Life in the Shadow of Islam

By Dr. Mordechai Kedar September 13, 2015  Israel National News

The second Muslim Caliph, Umar bin Khattab, conquered Jerusalem in 638 C.E. without shedding a drop of blood. The city simply surrendered to him. Omar announced a list of conditions to be fulfilled by those Christians who desired to live in peace and security under Islamic rule. The document, known as the Pact of Umar, appears on the web here (Hebrew) and here (English).

Although the Pact of Umar was written over 1300 years ago, it was recently used as the basis of a document issued by Islamic State for the Christians living in the Syrian town of al-Kareten  This should not come as a surprise, since Islamic State has made no secret of its plans to reinstate ancient Islam and take us all back to the seventh century, the century during which Islamic conquests succeeded in overpowering empires and subjugating a large number of nations.

A short while ago, Islamic State gained control over the Syrian Christian town al-Kareten..The residents did not flee and instead, asked to live under Islamic State’s protection. How did the wise men of Islamic State respond? They produced a document that spells out the conditions that would allow the Christians to remain in their town underthe rule of Islamic State.

The entire contents of this document are brought below:

Islamic State, Ministry of Justice and Complaints:

In the name of Allah the Merciful and Compassionate

The Agreement Affording Protection [to Christians]:

Praise be to Allah, Cherisher and Sustainer of the world, who humbles heresy with his strength and says in the Qur’an:

“Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture – [fight] until they give the jizya willingly while they are humbled.(Qur’an: Repentance, Chapter 9, verse 29, Sahih International translation).

“We bear witness that there is no god except for Allah, who keeps his promise, gives strength to his armies, defeats dissenters; there is no god other than Allah and we serve only him, are faithful to him and his religion even though the infidels abhor it.

“We bear witness that Mohammed is his servant and messenger, may Allah pray for him and grant him peace, he [Mohammed] who scoffs at [fears of] battle, whose lord sent him between the hands of the clock and the sword to serve the lord alone, and sent down to him  the [Qur’anic] chapters of “War”, “Default in Duty” and “Ranks”.

“We bear witness that Jesus son of Mary is Allah’s servant and messenger, and that Allah sent his word to Mary with his own spirit because Allah said in the Qur’an: “Never would the Messiah disdain to be a servant of Allah , nor would the angels near [to Him]. And whoever disdains His worship and is arrogant – He will gather them to Himself all together. (Qur’an: Women, Chapter 4, verse 172).”

Praise be to Allah for the power of Islam, for the joy of the strength [that Allah granted the Muslims], thanks flow to him up until the Day of Judgment.

Before you is the security granted by Allah’s servant, Abu Bakr el Baghdadi, Emir of the believers, to the Christians of the Damascus region, in the al-Kareten district: He secures their persons and possessions, assures them that they will not have to do anything against their religion and that none of them will be harmed.

The conditions for the above are as follows:

1. Christians may not erect a monastery or church nor designate an area where priests hold solitary vigils anywhere in or near their towns.

2. They must not display a crucifix in public nor any of their books in any of the places traversed by Muslims, or in their marketplaces, they may not use amplifiers in their prayers and ceremonies.

3. They must not read their books aloud or ring bells where Muslims can hear them. They may ring their bells in church.

4. They must refrain from any acts of aggression against Islamic State, such as harboring spies and men wanted by Islamic State’s laws, and if they know of any plots against Muslims they must immediately report them.

5. They must obligate themselves to refrain from public religious ceremonies.

6. They must respect Islam and Muslims and are forbidden to say anything against their [Muslim] religion.

7. (this part is missing)

8. Christians must be sure to pay the jizya (head tax) for each male adult among them, in the sum of four golden dinars. This refers to the dinar used in business, whose weight, 4.25 gram of pure gold, is fixed. This levy is for the rich, while those in the middle class pay half that, and the poor pay a quarter. They are forbidden to hide their possessions and are allowed two payments over a single year.

9. Christians are forbidden to own firearms.

10. They are forbidden to trade in pigs and wine with Muslims or in the marketplace. They may not drink alcohol in public, or in public places.

11.They will be allowed their own cemeteries, as is the custom.

12. They must be careful to keep the [general] rules laid down by Islamic State, such as [wearing] modest clothing, laws of buying and selling etc.

If they live up to these conditions, they will be privileged to live in the shade of Allah under the protection of Mohammed, may Allah pray for him and grant him peace,  [this protection] including their persons, property and possessions. They will not have to pay tithes on their possessions unless they bring funds for business from outside the borders of Islamic State. They are forbidden to cheat and they must not be cheated. No one of them will be punished for the misdeeds of another.

They may dwell in the shade of Allah who will pray for their protector and grant him peace until the day that Allah brings his word [at the end of time], as long as they adhere carefully to the conditions in this document.

If they do not keep any part of what is written in this document they will have no more protection and the Islamic State can do to them what it is allowed to do to militants and objectors.

Signed: Sunday 15/11/1436 Hijri, 30/8/2015 Gregorian

Seal of the Islamic State

Ministry of Justice and Complaints

This document is identical in spirit and in part of its wording, to the conditions in the Pact of Umar written in the seventh century, the early and holy days of a young, powerful and all-conquering Islam that became weakened and old as the generations passed. Now Islamic State has appeared to bring Islam back to the days of its youth, to the power of its adherents, the faith of its fighters and the glory of its conquests.

This document reflects the way a significant number of Muslims aspire to have Islam rule over Christian and Jewish culture, consolidating this control by various means, the choice of which depends on the conditions prevailing in each area.

In Islamic State, obedience is ensured by the sword, knife, rope, pole, pistol and rifle. Note that Saudi Arabia has similar laws for any Christians that live in the country or arrive there for business purposes.

In Europe, Muslim immigrants force their religious agenda on their surroundings by means of the majority that they have attained in some municipal authorities. That is the situation in several western European cities where Muslims are a majority, and where demands were raised to end the selling of alcoholic drinks and pork in supermarkets.

In the USA, there are Muslims who demand an end to the ringing of church bells and in some areas, Muslims have demanded that crosses be moved to where they cannot see them because they find them offensive..

The recent, massive Muslim migration to Europe will, without doubt, increase these demands; if not now, then in a few short years.

And although the coercive methods of Islamic State are not acceptable to most Muslims, the group’s religious demands, especially on the treatment of  Christians, are acceptable to Muslims in many different countries.

Every country that allows Muslims to migrate to it must take into account that at some point these demands will be brought up, and if it turns out that the migrants do not get what they want from the host country, they will turn that country into what they want it to be.

Reprinted with author’s permission from Israel National News

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/48783/life-in-the-shadow-of-islam-opinion/#6tlOoSg6H4LTeg0i.99