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AUGUST 05, 2005 THE THEOLOGY OF SUICIDE JIHAD by Donald Sensing at August 5, 2005 01:16 PM In my three part (so far) essay, The Forever Jihad, I explored the still-developing bifircation of Islamism and jihadism. In particular, I spent a long section explaining the theology of jihadism and how it is differentiated from historic Islam or even Islamism. (I am converting the series into separate page as I write it; to open the page at the top, click here.) Comes now Andi's World, who links to an Australian news article that she says illuminates the subject, too. This one sentence by Abdul Nacer Ben Brika, an Australian, goes a long way in explaining the rationalism for Jihad. "According to my religion, jihad is a part of my religion and, what you have to understand that anyone who fights for the sake of Allah, when he dies, the first drop of blood that comes from him out all his sin will be forgiven." Yeah, Yeah, Yeah - 72 Virgins too. Just one more recruiting tool. Recruiting tool? Exactly right. The hook is not merely that a jihadi can remit his own sins by dying in battle to defend Islam, but that they are being told they can bring to paradise with them up to 70 family members whose sins will be forgiven by Allah because of their relationship to the shahid (martyr). In my essay I cited "an imam affiliated with Hamas, a youthful, bearded graduate of the prestigious al Azhar University in Cairo," ... He explained that the first drop of blood shed by a martyr during jihad washes away his sins instantaneously. On the Day of Judgment, he will face no reckoning. On the Day of Resurrection, he can intercede for 70 of his nearest and dearest to enter Heaven; and he will have at his disposal 72 houris, the beautiful virgins of Paradise. The imam took pains to explain that the promised bliss is not sensual. This teaching is a very powerful recruiting tool for young men and some women. Islam, to say nothing of its stricter forms such as Salafism and Islamism, is almost entirely focused on the next life. A basic tenet of all Islam is that of judgment by Allah at the general resurrection. The judgment is to be based on nothing but the relative weight of one's virtuous acts and sins. Salvation to paradise is entirely earned by a Muslim's effort; it is not simply granted gratis by Allah. The idea that dying as a jihadi by itself remits all prior sins comes from Mohammed himself, who told his soldiers before the battle of Badr told his soldiers, "I swear by the One in whose hand Muhammad's soul is, any man who fights them today and is killed while he is patient in the ordeal and seeks the pleasure of Allah, going forward and not backing off, Allah will enter him into Paradise." So the notion of salvation through combat is really a fundamental idea of Islam. In the last 25 years or so the idea has taken deep root, thanks to Osama bin Laden, that "defending Islam" includes the terrorist slaughter of women, children and other non-combatants, all formally off limits to deliberate attack in historic Muslim thought. What that development does is displace a prospective shahid from fighting as part of a larger formation in which he merely risks death. Now, with suicide bombing (suicide always strictly prohibited by Islam heretofore) promulgated as a legitimate form of combat, the guarantee of admission to paradise is practically ironclad. There is almost no risk of failure from the fog of battle and the devotion of suiciders can be held higher than traditional jihadis. Before, jihadis merely risked death in battle, accepting it if it came, but suicide jihadis actually evoke their own deaths. What greater devotion to Islam could there be? So suicide jihadism is being sold as the ultimate, unsurpassable act of Islamic worship. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hk0fbde/M=362329.6886306.7839369.3040540/D=groups/S=1705323667:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123499309/A=2894321/R=0/SIG=11dvsfulr/*http://youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=1992 ">Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back!</a>.</font> --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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