A few weeks after the Rolex-wearing, self-declared ‘Caliph’ Ebrahim harangued followers in a Mosul Mosque, and in the aftermath of what appears to be a carefully orchestrated expulsion of that city’s established Christian population, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) militiamen blew up a mosque and shrine dating back to the 14th century. This was not their first ‘accomplishment’ in Iraq or Syria, though one wondered whether any of the perpetrators, or their “handlers”, understood what they were doing.
The latest achievement, the destruction of Prophet Jirjis (George) mosque and shrine that was built over a cemetery that apparently belonged to the Quraysh tribe, came on top of earlier desecrations, including the bombing of the mosque of Prophet Sheeth (Seth) and the mosque of Prophet Younis (Jonah), that may also be the burial place of Jonah, who, according to both the Bible and Quran, was swallowed by a whale. “Religious militants” justified their sacrilegious behaviour on the grounds that such mosques were no longer places of worship, but facilitated the practice of apostasy. Earlier, Isil fighters bombed several churches and expelled nearly 25,000 Christians from Mosul, most of whom found refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan. The President of the Kurdish Regional Government, Masoud Barzani, welcomed the refugees and lamented Isil actions, underscoring that the bombing of churches and mosques in Mosul was “against all the principles of the heavenly religions and humanity”, as he asserted that such behaviour targeted “the culture and demography of the area” without elaborating on who benefitted from such prowess.
Indeed, it is no longer a mystery that Isil has managed to pull a unique rabbit out of the hat, as it apparently gained control over a good chunk of Iraq with a mere 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, whose origins remained murky, training grounds carefully hidden from sight, financial wealth debunked after bankers acknowledged that their facilities were not robbed and foreign supporters falling back into obscurity when several allegations hinted that Iranian and several western powers may have facilitated the march onto Mosul. To say that the Isil was even more enigmatic than its alleged predecessor, the so-called Al Qaida organisation that most of us swallow hook, line and sinker, is an understatement.
Be that as it may. What interested western media outlets were the many rumours associated with Isil, including its alleged plans to perform female genital mutilation on nearly four million women who lived in that part of Iraq (and presumably Syria), or the diabolical machinations that Saudi Arabia apparently orchestrated to expel Arab Christians from the Arab World. Various voices emerged in western countries and even in parts of the Arab world. They wanted to know where the moderate Muslims were and why they were not denouncing Isil and its plans? Of course, had any of them done their homework, they would have taken note that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned the forced displacement suffered by Christians in Mosul and that it concluded that the deeds were a crime that could not be tolerated. In fact, the OIC Secretary-General, Iyad Bin Ameen Madani, had revealed almost two weeks ago that the organisation would provide necessary humanitarian aid to the displaced, look after their needs until such time they could return home and insisted that what passed for Isil ideologies were alien to Islamic principles that called for justice, fairness and tolerance.
In Iraq itself, a popular Muslim newscast, Dalia Al Aqidi, launched a televised campaign to defend her fellow citizens under the rubric “We are all Christians”. Dalia, a Muslim, wore a cross around her neck in solidarity and declared that she rejected what was happening to the Christians of Mosul. In an interview with the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar, Dalia explained her gesture as a defence of “religious and sectarian diversity that made Iraq the cradle of civilisation, science and culture”. On her television show, she declared: “You Takfiri unbelievers detest apostates ... but I am a simple human being ready to defend the rights of everyone in the nation.” She concluded: “Our religion is a religion of tolerance whereas your political fascism makes moderate Muslims like myself ashamed of our faith and pushes many to silence out of fear, but I will not be ashamed, nor will I be silent about this injustice.”
Ironically, the self-appointed ‘Caliph’ said nothing about the carnage under way in Gaza, nor the fact that nearly 2,000 hapless individuals found refuge at the Greek Orthodox church in Zaytun, another impoverished town living under occupation as well as a blockade, while his militiamen were rounding up people in Mosul. At St Porphyrios, entire families slept on mattresses in the corridors and rooms of the church and adjoining buildings, and survived. On the last day of Ramadan, many gathered in the Church courtyard to perform their prayers, simply because most worshippers were afraid to visit the mosque next door. For, like Isil, the Israelis also bombed dozens of mosques, allegedly because Palestinian fighters were hiding there, even if families found refuge in them only after their homes were destroyed.
As Fred M. Donner demonstrated in his monumental Muhammad and the Believers: “At the Origins of Islam, Christians welcomed Islam as an open-minded religion with universalistic aspirations and concluded that believers were not the enemy and did not routinely tear down churches as propagandists claimed over the centuries. On the contrary, many shared their churches with fellow monotheists, when no mosques existed.” In other words, Muslims prayed inside churches in Palestine and elsewhere, because these were considered places of worship for all believers. This was something that ‘Caliph’ Ebrahim was probably unaware of and something that challenged commentators chose to ignore, which affirms the notion that mutual ignorance creates perfect opportunities for manipulation.
Dr Joseph A. Kechichian is the author of the forthcoming Iffat Al Thunayan: An Arabian Queen, London: Sussex Academic Press, 2015.
