The War

In the near and distant past Islam was - in fact, it still is albeit indirectly most of the time - the object of attack from both its avowed and undeclared enemies. These focused their direct and veiled attacks on one single idea which may be summed up as follows : Islam is a religion of violence and hatred, and spreading it by the sword is the duty of all Muslims.

They based their campaign on a few Koranic verses and on events that accompanied and followed the Islamic Dacwa. They found all kinds of far-fetched interpretations of the Koranic verses and distorted the facts which they explained as they pleased, thus suppressing the truth and spreading fabricated lies.

Today there emerged in the Islamic world religious movements and trends known in the West by such labels as "fundamentalism". There is no doubt that the stands and views of these movements and trends are characterized by extremism and violence unknown in traditional Islam which the believers inherited from the Prophet, the Orthodox Caliphs and the Prophet's Companions, and from Muslim scholars and jurists throughout the ages.

It was essential for the enemies of Islam, who belong to different religions and denominations, to exploit this reality: fundamentalism and extremism. So, they launched a disinformation campaign against Islam through their crusade against the "terrorist" acts carried out by the militia, the organizations or the trends that adhere to "fundamentalism".

The campaign against "fundamentalist terrorism" aims to achieve a clear and specific goal which a clever mind cannot fail to see : to distort Islam, and to present it as a religion of extremism, fanaticism and "terrorism".

We are not defending "fundamentalism" and "extremism", nor are we  criticizing them; we are merely defending the truth and impartiality.

Regardless of the fact that Israel occupies other peoples' countries by force - as is acknowledged by the whole world represented in the United Nations - and irrespective of the fact that the "terrorist activities" carried out by fundamentalists are most of the time a reaction to injustice, and to say nothing of the Middle Eastern problem which hardly needs any comment and of the displacement of the Palestinian people, the occupation of the Golan heights, as well as a strip in the South of Lebanon - irrespective of all this, we believe that we owe it to the truth and impartiality to clarify the following :   

The successively revealed religions are in the number of three : Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Torah, which is originally the Book of the Jews, is revealed by God, like the New Testament and the Quran.

The wars which the Jews or the Hebrews waged after they had left Egypt on their way to settle in the land of Kanaan - that is, Palestine - did take place and are all documented in detail in some Books of the Torah, such as the Exodus, the Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Like the New Testament and the Quran, the Torah is so widely spread among the Jews and the Christians, as well as non-Jews and non-Christians; it has appeared in many languages and in millions of copies.

From the Books mentioned above, we learn about some amazing issues and events about which historians and researchers raise a number of questions in wonder.

The most bewildering of all is the fact that Jehovah, the God of the Jews, who was to become Lord of the worlds later, is the one who leads them on to fight, makes victory easy for them, and paves the way for them to commit a genocide, as we will find out from the course of events. The following are some examples :

"And the Lord said to Joshua : See, I have given Jericho into your hand, its king and mighty men of valor. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both men and women, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword. And they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. … Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying : Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho … So the Lord was with Joshua", [Jos 6:1-27].

Also :

"Now the Lord said to Joshua : Take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land - And it will be when you have taken the city, that you shall set it on fire. According to the Commandment of the Lord you shall do. … Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai… so it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand - all the people of Ai. So Joshua burned it and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day". [Jos 8].

That is exactly what happened : genocide and many burning cities by a command from the God of Israel and His assistant :

"And they did so, and brought out from the cave the five kings of the Amorites : the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. Joshua said to the Captains of the men of war who went with him: Come men, put your feet on the necks of these kings. Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage; for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight. And afterwards, Joshua struck them and killed them all, and hang them on five trees … On that day Joshua, took Makkedah, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them - all the people who were in it. Then Joshua passed from Makkedah to Libnah, and they fought against Libnah. And the Lord also delivered it and its king into the hand of Israel; he struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword. He let none remain in it. Then Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish. And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel and struck it all and the people who were in it with the edge of his sword", [Jos 10].

That is what Joshua did to such cities as Jazer, Eglon, Hebron and Debir … .

"So Joshua conquered all the land: the mountain country, and the South and the lowland and the wilderness slopes, and all their kings; he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord of Israel commanded. All these kings and their land Joshua took at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel", [Jos. : 10].

"Then the Lord said to Moses : Do not fear him(*), for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land … .  So they defeated him. His sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him, and they took possession of his land", [Numbers 21:27].

"And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. They killed the Kings of Midian, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and their goods. They also burnt with fire all the cities where they dwelt and all their forts", [Numbers 31].

"Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately", [Numbers 31].

"Speak to the Children of Israel, and say to them : When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you ... . you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess", [Numbers 33].

"And the Lord our God also delivered him (Sihon) over to us; so we defeated him, his sons, and all his people. We took all his cities at that time, and we utterly destroyed the men, women and little ones of every city, we left none remaining", [Deuteronomy 2].

"So the Lord our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with all his people, and we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city we did not take from them : sixty cities … . And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Hebron, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city", [Deuteronomy 3].

These verses which we have quoted verbatim here prove, until further notice, that the Hebrews who left Egypt did not only kill people, and burn and destroy cities, they also committed utter genocide against whole peoples. It also becomes clear to us that the cities which the Hebrews took, destroyed and burned up, killing every one in them, are numerous and are mentioned by name. They are : Jericho, Al-Qods, Hebron, and Eglon, all of which are well-known, because they still bear the same names and are all in Palestine.

As the years went by, the Islamic Armies reached Al-Qods and laid siege to it in the year 638, as we have said earlier (Chapter 9). Al-Qods, whose inhabitants were mostly Christian, opened its gates to Omar Ibn al-Khattab -may Allah be pleased with him - because the city trusted Omar's probity. Omar entered Al-Qods and received the key to the city from Patriarch Severinus who accompanied him on a tour around the city. When praying time overtook him while in the Church of  Resurrection, the Caliph got out of the Church to pray in a distant place, "so that Muslims would not come after him and say : 'Omar prayed here,' and build a mosque in the place where the Church stood. Omar made a covenant with the Christians of Al-Qods that safeguarded their churches, crosses, religious rites and freedom of worship". This stands in opposition to what the Hebrews did when they conquered Al-Qods and other cities, as we have already said : "They were cautious to establish a covenant with the inhabitants of the cities, and they had no pity on them; they destroyed their altars, demolished their statues, and cut down their wooden images …".  "They killed them and exterminated them until there was none remaining …".

As is already known, and as we have said earlier, the Hebrews left Egypt and, like voracious beats, they descended upon peaceful nations and peoples who did not fight or wrong them, nor did they drive the Hebrews out of their land, or wage war against them. These people's only crime was that they had been living peacefully in those lands for hundreds of years,  without ever attacking any one. But, as the aforementioned texts confirm, the "Lord God of the Jews had delivered these nations and peoples into the hands of the Children of Israel and given them the land to possess. He commanded them to obliterate this land and to wipe it out of the face of the earth, along with the people who dwelled in it".

If, in the context of war, a comparison is drawn between these Torah texts and the Koranic verses, it will no doubt become clear to us that Islam is the most tolerant, merciful and peaceful of all revealed religions and those of the East. The following are some examples of these Koranic verses :

"Allah forbids you not with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just", [She That Is To Be Examined : 8].

"Therefore if they withdraw from you but fight you not, and (instead) send you (guarantees of) peace, then Allah opened no way for you (to war against them)", [Women : 90].

"O ye who believe! Enter into Islam wholeheartedly", [The Cow : 208].

"And if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace", [Spoils of War : 61].

It is our duty to speak the truth and say that Islam does not recommend war; except in cases of dire need : to repel aggression and to defend the faith and the faithful, for all of the wars which the Prophet had waged were defensive in nature; even the offensive wars were triggered off by a defensive motive.

For many years, the Prophet was spreading the Dacwa, which Allah had commanded him to spread, without ever resorting to fighting in spite of the fact that Quraysh in Makkah and the Jews in Yathrib had inflicted great suffering on the first believers and persecuted them. They even tried to nip the Dacwa in the bud.

Many a time, the faithful went to him, complaining and repining, and expressed their willingness to fight their enemy so as to put an end to the injustices done to them. The Prophet would say to them : "Persevere in patience, for I was not commanded to fight".

The Prophet's trip from Makkah to Medina was an attempt on his part to save his life and to save the Mission from the perfidy of the traitors and the injustice of the oppressors.

When the pressure of the Jews and the unbelievers intensified around the Muslims, Allah permitted them to fight : "Those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged; and verily, Allah is Most Powerful for their aid; They are those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right (for no cause) except that they say, 'Our Lord is Allah'", [The Pilgrimage : 39-40].

When the Muslims obtained victory, they did not resort to killing, burning, destroying, or violating the sanctity of the churches, unlike the Hebrews. On the contrary, they spread good and righteousness : "(They are) those who, if we establish them in the land, establish regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong : with Allah rests the end (and decision) of (all) affairs", [The Pilgrimage : 41].

Furthermore, the command of Allah to the Prophet is very clear : war is an obligation to repel aggression : "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits, for Allah loveth not transgressors. And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out … But if they cease, Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful", [The Cow : 190-192].

There is no text in the Quran that is in the least similar to those Torah texts which we have quoted, in which the God of the Jews said that He had delivered into their hands cities, peoples and nations to conquer, burn, and exterminate them all without exception, and to put their feet on the necks of their kings. In the Quran, we hear words that are replete with forgiveness and mercy, such as the following : "Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful", [The Cow], "They enjoin the right and forbid wrong", [The Pilgrimage], "To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged", [The Pilgrimage], "But do not transgress, for Allah loveth not transgressors", [The Cow].

As his army was getting ready for the Battle of Mu'tah , the Prophet gave his men these commands : "You shall not slay a woman, an offspring or a very old man, nor shall you burn a palm tree, uproot a tree or destroy a house".

But in Torah Books we read : "And they burned the city and all that was in it with fire", "They struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword", "so it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand", "he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord of Israel commanded", "They also burnt with fire all the cities where they dwelt and all their forts", "Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately", and "We took all his cities at that time, and we utterly destroyed the men, women and little ones of every city, we left none remaining".

While Allah appears to Muslims as a source of forgiveness and mercy, the Lord of the Hebrews manifests himself to the latter as a god of vengeance, revenge and killing : "If I whet My glittering sword, and My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render revenge to My enemies, and repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the heads of the leaders of the enemy", [Deuteronomy 32].

Among the orders which the Prophet gave to the captains of his armies we find : "Attack in the Name of Allah and in His cause. Fight the unbelievers. Attack, but you shall not be filled with hatred, nor act treacherously,  mutilate, or slay a newborn".

If the enemy mutilate Muslims, these have the right to reciprocate in kind. However, Islam prefers patience to vengeance : "And if you do catch them out. Catch them out no worse than they catch you out, but if you show patience that is indeed the best (course) for those who are patient. And do thou be patient, for thy patience is but from Allah", [The Bee: 126-127].

These two verses were sent down after the Battle of Uhud, in which the unbelievers mutilated the body of Hamza Ibn Abdulmuttalib, the Prophet's uncle, and those of other Muslims. The Prophet, who was extremely upset by this, resolved to take revenge on the unbelievers and to do to them exactly what they had done to his uncle and the believers. But Allah commanded him to be patient, as we have seen, because in Islam patience is better than vengeance.

One of Abu-Bakr's commandments to Usama was : "Do not betray, hate, double-cross, or mutilate, and do not kill a small child, an old man, or a woman; do not wound or burn a palm tree, or cut down a fruit tree, slaughter a ewe, a cow or a camel, except for food".

Regarding the captives of war, Allah decreed that they be treated kindly, like the needy and the orphans : "And they feed for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan and the captive. (Saying), 'We feed you for the sake of Allah alone, no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks'", [Mankind : 8-9].