Tonight I had the privilege of hearing the Reverend Dr. Mark Durie, Vicar of
St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Caulfield, Australia, speak on the subject of dhimmitude. Reverend Durie is the author of the book The Third Choice.
Reverend Durie began his lecture with a brief historical perspective of how the religion of Islam treats those who are not Muslims in countries where Islamists are in control. The religion of Islam gives the non-believers in a land they conquer three choices—convert to Muslim, death by the sword, or dhimmitude. Dhimmitude is an option that is traditionally open only to Jews and Christians—pagans must either convert to Islam or be killed.
Reverend Durie points out the Sharia Law (the Islamic justice system) guides all aspects of a man’s life. It assumes an Islamic state. In an Islamic state those who choose dhimmitude are required to pay an annual tax (jizya tax) to the state in recognition of their defeated status. The ritual surrounding that payment makes it clear that the dhimmis are expected to pay the tax gratefully for the privilege of keeping their heads for another year. Part of the ritual includes two ritual blows to the neck, mimicking the beheading of the person. At this point it was pointed out that Sharia law will be part of the new Palestinian State when or if it is created—religious freedom will not be part of the state.
The aim of Dhimmitude is to destroy the souls of the conquered people. Even if they do not convert to Islam, they will still be in submission to Islam. The system is very damaging to the dhimmis. It is designed to destroy their love for life.
There have been some very negative cultural effects of Dhimmitude on western countries. Many western leaders have remained silent as Christians are persecuted in the Islamic world. Western leaders have been afraid to engage in a discourse about the theology of Islam, refusing to look at it critically. All faiths are not equal, and what you believe matters.
One of the problems in dealing with the spread of Islam is that Islamists have successfully controlled the vocabulary. When President Obama spoke in Cairo in June 2009, he exhibited the cultural traits of dhimmitude—he expressed gratefulness for Islam’s contributions to civilization and stated, “Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.” These statements reflect the gratitude to Islam and the inferiority of the dhimmis in dhimmitude. There was no desire to actually address the intolerance Islam has shown to non-Muslims.
Reverend Durie stated that he is optimistic that Islam will not eventually reach its goal of world domination. He pointed out that where Sharia law is in effect, there has been a negative reaction to it. In Algeria and Iran, thousands are converting to Christianity. Islam’s rise is not based as much on Islam’s strength as much as it is based on the western world’s weakness. Islam sets long-term goals—centuries rather than years. The western world needs to learn to set longer goals—reflected in education, text books, cultural strength, and appreciation of freedom. We need to learn to pass the torch of western civilization from one generation to the next.
There is an expression in some Christian circles, “God has no grandchildren—He only has children.” We need to make sure that the coming generations understand the gift and blessings of freedom that are a major part of western civilization.
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