Defenders of the jizya love making false claims that jizya paid by non-Muslims is a smaller tax than zakat paid by Muslims. That is a lie, but even if it were true, it still excludes the sinister kharaj tax that non-Muslims are supposed to pay on the harvests of their land.
The Jews of Khaybar were forced by Muhammad to pay a 50 percent tax on their harvests! Some people refer to the taxes on the Khaybar Jews as jizya, although technically it was kharaj. Either way, that level of taxation is extraordinary and punitive even in the contemporary world of high-tech income and VAT taxes.
To put it in context, The Qur’an: an Encyclopedia* offers this entry on by Colin Turner on Khaybar:
Traditionally populated by Jewish farmers, Khaybar was a fertile, well-irrigated tract of volcanic land, 90 miles north of Medina, which became a centre of dissent and focus of unrest, particularly after the Siege of Medina. Gradually developing into an almost wholly Jewish colony, complete with citadels and fortresses, it became the headquarters of the Jewish garrison and the last and most formidable Jewish stronghold in the Arabian peninsula. Most of the expelled members of the Banu Nadhir were domiciled in Khaybar, where they made tactical alliances with other Jewish tribes as part of a larger Jewish conspiracy to attack Medina. It was during their preparations for this that the Prophet marched against Khaybar, assisted by 1,400 men, including 200 cavalry. Read the rest of this entry ?
Tunisians vow to replicate Khaybar assault
February 17, 2011Jihad Watch reports that Tunisian Muslims have shouted, “Khaybar, Khaybar, ya Yahud, jaish Muhammad sa yaoud,” meaning “Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, the army of Muhammad will return,” during recent protests in front of a Tunis synagogue.
As Robert Spencer points out, Islamists hail Khaybar as “an aggressive, surprise raid by Muhammad which resulted in the final eradication of the once considerable Jewish presence in Arabia.”
Khaybar was also the scene of a massive theft by Muslims of the Jews’ oasis and the target of an utterly foul 50 percent kharaj tax imposed against the remaining Jewish farmers.
The Khaybar chants at a synagogue aren’t just a threat against the physical presence of the Jews, but a portent of the Islamic tax policy that would be imposed against the Jewish population if the protestors win out.
This aligns at least one political faction of Tunisia with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party of Malaysia who have formally called for a revival of the kharaj tax against non-Muslims.
Posted in News commentary | Tagged Islamic taxation, Judaism, kharaj, Khaybar, Tunisia | Leave a Comment »