Jihad-Noble Action, or Treacherous acts?

Submitted by Muslim (Indonesia), Aug 10, 2007 at 08:39

I myself am a Muslim, and I think that Jihad is not the forceful conversion of people, or to kill people that are Muslims, or any acts undermining human rights, but simply deep down a noble action. Nobility, is, however, a point of view. The Al-Qaeda terrorist group, see Jihad as the killing of thousands of people who are not Muslims-this, in Islam (and my own) perception, is seen as a SIN and GENOCIDE. You don't fly a plane, crash it into a building, and say that is a noble act.

People who do this are not a true follower of any religion. I believe that all religions are OKAY Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, as long as they tell followers to strive to do good. So, to speak, Jihad is simply striving to do good, and this could be done by anyone, not necessarily a Muslim.

I myself am 13 in Indonesia, part Chinese part Indonesian, with my father's Chinese side being Christian, my mom's side being Muslims, and we get along just fine. Play Halo 2 on my Xbox 360, and oddly enough go to a Christian school (my dad's friend owns the school) and I've never had a problem with tolerance. People who condemn Muslims, and call themselves Christians (and vice-versa) should be ashamed of themselves, because we all need to get to live with each other.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".