DHIMMITUDE??

I've been hearing this buzzword a lot lately, mostly in reference to Obama's Health Care plan, nicknamed "Obamacare."  Many of my Republican friends have been circulating an e-mail and a blog post that call the new health care plan "Dhimmitude in America."  This has prompted me to do some research on Dhimmitude and Obamacare, to see where the truth lies. 

Before getting into the issue of Dhimmitude and Obamacare, it's important to backtrack and look at some key terms, especially in light of today's turbulent political environment, the war that we are ensnared in overseas, and the role of religion in the many holy wars that have been fought over the centuries.

Dhimmitude is the Islamic system of ruling over populations that have been conquered by jihad wars, and more specifically, the TAXING of non-Muslims in exchange for allowing them to reside within a Muslim state.  Jihad (literally defined as "struggle" or "battle") is desribed as "a [Muslim] individual's striving for self-perfection" and his "contribution to the spread of Islam, usually by waging war" (Merriam-Webster, Britannica).  Taken one step farther, the term refers to a holy war waged on behalf of Islam or a spiritual struggle against infidels.  Literally translated, "infidel" means "one without faith" and refers to any person who does not believe in [Islam]. 

Islam is a monotheistic religion founded in Arabia in the 7th century C.E.  and originated from the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.  Its scripture is the Q'ran (Quran, Koran, Kuran) and its followers are called Muslims.  People often use the words "Muslim" and "Islam" interchangeably, but this is an incorrect exchange.  The religion is called "Islam" and the followers are called "Muslims."  Practiced by 1.5 billion people worldwide, Islam is the second "largest" religion, surpassed only by Christianity, which is practiced by 2.1 billion people.  There are two main "types" of orthodox Muslims, the Sunnis, making up about 85% of the world's Muslims, and the Shi'ites.  Conflict between the two groups goes back hundreds of years, and conflict between these Muslim groups and other religious groups goes back just as long.   

I could probably spend all day writing about Islam and the history of the many jihads that have happenned over time, but let's get back to Dhimmitude.

Dhimmitude is the Islamic system of governing a non-Muslim population that has been conquered by a jihad, or holy war.  Dhimmitude has been the main focus of Bat Y'eor, a world-renowned Egyptian-born British writer who writes social and political commentary.  Her books and articles have looked at the history and treatment of non-Muslims who live in the Middle East, especially Christians and Jewish dhimmis who reside in states with Islamic governments. 

The word "dhimmitude" was coined in the 1980s and comes from the Arabic word "dhimmi", which means "protected."  For thousands of years, many religions have fought for territory and worked to spread their beliefs throughout conquered lands. Islam is just one example, and from the 600s through the 1600s C.E., Islam conquests spread quickly throughout Africa, Europe and the Middle East.  Just like any colonization effort, the conquering governments absorbed huge numbers of people from all kinds of different religious backgrounds.  This was most prevalent in African countries and certain countries in the Middle East (need examples here)

A "dhimmi" is a free, non-Muslim subject who pays taxes to an Islamic government in exchange for being allowed to reside in the country. Dhimmi have more rights that certain non-Muslims, but fewer rights than Muslims.  Many people believe that dhimmitude is an underhanded effort to coerce people in to converting to Islam, if for nothing else, simply to avoid having to pay the taxes.

So what does any of this have to do with Obamacare?

Well, apparently, there is a part of Obama's Health Care Bill that exempts certain religious groups from the penalties and fines that will be assessed if a U.S. citizen does not purchase health insurance. To get the debate and research started, here is a copy of the e-mail and blog post that's been circulating:

Word of the Day: Dhimmitude

Dhimmitude is the Muslim system of controlling non-Muslim populations conquered through jihad. Specifically, it is the TAXING of non-muslims in exchange for tolerating their presence AND as a coercive means of converting conquered remnants to islam.

The ObamaCare bill is the establishment of Dhimmitude and Sharia muslim diktat in the United States. Muslims are specifically exempted from the government mandate to purchase insurance, and also from the penalty tax for being uninsured. Islam considers insurance to be "gambling", "risk-taking" and "usury" and is thus banned. Muslims are specifically granted exemption based on this. How convenient. So I, Joe/Jane Christian, will have crippling IRS liens placed against all of my assets, including real estate, cattle, and even accounts receivables, and will face hard prison time because I refuse to buy insurance or pay the penalty tax. Meanwhile, Louis Farrakhan will have no such penalty and will have 100% of his health needs paid for by the de facto government insurance. Non-muslims will be paying a tax to subsidize muslims. Period. This is Dhimmitude.

Dhimmitude serves two purposes: it enriches the muslim masters AND serves to drive conversions to islam. In this case, the incentive to convert to islam will be taken up by those in the inner-cities as well as the godless Generation X, Y and Z types who have no moral anchor. If you don't believe in Christ to begin with, it is no problem whatsoever to sell Him for 30 pieces of silver. "Sure, I'll be a muslim if it means free health insurance and no taxes. Where do I sign, bro?"

So, is this really true? Will Muslims be exempt from the insurance penalties? I've been told that the Amish and the Scientologists would also be exempt, based on their religious views about health care, modern medicine and insurance, so how is this fair to anyone who is not of these faiths?

Now the real research begins...

* Allow me to insert a disclaimer here by saying that I DO NOT KNOW the answer to these questions and I am not endorsing a specific viewpoint at the moment.  Instead, I plan to sift through the hundreds of articles that I've come across and try to separate fact from propaganda.

According to About.com, the viral blog that I have quoted contains "an astounding array of inaccuracies and exaggerations."  However, there is still some truth to its claims.  While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 does not use the word "Muslim" or "Islam", it does allow a wide array of religious groups to be exempt from the penalties and fines.  On page 107, the following paragraph provides for religious exceptions:

 

(5) EXEMPTIONS FROM INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—In the case of an individual who is seeking an exemption certificate under section 1311(d)(4)(H) from any requirement or penalty imposed by section 5000A, the following information [is required]:

(A) In the case of an individual seeking exemption based on the individual's status as a member of an exempt religious sect or division, as a member of a health care sharing ministry, as an Indian, or as an individual eligible for a hardship exemption, such information as the Secretary shall prescribe.

Similarly, on page 128:

"(A) RELIGIOUS CONSCIENCE EXEMPTION.—Such term [i.e., "applicable individual"] shall not include any individual for any month if such individual has in effect an exemption under section 1311(d)(4)(H) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which certifies that such individual is a member of a recognized religious sect or division thereof described in section 1402(g)(1) and an adherent of established tenets or teachings of such sect or division as described in such section.

As I am reading it, there is an exemption for anyone with religious objections to health insurance (which can include Muslims, Christian Scientists, the Amish and other groups), Indians (although it does not even specify "American Indian" so one could potentially twist this to include people from the country of India as well, couldn't they?).  I would also like more clarification on which individuals are "eligible for a hardship exemption."  Who qualifies for that?

To delve deeper, I had to look into the definition of "religious observance", as defined by the IRS and Social Security Administration.

Section 1402(g)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 defines "a member of a recognized religious sect or division thereof" as follows:

 

(1) Exemption
Any individual may file an application (in such form and manner, and with such official, as may be prescribed by regulations under this chapter) for an exemption from the tax imposed by this chapter if he is a member of a recognized religious sect or division thereof and is an adherent of established tenets or teachings of such sect or division by reason of which he is conscientiously opposed to acceptance of the benefits of any private or public insurance which makes payments in the event of death, disability, old-age, or retirement or makes payments toward the cost of, or provides services for, medical care (including the benefits of any insurance system established by the Social Security Act). Such exemption may be granted only if the application contains or is accompanied by—

(A) such evidence of such individual’s membership in, and adherence to the tenets or teachings of, the sect or division thereof as the Secretary may require for purposes of determining such individual’s compliance with the preceding sentence, and

(B) his waiver of all benefits and other payments under titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act on the basis of his wages and self-employment income as well as all such benefits and other payments to him on the basis of the wages and self-employment income of any other person,

and only if the Commissioner of Social Security finds that—

(C) such sect or division thereof has the established tenets or teachings referred to in the preceding sentence,

(D) it is the practice, and has been for a period of time which he deems to be substantial, for members of such sect or division thereof to make provision for their dependent members which in his judgment is reasonable in view of their general level of living, and

(E) such sect or division thereof has been in existence at all times since December 31, 1950.

 

Well, that 1950 thing is a bummer. I was hoping that I could just start my own religion and oppose health insurance.... Islamic bookstore

 

Originally, the terminology in the above Code was meant to specifically refer to the Old Order Amish, because their beliefs prohibit them from participating in commercial or public insurance, but the wording makes the exception applicable to Muslims, too.  In her Guide to Islam, Christine Dodge explained that "under common interpretations of Islamic law, that conventional insurance is forbidden."  This is because "paying money for something, with no guarantee that you will ever benefit from it (i.e. you pay pay for health insurance coverage, and never get sick), involves a high ambiguity/risk and could theoretically be considered a form of gambling. The criticism is of the system itself, where the insured always seems to lose while the insurance companies get richer and charge higher premiums."

 

Go to Copy of Dhimmitude with class comments

 

Sharia Link

 

I think my ultimate conclusion is that this is a bunch of propagandist crap. M. O'Neill made an interesting point, that those parties who are exempt from having to pay for insurance are also unable to receive its benefits.  So, if this is the case, then why should anyone care about who is exempt and who isn't? Whether it's a Muslim or an Amish person, it really doesn't matter if they're exempt, if they're not utilizing the services. But what services are we talking about here? We still don't have "universal health care". I was under the impression that this health care bill would force people to purchase insurance... is that correct?

 

I think that people should be more concerned about the income limit and "hardship exemptions."  I need to find out what the actual "income limit" is, but the bill does specify that there is a "hardship exception."  So does this mean that the poor and infirmed do not have to pay, but the middle and upper classes do? Time to shift my focus to the "hardship exemptions" rather than the religious exemptions...