Boreal

Holy Warriors in the Making

The Anthropological Impact of the Hajj

In response to criticism, by believers, of the Catholic Church for such things as The Inquisition and The Crusades, a writer in Le Figaro (my translation) defined the problem for those who would deny the cause-and-effect of the terrible violence done in Allah’s Name.

The Catholic Church is not without its faults. Its history is filled with dark pages it regrets … However, what differentiates Christianity from Islam is that Christians can always return to the values in the Gospels and to the gentle person of Jesus and ignore a Church which has lost its way.

... Jesus is nonviolent. A return [to the teachings] of Jesus is the remedy for the excesses of religious institutions. Looking to the Prophet[/Koran] for guidance, on the other hand, only reinforces the hate and the violence.

Islam is a religion which in both its sacred text (Koran and Book of Hadiths) and in banal rituals promotes hatred and violence.

The ritual stoning of Satan every year at Mecca is not simply a re-enactment of a superstition… Its impact is anthropological. It is a ceremony to which every Muslim is encourage to participate, and which sanctifies and encourages violence…

The Hajj may also have an "anthropological" impact in fermenting a pitiless blood lust in young people.

22:36 And the camels We have made for you as parts of the sacred rites of Allah. You have some good therein; so mention Allah’s Name over them as they stand in line. When their sides fall to the ground, eat of them and feed the contented and the beggar. That is how We subjected them to you, that perchance you may be thankful.

It would not be a successful Hajj without dead animals. In 2014, an estimated 770,000 sheep, which have largely replaced the camel as Allah's preferred Hajj sacrificial offering, were butchered during the pilgrimage. To process the slaughter, the Saudi have set up massive slaughterhouses which butcher and distribute the meat from the animals who have been ritually tortured to death.

Like many rituals of Islam, the Hajj is an adaptation of a pre-Islamic festival. Before Islam, all Faiths were welcomed to perform the Hajj in honour of their gods and goddesses.

The Hajj, before Islam, was all about peace and love and togetherness and poetry that elevated the human spirit. Most of the gods and goddesses worshipped during the pre-Islamic Hajj were kind, benevolent figures therefore a stoking of a bloodlust was the exception.

Children Learning How To Slice a Throat

The mass ritual slaughter of animals at the Hajj and all over the Muslim world that occurs during the one day Feast of Sacrifice as to have a conditioning effect on young witnesses to the slaughter, making many of them immune to the pain and suffering experienced by living things cruelly put to death, perhaps even kindling a love of killing which is a real asset in a holy warrior.

Two children putting what they have learned about killing animals into practice.

An easily transferable skill. Do not look for more gruesome photos on this site. This is not what this site is about; but words could not convey the horrible consequences of training and conditioning children to kill without remorse.

It is difficult to get a normal person to kill another human being in cold blood and even more difficult, to do it on command. The American military has overcome this reluctance through time-consuming operant conditioning.

Islam has a real advantage in that their scriptures and rituals have largely achieve what regular armies have to spend a lot of time and effort to accomplish and even then, are not always successful, the reluctance to kill often reasserting itself.

The young believers and converts who flock to the banners of the likes of Islamic State can be thrown into battle within days of joining the ranks of holy warriors, and be counted upon to kill without giving it a second thought.

Bernard Payeur