jihad - Khadijah Mosque

Jihad“I and thousands likeme are forsakingeverything for what webelieve. Our drivingmotivation doesn’t comefrom tangiblecommodities that thisworld has to offer ...We are at war andI am a soldier”.The 7/7 London bombings also confirmed thespread of this fanatical and cruel ideology. Afterthe London attacks, television audiences hearda chilling message recorded by one of four homegrownLondon bombers. Speaking with anEnglish accent, he declared:“I and thousands like me are forsakingeverything for what we believe. Our drivingmotivation doesn’t come from tangiblecommodities that this world has to offer ... We areat war and I am a soldier”.The 30-year old bomber graduated from aBritish university. He had worked with primaryschool children and left behind a baby and apregnant wife. But he also considered himselfa holy warrior fighting in the name of religion.For the terrorists, the desire for an idealised,Islamic community, the ummah, is so strong thatthey are even prepared to forsake their lives,families and friends. The concept of the ummahpotentially links Muslims of every race andcreed. More so today than at any time in history,global forces of technology and communicationcreate the potential for a living, dynamic ummah.With simple and powerful slogans, the terroristideologues seek to rouse Muslim feeling andmobilise Muslim outrage to secure support fortheir deeds.Let me be clear. Terrorism is not inherent inIslam. That is what Muslim scholars andreligious leaders tell us. That is what my Muslimfriends tell me. That is my own experience withour Muslims. Fifteen percent of Singapore’spopulation are Muslims. They live harmoniouslywith Singaporeans of other races and religions.The Mufti of Singapore, the highest religiousauthority on Islam, has strongly condemnedterrorism and terrorist acts. He emphasisedthat the actions of JI suicide bomb-makerAzahari Husin were a complete deviation fromthe teachings of Islam, which forbid anyonefrom committing suicide. He added that theteachings of the Koran call for peace in multireligioussocieties. If only more Muslim scholars(ulemas) and religious teachers (asatizah) allover the world would state their positions soopenly and courageously.To recruit for their violent cause, terroristsexploit the vulnerability of those in search ofthe meaning of life and Islam. They interpretIslam in a manner which feeds the anger andfrustration of Muslim youths. They exploit andstoke Muslim anger over grievances like theIsrael-Palestine conflict and other historicallegacies. Their ideology is infused with hatredfor what they perceive as a secular anddecadent West, in particular the US. But theirhatred is not confined to the West. In 2001,despite an international outcry, the Taliban blewup two 3 rd Century gigantic Buddhist sculpturesin Bamiyan, Afghanistan, as they were deemedby these extremists to be offensive to Islam.These terrorists even turn on innocentMuslims. They use the concept of takfir, that is,condemning other Muslims for apostasy, toadvocate violence against anyone whom theybelieve is not a devout Muslim.Defusing this complex of deviant ideas is akey challenge. But the real and practicalproblem we face is how to isolate the extremistsfrom the moderates. Mainstream Muslimcommunities around the world must themselvesdo so. Non-Muslim communities can help bygiving them support and resources.Positive DevelopmentsThere are grounds for optimism that we havereached a turning point in this war. SomeMiddle East governments are taking the battlefor the soul of Islam to the terrorists. Amongthe Muslim leaders, King Abdullah II of Jordanhas spearheaded a key initiative in theideological struggle. Just before the Londonbombings, he hosted the First InternationalIslamic Conference in Amman. The Conferenceachieved a historic, mutual recognitionagreement between the eight major schools ofIslamic thought. 180 religious leaders affirmedthe Amman Message, which shows the true12 Masjid Khadijah