Yesterday, I chose some of what the Holy Quran had to say about Mary, Jesus and the Christians. Today, I shall continue with the covenants of protection signed between the Prophet and Al-Faruq Umar on the one hand, and the Christians on the other. No one can be more Muslim than Mohammad and Umar, and I apologize for a second and third time for preaching to the choir. Ninety percent of Arabs, and hence of the readers of this newspaper, are Muslim, and I am telling them about their own religion, since the terrorists proclaim to be Muslim but are utterly not. Their crimes benefit no one but the enemies of the Muslims, while weakening the majority of moderate Muslims. Christians in Abyssinia welcomed the early Muslim Emigrants with open arms and assisted them, and Umar ibn al-Khattab's views of those Emigrants is well known, as he is known to have said that he does not equate between those who emigrated in both times [i.e. to Abyssinia and Medina] and prayed facing both Qiblas, and those who converted to Islam after the conquest of Mecca for fear of the sword. The Christians supported the early Muslims before the Ansar [the Partisans] in Medina did. The Prophet realized the importance of bringing Christians and Muslims together following the battle of Muta (al-Karak), which almost ended in a disaster, were it not for Khaled bin Al Waleed who saved the day by retreating. The Prophet contacted the Arab Christians and pledged to protect the safety of their lives and property, and wrote to them: “In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate This is a guarantee of protection from Allah and Muhammad, the Prophet, the Messenger of Allah, to Yuhanna Ibn-Ru'bah and the people of Aylah [Al-Aqaba]. Their ships and their caravans on land and sea shall have the custody of Allah and Prophet Muhammad, he and whosoever are with him of peoples of the Levant, Yemen, or those of the sea (beyond the seas). Whosoever contravenes this treaty, his wealth shall not save him [it would not protect him from punishment for the crime he did]; it [his wealth] shall be the fair prize of him that takes it. Now it should not be lawful to hinder the men from any springs which they have been in the habit of frequenting, nor from a road on land or sea which they have been in the habit of using.” The Prophet wrote a similar letter to the Christians of Jarba' and Adhruh, after the Muslim army camped in Tabuk. I also read a sermon delivered by Amr Ibn El-Aas advising Muslims to treat well the Copts, who helped him against Byzantium during the conquest of Egypt. There are many books on the Arab renaissance in the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. They all agree that it was Christian Arabs who intellectually led the renaissance, and were the first to incite against the collapsing Ottoman Empire. Muslim Arabs only joined them when Mustafa Kamal (Ataturk) failed them with his Turanist pan-Turkish policy. However, I want to stay with old history, which belongs to an era that is indeed short, but that is nevertheless laden with true Arab and Muslim glory, unlike the so-called ‘Glorious History' which came next, and which I believe to be selective as it fails to mention its inherent failures and flaws. The Ghassanid Arabs ruled parts of the Levant out of the Golan, and their realm included Ilia, or the House of God, i.e. Jerusalem. Al-Nabigha al-Dhubyani mentioned in his poems that their [the Ghassanids'] home is that of God, [meaning Jerusalem], and that their religion is righteous […].The Ghassanids' kingdom began to wither and wane, and then the battle of Yarmouk took place, with the subsequent Roman retreat from the Levant. In 17 AH (638 AD), Umar ibn al Khattab entered Jerusalem, and reconciled with its people. He received the keys to the city from Patriarch Sophronius, who was known as ‘the Golden Tongue, the Protector of the Church'. When led to pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the caliph Umar refused to pray in the church so that Muslims would not request converting the church to a mosque. He prayed outside the church, where the Mosque of Umar stands to this day (different from the Al-Aqsa Mosque). When he found the Christians of Jerusalem to be disputing among themselves, he handed over the keys of Church of the Holy Sepulcher to one of his men. To this day, the key remains in the possession of the Muslim family of Nussaiba; yet, an impostor Khazari emigrant from Eastern Europe comes and says ‘it [Palestine] is my country'. The Covenant of Umar came a long time before the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, and I consider it to be on par with the convention, if not superior to it – as it preceded it by 1400 years. The Covenant says: “In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate This is an assurance of peace and protection given by the servant of Allah Omar, Commander of the Believers to the people of Ilia [Jerusalem]. He gave them an assurance of protection for their lives, property, church and crosses as well as the sick and healthy and all its religious community. Their churches shall not be occupied, demolished, or taken away wholly or in part. None of their crosses or property shall be seized. They shall not be coerced in their religion nor shall any of them be injured. None of the Jews shall reside with them in Ilia (This was at the behest of the Patriarch). The people of Ilia shall pay Jizia tax [head tax on free non-Muslims living under Muslim rule] as inhabitants of cities do. They shall evict all Romans and thieves. He whoever gets out shall be guaranteed safety for his life and property until he reaches his safe haven. He whoever stays shall be (also) safe, in which case he shall pay as much tax as the people of Ilia do. Should any of the people of Ilia wish to move together with his property along with the Romans and to clear out of their churches and crosses, they shall be safe for their lives, churches and crosses, until they have reached their safe haven. He whoever chooses to stay he may do so and he shall pay as much tax as the people of Ilia do. He whoever wishes to move along with the Romans, may do so, and whoever wishes to return back home to his kinsfolk, may do so. Nothing shall be taken from them, their crops have been harvested. To the contents of this covenant here are given the Covenant of Allah, the guarantees of His Messenger, the Caliphs and the Believers, provided they (the people of Ilia) pay their due Jizia tax.” [email protected]
