Heading Into the Unknown

This is yours truly, mua the one and only Drima! I’m sorry people but I don’t really have the mood to blog about anything serious today. Plus I’m also having a really bad flu so I’m gonna be gone for 2 or 3 days. Blogging to resume afterwards. Best wishes everyone. I’ll rest and wonder as Sudan heads into the unknown. Whatever the unknown is, let’s all just hope it’s good.

7 Responses to “Heading Into the Unknown”

1. tommy on June 11th, 2006 5:59 pm

   Get well.

2. Tsedek on June 11th, 2006 6:11 pm

   Best wishes for a speedy recovery Drima,

   take care
   Tse.

   (very nice picture)

3. rated r superstar on June 11th, 2006 6:57 pm

   Drima,
   hope you get well soon buddy.

4. The Raccoon on June 11th, 2006 7:16 pm

   Get well soon, mate

5. Drewcatt on June 12th, 2006 5:22 am

   Get well soon man.

6. Anonymous on June 12th, 2006 6:38 am

   Drima,

   first, my best wishes for your recovery!

   Second, something completely off topic, but long overdue.

   Here’s the context: About a month ago we got into a discussion in the comments section to your May 14 article article “Propaganda against Islam.” (Strangely, that comments thread has disappeared from your blog.) The question arose whether today’s violent Muslims could legitimately be considered as inspired by their faith. While you, quite naturally, opposed that view, I argued the reverse: that terrorist violence was quite compatible with Islam and can draw its inspiration from it.

   In support of my position, I referred you and other readers to Ibn Ishaq’s “Sira” (i.e. biography) of Muhammad, an early (8th cent.) and authoritative Islamic document. I claimed that the Sira approvingly relates numerous episodes of excessive and unjustifiable violence ordered or condoned by Mohammed, even against adversaries who were powerless and posed no threat to his leadership or community.

   Against this background, it was my view that the Islamic killers of our day and age can legitimately claim to be authentic Muslims, since they follow a Prophetic precedent (a “sunna”). It is, in fact, the non-violent Muslims who — fortunately — ignore large parts of Islamic teaching and tradition to arrive at their stance.

   In response to my posts, you challenged me to come up with specific evidence from the Sira. Initially I had considered this unnecessary, since (a) the Sira contains a plethora of violent episodes and (b) I assumed you were by and large familiar with the text (as you indeed said yourself). However, since you asked for it, I felt I should answer your request, lest you presume that there was no such evidence.

   Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, I so far didn’t have the time to do the necessary research and write down the results. This is why only now, with a one-month delay, I come forward with this message.

   The following are all quotes from Professor A. Guillaume’s standard English Sira translation. Clarifying additions in square brackets are mine. My copy of the tome was printed in Pakistan, which would hardly be the case if the Muslim authorities of that country had any doubt as to the reliability of Prof. Guillaume’s translation.

   Page 367: “Then he [Ka’b al-Ashraf] composed amatory verses of an insulting nature about the Muslim women. The apostle [i.e. Muhammad] said … : ‘Who will rid me of Ibn al-Ashraf?’ Muhammad b. Maslama … said, ‘I will deal with him for you, O apostle of God, I will kill him.’ He [Muhammad] said: ‘Do so if you can.’ – On page 368 it is then related how Muhammad b. Maslama and his companions treacherously and cruelly kill the unsuspecting Ka’b.

   P. 369: “The apostle said: ‘Kill any Jew that falls into your power.’ Thereupon Muhayyisa b. Mas’ud leapt upon Ibn Sunayna, a Jewish merchant with whom they had business relations, and killed him.”

   Note: The Prophet of Islam didn’t say: Kill any Jew that tries to harm the Islamic community, he said: Kill ANY Jew, just any old Jew you can get hold of. Evidently his words were heeded. And again, as before with Ka’b, the victim in the previous paragraph, Ibn Sunayna, was killed treacherously, without any forewarning. He had no reason at all to believe that he would be targeted. Reminds one of today’s attacks on pizza parlors, subway trains and the like, no?

   P.674: A companion of Muhammed relates an exploit of his: “I went into a cave there, taking my bow and arrows, and while I was there in came a one-eyed man of Banu al-Dil driving a sheep of his. When he asked who I was I told him that I was one of Banu Bakr. He said that he was also, adding of the Banu al-Dil clan. Then he lay down beside me and lifting up his voice began to sing:

   I won’t be a Muslim as long as I live/
   Nor heed to their religion give.

   I said (to myself): ‘You will soon know!’, and as soon as the Badu [Bedouin] was asleep and snoring I got up and killed him in a more horrible way than any man has been killed. I put the end of my bow in his sound eye, then I bore down on it until I forced it out at the back of his neck.” – A little later the killer of the unsuspecting one-eyed Bedouin non-Muslim comes back to Medina, tells what he has done, and Muhammed reacts by condoning his actions: “He [Muhammed] asked my news and when I told him what had happened he blessed me.” (p.675)

   Same page, 675: “Abu ‘Afak … showed his disaffection when the apostle killed al-Harith b. Suwayed b. Samit and said:
   [Here follows a poem that in its gist praises the virtues of the killed man’s clan.]
   The apostle said, ‘Who will deal with this rascal [i.e. Abu ‘Afak] for me?’, whereupon Salim b. ‘Umayr … went forth and killed him.”

   Page 675f.: “[‘Asma’ bint Marwan] was of Banu Umayya b. Zayd. When Abu ‘Afak had been killed she displayed disaffection. … Blaming Islam and its followers she said:

   I despise Banu Malik and al-Nabit/
   And ‘Auf and Banu al-Khazraj./
   You obey a stranger who is none of yours,/
   One not of Murad or Madhij./
   Do you expect good from him after the killing of your chiefs/
   Like a hungry man waiting for a cook’s broth?/
   Is there no man of pride who would attack him by surprise/
   And cut off the hopes of those who expect aught from him?/

   [Hassan b. Thabit then composes a counter-poem. Thereafter the normal narrative continues as follows:]

   When the apostle heard what she had said he said, ‘Who will rid me of Marwan’s daughter?’ ‘Umayr b. ‘Adiy al-Khatmi who was with him heard him, and that very night he went to her house and killed her. In the morning he came to the apostle and told him what he had done, and he [i.e. Muhammed] said: ‘You have helped God and his apostle, O ‘Umayr!’ ”

   This much should suffice. If you want additional material, you can consult the Sira yourself. It abounds with stories about war, raids, killings, murders. Against this background, why should today’s Islamic murderers not consider themselves to be good Muslims?

   Sorry to deliver this sort of news. However, I’m only the messenger, I didn’t make this stuff up. It’s there, in the Sira; Muslims themselves once proudly wrote it down.

   Best regards,
   George Helperin

7. Drima on June 13th, 2006 8:43 am

   Hey people thank you very much for your wishes. I truly appreciate it. I’m feeling good now and as we say in Arabic “strong like a horse”.

   George Helperin, the question you ask is a challenging one. I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer it directly. I will need some time to do a little research on those incidents you refer to. Please leave me your email adress so I can get back to you on it as soon as I can since this post might end up being burried. BTW I disabled the comments in the “Propaganda Against Islam” post because a friend of mine there used my real name and it kinda got me a little paranoid. I will try to enable the comments again.

   Anyways thank you all again.

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