The Swine are Christians and the Apes are Jews

A recent article in the Washington Post, written by Nina Shea of Freedom House, laid bare Saudi hypocrisy in claiming to have removed hateful material from textbooks, when in fact that material remains in abundance. This is not just an issue within the Kingdom, for the Saudis export such material in large quantities to Muslims in other countries. But the article points to a deeper problem Â- one that Western authorities sooner or later will have to deal with: much of the objectionable material is actually derived from the Muslim holy book, the Qur’an, and from Hadith (traditions of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad considered authentic by Muslims and for them second only to the Qur’an in importance).

 

To shy away from pointing out the deep Islamic roots of the material leads one to the impression that this material originates with the Saudi Wahhabis, when in fact it is a much broader problem within the Islamic community worldwide. If Freedom House and its allies were somehow to succeed in getting the Saudis to stop teaching this sort of thing in Saudi Arabia and around the world (and I hope they do succeed), they will be surprised to find that the problem hasn’t thereby disappeared.

 

Nina Shea’s article declares: “A review of a sample of official Saudi textbooks for Islamic studies used during the current academic year reveals that, despite the Saudi government’s statements to the contrary, an ideology of hatred toward Christians and Jews and Muslims who do not follow Wahhabi doctrine remains in this area of the public school system. The texts teach a dualistic vision, dividing the world into true believers of Islam (the ‘monotheists’) and unbelievers (the ‘polytheists’ and ‘infidels’).” It provides numerous examples, all of which in fact show that what is being taught is not some heretical “Wahhabi doctrine,” but a reasonable summation of teachings found in the Qur’an and Hadith. The blockquotes below are from the Saudi textbooks as reported by Shea; interspersed are relevant Qur’anic verses and other material showing that all this is not just Wahhabi invention:

 

“Every religion other than Islam is false.”

“Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words (Islam, hellfire): Every religion other than ______________ is false. Whoever dies outside of Islam enters ____________.”

 

This is straight from the Qur’an: “If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (All spiritual good)” (3:85).

 

“True belief means . . . that you hate the polytheists and infidels but do not treat them unjustly.”

 

Again, this is straight from the Qur’an: “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves” (48:29). “Those who reject (Truth), among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists, will be in Hell-Fire, to dwell therein (for aye). They are the worst of creatures” (98:6).

 

“Whoever obeys the Prophet and accepts the oneness of God cannot maintain a loyal friendship with those who oppose God and His Prophet, even if they are his closest relatives.”

 

“It is forbidden for a Muslim to be a loyal friend to someone who does not believe in God and His Prophet, or someone who fights the religion of Islam.”

 

“A Muslim, even if he lives far away, is your brother in religion. Someone who opposes God, even if he is your brother by family tie, is your enemy in religion.”

 

“Let not the believers Take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah: except by way of precaution, that ye may Guard yourselves from them. But Allah cautions you (to remember) Himself; for the final goal is to Allah.” (Qur’an 3:28)

 

“O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.” (Qur’an 5:51)

 

“Just as Muslims were successful in the past when they came together in a sincere endeavor to evict the Christian crusaders from Palestine, so will the Arabs and Muslims emerge victorious, God willing, against the Jews and their allies if they stand together and fight a true jihad for God, for this is within God’s power.”

 

“Verily Allah will defend (from ill) those who believe: verily, Allah loveth not any that is a traitor to faith, or show ingratitude.” (Qur’an 22:38)

 

“There has already been for you a Sign in the two armies that met (in combat): One was fighting in the cause of Allah, the other resisting Allah; these saw with their own eyes Twice their number. But Allah doth support with His aid whom He pleaseth. In this is a warning for such as have eyes to see.” (Qur’an 3:13)

 

“As cited in Ibn Abbas: The apes are Jews, the people of the Sabbath; while the swine are the Christians, the infidels of the communion of Jesus.”

 

“Those who believe (in the Qur’an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians -- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness -- shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. And remember We took your covenant and We raised above you (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai),: (saying): “Hold firmly to what We have given you and bring (ever) to remembrance what is therein: Perchance ye may fear Allah.” But ye turned back thereafter: Had it not been for the Grace and Mercy of Allah to you, ye had surely been among the lost. And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath. We said to them: “Be ye apes, despised and rejected.” (Qur’an 2:62-65)

 

This verse makes it clear that the apes and swine are Jews and Christians, the “People of the Book”:

 

“Say: ‘O people of the Book! Do ye disapprove of us for no other reason than that we believe in Allah, and the revelation that hath come to us and that which came before (us), and (perhaps) that most of you are rebellious and disobedient?’Say: ‘Shall I point out to you something much worse than this, (as judged) by the treatment it received from Allah? those who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and swine, those who worshipped evil -- these are (many times) worse in rank, and far more astray from the even path!’“ (Qur’an 5:59-60)

 

“God told His Prophet, Muhammad, about the Jews, who learned from parts of God’s book [the Torah and the Gospels] that God alone is worthy of worship. Despite this, they espouse falsehood through idol-worship, soothsaying, and sorcery. In doing so, they obey the devil. They prefer the people of falsehood to the people of the truth out of envy and hostility. This earns them condemnation and is a warning to us not to do as they did.”

 

“The Jews say: Allah’s hand is fettered. Their hands are fettered and they are accursed for saying so.” (Qur’an 5:64)

 

“They are the Jews, whom God has cursed and with whom He is so angry that He will never again be satisfied [with them].”

 

“The Jews call ‘Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah’s curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!” (Qur’an 9:30)

 

“Some of the people of the Sabbath were punished by being turned into apes and swine. Some of them were made to worship the devil, and not God, through consecration, sacrifice, prayer, appeals for help, and other types of worship. Some of the Jews worship the devil. Likewise, some members of this nation worship the devil, and not God.”

 

See the verses quoted above, which establish the apes and pigs reference and show that Allah’s curse is on Jews and Christians.

“Activity: The student writes a composition on the danger of imitating the infidels.”

 

Clearly if one is not to take them as friends and protectors (3:28, 5:51), and if they are the worst of creatures (98:6), and are under Allah’s curse (9:30), they should not be imitated.

 

“The clash between this [Muslim] community (umma) and the Jews and Christians has endured, and it will continue as long as God wills.”

 

“And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah.” (2:193)

 

“It is reported on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah, and he who professed it was guaranteed the protection of his property and life on my behalf except for the right affairs rest with Allah.” (Sahih Muslim book 1, no. 30; there are many similar ahadith)

 

“It is part of God’s wisdom that the struggle between the Muslim and the Jews should continue until the hour [of judgment].”

 

“Allah’s Apostle said, ‘The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. “O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.”’” (Sahih Bukhari, vol. 4, bk. 52, no. 177; there are many similar ahadith)

 

TENTH GRADE

The 10th-grade text on jurisprudence teaches that life for non-Muslims (as well as women, and, by implication, slaves) is worth a fraction of that of a “free Muslim male.” Blood money is retribution paid to the victim or the victim’s heirs for murder or injury:

 

“Blood money for a free infidel. [Its quantity] is half of the blood money for a male Muslim, whether or not he is ‘of the book’ or not ‘of the book’ (such as a pagan, Zoroastrian, etc.).

 

“Blood money for a woman: Half of the blood money for a man, in accordance with his religion. The blood money for a Muslim woman is half of the blood money for a male Muslim, and the blood money for an infidel woman is half of the blood money for a male infidel.”

 

“Since Islam regards non-Muslims as on a lower level of belief and conviction, if a Muslim kills a non-Muslim...then his punishment must not be the retaliatory death, since the faith and conviction he possesses is loftier than that of the man slain.” -- The Iranian Sufi Sheikh Sultanhussein Tabandeh, A Muslim Commentary on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, London, 1970, p. 18; Iranian Sufis are not Wahhabis.)

 

“The greeting ‘Peace be upon you’ is specifically for believers. It cannot be said to others.”

 

“If one comes to a place where there is a mixture of Muslims and infidels, one should offer a greeting intended for the Muslims.”

 

“Do not yield to them [Christians and Jews] on a narrow road out of honor and respect.”

 

“Such non-Muslim subjects are obliged to compy with Islamic rules...In addition, they...are not greeted with ‘as-Salamu ‘alaykum’; ...must keep to the side of the street...” (‘Umdat al-Salik, o11.5 (3-4); this manual of Shafi’i law was endorsed in 1991 by Al-Azhar University in Cairo, which is not a Wahhabi institution, as conforming “to the practice and faith of the orthodox Sunni community.)

 

“Jihad in the path of God -- which consists of battling against unbelief, oppression, injustice, and those who perpetrate it -- is the summit of Islam. This religion arose through jihad and through jihad was its banner raised high. It is one of the noblest acts, which brings one closer to God, and one of the most magnificent acts of obedience to God.”

 

“A man came to Allah’s Apostle and said, “Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward).” He replied, “I do not find such a deed.” (Sahih Bukhari, vol. 4, bk. 52, no. 44)

 

The implications of this will sooner or later have to be faced. But up to this point this entire issue has been shrouded in ignorance. For instance, a recent report in Australia’s Herald Sun about hate books being sold in Australian Muslim bookstores ascribed this quote to a book called Jihad in the Qur’an and Sunnah: “When you meet those who disbelieve, smite at their necks ‘til when you have killed and wounded many of them, then take them as captives.” In fact, that is a direct quote from the Qur’an itself (47:4).

 

How can Western authorities face the implications of all this? Should the Qur’an be banned as inciting to hatred and violence? It is inconceivable that the governments of Europe and the United States would take such a step. It is not inconceivable, however, that such verses as those quoted above and others that are used by jihadists to recruit and motivate Muslims to commit acts of violence would become widely known among government and law enforcement officials. They could then ask the difficult questions of Muslims in the West that should have been asked since 9/11 and before that: how do you understand this material? What concrete, practical steps have you taken to counter the literalist understanding of the Qur’an and Hadith that jihadists are using to incite Muslims to violence? When will you issue an explicit statement acknowledging that jihadists use these passages and others in this way, rejecting their understanding and use of them, and proposing a viable alternative?