Significance

Submitted by John R. (United States), Apr 28, 2006 at 18:13

YOU: An Islamic school in London is teaching that non-Muslims are akin to pigs and dogs, and it is doing so with subventions from the British taxpayer. More alarmingly, when notified of this problem, the British authorities indicate they intend to do nothing about it.

ME: They should do something about it.

YOU: The Times (London) reported on April 20 in "Muslim students ‘being taught to despise unbelievers as ‘filth'," that the Hawza Ilmiyya, a Shi‘i institution, teaches from the writings of Muhaqqiq al-Hilli. This scholar lived from 1240 to 1326 and wrote the authoritative work on Shi‘i law (Shara'i‘ al-Islam). About non-believers, called kafirs, he taught:

The water left over in the container after any type of animal has drunk from it is considered clean and pure apart from the left over of a dog, a pig, and a disbeliever.

There are ten [sic] types of filth and impurities: urine, faeces, semen, carrion, blood of carrion, dogs, pigs, disbelievers.

When a dog, a pig, or a disbeliever touches or comes in contact with the clothes or body [of a Muslim] while he [the disbeliever] is wet, it becomes obligatory-compulsory upon him [the Muslim] to wash and clean that part which came in contact with the disbeliever.

In addition, a chapter on jihad specifies conditions under which Muslims should fight Jews and Christians.

Although Hilli's attitudes were standard for a pre-modern Shi‘i, they are shocking for 2006 London. Indeed, several students in the Hawza Ilmiyya found them "disturbing" and "very worrying." Their spokesman told the Times that students "are being exposed to very literalist interpretations of the Koran. These are interpretations that would not be recognised by 80 or 90 per cent of Muslims, but they are being taught in this school. A lot of people in the Muslim community are very concerned about this." The spokesman concluded with an appeal urgently to re-examine "the kind of material that is being taught here and in other [Islamic] colleges in Britain."

ME: These are the kind of things that lead to terrorism. Certainly this kind of teaching is what caused terrorists to blow up the Trade Towers. Therefore, it cannot be ignored, but must be monitored and taken action against. This is one of the excellent qualities of Dr. Pipes's work. Unfortunately he is called a radical for it, which is ridiculous. Happens to have significance in the war against terrorism if we are to make ourselves less vulnerable to it. Why is that you are called an extremist, Dan? It just seems to me that since I read the Post and Daily News, you are no different from their writers with regard to the Middle East. The same monotonous and hostile take on Islam and terrorism, yet meaningful, has significance. Maybe the fact that you keep on endlessly pointing these relevant things out is what makes you an extremist. But just think of it, even if it has nothing to do with Islam, someone pointing out a cult, or not even a cult, that teaches hatred to a large group of people and therefore can cause violence is a worthy thing to talk about. I mean, we always address and pound politicians for making racist statements, condemnation all over the place, and yet someone cannot continually criticize Islam, whose teachings are obviously racist, and whose significance ties with our safety and security, no excuse me, not just ours but the world. It even becomes more serious to me considering I live in New York City.

John R.

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