A Concise History of the Middle East

Other Duties and Prohibitions • 49

his tent. The sacrifice of a sheep recalls Abraham's binding of Ishmael

(Muslims do not believe it was Isaac) at God's command and the last-

minute sacrifice of a lamb provided by an angel. The day of sacrifice is a

high point of the hajj and the occasion for a major feast throughout the

Muslim world. The pilgrimage rites have served throughout Islamic his¬

tory to bring Muslims together and to break down racial, linguistic, and

political barriers among them.

OTHER DUTIES AND PROHIBITIONS

The five pillars do not cover all Muslim duties. There is another, which
some call the "sixth pillar of Islam," called jihad, or "struggle in the way of
God." Non-Muslims think of the jihad as Islam's holy war against all other
religions. This is not wholly true. To be sure, the Quran (9:29) commands
Muslims to "fight against those who do not believe in God or the Judg¬
ment Day, who permit what God and His messenger have forbidden, and
who refuse allegiance to the true faith from those who have received scrip¬
tures, until they humbly pay tribute." This would mean fighting Christians
and Jews in some situations and pagans in any case (for the passage was
revealed when the Muslims were at war with Mecca before its conversion).
But Islam also decreed tolerance toward the earlier monotheistic faiths.
Just how militant should Muslims be? We give part of the answer here
and the rest later in the text. Muslims tried to expand the territory con¬
trolled by their umma, not to convert conquered Christians or Jews. Those
who agreed to live in peace and to pay tribute were entitled to Islam's pro¬
tection; those who resisted or rebelled against Muslim rule were crushed.
Some modern Muslims interpret jihad to mean defending Islam against at¬
tacks, whether military or verbal, from non-Muslims. In order to protect
the umma, Muslims must first cleanse their souls of error, pride, and for-
getfulness. Islam is a religion of community: Every Muslim is a brother or a
sister to every other Muslim. If some err, or forget their duties to God or to
other Muslims, the others, like good brothers or sisters, must correct them.
Prohibited to Muslims are all intoxicating liquors, all mind-affecting
drugs, gambling, and usury. They may not eat the flesh of pigs or of any
animal not slaughtered in the name of God. Men may not wear silk clothes
or gold jewelry. The Quran lays down harsh penalties for murder, theft,
and certain other crimes. There are also punishments for Muslims who
make or worship idols, but this does not mean a total prohibition against
artistic depictions of living creatures, as some people suppose. Nonethe¬
less, Muslims have not, until modern times, sculpted statues, and pictures