"Religion and law among our masses must be one and the same." Just how closely is religion woven into the power structure of Arrakis?
Princess Irulan alludes to this relationship when she writes that it is essential to know the Harkonnens to understand Muad Dib that attempting to know without the other is "to attempt seeing Truth without knowing Falsehood...the attempt to see Light without knowing Darkness."
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To my understanding, Arrakis' power depends heavily on the Fremen religion about the Lisan Al'Gaib (Voice from the Outer World), Muadib, or Paul Atreides. If I am correct, the Fremen only hold political power because they have a monopoly on the Melange, the "Spice" created by the Worms on Arrakis.
ReplyDeleteSo, their political power is great whenever Paul takes his place on Arrakis as the Duke because (Warning! Spoiler to Dune Messiah!) it is described in the beginning of the Sequal that if no more spice were to come out of Arrakis, Millions would die from the "Spice Withdrawl". For obvious reasons, death, nobody can just destroy dune or the Fremen, as they would be killing themselves as well.
As for Religious power, I noticed that Paul is worshipped almost like a God, if not as one. He often finds himself accidentally, usually, fitting himself into some Fremen Religious Prophecy, such as when Kynes quotes "And he will know our ways like it was his own," it just shows how much the Fremen depended on that prophecy, which would take incredible faith. Once the Fremen entirely devout themselves to Paul, Muadib, Lisan Al'Gaib, whichever you prefer to call him, their religious fervor fuels their desires, agression, and overall, their power. I think it was mental conditioning from the "Prophecy" coming true that really showed the Fremen fighting capabilities.
And Law... I believe I have missed that part. Besides the various, different, methods and beliefs of the Fremen nomads, such as when water distilled from a slain person is claimed solely to the victor, all revolve around the lack of water on Dune. It seems that one way or another, water is preserved at all cost.
When Kynes father makes the statement about religion and law being the same he also states, "An act of disobedience must be a sin and require religious penalties. This will have the dual benefit of having both greater obedience and greater bravery." On Arrakis they find power is best found when combining religion with law, an act agains the government would also be a religious sin. Also, like Zac said anywhere Paul goes he is worshipped because he fits the prophecy of the Fremen this religious belief gives Paul the gift of power over the Fremen. And also there is the Bene Gesserit which Jessica is a part of, they are highly regarded females who hold a most see at powerful because of their "witchlike" abilities, to many their abilities seem almost magical but they go through intense trainging and speak of religious texts. In Dune I believe law, religion, and power all three must exist in order for the civilization to exist.
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