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| Barbary Coast |
The struggles between Christians and Muslims have been gong
on for centuries. So what have been the central issues involved in these
struggles and how far have we come during the past two centuries in addressing
them? Below is one perspective provided by a conversation between Richard
Cutler, the main protagonist in the Cutler Family Chronicles, and Jeremy
Hardcastle, a post captain attached to the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Squadron.
Richard is dining with his brother-in-law in the after cabin of HMS Invincible, Jeremy’s 64-gun third rate ship-of-the-line, prior
to Richard’s cruise to the Barbary Coast of North Africa in the schooner Falcon to rescue his brother Caleb and his shipmates from
captivity in Algiers. The dialogue is extracted from chapter six of For Love
of Country, Volume II of the Chronicles.
“There are essentially three points you need to understand,”
Jeremy said, settling into an explanation that Richard suspected had by now
become quite familiar to him. “I’ll try to keep them brief and simple -- though
admittedly there is precious little about our Muslim friends that fits
comfortably under either of those terms.
“First, you must recognize that Muslims do not believe that
what they are doing violates civil or Islamic law. To the contrary, their
religion encourages a holy war, or jihad, against non-believers. That most
definitely includes you and me, and everyone else who does not pay homage to
the prophet Muhammad or follow the Koran, the Islamic sacred book that Muslims
accept as the word of God dictated to the Prophet. So you see, all this has a
religious undertone to it.
“However – and this is my second point -- while religion is
important to the Muslim mind, its role is secondary in affairs of State. Put
another way, what to you and me is piracy on the open seas is, to the dey (of
Algiers) and his council, simply good business. The tribute he receives from
European powers to protect their shipping in these waters, and the ransoms he
receives for the release of captured sailors, are critical to the economy of
Algiers and the other Barbary States.”
“So the dey not only supports acts of piracy, he directs
them.”
“Just so. And I might add that he earns a pretty penny in
the process: one-fifth of every tribute paid, one-fifth of every ransom paid,
one- fifth of the value of every foreign cargo seized. The captain and owners
of the corsair receive half, and her crew and soldiers divide up the balance. A
rather tidy arrangement, isn’t it? Does it happen to remind you of anything?”
“Privateering?”
“Well done. Bravo. As I recall, during our recent squabbles
your privateers were quite active in the Atlantic and Caribbean doing precisely
what Barbary corsairs are doing today in the Mediterranean.”
“
That’s hardly a fair comparison, Jeremy,” Richard protested.
“America was at war with England at the time. Every nation accepts privateering
as a legitimate activity in times of war.”
“Ah, there’s the nub of it. You’ve put your legal finger
right on it. Brilliant.” Jeremy raised his glass in a silent toast. To
Richard’s confused expression he explained: “To you and me, Richard, and to
everyone else of a Western mind, peace exists until a state of war is declared
between two nations. Muslims, however, tend to look at things a bit
differently. They believe that a state of war exists ipso facto with an infidel country until a temporary peace has
been declared with that country. Such a notion has its roots in Islam, since
Islam is forever fighting what Muslims believe is a holy war against
non-believers. That’s just my opinion, of course. You’ll not find that in the
Koran. And incidentally, the purpose of jihad is not strictly to convert
non-believers by force. It is rather to remove obstacles to their conversion to
Islam. To achieve that goal, force often becomes necessary.”
Richard contemplated that. “And a temporary peace can only
be declared if and when another nation pays a financial gift, or tribute, to
the Barbary State?”
“Exactly so.”
“We call that blackmail in America, Jeremy.”
“We call it blackmail in England too, Richard. But to repeat
myself, the Muslims don’t see things our way. Mind you, the dey does not desire
peace with every nation, only the most powerful ones, such as England. The
others he’d prefer to prey upon, and take his profit from their cargoes and
sailors. Cheers.” Jeremy drained his glass, gripped the bottle, and after
glancing over at Richard’s half-filled glass, filled his own. “And by the bye,
you may be interested to know that in Arabic, the word ‘corsair’ does not mean
‘pirate’ as many people believe. It means ‘privateer’.”
Richard settled back in his chair.
“What’s your third point?”
“Sorry?”
“Your third point. You said there were three points I need
to understand.”
“So I did. Let me see…I should let up a bit on the wine…Ah
yes. My third point is simply that taking innocent people for slaves has been
going on for centuries, by Christians and Muslims alike. Barbary corsairs have
raided the coasts of Ireland and England and as far north as Iceland to cart
off and sell off whoever and whatever they can. Britain has returned the favor
by raiding villages in North and sub-Saharan Africa, and making slaves of
Berbers, Moors, and Negroes. France, Spain, Holland, you name it, they have all
followed our example. As have you chaps over there in the colonies, quite
enthusiastically I might add. So you see, Richard, we are all guilty in the eyes of God – or Allah, if you prefer.”
This is one man’s perspective, of course, but it nonetheless
is a perspective worth noting?
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