human race. I have no
doubt that the Muslims will protest against this point of view, and as usual,
will produce far- fetched and irrational evidence to prove that Islam advocates
love and brotherhood of mankind. This type of sorcery has worked wonders for
Muslim fundamentalists in the past, but with the dissemination of knowledge, it
is difficult to cloud the truth with the magic of misinterprelation, marvel of
mesmerisation and mysticism of meaninglessness.
Islam has become a set of fundamentals which preach
social segregation, hatred of non-Muslims and elimination of dissenters through
dominance, death and destruction. These conclusions, no matter how true, cannot
be palatable to the Muslims and therefore rank as fabrications, from their
standpoint. I can do no better than quote from the Koran to decide the issue.
Examine the following for yourself:
1. "Do not let non-Muslims enter mosques. They will
go to hell." ( Repentance: 17 )
2. "O ye who believe! The non-Muslims are
unclean. So let them not come near the Inviolable Place of Worship."
(Repentance: 28)
3. "O ye who believe! Murder those of the
disbelievers .... and let them find harshness in you." (Repentance: 123)
4. "Humiliate the non-Muslims to such an extent
that they surrender and pay tribute." (Repentance: 29)
5. "O believers, do not treat your fathers and
brothers as your friends, if they prefer unbelief to belief, whosoever of you
takes them for friends, they are evil-doers." (Repentance: 20)
6. "Certainly, God is an enemy to the
unbelievers." ( The Cow: 90 )
7. "God has cursed the unbelievers, and prepared
for them a blazing hell." ( The Confederates 60 )
8. "Let not the believers take the unbelievers
for friends.... whoso does that belongs not to God." (The House of Imram:
60)
9. "O believers, do not make friends with the
Jews and Christians; ..whoso of you makes them his friend is one of
them." (The Table: 55)
10. "The believers indeed are brothers." (
Apa rtments: 10 )
11. "Moslems are hard against the unbelievers,
merciful to one another." (Victory: 25)
A Muslim naturally believes in all such Koranic verses,
which determine his social outlook and he becomes a narrow- minded sectarian.
This psychological approach is the fountain of fundamentalism. It is a myth to
say that Islam advocates good relationship with the People of the Book, that is,
the Jews and Christians. What I have said at 9 above supports this statement. If
this were not enough, one could refer the matter to HADITH, the sayings of the
Prophet: Chapter LXXI of SAHIH MUSLIM clearly states that since Islam is the
religion for the entire humanity, it abrogates all other faiths. To illustrate
the point further, the hadith no.285 asserts that any Jew or Christian who has
heard of Muhammad but does not believe in him, will become "one of the
denizens of Hell-Fire."
The Islamic fundamentalism has become the foundation of
Islamic morality. What makes it a threat to human survival is the fact that it
is not a passive approach but advocates active aggression to impose itself on
the unbelievers. Why? It gives several reasons for this. Let me quote two:
1. "Muslims are the best of all nations."
(House of Imram: 110). Obviously, the best nation is superior to other people,
who must wear the yoke of discrimination.
2. The Prophet Muhammad has been sent by God with
"the religion of Truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all
religions.." (Private Apartments: 28)
Simply stated it means that Muslims are superior to non-
Muslims and have the birth-right to dominate them. This is why Islam calls
itself DIN-E-GHALIB, the religion of dominance.
As every student of psychology knows, the purpose of
any fundamentalism is to secure blind following from its adherents. This is
possible only when they are conditioned to a certain object or goal which begins
to rank as the sole purpose of their lives. As a result, the purpose begins to
overrule the method of acquisition; whatever secures it is good and whatever
obstructs it is bad. In a nutshell, people must stop thinking for themselves,
especially in terms of morality. As the Marxists brainwashed people in the name
of proletarianism and what it stood for, the Muslims have been conditioned to
the person of the Prophet Muhammad, who is projected as the Saviour of his
followers, having complete power to find them permanent residence in paradise,
which is the abode of luxury, love making and lasciviousness. Since Muslims, in
most countries are deprived, depressed and desolated, they are prepared to do
anything to uphold the honour of the Prophet. For total obedience, they are at
liberty to indulge in the most convenient morality such as mendacity, rape,
murder, theft and treason without losing their chance of entering the paradise
which has been absolutely guaranteed by their faith in the Prophet Muhammad.
A corollary of this belief is the oppression of
non-Muslims by the Muslims, who deny human rights to the unbelievers for
upholding the Islamic precepts in relation to the infidels. As a result,
non-Muslims are discouraged to live in the Muslim countries even if they have
originally belonged to their ancestors. It is justified on the precedent that
the Prophet Muhammad expelled all Jews and unbelievers from Arabia. The modern
example is that of Pakistan, the original home of the Hindus. There were
millions of non-Muslims in this land before partition of India but as Pakistan
came into being they all were thrown out through malice, mutilation and
massacre. On the contrary, over 100,000,000 Muslims live in India and demand
human rights! In Islamic countries, the non- Muslim minorities are either
non-existent or very tiny indeed. This strangulation of human rights has become
a part of the Islamic morality.
Since Islam is the Din-e-Ghalib i.e. the religion of
dominance by God's will, Muslim minorities in non-lslamic countries do
everything possible to harass, humiliate and harangue the host countries to
practise their faith and culture. The "Muslim Parliament" of Great
Britain is an example in point. In fact, this coterie of a few hundred Muslim
fanatics, is a mockery of the British tolerance and hospitality. Its major role
is to collect donations from its adherents, forbid Muslims to seek
identification with Great Britain and practise all rules of Islamic intolerance
towards the host community. There is no concept of parliamentary government in
Islam, whatever, yet these hatred-mongers have set up this association in the
Land of Magna Carta, dedicated to liberty. It is only a matter of time before
the British government take notice of its evil influence on the British culture,
causing problems also for those who have adopted the British ways and are proud
to be sincere citizens of this land.
Use of violence for securing worldly goal and
terrorisation of non-Muslims are the pillar of Islamic morality. It is done
through:
Now, let us ponder over these two points:
1a. Islam declares Muhammad the greatest of all
prophets and therefore reserves the highest reverence for him. This has become
an article of faith. A Muslim, unwilling to force it on others, is considered
deficient in belief. As a result, every Muslim looks for an opportunity to
demonstrate the magnitude of his faith by molesting non-Muslims, and even
fellow- believers who express less bigotory in this field. Politicians have
seized upon this emotional condition of the Muslim mind to enhance their grip on
power. For example, Pakistan has passed TOHEEN-E- RASUL ACT (Contempt of
Prophet's Act), which prescribes death for insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Such
an Act has never been passed in the world of Islam during the last fourteen
centuries; nor is there any religious justification for it. In fact such a law
in itself is a gross contempt of the Prophet, who wanted to be known as the
Blessing for mankind. A person who is so conscious of himself cannot be the
Blessing for lacking tolerance and understanding of the human behaviour. Yet
they have done it to terrorise the dissidents and non-Muslims. The treatment of
the Qadiyanis and Christians in Pakistan, speak for itself. In fact, it is an
ambassador of moral perversion which is an echo of the European Inquisition
conducted by the Christian clerics to defend the holiness of their saviour,
Jesus Christ.
This Islamic exploitation of the believers has led to
their moral bankruptcy, and this fact is well demonstrated by what happened in
Pakistan during the middle of April, 1994:
Hafiz Sajjad Tariq of Gujranwala in Pakistan,
accidentally dropped a copy of the Koran in a fireplace. As it caught fire,
people of the locality became aflame with rage. Not caring that Sajjad was a
pious Muslim devoted to exalt holiness of the Scripture (Koran), they a leged
that he had desecrated the Word of God. As mullahs of the area heard of it, they
instantly issued Fatwas of apostacy against Sajjad. Like hawks, the
fundamentalists swoaped down on him, each hoping that his blow would despatch
the victim to hell assuring him (the assailant) a seat in paradise. As they were
hitting him, someone shouted that he was being dished out an un-Islamic
punishment because he must be stoned to death. By then, they had broken his ribs
and he was not able to walk. A gallant police officer intervened and locked him
up with a view to saving him from mob-violence. As the news spread, a large
crowd of frenzied Muslims appeared before the local police- station demanding
his immediate release. The Police Inspector, instead of enforcing the law, fell
for the temptation of establishing himself as the champion of Islam and handed
Sajjad to the attackers. They started stoning him mercilessly and thereafter set
his body on fire. If this were not enough, they tied his corpse to a powerful
motor-cycle and dragged it through the streets for two hours! After a pious show
of Islamic morality, they felt that they had done enough to avenge the honour of
the Prophet whom the Koran had been revealed.
This type of Islamic morality is rampant, not only in
the Islamic countries, but also in the lands where the Muslims have settled in
sufficient numbers. To explain this point, I may quote Britain where I live. I
wrote and published a book: "Eternity" in 1990. It challenges the
basic concept of revelation, the foundation of prophethood. As the Muslim
organisations heard about it, they individually and severally issued a fatwa
condemning me to death. Neither have they given me a chance to explain myself
before a properly constituted tribunal of justice nor have they accepted my
challenge for a public debate. Its consequences have been painful to me and my
family.
What I have stated above roughly deleneates the Islamic
morality in relation to legislated law. Now, I may briefly touch upon the second
part of the issue i.e. the direct commands of Allah which are so evident that
they need not be legislated:
2a. Jehad is one of them, and forms an integral part of
the Islamic morality. It is an open behest of Allah to murder, pillage, rape and
create widows and orphans for imposing Allah's will on the unbelievers, who are
considered His worst enemies just for the "sin" of unbelief. Yet,
Allah calls himself the Independent (SAMAD), All-Compassionate, All- Powerful
and Creator of the whole universe!
If Allah does possess all these qualities, how can He
sanction the destruction of innocent people? If He were so desperate for
worship, being the All- Pawerful, Compassionate, Creator, He would have created
humankind in such a way that everyone was born with the belief suited to God.
Instead of delving into this mystery, I hasten to add
that Jehad or violence is considered holy by Allah, who, in return for
persecuting, pillaging and paralysing the infidels declares:
"Allah has bought from the faithful theirselves
and their belongings against the gift of paradise; they fight in the way of
Allah; they kill and are killed.." (Repentance: 110)
A HADITH ( the saying of the Prophet Muhammad )
declares: "Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords." (Sahih
Bokhari, Ch. 22: 73 )
What is paradise? The Muslim scholars are usually
embarrassed by this question and pretend that it is not physical but a condition
of the mind. The above Koranic verse clearly states that it is a definite
exchange i.e. offer of paradise for killing a non- Muslim or getting killed in
the process of obeying this divine command. The paradise is the main temptation
for practising Islam. This is the reason that the Koran explains it well.
Paradise is the description of the luxurious surroundings dwelt in by Houris and
Ghilman. Houris are the most beautiful ever-young virgins with wide, flexing
eyes and swelling bosoms. Ghilman are the immortal young boys, pretty like
pearls, clothed in green silk and brocade an embellished with bracelets of
silver.
Allah shall give every believing man no fewer than
seventy houris and many ghilmans. To make sure that the lucky fellow can cope
with them, Allah will increase his virility a hundred-fold! This is the ultimate
goal of the Islamic morality, and it is why that the Muslims, who are usually
depressed, are ready to practise convenient morality based on violence. Even
more potent factor in this field is their staunch belief in the intercessory
powers of the Prophet Muhammad, which means that he has the authority to
accommodate his followers in paradise irrespective of what they may have done. I
shall deal with this point in the next issue of "Liberty."
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