Muslims from Afghanistan

"Not very far from here stood two towers that symbolized freedom, prosperity and progress. Half way around the globe stood two magnificent Buddha's that represented a culture of tolerance and a nation with a rich history. These symbols have been linked together through the global scourge of terrorism. Terror may have demolished these physical structures, however it strengthens the willpower of the international community never to let down the spirit and determination with which these icons were built"

"Democracy as a system of government may indeed be unprecedented in Afghanistan, but democracy as a way of life, a set of principles and values, is deeply embedded in our society."

"Politics without morality is close to sin."

"This terrorist act is shocking and despicable. It is aimed at killing innocent civilians and I condemn it in the strongest terms... Afghans have suffered at the hands of terrorists for many years and understand the pain and suffering that terrorism causes. My thoughts are with the families of the victims and those injured."

"There is no doubt that people are angry. When a family is hit by a bomb and I am the president here with the responsibility -- when a suicide bomb takes places and murders the people of this nation -- I am the president of this country and it is my responsibility to bring peace to these people."

"My problem is that I am perhaps too much of a democrat for this time of the country's life. If you need a dictator, then go to the Afghan people. Let them elect a dictator. I am not one of those."

"Terrorism sees, in the prosperity of the Afghan people, its ultimate defeat."

"Today, while celebrating the jihad victory, we once again invite those who have sided with aliens because of seduction against their nation, to give up sedition and evil and join peaceful life."

"We have no other choice, we have no power to stop the [U.S.] planes, if we could, if I could … we would stop them and bring them down, ... If we had a chelak, we would throw it and stop the American aircraft. We have no radar to stop them in the sky, we have no planes, ... I wish I could intercept the planes that are going to bomb Afghan villages, but that’s not in my hands."

"On the security front the entire Nato exercise was one that caused Afghanistan a lot of suffering, a lot of loss of life, and no gains because the country is not secure."

"(We have a) collective struggle against terrorism which threatens the stability of the region. Terrorism is a serious threat against the international community and this evil phenomenon must be fought collectively."

"In Pakistan, terrorism and its sanctuaries are gaining a deeper grip as demonstrated by the tragic assassination of shaheed (martyr) Benazir Bhutto."

"While existing on the absolute fringes of our tolerant and peace loving societies, terrorists in our region receive institutional nurturing and support. It is this embedded nature of terrorists that make it a much more sinister threat."

""It is because of the safe havens and sanctuary which terrorists are getting in Pakistan, the country lost their great leader Benazir Bhutto."*"

""Terrorism is a result of narrow minded politics and institutional support."*"

"On my graduation there was a party by the junior students, and I was given a hair brush as a gift — if I take off my hat, you know what I mean.(laughter)"

"When you see on the news or read in the newspaper that so many people were killed in places far away, do not let these numbers become mere abstractions to you. These are real people, like you and I. They are families, friends; they have pain, they have grief."

"We must not turn away when we hear the cries of the hungry. We must not stand by when we see the killing and terrorizing of the innocent. We should not wait until hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of our fellow human beings have died as occurred in Afghanistan, before we act."

"Every time we ignore the suffering of others or stand by and watch, we do not only act against our own interests but we violate a part of our humanity."

"I don't know anyone who is more admired and respected in the international community than President Karzai, for his strength, for his wisdom and for his courage to lead this country, first in defeat of the Taliban and now a democratic and unified Afghanistan. And I can tell you I am with foreign ministers and with heads of state all over the world. I sit in the councils of NATO. I sit with the EU. I sit with people all over the world and there is great admiration for your president and also for what the Afghan people are doing here."

"When they are asked the question by a journalist, a country, a friend, an enemy or anybody, "What is the real purpose of the taliban movement?" the answer to them all is that the talibans mission and purpose is to implement the sharia on this land of Allah. That is their answer, true purpose and their mission from the beginning."

"Half of my country has been destroyed by two decades of war. If the remaining half is also destroyed in trying to protect Mr Bin Laden, I'm willing for this sacrifice."

"I did not want to destroy the Bamiyan Buddha. In fact, some foreigners came to me and said they would like to conduct the repair work of the Bamiyan Buddha that had been slightly damaged due to rains. This shocked me. I thought, these callous people have no regard for thousands of living human beings – the Afghans who are dying of hunger, but they are so concerned about non-living objects like the Buddha. This was extremely deplorable. That is why I ordered its destruction. Had they come for humanitarian work, I would have never ordered the Buddha's destruction."

"”Death comes to everyone. We must stand proud as Afghans in the defense of Islam.”"

"”Believe in God, for with the grace of God, the American rockets will go astray and we will be saved.”"

"”I am not afraid of death or of losing power. I am willing to give up power and my seat, but I'm not willing to give up Islam,…We shall be victorious."."

"Islam says that when a Muslim asks for shelter, give the shelter and never hand him over to enemy. And our Afghan tradition says that, even if your enemy asks for shelter, forgive him and give him shelter. Osama has helped the jihad in Afghanistan, he was with us in bad days and I am not going to give him to anyone."

"The promise of God is that my land is vast. If you start a journey on God's path, you can reside anywhere on this earth and will be protected. The promise of Bush is that there is no place on earth where you can hide that I cannot find you. We will see which one of these two promises is fulfilled."

"God... is helping the believers and the Muslims. God says he will never be satisfied with the infidels. In terms of worldly affairs, America is very strong. Even if it were twice as strong or twice that, it could not be strong enough to defeat us. We are confident that no one can harm us if God is with us."

"America has created the evil that is attacking it. The evil will not disappear even if I die and Osama dies and others die. This is U.S. policy. The U.S. should step back and review its policy. It should stop trying to impose its empire on the rest of the world, especially on Islamic countries."

"I am ready to sacrifice everything in completing the unfinished agenda of our noble jihad … until there is no bloodshed in Afghanistan and Islam becomes a way of life for our people."

"I am convinced that God will defeat the big infidel and cause its downfall."

"This is not a matter of weapons. We are hopeful for God's help. The real matter is the extinction of America. And, God willing, it [America] will fall to the ground.""

"All Taliban are moderate. There are two things: extremism ["ifraat", or doing something to excess] and conservatism ["tafreet", or doing something insufficiently]. So in that sense, we are all moderates - taking the middle path."

"As for the United States' future in Afghanistan, it will be fire and hell and total defeat, God willing, as it was for their predecessors - the Soviets and, before them, the British."

"We don't consider the battle has ended in Afghanistan.… The battle has begun and its fires are picking up. These fires will reach the White House, because it is the center of injustice and tyranny."

"The sheik [Osama bin Laden] is, thank God, still alive and this hurts Bush who promised to his people to kill Osama,"

"I tell my brethren in Palestine: be patient and continue your blessed struggle.… We did not forget you. We are still healing another wound in the Muslim nation, which is the occupation of our land by the Americans. Your battle and ours are one and the same,"

"Now that we are destroying false idols, the world has made a drama out of it. The Muslims in the world, particularly the Afghan Muslims, should use their common sense," declared Taleban chief Mulla Muhammad Omar. He tried to prove his common sense by saying: "I would like to ask you -- do you prefer to be called statue-destroyers or statue-sellers?"

"The breaking of statues is an Islamic order and I have given this decision in the light of a fatwa of the ulema (clerics) and the supreme court of Afghanistan. Islamic law is the only law acceptable to me."

"Mullah-Saheb gave everybody who visited him enough time to empty their hearts. He listened, he was very patient, he did not react in anger. Any visitor could tell that he was thinking very deeply about what he was saying.… Second, if Amir ul-Mu'mineen promised something, he did it. Third, Karzai likes to show off and pretend that he knows a lot, while you never felt that with Amir ul-Mu'mineen."

"Suddenly the breeze of victory began to blow, and as willed by Allah, the wretched Deccanis (Maratha's) suffered utter defeat."

"Ahmad Shah greatly desired to subdue the Sikhs, and his army attacked and gained control of the Sikh's holy city of Amritsar, where he brutally massacred thousands of Sikh followers. Not only did he viciously demolish the sacred temples and buildings, but he ordered these holy places to be covered with animals blood as an insult and desecration of their religion."

"But the Jat peasantry were determined that it was over their corpses that the ravager should enter the sacred capital of Braja. 'eight miles north of MathurA, JawAhir Singh barred the invader's path with less than 10,000 men and offered a desperate resistance (28th February, 1757). From sunrise the battle raged for nine hours, and at the end of it 'ten to twelve thousand infantry lay dead on the two sides taken together, the wounded were beyond count"

"The Hindu Bethlehem now lay utterly prostrate before the invaders. Early at dawn on 1st March the Afghan cavalry burst into the unwalled and unsuspecting city of Mathura, and neither by their master's orders nor from the severe handling they received in yesterday's fight, were they in a mood to show mercy. For four hours there was an indiscriminate massacre and rape of the unresisting Hindu population - all of them non-combatants and many of them priests.' Idols were broken and kicked about like polo-balls by the Islamic heroes. Houses were demolished in search of plunder and then wantonly set on fire. Glutted with the blood of three thousand men, SardAr JahAn Khan laid a contribution of one lakh on what remained of the population and marched away from the smoking ruins the same night. 'After the tiger came the jackal. 'When after the massacre Ahmad ShAh's troops marched onward from MathurA, Najib and his army remained there for three days, plundered much money and buried treasure, and carried off many beautiful females as captives.' The blue waves of the Jamuna gave eternal repose to such of her daughters as could flee to her outstretched arms; some other happy women found a nearer escape from dishonour by death in their household wells. But for those of their sisters who survived there was no escape from a fate worse than death. A Muslim eyewitness thus describes the scene in the ruined city a fortnight later. 'Everywhere in the lanes and bazaars lay the headless trunks of the slain and the whole city was burning. Many buildings had been knocked down. The water of the Jamuna flowing past was of a yellowish color, as if polluted by blood. The man [a Muslim jeweller of the city, robbed of his all and fasting for several days] said that for seven days following the general slaughter the water had turned yellow. At the edge of the stream I saw a number of huts of vairAgis and sannyAsis [i.e., Hindu ascetic], in each of which lay a severed head with the head of a dead cow applied to its mouth and tied to it with a rope round its neck.' 'Issuing from the ruins of MathurA, JahAn Khan roamed the country round, and plundering everywhere as directed. VrindAvan, seven miles north of MathurA could not escape, as its wealth was indicated by its many temples. Here another general massacre was practised upon the inoffensive monks of the most pacific order of Vishnu's worshippers (c. 6th March). As the same Muhammadan diarist records after a visit to VrindAvan: 'Wherever you gazed you beheld heaps of the slain; you could only pick your way with difficulty, owing to the quantity of bodies lying about and the amount of blood spilt. At one place that we reached we saw about two hundred dead children lying in a heap. Not one of the dead bodies had a head.' The stench and effluvium in the air were such that it was painful to open your mouth or even to draw breath.'..."

"'Next morning the sun revealed a horrid spectacle on the vast plain south of PAnipat. On the actual field of the combat thirty-one distinct heaps of the slain were counted, the number of bodies in each ranging from 500 upwards to 1000 and in four up to 1500 a rough total of 28,000. In addition to these, the ditch round the Maratha camp was full of dead bodies, partly the victims of disease and famine during the long siege and partly wounded men who had crawled out of the fighting to die there. West and south of PAnipat city, the jungle and the road in the line of MarAtha retreat were littered with the remains of those who had fallen unresisting in the relentless DurrAni pursuit or from hunger and exhaustion. Their number - probably three-fourths non-combatants and one-fourth soldiers - could not have been far short of the vast total of those slain in the battlefield. 'The hundreds who lay down wounded, perished from the severity of the cold.'.... 'After the havoc of combat followed massacre in cold blood. Several hundreds of MarAthas had hidden themselves in the hostile city of PAnipat through folly or helplessness; and these were hunted out next day and put to the sword. According to one plausible account, the sons of Abdus Samad Khan and Mian Qutb received the DurrAni king's permission to avenge their father's death by an indiscriminate massacre of the MarAthas for one day, and in this way nearly nine thousand men perished; these were evidently non-combatants. The eyewitness Kashiraj Pandit thus describes the scene: 'Every Durrani soldier brought away a hundred or two of prisoners and slew them in the outskirts of their camp, crying out, When I started from our country, my mother, father, sister and wife told me to slay so may kafirs for their sake after we had gained the victory in this holy war, so that the religious merit of this act [of infidel slaying] might accrue to them. In this way, thousands of soldiers and other persons were massacred. In the Shah's camp, except the quarters of himself and his nobles, every tent had a heap of severed heads before it. One may say that it was verily doomsday for the MarAtha people.'.... The booty captured within the entrenchment was beyond calculation and the regiments of Khans [i.e. 8000 troopers of AbdAli clansmen] did not, as far as possible, allow other troops like the IrAnis and the TurAnis to share in the plunder; they took possession of everything themselves, but sold to the Indian soldiers handsome Brahman women for one tuman and good horses for two tumans each.' The Deccani prisoners, male and female reduced to slavery by the victorious army numbered 22,000, many of them being the sons and other relatives of the sardArs or middle class men. Among them 'rose-limbed slave girls' are mentioned.' Besides these 22,000 unhappy captives, some four hundred officers and 6000 men fled for refuge to ShujA-ud-daulah's camp, and were sent back to the Deccan with monetary help by that nawab, at the request of his Hindu officers. The total loss of the MarAthas after the battle is put at 50,000 horses, captured either by the AfghAn army or the villagers along the route of flight, two hundred thousand draught cattle, some thousands of camels, five hundred elephants, besides cash and jewellery. 'Every trooper of the Shah brought away ten, and sometimes twenty camels laden with money. The captured horses were beyond count but none of them was of value; they came like droves of sheep in their thousands."

"“Moving a fortnight behind his vanguard, the AbdAli king himself came upon the scene. He had stormed Ballabhgarh on 3rd March and halted there for two days. On 15th March he arrived near MathurA, and wisely avoiding that reeking human shambles crossed over to the eastern bank of the Jamuna and encamped at MahAvan, six miles south-east of the city. Two miles to his west lay Gokul, the seat of the pontiff of the rich VallabhAcharya sect. The AbdAli’s policy of frightfulness had defeated his cupidity: dead men could not be held to ransom. The invader’s unsatisfied need of money was pressing him; he sought the help of ImAd’s local knowledge as to the most promising sources of booty. A detachment from his camp was sent to plunder Gokul. But here the monks were martial NAgA sannyAsis of upper India and RajputAna. Four thousand of these naked ash-smeared warriors stood outside Gokul and fought the AfghAns, till half of their own number was killed after slaying an equal force of the enemy. Then at the entreaty of the Bengal subahdAr’s envoy (Jugalkishor) and his assurance that a hermitage of faqirs could not contain any money, the AbdAli recalled the detachment. ‘All the vairAgis perished but Gokulnath [the deity of the city] was saved’, as a Marathi newsletter puts it.” [Rajwade, i. 63.]"

"Abdali’s soldiers would be paid 5 Rupees (a sizeable amount at the time) for every enemy head brought in. Every horseman had loaded up all his horses with the plundered property, and atop of it rode the girl-captives and the slaves. The severed heads were tied up in rugs like bundles of grain and placed on the heads of the captives…Then the heads were stuck upon lances and taken to the gate of the chief minister for payment."

"It was an extraordinary display! Daily did this manner of slaughter and plundering proceed. And at night the shrieks of the women captives who were being raped, deafened the ears of the people…All those heads that had been cut off were built into pillars, and the captive men upon whose heads those bloody bundles had been brought in, were made to grind corn, and then their heads too were cut off. These things went on all the way to the city of Agra, nor was any part of the country spared."

"'I have myself seen the depredations of the Afghans round Dehli and Mattra. God defend us from them! It makes the very hair of the body stand on end to think of them. Two hundred thousand men were destroyed in these massacres, and the hordes of the enemy were without number. Such atrocities, forsooth, were perpetrated in compliance with their religion and law! What cared they for the religion, the law, the honour and reputation of the innocent sufferers? It was enough for such bigots that splendour accrued by their deeds to the faith of Muhammad and 'Ali!'"

"“Ahmad Shah Abdali in the year AH 1171 (AD 1757-58), came from the country of Kandahar to Hindastan, and on the 7th of Jumadal awwal of that year, had an interview with the Emperor ‘Ãlamgir II, at the palace of Shah-Jahanabad… After an interval of a month, he set out to coerce Raja Suraj Mal Jat, who from a distant period, had extended his sway over the province of Ãgra, as far as the environs of the city of Delhi. In three days he captured Balamgarh, situated at a distance of fifteen kos from Delhi… After causing a general massacre of the garrison he hastened towards Mathura, and having razed that ancient sanctuary of the Hindus to the ground, made all the idolaters fall a prey to his relentless sword…”"

"The Marathas are the thorn of Hindostan.... by one effort we get this thorn out of our sides for ever."

"A new Muslim invader, Ahmad Shah Abdali, who tried to salvage the Muslim rule, had to give up after several attempts from 1748 to 1767 A.D. His only satisfaction was that he demolished the Harimandir and desecrated the sacred tank with the blood of slaughtered cows, two times in a row. But the Sikh and non-Sikh Hindus rallied round the Khalsa again and again and rebuilt the temple every time."

"In the evening Raja Nagar Mal (Mir's patron at the time) left the city, and in due course safely reached the forts of Suraj Mal (ruler of the Jat kingdom). I stayed behind to look after my family. After evening, proclamation was made that Shah Abdali had granted security to all, and that none of the citizens should be in any fear. But night had scarcely fallen when the outrages began. Fires were started in the city and houses were burnt down and looted. The following morning all was uproar and confusion. The Afghans and Rohillas (Najib's soldiers) started their work of slaughter and plunder, breaking down the doors, tying up those they found inside, and in many cases burning them alive or cutting off their head. Everywhere was bloodshed and destruction, and for three days and three nights this savagery continued. The Afghans would leave no article of food or clothing untouched They broke down the walls and roofs of the houses, and ill-treated and tormented in inhabitants. The city was swarming with them. Men who had been pillars of the state were brought to nothing, men of noble rank left destitute, family men bereft of all their loved ones. Most of them roved the streets amid insult and humiliation. Men's wives and children were made captive, and the killing and looting went on unchecked. The Afghans humiliated and abused their victims and practiced all kinds of atrocities upon them. Nothing which could be looted was spared, and some would strip their victims even of their underclothing. The new city (Shahjahanabad) was ransacked. On the third day some sort of law and order was introduced, but the officer in charge himself completed the work of despoliation; and when at last the looters were driven out of the new city, they simply turned their attention to the old, where they put countless people to the sword. For seven or eight days the tumult raged. Nobody was left with clothes to wear or with enough food even for a single meal. Many died of the wounds they had received, while others suffered greatly from the cold. The looters would carry off men's stores of grain and then sell it at an extortionate price to those who needed it. The cry of the opposed rose to heaven, but the king (Abdali), who considered himself a pillar of true religion, was quite unmoved. Large numbers of people left the city and fled into the open country, where many of them died. Others were carried off by force to the invader's camp. I, who was already poor, became poorer. My house, which stood on the main road, was leveled with the ground.4"

"They burned the houses,' says the Tyrolese Jesuit Tieffenthaler, who was in India at that time, ' together with their inmates, slaughtering others with the sword and the lance ; hauling off into captivity maidens and youths, men and women. In the temples they slaughtered cows,' the sacred animal of the Hindus, ' and smeared the images and pavement with the blood.'"

"Here the Shah halted for two days more. Meantime, as early as the night of 26-27 Feb., he had detached Jahan Khan and Najib with 20,000 men, telling them, “Move into the boundaries of the accursed Jat, and in every town and district held by him slay and plunder. The city of Mathura is a holy place of the Hindus; .... let it be put entirely to the edge of the sword. Up to Agra leave not a single place standing.” The Shah also conveyed a general order to the army to plunder and slay at every place they reached. Any booty they might take was declared a free gift to them. Any person cutting oft and bringing in heads of infidels should throw them down before the tent of the chief minister, wherewith to build a high tower."

"(The Braj) was all in flames and blood because of the barbarity of the Durranis, together with the Rohelas..."

"He ordered general massacre of the Hindus on the eve of Holi.... Instead of playing with red colour of holi, the Hindus were drowned in rivulets of blood.... Their severed heads were joined with the severed heads of the cows for the display."

"About one of Durrani's generals, Jahan Khan, in Mathura. Battle tactics and war manoeuvres of the Sikhs, DS Saggu"

"Afghans want to regain their right to self-determination through a democratic or traditional mechanism acceptable to our people.… We are willing to move toward this noble goal. We consider this as part of our duty to defend humanity against the scourge of intolerance, violence and fanaticism."

"The behavior of the Taliban as well as their extremist attitudes do not correspond in any way with a tolerant Islam. We have always been opposed to extremist tendencies of Islam and we still are. We have not stopped insisting on defending an Islam of tolerance which would be profitable to every Muslim, in Afghanistan and in the whole world, and we will always defend it."

"It has always been our deep conviction, and we have always stressed the fact that the only solution for Afghanistan is democracy through elections. Each individual must have the right to vote. The day we will be in Kabul, we will organize elections under the auspices of international organizations."

"I am ready to serve the people of Afghanistan, particularly in order to restore peace. I will be ready to assume any duty at the service of my people."

"I am afraid to die sometimes, but God is the one to decide when a person dies. I want to live to the fullest until then."

"If we stop fighting, terrorism will spread all over the world."

"If President Bush doesn't help us, these terrorists will damage the U.S. and Europe very soon."

"We will never be a pawn in someone else's game. We will always be Afghanistan."

"This is the worst job on Earth"

"Ghani is perhaps best known now as a man who fled his presidential palace with $169 million. Even before an official denial from the former president, questions around the logistics of transporting that amount of cash cast doubt on the claims. Still, regardless of what actually happened when Ghani fled Kabul, there is a truthfulness to the image of the failed leader stealing from the Afghan people."

"Ashraf Ghani embodies the degree to which modern neoliberal democracy is a façade for the ruling kleptocracy."

"No matter what happened in his final moments as president, Ghani was a failure at putting into practice what he had spent his entire life talking about: making Afghanistan a prosperous nation. While he was a darling of Western politicians and prestigious NGOs, he was a leader completely inept and out of touch with the realities of a country he spent most of his adult life avoiding."

"Non-Muslims expressing concerns over these laws or rejecting them should first educate themselves about Islamic laws and respect Islamic values ...We find it insulting to our Islamic Sharia [law] when they object due to a lack of knowledge and understanding."

"We have expelled the foreigners and I would like to congratulate the whole nation on this. This is pride, not only for a limited number of people. This is a proud moment for the whole nation. This kind of pride is rare when it can be achieved. The whole nation, after the whole history of the nation and therefore, on the base of this I would like to congratulate the whole nation and I would like to welcome you. Freedom and independence seeking is a legitimate right of every nation. The Afghans also use their legitimate right after 20 years of struggle for freedom and for emancipating the country from occupation, this was our right and we achieved this right."

"We have pardoned anyone, all those who had fought against us. We don’t want to repeat any conflict anymore again. We want to do away with the factors for conflict. Therefore, the Islamic Emirate does not have any kind of hostility or animosity with anybody; animosities have come to an end and we would like to live peacefully. We don’t want any internal enemies and any external enemies."

"I would like to assure the international community, including the United States that nobody will be a harmed in Afghanistan. I would like to assure our neighbours, regional countries, we are not going to allow our territory to be used against anybody, any country in the world. So the whole global community should be assured that we are committed to these pledges that you will not be harmed in any way from our soil."

"We would also like to request the international community that we then recognise international boundaries and interactions. We should be treated accordingly. According to this framework, we do not want to have any problem with the international community, we’d like to act on the basis of our principles of our religion, of our culture, and we have given a lot of sacrifices. We have the right to act on the basis of our religious principles and rules and regulations, it’s of the right of Afghans."

"The issue of women is very important. The Islamic Emirate is committed to the rights of women within the framework of Sharia. Our sisters, our men have the same rights; they will be able to benefit from their rights. They can have activities in different sectors and different areas on the basis of our rules and regulations: educational, health and other areas. They are going to be working with us, shoulder to shoulder with us. The international community, if they have concerns, we would like to assure them that there’s not going to be any discrimination against women, but of course within the frameworks that we have. Our women are Muslim. They will also be happy to be living within our frameworks of Sharia."

"A woman is not property, but a noble and free human being. No one can give her to anyone in exchange for a peace deal and/or to end animosity."

"We ask God to save our poor people from trials and harms."

"I am not here to fulfill your [foreigners'] wishes, nor are they acceptable to me. I cannot compromise on Sharia to work with you or even move a step forward."

"The success of the Afghan jihad is not only a source of pride for Afghans but also for Muslims all over the world."

"You [the United States] have used the mother of all bombs and you are welcome to use even the atomic bomb against us because nothing can scare us into taking any step that is against Islam or Sharia."

"For those cases that have met the Sharia conditions of and , you are obliged to implement Hudud and Qisas. This is the order of the Sharia and my order and it is obligatory."

"During Mullah Omar's rule, there was no internet, yet affairs progressed smoothly."

"Your letter, replete with sentiments of friendship and regard, expressing your solicitude for the propagation of the faith, and the extirpation of the abandoned irreligious infidels; informing us that in the mosques, after the conclusion of public worship, supplications are made at the Throne of Grace for the increase of our dominion, and the success of our triumphant banners . . . arrived in a most auspicious season . . . as the object of your well- directed mind is the destruction of the infidels and the extension of the faith of the Prophet . . . we shall soon march with our conquering army to wage war with the infidels and polytheists, and to free those regions from the contamination of these shameless tribes with the edge of the sword; so that the inhabitants of those regions may be restored to comfort and repose; be therefore perfectly satisfied in this respect . . . continue to gratify us by communicating to us by letters, your situation and sentiments."

"Your letter replete with sentiments of friendship and regard, expressing your solicitude for the propagation of the Faith and the extirpation of the abandoned irreligious infidels…for the increase of our dominion and the success of our triumphant banners. As the object of your well-directed mind is the destruction of the infidels and the extension of the Faith of the Prophet, please God, we shall soon march with our conquering army to wage war with the infidels and try to free those regions from the contamination of those shameless tribes with the edge of [our] swords…"

"He extols Zaman Shah as ‘the ornament of the throne, the promoter of religion, the destroyer of infidels and oppressors . . . employs your whole time and exerts every faculty, in the support of the enlightened religion, and is wholly devoted to its cause.’"

"Agreeably to the Command of God and his Apostle [Prophet] . . . we should unite in carrying on a holy war against the infidels, and free the region of Hindustan from the contamination of the enemies of our religion. The followers of the faith [Islam] in these territories, always assembling at a select time on Friday, offer up their prayers in the words: ‘Oh God! Slay the infidels who have closed the way! Let their sins return upon their own heads, with the punishment that is due to them!’"

"In early 1796, Tipu had dispatched ambassadors, Meer Habibullah and Meer Mohammad Raza, to Zaman Shah with valuable presents, elephants and messages of friendship to pursue the common cause of ‘carrying on the holy war against the infidels and freeing the region of Hindostan from the contamination of the enemies of our religion.’"

"In his letter to Zaman Shah, Tipu stated that Delhi, which was the seat of Mohammedan power, had been reduced to a state of a ruin, since ‘the infidels [Marathas] altogether prevail . . . it is incumbent upon the leaders of the faithful, to unite together and exterminate the infidels . . . the union of the followers of the faith [Islam] is necessary.’...In the second year, the Afghan army was to invade the Maratha dominions in the Deccan from the north, while Tipu was to attack from the south, raising ‘the standard of holy war and make the infidels bow under the sword of the faith.’"

"Here is a representative letter addressed to Zaman Shah of Kabul: Your Majesty would soon proceed…to prosecute a holy war against the infidels…should those infidel Brahmins [Marathas] direct their power…the hands of the heroes of the Faith [Muslim soldiers] in this part of the world shall be raised for their chastisement. We should unite in carrying on a holy war against the infidels…Delhi, the seat of the Government of the Muhammadan faith has been reduced to this state of ruin so that the infidels altogether prevail…we should unite in carrying a holy war against the infidels and free these regions of Hindustan."

"The imbecility and ruinous condition of the kingdom of Delhi are more obvious than the sun. Delhi, which is one of the seats of the Government of the Muslim faith, has been reduced to this state of ruin so that the infidels altogether prevail; it has become proper and incumbent upon the leaders of the Faithful that uniting together they exterminate the infidels."

"I am very desirous of engaging in this pursuit, but there are three sects of infidels in the way of it, and although when we are united there is little ground for apprehension, yet the union of the followers of the Faith is necessary. If that Ornament of the Throne, that conqueror of kingdoms, should adopt (one of the) two plans for effecting this, it will tend to the glory of the Faith. One of the plans is as under."

"That your Majesty should remain in your capital and send one of your Number; a man in whom you have confidence, to Delhi with an army; that, this person on his arrival there should make the necessary arrangements, and after deposing the infirm king who has reduced the Faith to this state of weakness, select from among the family someone properly qualified for the Government; he should remain one year for the purpose of settling the country and taking with him the chiefs of the country who are the Rajputs and … direct his standard towards the Deccan, so that the Brahmins and others may come forward and present themselves to him, whilst I, from this quarter, with the aid of God, will raise the standard of the Holy Wars and make the infidels bow under the sword of Faith. After these shall have been sacrificed to the sword, and no longer exist, the remaining infidels will be nothing. Afterwards, the settlements of the Deccan may be concluded in any manner which shall be mutually agreed upon."

"If none of your Majesty’s noblemen should be sufficiently in your confidence or equal to the undertaking, and if your Majesty should be entirely at ease with respect to the state of your country… it is proposed that you should in person proceed to Delhi, and having made the necessary arrangements there, establish one of your confidential servants in the office of the Vizier and return to your own capital. The person who may be selected…[as the] Vizier must be a man of enterprise and status, that remaining twelve months with his army in Delhi, he may be able to bring under subjection the chiefs of the neighbouring country. The second year, your Majesty should also send from your capital a small army as a reinforcement so that the Vizier…may proceed with the chiefs of Hindustan towards the Deccan. Should those infidel Brahmins direct their power to that quarter, by the grace of God, the hands of the heroes of the Faith in this part of the world shall be raised for their chastisement. After their extirpation, it will be proper to enjoin the Vizier…to fix upon a place of rendezvous and there to meet me and then a proper means may be adopted for the settlement of the country."

"His 5 February 1797 letter to Zaman Shah is more fervent, severer in tone and morbid in its violence against Hindus: I have the satisfaction to hear that your Majesty, the Ornament on the throne, the promoter of Faith, the destroyer of the heretics, etc, employs your whole time and exerts every faculty in the support of the enlightened Religion, and is wholly devoted to its cause… In return to this [Zaman Shah’s religious piety] nearly a hundred thousand followers of the Faith, nay more, assemble every Friday at the mosques of the capital [Srirangapattana], called the Allah and Aksha mosques, and after the prescribed forms of prayer…as “Grant thy aid, O God, to those who aid the religion of Muhammad….and destroy those who destroy the religion of Muhammad…and pray that the Almighty will render your Majesty who is the supporter of the Faith.”"

"Your Majesty must doubtless have been informed that my exalted ambition is to wage a Holy War…In the midst of this land of heretics, the Almighty protects this tract of Muhammadan dominion like the Ark of Noah and cuts short the extended arm of the abandoned heretic."

"Your Majesty’s gracious letter…has given increased [value] to our friendship…You were pleased to write that it was the object of yours to crush the infidels and to propagate the religion of Muhammad; please God, your Majesty would soon proceed with the conquering army to prosecute a holy war against the infidels and heretics…It is my hope…that the oppression of the infidels and polytheists may be destroyed by the avenging sword of those who have been selected by God to exercise dominion… The English having received intimation of the arrival of the ambassadors of the Sarkar [Tipu’s ambassadors] at your Highness’s court…have taken umbrage, and in concert with the infidels, taken up arms against me and they have written that they entertain the design to subvert Islam. Many are the words that proceed from their lips but their words are nought but lies."

"He wrote to Zaman Shah, the king of Afghanistan, that "we should come together in carrying on a holy war against the infidels, and for freeing the region of Hindustan from the contamination of the enemies of our religion (Hindus)"."