The Politically Incorrect Guide to [slam (and the Crusadessweeper, Reallyaservant, chiefly outdoor), who was acting as
colle ctor, met the man- The farra sh was at liber ty to do what
he like d when col lec tin g the jaz iya. The man was not eve n
allo wed to go home and fetc h the mone y, but was beat en at
once until it was given.About 1865 afarrash collectingthis tax
tied a man to a dog, and gave a blow to each in turn.
About 1891 amujahidscaught a Zoroastrian merchant wear-
ing white stock ings in one of the publi c squar es of the town.
He ordered the man to he beaten and the stockings taken off.
Ab out18 60 a ma nof se ven ty wen t to th e ba zaa rs in whi te
trousers of rough canvas. They hit him about a good deal, took
off his trousers, and sent him home with them under his arm.
Sometimes Parsis would be made to stand on one leg in a
mujahid'shouse until they conse nted to pay a cons idera ble
sumof money.'What is the effect of being made to live this way over a long perio d.
The answer is in the numbers: After nearly 1,400 years of living as
dhimmis and exper iencin g the true natur e of Islami c toler ance,
Zoroas trian stoday make uplessthan 2 percent of the population of Iran
(and even less than that in India, where they fled for refuge). In
Afghanistan, where Zoroastrianism also once thrived, Zoroastrians today
are virtually non- existent.
This is no surprise: Conversion to Islam was often the only way these
persecuted people could have any hope of living a decent life.
If the Crusaders had not heldoff the Muslims, and Islamic jihads had
ultimately finished off Christendom, would Christians in Europe have
become a tiny minority, like their coreligionists in the Middle East (where
Chr is tia nit y wa s onc e the do min ant re li gio n) and th e Zor oas tri ans?
Would the achievements of European Christian civilization be treated no
bette r than trash , as Islami c socie ties gener ally tend to regar d the "pre-
Islamic period of ignorance" in their histories?