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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (43436)	11/22/2002 2:10:37 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

<He has "dangerous thoughts" emanating from his open and objective mind... Hawk > Zacharys latest article..great reading for anyone trying to understanding the dynamics of present Islamic societies.. This is the most informative piece.. Another intense debate was the furore of the meaning of Jihad between two of three pre-eminent Muslim webloggers (the third to complete this trio is Abdus Salaam of "TheBit Says"), Muslim Pundit & Shi’ite Pundit. In the first article Muslim Pundit tried to prove that qitaal, the Arab term for “fight”, with its associative semantics of violence & death has oft been treated as an acceptable synonym for jihad, which in turn means “sacred fight”, in classical Islamic literature thereby underlying the belligerent aspect of jihad. Shi’ite Pundit effectively rebutted by stating the Holy Quran has always made a clear distinction between qitaal and jihad. In any case a supplementary yet valid point is that Muslim Pundit’s scepticism of certain Hadiths , which tend to corroborate the most philosophical aspects of the jihadi struggle, must extend to critique of all Hadiths and thereby put in doubt the foundation of Islam. Finally Shi’ite Pundit’s last observation is that the Caliph Ali, who by any criterion was the designated successor to the Holy Prophet as leader of the Islamic community, indeed pursued a course that was markedly different from the three different Sunni Caliphs whose reigns were characterised by the greatest jihadi conquests of all time. Nevertheless in spite of these valid points it does not detract from the fundamental fact that Muslim Pundit is correct in asserting that Jihad is an inherently aggressive doctrine that seeks to expand the border of Dar-ul-Islam. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) conducted pre-emptive raid campaign hence legitimising aggressive Jihad. Muslims are sanctioned by Allah to spread their faith through any possible means. There are certain conditions attached to the call of Jihad, for instance it is incumbent upon all adult males to take up jihad unless a sufficient number has already been provided. A Jihad cannot be taken upon wilfully, and is only consider authentic if its underlying purpose is to either summon unbelievers to belief or in the defence of Islam. A Jihad may only end when the unbelievers have been subjugated and reduced to Dhimmitide (or converted through the grace of Allah) otherwise it is an ongoing & incomplete struggle. We need only discern the Prophet’s own history to seek the necessary precedents, the Jihad against Mecca only ceased when the pagan inhabitants accepted Islam (the pivotal moment in Islam is when Hind, the treacherous wife of the equally vile Abu Sufyan stands before the Prophet Muhammad pledging her eternal allegiance). Later under the Prophet’s direct supervision the Bedouin tribes of the Empty Quarter & the Arabian Peninsula were “invited ” to join Islam. Indeed in Sunn’ism there is virtually no central authority thus it is heavily deregulated as opposed to Usuli Shi’ism. Akhbari Shi’ism (prevalent in South Iraq, Eastern Saudi Arabia & Bahrain) borrows certain concepts from Sunn’ism thereby inhibiting its ideological principle for a theocracy. Therefore the formation of a predominantly Akhbari state, as I argued in Arab trilogy 3, will not fall prey to an Islamic theocracy. Within Blogosphere, confident assertions are made that the chain reaction effect of a post-Saddam Iraq will permeate other Middle Eastern societies deeply. Commonly adhered to, is the fallacious idea that Iran will undergo fundamental ramifications and a “counter revolution” within the next few years. Such forecasts are indicative of an inherent lack of familiarity amongst webloggers of the Middle East and Islamic civilization in particular. The Iranian case study is perhaps the must constructive insight into the very nature of Islam. Iran of 1979 and present mirrors that of France during 1789. The notion that Iranian student, who operate under an exceptionally hierarchical society , will one day rise to depose their clergy from the position of power is wishful thinking to say the least. latif.blogspot.com