‘ Paradise’ Revisited
By Khalid A.
London , UK
The Taliban had built their own ‘paradise’ in South Waziristan. They followed in the footsteps of Hasan bin Sabah and Shaddad.
Suicide killers were used, nearly 1,000 years ago, by Hasan bin Sabah (1034-1124), to assassinate political rivals, princes, rulers and emirs. The word ‘assassin’ originated from ‘heshashin,’ meaning those groomed on drugs like ‘heshish’.
The assassins were promised entry into paradise. To convince his followers, Hasan had constructed a ‘paradise’ complete with beautiful damsels. The followers were drugged and then taken to the ‘paradise’ where they awoke in beautiful surroundings. After a day or two, they were drugged again and brought back to ‘earthly life’. Once convinced about the promise of paradise, his followers called ‘fidayeen’ were ready to die at his command. The group continued the reign of terror for several generations. Even the great Salahuddin Ayubi had to take special personal protection to escape attacks by the ‘fidayeen’. Marco Polo visited Almut (fortress constructed by Hasan) and narrated the activities of the ‘fidayeen’.
It is said that Hasan bin Sabah and Omar Khayam were friends in their youth but went their different ways. Omer Khayam wrote about eternal love in heavenly poems, Hasan spilled hatred and blood around his ‘paradise’.
I pray to Allah that our misguided youth may stop chasing shadows. Real paradise belongs to those who work for the betterment of mankind and not to those who kill innocent civilians in our mosques, universities and markets.
