The thing is, though, Muslims don't have the equivalent of Western patriotism, because they can't. To elevate anything to the status of such reverence is to be guilty of shirk (assigning partners to Allah), which is the worst anathema to the Muslim soul. This is why Arabs are found fighting jihad in Chechnya, while Britons are found fighting jihad in the Balkans, as Frenchmen are found fighting jihad in Iraq, and Americans are occasionally found fighting jihad in Afghanistan. While love of homeland isn't completely abandoned in the Islamic mind-set, it is subsumed in striving in the way of Allah. All Muslim land, or dar al-Islam (the house or domain of Islam) is a waqf (endowment) from God, while infidel land, or dar al-Harb/Kufr (the house or domain of war/disbelief) is to be eventually conquered in the cause of establishing one worldwide khilafah, submissive to Allah's religion.
One of the favorite canards of the Western left in their romantic glorification of the mujahideen scum that our troops are fighting in the Middle East is that these terrorists are simply patriotic Iraqis resisting the imperialistic occupiers. This shows a condescending presumption that everyone in the world must see things exactly as we do, and it also underscores the soft white underbelly of the West when it comes to our war on jihad: our limited grasp of some of Islam's most fundamental tenets. It also exemplifies an almost desperate need to somehow justify the anti-human depravity of jihad's medieval program. It is a co-option of Islamic hostility toward America and the West, much as angry leftists cheered for communist Russia during the Cold War. To these folks, anyone or anything pitted against America is seen as just and noble.
A recent Associated Press story revealed that the majority of the murder/suicide bombers committing deadly attacks in Iraq are coming from outside of the country. U.S. and Iraqi intelligence are hard-pressed to find evidence that Iraqis are behind the intensifying campaign of mass murder for Allah through self-immolation. If the so-called "insurgency" is really about the patriotic fervor of Iraqis, then why aren't they in the vanguard of the shahideen (martyrs) brigades? Of course the answer is because this is not a rebellion or an insurgency at all. It's not about national pride, territorial boundaries, or rising up against the homeland's occupier. It is about jihad—fighting in the way of Allah. It's the same thing in Israel. Palestinian Arabs are not so much embittered about Israel's existence as they are about where it exists: namely on land that the Muslim caliph Umar stole from the Jews shortly after the death of Islam's murderous and avaricious founder.
Nuh Ha Mim Keller's English translation from the Arabic of Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri's fourteenth century manual of Sunni shari'ah law, Reliance of the Traveler (´Umdat al-Salik), is the only European language translation of such a work certified by Cairo's Al-Azhar University, the world's oldest and most prestigious Sunni institution. It is a comprehensive guide to Islamic holy law, which is as relevant to Muslims today as it was when it was written. In its section on jihad (under Justice) we find:
o9.0 JIHAD
Jihad means to war against non-Muslims, and is etymologically derived from the word mujahada, signifying warfare to establish the religion.
Regarding the basic framework of who among the ummah must fight in the jihad, we find:
THE OBLIGATORY CHARACTER OF JIHAD
o9.1 Jihad is a communal obligation (def: c3.2). When enough people perform it to successfully accomplish it, it is no longer obligatory upon others (O: the evidence for which is the Prophet's saying (Allah bless him and give him peace),
"He who provides the equipment for a soldier in jihad has himself performed jihad."
and Allah Most High said:
"Those of the believers who are unhurt but sit behind are not equal to those who fight in Allah's path with their property and lives. Allah has preferred those who fight with their property and lives a whole degree above those who sit behind. And to each, Allah has promised great good." (Koran 4:95)
In other words, if the local mujahideen can't defeat the infidels on their own, it is incumbent upon others to come to their aid in the jihad effort. Otherwise, the faithful Muslim can find spiritual recourse in knowing that he/she "provides the equipment for a soldier in jihad" by donating money or services to any number of Islamic charities that we Westerners are still too politically correct/suicidal to track and shut down.
What's going on in Iraq right now (not to mention several other parts of the world) is holy war—it's not insurgency, and it's definitely not comparable to the colonial Americans awoken during Paul Revere's midnight rides. The matter of kafir (infidel) forces on Muslim land is a great enormity in Islamic doctrine, and excites the characteristic Muslim rage as little else can. This is why seven hundred years on, the very thought of the Christian Crusades—themselves a response to centuries of Islamic jihad in Europe—still makes Muslims seethe with offended indignation. I've seen hours of jihadi home movies from Iraq, and not once have I heard these seventh century throwback degenerates crying out, Iraqu akbar! as they shoot unarmed captives, blow something or someone up, or slice someone's head off. It's always Allahu akbar!, as it has always been in jihad. Westerners need to recognize the vast difference between our conception of a state and the ummah and khilafah of the Muslim world.
Intriguingly, Iraqis seem to be willing to give the infidel concept of democracy a chance. By all accounts, Iraqis are some of the brightest and most forward-thinking people in the Arab world. They are highly educated, industrious, and after decades of life under dear Uncle Sociopath's nightmarish patronage, they can appreciate the value of freedom and justice as few other societies can. Knowing what I do about the totalitarian stranglehold that Islam has over its adherents, I've had my doubts about democracy's chances in the Middle East since the beginning of this war, but I honestly believe that there are enough bold visionaries and courageous leaders in Iraq to make an honest and wothy attempt at self-guided, representative government there. Some of the blogs that have emerged out of Iraq's previously nonexistent freedom of speech are a testament to this brave new attitude of reaching for the torch of liberty through the darkness of formidable and deadly adversity.
An insane, bloody holy war being waged out in front of ones home, however, has a somewhat suppressive effect even on even this almighty spirit of freedom. The Sunni mujahideen are intent on vanquishing, or at least subduing, the Iraqi Shi'ites, who they hate for following the "wrong" Islam, and they are crystal clear that it has nothing to do with love of the Iraqi tricolor (which, by the way, has the words, "God is great" emblazoned on it). When they decapitate or shoot some poor guy in their snuff films, it's an Islamic banner on the wall in the background.
I think that the Iraqis have as good a chance at making it as they can get. They know what's going on, even if we don't, and they already have a sizeable and dedicated military, which is full of well-trained, battle-tested young men and women who are running low on patience for the Islamothugs who are wreaking violent havoc everywhere. They are are fed up with watching their families, their kids, their friends and neighbors being mowed down as fodder for Allah's wrath. These young people are the real Minutemen in Iraq right now.
Time will tell how effectively the Iraqis will be at stopping the vicious fiends in their midst, and how well they will handle being the Arab world's first democracy. Dealing with the borders will certainly prove to be instrumental. The mujahideen do not want to see the new Iraq succeed, because man-made law goes against Allah's law, and Iraq is a major proving ground for the recently revitalized Middle Eastern jihad movement. The Iraqis, for good or ill, are the subjects of the most ambitious and potentially wonderful experiment in freedom of modern times. This goes beyond the Bush doctrine—it's about our human brothers and sisters entering a more enlightened and just era, and it's about one less violent unstable government that is gunning for the U.S. and our friends.
The mujahideen didn't dare rise up against Saddam Hussein, because he showed that he wasn't at all shy about wholesale murder with mass collateral damage. We're different, and a free Iraq is different too. If it succeeds, it will be another nail in the coffin of Islamosupremacy and the borderless empire of Allah.
—
originally posted at Clarity & Resolve
copyright ©2005 Patrick D. O'Brien cannot be copied, published, or otherwise used (except for quotes) without express permission of author
Jihad Knows No Borders
Patrick D. O'Brien
When it comes to the essential ideology of Islam, Westerners generally have an enormous gap between perception and reality. It's easiest to believe the comforting apologetics couched in multicultural terminology, and then go back to sleep. And to be fair, it really is a massive enterprise for the infidel to learn about Islam's complex and prodigious mechanics. But it is one that we will be increasingly well-served to undertake as time moves on in the new age of America vs. jihad. This comprehension disparity is perhaps nowhere more evident than in our notions about the modern nation-state, with its borders and discrete, compartmentalized identity among other states as opposed to the Muslim concept of the ummah (the Muslim community) and khilafah (the Muslim state with no permanent borders, only unconquered territory). The Western political and academic left has the most pronounced difficulty in understanding this core principle of Islamic dogma, with Michael Moore's colossally idiotic Iraqi Minutemen analogy as a particularly stunning example.
The thing is, though, Muslims don't have the equivalent of Western patriotism, because they can't. To elevate anything to the status of such reverence is to be guilty of shirk (assigning partners to Allah), which is the worst anathema to the Muslim soul. This is why Arabs are found fighting jihad in Chechnya, while Britons are found fighting jihad in the Balkans, as Frenchmen are found fighting jihad in Iraq, and Americans are occasionally found fighting jihad in Afghanistan. While love of homeland isn't completely abandoned in the Islamic mind-set, it is subsumed in striving in the way of Allah. All Muslim land, or dar al-Islam (the house or domain of Islam) is a waqf (endowment) from God, while infidel land, or dar al-Harb/Kufr (the house or domain of war/disbelief) is to be eventually conquered in the cause of establishing one worldwide khilafah, submissive to Allah's religion.
One of the favorite canards of the Western left in their romantic glorification of the mujahideen scum that our troops are fighting in the Middle East is that these terrorists are simply patriotic Iraqis resisting the imperialistic occupiers. This shows a condescending presumption that everyone in the world must see things exactly as we do, and it also underscores the soft white underbelly of the West when it comes to our war on jihad: our limited grasp of some of Islam's most fundamental tenets. It also exemplifies an almost desperate need to somehow justify the anti-human depravity of jihad's medieval program. It is a co-option of Islamic hostility toward America and the West, much as angry leftists cheered for communist Russia during the Cold War. To these folks, anyone or anything pitted against America is seen as just and noble.
A recent Associated Press story revealed that the majority of the murder/suicide bombers committing deadly attacks in Iraq are coming from outside of the country. U.S. and Iraqi intelligence are hard-pressed to find evidence that Iraqis are behind the intensifying campaign of mass murder for Allah through self-immolation. If the so-called "insurgency" is really about the patriotic fervor of Iraqis, then why aren't they in the vanguard of the shahideen (martyrs) brigades? Of course the answer is because this is not a rebellion or an insurgency at all. It's not about national pride, territorial boundaries, or rising up against the homeland's occupier. It is about jihad—fighting in the way of Allah. It's the same thing in Israel. Palestinian Arabs are not so much embittered about Israel's existence as they are about where it exists: namely on land that the Muslim caliph Umar stole from the Jews shortly after the death of Islam's murderous and avaricious founder.
Nuh Ha Mim Keller's English translation from the Arabic of Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri's fourteenth century manual of Sunni shari'ah law, Reliance of the Traveler (´Umdat al-Salik), is the only European language translation of such a work certified by Cairo's Al-Azhar University, the world's oldest and most prestigious Sunni institution. It is a comprehensive guide to Islamic holy law, which is as relevant to Muslims today as it was when it was written. In its section on jihad (under Justice) we find:
Regarding the basic framework of who among the ummah must fight in the jihad, we find:
In other words, if the local mujahideen can't defeat the infidels on their own, it is incumbent upon others to come to their aid in the jihad effort. Otherwise, the faithful Muslim can find spiritual recourse in knowing that he/she "provides the equipment for a soldier in jihad" by donating money or services to any number of Islamic charities that we Westerners are still too politically correct/suicidal to track and shut down.
What's going on in Iraq right now (not to mention several other parts of the world) is holy war—it's not insurgency, and it's definitely not comparable to the colonial Americans awoken during Paul Revere's midnight rides. The matter of kafir (infidel) forces on Muslim land is a great enormity in Islamic doctrine, and excites the characteristic Muslim rage as little else can. This is why seven hundred years on, the very thought of the Christian Crusades—themselves a response to centuries of Islamic jihad in Europe—still makes Muslims seethe with offended indignation. I've seen hours of jihadi home movies from Iraq, and not once have I heard these seventh century throwback degenerates crying out, Iraqu akbar! as they shoot unarmed captives, blow something or someone up, or slice someone's head off. It's always Allahu akbar!, as it has always been in jihad. Westerners need to recognize the vast difference between our conception of a state and the ummah and khilafah of the Muslim world.
Intriguingly, Iraqis seem to be willing to give the infidel concept of democracy a chance. By all accounts, Iraqis are some of the brightest and most forward-thinking people in the Arab world. They are highly educated, industrious, and after decades of life under dear Uncle Sociopath's nightmarish patronage, they can appreciate the value of freedom and justice as few other societies can. Knowing what I do about the totalitarian stranglehold that Islam has over its adherents, I've had my doubts about democracy's chances in the Middle East since the beginning of this war, but I honestly believe that there are enough bold visionaries and courageous leaders in Iraq to make an honest and wothy attempt at self-guided, representative government there. Some of the blogs that have emerged out of Iraq's previously nonexistent freedom of speech are a testament to this brave new attitude of reaching for the torch of liberty through the darkness of formidable and deadly adversity.
An insane, bloody holy war being waged out in front of ones home, however, has a somewhat suppressive effect even on even this almighty spirit of freedom. The Sunni mujahideen are intent on vanquishing, or at least subduing, the Iraqi Shi'ites, who they hate for following the "wrong" Islam, and they are crystal clear that it has nothing to do with love of the Iraqi tricolor (which, by the way, has the words, "God is great" emblazoned on it). When they decapitate or shoot some poor guy in their snuff films, it's an Islamic banner on the wall in the background.
I think that the Iraqis have as good a chance at making it as they can get. They know what's going on, even if we don't, and they already have a sizeable and dedicated military, which is full of well-trained, battle-tested young men and women who are running low on patience for the Islamothugs who are wreaking violent havoc everywhere. They are are fed up with watching their families, their kids, their friends and neighbors being mowed down as fodder for Allah's wrath. These young people are the real Minutemen in Iraq right now.
Time will tell how effectively the Iraqis will be at stopping the vicious fiends in their midst, and how well they will handle being the Arab world's first democracy. Dealing with the borders will certainly prove to be instrumental. The mujahideen do not want to see the new Iraq succeed, because man-made law goes against Allah's law, and Iraq is a major proving ground for the recently revitalized Middle Eastern jihad movement. The Iraqis, for good or ill, are the subjects of the most ambitious and potentially wonderful experiment in freedom of modern times. This goes beyond the Bush doctrine—it's about our human brothers and sisters entering a more enlightened and just era, and it's about one less violent unstable government that is gunning for the U.S. and our friends.
The mujahideen didn't dare rise up against Saddam Hussein, because he showed that he wasn't at all shy about wholesale murder with mass collateral damage. We're different, and a free Iraq is different too. If it succeeds, it will be another nail in the coffin of Islamosupremacy and the borderless empire of Allah.
—
originally posted at Clarity & Resolve
copyright ©2005 Patrick D. O'Brien cannot be copied, published, or otherwise used (except for quotes) without express permission of author
Posted by Patrick at July 1, 2005 05:55 AM