The Support provided by the Umayyad rule to Christianity

The non-Islamic behavior and conduct of the Umayyad rulers and their relationship with the Christians, was not confined to Walid, but his predecessors and successors were also alike him, who sought their help for sitting on the usurped throne of Caliphate.

          Before Walid, it was Hisham who honored them and elevated them to such heights that Khalid bin Abdullah Qasri was made the governor of Iraq. He was born in a Christian family but he backed Christianity as well as Judaism and Zoroastrianism.

          It is mentioned in the book ‘Umayyad…’ : A short while after the Caliphate of Hisham, Khalid bin Abdullah e Qasri became the governor of Iraq from the year 724 till 738 Hijrah. At times, he used to completely supervise the entire eastern region, but at various other instances, Khurasan used to be separated from his administrative region and the Caliph personally and directly appointed a governor for that region.

          His family in Syria was considered a reputed one from the beginning of the Umayyad rule and Khalid was even made the governor of Mecca during the Caliphate of Walid. Just like Hisham, he was conspicuous in Iraq because of the properties he owned and the wealth he had gathered. In the traditional reports and narration, he has been viewed with envious feelings since he has often been considered the enemy of Islam and the propagator of Chritianity, Judaism and even Zoroastrianism.

          It has been narrated that he regarded Christianity superior to Islam and made a church for his mother behind a mosque in Kufa. In some texts, he is considered heterodox, a title that has tied up with inclination towards Manavi and even atheist ideologies, but most of the instances were doubtful and contradictory.

          It is said that he was so deeply attached to his family that he could even demolish the Holy Kabah if commanded by the Caliph. It is written that when he was the governor of Mecca, he allotted a separate source of water for the pilgrims to degrade the holy water of Zamzam and regarded its water as bitter, and had announced that the source of water which he allotted was on the orders of the representative of Allah (Caliph).[1]

          It is written in the book ‘Nihayat ul Irab’ that Khalid’s mother was a Christian-Roman slave who was enslaved by his father and Khalid was given birth by her. Khalid’s brother Asad was also born from this woman and he did not become a Muslim and when he died, Khalid built a church for him on his grave for which he was denounced by the people and Farazdaq recited these couplets for him:

‘May Allah, the Merciful, break the back of the ride which was brought for us by Khalid from Damascus. How can such a person lead the people whose mother follows a religion which does not believe in the oneness of God? He builds a church for his mother where Christians visit and demolishes the Minarets of mosques because of his infidelity’.

          Khalid had ordered to demolish the minarets of the mosques because of the couplets read by a poet with this meaning:

‘I wish my life was similar to those Muazzins (ones who call for prayer) who can watch whoever is on the terraces, either they indicate towards them or the briny oglers leer at them.’

          When this poetry was heard by Khalid, he took it as an excuse to demolish the minarets of the mosques. When he heard that people are denouncing him for building church and monastery for his mother, he said: May God curse upon their religion and creed if it is worse than your religion and faiths. He used to say these words as an apology.

          And it is narrated that he used to say: The successor and Caliph of a person is more honorable in his family than the person himself; he meant that Hisham is superior to the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.). We seek God’s mercy from these blasphemies.[2]

          Similar words are heard from Hajjaj bin Yusuf regarding Abdul Malik and the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.).

          ‘Khalid bin Abdullah e Qasri, who used to rule over Iraq and the eastern region, took forwards the political strategy of Hajjaj bin Yusuf.

          Khalid was nothing but a layman and as per the texts, he could not even recite the Holy Quran properly. Once while delivering the sermon, he recited a verse wrongly and halted. One of his friends form the tribe Tughlab stood up and said: O ruler! Keep things easy for yourself. We did not find a single sensible person who recited the Quran out of his memory. Memorizing the Quran is an act of stupidity!

          Khalid said: You are right[3].[4]

His oppressions increased to such an extent in Iraq that Hisham had no other option left but to remove him from the post.’[5]

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[1] Amawiyan: Nukhusteen Doodman e Hukoomatgar dar Islam: 99