Roots of Terrorism.
I have been reading Gibbon’s 6 volumes entitled The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I am finally halfway through volume 5. The subject matter at that point is the rise of Islam. It all started with the birth and life of Mohammed. Why is the origin of Islam in a series of books about the fall of Rome? Constantine moved the capitol of Rome from the city of Rome to the new city of Constantinople. Eventually, Rome was divided between the Eastern Empire and the Western Empire. We usually date the fall of Rome at 476 AD, but that was the fall of the West. The East continued on for many more centuries. Eastern Rome’s southeastern border was often disputed by the Persians and the Saracens (now known as Arabs). This resulted in many bloody wars. Mohammed was an Arab of privileged birth who eventually claimed to be God’s prophet. He was not accepted in his hometown of Mecca, and after several years of trying to gain a following, had mostly a few relatives to show for his work. He and they were driven out, so they went to Medina. “A prophet is not known in his own country” truly fit the situation. At Medina he was received better and was eventually elevated to Prince of the city. He organized an army and fought the Koreish (the people of Mecca and its surrounds). Mohammed established the Moslems, wrote the Koran from alleged encounters with the Angel Gabriel, had a favorable disposition toward the Jews, thought of establishing his center in Jerusalem, was rejected by the Jews, became bitter towards them, and fought with them. Despite his having 11 wives, he left no male heir to the throne. His favorite daughter was Fatima. Fatima married her cousin Ali. Ali seemed destined to be the apostle and caliph after Mohammed. He was opposed, however, by Mohammed’s youngest wife, Ayesha, daughter of Abubeker, Mohammed’s strongest supporter and closest friend. Mohammed married Ayesha when she was only nine, so she far outlived him and spent much of her life opposing the elevation of Ali. Ali was resisted by the elders whose origin was Mecca, and Ali was of the family of Hashem, renowned in Medina. So the old rivalries between Mecca and Medina were rekindled on the death of Mohammed. It was not until 24 years after Mohammed’s death and the reigns of three other caliphs, Abubeker, Omar and Othman, that Ali took his “rightful” position as caliph. Ali’s supporters saw the three intervening caliphs as usurpers of the rights of Ali. They have ever since held bitter opposition against their rivals. The supporters of Ali are today known as the Shiites, making up much of Persia and a large part of Iraq. Omar was murdered, and the Shiites established the name Omar as that of the devil. The person who assassinated him was elevated to sainthood. In the battles that ensued after the elevation of Ali to caliph, Ayesha insisted on accompanying the tribal leaders who fought against him. The rebel leaders were slain, and her litter was filled with so many javelins and darts that it looked like it had been attacked by a porcupine. Then Moawiyah, another rival to Ali arose, claimed to be the caliph, and set up his throne at Damascus. A huge battle ensued between the two caliphs. Both sides suffered many losses. A reluctant truce was made. Finally, certain enthusiasts met at the temple in Mecca and decided that to restore peace to the realm of Islam, three men would have to be assassinated: Ali, Moawiyah and his friend Amrou. The assassins mistook someone else for Amrou, only wounded Moawiyah, but killed Ali. The Shiites have been in bitter opposition to their Arab cohorts ever since, and there seems to be no resolution to their hatred. The other side makes up the Turks who eventually created the Ottoman Empire that lasted 600 years and ended at WWI.
Now let us look at some of the precepts of Islam as set up by Mohammed. Moslems believe that on judgment day, their future state is determined by weighing their good deeds and bad deeds from this life. If the bad outweighs the good, they experience the first and mildest of the seven levels of hell. Their term may be anywhere from 900 to 7,000 years. Then they are received into paradise. The lower six layers of hell are reserved for infidels such as Christians and Jews. Their torment is eternal. Paradise is a place of sensual pleasure. There are 72 virgins that will be created for the enjoyment of the lowliest believer.
Early on, when Mohammed escaped from Meccato Medina, 75 of its citizens pledged themselves to support him. They then asked, “But if we are killed in your service, what will be our reward?” “Paradise,” replied the prophet. At this,they reiterated their allegiance and the people of the city ratified the treaty. So began the myth that when one is killed in battle,he will go directly to paradise and be received by the 72 virgins. In comparison with facing the judgment, having your good and bad deeds weighed out and possibly facing a sentence of 900 to 7,000 years in hell, the offer looks very attractive to those whose lives are weighted with more bad than good. Mohammed said, “The sword is the key of heaven and of hell: a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting or prayer: whosoever falls in battle,his sins are forgiven: at the day of judgment his wounds shall be resplendent as vermilion, and odoriferous as musk; and the loss of limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubim.” Then the historian Gibbon comments, “The intrepid souls of the Arabs were fired with enthusiasm: the picture of the invisible world was strongly painted on their imagination; and the death which they had always despised became an object of hope and desire.” Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 5, p.
287. Mohammed lived in the 7th century—over 1300 years ago. Today, we are dealing with ideas planted into the minds of people by Mohammed to gain their temporal support. Gibbon wrote about Mohammed in the 1780’s, long before the advent of political correctness. Today, we seem to do everything we canto say that the responsibility for terrorism lies on the shoulders of a few extreme fanatics. We are afraid to look at a religion’s tenants that might lead to fanaticism. If we are going to get serious about fighting terrorism, we have to look at its causes, and poverty is not the only cause. So what is the solution once a person identifies the origin of the problem? I do not know. But I do know that life on this planet is going to get worse before Jesus comes. Evil is going to run its course until God has to step in and save us from our own destruction (see Matthew 24:21-22). I do not think that leaders today have the capacity to solve the complex problems we face. There is only one solution—the coming of Christ bringing salvation to those who believe and destruction to those who perpetrate evil. I hope that day comes very soon.
Until next week,
Dennis
www.dennispumford.com
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