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 handbook 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 nonMoslem employees in the higher echelons of the government of Pakistan or Bangladesh. To sum up, the status of a nonMoslem 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 contracted 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 believers. 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 'foreshortening' 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 unmarried partners with mutual consent and rape. A Moslem man raping a Moslem woman will have a more serious punishment 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 microphones 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 publicity. 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 infinite variety of races, intellect and character. Under Moslem law the sons of concubines are entitled to their patrimony equally 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 CORNELIA 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.