Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Concise, but interesting in its own right, review of Andy Bostom's last book, The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims
Bostom, an associate professor of medicine at Rhode Island Hospital, has compiled a large collection of documents concerning jihad in his voluminous The Legacy of Jihad. Bostom's book amply documents the systematic and destructive character of Islamic jihad, refuting the much-repeated argument that jihad is a "rich""concept that has many meanings and that jihad first of all signifies "inner struggle." Jihad is first of all war, bloodshed, subjugation, and expansion of the faith by violence. The book implicitly devastates the fashionable but uninformed opinion that all religions are elaborations of the Golden Rule. Jihad is everything the Golden Rule is not.
Jihad has been extremely effective and has served Islam well. In the light of this success, it can hardly be expected from Muslim leaders that they renounce jihad for more peaceful methods for propagating their faith. Renunciation of jihad would simply not be in the interest of Islam. But it would, to the contrary, be very much in the interest of the rest of the world. How should the rest of the world react to Muslim insistence on the legitimacy of jihad? Do modern, free, and democratic societies have the stomach to withstand jihad? This question becomes more and more important when jihadists see themselves increasingly not as an alternative to Christianity, Judaism, or any other faith but as an alternative to democracy. One almost gets the impression that present-day jihadists fervently desire to add Islam to the list that starts with Nazism and communism.
Bostom not only presents us with classical mainstream Islamic sources and their justifications for jihad, plus witness reports from victims that survived by accident, etc., but he also quotes contemporary Muslim clerics. For example: Yusuf al-Qaradawi (b. 1926) discusses "martyrdom operations," a relatively new tactic of jihadists. Are such operations jihad or suicide? This is an important question because Islam forbids suicide. Luckily Qaradawi, regarded by many in the West as a moderate, knows the exact difference between suicide and a martyrdom operation. Someone who kills himself is "too weak to cope with the situation" in which he finds himself. "In contrast, the one who carries out a martyrdom operation does not think of himself. He sells himself to Allah in order to buy Paradise in exchange."
If this is how the moderates reason, what can we expect from the radicals?
Quote: Islam is the only religion with a doctrine, theology and legal system that mandates warfare against unbelievers. This warfare is called jihad.
Hundreds of verses in the Quran deal with fighting unbelievers "in the way of Allah". All able-bodied Muslims are required to join this fight (2:216) to "instill terror into the hearts of the unbeliever" and to "smite above their necks" (8:12). If a Muslims cannot leave home, he/she is required to aid those who do (8:74). Fighting infidels is a "test" of loyalty to Allah (not good acts or faith in general) and martyrdom resulting from fighting unbelievers (47:4) is the only real assurance of salvation in Islam (4:74; 9:111). In fact, all the sins of any Muslim who dies in this fighting are forgiven (4:96). Muslim martyrs (in the Islamic sense) are rewarded with virgins, among other carnal delights, in Paradise (38:51, 55:56; 55:76; 56:22). The final command revealed to Muhammad in the Quran, was to conquer the world in the name of Islam (9:29).
Yet Muslims tell us that Islam is a "Religion of Peace" and jihad is not really about war. This is a quote from
http://www.kactuzkid.com/lies.html#JIHAD
I have spent a lot of time studying Islam and the news is not good.
Unless you have studied Islam, a person has no idea of the evil we face. I have spent thousands of hours reading about it and it is obvious that bad times are coming. Bostom has it right but our leaders are either afraid or ignorant.
stupid to be honest. Bad times are coming and I blame Islam and its hate and violence.
The only time that jihad means "inner struggle" is when it is being explained to stupid infidels. All other times it is about killing and subduing those same infidels for the glory of Allah - and for plunder and pleasure, of course
Jay
http://www.kactuzkid.com
I want to respond to Mr.Jay
and here is an example that i will make against you
see this
jesus says in the bible
Luke 12:51
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division;
GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
"Do you think I came to bring peace to earth? No! I can guarantee that I came to bring nothing but division.
King James Bible
Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
and what was the response of a christian that read this from the bible:
he said that you should not take this verse alone away from the whole spirit of the bible.
and I believe him because thats true when you want to study a religion
arabian19, is your nickname a reference to the 19 arabs (15 of whom were saudis) who hijacked 4 commercial airliners on 9/11?
^^
no
I guess you have problems with the numbers 11 9 19 ... 2001 .... 4 ....... 2 .....and its not my problem
...yes, it is YOUR problem...
arabian19islamofascists, I have a problem with your 19 Islamofascists, who hijacked 4 planes and killed pilots, stewardesses, passengers and flew the planes into 3 buildings and a field.
Would you have any problem with the nuking of Mecca and the Kabba in retaliation to a nuke attack on the US, Israel or India?
BTW, if you don't think the US would nuke Mecca, ask the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Hindu India and Islamofascist Pakistan almost had their own nuclear war, over land, Kashmir.
Arab/muslims are playing a very dangerous game across Europe and the rest of the civilized World. The INFIDEL is just about fed up with "The Religion of Peace".
Arabian 19 explained once that he is Saudi Arabian and 19 years old. Nothing to do with 9/11. Frankly, I don't see the value in yelling at him and threatening nuclear genocide.
Arabian, Judaism (and Christianity) are based on the golden rule. The rest, as the ancient sages of Israel said, is commentary.
What is Islam based on? I mean, what is the one principle that can define the religion? Do you know?
eddie
nukes are not sold in shops, fortunately.
the middle east and saudia arabia are stratigec partners.
fortunatly its not in the benifit of the USA ( economically especially in the current turmoil, and strategically) to loose a friend like saudia arabia.
And this was reflected lately by his visit(G.W.Bush) to the region?
I dont think that it will be wise to hit a friend country with nukes?
second of all those people were saudies(hijackers) but they were allies of america in afganstan....they were in afganstan!
so america planted a seed that is harmfull for her!!
It was in Americas interest to have muslim jihadist to fight the soviet union back in the 70s.
You get what you plant my friend.
And in the past ten years there were many terrorists attacks in saudia arabia not only attacking americans but also they attacked major oil fields in sadia arabia.
noga....
the golden rule is basically in every religon, It is the first time I hear about the golden rule as a term, from you.
but I searched it and I got its meaning.
conserning your question about what isalm is based on,
the main principale is worshiping the one and only god.
its saying, I bear that there is no god except the one and only god. Which is the god off all the prophets from adam to Mohamed may peace be upon them.
arab19, as the saying goes, with "friends" like saudi arabia, who need enemies.
Aside from selling overpriced oil ($100 per barrel), what does saudi arabia do for the US?
Fund wahabbist madrassas that promote Islamofascism?
YES.
Are saudi arabian troops publicly fighting al qada?
NO.
Are saudi troops publicly hunting osama?
NO.
Not an OJ Simpson hunt for the killer, but a bring 'em back with a dead osama head on a pike?
NO.
It is very WISE to inform the Islamofascist ummah that a nuke attack on the US, Israel or India WILL trigger the nuclear annihilation of Mecca and the Kabba, for starters.
The wahabbi appeasing saudis have planted the seed of their own destruction. See how sunni and shiites kill each other. The Golden mosque, destroyed by fellow followers of "peaceful islam".
When islamofascists kill each other, no wonder non-muslims are victims too.
The wahabbis are against the sauds, even though the sauds fund wahabbi fascism. The wahabbis will end up destroying their benefactors.
The wahabbi scorpion WILL kill the saudi turtle, because it is the nature of the wahabbi scorpion to kill.
first of all Saudia arabia doesnt price the oil...
its opec that put prices according to supply and demand factores. so all oil producing nations sell their oil on that price. (members of opec)
second of all 100 a barrel is not overpriced, because first of all oil is getting more and more scarce and the demand from china and india is high.
so get ready for 300 a barrel soon.
If Saudi Arabia was a friend of the US, Saudis would sell their oil for less than the OPEC cartel demands.
Anyhow $300 per barrel would be great!
That would finally end the dependence on Islamofascist oil.
Honda is readying its HYDROGEN car.
Honda readies sleek hydrogen car for sale next year
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/autos/0705/gallery.honda_fcx/index.html
Wait until the US forces drivers to switch from gas to HYDROGEN as the US is switching from Analog to Digital broadcast TV.
Then opec can drink their oil, with a twist of imported lime.
Arabian19, You said: "It is the first time I hear about the golden rule as a term, from you.
but I searched it and I got its meaning."
Yet this thread is titled:
"Jihad is everything the Golden Rule is not."
I don't understand what you were responding to, if you didn't know what "the golden rule" was.
So if I understand you correctly, in Islam, the worship of God is at the heart of the religion. But what does it mean, to worship God? How do you worship Him? Aside from the prayers, fasts etc, which are just external mainfestations of a faith. How are the believers required to act, to behave, to teach themselves and their children, in order to please God?
noga.
i really saw the word in the artical for sure.... but i didnt think it was important as a concept, but when you mentioned it I searched it and got the meaning clearly and its the first time I know that the golden rule is something of that importance, I knew it as a concept but not as a term in itself( Golden rule).
anyways i made the confusion basically because i was responding to MR.Eddie.
Noga , I am afraid your question is not an easy one, so I advise you to search that.because if firstly i dont whant to change the path of the post first more than it has and because its better for you to do that.
eddie, I think no speed tickets will be issued to you then because you will be driving at 20km/h max.
arab19, and you can ride your family cross-eyed camel on a busy meccan highway.
There should be a ban on the construction of any mosques in the US until saudi arabia permits the construction of churches and chabad centers in saudi arabia.