War on Terrorism

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Better Oppressed Than Oppressor

'Learn the following ten points and always bear them in mind: Do not do any act of treason to your community or yourselves; and never betray anyone. Do not disfigure a dead body. Never kill a child, an elderly person, or a woman. Do not destroy or burn any date farm, and never cut down a fruit tree. Do not slaughter a sheep, or cow or camel except for your food. You will come across some people who devote themselves to worship in hermitages, so leave them alone to do what they please. You will also meet people who will bring you plates with different types of food. When you eat of this food, time after time, remember to mention God's name. You will also encounter people who have shaved the middle of their heads, leaving their hair long on the side, like head bands. These are the ones to strike with your swords.'

This was the farewell address of Syeddna Abu Bakr, Radi-Allahu anhu, to the first Muslim army that left Madinah al-Munnawwarah after the death of the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. He was the first right-guided caliph. It is an address that defines the only proper Islamic policy when meeting an enemy in war. It came at a time when the term 'war ethics' had not even crossed the mind of any human being. Before Islam, war meant what it means to all humanity today: a wave of senseless, careless, indiscriminate destruction.

And it was not a great mighty army that could well afford to be magnanimous in a pushover encounter. It was a very small force, setting out on a mission against the Byzantine Empire, one of the two superpowers of the day, the Byzantines had been trying repeatedly to encroach on the new Muslim state, aiming to cut it down to size and bring it into their sphere of influence.

Abu Bakr , Radi-Allahu anhu, did not invent such war ethics that characterised all campaigns launched or fought under Islamic leadership. He learnt them from the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, to whom he was the closest companion. Note the clarity with which Abu Bakr , Radi-Allahu anhu, gave his instructions. Non-combatants, including women, children and elderly men, as well as priests and religious figures were not to be touched. No destruction of farmland or cutting of trees was tolerated. All this was added to immaculate behaviour that left no room for treachery, betrayal or stabbing in the back.

But today, with so many treacherous and painful problems surrounding the Muslim world, and so many parties being dragged, willingly or unwillingly, to line up against Muslim communities, we witness a spate of hostage-taking launched by various groups, many of which also claim adherence to Islam.

Putting aside all merits or demerits of the struggle in which any such group may be engaged, how can anyone justify, within Islamic rules, taking hostage people who are not involved in the continuing struggle? Taking hostages, restricting their freedom and denying them access to their families are contrary to the very essence of a Muslim's role in life. How can one describe putting hostages in a state of fear for their lives, let alone killing or beheading them?

Those who are taken hostage are almost always people whose only guilt is being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as such, they are entitled to protection and to have their human rights safeguarded.

While there is much talk nowadays about human rights, with little actual respect for human rights seen in most countries of the world, including western countries, Islam established a code of human rights which Muslims must always observe. In this code, the right to freedom is accorded the highest rank. God states in the Qur'an": 'Oppression is worse than killing' (Al-Baqarah 2:217). When a bystander is taken hostage, he is certainly subjected to oppression.

Yet there are also some, though not many, who feel angry and aggrieved and find little wrong in such retribution, their argument is always that Muslims have been subjected to much oppression, injustice, indiscriminate killing. They have a long list of crimes against Islam and Muslims.

True though these may be, Muslims must apply their own value system, not the values of those who are lined against them They cannot stand before God on the Day of Judgement and try to justify such acts by citing examples of injustice committed against Muslims. The second right-guided caliph, Syeddna Umar's words give us the right incentive to abide by our Islamic values: 'Muslims are given support [by God] because of their enemies' disobedience of God. Had we ranked them at the same level of disobedience of God, we would never be a match to them.'

The law 'an eye for an eye' applies when one is in a position ot administer justice, not as a means of retaliation against injustice. If an enemy kills or dishonours Muslim women and children, Islam does not allow them to do the same to the women and children of their enemy.

Islamic scholars discuss the possibility of the enemy using Muslim civilians or Muslim captives as a shield when they advance against a Muslim army in battle, they look at the possibility of having to kill Muslim individuals placed in such a human shield in order to defeat the enemy. But there is never a discussion of any possibility of using enemy civilians or captives as a shield, in battle to ensure a quicker success. This is something that Muslims do not do, because it is against the very fabric of their faith.

The tragedy is that far too many incidents fo hostage-taking have ended in the loss of innocent lives. It does not matter who fires the shot that kills such an innocent person. The blame lies mainly with the hostage takers.

When these people claim to be Muslim or fighting for Islam, they will be hard put to prove their claim. When they treat human life in this way, they demonstrate their ignorance that Islam is a message of divine guidance, which aims to invite people to believe in God and not associate any partners with Him. Indeed when these people take hostages, they in effect hold Islam itself hostage to their misguided tactics.

Islam tells Muslims to fight oppression, but never be oppressors themselves. Better oppressed than oppressor!