For your information

Submitted by suman meriam (United States), Feb 21, 2006 at 12:38

I have to disagree with Mr. Iyer. Jihad is not one of the five pillars of Islam nor is it in concept. Please educate yourself first before providing information. There are 2 forms: one is the lesser jihad (the one where you fight a person, a country, etc) and the greater jihad (the one where you fight with your own misgivings and deamons). The second one, the one that is personal, is the one condoned in Islam where you deal with everyday things like staying away from alcohol, parying instead of doing something illegal, etc.). As far as suicide bombings go, they are not allowed in Islam. It is said in the Quran that those who commit suicide will go to hell and not heaven.

Also, for those who state India does not have many Muslims. India has approx. 133 million Muslims (from The Economist, September 13, 2003), and with the increase in population, I doubt this number will go down.

I understand ppl have opinions but PLEASE use facts to base your opinions on. We are educated people and we should use education to make our points across not our personal ideals.

---

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".