To: Neocon who wrote (22540 ) 7/17/2003 3:12:37 PM From: lurqer Read Replies (2) | Respond to 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. Message 18888129 The little jihad is within the heart, as the believer struggles to be righteous. 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. fethullahgulen.org Al- Azhar is the most prestigious center of Islamic learning. Al-Azhar Calls for Jihad over Iraq War pinaonline.com iht.com theage.com.au . But these are not the important matters.
