The few Jews who lived in Mecca were not very
knowledgeable about their religion. When Mohammed claimed to be a Jewish
Prophet, they took his word for it. In Medina there were many Jews. Among these
were rabbis and experts on the Jewish religion.
As a consequence, Mohammed
faced some serious questioning about his beliefs and was unable to convince the
Jews that he was one of their Prophets. They could clearly see that the Koran
did not tally with their Scriptures.
This infuriated Mohammed who began disparaging the Jews,
claiming that they had falsified their Scriptures. He said they had taken out
the part which prophesied his coming. In actual fact, Allah of the Koran is
fundamentally different from the God of the Torah, (the Jewish Bible or “Old
Testament”).
For example, the God of the Bible/Torah is said to love
all people. He even loves those who sin and refuse to believe in him. Mohammed’s
God Allah however, despises the unbelievers (Kaffirs).
Mohammed also made the same accusation about Christians
falsifying the Bible; yet copies of the Bible and of the Jewish Torah have been
found which predate Mohammed by hundreds, or sometimes even thousands of years. These are the same books as those we have today.
Hatred of Jews was to colour the religion of Islam from
this point on. In fact, Mohammed’s biography contains more hatred of Jews than
Hitler’s Mein Kampf[1]. Until this point,
Mohammed had told his followers to pray towards Jerusalem.
Now he changed his
mind and told them to pray towards the Kabah in Mecca. He began to speak badly
of both Jews and Christians. The Koran claimed that Allah would turn them into
pigs and apes.
Child Brides
Not long after his arrival in Medina, Mohammed
consummated his marriage to Aisha who was now nine years old. Mohammed
reluctantly agreed for her to bring her dolls into the harem. This was a
difficult decision for him as he hated images of any kind.
This included any
kind of sculptures or paintings. Aisha’s age at this time is verified by a
number of the most reliable Hadith. There are a few weaker Hadith which would
seem to contradict this fact.
These are sometimes quoted by Muslims who wish to
deny the charge that Mohammed was a paedophile. Bear in mind however that the
most revered manual of Sharia Law, (which is based on the example of Mohammed’s
life) gives instructions for divorcing a wife who has not yet reached puberty[2].
From Bukhari’s
Hadith:
B5,58,234
Mohammed engaged me when I [Aisha] was a girl of
six years. We
went to Medina; then I got ill and my hair fell down.
Later on my hair
grew again and my mother, Um Ruman, came
to me while I was
playing in a swing with some of my girl friends.
She called me and
I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to
do to me. She
caught me by the hand and made me stand at the
door of the
house. I was breathless then and when my breathing
became all right,
she took some water and rubbed my face and
head with it.
Then she took me
into the house. There in the house I saw
some Helper women
who said, “Best wishes and Allah’s Blessing
and good luck.”
Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared
me for the
marriage. Unexpectedly Mohammed came to me in the
forenoon and my
mother handed me over to him. At that time I
was a girl of
nine years of age.
Author’s Comments:
Fecundism: (word
derived from fecundity) is the politics of wilfully promoting high birth rate
among a group for the sake of enlarging its numbers related to other groups and
consequently, its political influence[3].
It is of course tempting to make a moral judgment about
the rights and wrongs of this situation. By today’s (Western) standards, what
Mohammed did was both morally repugnant and highly illegal. Many societies have
had lower ages of consent than we have today however.
Nine years old would seem
to be at the bottom end of the scale. In 7th century Arabia however, this act
didn’t seem to cause much controversy. It would seem therefore, to be within
the norms of Mohammed’s society. I also feel compelled to point out that any
number of self-declared holy men have used their position to procure sex with young
girls. If this was the worst thing that Mohammed had done, I probably wouldn’t
be writing this now.
As we will soon see however, from the time he declared
himself to be a prophet, Mohammed seemed to have just one overriding aim. He
seems to have been determined that the whole world would accept him as the final
Prophet of God. Every aspect of his life and his religion became focused on
this one goal.
Mohammed’s large sexual appetite is plainly documented in
Islam’s Holy Books. To understand his attitude to women and sex however, they
need to be viewed in the context of political and military expansion. This may
seem like idle speculation at this stage. As this story unfolds, other pieces
of the jigsaw will soon fall into place which will make this abundantly clear.
Mohammed wasn’t the first to use Fecundism and he
certainly wasn’t the last. The Catholic Church is one of the more famous
examples. Chairman Mao used it to great effect. The subsequent Chinese
leadership had to implement the “One Child” policy however, to prevent the
negative consequences of overpopulation, such as hunger, poverty and
overcrowding.
Islam doesn’t care about these consequences. They are
in fact the hallmarks of most Islamic societies.
Overcrowding leads to Muslims emigrating whenever
possible, to set up in new territories. The process then begins all over again.
This has been part of Islam’s strategy since Mohammed’s “Hijra,” or emigration
to Medina. Before I outline the ways in which Islam achieves this high birth
rate, let’s have a look at what Islam has to say about a woman’s place in
society[4].
The best way to
learn about Sharia Law is to examine the actual laws. The best source is
Reliance of the Traveller, translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, by Amana
Publications, 1994. The Sharia is organized in an outline form and each case
quoted below will be referenced by the index number.
Forced marriage
A woman may be
forced to marry a person whom she does not want.
M3.13 Whenever
the bride is a virgin, the father or the father's father may marry her without
her permission, though it is recommended to ask her permission if she has
reached puberty. A virgin's silence is considered as consent.
Forced sex
The wife must
have sex whenever her husband demands it.
M5.1 It is
obligatory for a woman to let her husband have sex with her immediately when:
(a) He asks her;
(b) At home;
(c) She can
physically endure it.
Wife Beating
The Koran says that a wife can be beaten. Mohammed recommended
wife beating in his last sermon at Mecca. Here is the Sharia:
DEALING WITH A REBELLIOUS
WIFE
M10.12 When a
husband notices signs of rebelliousness in his wife whether in words as when
she answers him coldly when she used to do so politely. or he asks her to come
to bed and she refuses, contrary to her usual habit; or whether in acts, as
when he finds her averse to him when she was previously kind and cheerful), he
warns her in words without keeping from her or hitting her, for it may be that
she has an excuse.
The warning could
be to tell her,
"Fear Allah
concerning the rights you owe to me,"
or it could be to
explain that rebelliousness nullifies his obligation to support her and give
her a turn amongst other wives, or it could be to inform her,
"Your
obeying me is religiously obligatory".
If she commits
rebelliousness, he keeps from sleeping (having sex) with her without words and
may hit her, but not in a way that injures her, meaning he may not bruise her,
break bones, wound her, or cause blood to flow. It is unlawful to strike
another's face. He may hit her whether she is rebellious only once or whether
more than once, though a weaker opinion holds that he may not hit her unless
there is repeated rebelliousness.
How does this affect the birth rate in a Muslim society?
1)
Since Sharia Law follows the
example of Mohammed, the minimum age for marriage should be nine years old. The
Saudi Arabian Government is currently[5]
trying to introduce a minimum age for marriage of sixteen years old. This is
probably through a mixture of embarrassment and international pressure. It is
facing stiff opposition from that country’s all powerful religious authorities
however (at the present time there is no minimum age for marriage in Saudi
Arabia[6]).
2)
In Islamic societies, a
family’s honour is all important and depends largely on the pristine morals of
its female members. Marrying off daughters as early as possible reduces the
chance of sexual impropriety before marriage.
3)
Girls have little say in this
matter.
4)
Once married a girl has no
right to refuse sexual intercourse with her husband except under extreme
circumstances.
5)
Contraception in Islamic
societies is frowned upon. Islam promotes large families as being highly
desirable.
6)
Predestination is a core belief
in Islam. Everything has been planned by Allah and whatever we do will not
change his plan. Worrying about providing for children is therefore not an
issue for Muslims. When asked about who will provide for their children, a
common reply is, “Allah will provide”.
7)
A Muslim may have up to four
wives. A woman of child bearing age whose husband dies for any reason will
usually be expected to remarry. In the event of a war involving a Muslim group
in which three quarters of the Muslim men are killed, the birth rate will not
be affected too much.
In theory then, a woman may be married at nine and kept
pregnant constantly from then on. By twenty years old, when a non-Muslim girl
might be expecting her first child, a Muslim girl could have ten children and
be expecting her first grandchild.
The reality is of course far less than this.
High infant mortality and the death of mothers is just one limiting factor. In
some Islamic countries this is exacerbated, perversely, by lack of “birth
spacing.”
Whilst none of these points is necessarily mandatory,
Islam exerts a higher degree of control over its followers than most other
religions. The Catholic Church also promotes a high birth rate yet in Italy,
the home of the church, the birth rate is one of the lowest in the world.
In a
society ruled by Sharia Law the pressure to follow these rules will be very
strong. Even for Muslims living in Western countries however, we can see the
results. In France, an estimated 10% of the population are Muslims.
Of children
born there however, almost one third are Muslims. With the baby boomers
starting to die off, expect huge demographic changes across the Western World.
These will favour Muslim populations.
Whilst not all Islamic countries are currently
promoting unchecked population growth, the trend can be seen quite clearly from
a brief look at global population statistics.
Associated Press Gaza[7]
Hanan Suelem
wanted an abortion after the 7th pregnancy, but Islamic clerics told her that
she would be "killing a soul." She told them that her soul was dying.
"After this, no more, never," she said, speaking almost in a whisper.
"I have learned now about the IUD." The area's schools operate on two
and three shifts to accommodate the growing Palestinian population. Gaza's population
of 1.1 million is expected to double by 2014. Half are under age 15. It is
already a highly congested area with few jobs, severely inadequate housing and
almost no natural resources. The West Bank and Gaza combined have a population
of over 3 million, which is expected to rise to 5.5 million in 14 years. The
fertility rate is seven children per woman. Almost all the babies survive and
adults live to an average of 73. Many young Palestinians do not want their
children to suffer as they did in oversized poor families, but large families
are not only traditional, but a point of nationalist pride and as a way to
outnumber the Israelis on the land the two groups share. Fortunately, health
and education officials quietly support family planning through clinics and
community outreach services. Women are taught about the different methods of
contraception that are acceptable under Islam -- anything except permanent
means, like sterilization or tubal ligation. The IUD and birth control pills
are growing in favour. Health officials refer delicately to the
"spacing" of children, since the suggestion to place limits on family
size would violate Islamic teaching. Women are told that it is written in the
Koran that God orders women to breast-feed for two years. Women in the West
Bank average 5.6 children per woman, compared to Israel, with about 2.7
children, the worldwide average. Gaza grows at over 4% a year while Israel
grows only 2% a year, which includes high levels of immigration. Palestinian
advocates are pushing for a law that would raise the legal age of marriage,
since half of Palestinian women marry before they reach age 18 and it is legal
for them to marry at 15 in Gaza and 17 in the West Bank.
Author’s note:
In 1948 there were around 170,000 Arab refugees, (these
refugees were not referred to as “Palestinians” at that time). Today, there are
around 5 Million. Whilst this is partly due to territorial gains by Israel, the
increase is still huge.
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