The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

Issue 42

Issue 42 [42:18]: Bat Ye’or, Author – The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians under Islam – The Muslims see the extension of Jihad as a war liberating the infidels from their infidelity and a privilege for them to enter in the religion of Islam and to abandon their wrong belief. So Jihad is seen as a favor which is given to the infidel population in order to change their ways and convert to the true religion: Islam.

Rebuttal 42: These are just hollow opinions of another so called “expert” in the documentary whose personal background and agenda was brought to light in Issue 3 before. Jihad means no more than striving. The documentary forces a synonymic view of Jihad and war, which has no place in Quran as shown in numerous Rebuttals before – Muhammad Ali (Issue 27), Pickthall (Issue 27) , Zahid Aziz (Issue 33), Nooruddin (Issue 36) and G.W. Leitner (Issue 37). Bat Ye’or is possibly right with slight amendment when she states:

So Jihad [by pen, argument and personal example] is seen as a favor which is given to the infidel [or anyone of the] population [including Muslims themselves] in order to change [and improve] their ways and convert [their thinking on merit] to the true religion: Islam [which means submission to and mastery of all physical and moral Laws while free of anxieties].

Bat Ye’or is ignorant of the following sample verses when she made her assertion without quoting an example. These verses from among many in Quran are a plain rebuttal to her statement:

“Whoever goes aright, goes aright only for the good of his own soul; and whoever goes astray, goes astray only to its detriment. And no bearer of a burden can bear the burden of another…” (17:15).

“If they accept Islam, then indeed they follow the right way; and if they turn back, your duty (O Prophet) is only to deliver the message.” (3:20)

Never for once Ye’or imagined that the West she is trying to educate and teach actually practices what she is trying to smear Islam with. Lets contextualize her own statement to her own lifetime:

The West see the extension of “Democracy” as a war liberating the “backwards” from their backwardness and a privilege for them to enter in the “modern democratic systems” and to abandon their wrong belief. So “Democracy” is seen as a favor which is given to the “backward” population in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine in order to change their ways and subjugate to the true religion: “American and Israeli Hegemony a.k.a. Democracy.”

Oops! She forgot that it was the ‘heathens’ of Americas and the ‘savages’ of Africa and ‘opium smokers’ of Asia that Christianity and the West tried to ‘salvage’ either by the tip of the sword or slavery of their bodies and souls or exploitation of resources and labor or any combination thereof, all in last few centuries alone. A better title for her book might have been:

The Dhimmi: Africans, Asians, Indians, Middle Eastern (esp. Palestinians), Incas, Mayas, Aztecs, American Indians, Pacific and Australian Aborigines under Christianity, Judiasm and the West.

Note: [comments in square brackets above are not part of the original quoted text]

References:
The Holy Quran – Muhammad Ali, edited by Dr. Zahid Aziz