On May 8, 2017, Yazidi journalist Khader Khalat Bahzani published an article in the Iraqi newspaper Al-Akhbar in which he mocks the followers of ISIS who want to establish an Islamic state like the one that existed during the time of the Prophet Muhammad. He suggests that they attempt to establish such a state according to the conditions that prevailed 1,400 years ago and see how long they manage to survive in it before their hypocrisy is exposed.
Khader Khalat Bahzani (source: Al-Sabah Al-Jadid, Iraq)
The following are translated excerpts from the article: [1]
"As a Yazidi citizen whose family and society were the victims of a terrible disaster perpetrated by the Islamic 'jihadists,' in particular members of ISIS, I wholeheartedly support providing the jihadists with the opportunity to establish an Islamic state of their own somewhere.
"'The Islamic Caliphate State in Iraq and Al-Sham' has attracted tens of thousands of Islamic jihadists from all over the world, including hundreds who were born and educated in Europe, and has hundreds of thousands of supporters on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Some observers and experts claim that the number of supporters of the 'Islamic Caliphate State' may exceed five million people. This number was arrived at based on their being labeled as terrorists and as wanted individuals in most of the world's airports. However, if [ISIS] was treated with tolerance, I assume that the number of its supporters would be significantly greater.
SUPPORT OUR WORK
"The dream of the 'Islamic Caliphate' fires the imaginations of its millions of supporters who receive lessons in Arab and Islamic history in the Arab and Islamic countries today. Most of them believe that the [historic Islamic] 'state' was an ideal Islamic state, a place of justice, tranquility, and stability where grain was scattered in the hills so that the birds wouldn't starve, [and a place where] other such happy fantasies [were realized, like those described in] favorite phrases such as 'the application of shari'a law,' 'to exalt the word of Allah' and other ideas of theirs which conceal many things.
"Why, then, does the 'heretical' and hypocritical world fight against these jihadists and prevent them from realizing their rosy dreams? It seems that the wars, the dispatching of aircraft carriers, the launching of satellites, the deployment of armies, and the spending of billions of dollars are not sufficient to bury alive the dream of the Islamic Caliphate, despite the military might and immense firepower enjoyed by the 'infidels and apostates'. If so, let us unmask the hypocrites, and permit them to establish an Islamic jihadist state somewhere in the world. It would be best if the place was in the desert, as the desert is the most fitting backdrop from a historical [perspective]. It wouldn't be right to establish an Islamic Caliphate at the North Pole, in the Amazon rainforest, in the jungles of Africa, or on an island surrounded by the sea with plentiful fresh water streams flowing through it.
"I propose choosing any place in the desert that separates
"One of the most important things, and one that also completes the romantic picture that every jihadist delights in when he imagines [the Islamic state], is that they live as their forefathers lived about 14 centuries ago – so there is no need to supply them with electricity, systems for drinking water, internet, cars, and vaccinations against known diseases such as chicken pox, measles, tuberculosis, and the like. Instead, they should be left to use herbal remedies, as there are hundreds among them who advance [the idea of] trade [in these remedies] these days, as well as other methods of healing in which they claim to have some expertise and which they claim are effective. Similarly, they should not have access to modern weaving and textile mills, equipment for casting metals, and all the rest of the agricultural and industrial machinery that was invented by the 'hypocritical infidels' who are not in awe of Allah.
"To sum up, a jihadist state should be established in the desert of the
"More important is how the jihadists will manage to 'transmit' their knowledge to their children and to inscribe it on animal hides or on 'paper' that they will be unable to produce even if they remain in their desert for another million years.
"The most important question of all is how long these jihadists will manage to live in this putative state without modern equipment and supplies in the form of the cars, electricity, internet, textiles, food, and shoes that are produced by the 'infidels.' I am fairly certain that the majority of these jihadists will encounter a most bitter reality and will discover an unshakeable truth – that it is impossible to live in an era in which the means for convenience and creativity are plentiful, and to yearn for a time when a handful of wheat was acquired in pain and sorrow…
"And so, [when such an Islamic Caliphate arises], we will see who the biggest hypocrite is. Is it the 'heretical' Western world...? Or are the hypocrites rather those who want to wage jihad with [military] equipment produced by the 'infidels'?"
[1] Al-Akhbar (Iraq), May 8, 2017.
