At the close of February, the extremist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) organization announced that it had granted Islamic protection ('ahd aman) to the Christian residents of the Syrian city Al-Raqqa. Under this agreement the Christians could choose between three alternatives: they could either embrace Islam, remain Christian and pay the jizya (poll tax), or reject both these alternatives and "face war."[1]
Following Arab media reports on this, the Jordanian press severely criticized the leveling of the poll tax on Syrian Christians and the extremism in the country in general. The criticism came both from elements close to the Jordanian regime and from oppositionists. The articles argued that the extremism – harmful to Christians and Muslims alike – stemmed from a narrow understanding of Islam that distorts its image and plays into the hands of the tyrannical regimes.
Below are excerpts from the articles:
Al-Raqqa church used by ISIS as its headquarters (image: Al-Quds AL-Arabi, London, December 3, 2013)
Former Jordanian Minister: Extremism In Syria Harms Both Christians And Muslims
Former Jordanian minister of media and communications Samih Al-Ma'aytah, who currently heads the Board of Directors of the government daily Al-Rai, wrote in an article titled "Jizya for the Christian and Death for the Muslim": "...One issue that is in dispute [even] among the extremist factions in Syria, and which was reported in the media, is the leveling of the jizya [tax] on Christians in villages controlled by ISIS. There is a problem here [stemming from] a lack of understanding, for the jizya tax is not [meant to be] a tool for harming and shaming those who believe in Christ. Rather, [it is meant to be] part of a taxation system under which Muslims pay the zakat [charity tax] whereas Christians pay jizya. [But] crucially, this obtains [only] after the state has performed its functions and obligations towards the citizens, Muslims and Christians alike. [The jizya] is not meant to be a punishment [imposed upon] the Christian for remaining faithful to his religion, for [it is said], 'There shall be no compulsion in religion [Koran 2:256].' Therefore, how can a tax be leveled on a citizen, regardless of his faith, under a militia that rules without laws or civil rights, but only through the legitimacy of the rifle?!
"The problem is that this extremism oppresses not only Christians but also Muslims. The beheadings apply to everybody. A Muslim too is beheaded [if] he is considered to be an apostate, including even [ISIS'] fellow extremists from the Jabhat Al-Nusra [organization], who are killed by bombs, booby-trapped motorcycles and car bombs manufactured or operated by ISIS. Extremism is not an ideology but a deviation from ideology and a subjective understanding of shari'a texts...
"Extremism, whether religious, social or political, is a mental problem. An extremist is one who covers up his ignorance or incompetence by [issuing] a fatwa that is merely a personal or self-serving interpretation of the [Islamic] text... Even if Al-Qaeda disappears today, extremism will endure as long as ignorance, belligerence and feeblemindedness exist, as well as the sovereignty of the raucous who behaves illogically and turns to radical extremes to legitimize his boastful voice bereft of all reason or knowledge. Extremists exist in every religion or social structure.
"Had Islam been [confined to leveling] the poll tax on the followers of Christ, things would have been simple. But Islam [imposed the commandment of] prayer upon the Muslims only on the night of Al-Isra' [wal-Mi'raj – the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven][2] – and imposed penalties on the Muslims only gradually. Someone who beheads Muslims simply because they work at a barbershop and shave off beards is one who views the [Islamic] religion through the [narrow] prism of jizya. This view is sheer extremism..."[3]
Senior Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood Official: Imposing The Jizya Tax On Syrian Christians Is Deplorable
In an article titled "ISIS and the Jizya," Dr. Muhammad Rahil Gharaibeh, a senior official in the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood movement, claimed that the Syrian regime was behind ISIS and was using it to distort the image of its Islamic opponents: "The most questionable and most deplorable 'achievement' of the Syrian organization called ISIS is the declaration that the jizya will be leveled on Al-Raqqa's Christians, if the reports in the Arab and international media are correct.
"ISIS's behavior is condemned by most extremist Islamic factions, [even] by as Al-Qaeda and its various branches. Many Salafist leaders and Al-Qaeda leaders have condemned its actions and ideas and have frequently disclaimed it. All this casts very deep suspicion on its activities, its leaders' identity, its objectives, its role and its plans...
"The audacity of announcing the jizya in the circumstances currently prevailing in Syria can only be interpreted in one way: as a strategy whose primary objective is to distort the image of Islam and thus the image of all the Islamic movements, both moderate and immoderate, and also to distort the image of the Arab peoples' revolutions, thus thwarting them and terrorizing all the world's peoples into fearing the alternative [to Assad's tyrannical regime]...
"The oppressive regimes want to remain in power by persuading the world and the peoples that they have [only] two options: either [these oppressive regimes] themselves, or the deluge, that is, the terrifying alternative that beheads, devours human livers, imposes the jizya and spreads darkness. They do this in order to restore the Arab peoples to the bosom of obedience and [so] they will continue lauding the tyrants [just] to escape death, displacement and anarchy. The success [these regimes] have enjoyed is temporary and will not last forever. The truth will emerge... and the weapons will again be turned against them, sooner or later."[4]
Jordanian Columnist: While Condemning Extremism Let Us Also Condemn Its Causes
In a column in the daily Al-Dustour, journalist Hussein Al-Rawashdeh wrote: "Those who were shocked by the phenomenon of 'armed Islam' – which is the forceful [distortion] by some armed organizations in Syria of the 'true Islam' that opposes murder, terrorism, and imposing the religion or anything else on people – chose to criticize and berate the extremist activists [themselves] and condemn them as rebels against Islam.
"We naturally add our voice to the voices opposing this lunacy and wish all those who became ensnared in it to be guided to the correct path. But what we are all ignoring is the soil that gave root to this killing and the conditions that gave birth to these so-called human beings. I fear above all that we are condemning the results and judging the very last people to become ensnared in ISIS's crimes and aggression, whereas it would be [more] appropriate to condemn those who motivated and prompted them to [become ensnared], and here I mean the regimes, who caused some members of our public to deny everything, even mercy and humanity, and wreak vengeance on everything, even [at the cost of] human lives.
"Whence came these thousands of armed men who flew the banner of jihad for the sake of Allah and brought killing and destruction upon the land and the people, and who responded to the criminal regime's conduct with action that was even worse [than the regime's]?! The answer is truly embarrassing. Most of them came from the bosom of oppression and corruption that left them no chance of a good and decent life and ignited in them a desire for vengeance. In this [situation], they were unable to see any benefit in religion other than [using it as] a sword against the polytheists and the oppressors, even if they are peaceful civilians...
"Unfortunately, some [of these fighters also] came from democratic countries that grant liberty and human rights to their native citizens alone and deny them to all others... so they rebelled against this false model. But instead of adopting the advantages of this democratic system, or adapting to it... they moved away from it, in search of a fast track to Paradise. They were wrong twice – first, by failing to understand their religion and demonstrate its benefits to others, and by adhering [only] to laws and standards that they liked in the land to which they emigrated; and second, by believing the propaganda of those who pushed them to jihad under the banners of those whose understanding of jihad is limited to murder, just as their understanding of Islam is limited to jizya and forcing the religion on people...
"Now there are tens of thousands of such extremists, especially in Syria... The question is, what will become of them, whether the regime remains or is toppled? Will they stay in Syria or spread out across the region? Will chaos such as [what happened in] Tora Bora in Afghanistan be repeated here, or will it be a story like [the detention camp] in Guantanamo?! Will they lay down their weapons and become part of society, or will they become sectarian militias like in Iraq?!
"Thus far, no one knows either how these extremists gathered [in Syria] or how they will leave..."[5]
Endnotes:
[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch no. 5664, "Islamic State In Iraq And Syria (ISIS) Forces Poll Tax (Jizya) On Christians Of Al-Raqqa/Syria" February 28, 2014.
[2] According to Muslim tradition, the commandment to pray five times a day was conveyed to Muhammad only after his ascent to heaven.
[3] Al-Rai (Jordan), March 5, 2014.
[4] Al-Dustour (Jordan), March 5, 2014.
[5] Al-Dustour (Jordan), March 4, 2014.
