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The Islamic
Culture What I have stated in the previous chapters, lays down the foundation of the Islamic Culture. What is Islamic Culture? Islamic culture is fundamentalistic for being based on the hatred of non-Muslims. In an Islamic state, discrimination is to be maintained legally against an infidel by subjecting him to Jazya (Poll tax). In fact, Islamic culture is an extension of the Arab imperialism which has weakened the sense of national identity of the non-Arab Muslims to such an extent that they prefer to call themselves Muslims, the people associated with the Arab traditions instead of being Indians, Pakistanis, Iranians or Afghanis. Thus they are easily excited in the name of Islam to do what they will not do ordinarily. Again, as it is the faith of every Muslim to rule the non-Muslims, it makes this culture extremely aggressive. It is an Islamic law that a Muslim must not befriend a non- Muslim even that be his mother, father, brother, sister or son. Nor must he participate in their rites of birth and burial. This is a disturbing aspect of Islam because it forbids a Muslim nation to be a member of an International Organisation such as the U.N.O. or to respect the concepts of human rights and civil liberties. It is dangerous to peace. Being a despotic culture, it is inimical to democracy, the system of social equality and people's sovereignty. It is because in Islam, the government belongs to Allah; man must obey the laws made by God and the Prophet without questioning them, irrespective of how irrelevant and outdated they may be. Absolutism has always been the
source of aggression. A peculiarity of Islam is that it glorifies violence and
sanctifies murder and pillage of the non-Muslims and abduction of their women
for spreading the name of Allah who claims to be All-Powerful, yet dependent on
man for proclaiming His glory! He also calls Himself the Most Merciful, yet He
sanctions the basest form of cruelty to those humans, who are not inclined to
acknowledge Him as the Divine. Murder, rape, pillage, abduction, etc., are the
worst forms of moral vices, yet Allah adores them as virtues for the Crusaders
(Mujahedeens) who subjugate the non-Muslims to the
yoke of Islam. One is baffled by such a morality which has been invented to
initiate aggression. A Muslim calls it "Jehad," the
Holy War irrespective of the unholiness of the ways
and means of waging it. Since it is impossible to be a great nation without
practising greater morality, the Muslim morality as
practised in
The economic weakness of the Muslim world has contributed towards the misfortune of the adherents of Islam socially as well as religiously. The leadership in these countries keeps brainwashing people with the ever-increasing miraculous powers of the Prophet who will find a place in the paradise for his followers irrespective of their moral failings. For subjecting masses to social injustice and economic exploitation, these leaders fool them in the name of the Prophet. As a result, social justice is becoming a joke in these countries, correspondingly raising their hopes of Deferred FulFilment, that is, the Prophet will compensate them in the next world by getting them into the paradise. This is what is making the Muslims more fundamentalistic and aggressive every day, protecting them as a threat to the survival of humanity. The discussion that have initiated is not only novel but may also appear nasty, nauseating and negative to those who think of Muhammad as the greatest of all prophets, and even greater than Allah Himself. Revelation, the pivot of prophethood, does not stand up to rational examination. Having discussed it in detail in my books "Eternity" and "The Universal Mystery, " I need not analyse it here but ought to mention two points for making the narrative more effective and informative: Islam propounds the concept of a creator God who is All- Powerful, Absolute and totally Independent. The doctrine of revelation negates it completely for two reasons: Firstly, the Koran depicts Allah as desperate for being loved and worshipped. He not only swears at the unbelievers and threatens them with the most sadistic punishment of hell but also bribes them with paradise full of beautiful virgins and pretty boys. Such a God cannot be independent whose happiness and unhappiness depends on whether man acknowledges Him his Lord or not. Not only that, the doctrine of revelation makes God dependent on the will of a man, who claims himself to be a revelationist i.e. the prophet. Such a God cannot be Independent, Absolute or the Creator. Some believers, to overcome this difficulty, think of a prophet as God-incarnate. For example, the Christians hold Christ as God, the Son, or simply God. Similarly, most Muslims, think of Muhammad as God's Beloved, the Cause of the creation or just God. Unless faith is a form of sheer make-believe, a prophet must have some physical qualities to distinguish him as divine but as we know a prophet is subject to birth and burial, he eats and drinks and answers the call of nature, he has sexual desires, fathers children, feels sad and glad, becomes ill and needs medicines, grows old and eventually dies. These all are human traits. How can one call a prophet Divine? One ought to realise that man is an exalted being only because he is endowed with rational qualities such as thinking, reasoning, analytical powers. Therefore, what gags human reasoning is antihuman. Thus faith, which makes man acknowledge the ridiculous as the right, is a form of make- believe. Since revelation, the source of prophethood, utterly fails the test of reasoning, faith in a prophet is just an act of make-believe inspired by fear, tradition or propaganda. It is not Muhammad's prophethood which is under discussion here. I am interested in his human stature, which was magnificent. In fact, he was the greatest national leader that mankind has known. This aspect of his personality is overshadowed by his claim of prophethood. Therefore, I should refer to his secular eminence, and emphasise that Muhammad was the Builder of the Arab Empire. His brilliant success in this field made a generous contribution towards his spiritual stature. Of course, Muhammad was an orphan, and thus had certain disadvantages, which were made good by a loving grandfather and an uncle. However, the dynastic merits that he had, surpassed his disabilites. He belonged to the tribe of Quresh who had gained a position of superiority for being the lords of the Meccan temple, the Kaaba, and thus came to be known as the people of Allah. Marital union with Khadija, was yet another blessing which Muhammad enjoyed for 26 years until her death. She was a loyal spouse whose wealth and support helped her husband considerably. It was she who confirmed his mission by becoming the first convert. Ali, his first cousin, whom he had adopted, was the second person and Zaid, his former slave, was the third. Abu Bakr, who deserves a good deal of credit for the success of Muhammad's mission, was one of his old wealthy friends and an early convert. Thus Muhammad had a small core of devotees coupled with the means to achieve a determined ambition.
After receiving command from God to preach His name, the Prophet did not spread the gospel publically for three years though he did acquaint his family-members with the new doctrine. However, what is perplexing, is the fact that if he was a prophet before Adam was created, why did he not spread the message until he was forty? Did he not neglect his duty for four decades? It is more likely that he was not aware of his prophethood. Revelation is the device which makes a man, (the revelationist) divine but reduces the stature of God who becomes dependent upon the revelationist i.e. the prophet, to execute His will. Getting adored and worshipped by man, is God's greatest desire. Since it is man who serves as the medium of granting this burning wish to God, man ranks as God's superior. Thus the device of revelation is derogatory to the dignity of God. Again, as nobody can see or contact God directly, it is the prophet, who speaks to people, becomes as God-incarnate.
This fact is quite evident in the world of Islam because the Muslims love Muhammad more than God, and believe that the Prophet can bestow salvation on any one he likes but God cannot do so without the Prophet's consent! However, revelation is a very clever principle because it makes the prophet a go-between-God-and-people. If things go well, the prophet gets the credit bul if they do not, he remains clear of the blame because it is God who is the cause of everything and whose will must be respected under all circumstances. The major benefit of revelation is that it projects God as All-Knowing, All-Powerful and Omnipresent. Therefore, it is much easier to lead and motivate believers in the name of God. Yet another superlative advantage of revelation is the prestige of the prophet whose person becomes sancrosanct and whose word is considered as the Word of God. History has noted that a prophet is not a recessive but a dominant person. Leading people by dictating their preferences and aversions, he establishes himself as their leader and expects the maximum adoration for his person. Though he may claim himself to be the lieutenant or servant of God, in practice he acts, and is considered as God himself. God is a fall-guy who slays in the background and cannot be contacted by the seekers; all His devotees must seek Him through the medium of the prophet! It is for this reason that the Koran treats Muhammad and Allah as one; they both decide important matters together and nobody has the power to question their decisions. The Koran clearly states that Muhammad shall sit on the right hand side of Allah on the Day of Judgement. Very clearly, it shows the inadequacy of God, and this point is further driven home by the fact that nobody can become a Muslim just by believing in Allah; one must believe in both Allah and Muhammad. However, nobody can become a prophet unless there is a God. Revelation is a Semitic device. This is the reason that all Semitic tribes had their own Gods and every local ruler used to issue a legal code in the name of his God whose servant and representative he claimed to be. Though he commanded people as he pleased, he expressed his commandments as revelations from God. It had two great advantages, firstly, it made their rule look impersonal and as a duty laid upon them by God, and secondly, it gave their government a supernatural force which created a considerable national and social cohesion between people for having the same God who was anxious to steer their ship of life through stormy and serene conditions. As today, motherland or fatherland is the pivot of nationhood, in the Semitic culture, the tribal or national God has been the fulcrum of a group's nationality. The concept of Yahwe has rendered this service to the Jews in diaspora. Without it, they could not have retained their consciousness of national unity despite being scattered in so many lands. The Prophet Muhammad was a wise person. He knew that the greatness of a leader depends on the greatness of his followers. Therefore, he wanted to create a great nation, and needed a backbone for restructuring an Arab nation, which at that time was bitterly divided into clans and tribes, having no national unity, and perpetually at one another's throat. This was the reason that the Kaaba had become a pantheon, the abode of many gods, created by the foreign influences such as Greek, Roman, Iranian and Indian. Thus, different Arab tribes had a varying degree of devotion to different gods. It was divisive, and injurious to the national unity. This is what necessitated the
creation of a national God. Muhammad knew of a precedent i.e. Moses, who founded
in the 13th century B.C. the community known as
By noting the salient features of
Moses' life, we come to realise that he was the model
that Muhammad followed in mission and details. Moses was brought up in the
Egyptian court as a prince but his people, the Hebrews, had been subjected to a
most despicable bondage. His people were just a rabble having no social organisation or sense of nationhood. To restrict their
numbers, the Egyptian Pharaoh had ordered the extermination of each Jewish male
birth. Moses found the courage and determination to secure the release of his
people from
Moses was a warrior and a general. Though these virtues had a great value for building a nation, they were not sufficient on their own. As Pharaoh commanded the Egyptians in his capacity as God, Moses must acquire some kind of divine status to impress upon people with a supernatural support. Moses had married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro,
and accepted responsibility for his flocks. One day, when he roamed the
wilderness, looking for pasture, he reached the base of a mountain where he was
suddenly absorbed by an unusual spectacle. He saw a bush which was burning but
it did not suffer consumption. As he stood dazed, a voice rang in his ears
telling him not to come any closer. It was the voice of God, who claimed to be
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; He was calling him to deliver the Hebrews
from It was necessary to demonstrate God's powers for convincing the Hebrews (the Jews) that their God was All-Powerful, and therefore, nobody should underestimate Him. Not only that, Yahwe, being the causative form of the verb "to be" is the Creator God. It means that the Jewish God is the sovereign Lord over nature and the nations of the world. Idolatory was the accepted form of worship in the ancient world. The devotees had to imagine the form of their deity to be able to worship Him/Her. However, Moses introduced a novel element into worship. By declaring Yahwe unimageable, he declared that God could not be represented through stones or any other materials, and thus abolished idolatroy. The Hebrews had learnt to worship
various gods in
The master stroke of the Mosaic approach was his Covenant with God at Sinai. He modelled it on the Hittite lines i.e. in such stipulations the Hittite suzerain granted the treaty to his vassal as an act of kindness in return for acknowledging the favours that the former had bestowed on the latter, and were to continue as long as the vassal obeyed the law laid down by the sovereign. The vassal was not allowed to follow any other law. This served as the fountain of monotheism i.e. the worship of one God. Thus, Pentateuch i.e. The Torah was God's law binding on all Jews. According to this covenant, Moses was the prophet of Yahwe, the God, as before him, Abraham, Noah, Jacob, etc., had been His prophets, who were entrusted with the duty of making their people obedient to God. By declaring Islam as the religion of Abraham, Muhammad was able to borrow most of the Jewish canons and methods. Though he originally sought the amalgam of the Jews with his own people to capitalise on the Jewish experience, and thus heaped a lavish praise on their excellence and made Jerusalem the Kibla for Islam, but when he realised that the Jews were extremely reluctant to lose their national identity, he condemned them outrightly to raise a nation which was purely Arab. For this purpose, following the Jewish model: 1. He wanted to establish the existence of a God easily identifiable with the Arabs, who must worship Him exlusively to experience a common factor of national unity. 2. He wanted to declare himself as a prophet i.e. the sole medium or God's instructions. 3. He wanted to create a Holy Arabic Book as the Jews had Torah in their own Ianguage. 4. For creating a separate Arab nation, he wanted to assure his people that God had made a covenant with Abraham and Ishmael and not Abraham and Isaac as the Jews claimed. (Ishmael was the ancestor of the Arabs whereas Isaac was the progenitor of the Jews). Here one can clearly see the national approach. 5. Above all, the Arab cultural institutions must be incorporated in Islam to make it easily acceptable to the Arabs and to give them distinction over the non- Arab Moslems. 6. The Prophet's wisdom and the spirit of national beneficence is confirmed by the element of universality he introduced into Islam by making it congenial to the Arab nationalism. 7. Like Moses, the Prophet Muhammad also made warfare the main tool of enhancing his national prestige. For making his people willing fighters, Muhammad made killing and plunder the acts of holiness leading to paradise where in luxurious settings the most beautiful virgins and youths await the coming of the Muslim martyrs to delight them with their charms and services. The Prophet called the plunder and murder of other nations in the name of God as the Jehad which brought secular dominance in this world and the pleasures of paradise in the next. What I have said above is the truth and nothing but the whole truth, and it was all in the national cause. As stated earlier, the Prophet built the structure of Islam around the sanctity of his own person by declaring himself to be the Model of action, the Blessing for mankind and the only Intercessor. Of course, he wanted to be at the head of his nation but he knew that the greatness of a leader depends on the greatness of his nation. Therefore. he classified humanity in the following order; a. Muhammad is the best of all mankind. b. His family Banu Hashim is the best of all families. c. His tribe, the Quresh are the best of all tribes. I have already quoted the appropriate hadiths to this effect and need not repeat them. However, I may add that if the Quresh were best of all the Arabs, the Arabs themsleves must be above all nations. This point emerges clearly from the fact that only the Quresh were eligible to rule. As they were Arabs, it follows that the destiny of all non-Arabs, whether Muslim or not, was to be ruled by the Arabs, as the will of Allah. 1. Why did the Prophet choose
Allah as the God of Islam? Allah was a statue in the pantheon of the Kaaba i.e. it was one of the many idols, but it was
distinguished for having a special association with the Quresh, who were called as "the people of Allah." It is
well-known that in the other Arabian kingdoms such as
sprang
up between 115 and 109 B.C. was also organised on the
priest-prince principle. In fact, it had been customary in all states of the
It is this investiture of divine
authority which entitled him to rule people. This theory was also prevalent in
the The oneness of Allah required not only the destruction of other idols but also the statue of Allah himself, who had such an immense stature, that being transcendent, He was not imageable i.e. He could not be represented through copper, bronze or any kind of material. The Prophet was a man of great wisdom. By making Allah supreme and an abstruse deity, he was able to share His divinity with Him because he was the only one with whom Allah conversed. The Koran clearly states this fact. "It is not for any believer, man or woman, when God and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have the choice in the affair. Whosoever disobeys God and His Messenger has gone astray into clear error.'' (The confederates: 20)
It is quite evident that Allah and Muhammad are one and the same person because whatever is decided, is done by them jointly, and disobedience to the one is an act of rebellion against the other. Like the Jews, the Arabs must have one God to give them the feeling of oneness. It was more appropriate to the Arabs because they had become warring factions on tribal grounds and could not be welded into one nation without having one supreme God. Muhammad's wisdom and his love
for Arabism is vouched for by his concept of universality,. The Jewish Deity, Yahwe, is the
God of Israel but the Prophet declared Allah as the God of the universe. The
reader, at this juncture is entitled to ask me, "How on earth, does this support
Muhammad's theory of nationalism?" The answer lies in the fact that to give his
nation a higher social status, he attached very high sanctity to the cultural
institutions of Thus
The movement known as Zionism which meant
establishing a Jewish home in
Jewish oneness though they have
been scattered all over the world for many centuries. It is for this reason that
they would not set up a common homeland in the Gentile lands though they had
many chances to do so, if they wished. One further point to note in this respect
is, that most of the Jews are racially Jews, and the
Jews converted from the other races are a few, indeed. But even these converted
Jews, who strictly speaking, are foreigners, think of
The Kabba, a
little temple in First he called
"It was Abraham and his son Ishmael who raised the foundations of the House (Kaaba)." ( The Cow: 120 ) Since Abraham is the highly praised Jewish patriarch in the Old Testament, and was made "perfect " by God, the raising of Kaaba by him, and Ishmael, the ancestor of the Prophet, lends this place a divine aura and national honour. ( The Cow: 145 ) The Koran designates Kaaba as the Holy Mosque and commands Muslims of all countries to face Kaaba when they pray to Allah. They usually do so five-times-a-day. Imagine 1,000,000,000 Muslims from all continents prostrating towards Kaaba simultaneously several times a day!
The Koran further states: The first House established
for the people was that at Becca
( place holy and a guidance for all beings ..... It is the duty of all men towards God to come to the House as pilgrim, if he is able to make his way there." (The House of Imran: 90) Every Muslim who is healthy and
can afford to undertake a pilgrimage to It is this guarantee of salvation
associated with the Kaaba that makes the non-Arab
Muslims prefer Physically, the Kaaba is a small shrine near the centre of the Great Mosque
in paid any
attention to the Kaaba, but when the Jews refused to
accept Islam, he withdrew the status of Kibla from
It should also be remembered that kissing the Black Stone is one of the pre-Islamic rituals but it has been retained in Islam as a part of the old Arab culture. Even today the pilgrims attire themselves as they did in the pre-Islamic days for this purpose. Kissing the Black Stone and pilgrimage to the Kaaba are the relics of the period of Jahilaya, and must not form part of Islam; their retention expressly vouches for the national spirit of the Prophet and signifies the true purpose of Islam.
As long as a Muslim lives, he
acknowledges Kaaba as Kibla,
that is, the direction of his prostration, and when he dies, he is buried facing
Kaaba, thus a Muslim is tied
to the spiritual hegemony of Kaaba from birth to
burial. What an honour the Prophet bestowed upon his
country, by subjugating the faith of the 1,000,000,000 non-Arab Muslims to his
birth-place The Koran says: "We (Allah) have seen thee (Muhammad) turning thy face about in the heaven, now we will surely turn thee to a direction that shall satisfy thee. Turn thy face towards the Holy Mosque; and wherever, you are, turn your face towards it....' ( The Cow: 135 ) "Surely God is powerful over everything. From whatsoever place Thou issuest, turn thy face towards the Holy Mosque; it is the truth from thy Lord.." ( The Cow: 140 ) According to these verses,
changing the direction of worship from
From the historical review of
Allah that I have conducted on the previous pages, it is clear that Allah was
just a statue in the Kaaka; it was a lifeless object;
it was animated as the Supreme Being by Muhammad. In plain English, it is not
Allah who created Muhammad, it is Muhammad who created
Allah. Therefore, He is obliged to follow the whim of Muhammad. Making Kaaba as the Kibla imposes the
Arabian spiritual hegemony on the world of Islam the same way as the sanctity
bestowed on Everybody knows that it is a part of the racial superiority that the Jews claim. How can it be different in the case of the Arabs? Muhammad was as much a national leader as was Moses; he was even more so because he bestowed racial superiority on his people without declaring so. This vouches for the wisdom and patriotism of Muhammad. The Prophet knew that one of the reasons that made the Jews a staunch nation was their Book i.e. the Old Testament (commonly known as the Bible). The Bible or more accurately the Pentateuch or Torah though an authorship of Moses, has been projected as the Divine Revelation. Thus Torah, God's book is an integral part of the Jewish nationhood. Not only does it lend them heavenly grace, but it also binds them together as members of one nation. Why should not Arabs have the celestial honour of having a book of their own? They needed it even more urgently because they were divided into warring factions - one clan cutting the throat of another with tribal pride. If anybody deserved to have a book, it was the Arabs who had a well developed language and were proud of their poetry. Even more surprising is the fact that though they preterred their own tribe to others, when it came to the appreciation of Arabic, they oved it, and found it the most enjoyable. A revealed book in Arabic was bound to unite them into a nation and exert a strong naticnal influence on them throughout history. The Koran was such a book. Muhammad claimed that it contained nothing new but was the continuation of the message which Allah had given to Adam, who passed it on to his progeny systematically. Or in the words of the Koran: " God chose Adam, and Noah. " ( The House of Imran: 30 ) "And Noah we guided before, and of his Seed David and Solomon, Job and Joseph, Moses and Aaron.." ( Cattle: 80 ) From the above verses, it is clear that it is the tradition of Allah to guide every generation through his prophets such as Adam, Noah, Joseph, Moses, etc. This guidance is provided through revelation in the form of a divine book; hence The Old Testament and The New Testament. However, the Prophet Muhammad declared that God had broken with this tradition and made him the last prophet (The Confederates: 40). It stands to reason that if God was interested in guiding mankind in the past, he should do so until the end of time. Man is as wicked now as he was in the past. If he can guide himself now, he could surely look after himself in the past, and thus revelation was irrelevant at that time, as it is now. When presenting the Koran to his people, the Prophet said that the other divine books such as the Torah and the Bible could not guide the mankind any longer because their contents had been grossly tampered with by the Jews and the Christians. He stressed that the Koran was different because God Himself had guaranteed its integrity against any alteration or interpolation. Is it not amazing that God did not think it fit to protect His other Books but He chose to be the guardian of the Koran? Why? There is only one explanation for it; that is, Muhammad wanted to make the Koran a part of the Arab national conscience. He, therefore, stressed its Arabic significance: "The All-Merciful has taught the Koran He created man and He has taught him the Explanation." (The All Merciful: 1) It means that it is out of mercy that God taught Muhammad the Koran in depth so that he could convey to his people the Koranic message which is glorious (QAF: 1) By emphasising that it is an Arabic Koran, the Prophet emphasised its national relationship with the Arabs: "We have sent it down as an Arabic Koran; haply you will understand." (Joseph: 1 ) To conceal their inferiority complex, the non-Arab Muslim scholars claim that the Koran is the divine message which is for everybody and means well to the meek and the mighty; the truth is that it is primarily addressed to the Arabs and it is in Arabic so that the Arab should understand it. Therefore, the Koran is a part of the Arab nationalism, and it is especially so because its contents manifestly represent the Arab culture. What I have said is the truth and not a misinterpretation. See for yourself: "A sending down from the Merciful, the Compassionate, A Book whose signs have been distinguished as Arabic Koran for a people having knowledge.." (Distinguished: 1) That it is an Arabic Koran, is further stressed: "By the Clear Book, behold, We have made it an Arabic Koran; haply you will understand; and behold, it is the Essence of the Book, with US; sublime indeed, wise. Shall We turn away the Rememberance from you, for you are the prodigal people?" (Ornaments 1) Here it is abundantly clear that it is the essence of the Koran that it has been addressed to the Arabs for their understanding even though they are prodigal people. I must add that "people" means the Arab people, and this is what is meant by it wherever the word: "people" (An-naas) occurs though the mullahs go to a great length to project it as "mankind, " as for example in The Night Journey: 105. I may quote once again from the Koran to elucidate the point that I am making: "And so we have revealed to thee an Arabic Koran, that thou mayest warn the Mother of Cities and those who dwell about it.." ( Counsel: 5) Since "the Mother of Cities" is
To impress the Arabs with the national significance of the Koran, it says: "If man and Jinn banded together to produce the like of this Koran, they would never produce its like, not though they backed one another..." These verses need hardly any comment from me except that the Koran is the only book which repeatedly claims that there is another race of beings, living on this planet besides humans, and they are, at least on a par with humans in matters of intelligence, understanding and performance, if not greater. Nobody has ever seen Jinns. However, it has been stated by certain mullahs (the Muslim scholars) that when the Koran mentions "Jinns," it means the microbes! They in fact, insult the Koran, which requires intelligent beings for its composition, and not the most insignificant insects. To make itself a part of the national fabric of the Arabs, the Koran states: "Therefore, recite of the Koran as much as is possible." ( Enwrapped: 15) To refresh the memory of the reader, I may restate the salient points wlhich determine that Islam is basically an Arab national movement: 1. The Prophet declared that he was the best individual of all humans; the Koresh, his tribe were the best of all Arabian tribes and Arabs were the best of all nations . 2. For this purpose, he used the oldest Semitic device of revelation to declare himself a prophet, who is supposed to have no axe of his own to grind but does what he is told by God. 3. As the Jews had a national God called "Yahwe," the Prophet chose Allah, the Lord of Kaaba, an idol of his own tribe, and raised it to the dignity of the one supreme God. 4. The Prophet made Kaaba, the sacred shrine of the Arabs as the holiest place of Islam so that whoever believes in Islam must also acknowledge the greatness of 5. He made Hajj, i.e. pilgrimage to the Kaaba, an old pre-lslamic Arab rite, a basic tenet of his religion to impress upon foreign Muslims the sanctity of
6. He insisted that God's covenant was not with Abraham and Isaac but with Abraham and Ishmael. It is universally known that Ishmael was the direct ancestor of the Arabs. Thus, one can clearly see that the purpose of Islam is glorification of the Arab nationalism. 7. The Kadba serves a much greater national purpose of the Arabs
than or lerusalem renders to the Jews. It is guardian of the Arab nationalism at the expense of the national conscience of the non-Arab Muslims who believe that they have no individual nationality of their own, and prefer to be called Muslims. Thus The Arabs have achieved the status of a nucleus whereas the non-Arab Muslims have gladly become their satellites in the hope of gaining paradise. It ought to be remembered that the Prophet shall not open the gates of paradise to those Moslems who are not friendly with the Arabs: The Prophet said: a. "May Allah humiliate those who seek to humiliate the Quresh (his tribe)." Sahih Tirmzi Vol. 2 p.335) b. The Prophet said to Sulaiman Farsee (the Persian Convert), "If you bear odium against the Arabs, you bear odium against me." (Sahih Tirmzi Vol.2. p.840) c. The Prophet said: "I will not intercede for those or love them who are not fair with the Arabs." (Sahih Tirmzi Vol . 2 p.840 ) Of course, there is a difference of opinion about the degree of accuracy about these Hadiths i.e. the Prophet's sayings, yet they are there. If they were inappropriate they would have been expunged. They are correct because they correspond with the Arabic ethos of Islam. 7. The Prophet built the structure of Islam around the sanctity of his own person by declaring himself: a. the Intercessor, b. tlhe blessing for the mankind, and c. the model of actions for all faithful. 8. Since Muhammad preferred Arabs to other nations, love of the Arabs becomes a prerequisite of Islam. 9. Since faith means belief in both Allah and Muhammad, the Islamic God represents duality as the Christian doctrine of Trinity represents Three- in-one. Not only Muhammad was an Arab, Allah, the Lord of the Kaaba, was also an Arab statue. Thus Islam is there to serve the Arab cause. 10. The Koran is an Arabic document. It is primarily a book for the understanding and guidance of the Arabs. Calling it a universal message is just an innovation for subjugating the non-Arab Muslims to the national hegemony of the Arabs. The above are the ingredients of the Arab nationalism; some are supernatural and some are racial. Having laid the conceptual foundation of the Arab nationalism, the Prophet's next concern was to train the Arabs and weld them into a fighting force to create an empire which should vouch for the Arabian greatness. The Prophet was not only a wiseman but he was also endowed with the qualities of indomitable courage and determination. He naturally used Jehad as the vehicle for this purpose. What is Jehad? Jehad is Allah's command to the Muslims to destroy the non- Muslims. It is not at all necessary that the non-Muslims have wronged the Muslims. The true crime is that they do not believe in Islam: "I have been commanded by Allah to fight the unbelievers until they believe in Allah and His prophet and follow the laws of Islam. It is only then that the safety of their lives and property may be guaranteed. " (Sahih Tirmzi, Vol. 2: 192) And why should they persecute and annihilate the non-Muslims? The Koran explains the point: "God has bought from the believers their selves and their possessions against the gift of paradise; they fight in the way of God; they kill, and are killed; that is a promise; binding on God.... And who fulfills his covenant truer than God? So rejoice in the bargain you have made with Him that is the mighty triumph..." (Repentance: 192) Jehad,
as can be seen, is a covenant between Allah and the Muslims; the former offers
paradise to the latter for killing and plundering the non-Muslims without having
any moral qualm in return for "It is not for any prophet to have prisoners until he make wide slaughter in land..... Eat of what you have taken as booty, it is lawful and good." (The Spoils: 65) Here is the essence of Jehad: invade the non-Muslims in the name of Allah for the sheer crime of not believing in Him; first carry out an extensive carnage of the people then all their property including women and children become legally and morally the possessions of the Muslims, who are at liberty to use them as they think fit. One wonders how one can call righteous such an attitude towards one's fellow-beings. This is why I have classified the Islamic Culture as the Aggressive Culture. It is amazing how the Muslims claim human rights in the non-Muslim lands without recognising humanity of the non-Muslims in their own countries. *It is a myth to say that the people of the Book i.e. Christians and Jews are on a par with the Muslims and cannot be looked upon as infidels. Why is Allah, the Arabian God, so utterly opposed to the human rights of the non-Muslims? The reason is quite obvious. The Prophet wanted to build an Arab Empire to raise the dignity of his own people whose stature had been considerably dwarfed by the magnificence of the Byzantines and Iranians, the imperial nations of that time. These were warring nations which believed in fighting for their national prestige. The Arabs were equally conscious of Arabism at that time as they are now, but they were more prone to the tribal sympathies than to the concept of nationhood which required a common and more exciting factor. The Prophet presented Allah as the focal point of national unity, who wanted the Arabs to fight the non-Arabs mercilessly for taking over their
possessions, lands, wives and children to feel a sense of elation. Why do I say
"Arabs versus non- Arabs," and not Muslims versus non-Muslims? It is because at
that time the Prophet had hardly any non-Arab Muslims. Therefore, Arabs and
Muslims meant one and the same thing, and it was more effective to mobilize them
in the name of Islam owing to its supernatural appeal, which carried the promise
of Allah hates the infidels because they do not acknowledge Him as their God or worship Him. According to the Koran, Allah ------------- *A hadith clearly states that any Jew or Christian who heard of Muhammad but did not believe in him, would become a denizen of Fire. ------------- is the Creator of this universe; He is All-powerful, All- knowirg, Absolute, Independent and above every desire. These divine attributes seem fictitious because the Koran depicts Allah as someone who is crazy for being acknowledged, loved and worshipped. The plain truth is that Allah is happy when He is worshipped by man and is extremely unhappy when He is neglected by man. This is the reason that He swears at the unbelievers and threatens them with hell. When this device does not work He coaxes man with the sweetner of heaven. What kind of God is Allah whose own happiness depends on the attitude of man towards Him? He cannot be Independent or Absolute for having such a burning desire to be worshipped. If God really wanted to be worshipped, He would have created man as He does not want to be adored. Is worship really a noblest desire? In fact, it is the lowest wish a being can have because it is the worst form of flattery. Someone who wants to be praised all the time is a maniac who has Iost all sense of decency. He is a danger to his own dignity as well as to the self-respect of those who are required to creep, crawl and cry before him. Desire for praise is a human weakness, and urge of dominance happens to be its fountain. I have discussed this concept in my books, "Taxation And Liberty," as well as "Eternity." In a nutshell, it implies a person's desire to impose his superiority on others so that they should obey him from a sense of inferiority. This fact can be observed in the pecking order of the fowl. In the olden days, when a plaintiff had to prostrate before the suzerain as a part of his supplication, this constituted as compliance with the ruler's urge of dominance. Praise is simply an act of self- humiliation in relation to a superior. Of course, a superior can also praise an inferior but such adoration is not even remotely connected with worship. As mentioned earlier, Allah is the creation of Muhammad; He is just an abstract concept and not a concrete entity. It is the revelatory device which enables a prophet to act as God in the name of God, who is not really there, but is projected as such, so that the prophet can claim that he has no axe to grind in the matter, though the truth is entirely the opposite. It is the vicar or the prophet who is running the whole show in the name of God. It is Muhammad who is the real mover: Allah is just a decorative figure. The British system of government has an analogy with this set up. The Queen is the figure-head who is told by the Prime Minister what to do. It is Muhammad who wants to be loved and worshipped by people, and this is the reason that he cannot tolerate the existence of those who do not believe in him. This fact is well-explained by the Koran itself: "God and His angels bless the Prophet. O believers, do you also bless him, and pray him peace." (Confederates: 55) "Blessing and praying peace" are the major forms of worshipping. In all other religions, it is man who worships God but in Islam even God and His angels worship the Prophet, yet he claimed to be a man and servant of God! In fact, Muhammad is the real Mover of Islam and Allah is just the Sacred Supposition. Had Muhammad said that he would give paradise to those who kill or get killed in his name or for the glory of the Arab nationalism, nobody would have listened to him but by making this declaration in the name of Allah, he created a supernatural appeal to fight the non-Arabs for building a national empire under his guidance and hegemony. Their immediate reward was booty by way of wealth and women plus the chance to rule the foreigners. And those who got killed in an attempt to kill the infidels, fared even better: they were to go straight into paradise. Before I explain the Islamic
concept of The Prophet projected the Koran as the Word or Law of God, and made similar claim about the unchangeability of law as I have discussed above: "No man can change the words of God;" ( Cattle: 30 ) However, this claim is not backed by facts. In practice, the Prophet is above the Laws of God. See for yourself: 1. I have already quoted the example of Kibla. If Allah is at the helm of affairs, then the Prophet should have no say in such fundamental matters. He can make such suggestions or decisions only if he is the inventor of Islam. 2. The Koran does not allow sexual intercourse outside marriage but we find that the Muslims did have concubines with whom they had carnal relationship at will. It is known to history that the Prophet himself had at least one concubine, though some put the number at two. 3. The Koran allows only four wives at a time but the Prophet had nine wives simultaneously. Obviously, the Prophet was above the law of Allah or Allah Himself was the Prophet's creation. 4. The permission for polygamy is subject to the strict proviso of equity, that is, the husband must treat all his wives with complete equality: "Marry such women as seem to you, two, three, four, but if you fear you will not be equitable, then only one.." ( Women: 1) When the Prophet's wives expressed their dissatisfaction and started rowing and using abusive speech, Allah gave him dispensation from this vital condition of polygamy: "You can suspend any of your wives at will and receive any of them at will; and whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside, it is no sin for you.." (The Confederates: 50) God's law is obviously not binding on Muhammad because He makes it or changes it to suit the convenience of the Prophet. 5. The Koran has laid down that all righteous and believing women are eligible for marriage, and the believing men should marry them; the beliefs of a believing woman's father form no part of the marital consideration. However, this law of Allah suffered a setback when Ali, the husband of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet, made a proposal of marriage to the daughter of Abu Jahl. The Prophet refused permission for this match despite the fact that Allah allowed polygamy and the lady in question was a believer. Bearing in mind that Ali was known for his piety and Islamic zeal, she must have been a righteous woman. The fact that her father had been an infidel and enemy of Islam, had no bearing on the subject. What was the reason, then? The Prophet declared from the pulpit: "Ali should divorce my daughter, for my daughter is part of me. He who disturbs her in fact disturbs me and he who offends her offends me." (Sahih Muslim Hadith: 5999) One cannot help wondering about the Koranic claim that "No man can change the words of God." 6. Mecca has been a sanctuary since the pre- Islamic days; even the pagans observed this custom. The Koran named Mecca as the "Mother of Cities" as a respect to her spiritual status, but the Prophet invaded her with 10,000 men! Hadith No. 59 of the chapter 9, Sahih Albokhari, quotes the Prophet's saying: "Allah has made Mecca, a sanctuary, so it was a sanctuary before me and will continue to be a sanctuary after me. It was made legal for me for a few hours of a day." The sanctity of Mecca is so great that one is not allowed even to uproot its shrubs, cut trees or chase or disturb game or pick up its Luqata (fallen things). History has recorded that the Meccans avoided bloodshed by surrendering to the Prophet. Had they resisted, Allah would have sanctioned as long a period of invasion as it would have taken the Prophet to conquer it. How amazing it is that Allah changes or dispenses His universal laws to please Muhammad. He seems to be a slave of the Prophet and keeps awaiting the moments to please him! In chapter 30 of Sahih Albukhari, the hadith no. 48 states that when Khaula Bint Hakim, one of the ladies, who presented themselves to the Prophet for marriage, Aisha, the Prophet's youngest wife said: "Doesn't a lady feel ashamed for presenting herself to a man." But when a revelation came soon after, saying: " ( Muhammad ) you may postpone ( the turn of ) any of them (your wives) that you please.." (33: 51), Aisha said: "O Allah's Messenger! I do not see but that your Lord hurries in pleasing you." What an observation it was! The only function of Allah seems to be to secure the pleasure of Muhammad yet He claims to be the Creator and All-powerful. He cannot be. The God who dispenses or bends His laws to please a man or legalise his actions, cannot be God. Allah is Muhammad's creation and His duty is to give supernatural sanctity to Muhammad's words and deeds. This is what made people believe that the reward of Jehad i.e. killing and robbing the non-Muslims in the name of Allah is paradise, the dream of every man. Without the expectation of such a reward, the Arabs would not have fought with half the zeal that they displayed in eradicating the non-Arabs. The paradise, though not a new concept, was a part of the Prophet's national plan and was presented with a poetic skill, not yet surpassed by any one after fourteen hundred years. What is paradise? To start with, it is a place which suits Arabs the best because they were the people used to suffer the torture of the torrid desert having hardly any trees or traces of water. The heat, hunger and hazardous conditions played havoc, making them desirous of shady places, having wells, springs and gushers. This is how Koran depicts the paradise: "Give thou good tidings to those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, that for them await gardens underneath which rivers flow; whensoever they are provided with fruits therefrom .... " ( The Cow: 4 ) This shows the Arabian need for Islam. The same theme is repeated in Thunder: 35 and The Spider: 55. As we proceed further, the bounties of paradise begin to multiply: "There awaits a known provision, fruits - and they high-honoured in the Gardens of Bliss, upon couches, set face to race, a cup from a spring being passed round to them, while a delight to the drinkers, wherein no sickness is, neither intoxication; and with them wide-eyed maidens restraining their glances, as if they were hidden pearls." ( The Rangers: 40-45 ) The All-Merciful: 55 illustrates the maidens i.e. houris, further: "therein maidens restraining their glances, untouched before them by any man or Jinn.... lovely as rubies, beautiful as coral." In the "All -Merciful" is given a detailed picture of paradise: it is a place studded with pomegranates and palm-trees, where there are good, comely maidens (houris) cloistered in cool pavilions; they recline upon green cushions and lovely druggets. This is all set in green meadows with fountains of running water. The Smoke: 50 declares that the Muslims shall be espoused to these wide-eyed houris. The magnificence of paradise soars even higher in "Muhammad: 15" "In paradise are rivers of water unstaling, rivers of milk unchanging in flavour, and rivers of wine - a delight to the drinkers, rivers, too, of honey purified, and therein for them is every fruit...." Here I should mention the mastery of the Prophet's descriptive power. To highlight the effect of paradisiac delight, he narrates the doleful plight of hell in contradistinction. For example, in the same sura, it is stated that the dwellers of hell i.e., the non-Muslims shall be "given to drink boiling water, that tears their bowels asunder." In "Mount: 20," a further attraction appears for the dwellers of paradise; they shall be given "youths like hidden pearls" to serve them. One of the functions of these immortal pretty boys is to serve drinks to the believers as well as fruits and flesh of fowls as desired by them. They are joined by houris as beautiful as "hidden pearls." This "is a recompense for that they (believers) laboured." Having described the tastes of paradise, then Allah narrates the torture of hell to heighten the effect, "Then you erring ones, you that cried lies, you shall eat of a tree called *Zakkoum, and you shall fill therewith your bellies and drink on top of that boiling water lapping it down like thirsty camels This shall be their hospitality on Day of Doom." (The Terror: 50) A further addition is made to the narrative of paradise in "Man: 15:" There is a fountain called "Salsabil" which gushes ginger wine. Immortal youths like "scattered pearls" go about serving in vessels of silver and goblets of crystal; they are a bliss to look at; they are clad in green garments of silk and brocade and wear bracelets of silver. They are a pleasure to look at for having the majesty of a great kingdom. The description of houris, the most beautiful virgins continues to the end. These nymphs of paradise have "swelling breasts" who serve the faithful with overflowing cups. -------------- * Zakkoum is a tree whose every bit is highly thorny. -------------- Now I may add to this description of houris from tne Hadith, especially, Jame Tirmzi, Volume 2, Chapter: "Women of Paradise,'' P 135 to 140; it is illustrated: 1. Houris' bodies are so transparent that the marrow of their bones is visible. 2. They are called houris because whiteness and clarity of their colour is so stunning that eyes become dazzled when one sees them. Their eyes are large and intensely black like the eyes of an antler. 3. They have downward looking restraining eyes. 4. The body of a houri is like red wine in a clear glass. 5. Houris are sweet-spoken and have their companions. 6. They are virgins and do not feel pain. 7. The breasts of the houris are round and horizontal: they do not hang down. 8. They live in palaces. 9. The Prophet said: "Every believing man shall be given virility equal to the potency of one hundred men!" 10. The Muslims believe that every faithful shall be given seventy houris in paradise plus a large number of pretty youths. I need not comment on the nature of paradise because these facts portray its true picture. To qualify for paradise, one must be prepared to fight a holy war: "Prescribed for you is fighting, though it be hateful to you. Yet it may happen that you will hate a thing which is better for you, and may happen that you will love a thing which is worse for you; God knows and you know not." (The Cow: 210) "O Prophet, urge on the believers to fight, if there be twenty of you, patient men, they will overcome two hundred..." ( The Spoils: 65 ) "God has bought from the believers their selves and their possessions against the gift of paradise; they fight in tlhe way of God; they kill and are killed; that is a promise binding upon God...." (Repentance: 110) Jehad
is a duty laid on the believers to destroy the unbelievers in return for
paradise. It is the greatest worship in Islam and the person who does not have a
desire to participate in Jehad, is not a Muslim. The
Muslim scholars claim that lehad is a defensive war.
This is a misinterpretation of a fundamental Islamic doctrine. Of course, there
are a couple of verses which may be given this meaning but they are not
compatible with the history of Islam. The Islamic wars against
Jehad is an aggressive war hecause Muslims are required to dominate Ihe non-Muslims by murdering, pillaging and abducting their women. Islam advocates a perpetual war against the infidels: "I have been commanded to fight against people, till they testify to the fact that there is no God but Allah, and believe in me (that) I am the messenger (from the Lord) and in all that I have brought (the Koran). And when they do it, their blood and riches are guaranteed protection on my behalf except where it is justified by law.." (Sahih Muslim: hadith 31) If Allah means the universal God, then the Jews, the Christians, the Hindus, etc, have always believed in Him. Therefore, the quarrel is not about believing in God but Muhammad, who wanted to be the head of an imperial Arab race and aspired to be worshipped as God. The doctrine of revelation is essentially a means of projecting a man i.e., the prophet as a God, indirectly. Since it is Allah and angels who pray peace to Muhammad, his desire to be loved and adored was beyond all reckoning. Having given his people Allah as the national God with universal flair, a holy book and a prophet (that is, himself), he wanted to turn his people into a race of invincible fighters. His doctrine of Jehad which guarantees paradise, is a master stroke of his wisdom. TheArab crusaders, when they won against their opponents, enjoyed the delights of paradise on this earth by taking over their wealth and women, and if they got killed, they were sure to be embraced by the houris. They could not lose either way. As the prophet emigrated to
To a man like Muhammad endowed with a copious will and the burning desire to create a nation which could hold the Byzantinians and the Iranians to ransom, this rate of progress was hurtful. Nations in those days, as now, could be awed by might only and not meekness. He was a born crusader and a commander. As the Jews had subdued the Canaanites with sword and fire, the Prophet decided to assert his martial ability with a novel zeal. Jehad, the struggle to plunder people in the name of Allah was declared as the highest act of piety; success made life paradisic in this world by enabling the Mujahid (the Crusader) to live off the loot, and enjoy the panache, pampering and pleasure of theharems made of abducted women. And if the crusaders died in the action, they were even luckier: they went straight into paradise, the majestic manifestation of Allah's merriment, munificence and mercy.
Only a few of the emigrants took
up trading in the local market, the others adopted Razzias (Ghazawaat) as the way of
life in The battle that ensued at Badr on Planning 65 raids, and leading 27 during a period of ten years in
It was during this invasion that
he set models of a treaty and agreement for his followers to follow. His
political and military skills raised him to the status of the Arabian Emperor.
It is from this commanding height, he reshaped the Arab nation which was worthy
of achieving the goal that the Prophet set for it. He bestowed on his people a
character and determination that only a superb national reformer and a great
patriot can do. It is vindication of his greatness that he raised a nation which
humiliated the tremendous powers of history such as Byzantine and
The national greatness of
Muhammad remains unchallenged even today, and will probably remain so in future.
It is because the grandeur he bestowed on the Arabs, despite their decreasing
political significance, has been increasing culturally over the centuries. The
secret lies in his declaring Kaaba as the most sacred
sanctuary, making the sanctity of Mecca inviolable, rendering pilgrimage to
Mecca as the economic backbone of Arabia, even if there were no oil, raising the
Arabic Koran to the status of God's Word and thus declaring Arabic the Divine
language, making Allah, an idol of Kaaba, the
universal God of Islam, treating his own person the medium of salvation and
asserting that an enemy of Arabia is an enemy of his. Thus a Muslim's life is
completely dominated by the spiritual hegemony of
It is the result of the psycholagical inferiority engendered by these factors that
the non-Arab Muslim nations, with the exception of Turks, are averse to the
concept of national identity, and prefer to be called Muslims. For this lack of
national character, the Muslims in both There is a parallel in history;
as love of On the contrary,
treat it
as such though it is a make-believe arising out of religious convictions which
cannot be given the mantle of reality because neither the Arabs will accept them
as the citizens of One should realise that by making himself the pillar of faith and the sole medium of salvation, the Prophet has created the same relationship between himself and the non-Arab which exists between a burning lamp and moths. These tiny insects have developed an urge to cremate themselves on flames without any external pressures. Take for example, the Muslims of India, Pakistan and Eventually, as the influence of
Islam increased with the Turkish conquests, the Muslim converts of
Their hatred of the Indian
culture grew so fierce that everything that the non-Muslims and their own
forefathers did was held superfluous, supercilious and sordid. They wanted to
destroy the temples and churches of the non-Muslims, preached Jehad against them to rob, murder
and convert them into Muslims. This total disregard bordering on the utter
detestation of their own culture, persuaded them to partition
This breaking up of their
homeland for the love of Though poetic in essence it is the foundation of their faith which has become the cornerstone of their lives. Without it they will perish for lack of social justice and the economic means of satisfaclion. This tragedy is enhanced by the priest politician and the self-appointed pioneers who exaggerate the powers of the Prophet and keep increasing the public reliance on him for the sole purpose of brainwashing them so that nobody should judge their deeds rationally. The worse aspect of this tragedy is that most of these priests, politicians and pioneers are hypocrites and even do not believe in the Prophet or his teachings: some of them are plain atheists! To them Islam is the best commodity to barter for anything that they desire. This attitude of the mind is not
restricted to their "homelands" but can also be seen in the foreign countries
wherever these Muslims have settled. Take for example
they
know the real meaning of Parliament or the history of its development. It is
expressive of the priestly and political behaviour
which seeks to use the Muslim failh for its own ends.
What happened to the Muslims in
The person of the Prophet is a model for any national leader. Instead of following it they are flouting it and yet they call themselves Muslims. These misguided Muslim priests and politicians from the Indian sub-continent ought to realise that the European countries have a live national conscience which will not be subdued by the Arabian magic. It is high time that they retrieve their national identity and the glory which goes with it. Nothing is more foolish than dreaming of a paradise full of virgins and pretty boys as a compensation for the national insult, injury and injustice. They have brought upon themselves by following the foreign dogma which seeks to glorify its own people through a scheme of subtlety, stratagem and sophistication. |