Tell me about Islam

[Anonymous]

I know that there are extremists, like in every religion. But what is jihad? It's a holy war.... Is this from the Koran? Do all Muslims believe this or just extremists. I took a class on Islam in college, but I don't remember it all. It's hard to not think the whole religion is crazy given the vocal Muslim community. The more moderate Muslims don't seem to be saying much.... About how their religion is being portrayed.

[Anonymous]

I'm not muslim, but I have a friend in Mecca (Jeddah) and his family visits america, they frequent american chain restuarants in jeddah, and in almost every pic everybody makes the peace sign (must be the hot thing over there right now). So I definitely don't think every muslim person is thinking we are in a jihad (holy war). Just the psychos. The problem is, there's no islamic country going into Syria and Egypt and Iraq etc. and stopping the psychos from committing genocide of the christians. Well, actually, I guess Saddam Hussein, Pres. Mubarak, and Pres. Assad stopped the psycho jihadists, but we got rid of Saddam and Mubarak and tried to get rid of Assad. Way to go USA.

[Anonymous]

liamw wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not muslim, but I have a friend in Mecca (Jeddah) and his family visits america, they frequent american chain restuarants in jeddah, and in almost every pic everybody makes the peace sign (must be the hot thing over there right now). So I definitely don't think every muslim person is thinking we are in a jihad (holy war). Just the psychos. The problem is, there's no islamic country going into Syria and Egypt and Iraq etc. and stopping the psychos from committing genocide of the christians. Well, actually, I guess Saddam Hussein, Pres. Mubarak, and Pres. Assad stopped the psycho jihadists, but we got rid of Saddam and Mubarak and tried to get rid of Assad. Way to go USA.

So we should have left Sadam because his genocide was more acceptable ?

The topic is jihad against Christians. I am a syrian christian, and my concern is for my christian brothers and sisters who are being slaughtered in the middle east and north africa. christians were better off before. Obviously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know that there are extremists, like in every religion. But what is jihad? It's a holy war.... Is this from the Koran? Do all Muslims believe this or just extremists. I took a class on Islam in college, but I don't remember it all. It's hard to not think the whole religion is crazy given the vocal Muslim community. The more moderate Muslims don't seem to be saying much.... About how their religion is being portrayed.

They denounce is ALL. THE. TIME. The mainstream media doesn't cover it much, though. But it's there.

[Anonymous]

There are two types of jihad. Greater and lesser.

Greater jihad is an inner spiritual struggle to be the best Muslim he or she can. A struggle to be more righteous, most just. "Holy is the warrior who is at war with himself."

Lesser jihad is what everyone talks about in the west. To fight to defend Islam and in some cases to expand it. Salafis have jumped on board with this one. iSIS is insane with it. Many use it defensively to get imperialists out of their nations. Some use it offensively in terrorist attacks. Most are using it wrong (not supposed to kill women, for example).

I'm not condoning it. Just trying to explain it. Overwhelmingly, Muslims don't engage in violent jihad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not muslim, but I have a friend in Mecca (Jeddah) and his family visits america, they frequent american chain restuarants in jeddah, and in almost every pic everybody makes the peace sign (must be the hot thing over there right now). So I definitely don't think every muslim person is thinking we are in a jihad (holy war). Just the psychos. The problem is, there's no islamic country going into Syria and Egypt and Iraq etc. and stopping the psychos from committing genocide of the christians. Well, actually, I guess Saddam Hussein, Pres. Mubarak, and Pres. Assad stopped the psycho jihadists, but we got rid of Saddam and Mubarak and tried to get rid of Assad. Way to go USA.

Military is back in charge in Egypt and things are more stable and safer for Christians. Not perfect by any means, but better. And the new constitution is not as hard core based on Islam as the one approved by Morsi (Brotherhood).

[Anonymous]

"Jihad" doesn't mean holy war. It basically means "struggle." So your goal to get fit and healthy can be jihad. Your goal to be a better parent can be a form of jihad. Your goal to stand up to what you believe are political and social justice issues can be jihad.

What you're seeing from extremists, is a form of the latter. From your/our perspective, they're "terrorists." From their perspective, they're freedom fighters fighting for a cause they believe in, that relates to justice. Now we may disagree on if the issues are actually one of justice, or a worthy cause, or if violence is necessary. But that is a common disagreement in every political conflict or war, throughout history.

[Anonymous]

Op here: thanks for the explanation off jihad( esp the inner struggle) vs just the view of the holy war on infidels. I wish the media would show the moderate Muslims denouncing the extremists. Whether they think it's a struggle to stand up for their beliefs or not-- they are killing.... To the poster who noted about the peace sign-- in Gaza that means "bring back Palestine" or so,etching like that.... Not peace per se.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here: thanks for the explanation off jihad( esp the inner struggle) vs just the view of the holy war on infidels. I wish the media would show the moderate Muslims denouncing the extremists. Whether they think it's a struggle to stand up for their beliefs or not-- they are killing.... To the poster who noted about the peace sign-- in Gaza that means "bring back Palestine" or so,etching like that.... Not peace per se.

True. But the question becomes one of "when is killing justified?"

As Americans, we have killed FAR, FAR more innocent/civilian Muslims, than they have killed us. Many, many times over. It doesn't make retaliation on anyone ok, but if you're talking about killing, Muslims (in the big "conflict" countries) are losing the numbers game on lives they've taken. Islam is the concerning religion of the moment, but Christians have historically been responsible for shedding much much more blood.

There is a saying in Islam, that if you kill just one person, it is if you've killed the whole of humanity. Believe it or not, killing is very much frowned upon in Islam. But all religions, all countries, all politics often have their exemptions on when it's ok - mostly in the name of self defense. Why are we allowed to justify our reasons, but not them?

I'm not making excuses, but sometimes we have our own bias, and it's easy to assume that our own associations are always doing right. But this is not always true...

[Anonymous]

The title should be "Tell me about Jihad." Islam is so much broader than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are two types of jihad. Greater and lesser.

Greater jihad is an inner spiritual struggle to be the best Muslim he or she can. A struggle to be more righteous, most just. "Holy is the warrior who is at war with himself."

Lesser jihad is what everyone talks about in the west. To fight to defend Islam and in some cases to expand it. Salafis have jumped on board with this one. iSIS is insane with it. Many use it defensively to get imperialists out of their nations. Some use it offensively in terrorist attacks. Most are using it wrong (not supposed to kill women, for example).

I'm not condoning it. Just trying to explain it. Overwhelmingly, Muslims don't engage in violent jihad.

+1

[Anonymous]

liamw wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

liamw wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not muslim, but I have a friend in Mecca (Jeddah) and his family visits america, they frequent american chain restuarants in jeddah, and in almost every pic everybody makes the peace sign (must be the hot thing over there right now). So I definitely don't think every muslim person is thinking we are in a jihad (holy war). Just the psychos. The problem is, there's no islamic country going into Syria and Egypt and Iraq etc. and stopping the psychos from committing genocide of the christians. Well, actually, I guess Saddam Hussein, Pres. Mubarak, and Pres. Assad stopped the psycho jihadists, but we got rid of Saddam and Mubarak and tried to get rid of Assad. Way to go USA.

So we should have left Sadam because his genocide was more acceptable ?

The topic is jihad against Christians. I am a syrian christian, and my concern is for my christian brothers and sisters who are being slaughtered in the middle east and north africa. christians were better off before. Obviously.

I am sure the Kurds would love that.

Are you a Kurd? I'm not. And I am christian. Syrian. So, my primary concern is for my family first, and then my other christian brothers and sisters. right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

liamw wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

liamw wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not muslim, but I have a friend in Mecca (Jeddah) and his family visits america, they frequent american chain restuarants in jeddah, and in almost every pic everybody makes the peace sign (must be the hot thing over there right now). So I definitely don't think every muslim person is thinking we are in a jihad (holy war). Just the psychos. The problem is, there's no islamic country going into Syria and Egypt and Iraq etc. and stopping the psychos from committing genocide of the christians. Well, actually, I guess Saddam Hussein, Pres. Mubarak, and Pres. Assad stopped the psycho jihadists, but we got rid of Saddam and Mubarak and tried to get rid of Assad. Way to go USA.

So we should have left Sadam because his genocide was more acceptable ?

The topic is jihad against Christians. I am a syrian christian, and my concern is for my christian brothers and sisters who are being slaughtered in the middle east and north africa. christians were better off before. Obviously.

I am sure the Kurds would love that.

Are you a Kurd? I'm not. And I am christian. Syrian. So, my primary concern is for my family first, and then my other christian brothers and sisters. right now.

Wow, slaughter of others that are non-christians is perfectly acceptable, just so long as it's not christians.

That's very Christ-like of you.

[Muslima]

If you open a modern Oxford English dictionary, you would probably
find the definition of Jihad as “a holy war undertaken by Muslims againstnon-believers”. This is a very poor definition.  Before trying to define what Jihad is, we should first define what it is NOT.
Jihad is NOT Holy War
Jihad is NOT blowing up one’s self  (Suicide is a sin in Islam)
Jihad is NOT killing innocent people
Jihad is NOT flying a plane into a building packed with civilians
Jihad is NOT fighting out of anger and hatred
Jihad is NOT killing others just because they don’t agree with you
Jihad is NOT killing others just because they are not Muslims
Jihad is an Arabic word from the root Jee Ha Da. It literally means to
struggle or strive. Jihad is struggling or striving in the way or sake of
Allah. Jihad takes a very important status in the doctrine of Islam and is one of the basic duties for every Muslim. Though, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the term Holy War. Such a term, or its equivalent doesn’t exist in the Islamic doctrine. The Christian Crusaders in the mid-ages invented this ideology of Holy War.
Jihad has many forms:
Jihad of the heart/soul (jihad bin nafs/qalb): is referred as
"The greater Jihad” (al-jihad al-akbar).It is one’s inner struggle of good against evil; refraining oneself from the whispers of Shaitan (Satan).This process involves allowing Islam to transform one’s soul to achieving internal peace; and forgoing hatred and anger.

Jihad by the tongue (jihad bil lisan): It is defending Islam and spreading Islam by scholarly lectures, speeches and debates. It often overlaps with Da’awah (invitation to Islam, or spreading the message of Islam).

Jihad by the pen/knowledge (jihad bil qalam/ilm)

Jihad by the hand (jihad bil yad)

Jihad by the sword (jihad bis saif) In contrary to Jihad of the
heart/soul; this form of Jihad is referred as “the lesser jihad” (al-jihad alasghar).Sometimes it is necessary to undertake Jihad by the sword. This would include usage of arsenals and engaging in a combat. This could be simply a bunch of freedom fighters or an organised campaign of army.Jihad by the sword is use of arms to engage into a combat. It is not misuse of arms to create violence.There are only two situations were Jihad by the sword is allowed to be
undertaken.

1) For self-defense. When someone attacks you or when your
nation has been attacked. Engaging into combat due to self defense.

2) Fighting against evil and unjust. It is also a sin if a Muslim sees unjust been done, capable of stopping it, yet not doing
Anything about it. This can include war on drug, war on child labour as well as war on terror!The Muslims already announced the war on terror fourteen centuries ago, under the name of Jihad bis saif!

There are many rules and limitations when engaging in combat under the title of Jihad. For example, civilians are not to be harmed; trees are not tobe cut down; women and children can't be killed, asylum should be granted to surrendering enemy soldiers;etc.

“And if anyone of the Mushrikun seeks your protection then grant
him protection, so that he may hear the Word of Allah, and then
escort him to where he can be secure, that is because they are men
who know not.”
{Quran, Surah 9: At-Taubah, Verse 6; Mohsin Translation}

The treatment for prisoners of war is also clearly stated in the Quran.
Prisoners of war under Muslim prisons are to eat, drink and dress the
same Muslim soldiers eat, drink and dress.And even under the unfortunate event of shortage of food, it is the prisoners who are to eat first before the Muslim soldiers guarding them!

Despite the fact that Jihad by the sword is the lesser Jihad, it is the only form of Jihad that most of the people in the world perceive Jihad as.This is unfortunate, especially for the Muslims. Many so-called “teachers of Islam” have been misusing this to assemble their so-called “holyarmy” to fight their so-called “holy war”. But you can’t blame the religion for what a few of its people do.

[Anonymous]

Muslima wrote:
Jihad by the sword (jihad bis saif) In contrary to Jihad of the heart/soul; this form of Jihad is referred as “the lesser jihad” (al-jihad alasghar).Sometimes it is necessary to undertake Jihad by the sword. This would include usage of arsenals and engaging in a combat. This could be simply a bunch of freedom fighters or an organised campaign of army.Jihad by the sword is use of arms to engage into a combat. It is not misuse of arms to create violence.There are only two situations were Jihad by the sword is allowed to be
undertaken.

1) For self-defense. When someone attacks you or when your
nation has been attacked. Engaging into combat due to self defense.

2) Fighting against evil and unjust. It is also a sin if a Muslim sees unjust been done, capable of stopping it, yet not doing
Anything about it. This can include war on drug, war on child labour as well as war on terror!The Muslims already announced the war on terror fourteen centuries ago, under the name of Jihad bis saif!

There are many rules and limitations when engaging in combat under the title of Jihad. For example, civilians are not to be harmed; trees are not tobe cut down; women and children can't be killed, asylum should be granted to surrendering enemy soldiers;etc.

“And if anyone of the Mushrikun seeks your protection then grant
him protection, so that he may hear the Word of Allah, and then
escort him to where he can be secure, that is because they are men
who know not.”
{Quran, Surah 9: At-Taubah, Verse 6; Mohsin Translation}

The treatment for prisoners of war is also clearly stated in the Quran.
Prisoners of war under Muslim prisons are to eat, drink and dress the
same Muslim soldiers eat, drink and dress.And even under the unfortunate event of shortage of food, it is the prisoners who are to eat first before the Muslim soldiers guarding them!

Despite the fact that Jihad by the sword is the lesser Jihad, it is the only form of Jihad that most of the people in the world perceive Jihad as.This is unfortunate, especially for the Muslims. Many so-called “teachers of Islam” have been misusing this to assemble their so-called “holyarmy” to fight their so-called “holy war”. But you can’t blame the religion for what a few of its people do.

The issue is, who defines what is "evil" and "unjust"? There is a great deal of latitude for interpretation here, obviously.

A crucial point for the current ISIS crisis is that Muslims are required to live under Muslim law, i.e. with a Muslim government and courts to enforce sharia law, with an Islamic banking system, et cetera. In a Muslim state, sharia rules apply to everybody, including dhimmi (non-Muslims). Therefore, teachers can define "evil" to include any secular (read: religiously tolerant) government. ISIS wants a "caliphate" to impose sharia law on everybody within the Islamic state's borders, because secular governmental structures are "evil."

Also, the Quran is quite clear that you can't kill your prisoners of war, but you can certainly make slaves out of your non-Muslim prisoners. This is applies equally tor capturing non-Muslim women and children. If your slaves convert to Islam, you must free them. It strikes me that Muslima is gilding the lily when she calls this "asylum" in her post above.