Our friend Tarek Fatah appears in todays Ottawa Citizen rehashing some finer points from his book - Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State:

Today, as Muslims struggle to find their bearings in a world that is leaving them behind in almost every aspect of life, a knee-jerk defensiveness will simply not work. The veil of deception that is being thrown over the actions and ideology of jihadis in our midst needs to be ripped off.

Instead of condemning the jihadis, too many Muslim leaders are defending them by hiding behind the supposed peaceful nature of "jihad."

At every opportunity they get, Muslim leaders take to the pulpit and state with disarming smiles and polite language that jihad is a peaceful exertion of spiritual warfare waged against oneself -- against one's ego and against one's evil intentions, a sort of a cleansing of the soul. This is all true, because the Prophet after returning from a battle told his colleagues: "You are returning from a lesser jihad to a greater jihad," and when asked to clarify, he said the greater jihad "is the jihad against your passionate souls."

However, make no mistake: the jihad that Osama bin Laden has launched against all of us is, unfortunately, the lesser jihad.

The jihad that Momin Khawaja talks about in his musings is the jihad of warfare as clearly enunciated by such 20th-century Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood as Syed Qutb and Hassan al-Banna and Pakistan's Syed Maudoodi.

This triad are ideological gurus of the world jihadi movements and their apologists in Canada. It is not what the Koran says that matters; it is how Mr. Qutb, Mr. Banna, and Mr. Maudoodi interpret the Koran for the jihadis that needs to be discussed.

In the fall of 2007, Islamists set up a stand at Toronto's annual "Word on the Street" book festival where they distributed a free booklet titled Towards Understanding Islam, written by Mr. Maudoodi. In the booklet, Mr. Maudoodi exhorts ordinary Muslims to launch jihad, as in armed struggle, against non-Muslims.

"Jihad is part of this overall defense of Islam," he writes. In case the reader is left with any doubt about the meaning of the word "jihad," Mr. Maudoodi clarifies: "In the language of the Divine Law, this word [jihad] is used specifically for the war that is waged solely in the name of God against those who perpetrate oppression as enemies of Islam. This supreme sacrifice is the responsibility of all Muslims."

Maudoodi goes on to label Muslims who refuse the call to armed jihad as apostates:

"Jihad is as much a primary duty as are daily prayers or fasting. One who avoids it is a sinner. His every claim to being a Muslim is doubtful. He is plainly a hypocrite who fails in the test of sincerity and all his acts of worship are a sham, a worthless, hollow show of deception."

If Muslim countries do not go to war against the enemies of Islam, Mr. Maudoodi says a worldwide uprising by ordinary Muslims is the answer. He writes: "Muslims of the whole world must fight the common enemy."

Does it surprise anyone that ordinary Muslims in Britain and Canada have rallied to his call and declared jihad against their own countries of birth? (Ottawa Citizen)

Comments (7)

Don Morris said:

... "It is not what the Koran says that matters; it is how Mr. Qutb, Mr. Banna, and Mr. Maudoodi interpret the Koran for the jihadis that needs to be discussed." And THAT is the crux of the matter. Too many PC apologists are too busy not offending anyone to address the reality of the "Religion of Peace". I'd recommend Mr.Fatah for the Order of Canada, but I don't think he'd want to be in the company of some of the recipients. The man is doing a great service to this Country, and, indeed, all the civilized world, if only people will wake up and recognise that fact.

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Jul 24, 2008 12:15:12
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Darcey said:

	... He's right though - how many times have you heard from Islamists that Jihad simply means 'internal struggle' and is always non-violent? It gets played over and over like a broken record to make it more palatable to the masses.
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Jul 24, 2008 12:23:29
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Elane said:

... Yeah, it surprises me. However, since it is islamic who am I to argue with their beliefs? leaders? there are leaders in islam? no, actually there are not. islam is a uniquely individual relationship with one's allah. There are no priests (there are prayer leaders but they can be chosen out of the congregating worshippers on a whim or out of necessity to direct the communal prayer). There are temporal tyrants who are muslim and they will say and/or do whatever they feel it takes to maintain their status quo but they are not spiritual leaders. There is no Rome. There is a Makkah and there are timekeepers and moonwatchers (damn near the same thing). But there is no High Priest, no pope, in islam. Anywhere. There are quite a few 'mis' interpretations of islam and what it is to be a muslim. A lot of exploitation too but that's neither here nor there right now. If the individual muslims or ethnic groups/clans/families "follow" a particular (and self appointed) teacher/leader/guru then they are off the course of islam in the first (and it is)damned place. But anyways, what annoys me is that some people are trying to legitimize the islamic belief system. It is based on the Qur'an (along with hadith). Read it.

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Jul 24, 2008 12:27:42
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Elane said:

... Jihad means - struggle. Period. The islamic twists and turns to it depend on who is using the word, the situation and context. Obviously, in (let's just say) parliament an islamic politician might say it is a religious matter, a struggle with one's self for one's faith and leave it at that. Chastised we return to our corners to mull it over. Allah forbid that we challenge THE faith. On the other hand, Imam Brother Hook Hand One Eye of Finsbury Mosque fame declared that jihad is the struggle to establish the dominance of islam on the baaaaad unbeliever. And I do believe that the Brother Hook Eye is in prison for (at least) welfare fraud in Britain. Correct me if he has actually been convicted of sedition. I'd love to hear that. Why the west tries to reconcile with the irreconcilable is beyond me. Why the west tries to kiss islamic ass is unacceptable because we are not engendering the "good" but promoting the "evil" by "tolerating" their terror tactics. If the muslims good behaviour and good beliefs has merit then it will merge with the communities it has migrated to and be contributing participants that need no special recognition. When was the last time we heard people referred to by their religion in this country?? What is this all about? My people, irish and dominated by a foreign power in their own homeland (not naming any names of course), left Ireland with the clothing on their backs. They were neither Irish, nor Catholic, nor Protestant. They were truly "free" men and women and they were among the pioneers of this country. Their kids fought and some died during the 'great wars' to protect the rights of the individual to NOT be controlled by ANY religion. There is no defence of Islam nor any other belief set that seeks to impose itself by force, terror, fear, death and destruction upon the lives of peaceful citizens.

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Jul 24, 2008 12:44:23
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Don Morris said:

... There may be no formal "leaders", but world wide Islam sure jumps when certain "leaders" bark! Take the Ayatollah Khomeini's edict against Salman Rushdie, for example. Some people should grow up and realize you're responsible for your own actions, and blaming it all on a mythical deity is the ultimate cop-out. Perhaps every sinner, or lawbreaker, should be allowed one "freebie" on the grounds that "the Devil made me do it".

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Jul 24, 2008 12:46:30
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Elane said:

	... The practice of Islam is a cult. There is no freedom of thought permitted. It is from the cradle to the grave with grave penalties (literally) for the "apostate" and the "unbeliever". Fear reigns. There is no peace in Islam. Not yet. And that's because they are afraid. Fear Reigns in Islam. They are at war with life.
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Jul 24, 2008 12:58:59
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WL Mackenzie Redux said:

	... Tarek will have a fatwa bounty on his head if he keeps exposing the unseemly underbelly of modern Islamism this way. I see the same people he denounces as the "world jihadi movement" were frothing and rioting over the recent knighthood of Salmon Rushdie.
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Jul 24, 2008 13:27:16
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