I am fairly sure that this violates the Quran’s rules on “dhimmitude.” Churches that are in existence in a muslim country are not to be repaired (rather they are condemned to crumble).
As I commented a few days ago on an article about success in Iraq, the Democrats havent been this unhappy since Saddam was captured. This peace stuff is really messing up their campaign.
News paper story today about reconcilliation and peace returning to a town in Iraq. The story was on page 7. One front page news story was about UGA fans wearing black at the next game and homeless vets. I often wonder about journalistic priorties. The home town paper is considered conservative!
Discussion of dhimmitude from wikipedia:
[blockquote]Places of worship
According to Islamic law, the permission for dhimmis to retain their places of worship and build new ones depended upon the circumstances in which the land fell under the Muslim rule.
There was no consensus in Islamic jurisprudence as to whether it was permissible for dhimmis to repair churches and synagogues. The Pact of Umar puts an obligation on dhimmis not to “restore, by night or by day, any [places of worship] that have fallen into ruin”,[35] and Ibn Kathir adhered to this view.[74] At the same time, al-Mawardi wrote that dhimmis may “rebuild dilapidated old temples and churches”.[75] As in the case of building new houses of worship, the ability of dhimmi communities to repair churches and synagogues usually depended upon its relationship with local Muslim authorities and its ability to pay bribes.[76] According to the Shafi’i Islamic jurist al-Nawawi, dhimmis could not use churches and synagogues if their land was conquered by attack. In such lands, as well as in towns founded after the conquest, or where inhabitants voluntarily converted wholesale to Islam, Islamic law does not allow dhimmis to build new churches and synagogues, or expand or repair existing ones, even if they fall into ruin. If the country submitted by capitulation, al-Nawawi wrote, dhimmis were permitted to build new houses of worship only if the capitulation treaty stated that dhimmis remained owners of their land. In observance of this prohibition, Abbasid caliphs al-Mutawakkil, al-Mahdi and Harun al-Rashid ordered the destruction, in their realms, of all churches and synagogues built after the Islamic conquest. In the 11th century, the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim oversaw over the demolition of all churches and synagogues in Egypt, Syria and Palestine, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. However, al-Hakim subsequently allowed the rebuilding of the destroyed buildings.[76]
Nevertheless, dhimmis sometimes managed to expand churches and synagogues and even build new ones, albeit at the price of bribing local officials in order to get permissions.[77] When non-Muslim houses of worship were built in cities founded after the Islamic conquests, Muslim jurists usually justified such evasions of the Islamic law by claiming that those churches and synagogues had existed in the earlier settlements. This logic was applied to Baghdad, which was built on the place of an eponymous Persian village, as well as to some other cities.[78][/blockquote]
I wondered if local officials were bribed so as to repair the church.
Great picture. Anybody know why there is an extra set of crossbars on the cross? Those are typical in that part of the world. Is it something as simple as making it look like a cross from any aspect, or is that a particular religious significance?
I am fairly sure that this violates the Quran’s rules on “dhimmitude.” Churches that are in existence in a muslim country are not to be repaired (rather they are condemned to crumble).
As I commented a few days ago on an article about success in Iraq, the Democrats havent been this unhappy since Saddam was captured. This peace stuff is really messing up their campaign.
News paper story today about reconcilliation and peace returning to a town in Iraq. The story was on page 7. One front page news story was about UGA fans wearing black at the next game and homeless vets. I often wonder about journalistic priorties. The home town paper is considered conservative!
Discussion of dhimmitude from wikipedia:
[blockquote]Places of worship
According to Islamic law, the permission for dhimmis to retain their places of worship and build new ones depended upon the circumstances in which the land fell under the Muslim rule.
There was no consensus in Islamic jurisprudence as to whether it was permissible for dhimmis to repair churches and synagogues. The Pact of Umar puts an obligation on dhimmis not to “restore, by night or by day, any [places of worship] that have fallen into ruin”,[35] and Ibn Kathir adhered to this view.[74] At the same time, al-Mawardi wrote that dhimmis may “rebuild dilapidated old temples and churches”.[75] As in the case of building new houses of worship, the ability of dhimmi communities to repair churches and synagogues usually depended upon its relationship with local Muslim authorities and its ability to pay bribes.[76] According to the Shafi’i Islamic jurist al-Nawawi, dhimmis could not use churches and synagogues if their land was conquered by attack. In such lands, as well as in towns founded after the conquest, or where inhabitants voluntarily converted wholesale to Islam, Islamic law does not allow dhimmis to build new churches and synagogues, or expand or repair existing ones, even if they fall into ruin. If the country submitted by capitulation, al-Nawawi wrote, dhimmis were permitted to build new houses of worship only if the capitulation treaty stated that dhimmis remained owners of their land. In observance of this prohibition, Abbasid caliphs al-Mutawakkil, al-Mahdi and Harun al-Rashid ordered the destruction, in their realms, of all churches and synagogues built after the Islamic conquest. In the 11th century, the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim oversaw over the demolition of all churches and synagogues in Egypt, Syria and Palestine, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. However, al-Hakim subsequently allowed the rebuilding of the destroyed buildings.[76]
Nevertheless, dhimmis sometimes managed to expand churches and synagogues and even build new ones, albeit at the price of bribing local officials in order to get permissions.[77] When non-Muslim houses of worship were built in cities founded after the Islamic conquests, Muslim jurists usually justified such evasions of the Islamic law by claiming that those churches and synagogues had existed in the earlier settlements. This logic was applied to Baghdad, which was built on the place of an eponymous Persian village, as well as to some other cities.[78][/blockquote]
I wondered if local officials were bribed so as to repair the church.
Great picture. Anybody know why there is an extra set of crossbars on the cross? Those are typical in that part of the world. Is it something as simple as making it look like a cross from any aspect, or is that a particular religious significance?
Robroy: Iraq is still officially a secular state (so far, anyway)