Jihaad is OK if its in "self defence"

Submitted by Monte Gardner (United States), Dec 1, 2007 at 22:17

Fahad, you've made the oft-repeated claim that Jihaad is ok if its in self-defence.. You then say, essentially, "well of course we can fight in self-defense, what are we supposed to do".

The problem with this is that it sidesteps the real problem. The middle east and north Africa are imbued with a deep level of xenophobic paranoia that manifests itself in wild conspiracy theories. "Pay Each Penny Save Israel","Tom and Jerry is a Jewish Conspiracy", "The Brittish are infecting our babies with AIDS", etc.

These crazy conspiracy theories are repeated ad-nauseum to the point that any action taken by outsiders, no matter how innocuous, runs the risk of beeing repromoted, remapped into this cosmological war of "good vs evil" or "Muslims vs. Non-Muslims". The pope makes some harsh criticisms of Islam - Imams declare Jihad against the "Crusader Leader" and people are killed. Someone draws some unflattering cartoons and its Jihad, embassies burned, people killed. A teacher names her classes teddy bear Muhammed and you have crowds of fanatics brandishing knives in the street calling for her blood.

The emaciated survivors of what is possibly the worst case of genocide in the history of mankind establish a homeland on a tiny sliver of the Middle East and we've had 65 years of Jihad against the state of Israel - with its attendant suicide bombings in restaraunts and dance halls. In every one of these cases Fahad, Muslims have resorted to the rhetoric of self-defense. It's all dressed up with pretty words about "resistance" and "occupation" and talk about the "Brutal occupation" and "the zionist-crusader alliance". These words are akin to putting a bridal gown on an old sweaty pig and calling it beautiful.

So, Fahad, if you want to claim that the Quran does allow for war but only in self defence, are you going to address this conspiracy mentality, this tendency to repromote every action, every event as an "attack on Islam". Or, are you going to continue the same worn out apologetics that we've heard over and over again and claim that it is we who have somehow "gotten it wrong"?

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