September 11th, Jihad & the Doctrine of Perpetual War
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Lest we forget, during our mourning for the ten year anniversary of the 9/11 holocaust and its victims, we still battle violent Muslim Jihadists. In fact, there is not only a Muslim holy war being waged upon the battlefields of Afghanistan, but also in the murkier shadows where terrorists eviscerate their unsuspecting victims.
But what is Jihad? The doctrine of Jihad has been both debated publicly and also ignored in the years after the 9/11 attacks. Yet it has a set meaning and use since Muhammad’s days, despite much propagandizing and obfuscations by its apologists. Further, any group opposed by violent Islam shall be permanently attacked since Islamic radicals demand submission or death. Jihad, the Western idea of the Just War, and September Eleventh are the topic of this brief essay, lest we forget the cause of the terrorist butchery.
I. September 11th, 2001
It is a matter of the most solemn remembrance that we recall what happened on September 11th, 2001 in New York City, NY, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania. As one source describes it:
The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks upon the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C. area on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally crashed two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City; both towers collapsed within two hours. Hijackers crashed a third plane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth jet, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field near Shanksville, PA, before it could reach its intended target in Washington, D.C., after the passengers attempted to take control. Nearly 3,000 died in the attacks.
II. Two World Views: Western & Islamic
A. Muslim World View: Fundamentalism with no Reformation or Enlightenment
To understand the doctrine of Jihad, we must first realize how differently the Muslim world view is from that of the West. Briefly, in the aftermath of the fall of the Roman Empire, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment, the West developed a “liberal” manner of dealing with politics, government, and religion. The root word and idea were “liberty,” or that freedom should be allowed people in what they believed and how they acted, as long as they did not disturb others. This became the classical liberal doctrine of tolerance in the midst of free expression of belief.
The result was the “Social Contract” which delivered peace as a side benefit of allowing matters of conviction to remain private choices. This resulted, ultimately, in the founding of America upon the classic expressions of political liberalism—the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, along with the Bill of Rights. The results have revolutionized the world.
On the alternative, Islam has never experienced a Reformation, and is therefore still highly impacted by the values of 7th century Arabia. Whereas the West developed the nation-state theory of sovereign lands, doctrinaire Muslim writers never countenanced such an idea. Instead they taught the Quranic view of society and religion, where church and state are one, no democracy is possible, and the land is ruled by a strong man.
This article continues on and was a bit long to post it all in the forum. However, it is very enlightening and explained a tremendous amount to me about the differences in attitude and viewpoints between our culture and folks who would like to destroy it! I would recommend that this article be read and reread because of the importance of the subject matter! JMHO!!
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