Wednesday, July 23, 2008

PHILIPPINES: Letter Demands Bishop Convert To Islam Or Pay Jizya Tax To Ensure His Safety

MANILA (UCAN) -- A southern Philippine bishop has reported receiving a letter threatening him with harm if he does not convert to Islam or pay "Islamic taxes."

Bishop Martin Jumoad of Isabela sent a copy of the letter on July 19 from Isabela City, 870 kilometers southeast of Manila, to Church-run Radio Veritas in Quezon City, northeast of Manila.

In an interview with UCA News the same day, Bishop Jumoad said a student of Claret College in Isabela, capital of Basilan province, was told to give the school secretary the letter to pass to the bishop.

The bishop also reported getting text messages from Catholics saying they too had received threatening letters. "Bishop, we are disoriented and we cannot sleep. What is our reaction to this?" he reported being asked by some.

The letter had the names "Puruji Indama" and "Nur Hassan J. Kallitut" printed at the bottom and "Mujahiddin" under each name. The purported senders introduced themselves as "Muslim warriors" who "don't follow any laws other than the Qur'an," Islam's holy book.

They said Bishop Jumoad should choose to convert to Islam or give jizya, Islamic tax, to their group in exchange for protecting him in the "place of Muslims."

If he refuses to convert or pay, the letter threatened "force, weapons or war may be used" against him. It warned him not to feel safe even if he is "surrounded by soldiers," and cited bombings in various cities.

The prelate was given 15 days to respond, with two mobile phone numbers to contact. "If we do not receive response from you, it means you will oppose," the letter added.

A document written in the local dialect, on the letterhead of "Al-Harakatul Islamiyya," accompanied the letter. The bishop said he does not recognize the names, but has encountered the phrase "Al-Harakatul" in kidnapping incidents in Basilan involving the Abu Sayyaf, a group listed on various countries' lists of terrorist organizations.

Two days later, CBCP News, the online news site of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, reported the kidnapping of Ronnie Ando, Vilma Ayson and Wilma Suharlo and two children, parishioners of St. Vincent Ferrer in Sumisip town.

The rest of the story here

Encyclopedia Britannica:

Jizya: Islamic tax also spelled jizyah, Arabic: jizyah
Head or poll tax that Islamic rulers demanded from their non-Muslim subjects.

"If some people persist in rejecting the religion of Allaah and stand in the way of ruling by that which Allaah has revealed on earth, or they fight against the call to Allaah, then we give them the choice of three things:
Either they become Muslim; or if they refuse they pay the jizyah (whereby they pay a specified amount to the Muslims in return for being allowed to remain their land, and the Muslims undertake to protect them); or, if they refuse that, there is nothing left but the way which they themselves have chosen, which is fighting and dealing violently with those who have persecuted the Muslims and put obstacles in the path of the Islamic da’wah. In this way the Muslims will gain the upper hand and the enemies will be humiliated; then when we have killed and wounded many of them and gained the upper hand over them, we may take prisoners and bind a bond firmly on them."

Ahkaam al-Sijn wa’l-Sujana’ wa Mu’aamalat al-Sujana’ fi’l-Islam by Hasan Abi’l-Ghuddah, 256


"Thou hast to accept Islam, or pay the tax, and obey God and His Messenger and the messengers of His Messenger, and do them honor and dress them in fine clothing, not in the raiment of raiders…for if you satisfy my envoys you will satisfy me. Surely the tax is known to you. Therefore if you wish to be secure on land and on sea, obey God and His Messenger…But be careful lest thou do not satisfy…for then I shall not accept anything from you, but I shall fight you and take the young as captives and slay the elderly…Come then, before a calamity befalls you..."

Muhammad addressing an ultimatum letter to the Christians and Jews of Elath


Seriously now: I see no difference between Jizya and the "protection tax" imposed by the Italian Camorra and N'Dranghetta or the American, Russian and Chinese mob and other gangs of various nationalities.
Such practices of extortion and death threats are illegal and it certainly looks like the Islamic Holy Book - the Qu'ran endorses and condones such illegal practices. The Prophet Muhammad, the man who dictated the Qu'ran and founded Islam, did imposed Jizya on unbelievers and his muslim believers are following in his steps and continue to extort the protection tax to this day. If so why aren't we declaring the religion of Islam an illegal mob organization and fight to destroy it in every civilized country?

6 comments:

Lady Cincinnatus said...

"If so why aren't we declaring the religion of Islam an illegal mob organization and fight to destroy it in every civilized country?"

Because that would mean the U.S. was right again and Islam is a death cult of tyrannical thugs and we'd defeat them easily and Democrats/Liberals/Socialists/Marxists certainly can't have the that.

John Hooper said...

Well, I think it is more like, "Bush is a liar who created a war to enrich Halliburton and ensure Iraqi oil contracts to Big Oil, with the added benefit of causing oil prices to soar, because Republicans/Conservatives/Nazis are actually traitors who only care about money."

Transsylvania Phoenix said...

Your Bush Derangement Syndrome is strong with you, John. A quick reminder: the article you spewed your Bush hating bile is about a Catholic Bishop getting a "convert, pay jizya or die" letter from your beloved allies, the peaceful muslims.
I close with a compassionate advice for you: go seek psychiatric help.

Anonymous said...

Jizya actually is derived from the word jazza, meaning "penalty" -- just as the words dhimmi and dhimma, referring to the discriminatory status suffered by a subjugated kaffir in al-dawla al-islamiyyah, comes from "dhimma" meaning to blame. This is because...

"Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: A bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! What are the biggest sins?: The Prophet said, "To join others in worship with Allah.""--Sahih Bukhari Volume 9 Book 84 Number 55

"Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud: I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which is the biggest sin?" He said, "To set up rivals to Allah by worshipping others though He alone has created you.""--Sahih Bukhari Volume 8 Book 82 Number 802

Therefore...

"Allah sent him (the Prophet), with the guiding Book and the conquering sword, ahead of the Hour, so that Allah alone would be worshipped with no partner or associate, and his provision was placed beneath the shade of his sword and spear. Allah has established the religion of Islam with proof and evidence, and with the sword and spear, both are together and inseparable."--Ibn al-Qayyim's al-Faroosiyyah (p.18)

"{ وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّىٰ لاَ تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ ٱلدِّينُ للَّهِ فَإِنِ ٱنْتَهَواْ فَلاَ عُدْوَانَ إِلاَّ عَلَى ٱلظَّالِمِينَ }

Fight them till there is no sedition, no idolatry, and the religion, all worship, is for God, alone and none are worshipped apart from Him; then if they desist, from idolatry, do not aggress against them. This is indicated by the following words, there shall be no enmity, no aggression through slaying or otherwise, save against evildoers. Those that desist, however, are not evildoers and should not be shown any enmity."--Tafsir al-Jalalayn "Surah al-Baqarah [Q 2]

continued in next comment...

Anonymous said...

...continued from previous comment...

"{ وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّىٰ لاَ تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ الدِّينُ كُلُّهُ لله فَإِنِ انْتَهَوْاْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ }

And fight them until sedition, idolatry, is, exists, no more and religion is all for God, alone, none other being worshipped; then if they desist, from unbelief, surely God sees what they do, and will requite them for it."--Tafsir al-Jalalayn "Surah al-Anfal [Q 8]"

"The Order for Jihad against the Disbelievers, the Closest, then the Farthest Areas

Allah commands the believers to fight the disbelievers, the closest in area to the Islamic state, then the farthest...[search online for full text]"--Tafsir ibn Kathir "Surah at-Taubah [9]"

Islam is intrinsically warmongering and apartheid -- just look at the concepts of kufr and shirk, fitna and fasaad, jihad al-talab wa'l-ibtida' and ghazwat, kufrul istihaal and kufrul istibdaal, al-wala'a wa'l-bara'a et al...

...Are liberals just ignorant or stupid or evil?

Transsylvania Phoenix said...

I believe they are both.