Sunday, 29 September 2013

14 The Battle of the Trench





Another group of Jews decided to take on Mohammed to destroy him. They made an allegiance between the Meccans and another large tribe of Arabs and set out for Medina. 

Mohammed received news of this from his spies and immediately set about fortifying the weaker parts of Medina with a large trench. When the Jews and their allies arrived, they could not get past the trench and laid siege to the town.

The remaining Jewish tribe in Medina was persuaded, although reluctantly, to make an alliance with the attacking tribes. As usual, Mohammed got to hear all about this, (he always had excellent intelligence). He sent some of his spies to sow discord between the attackers. 

This they did very successfully. They deceived each side into believing that the others could not be trusted. Eventually the Meccans gave up. They were running out of food and water and decided to go back home. Mohammed immediately turned his attention to the remaining Jewish tribe of Medina.

From The Sira:
I684 Mohammed called upon his troops and they headed for the Jews. Mohammed rode up to the forts and called out, “You brothers of apes, has Allah disgraced you and brought His vengeance upon you."

The Jews had no choice. They could convert to Islam, or they could surrender and face Mohammed's judgment. They did not want to convert and so Mohammed chose one of his lieutenants to make a judgment for him.

From Bukhari:
B5,58,148 When some of the remaining Jews of Medina agreed to obey a verdict from Saed, Mohammed sent for him. He approached the mosque riding a donkey and Mohammed said, “Stand up for your leader.” Mohammed then said, “Saed, give these people your verdict.” Saed replied, “Their soldiers should be beheaded, and their women and children should become slaves.” Mohammed, pleased with the verdict, said, “You have made a ruling that Allah or a king would approve of.”

The Jewish men were made to dig their own graves. Mohammed and his 12 year old bride then sat and watched all day and into the night, while 800 of them were beheaded. Any boy who did not have pubic hair was saved and raised as a Muslim.

The spoils were then divided up, with Mohammed taking his usual twenty percent. The rest was divided up amongst his warriors. The women were taken to a nearby town, where they were sold as sex slaves. The one exception was the most beautiful Jewess, who Mohammed took to use himself. He had killed her husband and all of her male relatives, and now used her for his own pleasure.

The Koran makes mention of this event:
33:26 He brought down some of the People of the Book [the Jews] out of their fortresses to aid the confederates and to strike terror into their hearts. Some you killed, and others you took captive. He made you heirs of their land, their homes, and their possessions, and even gave you another land on which you had never before set foot. Allah has power over everything.

Author’s Comments:
I’m not often at a loss for words, but I can’t think what to say about this event. People who haven’t read these books often tell me that their meaning depends upon how you interpret them, so I’ll leave you to decide how to interpret this event. 

Here is a question you might want to ponder. Why are “radical” Muslims so keen on cutting people’s heads off? The Saudi’s will do it for such heinous crimes as disagreeing with Mohammed, or deciding to change your religion. Jihadists delight in beheading Kaffirs, (even aid workers) and posting the video on the internet. Now you know whose example they are following.

To a Christian, Jesus never did anything wrong. He didn’t lie, cheat, steal, kill, swear, etc. in fact he was perfect. What most people don’t realize is that the reason he never misbehaved, is because our concept of right and wrong is based upon the example of his life. If Jesus had lived a different kind of life, then Christian based societies would have a different concept of what constituted right and wrong, or good and evil.

There are examples throughout history of people who claimed to be Christians, committing acts of brutality on a par with Mohammed. This does not affect what Christianity is, because Christianity is not based on the example of such people; it is based on the example of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels.

 Likewise Islam is not based on the example of just any old Muslim; it is based on the example of Mohammed as recorded in The Sira and the hadith. Islam holds Mohammed to be the perfect man and the perfect example for Muslims to follow for all time.
                 
Slavery
Mohammed had always approved of slavery. One of his first converts was a slave who he owned. Whenever he took captives, if they weren't ransomed or killed, they would be sold into slavery. Women especially, were valued for their use as sex slaves.

Mohammed owned many slaves. He bought them, sold them and took them captive. His son was born to one of his slaves, a Christian girl named Mary.[1] Throughout Islamic history, slavery has therefore been not only acceptable, but desirable, as it advanced Islam. 

Its abolition was forced after the conquest of Islamic lands by Christian nations, particularly Great Britain and the United States. Slavery was finally officially abolished in Saudi Arabia in 1962 under pressure from the West. It is still thought to exist unofficially in some Muslim countries. 

Sub Saharan Africa was a major source of slaves for the Muslims. After Barak Obama won the US Presidency, the press reported that Al Qaeda considered him to be like a “House Slave” or “House Negro.”[2] In Arabic, the word “Abd” means a slave. The name “Abdullah” means the slave of Allah. The word “Abd” also means Negro.


[1] He died before reaching adulthood
[2] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/19/alqaida-zawahiri-obama-white-house





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