Is Islam a religion of peace? It depends on what we mean by peace vs what devout practicing muslims mean by peace. More importantly, don't assume muslims and non-muslims think alike. Don't assume we all have the same moral reasoning. So, what is the thinking process of muslims like?
Take a peep at the moral reasoning of an imam from 21st Century computer age Ask-Imam.com:
Ask-Imam.com [10896] Recently I saw a question on the status of women taken as prisoners during Jihad.
Question 10896 from United Kingdom
Recently I saw a question on the status of women taken as prisoners during Jihad.
Could you please clarify the points below?
1. Dont you think sex without marriage is a disgrace to that particular woman? Please give a detailed reply to this point as to why sex is allowed without marriage.
2. What is the status of the child born through this relationship? And if it comes to the knowledge of the male that his slave is pregnant then should he marry her immediately? Can he leave her if he wants to?
3. To what sort of women does this rule apply. I mean can they be ordinary citizens (mothers/sisters/wives of men) of any city Muslims capture or they must have taken part in the battle against Muslims so that this rule may apply to them.
4. What treatment do women captured get if they are already married and there husbands are taken prisoners and are yet alive. Are they also subject to the same treatment above?What if there husbands have died in the fight. Are they restricted to the "Iddat" period before they are available for sex or are they refrained form doing so for that period?
5.I understand that these women may necessarily not be used as sex objects but since this is allowed I cant help thinking of the fact that if a Muslim haves sex with a women for days or months and then just leaves her off she is a prostitute who has filled the desire of an unknown man willingly or unwillingly. Don’t you think so? I’m confused please help
ANSWER: Firstly, it should be borne in mind that slavery was not something that was introduced by Islam; on the contrary, it was something that had its roots planted long before the advent of Islam. It would not be an exaggeration to state that slavery is probably as old as war itself, because it is one of the consequences of war. Thus, slavery apparently first reared its head with the first wars that took place on the face of earth. War is a factor that makes soft men stern, kind men harsh and delicate men rugged. A man who cannot bear to see the sight of blood under normal circumstances becomes capable of shedding the blood of hundreds under the pressure of war. Those who were not killed in warfare, used to be taken as prisoners of war. The pages of history will show that many alternative, expedient methods were used through the ages to deal with prisoners of war. Some used to be executed while others would be set free, with or without a ransom. Then, there were others who were neither executed nor set free. These were enslaved.
When Islam came and prospered, its power was challenged by the enemies of Islam and the need to go to war arose. By that time, slavery had virtually become an international custom. It was also rife among the Arabs from the days of darkness and ignorance. Thus, abolishing it instantaneously would have caused chaos and pandemonium among the Arab people. Hence, a process of gradual extirpation had to be implemented. Moreover, if the Muslims would set all their enemy-prisoners free and tolerate their fellow Muslims being captured and enslaved by the enemies, it would have lead to a sharp decrease in the Muslim military force and given a great advantage to the enemy forces which was something that the Muslims could not afford. Furthermore, it is a well known fact that warfare tactics used by one side are often countered by the opposing side in order to maintain a balance of power. Hence, wartime diplomacy necessitated the enslaving of prisoners.
In the "Jihads" (Islamic wars) that took place, women were also, at times, taken as prisoners of war by the Muslim warriors. These women captives used to be distributed as part of the booty among the soldiers, after their return to Islamic territory. Each soldier was then entitled to have relations ONLY with the slave girl over whom he was given the RIGHT OF OWNERSHIP and NOT with those slave girls that were not in his possession. This RIGHT OF OWNERSHIP was given to him by the "Ameerul-Mu'mineen" (Head of the Islamic state.) Due to this right of ownership, it became lawful for the owner of a slave girl to have intercourse with her.
It may, superficially, appear distasteful to copulate with a woman who is not a man's legal wife, but once Shariah makes something lawful, we have to accept it as lawful, whether it appeals to our taste, or not; and whether we know its underlying wisdom or not. It is necessary for a Muslim to be acquainted with the laws of Shariah, but it is not necessary for him to delve into each law in order to find the underlying wisdom of these laws because knowledge of the wisdom of some of the laws may be beyond his puny comprehension.
Allah Ta'ala has said in the Holy Quraan: "Wa maa ooteetum min al-ilm illaa qaleelan" which means, more or less, that, "You have been given a very small portion of knowledge".
Hence, if a person fails to comprehend the underlying wisdom of any law of Shariah, he cannot regard it as a fault of Shariah (Allah forbid), on the contrary, it is the fault of his own perception and lack of understanding, because no law of Shariah is contradictory to wisdom.
Nevertheless, the wisdom underlying the permission granted by Shariah to copulate with a slave woman is as follows: The LEGAL possession that a Muslim receives over a slave woman from the "Ameerul-Mu'mineen" (the Islamic Head of State) gives him legal credence to have coition with the slave woman in his possession, just as the marriage ceremony gives him legal credence to have coition with his wife. In other words, this LEGAL POSSESSION is, in effect, a SUBSTITUTE of the MARRIAGE CEREMONY. A free woman cannot be 'possessed', bought or sold like other possessions; therefore Shariah instituted a 'marriage ceremony' in which affirmation and consent takes place, which gives a man the right to copulate with her. On the other hand, a slave girl can be possessed and even bought and sold, thus, this right of possession, substituting as a marriage ceremony, entitles the owner to copulate with her. A similar example can be found in the slaughtering of animals; that after a formal slaughtering process, in which the words, "Bismillahi Allahu Akbar" are recited, goats, cows, etc.; become "Halaal" and lawful for consumption, whereas fish becomes "Halaal" merely through 'possession' which substitutes for the slaughtering.
In other words, just as legal possession of a fish that has been fished out of the water, makes it Halaal for human consumption without the initiation of a formal slaughtering process; similarly legal possession of a slave woman made her Halaal for the purpose of coition with her owner without the initiation of a formal marriage ceremony.
In short, permission to have intercourse with a slave woman was not something barbaric or uncivilised; on the contrary, it was almost as good as a marriage ceremony. In fact, possession of a slave woman resembles a marriage ceremony in many ways and both have a lot in common with each other. <snip>
So, there you have it. This is the religion of peace with its self-confessed roots from ancient tribal barbarism that was transplanted into the religion of peace by the islamic prophet in the advent of Islam. Or so he claimed. More likely it was the other way around according to islam's own recorded history.
The imam claimed that abolishing slavery instantaneously would have caused chaos and pandemonium among the Arab people and that it would have lead to a sharp decrease in the muslim military force and given a great advantage to the enemy forces which was something that the muslims could not afford.
I guess the Allied forces in WWII was wrong to release the Jews from nazi concentration camps immediately against the islamic divine wisdom. No wonder it caused such a chaos and pandemonium among the non-nazi European and American people.
This is what islamic apologists should expect for their mothers, wives, daughters and grand-daughters from the courtesy of 7th century islamic wisdom in the event of 21st century jihadist conquest. Afterall, possession alone is like a halaal fish or slaughtered animals that are made good. In a weird way, that's how muslims could interpret what is meant by peace.
