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St Francis Magazine Vol 9, No 4 | August 2013 request them to agree upon a thing which, if they accept, will enable them to conquer the whole of Arabia and subject the non-Arab world to their domination”. 12 5. The targets of the warfare: a limited number of specific ethnic groups, or every tribe on earth The Israelites were told that they could not attack certain ethnic groups. They were commanded that they should not fight the tribe of Esau (Deuteronomy 2:5); Moabites (Deuteronomy 2:9); Ammonites (Deuteronomy 2:19) or the land along the course of the Jabbok nor around the towns in the hills (Deuteronomy 2:37). At a later time, they were also told not to fight other Israelites (2.Chronicles 11:4; 2.Kings 12:24) or the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 32:5). Clearly the Israelites did not have the right to attack anyone or anywhere they wanted. At one time, they were ordered not to fight against the Amalekites and the Canaanites (Numbers 14:43)– Israel did so and was defeated (Deuteronomy 1:42). The early Muslims were told that their conquest would be directed against all nations who did not acknowledge Islam, Allah’s religion. “And fight them until there is no more disbelief and polytheism and the religion will all be for Allah Alone [in the whole of the world]” (Qur’an 8:39). No nation would be exempt. The claim to have been given “the keys of the treasures of the earth (or the keys of the world)” was repeated by Muhammad many times (alBukhari 4:795; 2:428; 5:411, 660; 8:434, 590; 9:160). The famous Muslim commentator Ibn Khaldun noted that “[i]n the Muslim community, the holy war [jihad] is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and the obligation to convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force... The other religious groups did not have a universal mission, and the holy war was not a religious duty for them, save only for purposes of defense... They are merely required to establish their religion among their own people. That is why the Israelites after Moses and Joshua remained unconcerned with royal authority [e.g. a ‘caliphate’]. Their only concern was to establish their religion [not spread it to the nations]… But Islam is under obligation to gain power over other nations.” 13 6. Ecological restrictions: environmental limits or destruction Old Testament warfare proscribed the destruction of fruit trees. “When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them” (Deuteronomy 20:19). The folly of making short-term gains which threatened longterm food security was recognised. The same principle allowed the taking eggs or young birds from nests, but required the mother bird be left free to breed again (Deuteronomy 22:6). Islamic warfare following prophetic sunna (example) and the Qur’an’s injunctions had no such constraints. Muhammad’s earliest biography, the Sira, recounts when Jewish farmers fled from Muslim troops leaving their farmlands exposed, “the Jews [of Bani Nadir] took refuge in their forts and the apostle ordered that the palm-trees should be cut down and burnt, and they called out to him, ‘Muhammad, you have prohibited wanton destruction and blamed those guilty of it. Why then are you cutting down and burning our palm-trees’ ” 14 A divine permission for this harsh action was soon given in a revelation to Muhammad. “What you (O Muslims) cut down of the palm-tree (of the enemy), or you left it standing on it stem, it was by the Leave of Allah, in order that He might disgrace the Fasiqun (the rebellious, the disobedient to Allah)” (Qur’an 59:5). Clearly, teaching the recalcitrant Jews a lesson was more important than environmental preservation. 12 Maududi’s Introduction to Sura 38 (from USC.MSA website). 13 The Muqudimmah, vol. 1, p. 473, quoted in http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/025249.php, cited 1 April, 2009. 14 Ibn Ishaq Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 437. St Francis Magazine is published by Arab Vision and Interserve 47
St Francis Magazine Vol 9, No 4 | August 2013 7. Treatment of female prisoners: marriage, or rape and slavery The Old Testament required that a Jewish soldier who desired a female prisoner must marry her after allowing her a month to mourn the loss of her parents. He would then treat her as a legal wife, and could not later sell her as a slave. If he divorced her, she must be set free (Deuteronomy 21:10). Muhammad had no such requirements for his followers. Muslim troops acquired women as plunder following the raid on Bani Mustaliq, and they wanted to resell them as slaves, for they said “we are interested in their prices” (al-Bukhari 3:432). However, the men also wanted to have sex with them, for they complained that “the long separation from our wives was pressing us” (al-Bukhari 3:718) and that “we desired women, and celibacy became hard on us” (al-Bukhari 5:459). They asked Muhammad about using coitus interruptus with the captive-women, for they “intended to have sexual relation with them without impregnating them”, (al-Bukhari 8:600; 9:506) presumably because pregnancy would reduce their resale value. Although Muhammad had advised against it on theological grounds, saying: “It is better for you not to do so” (al-Bukhari 3:432), Jābir reported that coitus interruptus was practised by his men during the Prophet’s lifetime (al-Bukhari 7.135, 136). Muhammad said to them: “Do you really do that” repeating the question thrice. “There is no soul that is destined to exist but will come into existence, till the Day of Resurrection” (al-Bukhari 3:432, 718; 5:459; 7:137; 8:600; 9:506). Remarkably, the Prophet criticised his men for their lack of faith in the divine decrees, but not for the rape of their female prisoners. Muhammad’s son-in-law indulged in this as well, for Buraida reported that “Ali had taken a bath (after a sexual act with a slave-girl from the Khumus)” (al-Bukhari 5:637). 15 The Qur’an refers to such prisoners and slaves as “those whom your right hand possesses” (Qur’an 4:3,24,25,36; 16:71; 23:6; 24:31,33,58; 30:28; 33:50,52,55; 70:30). Muslim men were permitted to have sex with them (Qur’an 4:3; 23:6; 33:50; 70:30), even if the women were already married (Qur’an 4:24), as long as the women were ‘good’ (s}ālih}{īn) (Qur’an 24:32) and ‘believing’ (Qur’an 4:25), i.e. Christian or Jewish. 8. The time limit of the warfare: for a specific period, or forever It was never mandated that the Israelites would be at war forever. Once the objective of securing a safe homeland had been achieved, it was expected that the fighting would stop. Indeed this happened in the time of Joshua, when “the land had rest from war” (Joshua 11:23; 14:15), periodically throughout the era of the judges “the land had peace” (Judges 3:11, 30; 5:31; 8:28) and at some other times (2.Chronicles 14:5,6). Even though fighting often took place with other nations at various times, the people of Israel always looked forward to a time when they would be able to “hammer their swords into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3). There is also the prophecy about the destruction of bloodied military equipment due to the coming of the “Prince of Peace” who would rule in justice and righteousness (Isaiah 9:5-7). Many Muslims believe that they must continue to fight until Islam prevails universally. They draw on verses in the Qur’an such as: “Do not falter or sue for peace; you will be the upper ones” (Qur’an 47.35). Their struggle must continue “until there is no more disbelief and worship is for Allah” (Qur’an 2:193). Muslim jurists divided the world into two parts: (1) dar al-Islam (‘the house of Islam’) are the places where Islamic rule, law and dominance is established; (2) dar al-harb (‘the house of war’) is where these conditions do not exist, but need to be inculcated by military and political means. Bassam Tibi, Professor of International Relations, Gottingen University, has stated the following: At its core Islam is a religious mission to all humanity. Muslims are religiously obliged to disseminate the Islamic faith throughout the world… If non-Muslims submit to conversion or subjugation, this call (dawa) can be pursued peacefully. If they do not, Muslims are obliged to wage war against them. In Islam, peace requires that non-Muslims submit to the call of Islam, either by converting or by accepting the status of a religious minority (dhimmi) and paying the imposed tax, jizya. World peace, the final stage of the dawa, is reached only with the conversion or submission of all mankind to Islam.” 16 15 Khumus was the one-fifth of all war-booty, including captives, reserved for Muhammad and his family. 16 Bassam Tibi ‘War and Peace in Islam’ in Terry Nardin, ed., The Ethics of War and Peace: Religious and Secular Perspectives (Princeton University Press 1996) p. 130. St Francis Magazine is published by Arab Vision and Interserve 48
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