Dhimmitude! What the Word Means and What It Should Mean for Us

     Two years ago, I was blissfully ignorant of the word dhimmitude. Then I opened my email and read a message breathlessly telling me that, if I didn’t act upon it by preventing the growth of the Muslim population, Western Civilization was doomed. Since I was never told specifically what I had to do to keep Muslims from procreating (throw cold water on them, perhaps?), I suppose Western Civilization is doomed. (Another word comes to mind: Dhammitall!)
     From time to time, I continue to receive messages from panic-stricken people in a Kevin McCarthy mode about Muslims out to get us all. (See video below.)  Recently I decided to look into the word. 

(Link to YouTube video)

     Before I consulted Internet sources, I used my linguistic talents, along with the excited message I’d received, to figure out what I could.

     The suffix –tude at the end of the word indicates that it’s a noun of Western origin. Hmm, I had been told that it was a Muslim word. (I’ll bet you didn’t know that Muslim was even a language.) This indicated to me that dhimmitude, which is often spelled with an exclamation point, is not a word Muslims use but one that certain non-Muslims use about Muslims.

     I should say something about the diacritical mark. Many words that come into English from foreign words have odd little marks called diacritical marks. Some examples are the tilde in the word señor, the cedilla in the word façade, or the acute accent in the word élan. Some words, such as resume (or résumé), may be spelled with or without the diacritical mark. I suppose dhimmitude (or dhimmitude!) is another example; but I must say that the exclamation point is the strangest diacritical mark I’ve ever seen.

     The word dhimmitude was coined by two Lebanese politicians—neither of them Muslims—attempting to transform fear and hatred into votes in 1982. The suggestion was that Muslims wanted to subordinate the majority Christian population to Muslim control.  Since one of these two demagogues was murdered, it appears that they succeeded in stirring up hatred, though not with the result they had intended.

     A writer calling herself Bat Ye'or took the ball and ran with it. In a book review, Prof. James E. Biechler wrote of her, "Perhaps the single most significant contribution of the author is her definition and development of the concept of 'dhimmitude.'” (link)  That definition, simply put, is that dhimmitude is the system by which Muslims control non-Muslims. (Note the emotionally loaded word control.)

     Bat Ye’or isn’t her real name any more than Batman is Bruce Wayne’s real name; and, unlike Batman, she doesn't wear black underwear over her face. Her real name is Gisèle Littman (link)  Many converts to Islam display their change of religion by adopting Middle Eastern-sounding names. If that’s what Bat Ye’or was thinking, she was a bit unclear on the concept.

     Thus we have it that the person most responsible for our understanding of the word dhimmitude was someone who devoted her life to writing books bashing Muslims. Yet we’re told that dhimmitude is a—(ahem!)—Muslim word.

     The word dhimmi is an Arabic word that is used by Muslims. Its basic meaning is, “protected ones.” It refers to a system by which the religious and cultural freedoms of non-Muslims are protected in predominantly Muslim societies.

     A word of caution is necessary here. There are at least six branches of Islam: five are Sunni and one is Shiite.  They’re as different from one another as Catholics, Baptists, Quakers, Amish, Pentecostals, and Mormons. While we can make certain general statements, we can expect occasional variatons.

     According to Muslim concepts of dhimmi, non-Muslims (known as dhimmis) may, for example, consume pork or alcohol, but not in public. Dhimmis are also excused from other obligations to which Muslims are held, but they’re equal under the laws of property, contract, and other obligations. Dhimmis are exempt from paying taxes, but they do have to make payments in lieu of taxes. In some countries, these payments are called tribute; in others they’re called contributions, charity, or something else. The essential difference between payments from Muslims and payments from dhimmis lies in what the payments are called.

     While non-Muslims during the Middle Ages generally were subject to the same military duties as Muslims, they weren’t required to participate in religious wars.  Thus, when the crusaders invaded Palestine, Christians and other non-Muslims were not required to participate in the defense of the Holy Land.

     A few centuries earlier, after the Roman Empire fell, and Muslims assumed control over Palestine, Jews living there tended to see this change as a “change for the better.” Because Jews were given greater protection under Muslim rule than under Christian rule in Europe, many Jews moved to Palestine.

     Just as those of us in the West have a concept of a republic—that each person, however much in the minority he may be, has rights that must be protected within society—Muslims have this concept of dhimmi, which is based on a similar idea. For more information on this concept, click here. 

     Today, Jews are found living throughout the Middle East. For example, Iran has one of the world’s largest Jewish populations.  In the Middle East, Iran's Jewish population is second only to that of Israel, the latter of which is mostly of Central European rather than those of Abrahamic origin more commonly found in Iran. Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews are reserved seats in the Iranian Majlis (Parliament). (link)  

     It’s worth noting that, Sharia banking is preferred to Western-style banking because the Koran, the Bible, and the Torah forbid usury. In Sharia banking, the banker invests rather than loans; thus, the banker doesn’t make money unless the client—known in the West as the “borrower” or the “Muppet” (video and video)—makes money. Derivatives are forbidden under Sharia banking. A similar arrangement is available for private borrowers. I haven’t heard of even one predominantly Muslim country to suffer the toxic, Goldman Sachs-style banking scandals that have rocked the entire Western world since 2007.  

     I’m certainly glad that the Internet trolls and Islamophobes got me interested enough to learn about Islam for myself. Without really intending to do so, they caused me to gain much more respect for the Muslims than I’d previously had.  I hope you have as well.

    While researching for this article, I ran across some video clips that should serve as a lessons for us all.  In the first, Christians in Egypt form a protective ring around Muslim worshipers.   

      In the next, Egyptian Muslims form a protective ring around Coptic Christian worshipers.  (I'm sorry.  Some technical difficulties are preventing me from uploading videos today.  Click the link below.)
(here) 
     In the United States, a Muslim is injured coming to the aid of a Jewish stranger who is attacked by ten alleged "Christians."  (Same as before.  Please click the link.)  (here)

     Now, I wish someone would coin a word to describe the system of “control” under which Americans currently live. We pay our taxes to Wall Street, fight wars for Israel, depend on the corporate-owned media for our news, and look to Monsanto for our daily bread.  There has to be a better way.

The Cordova House Screaming Fit: A Heartwarming Epilogue

     Where do old, formerly exciting protests and other trumped-up news stories go when they die? Is there something like an elephant grave yard to which they just wander off and are forgotten?  Or do they just get lost like old socks in a hungry washing machine?

     I paused to reflect on this imponderable when I read a single paragraph in my church bulletin this morning. It gave mention of Cordova House, which, a year ago, had Internet trolls tickling their laptop keyboards with angry messages of protest. In this brief blurb, however, the news of Cordova House was written as a heartwarming tribute to Christian tolerance.

     For those of you who no more than faintly recall the controversy, or who somehow missed it entirely, Cordova House is a Muslim worship center under construction “near Memphis, Tennessee.”

     At the time of the controversy, Islamic experts informed us of why the Muslims chose the unusual name of Cordova for their place of worship. You see, during the Middle Ages, Muslims controlled much of Spain, and the city of Cordova was their main city in Spain. According to these experts, these modern-day jihadists selected the name Cordova as a means of getting in the faces of beer drinking rednecks who also happened to be medieval scholars. (Actually, some people I know are quite medieval, though I'm not sure I'd call them scholars.)  The bomb throwers wanted to be “walking on the fightin’ side of” aging Merle Haggard fans. The Internet trolls were drawing upon Hollywood stereotypes such as these.

     The blurb I saw in my church bulletin aroused enough of my interest that I checked the Internet for further information. I stumbled upon a startling coincidence. The town in which Cordova House is being built is also named Cordova—yes, Cordova, Tennessee. What are the odds of that happening? Or has Sharia law already become so entrenched that the town fathers were cowed into renaming their town to suit Muslim radicals?

     As it turns out, there never was much controversy over the construction of Cordova House. The alleged controversy existed almost entirely in cyberspace.  Somewhere along the line, Cordova House became known as Memphis Islamic Center, or maybe it was never really called Cordova House except in cyberspace.

     As soon as the Muslims announced their plans to build a worship center in Cordova, Pastor Steve Stone of Heartsong Church took positive action. He placed a sign in front of his church reading, "Heartsong Church welcomes Memphis Islamic Center to the neighborhood."

     Here are some of the comments Pastor Stone made to WMC-TV:

     "Once we put up the sign, within three days people from Memphis Islamic Center contacted us and were overwhelmed with emotion that we would be so welcoming."

     "I don't know a lot about Islam and I only know one fellow who is a Muslim," said Pastor Stone. "So I knew it was going to be a learning process for me, but we follow Jesus and he tells us to love our neighbors."

     "People that associate Christians with folks that are afraid of or don't like Muslims, I can't judge those people that are Christian. I believe that to take the name of Christ and do hateful things is a real insult."

     "Their facility is not quite finished and they came and asked us if they might be able to use our facility for Ramadan prayers which we took as a high compliment."

     There’s actually more to that last quote than meets the eye. According to the blurb in my church bulletin, the imam had asked Pastor Stone if Muslim worshipers could use “a room” in his church for Ramadan prayers. Pastor Stone offered them the sanctuary.

     About 20 members of the 550-member congregation quit the Heartsong Church in protest.  Pastor Stone says he tried to work with the dissenters, but they left anyway.  He now says he's "kind of glad they left," as his church was better off without members who hated Muslims.
     Of late, the members of the mosque and the church are working on a homeless ministry and have made plans for a shared park.

     (You may watch the above video on YouTube at this link.)

     Returning to the WMC-TV news article, “Stone said it's the beginning of a friendship he hopes will inspire others to love their neighbors.”