Post by Brother Andrew on May 31, 2005 8:50:20 GMT -5
`Alive in the presence of their Lord'
What Islam Teaches
By Jeffery L. Sheler
Almost without exception, Muslim leaders around the world denounced the terrorist attacks as flagrant violations of Islamic law. Yet Muslim extremists often use religion to justify what others call barbaric acts of violence. What do the scriptures and traditions of Islam teach about waging "holy war"? A brief rundown:
Jihad. Islamic scholars say jihad--literally "to struggle"--pertains first and foremost to mastering one's passions and leading a virtuous life. According to one tradition, after a military campaign the prophet Mohammed once declared, "We have returned from the lesser `jihad' to the greater `jihad.' " When asked to describe the greater jihad, he said, "It is the `jihad' against one's soul." However, when Islam or Muslim lands are threatened, scholars say, Muslims are bound by Islamic tradition to wage a "jihad of the sword." There are ground rules: "Fight in the way of God against those who fight against you, but do not exaggerate," the Koran says (Sura 2:190). And if an enemy is ready to lay down arms, "if they incline toward peace, incline thou also toward it." Some Muslims argue that U.S. support for Israel constitutes a threat that justifies jihad.
Attacks on civilians. In mainstream Islam, rules of jihad forbid the targeting of noncombatants. "There is no terrorism in jihad or a threat to civilians," says Abdul-Moti Bayoumi of the Islamic Research Center at Cairo's al-Azhar University. "A Muslim should fight only the one who fights him; and children, women, and the elderly should be spared." Islamic scholars often cite an ancient tradition that says Mohammed, when informed that some Muslims engaged in a jihad had killed women, raised his hands and prayed, "O God, be my witness that my hands are innocent of this crime." Attacking civilians, they say, is a clear violation of Islamic law.
Martyrdom and suicide. Both the Koran and Islamic tradition teach that God deals harshly with those who take their own lives. "And do not throw yourselves into destruction with your own hands," the Koran says in Sura 2:195. Mohammed warned of dire consequences: "Whoever kills himself with a knife will be in hell forever stabbing himself in the stomach. Whoever drinks poison and kills himself will drink it eternally in the hellfire." Yet Islamic tradition also teaches that those who sacrifice themselves for the sake of God are deemed martyrs and can expect lavish rewards: "They are alive in the presence of their Lord," says the Koran, "and are granted gifts from him."
Muslim extremists who strap on explosives and blow themselves up "often see themselves as fighting injustice inflicted against their people," says Yvonne Haddad, professor of Islamic history at Georgetown University. Some find a biblical precedent, she adds, in the story of Samson, the Israelite hero who pulled down a temple, killing himself and his enemies. But in an interview earlier this year with the London newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Sheik, declared that suicide bombings "are illegitimate and have nothing to do with jihad in the cause of God. I am afraid it is another form of killing oneself."
tooken from www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/011001/archive_007734.htm
It just goes to show that there are honest journalists who are sincere in their research and reporting
What Islam Teaches
By Jeffery L. Sheler
Almost without exception, Muslim leaders around the world denounced the terrorist attacks as flagrant violations of Islamic law. Yet Muslim extremists often use religion to justify what others call barbaric acts of violence. What do the scriptures and traditions of Islam teach about waging "holy war"? A brief rundown:
Jihad. Islamic scholars say jihad--literally "to struggle"--pertains first and foremost to mastering one's passions and leading a virtuous life. According to one tradition, after a military campaign the prophet Mohammed once declared, "We have returned from the lesser `jihad' to the greater `jihad.' " When asked to describe the greater jihad, he said, "It is the `jihad' against one's soul." However, when Islam or Muslim lands are threatened, scholars say, Muslims are bound by Islamic tradition to wage a "jihad of the sword." There are ground rules: "Fight in the way of God against those who fight against you, but do not exaggerate," the Koran says (Sura 2:190). And if an enemy is ready to lay down arms, "if they incline toward peace, incline thou also toward it." Some Muslims argue that U.S. support for Israel constitutes a threat that justifies jihad.
Attacks on civilians. In mainstream Islam, rules of jihad forbid the targeting of noncombatants. "There is no terrorism in jihad or a threat to civilians," says Abdul-Moti Bayoumi of the Islamic Research Center at Cairo's al-Azhar University. "A Muslim should fight only the one who fights him; and children, women, and the elderly should be spared." Islamic scholars often cite an ancient tradition that says Mohammed, when informed that some Muslims engaged in a jihad had killed women, raised his hands and prayed, "O God, be my witness that my hands are innocent of this crime." Attacking civilians, they say, is a clear violation of Islamic law.
Martyrdom and suicide. Both the Koran and Islamic tradition teach that God deals harshly with those who take their own lives. "And do not throw yourselves into destruction with your own hands," the Koran says in Sura 2:195. Mohammed warned of dire consequences: "Whoever kills himself with a knife will be in hell forever stabbing himself in the stomach. Whoever drinks poison and kills himself will drink it eternally in the hellfire." Yet Islamic tradition also teaches that those who sacrifice themselves for the sake of God are deemed martyrs and can expect lavish rewards: "They are alive in the presence of their Lord," says the Koran, "and are granted gifts from him."
Muslim extremists who strap on explosives and blow themselves up "often see themselves as fighting injustice inflicted against their people," says Yvonne Haddad, professor of Islamic history at Georgetown University. Some find a biblical precedent, she adds, in the story of Samson, the Israelite hero who pulled down a temple, killing himself and his enemies. But in an interview earlier this year with the London newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Sheik, declared that suicide bombings "are illegitimate and have nothing to do with jihad in the cause of God. I am afraid it is another form of killing oneself."
tooken from www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/011001/archive_007734.htm
It just goes to show that there are honest journalists who are sincere in their research and reporting