Jihad

Submitted by Soleman (Canada), Jul 17, 2006 at 02:59

Dear Daniel Pipes

My name is Soleman Mohamed I am 21 year old Muslim and one day I was surfing on the net and I found something very disturbing you had an article about Jihad and u explained Jihad as "effort to expand the territories ruled by Muslims at the expense of territories ruled by non-Muslims" I found that very disturbing.

Literally, jihad means doing one's utmost to realize a goal. It is not the equivalent of war, for which Arabic and the Qur'aan use qital. Jihad has a wider connotation and embraces every kind of striving in God's cause. A Mujahid is devoted to his or her cause; uses all physical, intellectual, and spiritual capacities to serve it; employs whatever force he or she can when confronting that which blocks his or her way; and, when necessary, dies for it. All of this is jihad, for it involves striving with the goals of obtaining God's good pleasure and making His Word supreme.

But nowadays people are going to restaurants and blowing them selves up and killing innocent people that is not called Jihad that is straight murder. Kill yourselves, for truly Allah has been to you Most Merciful. If any do that in rancor and injustice, soon shall We cast him into the Fire..." (Qur'aan 4:29-30)".

Sincerely

A Muslim

P.s. I am eagerly waiting for a reply

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