C H A P T E R V
N O N - M U S L I M S I N A ( F U T U R E ? ) M U S L I M C O U N T R Y
(D O G M A T I C S U P P R E S S I O N )
Muslims and some non-Muslims tell that for non-Muslims to live in Muslim countries is no problem - peaceful, safe and quiet.
What they do not tell is that according to the Quran, the deal is: Some safety in exchange for:
I. No political power - none at all.
II. Discrimination in all levels of life.
III. Strongly reduced legal security - a Muslim can enter your house and rob you, and laugh at you afterwards, if you have no Muslim witness, even if you have 10 others, just to take one example.
VI. Real risk for becoming victim of pogroms - they happen infrequently, but they do happen. A few years ago there was one with 2000 (?) dead in Indonesia and one far worse 1-2 generations ago. Also some years ago there was a bad one in East Timor with thousands of dead - murdered non-Muslims in connection with that East Timor got their freedom. Coptic Christians have problems in Egypt. And places like north Nigeria, north Pakistan and Darfur (terrorism, rape, robbing and murder based on Muslim juridical bodies) not to be mentioned. But we can mention 1,2 million murdered Armenians - a story even the modern Turkey has not got the backbone to face even today.
IV. At least in older times and with no guarantee for the future, prescription to deliver your children to the Muslims - f. ex. the Janizares under the Ottomans (strictly speaking not part of the Quran, but the effect was the same for the victims).
V. Paying extra tax - some places and times so high and ruthless that the victims were unable to pay, and had to flee from their homes.
Really the Quran does not say much about the life for non-Muslims in Muslim countries. Most of it one has to guess from verses talking only indirectly about such things. F. ex. verses talking about war, suppressing of non-Muslims, the superiority of Muslims, marriage, etc.
Also beware that there is a huge differencs - after all - between “the People of the Book” (mainly Jews and Christians) and all other non-Muslims, called pagans (some places and times the Zaroastrians of Persia was reckoned to be a little better than other pagans). The pagans are the bottom.
If it was not for the verse telling there should be no compulsion in religion in 2/256, the situation might have been worse - though the Muslims frequently have forgotten that through history, especially when dealing with “pagans”. This even more so as surah no. 2 was the first one in Medina and the other harsh ones were introduced after the arrival there, and so the hard surahs about war and hate takes precedence over it - the rules of abrogation (when two or more verses conflict, the newest one is the correct one).
But there are a few verses from where one can get direct information.
001 8/39: “- - - there (shall*) prevail justice and faith in Allah all together and everywhere - - -”. There shall be the rule of law - but the Muslim rule of law, where f. ex. a non-Muslim cannot witness against a Muslim. But to be fair, the Quran several places tells that judges shall judge correctly, so if there is no special reason, if the judge is not against non-Muslims, if he is not corrupt, etc., there was a reasonable chance to get a fair desition - fair according to Muslim laws. At least as long as your opponent was not a Muslim, or worse, a powerful Muslim. In that case the law was/ is not fair.
But Islam should - and shall - be the dominant religion.
002 8/58: “If thou fearest treachery from any group, throw back (their Convenant) to them - - -”. It was enough to “fear treachery” - or say they did - then the situation for non-Muslims suddenly became more unsafe. This has happened many times throughout history - sometimes resulting in pogroms and massacres. A late one was in Indonesia a few years ago where some 2ooo Chinese inhabitants were murderer and a huge ransacking spree took place against Chinese Indonesian citizens (and that was not even because of fear, but because of the Chinese worked more and had become richer than Muslims). A much worse story was against Armenians around 1900 AD. Some 1,2 million killed and no one knows how many girls/women were kidnapped for rape and/or harems. This story was in the news this year (2007), and Turkey still does not have the backbone to face it. And there is no guaranty for the future - Darfur with at least 200ooo slaughtered civilians - takes place today.
There have been more of the same kind - even though Muslims never talk about other facts, than that at times - sometimes even long times - Muslim countries were relatively safe for Jews, etc. if they accepted inferior status, no power, little legal security and extra taxes.
003 9/29: “Fight those who believe not in Allah - - - until they pay jizjah (extra tax - sometimes heavy) with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.” Comments on how it is to live under such helpless apartheid conditions is not necessary - the Negroes in South Africa at least did not have to pay an extra tax on top of all.
Also see other chapters - f. ex. “Muslims are better than other people”, like 68/35+36or 25/44.