Product of Jihad

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A lot of European politicans, intellectuals and whatnot express a fear of the “Islamization” of Europe. They fear that Muslims might impose Shari’ah on them. I’m not going to get into whether or not this fear is substantiated or not, but as a person with (I guess you could say) a foot in both worlds as I am both an indigenous European and a Muslim, and more interestingly as someone with actual experience of this I will just share my opinion briefly. This post will, by the way, also show you why my blog focuses on Bosnian-Muslim issues and why I stress the situation of us as a Muslim community in the heart of Europe.

You see, my ancestors were European Christians but then a Muslim army conquered Bosnia and established Shari’ah. A big portion of the population eventually converted to Islam. So here we have a real life scenario where Shari’ah was established on European soil and I am today a result of this. So when it comes to this issue I am talking from experience because my country was conquered by Muslims. Now, of course, the argument can be made that this happened hundreds of years ago and I cannot know how I would’ve reacted if I had lived back then but nevertheless I am dealing with the consequences of the Islamization of my country and because of that I think that my opinion is relevant. Because unlike the majority of Muslims I am myself an European with a Christian background (in the sense that my ancestors were Christians) and unlike the Europeans that voice their opinion about this issue and warn of ”Eurabia” I can talk from actual experience.

So what is my opinion? Well, not only do I feel a sense of gratitude to God that the Muslims conquered my country I also feel a deep sense of pride that I am what I like to call a “product of Jihad” (since Islam reached my people through it). You see, unlike most Europeans the words “Jihad”, “Mujahid” and “Mujahideen” only have positive connotations for me and this is for two reasons (apart from the fact that it is a part of my religion). Firstly, during the war when the Serbs were carrying out a genocide on the Muslims (and by the way, when I say genocide I am only repeating what the UN, the Tribunal in Hague and a U.S. congressional resolution have said) the Mujahideen came to our assistance and we saw them as heroes and liberators and so it is only natural that I associate these words with that positive image I got of the Bosnian Mujahideen when I was growing up. Secondly, of course I am going to love the concept of Jihad since it is the means through which Islam reached us. And by the way, considering that my ancestors probably belonged to a Christian sect which was considered heretical, and thus opposed, by the Catholic and Orthodox Church (since it for example denied the trinity), they had more religious freedom under Sharia than before that when they were persecuted by these two churches (more information about this is availible here). So for the record, Islam wasn’t forced upon us. The majority of the people of Bosnia actually remained Christians after the Muslim conquest.

Also, my Iman increases just by pondering over the early history of Islam compared to the subsequent developement over the years and the eventual establishment of Islam in Bosnia. For instance, there’s the fact that today there are couple of million of us Bosnian Muslims that have adopted Arabic names that a lot of the time are taken from some of the Companions of the Prophet (sall Allahu ‘aleyhi wa sallam). What’s so special about that? Well, think about it… What was the state of the Arabs before Islam? I’ll quote Dr. Laurence B. Brown:

An uneducated and ignorant, “foolish,” if you will, disparate and divided group of desert-dwellers in the pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance, they were so much “not a nation” that Alexander the Great, the Persian empire, the Roman empire, and the Egyptians all passed them by. Why? Because there was no Arabian nation to conquer. They were so divided and spread out, so unorganized and tribal, that there was no national identity to address and no crown jewels to covet. (God’ed, pages 158-159)

Basically, they weren’t a force to reckon with in the world. They were quarelling among themselves and no one could’ve imagined that the various tribes would manage to unite under one banner, not to mention be able to challenge the hegemonies of the time: the Persians and the Romans. Yet, what did the Prophet (sall Allahu ‘aleyhi wa sallam) promise the Arabs if they accepted Islam? He told them that if they accepted Islamic montheism, then God would lead them to victory over other nations (including the Persians and Romans who, again, were the super powers of the time). Now, you have to put this into perspective. Not only were the Arabs in general weak. The Muslims during the early stages of Islam were extremely weak. They were persecuted, some of them tortured and killed and eventually the Muslims had to leave their own homes because of this situation. It was during this period that the Prophet (sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) promised that their acceptance of Islam would lead to them being masters of Arabia and the destiny of the Persians and the Romans. How did the enemies of the Muslims react to this promise by the Prophet (sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)? Well, let me just say that because of the situation at that time they didn’t find it realistic. Muhammad Mohar Ali (rahimahullah), in his book Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists vol. II mentions something very interesting:

The two Aswads (nos. 2&3) used to tell their companions, when passing by the Muslims who were of small means, that they were then seeing the people who would be successors to the Roman and Persian empires and their treasures! (pages 624-625)

Look how the ridiculed the promise of the Prophet (sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Well, joke’s on them because, obviously, the Muslims did eventually conquer the Persian and Roman empires. So Islam elevated the Arabs and gave them honor. Consider what Omar (radhi Allahu ‘anhu) said:

After the Muslims defeated the Romans to take over Al-Aqsa, they came to Umar, who was the Khalifah at the time, and handed him the keys of Jerusalem along with the best of clothes and finest of horses so that he could enter the city in style. What did he do? He told them to take it back, and took hold of his donkey walking towards the city wearing his regular clothes, and said: “We used to be the most humiliated of people, so Allah granted us glory and pride through Islam, so no matter how much we seek glory and pride through other than what Allah has granted us glory and pride through, Allah will humiliate us.” (Source)

Now, having all of this in mind: the situation of the Arabs before Islam, the situation of the Muslims at the time the promise of the Prophet (sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was made, etc. Isn’t it a sign of the truth of the Prophethood of Muhammed (sall Allahu ‘aleyhi wa sallam) that we now have white European Muslims giving their children Arabic names that belonged to the Companions (radhi Allahu ‘anhum ajma’een)? My fathers uncle was named Osman, my aunt is named Esma, my fathers cousin is named Omer, my great grandmother was named Fatima, etc. All of these names come from the Companions (radhi Allahu ‘anhum ajma’een). Why do we have generations of generations of non-Arabs giving their children these Arabic names after them? Because these were the champions of Islam and so God honored them! If they hadn’t accepted Islam, would people all over the world name their children after them and teach them about their stories? No, they would’ve faded into anonymity ignored by the pages of history. Who would know about Omar ibn al-Khattab (radhi Allahu ‘anhu) for instance, if it wasn’t for him becoming a Muslim? Look how God honored him. So when I hear adhan in Bosnia, when I see Bosnian Muslims praying etc. this is something amazing to me and it would be to anyone that is familiar with the biography of the Prophet (sall Allahu ‘aleyhi wa sallam) and the situation of the Muslims during the Meckan period. Think about the situation of the Prophet (sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) in Taif, for instance, and see how the situation became just years later, and how it is today. Allahu akbar. That alone is sufficient proof for the Prophethood of our beloved Nabi (sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).

In conclusion, since I am myself a “product of Jihad”, I have great appreciation and love for the concept of it and my love for the Prophet (sall Allahu ‘aleyhi wa sallam) and the Sahaba (radhi Allahu ‘anhum ajma’een) increases when I read about their situation in Mecka and then the various battles that they undertook just so that the light of Tawhid could reach the people and eventually also my country. But since we live in these times and some Muslims have deviated when it comes to Jihad, I deem it approriate to conclude the article with this quote:

…Muslims should be exalted by this aspect of the Prophet’s legacy. Had the Prophet, peace be upon him, not safeguarded the Islamic State against all enemies, internal and external, the Islamic State would never have come to existence and Islam would never have been established as a political entity. This is the mighty past of Islam and Muslims, and Muslims should never cease feeling delight at its glory and at the superior civilization it granted mankind. They should never feel ashamed or become defensive towards their Prophet or any part of his Sunnah.
Yet, Muslims should never condone acts of indiscriminate violence committed by some Muslims who disobey Muhammad, peace be upon him, and corrupt the true meaning, aim and methods of Jihad. Anger at the terrible crimes being committed against Muslims worldwide does not justify breaking Allah’s Law. Allah grants victory only to those who aid His religion. He does not grant victory to those who disobey His Law and transgress His Limits. (Prophet of Mercy, Chapter 2)

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