What? not those cartoons again! Osama Bin Laden's latest tape, in which he dealt with the high-level subject of a general jihad against "Crusaders," included a pronouncement on the cartoons of Mohammed. To Westerners the cartoons were such a trivial matter we may have thought that it was a tempest in a teapot, and one that had blown over by now.
Not so. Osama begins the tape by calling for the deaths of the Danish cartoonists. He issued a fatwa, in effect, though he is not formally qualified to do so because he lacks the religious status. But he cited as his authority "the Umma" [ an Arabic word meaning the community of the believers, which = the whole Islamic world] which "has reached a consensus that he who offends or degrades the messenger [Muhammed] would be killed" ). Based on this "decision" against the cartoonists Osama Bin Laden calls for their death. Well, actually, for their murder.
Bin Laden didn't utter the word "cartoon" according to al-Jazeera's apparently hasty translation. Perhaps it seemed too trivial to justify his words. He said:
...I am directing this speech to all the Islamic Umma, to continue talking and urging them to support our prophet Muhammed, and to punish the perpetrators of the horrible crime committed by some Crusader-journalists and apostates against the master of the predecessors and successors, our prophet Muhammed. The holy verse of the Quran and the holy prophetic teachings have all clarified the need for according love, respect and obedience to our prophet. Allah, the Almighty, has made it a taboo to offend him, saying in the Quran those who harm Allah and his messenger would be damned and severely punished. ...Therefore, the Umma has reached a consensus that he who offends or degrades the messenger would be killed. Such offense is regarded as kufr (infidelity). ...we vow to Allah to avenge for those whose blood have [sic] been spilled. [Presumably referring to people killed in the riots protesting the cartoons.]He goes on to denounce the West as being "incapable of recognizing the rights of others" and as categorizing "human beings into white masters and colored slaves." Rulers of Muslim countries side with Europe,he says, and perceive "the jihad groups that fight against the Crusaders in Iraq and Afghanistan as terrorist groups" just as the West does. Muslims face a choice of only two courses of action because of the West's intransigent determination: Muslims may choose jihad or slavery (to the West). Then he goes on to review jihads of the past, present and future jihad, from Bosnia to Somalia. But, going back to the matter of the cartoons. Osama Bin Laden judged them important enough to begin his speech, and to justify calling for the murders of several Danish cartoonists. This seems like a disproportionate penalty to Westerners and others, and also like a wildly wrong way of responding when someone has insulted your religion---or, as Muslims view it, violated your rights. To understand this response we must realize that Islam has a different definition of "rights" than we do. There is no better illustration of this than the official document, the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in Paris in 1981. It's much longer than the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and its table of contents lists 23 points, including Right to Life, Rights of Minorities, Right and Obligation to Participate in the Conduct and Management of Public Affairs, Right to Fair Trial, Right to Freedom of Religion, and Rights of Married Women. Seems quite proper and complete. At the very end, however, something catches your eye:
Explanatory Notes 1 In the above formulation of Human Rights, unless the context provides otherwise: ... b) the term 'Law' denotes the Shari'ah, i.e. the totality of ordinances derived from the Qur'an and the Sunnah and any other laws that are deduced from these two sources by methods considered valid in Islamic jurisprudence.All of the rights exist in a legal and cultural environment completely defined by Islamic religious law. It is Sharia, Islamic law, not any noble Declaration, which sets the limits of the rights of individuals. When we look at what punishments and prohibitions have been ordered under Sharia judges in various countries, it's clear that Sharia is reality, rights are illusion. Women are stoned to death for adultery ["Punishment shall be awarded in accordance with the Law, in proportion to the seriousness of the offence", Article 5 of the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights;a Koranic discussion of stoning as punishment for adultery may be read here]; someone who converts from Islam to Christianity faces the death penalty ["Every person has the right to freedom of conscience and worship in accordance with his religious beliefs", Article 13 ibid.]; Christian missionaries are prohibited from talking of their religion, and importation of Bibles is forbidden ["There shall be no bar on the dissemination of information provided it does not endanger the security of the society or the state and is confined within the limits imposed by the Law", Article 12]; women are denied the right to vote or hold office in many countries ["Subject to the Law, every individual in the community (Ummah) is entitled to assume public office" Article 11 -- Since the Law is Sharia, which sets forth different standards for men and women as regards behavior, dress, participation in the workplace, rights of marriage and divorce, etc., the first clause of this "right" negates the rest of the sentence, the "entitled to" part.] When you look back to the beginning of the document, just after the list of 23 detailed protections, there is the Foreword, which reads:
Islam gave to mankind an ideal code of human rights fourteen centuries ago. These rights aim at conferring honour and dignity on mankind and eliminating exploitation, oppression and injustice. Human rights in Islam are firmly rooted in the belief that God, and God alone, is the Law Giver and the Source of all human rights. Due to their Divine origin, no ruler, government, assembly or authority can curtail or violate in any way the human rights conferred by God, nor can they be surrendered. Human rights in Islam are an integral part of the overall Islamic order and it is obligatory on all Muslim governments and organs of society to implement them in letter and in spirit within the framework of that order. ... The Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights is based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah and has been compiled by eminent Muslim scholars, jurists and representatives of Islamic movements and thought. May God reward them all for their efforts and guide us along the right path.And the Preamble to the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights states, in part,
WHEREAS Allah (God) has given mankind through His revelations in the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of His Blessed Prophet Muhammad an abiding legal and moral framework within which to establish and regulate human institutions and relationships; Therefore we, as Muslims, who believe a) in God, the Beneficent and Merciful, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Sovereign, the sole Guide of mankind and the Source of all Law; b) in the Vicegerency (Khilafah) of man who has been created to fulfill the Will of God on earth; ... d) that rationality by itself without the light of revelation from God can neither be a sure guide in the affairs of mankind nor provide spiritual nourishment to the human soul, and, knowing that the teachings of Islam represent the quintessence of Divine guidance in its final and perfect form, feel duty-bound to remind man of the high status and dignity bestowed on him by God... Do hereby, as servants of Allah and as members of the Universal Brotherhood of Islam, at the beginning of the Fifteenth Century of the Islamic Era, affirm our commitment to uphold the following inviolable and inalienable human rights that we consider are enjoined by Islam. In contrast, the corresponding part of the UN Declaration of Human Rights:Preamble Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people, Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law, Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations, Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge, Now, therefore, The General Assembly, Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations...The rights of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights are asserted for all human beings, not limited by being governed by any religious or secular law or definition. No religion, god, or culture is given primacy or supreme power; the document speaks to and for all human beings. There is no table of contents, but among the rights which the document seeks to guarantee areArticle 4 No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. Article 5 No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 6 Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. Article 7 All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. Article 12 No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. Article 13 Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. Article 14 Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. Article 18 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. Article 19 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.I would like to discuss Shariah law at length another time. For now, it is enough to realize that for the Muslims the foundation of all law, including human rights law, is Shariah law, based on the Koran and hundreds of years of decisions by Islamic jurists--very scholarly men, but not working in any system that produces consistency, or has a highest authority whose decisions become precedent for all "lower courts" (as, for instance, where there is a Supreme Court ruling over a country's laws). Inconsistency is one problem. The very content of the laws is another: Shariah brought us the recent prosecution of the Christian convert in Afghanistan, who faced the death penalty, and any number of horrendous incidents regarding women being sentenced by Shariah courts to be stoned to death, or to be raped by all the village councillors. And yet, it is the West, according to Osama Bin laden, which is "incapable of recognizing the rights of others."
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