The Horrors Of ISIS -- And Islamic Ideology -- On The Yazidi People
An interview with Yazidi activist Nadia Murad:
From a NYTLive story by Helena Blackstone:
Vian Dakheel Saeed, member of Iraqi parliament, was on stage at the Women in the World Summit in London on Thursday, begging the audience for help. She spoke on behalf of more than 5,000 Yazidi women and children who are being raped, tortured and massacred by ISIS.Labeled as devil worshippers by Islamic militants, the Yazidi people living around Mount Sinjar were the victims of a bloody onslaught in August of 2014. Hundreds of thousands were forced to flee, around 50,000 of them into the desolate surrounding mountains without food or water. Thousands of others were captured and, while the men were systematically shot into mass graves, the women and young girls were kept alive as malak yamiin (spoils of war).
This goes right back to Mohammed, of course:
The taking of women and children as slaves, particularly during the conquests outside Arabia, belies the notion that Jihad was being waged in self-defense, since the enemy's families reside neither with the Muslims nor (generally) on the battlefield. These were innocent people captured from their homes and pressed into slavery by Muhammad's companions and successors....In 2016, a scholar at Egypt's al-Azhar, the most prestigious Islamic school in the Sunni world, stated that non-Muslim women could be captured in a time of war become "property" and can be raped "in order to humiliate them."
A 12-year-old girl taken captive by the Islamic State explained that her 'master' would pray before he raped her: "He told me that according to Islam he is allowed to rape an unbeliever. He said that by raping me, he is drawing closer to Allah." Other sex slaves have been forced to pray before the rape or recite passages from the Quran during. When a Yazidi woman begged a caliphate member not to rape a little girl, he responded, "She's a slave... and having sex with her pleases God."
A Quran memorization competition in 2015 offered slave girls as the top three prizes. Again, there were no voices of Muslim protest from elsewhere. As Uzy Bulut keenly observed, "A religion that encourages destructive rioting and killing over cartoons, but shows no sign of sorrow as little girls are sold and raped, does not have much to contribute to advancing civilization."
Since Muhammad was a slave owner and slavery is permitted by the Quran, the Muslim world has never apologized for this dehumanizing practice. Even Muslims in the West will often try to justify slavery under Islam, since it is a part of the Quran.
Muslims are told to emulate Mohammed -- 90-some times in the Quran. Mohammed is considered "al-Insān al-Kāmil (the perfect human) and uswa hasana (an excellent model of conduct)."
There's the problem I see with reforming Islam. Unless you reform Mohammed out of Islam, which seems rather impossible, you've still got a standard for people to emulate that includes seventh century barbarism as business as usual.
…So you're saying Islam is an ideology?
Crid at June 15, 2017 12:43 AM
Islam is an ideology and an all-encompassing totalitarian political system that calls itself a religion.
Amy Alkon at June 15, 2017 6:07 AM
Religion and poltical ideology are often closely linked but both are downstream from culture.
Paglia had a few words on this as well as the election.
Isab at June 15, 2017 8:56 AM
> Islam is an ideology and an
> all-encompassing totalitarian
> political system that calls
> itself a religion.
Are you serious? Amy, it's 2017, almost summer.
When are you going to stop pretending this a novel and compelling insight?
Why is saying this such a thrill for you?
Crid at June 15, 2017 10:20 PM
The first dictionary definition of "ideology" that pops up in Google is: "a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy" ... that sounds precisely applicable to Islam/Sharia.
Lobster at June 16, 2017 6:24 AM
And why does reality cause you such fits?
Jeff Guinn at June 16, 2017 10:05 AM
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