The New Muslim Way Of Dealing With Non-Muslim Business Competition - Murder?

 

There's a long history of Muslims brutally murdering non-Muslim clergy or anyone preaching or carrying something like a Bible. But here are a couple of incidents showing how this appears to be broadening to include any non-Muslims who are too successful in business in Muslim majority countries as well.

In the Muslim majority East African country of Tanzania, a popular Christian pastor was beheaded as a message to Christians by Muslims who demand that Christians accede to total Islamization of the meat industry:

The 11 February 2013 beheading in Geita, of Pastor Mathayo Kachili of the Tanzania Assemblies of God Church (TAG) has its source in a debate presently raging in Tanzania.

Apparently it is a "long-standing tradition" in Tanzania that Muslims have a monopoly on the meat industry.

Recently however, Christians in Geita district, Mwanza region -- on the southern shores of Lake Victoria -- have entered the butchery trade, causing outrage amongst Muslims.

Tensions escalated over several months until, in early February, the Minister of State in the President's Office responsible for social relations, planning coordination, Mr Stephen Wassira, travelled to Mwanza to meet with Christian and Muslim leaders in an effort to defuse tensions.

According to The Citizen (7 Feb), Mr Stephen Wassira categorically directed that the task of slaughtering animals for public consumption should be executed only by Muslims. He said that people of other faiths may slaughter animals if the meat is solely for family/private consumption – but certainly not for sale to, or consumption by, the general public.

Mr Wassira declared that, should non-Muslims want to go into the meat business, then the slaughtering must be done according to Islamic tenets and rituals. "In effect," writes Karl Lyimo of the Citizen, "the minister has barred non-Muslims from the meat business – unless and until they are ready, willing, able and glad to follow the Islamic rituals to the letter."

Lyimo continues: "Reportedly, religious leaders of the Christian faith were barred by the regional government from making a public statement on the matter for fear of agitating their followers against the 'Wassira Proclamation'. In the event, priests have called upon their followers to 'retaliate' by boycotting 'Muslim-oriented' butcheries – and are planning to seek judicial intervention via the courts system."

Halal slaughtering involves killing the animal while reciting a prayer to Allah. There's no way a non-Muslim could do this without converting. Even worse, if a non-Muslim recited this prayer and then continued to follow a different religion other than Islam, he would be an apostate and could be murdered for that too.

There are numerous reports of Christians who were 'doing too well' in business facing violence and intimidation in places like Egypt, Iraq, Syria, the Sudan, Indonesia, and elsewhere in the Muslim world.

In Pakistan, Muslims axed to death a Christian rival in the potato business when he refused to convert.

As the world recession continues (particularly in Islamic and Muslim majority countries without oil wealth)we will undoubtedly see more of this, especially since the Jews are no longer available.

It's well worth remembering that historically, Islam's economy stagnated once they were stopped from plundering fresh lands. In fact, until oil was discovered, refined and exported by westerners, Muslim countries were largely economic backwaters.