A Dozen Questions for Zohran Mamdani

Dear Mr. Mayor-elect:

Now that you have been sent, back on November 13, “A Few Questions About Islam For Zohran Mamdani,” and have had plenty of time to prepare your answers, I hope you won’t mind if I ask you another dozen questions about the faith, Islam, to which you are clearly so attached. I know I’m not the only one curious to hear your views.

Here are those dozen:

1. Muhammad is described in the Qur’an as the “model of conduct” (uswa hasana), and he is also traditionally described by Muslims as the Perfect Man (al-insan al-kamil). Do you think of Muhammad as the “Model of Conduct” and the “Perfect Man”?

2. As a good Muslim, I am sure you agree with those descriptions of Muhammad. What, then, do you think of the story of little Aisha, who was betrothed to Muhammad when she was six years old, and had her marriage consummated — that is, she had sexual intercourse with Muhammad — when she was nine and he was fifty-four?

3. In the both Sunni and Shi’ite hadith compilations, Muhammad is quoted as saying “war is deception.” What do you make of that remark?

4. In the most trusted Sunni collection of hadith, that by Bukhari, and elsewhere, Muhammad is reported to have said “I have been made victorious through terror.” (Bukhari 4.52.220). Does that remark in any way lessen your respect for Muhammad?

5. In 627 A.D., Muhammad’s forces were battling a Jewish tribe in Medina, the Banu Qurayza. After a 25-day siege, the Jewish tribe surrendered. Muhammad ordered that all the male members of the tribe should be decapitated, their property divided among the victors, and all the women and children taken as captives or sex slaves. What do you think of Muhammad ordering the decapitation of 600 to 900 members of the Banu Qurayza, after they had surrendered?

6. In 628 A.D., Muhammad’s forces attacked inoffensive Jewish date farmers living in the oasis of Khaybar. After the Battle of Khaybar was over, all the Jewish men who had surrendered were killed and the women taken as captives and sex slaves. One of those women was a beautiful Jewish girl, Safiyya. Muhammad’s men killed her father, brother, and all the rest of her relatives. Muhammad himself took Safiyya to be his concubine, and had sexual intercourse with her on the very evening of the day so many of her family members had been murdered. What do you think, Mr. Mamdani, about Muhammad’s behavior at Khaybar? And as you undoubtedly know, Muslims who want to terrorize Jews, even today, shout that war cry “Khaybar, Khaybar, Ya Yahood! Jaish Muhammad Sa Ya’ud,” which means “Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!” You know about that war cry, don’t you? Does it alarm you?

7. In the Qur’an, Muslims are told that they are “the best of peoples” (3:110) and non-Muslims are “the most vile of created beings” (98:6). What would you say to those of us who are not Muslims and find those two Qur’anic passages most disturbing? Do you think they could be omitted from future editions of the Qur’an, the way that Vatican II removed anti-Jewish passages from the traditional Good Friday liturgy?

8. When Muhammad fought the Meccans for the right to enter Mecca and perform the lesser pilgrimage, or Umrah, the battle ended with a truce treaty between the parties. It was supposed to have lasted for ten years. However, as I’m sure you know, after only 18 months, sensing that his forces had grown much stronger, Muhammad broke what was known as the Treaty of Al-Hudaibiyya, after the place where it was made, by attacking, and defeating, the Meccans. Muslims consider Muhammad’s breach of the treaty a masterpiece of deception. To this day, Muslims follow the example of Muhammad and are willing to break treaties with Infidels whenever it proves advantageous to do so. “Pacta sunt servanda” — “agreements are to be kept” — is a principle of Roman and Western, not of Islamic, law. Given this history, why should Western states and peoples put their trust in agreements made with Muslim peoples and polities?

9. In Qur’an 4:34, Muslim husbands are told that they should “beat” their wives if they even suspect them of being disobedient. A Muslim man can have up to four wives, while a Muslim wife is limited to one husband. A Muslim man can divorce his wife or wives merely by uttering the triple-talaq, while a Muslim wife has to go through an arduous, lengthy, and often expensive rigmarole. A Muslim woman’s testimony is worth only half that of a man. A Muslim daughter ordinarily inherits only half of what a son inherits. In Saudi Arabia, until recently, a woman could not go out without being accompanied by a male relative. In Afghanistan, the Muslim fanatics of the Taliban have prohibited girls from being educated beyond the age of 12. And there are many more such restrictions on females in Islamic countries, limiting their freedom to study and to work. Gender apartheid is widely practiced. What, Mr.Mamdani, can you as a leading young Muslim leader, with quite a following, do to change the misogyny at the center of Muslim beliefs? Or do you think that misogyny doesn’t need changing?

10. Many passages in the Qur’an call for violence against non-Muslims. At 47:4, we read “when you meet the unbelievers, strike necks.” Other passages calling for violence against non-Muslims include 7:18; 8:39; 9:5; 9:29; 9:111; 11:119; 32:13; 11:119; and 32:13. What, Mr. Mamdani, do you think can be done to cleanse the Qur’an of such passages, or do you think that the Qur’an is “uncreated” and must remain “immutable”?

11. Muhammad was angry with three people who had mocked him: a 120-year-old Jewish poet, Abu ‘Afak, a poetess named Asma bint Marwan, and the Jewish leader and poet Ka’b bin al-Ashraf, who had declared Muhammad a phony. He exclaimed aloud “who will rid me of these” and one by one, his loyal followers killed all three, deeds most pleasing to Muhammad. What do you think, Mr. Mamdani, of how Muhammad managed to rid himself of the three who mocked him? In particular, what about the way Ka’b bin al-Ashraf was tricked by one of Muhammad’s men?

12. Mr. Mamdani, you are a believer in Twelver Shia Islam, just like the late Ayatollah Khomeini, the esteemed cleric. The Ayatollah wrote the following in his religious guide Tahrirolvaseleh: “A man can have sex with animals such as sheep, cows, camels, and so on. However, he should kill the animal after he has his own orgasm. He should not sell the meat to the people in his own village. However, seling the meat to the next-door village should be fine.”

Do you agree, Mr. Mamdani, with the man who was once the supreme authority on Twelver Shi’a Islam, that it’s fine to sell the meat in a neighboring village?