Mysterious “armed men” in Philippines make great slaughter in the land…

Islam, the beast that can’t be named:

But in the article’s eleventh paragraph we learn that there is an “Islamic insurgency” in the area. Fit to print — but just barely! “21 Filipinos Are Reported Dead in Election Violence,” by Carlos H. Conde for the New York Times, November 23 (thanks to JW): As always, you can be sure that this has nothing to do with Islam: “It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land.”

MANILA — In one of the worst incidents of election- related violence in the Philippines in recent memory, a group of more than 40 people — including lawyers, journalists and relatives of a local politician — were kidnapped by armed men Monday, and military officials said 21 of them had been killed. (Gee, isn’t kidnapping and killing people totally unislamic?/ed)

Update:

Local media reported that some of the dead had been beheaded, and that more bodies were expected to be recovered. The mechanical digger used to bury them was stamped “Property of the Provincial Government of Maguindanao”, further suggesting the involvement of Mr Ampatuan’s supporters. “Their private parts were showing, their heads were crushed, they were mutilated,” Mr Mangudadatu told Philippines television. Even in a country where political violence is routine, the incident has caused shock, and prompted calls for a state of emergency in Mindanao.  (totally un-Islamic, right?) Link

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, a military spokesman in Manila, said 21 bodies had been recovered in Maguindanao, a province on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines that has often been wracked by election violence. Thirteen of the dead were women, according to the military.

Maj. Gen. Alfredo Cayton, a security official in the province, said in a radio interview that the victims had been shot. But relatives of most of the victims said at least 30 abductees had been killed and many of them beheaded by a group of about 100 men.

The victims were reportedly stopped on their way to an election office to file candidacy papers for Esmael Mangudadatu, the vice mayor of the town of Buluan, who plans to run for governor of Maguindanao. Mr. Mangudadatu said on ABS-CBN television that his wife, his sister and several other female relatives had been in the group and that he had received confirmation that they had been killed.

He said they had been filing his candidacy documents in the hope that women would not be attacked. Lawyers and reporters accompanied the group, although the military did not identify the bodies they had recovered.

“We believe more bodies are buried,” Colonel Brawner said, according to Reuters. “Unfortunately, the killing happened before our troops got there.”…

Attacks on candidates and supporters during campaign periods are common throughout the Philippines. In 2007 local elections, nearly 100 people were killed in such attacks.

Election violence is more extreme in Maguindanao, where an Islamic insurgency and decades-old clan wars complicate the security situation. Loose firearms, many of them in the hands of criminal groups and political warlords, have worsened the situation in this and other areas….

The Myth:

Muhammad Never Killed Captives

The Truth:

Islamic terrorists take and execute hostages on an almost daily basis.  So much so, that mainstream Muslims rarely even bother to comment.  When they do, however, we are assured that this has “nothing to do with Islam” because Muhammad never executed prisoners of war, or anyone else taken hostage…

Except that he did.

During the Battle of Badr, several defenseless Meccans were slaughtered by Muhammad’s companions.  These included a man named Umayya and his young son, who were taken prisoner by a Muslim (a former friend who tried to protect them), but were then set upon by a mob before they could be escorted to safety:

“I said (would you attack) my prisoners?  But… The people formed a ring around us as I was protecting him.  Then a man drew his sword and cut off his son’s foot so that he fell down and Umayya [the boy’s father] let out a cry such as I have never heard… They hewed them to pieces with their swords until they were dead.” (Ibn Ishaq 449)

Another heartwarming account of Muslim chivalry during the same battle concerns Abu Jahl,  one of Muhammad’s arch-enemies at Mecca.  He met his death as he lay defenseless.  In this case, two Muslims took the opportunity to administer the death blow:

Mu’awwidh passed Abu Jahl as he lay there helpless and smote him until he left him at his last gasp. (Ibn Ishaq 451)

Later, another Muslim named Abdullah came by and put his foot on Abu Jahl’s neck, taunted him and then decapitated him:

Then I cut off his head and brought it to the apostle saying, “This is the head of the enemy of Allah, Abu Jahl.”… I threw his head before the apostle and he gave thanks to Allah. (Ibn Ishaq 451).

Apparently these companions of Muhammad were unaware of his rule against killing captives.   But who could really blame them?  Not only did the prophet of Islam praise them for the slaughter at the time, he also ordered the killing of another captive brought before him.

Uqba bin Abu Mu’ayt pled for his life:

“When the apostle ordered him to be killed, Uqba said, “But who will look after my children, O Muhammad?”  [Muhammad’s reply] “Hell.”  The man was put to death. (Ibn Ishaq 458)

Other captives were ransomed, but Uqba received special treatment because he had mocked Muhammad at Mecca.  His crime was that he had thrown the entrails of a dead animal on Muhammad’s back as he was praying, to the amusement of other Meccans (Muslim 4422, Ibn Ishaq 277).  The prophet of Islam determined that this fraternity prank was worth killing over, and it became the first of several other occasions in which people were slain on Muhammad’s order merely for mocking him.

Interestingly, there appears to be evidence that Muhammad regretted not killing all of his captives, instead of ransoming them.  Verse 8:67 of the Qur’an was “revealed” in the aftermath of Badr and says “It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land.”

The prophet of Islam went on to execute many other captives, most notoriously the 800 men and boys taken prisoner at Qurayza.  His men also brutally murdered an elderly woman named Umm Qirfa after taking her prisoner following a raid on the tribe of Banu Fazara.  According to al-Tabari she was killed by, “putting a rope to her two legs and to two camels and driving them until thy rent her in two.” (The woman’s daughter was then doled out to a Muslim man).

While it is common to hear Muslims claim that their religion is “against” killing hostages, the actual history of Islam proves that nothing could be further from the truth

The Myths of Muhammad Index

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Tagged as: Kidnapping, Philippine Jihad, slaughter