الدكتور حمودة فتح الرحمن بلة في رحاب الله

A Muslim Victim of Jihad

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Created 21 Jun 2005 - 14:10

Submitted by admin on 21 June, 2005 - 14:10

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Dr Hamouda Bella

Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to address your conference today and I would like to thank those human rights [4] organizations who made it possible. We are addressing the important and controversial issue of Jihad. I would like, right at the very beginning, to make it clear that I feel comfortable being with colleagues from different cultural and religious backgrounds in the human rights struggle, joining hands to denounce the atrocities committed under the name of Jihad.

I would also like to make clear the distinction between Islam and those few miscreants who take the law in their own hands and commit heinous crimes in the name of Islam by waging Jihad war to kill or torture innocents.

Some of the speakers today found it difficult to answer the question: What can we do? We can do a lot; the world is becoming a small village and we here are a committed group of human rights defenders. The miscreants must be brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC). The creation of the court is the most important positive development in the human rights movement so far this century. Muslims need to step forward and denounce the atrocities committed by the few extremist, the fanatic factions in the Sudan, Iraq, USA, Spain and anywhere in the world. We need to be more courageous and not to be intimidated by those who disgrace our culture and religion.

Myself, I am a victim of a group of fanatic extremists who seized power in the Sudan through a coup d'etat on 30th June 1989. Most of the Sudanese were expecting this coup; I myself went underground for a month, fearing liquidation by the fanatics, especially since I knew that the coup leaders were Muslim Brothers. Some of them went to school with me and most of them were trained by Hezbollah in Lebanon and by the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. They tried to disguise their real intentions by declaring that they were a group of nationalists, and as a matter of fact they put their leader Hassan Al-Turabi in detention with the other political leaders.

On 22nd November 1989, after midnight, a group of armed civilians and regular soldiers broke into my house in Kosti town. My children were terrified by the group who pulled me harshly outside my bedroom without even allowing me the time to change my clothes. Outside my home there was a small Toyota pickup and four of my friends were crowded in the middle with about ten regular soldiers surrounding them sitting on the edge of the car. I was squeezed roughly between the others as the space was too small to accommodate the five of us along with twenty other feet. We were taken to the outskirts of the town where there was two other cars waiting. From one of those cars stepped a man in civilian clothes carrying a pistol, he approached our car and gave orders to the soldiers to shoot to kill if anyone said a word. He told the soldiers that we were infidels and as Muslims they had the right to kill us. This man later on superintended our torture; his name is Omar Al-Hag (Wad Al-Hag), he was a captain at that time, better known amongst his colleagues by Malak Almout (Angel of Death), but for sure he was no Angel. We were taken to Khartoum (360 kilometers away) to security headquarters. Wad Al-Hag told the security guards that we were infidels and communists, and that if anyone of them treated us with respect he was going to be punished; in fact he gave them orders to humiliate us. Many others were brought there after midnight, and for 12 days we were subjected to different kinds of torture including sleep deprivation, forced exercise, prevention from cleaning ourselves, threats, mock executions, lack of food, and other types of cruel and inhumane treatment. Paradoxically when some asked to prepare for their prayers, their faces were slapped and they were told "there is no God here".

On the night of 4th December 1989, seven of us were told to come out for interrogation; we were taken outside where many cars were waiting with armed guards; I was put in the middle of a truck after being blindfolded, dark blankets were put over us and the guards put their heavy boots over our bodies. The trucks moved and after two hours we could hear a heavy iron door being opened and many cries of joy and some people shouting Allah Akbar, the sheep are here. It was a nightmare; I was dropped from the truck and my arms were stretched and someone used a heavy tool to beat me, concentrating on the biceps and triceps. It made it difficult for me to move my fingers for more than a week. My detailed testimony was published by Amnesty International and later by the Sudan Human Rights Organization in their book "Torture in Sudan". In summary, for more than eight days we were subjected to the severest forms of torture including daily flogging by whips, mock executions, suspension by the legs, and we had no sleep. As a result my flesh was firmly attached to my dirty clothes and my wounds were infected and smelly. My legs, specially the knees suffered the most and I was left crippled afterwards.

I and my colleagues are very much indebted to the BBC and Amnesty International for saving our lives. The BBC was the first to announce and make public the fact that there were detainees kept in secret houses "Ghost Houses", subjected to severe torture by the Sudanese regime.

Although suffering from torture and with swollen knees, I was transferred with 41 others to Shala prison in the Western Sahara of Sudan. The prison was completely isolated and there was no proper medical attention. My condition deteriorated and the regime was forced to set me free in May of 1991, on medical grounds, after the military hospital advised that there are no facilities to do surgery on my knees. The decision was taken by the regime under pressure from the human rights community, especially the campaign led by Ambnesty International. Following my release, I went to Cairo where I underwent major surgery after which I was able to walk again and resume my normal activities.

I tried afterwards to find an answer to the question, "Why did this happen to me?" I still do not know. With the other atrocities taking place in my country, and with a Jihad war claiming so far more than two million lives and resulting in the complete destruction of the infrastructure of the Southern Sudan and Nuba Mountains, with thousands of families losing contact with each other, with thousands enslaved, and with many extra-judicially killed in both the north and the south, the question must be: does this Jihad war have any roots in our religion?

To me and the vast majority of Muslims, Jihad is an ongoing religious ordinance and a Muslim duty. It is not a war against others but a war against oneself to purify yourself, to learn how to sacrifice for others, love them, bring peace and love on earth - not war and destruction; and to respect the beliefs of others as long as they respect yours. According to the Prophet Mohammad, there are two types of Jihad the small (war) and the big (against oneself). Upon his return to Mecca, the Prophet declared that the small Jihad has ended and the big Jihad started, that is, the Jihad against oneself. This is the Islam that the Sudanese used to know and lived with for a long period.

Islam was originally introduced to Sudan in the 16th century by Arab nomads who blended Sharia laws with the local traditions and customs. The Islam they introduced centered on worshiping God in simple and flexible ways. This encouraged the reconciliation of the newly introduced Islam with local traditions and beliefs and resulted in few conflicts. In this way a "Sufi" Islam, characterized by flexibility, leniency, and a distinction between the roles of state and religion prevailed. The Jihad we know is the big Jihad, against oneself, not against others. This was true until the current regime seized power through the military coup and declared its Jihad war.

This coup brought a regime unparalleled in modern Sudan. It aimed at establishing a religious state in a multi-religious, multi-racial and multi-lingual country. To carry out its design it used deceit, coercion, destruction and genocide, with verses from the Koran to justify its goals. Its ideology divided the world between Muslims, living in Dar Al-Salam (the realm of Islam) and called "Hizb Allah," and non-Muslims living in Dar Al-Harb (the realm of war) and called "Hizb Al-Shaitan" (Satan Party). Those in Dar Al-Harb were to be killed if they opposed the implementation of Sharia or objected to pay a jizya "protection tax" to the Islamic state. This philosophy is attributed to the ideas introduced by Sayed Qutb, the prominent Egyptian Muslim Brother who was executed in 1960 after being convicted of plotting a coup. In his book "Jahiliyat Al-Garn Alishreen" (The Twentieth Century Barbarity), Sayed Qutb stated:
"It is not the function of Islam to compromise with the concept of Jahiliyat which is current in the world, nor coexist in the same land together with the jahiliyat system.....Jahiliyat, to whatever period it belongs is Jahiliyat; that is deviation from the worship of one Allah and the way of life prescribed by Allah...Islam can not accept any mixing with Jahiliyat, either Islam remain or Jahiliyat, no half way situationis possible...the foremost duty of Islam is to depose Jahiliyat fro the leadership of man"
The regimes' constitution states in Article 6 that "Governance is for God in Sudan", which means any opposition to the regime would be considered against God and the dissidents considered apostates. On April 27, 1993 the regime issued a religious edict, a Fatwa, for Muslim who do not agree with the Jihad war. The fatwa stipulated:
"Those Muslims who try to question or doubt the Islamic justification of Jihad are hereby classified as 'hypocrites' who are no longer Muslims, and also 'apostates' from the religion of Islam; and condemned permanently to the fire of hell".
The same Fatwa continued:
".....therefore the rebels who are Muslims and are fighting against the 'Muslim State' are hereby declared Kaffirs (infidels) who have been standing up against the efforts of preaching, proselytization and spreading Islam into Africa. However Islam has justified the fighting and the killing of both categories without any hesitation whatsoever with the following Koranic evidence..."
So according to this Fatwa war was also to be waged against Muslim opponents of the regime, and many human rights organisations have documented the violations of the regime against Khatmyiah and Ansar, the main Sufi sects, the Beja Muslim tribes in the east, against Ansar Al-sunna in 1994, and lately against the Muslim tribes of African origin in Darfur.

On the morning of 18th January 1985, under pressure from the Muslim Brothers, Numeri hanged the 76-year-old Mahmoud Mohamed Taha and crucified him in public. He had been accused of renouncing the Muslims duty of Jihad and convicted of the crime of apostasy because of his public objection to the implementation of Sharia.

The regime used the "Fatwa" as a justification for war, especially in Bahr El-Ghazal and the Nuba Mountains. Enslavement was legalized following military assaults on towns and villages suspected of collaborating with the opposition. During these raids the regime's regular troops, as well as militia, the Popular Defense Forces, destroyed homes, schools and churches, looted crops, stole cattle, seized the water supplies, raped women and girls, killed the old, and enslaved younger males and females.

In its ongoing efforts to transform an ethnically and religiously diverse country into an Arab and Islamic state, the regime devastated the infrastructure of the regions that refused to submit, killing the people and destroying the economy, the health system, education, and the communications network. The mass displacement of the population by the war led to starvation, and the spread of disease and death, leading to the complete desolation of many areas. The war has already claimed over two million lives, and displaced over five million people. The mass displacement and deaths, the ongoing aerial bombardment and ground attacks on civilians, systematic slavery, seized water supplies, and the obstruction and manipulation of humanitarian aid constitute genocide, and have been described as such by the U.S. House of Representatives in H.R. 5531.

Now the legitimate question arises: What should we Muslims do?

I believe we should step forward and denounce what is going on under the banner of Islam and Jihad war. We need to call for serious reform of Sharia law to bring it into conformity with contemporary changes especially with regard to the concept of Jihad, which should be seen within its historical context. By that, I mean that Jihad - in the sense of Muslims' duty to wage war - can only be justified if Muslims are targeted by others and war is waged upon them. In that case it would be justified as a means of self defense. What is going on now is simply that crimes are being committed by isolated fanatic factions. We need to expose them and bring them to trial.

The other issues include discrimination against women and minorities. Lots of Sharia laws should be revised regarding those issues, and Muslims may agree unanimously on what can be considered acceptable in today's world.

I want to be as a Muslim who is proud of his religion and ready to defend it, but at the same time condemn any crimes against humanity committed by anyone, be he Muslim, Christian, Jewish or a non-believer. I am sure that everyone here today agrees with me that we need a world united against human rights violators and free of religious hatred and intolerance.

Thank you for listening.

Dr. Hamouda Fathel-Rahman Bella
Geneva, April 18, 2005

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