9 March 2010

By Abd-al Khaliq al-Muhajir

The war in Iraq, right from the very start, was based upon a series of myths. There was of course the myth that Saddam had amassed a vast quantity of Weapons of Mass Destruction, which he might deploy, at any moment, against freedom-loving people everywhere.

There was the myth that Saddam was somehow involved with the events of September 11th, that he was close to, and might possibly be sheltering, the senior leadership of the al-Qaida organisation.

Then there was the myth that said the Americans would be welcomed into Iraq as liberators, that the Iraqi people would welcome them with flowers and candy...

One by one these myths have been exposed, and the majority of the people of the world, with the exception of a few 'extremists', no longer believe them.

But one myth has never went away. In fact, it has thrived over the years, and today is just as strong as ever. It is a myth that is repeated again and again and again, everywhere!

You hear it from journalists, from some members of the Iraqi government, from well-meaning, left-leaning non-Muslims in Europe and elsewhere, and from many Muslims the world over.

To the Believer, the fact that this myth is not the truth is the most obvious thing in the world, as Allah (s.w.t.) says in Surah al-Isra:

And say: "Truth has (now) arrived, and Falsehood perished: for Falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish" (17.81)

Yet to the non-Believer it remains stubbornly hidden, as Allah (s.w.t.) says in Surah Ya-sin:

"The Word is proved true against the greater part of them: for they do not believe. We have put yokes round their necks right up to their chins, so that their heads are forced up (and they cannot see)" (36.07-08)

It is the myth that says America is facing two distinct enemies in Iraq: the first of which are the evil al-Qaida terrorists, who senselessly slaughter as many people as possible, and the second of which are the heroic 'national resistance', who only target the occupiers.

This myth continues to shape how many Muslims view the war in Iraq, and thus there is a great need to refute it once and for all.

In order to expose the myth we need to examine it closely, to see what foundation it is built upon.

When we look closely we see that this myth has at least three smaller myths which exist within the larger over-all myth, and form the foundation upon which it is supported.

These three smaller myths are as follows:

1.) The myth that the 'national resistance' are a liberation movement:

This first myth helps people contextualise what they see on the nightly news, helps them rationalise the violence they see in Iraq as being essentially the same struggle that is taking place in many other parts of the world.

In their minds, the Iraqi people are fighting off a foreign invader, a colonial oppressor, the Iraqi 'national resistance' is no different from ETA in Spain, the IRA in Northern Ireland, perhaps even the ANC in apartheid-era South Africa.

And to be fair, many of the ordinary fighters who originally joined groups like the Islamic Army in Iraq, JAAMI and Jaish al-Naqshbandiya very likely did see themselves as struggling to overthrow a foreign invader, and thereby 'free' their people.

They probably didn't realise that 'freeing' their people meant replacing a foreign occupier with a domestic one: essentially returning the Ba'ath party (or their secular Shiite equivalent) to power.

This would mean the 'freedom' for women to walk around as scantily-clan as they liked, but they would most definitely not have the freedom to wear Hijab, let alone Niqaab!

The men would have the 'freedom' to buy alcohol, or the company of a prostitute, on any street corner in Iraq, but they would most definitely not have the freedom to follow the Sunnah and grow a beard, instead of the ubiquitous Iraqi moustache.

Men and women would be free to name their children Muhammad or Fatima, but you would face scrutiny from the security forces and risk eventual imprisonment, torture and possible execution should you do anything 'extreme' like try and pray your five daily prayers in a masjid!

The leaders of the 'national resistance' in Iraq are fighting only for the return of a secular dictatorship, an Arab republic that is happy to have trade relations with the West, but one which is a fierce enemy of Islam and the Muslims.

They are fighting to recreate a society where a privileged few with the right tribal links will live in luxury, while the rest of Iraq suffers in poverty, where instead of learning about their religion the education system will be built around glorifying the socialist system and the men who run it.

Whereas the Mujahideen of the Islamic State of Iraq are fighting for much loftier goals: to make the word of Allah the most high, to implement Islamic law throughout Iraq, to create a country where each person would be judged on their piety, knowledge and steadfastness, and not on the tribe they belonged to, or the town or village they were born in.

2.) The myth that the 'national resistance' are not sectarian:

The greatest myth about the 'national resistance' is that they are fighting for 'all Iraqis', and do not differentiate between Sunni and Shiite, Arab or Kurd. What nonsense!

These are the same people who killed 180,000 Kurds (most of them Sunnis) in Operation Anfal in 1988, because they spoke the wrong language, or had the wrong skin colour!

The killed a similar number of southerners in 1991, burying thousands alive and committing the most unimaginable atrocities against entire villages.

These are the people who for decades implemented a massive program to 'Arabize' the north of Iraq, hundreds of thousands of Arabs were moved from central Iraq into Kurdish villages in the north (which were promptly re-branded with Arabic names), while the 'lucky' Kurds were permitted to flee into homelessness and hunger instead of being killed.

These are the people who drained the marshes of southern Iraq - making the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis whose homes and livelihoods depended on the marshes into internal refugees virtually overnight!

The men who make up the leadership of the 'national resistance' despise everyone who is non-Arab, be they Persians, Kurds or Turkmen. If returned to power they would doubtlessly continue Saddam's policy of 'Arabizing' the north of Iraq, and essentially choking off the lifeblood of the south of the country.

Do you really believe these people would baulk at setting off parked car-bombs in Shiite or Kurdish areas??

They are the ones who benefit from sectarian strife, as more and more Iraqis long for a return to the 'stability' of the Ba'athist regime.

These men hate everyone who is not from the same tribe as them, or even people from the wrong branch of their tribe!

Whereas the Mujahideen from the Islamic State of Iraq, who have opened their homes to immigrant brothers who spoke every language imaginable, who have had every shade of skin colour possible, are accused of being xenophobic! They are the ones who have welcomed brothers from every corner of the globe with open arms, and yet they are condemned as mindless racists!!

The Mujahideen are the ones who recite, from Surah al-Hujurat:

"The Believers are but a single Brotherhood" (49.10)

And the ones who believe Allah (s.w.t.) when He says in Surah al-Hujurat:

"O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other)" (49.13)

3.) The myth that the 'national resistance' don't target civilians:

Of course many of the worst atrocities in Iraq can be traced back to the Iranian and American intelligence networks, or to mercenary groups like Blackwater. But in the rare instance that the blame for these crimes cannot be attached to a foreign power, the blame is invariably put (by the American military and their mercenary media) squarely at the feet of the Mujahideen from the Islamic State of Iraq.

But if we consider the facts, we see this simply cannot be true!

As previously mentioned, the men from the 'national resistance' were Saddam's henchmen, whose hands are covered with the blood of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Kurds, as well as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shiites. And that is without mentioning the many hundreds of thousands of Iranians killed during the Iran-Iraq war.

Their goals are purely secular, they do not believe in Allah, his Messenger, the Day of Judgement, Heaven or Hell.

As far as they are concerned, religion is just "the opiate of the masses".

Whereas the Mujahideen from the Islamic State of Iraq fight for Islam alone. The believe in Allah, all his Messengers (peace be upon them), his Books, and the Last Day, where they will be asked about everything they did.

They believe the Qur'an is the literal word of Allah (s.w.t.), and they believe that it says in Surah al-Maidah:

"...If any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole of mankind: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole of mankind" (5.32)

They Believe that, as Allah (s.w.t.) says in Surah az-Zalzalah, they will be held to account for the most minor infractions imaginable:

"On that Day will men proceed in companies sorted out, to be shown the Deeds that they had done. Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it!" (99: 06-08)

So is it likely that knowing all this, they would set about intentionally slaughtering women and children in market places??

Those atrocities are the actions of men who care only for this world, and deny that a 'Hereafter' even exists!

They believe that as long as they are not held to account for their actions in this world, then they had gotten away with their crimes against the Iraqi people!

What an unpleasant surprise awaits them on the Day of Judgement, as Allah says in Surah al-Mutaffifin:

"Further, it will be said to them: 'This is the (reality) which ye rejected as false!'" (83.17)

How they will beg and plead on the Day of Judgement! They will be the ones Allah (s.w.t.) mentions in Surah al-Furqan, who will cry out:

"O my Lord! Truly my people took this Qur'an for just foolish nonsense!" (25.30)

Conclusion:

The great irony of all this is of course the fact that the Americans ARE facing two enemies in Iraq today!

One of their enemies consists of a bunch of murderous thugs, who should be condemned by all people, and especially all Muslims, everywhere.

Their other enemy consists a small band of noble, dedicated warriors standing up against the greatest forces for evil in the world today, these are people who should be praised and supported by all people, and especially all Muslims, the world over!

It's just that up until now, thanks to a massive propaganda campaign from numerous sources, many people have the two groups confused, and condemn the pious Believers for crimes they have not committed, while at the same time praising the reprehensible Renegades!
 

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