You really nailed 1). Great article. It even indirectly implies the significance that Mesopotamia has for the ummah But that brings up 2), the ummah. I’m afraid, your going to have to work on that a little more. The problem is there’s nothing quite like it in the western world, so the concept takes a “little getting use to”. It’s a far more personally felt belief than “the community of believers” definition would imply. The quote
The physical character of this is unique to Islam. Jewry and Christendom have nothing like it. The Ummah, a body literally made up of bodies, has a corporeal substance that is in dramatic contrast to the airy, arbitrary, dissolving and reconstituting nations of Arabia. To see the invasion of Iraq as a brutal assault on the Ummah, and therefore on one's own person, is not the far-fetched thought in the Islamic world that it would be in the West.
from
Message 18888129
should point you in the right direction for increased enlightenment.
The little jihad is within the heart, as the believer struggles to be righteous.
You’ve got them reversed; you’ve described the “Big” or “Greater” jihad.
There are two aspects of jihad. One is fighting to overcome carnal desires and evil inclinations; this is called the greater jihad; the other is encouraging others to achieve the same objective and is called the lesser jihad.
from
fethullahgulen.org
The “little” or “lesser” jihad, where one “is encouraging others to achieve the same objective”, is the one where a Muslim is under obligation from the Qur’an to expel unbelievers from the land of the ummah.
Al- Azhar is the most prestigious center of Islamic learning.
True.
Now consider that time and again Bin Luddite called for jihad, but just didn’t have the standing in the Muslim world to be heeded by any other than the “extremists”. Then the US attacks Iraq, and
Al-Azhar Calls for Jihad over Iraq War
from
pinaonline.com
This results in Islamic clerics, from Marrakech to Malaysia, calling for volunteer martyrs. They’re being answered
iht.com
Thus, the Iraq War hands a victory to OBL, he could not have achieved without the our “help”
theage.com.au.
But these are not the important matters.
Here, I believe the difference between us is fundamental. With the “war of attrition” having already begun in Iraq, time will exhibit just how important.
JMO
lurqer |
