Passover and Islam Eileen F. Toplansky
The Jewish holiday of Passover beckons mankind to the promise of freedom. As the late Holocaust survivor, Simon Wiesenthal said, “freedom is not a gift of heaven, you have to fight for it every day.” During the seder or festive meal, Jews the world over are enjoined to remember how difficult their lives were under the yoke of Egyptian slavery and they thank G-d for giving them the choice to be free, responsible, and independent people.
The central motif of the haggadah or text read during the seder is to answer the question “what makes this night different from all other nights?” Peppered with rabbinic ideas, in-depth questions, and insightful commentary, the text is an effort to “learn, study and analyze the events” surrounding the time in ancient Egypt when Hebrews were not free, but were slaves.
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik classifies “two slave systems: slaves owned by individuals, as in ancient Greece or the United States, and slaves owned by the state, as in Nazi Germany, China, and the former Soviet Union where the state is the absolute master.” Slaves in a state system exist in a depersonalized prison. There is no personal relationship imaginable.
As each day brings new horrors emanating from the Islamic world against Muslims and non-Muslims, I am struck by the stark contrast between the message of Passover and the inhumane and slave-like treatment of so many human beings in the Muslim world. The other progeny of Abraham must begin asking their own questions. It will require a sea change of major proportions for Muslims and a realignment of reason over emotion for liberal non-Muslims.
Islam is a cultural manifesto shrouded in the idea of religion. As such, it receives a pass from far too many Americans who have been taught to respect religious views. After all, freedom of religion is enshrined in our foundational document, the Constitution.
But a system so replete with hatred and violence must be exposed and countered. Islam destroys the body and the soul with its totalitarian mandates. Dr. Majid Rafizadeh in his book The Muslim Renegade asserts that “if current Islamic teachings, thoughts and education, do not go through a fundamental religious reformation from within the religion itself, the future will bring more colossal tragedies” than have heretofore been seen. Rafizadeh’s memoir recounts his life of becoming a man in a culture he opposes. Rafizadeh was born and raised to be a devout Muslim but began to view the inflexibility of Islam and started a journey of “personal responsibility” to “fight for the freedom of every citizen.” To see Islam sanction the rape of non-Muslim children was the final eye-opener for him.
As Raymond Ibrahim explains “[c]onsider the true significance of yet another learned Muslim justifying the enslavement and rape of non-Muslim women.” Thus, “Suad Saleh, a female professor of Islamic doctrine at Al Azhar University, correctly defined the Arabic phrase melk al-yamin—’right hand possession’ (Koran 4:3)—by saying non-Muslim ‘female prisoners of wars are those whom you own. In order to humiliate them, they become the property of the [Muslim] army commander, or of a Muslim, and he can have sex with them just like he has sex with his wives.'” In fact, “countless Muslims, beginning with Muhammad himself, have confirmed that Islam permits the sexual enslavement of non-Muslim women seized during the jihad.”
And so this inherently misogynistic creed continues in the Arab world and has now spread its tentacles to Europe. Rebecca Sommer who used to actively support Muslim refugees in Germany finally realized that Muslim views on women are at complete odds with her own. She hoped these refugees would adapt and integrate into German society but finally acknowledged that such misogyny and hatred of the infidel was held by the “overwhelming majority of Muslims” she dealt with.
Somner writes that she “placed great trust in . . . libertarian, equitable European values, and naively thought that every person must delight in them and take them on. But after looking back through the years of repetitive experiences in [her] work environment as a volunteer, [she] had to admit . . . that when it comes to Muslim refugees, they have grown up with completely different values, into which they have been brainwashed and are indoctrinated by Islam, and have no intention of adopting [Western] values – worse, they look at us, unbelievers with superiority and arrogance.” Also, “. . . after their arrival here, many of them fall into the tentacles of fundamental Imams, . . . who strengthen them in their fundamentalism, which prohibits them from mixing with us, infidels, and our way of life [.]”
Sommer “helped them during the asylum procedures, dealt with their official matters, got them apartments, furniture, cell phones, computers, clothing, courses, jobs, scholarships and spent countless free hours of [her] private time on individual cases. However, at some point [she] noticed that these people used taqqiya or deception directed at non-Muslims.” Although she had been warned about this “Muslim misleading strategy” she did not want to listen. But by and by “it turned out that those people . . . who ate with [her], drank, danced, laughed, . . . , they don’t talk about [her] other than ‘a stupid German whore.'”
This interview with a Swedish woman confirms the fear now permeating much of Sweden as a result of Muslim immigration. Consequently many Swedes are leaving their homeland to escape.
In 2011 Rebecca Bynum asserted that “one thing we can definitely say about Islam is that it is not solely confined to a belief system. If it is a religion it is not a religion only. Islam is a total system of life and contains within itself a particular social system, judicial system, and political system which includes geo-political aspirations — the conquest and administration of territory.
Thus, immigration models of the past where people would shed some of their identity to become assimilated simply do not apply to those who immigrate to ultimately conquer territory and the people within. In fact, the Islamic idea of hijra clearly states this bold assertion. The ultimate goal is not “peaceful assimilation to the political system and mores of a host country.” It is the mass migration of “Muslim immigrants who are importing Islam into our Western way of life.” Examples abound in Europe of this immigration as a jihad on the West. Thus, in France, Jews are fleeing in droves and being replaced by millions of Muslims. In fact, antisemitism today in France comes . . . “almost exclusively from Muslims. Jewish districts that once were thriving are now on the verge of extinction.”
Islam’s treatment of women is abhorrent. In her book, Sharia-ism is Here: The Battle to Control Women–and Everyone Else, Joy Brighton clarifies the brutal treatment of people, e.g., infidels must submit or die; conversion from Islam calls for the death penalty; a rape victim is murdered by her own family in an honor killing; child marriage is allowed; homosexuals are murdered and polygamy is legal. In Great Britain, Islamists are establishing “regressive requirements” such as wife beating and halala rituals in divorce. Will we ever learn the history lessons of life under Islamism? . Far too many uninformed Americans don’t realize that “Muslim advocacy groups are fronts and mask the true Islamic supremacist agenda” as Pamela Geller repeatedly demonstrates in Fatwa: Hunted in America.
Islam is the inversion and perversion of every enlightened humane inspiration, yet the West averts its eyes to this rabid assault of ideas. Women, in particular, cannot use western justice to ameliorate their conditions if sharia courts dominate British or American law where “in a toxic mix of religious fundamentalism, culture and tight-knit communities, sharia councils uphold the theory and practice of the stronghold men have over women.”
It is not just the daily havoc in Muslim-dominated enclaves creating untenable conditions for police, tourists and non-Muslims. It is, as Geert Wilders has asserted, “a gradual and incremental transformation of our societies and legal systems, or what is termed ‘Islamisation’ of democratic societies.” Moreover, the West permits the Islamists to take advantage of Western freedoms. Thus, sharia law is instituted and Islam insidiously creeps into every facet of life, whether it is through courts of law, schools, fashion, and even food, i.e., banning pork in school lunches so as not to offend Muslims or the institution of halal food without informing consumers. In Illinois, a group linked with the Muslim Brotherhood launched a hijab propaganda billboard campaign.
We have everything to fear from Islam and its “deep-rooted animosity against the West.” It reinforces a culture and a way of life based on “punishment and vengeance” and “rejects the rational and liberal traditions of the West.” Just consider the no-go zones in Europe, the exodus of Jews and the increase in violence. The irony, of course, is that the Islamists exploit Western civilization’s liberties and institutions in order to destroy these very same liberties. Loyalty to a culture or a constitution that is not sharia based is simply non-existent.
There are a growing number of courageous ex-Muslims who are standing up and speaking out. Their site ex-Muslim.tv presents videos of ex-Muslims explaining why they left Islam despite the grave risks.. They speak out for their rights and the rights of others. One young Bangladeshi man removes a mask and says “I am #ExMuslimBecause I believe in freedom.”
It is hard to fathom that the actions of these people would bring death upon them but one is reminded of the words uttered at the Passover seder, “We were slaves unto Pharaoh in Egypt” and now we exult in our freedom and promise never to lose sight of why the night is different. To do otherwise is to become “totally insensitive to human dignity and rights.”
Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com
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