Africans under Leopold II and some other narratives
In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.
Allah, The Exalted, said:
مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا
If anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land – it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind. [Al-Ma’idah. 32]
Imam As-Sadi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:
If a person is bold enough to kill someone who does not deserve to be killed, this implies that he does make a distinction between the one he killed and other than him; rather he would commit this act whenever his evil calls him to that. Therefore, his bold attitude that led him to kill is as if he has killed all humankind. On the other hand, if a person saves a life and does not kill – whilst his soul calls him to do so – due to fear of Allah, this is as if he has saved the lives of all humankind because the fear of Allah he possesses stops him killing one who does not deserve to be killed. [Tafsir As-Sadi]
Africans under Belgian King Leopold II, Jews under Nazis, and some other narratives
Numerous voices have emerged, some advocating and others contesting, the estimated number of Jews who perished under Nazi rule, much like the varying figures proposed regarding the toll of King Leopold’s colonial endeavors on African lives. Whether the figure stands at 6 million Jews, more or less, or 10 million Africans, again subject to debate, the loss of even a single life, judged by any standard other than divine law, is a profound injustice. Both the Nazis and colonial powers have drenched their hands in blood, as have many throughout history. Thus, the onus of research falls upon you to ascertain the true number of Jews lost to Nazi atrocities and the Africans who suffered under King Leopold’s brutal regime. Yet, the scourge of violence and oppression persists in our current age. Conflicts among Africans often arise from tribal animosities or are exacerbated by neocolonial interventions, where the greed of exploiters incites turmoil in African and Asian nations. In a similar vein, with the backing of Christian Zionists, [Footnote a] the Zionist movement has inflicted suffering and death upon Palestinians for over seven decades. The architects of these atrocities, the mass murderers and genocidal perpetrators of our time, are but the modern-day heirs to the violent legacies of ancient wrongdoers. The echoes of the Rwandan genocide and other conflicts resonate, yet it is essential to remember that Europe itself has a history steeped in brutal wars before it sought to export its violence through centuries of colonialism. Once again, we reiterate that these contemporary perpetrators are merely the successors of the ancient bloodshed. Herein lie examples of those who have historically reveled in violence.
The Tyrants of Aad
Allah stated that Prophet Hud, peace be upon him, said to his people: [وَإِذَا بَطَشۡتُم بَطَشۡتُمۡ جَبَّارِينَ – And when you seize, seize you as tyrants]– Meaning, when you want to attack with a whip or sword, you attack like tyrants, completely overpowering and being savagely violent – neither compassionate nor aim to discipline (within justice as commanded by Allah), nor contemplating on the consequences. (1) Allah gave them great strength and it was obligated to them to use this strength in obedience to Allah, but they became boastful and haughty, and they said: [مَنۡ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةًۖ – Who is mightier than us in strength? (Fussilat. 15], and they utilised their strength in disobedience to Allah, fruitlessly and foolishly, thus, their Prophet forbade them from that. (2) Their Prophet forbade them from that because it was done out of oppression. (3)
Fir’awn and His Blind Followers
Allah, The Exalted, said:
إِنَّ فِرۡعَوۡنَ عَلَا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَجَعَلَ أَهۡلَهَا شِيَعً۬ا يَسۡتَضۡعِفُ طَآٮِٕفَةً۬ مِّنۡہُمۡ يُذَبِّحُ أَبۡنَآءَهُمۡ وَيَسۡتَحۡىِۦ نِسَآءَهُمۡۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُفۡسِدِينَ
Verily, Fir’aun (Pharaoh) exalted himself in the land and made its people sects, weakening (oppressing) a group (i.e. Children of Israel) among them, killing their sons, and letting their females live. Verily, he was of the Mufsideen [i.e. those who commit great sins and crimes, oppressors, tyrants, etc.] [Al-Qasas. 4]
The Makers of the Ditch
Allah [The Exalted] said:
قُتِلَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلۡأُخۡدُودِ
ٱلنَّارِ ذَاتِ ٱلۡوَقُودِ
إِذۡ هُمۡ عَلَيۡہَا قُعُودٌ۬
وَهُمۡ عَلَىٰ مَا يَفۡعَلُونَ بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ شُہُودٌ۬
وَمَا نَقَمُواْ مِنۡہُمۡ إِلَّآ أَن يُؤۡمِنُواْ بِٱللَّهِ ٱلۡعَزِيزِ ٱلۡحَمِيدِ
ٱلَّذِى لَهُ ۥ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ شَہِيدٌ
Cursed were the makers of the Ditch- the large ditch with the fire, given fuel (in abundance); when they sat around it, watching what they had (ordered to be done) to the believers, who they resented for no reason other than belief in Allah- The Almighty, the Praiseworthy, the One to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and earth. And Allah is a Witness over all things. [Al-Buruj. 4-9]
[قُتِلَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلۡأُخۡدُودِ – Cursed were the makers of the Ditch]: This is an invocation against them to be destroyed. The makers of the ditch were disbelievers and there lived amongst them believers, so they wanted to force the believers to accept their religion, but the believers refused. They dug a ditch in the ground, kindled fire in it, sat around it, oppressed the believers and exposed them to the fire; so whoever responded to their orders was released and whoever held onto their faith was casted in the fire. This is an intense act of waging war against Allah and the believers, so Allah cursed, destroyed and promised them punishment, saying: [قُتِلَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلۡأُخۡدُودِ – Cursed were the makers of the ditch].
Then Allah explained about the ditch and its makers, saying:
ٱلنَّارِ ذَاتِ ٱلۡوَقُودِ
إِذۡ هُمۡ عَلَيۡہَا قُعُودٌ۬
وَهُمۡ عَلَىٰ مَا يَفۡعَلُونَ بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ شُہُودٌ۬
The large ditch with the fire, given fuel (in abundance); when they sat around it, watching what they had (ordered to be done) to the believers.
This is one of the greatest types of despotism and hardheartedness, because they combined between their disbelief in Allah’s signs and willfully denied them, waging war against the believers, tortured them with this agonising torture and were present to witness the believers being casted in the fire. And reality is that they resented the believers for no reason other than a characteristic for which they are to be praised and through which depended their happiness (in this life and the next), which is that they were believers in Allah -The Almighty, The Praiseworthy. (4)
Hajjaj Bin Yusuf Ath-Thaqafee
After Abdullah Bin Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, was murdered, Al-Hajjaaj sent someone to Asma [bint Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her), Abdullah’s mother] to come to him, but she refused to come. He again sent the messenger to her with the message that she must come, otherwise he would bring her forcibly by dragging her by her hair, but she again refused and said: By Allah, I will not come to you until you send one to me who would drag me by pulling my hair. So, he said: Bring me my shoes. He put on his shoes and walked on quickly puffed up with vanity and pride until he came to her and said: How do you find what I have done with the enemy of Allah? She said: I find that you wronged him in this world, whereas he has ruined your afterlife. It has been conveyed to me that you used to call him (Abdullah B. Zubair) as the son of one having two belts. By Allah, I am indeed (a woman) of two belts. One is that with the help of which I used to suspend high the food of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and that of Abu Bakr (making it out of the reach) of animals and, so far as the second belt is concerned, that is the belt which no woman can dispense with. Verily Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) told us that in Thaqif, there would be born a great liar and great murderer. The liar we have seen, and as far as the murderer is concerned, I do not find anyone else besides you. He (Hajjaj) stood up and did not give any reply to her. [Sahih Muslim 2545]
The Mongols
In the year 656 AH/1258 CE, Artughal’s son, Uthman, was born and it is to whom the Ottoman Empire was attributed. It was the year in which the Mongols, led by Hulagu, carried out a military expedition against Baghdad – the capital of the Ottoman Caliphate – which led to catastrophic events and great calamities. Imaam Ibn Katheer [may Allaah have mercy upon him] stated, “They (i.e. the Mongols) killed everyone they were able to kill, including men, women, boys, Shaikhs, the elderly and the young men. Many people entered the wells, the habitats of wild animals and the gutters, and they hid for days without appearing. A group of people would gather in the inns and shut the doors, but the Tartars either opened the doors by breaking them or setting them on fire; then they pursued the people who fled to the highest places and killed them on the rooftops until blood flowed in the alleys. Indeed to Allaah we belong and to Him we shall return! Likewise, in the local mosques and the big central mosques, no one escaped from them except the Jewish and Christian citizens of the Muslim land, and those who sought refuge with them”. (5)
American Colonialists
The 13 American colonies’ population grew from about 2,000 to 2.4 million between 1625 and 1775 while displacing Native Americans from eastern North America. After the colonies declared independence in 1776 from Great Britain and formed the US, the settlers started to move west, clashing with and eradicating the Apache, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chinook, Navajo and Sioux tribes. Some of the names today are sadly used for American warfare helicopters and ubiquitous sport utility vehicles. The national holiday, Thanksgiving, celebrated in November, is traced to the 1620s when European settlers invited Native Americans to a feast. The settlers later killed the population and gave thanks to God for allowing them to slaughter the “savages.” The surviving descendants of Native American tribes live in poverty on federally recognized Indian reservations across the US. Almost 100 million indigenous people in the Western Hemisphere have been killed or died prematurely because of the Europeans and their descendants in five centuries, according to David E. Stannard in his book, American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World. Around 12 million indigenous people died within present US geographical boundaries between 1492 and 1900, according to Russell Thornton in American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History since 1492. Despite having unalienable rights — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – as enshrined in the American Declaration of Independence, not all in the new colonies were considered equal. The colonies had a system of slavery, which European settlers carried as a practice into the Americas from the Old World, despite English Protestants praising themselves as Puritans. A conservative estimate of 35 million men, women and children were brought from Africa to the New World between the 16th and 19th centuries. Around 12.5 million of those brought to North America were used as free labor in fields and worked under grueling conditions, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database. The systematic repression of Africans continues to the present day in the US government application of laws, health and education. (6)
Colonialists and The Atlantic Slave Trade: By Shaikh Abu Khadeejah [may Allaah preserve him]: https://video.link/w/Qbaub https://video.link/w/lUZtb
Colonialists In Australia: Professor Lyndall Ryan and her research team has found that there were at least 270 frontier massacres over 140 years of Australian history, as part of a state-sanctioned and organised attempts to eradicate First Nations people. For Ryan’s work, a massacre is defined as the deliberate killing of six or more defenceless people in one operation. If you investigate some of these massacres in depth you can see how systematic they were. Ryan’s work is in no means comprehensive as many massacres were not documented and many others covered up. Because of colonial genocidal actions like state-sanctioned massacres, the First Nations population went from an estimated 1-1.5 million before invasion to less than 100,000 by the early 1900s. (7)
Finally, it is essential to reflect upon the tragic events that have unfolded in Palestine, a situation that has persisted for over seventy years. While we acknowledge the instances of violence perpetrated by Zionist forces, we must also unequivocally denounce any acts of violence committed by Muslims against unarmed civilians and non-combatants who identify with Judaism.
The History of Zionist Aggression
The Deir Yassin Massacre: Took place on April 9, 1948, near Jerusalem, during which between 107 to 254 Palestinians were massacred at the hands of the extremist “Stern” gang.
The Nasr al-Din Massacre: Took place in April 1948. Al-Lajjun Massacre: Took place on April 13, 1948, in a Palestinian Arab village in the Jenin District, where the Zionist Haganah gang attacked it and killed 13 people.
The Saliha Massacre: Took place in May 1948, during which 75 Palestinians were massacred.
The Abu Shusha Massacre: Took place on May 14, 1948, near the village of Deir Yassin, and claimed the lives of (50) citizens, including women, men, children, and the elderly.
The Beit Daras Massacre: Took place in northeastern Gaza on May 21, 1948.
The Tantura Massacre: Took place on May 22, 1948, in the occupied city of Haifa, and claimed the lives of about (200) Palestinians.
The Lydda Massacre: Took place on July 12, 1948, in the occupied city of Lydda, and resulted in the massacre of about (500) Palestinians, including (150) who were massacred inside the city’s Grand Mosque. The Zionists threw many of them alive into the town’s wells.
The Dawayima Massacre: Took place on October 29, 1948, when a battalion from the terrorist “Lehi” organization led by Moshe Dayan attacked the village and then began searching homes and shooting at its residents. Entire families were exterminated in the massacre, which resulted in the killing of 200 men, women, and children.
The Zionist massacres did not stop after the Nakba of 1948, but rather their frequency, intensity, and brutality increased in light of the use of more lethal and destructive weapons. Among the most prominent of these massacres were: The Sharafat Massacre, which took place in February 1951, in which 11 Palestinians were massacred, and the rest of the village’s people were displaced. The Bethlehem Massacre took place in January 1952, in which 10 Palestinians were massacred. The Qibya Massacre took place on October 14, 1953, in the village of Qibya, east of Jerusalem, during which (67) Palestinians were massacred, most of whom were women and children, and during which 56 homes were destroyed. The Qalqilya Massacre took place on October 10, 1956, when the occupation forces attacked citizens in the city of Qalqilya in the West Bank, during which about seventy citizens were massacred.
The Kafr Qasem Massacre took place on October 29, 1956, in which 49 Palestinians were massacred, including 11 children, when they were all returning home from work. The Khan Yunis Massacre took place on November 3 and 12, 1956, in which between 280 and 500 Palestinians were massacred.
In 1970, Zionist aircraft struck Bahr al-Baqar Primary School and Abu Zaabal factories, killing more than 150 Egyptian students and workers. In 1980, the extremist Jewish organization Kach attempted to blow up Al-Aqsa Mosque, and a shipment of explosives weighing 120 kg was discovered. The Sabra and Shatila massacre took place in September 1982. This massacre lasted three days, and its direct perpetrators were members of the Lebanese Phalange forces allied with the Zionists led by Ariel Sharon. The Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre took place on February 25, 1994, when a Zionist named “Barog Goldstein” stormed the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron, and fired bullets and bombs at the worshipers. This massacre resulted in the massacre of 29 Palestinians. The Qana Massacre took place on April 18, 1995. [8]
Listen to what Prince Turki Al-Faisal – may Allah preserve him- said about the Zionists and Hamas:
https://abuiyaad.com/a/amalekite-genocide-doctrine-gaza
https://abuiyaad.com/a/slaughtering-children-holy-war/print
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Footnote a:
The Initial Rise and Gradual Impact of Christian Zionism on Some European Political Decision-makers
An Overview of Christian Zionism in America Since the Arrival of The Puritans
[1]:Ruh Al-Ma’aanee 11/165 by Imam Al-Alusi (may Allaah have mercy upon him)]
[2]: Tafseer As-Sadi.
[3]: Zaadul Maseer Fee Ilmit Tafseer by Imaam Ibnul Jawzi (may allaah have mercy upon him)]
[4]: Tafseer As-Sadi.
[5]:An Excerpt from Ad-Dawlah Al-Uthmaaniyyah Awaamil An-Nuhood Wa Asbaab As-Suqoot. 44-45.
[6]: History records US genocide against Native Americans, Africans, massacres in Southeast Asia, Middle East – By Ovunc Kutlu 02.06.2021]
[7]: https://australian.museum/learn/first-nations/genocide-in-australia/ ]
[8] Compiled from various old Arab Newspapers