Silas
AMERICA, ISLAM, JIHAD, AND TERRORISM
Tue Mar 30 14:40:28 2004
63.228.144.66

AMERICA, ISLAM, JIHAD, AND TERRORISM

by Silas - silas333@hotmail.com
http://answering-islam.org.uk/Silas/jihad.htm

INTRODUCTION

On September 11, 2001, Muslims carried out an act of brutal terrorism and murdered some 3000 people in America. They hijacked 4 planes, slit the throats of stewardesses, destroyed the World Trade Center and a part of the Pentagon. America and other nations responded and went after the Muslim terrorist groups in Afghanistan. Elsewhere in the world various governments arrested Muslims associated with Islamic terrorist organizations.

Following September 11th, most Muslims living in the West defended Islam and stated that Islam is a religion of peace, while many Muslims living in the Islamic world and some Muslims in America (living in predominately Muslim communities) and Muslim students on American campuses openly celebrated the deaths and destruction of the WTC. Many in the Islamic world rejoiced and shouted “Death to America”, and “America is the Great Satan”, and called for the continuing destruction of America, while in the West Muslim spokesmen proclaimed that the Muslim terrorists have hijacked their faith and that real Islam is a kind religion, and is not associated with the terrorist events. The two camps completely contradict each other. They both cannot be correct. So, what’s the bottom line according to real Islam?

Since Sept 11, the religion of Islam has made the news and is now frequently discussed. One question commonly asked is “why is this religion so violent?” Trying to secure the support of the Islamic world the American political machine has gone out of its way to stress that America and her allies are not fighting Islam, but rather, they are fighting Muslim terrorists who have perverted the true teachings of Islam. On the other hand, other voices have raised concerns that indeed there is a violent component within the religion of Islam and Islam itself is part of the problem. Thus there has been much discussion around terms like “jihad” these days.

If you’re going to truly understand “jihad” and Islamic violence in today’s time you must examine the Islamic texts. A 30 second sound byte from some “expert” be they Muslim, Christian, Hindu, or otherwise is not sufficient. You will have to investigate the Quran, Hadith, and Sira. And, you will have to understand the context, background, scope, and applicability of the various passages related to jihad and violence in Islam. Otherwise, you will be left with many passages that seemingly contradict each other, and be no closer to truly understanding “jihad”, and the application of Islamic violence today. A mere phrase such as “Islam means peace”, or “jihad is an internal struggle against internal, sinful desires”, or, “Islam is violent” has little support if one does not know the actual teachings of Islam.

Since the death of about 3000 Americans has just occurred at the hands of Muslims, and since these Muslims have vowed to continue to murder Americans, be they men, women, or children, it is incumbent upon us to examine the fundamental teachings of Muhammad, found in these texts, and see how they apply today. Not only are American lives at stake, but actually, the lives of anyone living in a free, or non-Muslim society. Therefore, I want the readers to understand that when I state “America”, or “American”, I am also including Britons, Mexicans, French, Germans, Japanese, Brazilians, Russians, Chinese, Australians, and so forth. All non-Muslim peoples are at risk. For us to not thoroughly investigate what Islam is truly all about would blindly invite the disaster that has been perpetrated upon us to occur yet again and again.

For ourselves, and our future, we need to answer the following three questions:

1) What are the teachings of real Islam found in the Quran, Hadith, and Sira with respect to the use of violence, call it jihad if you like, to aggressively spread it’s power over non-Muslims, and are these teachings valid and applicable today?

2) Is real Islam behind and does it condone the murder of 3000 Americans and the destruction of the WTC, or are these Muslim terrorists doing something well outside Muhammad’s religion?

3) What does the future hold for Islam and America, Britain, China, and so on?

REAL ISLAM AND THE RELIGIOUS TEXTS
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http://answering-islam.org.uk/Silas/jihad.htm

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• Origins of Islamic religion — D. K. Strykr, Tue Mar 30 15:11