Radical Islamism & Jihad *JIHAD – Then and Now: The Myth and Reality <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1418>*
*“Kill the Non-believers wherever you find them!”* Some verses of Qur’an were revealed for specific occasions and carry instructions for similar circumstances if they ever exist again; out of context quotation of such verses in parts, by any one is misleading. Such efforts to twist the meanings, with ulterior motives, result in tarnishing the image of Islam. One such example is a part of verse 5 of Surah At-Tauba; “fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them”. It appears to indicate that the Muslims are free to kill the pagans or non believers where ever they find them. A look at verses (Qur’an, 9:1-6) in Qur’an revealed before conquest of Makka, is self explanatory.... Requirement of “Jihad Kabira” (Bigger Jihad, fighting social evils) seems to be the need of hour.... Hence initially Jihad has to be against these evils of society, to establish just Islamic welfare societies which should provide knowledge (religious and secular) justice, fair play and equal opportunities for their people, so that they do not have to look and run towards developed countries to earn the bread and butter... There was no forced conversion as a policy of state in the light of Qur’an: “Let there be no compulsion in religion.”(Qur’an, 2:256). Spain and India are the living examples with majority non Muslim population despite Muslim rule for centuries. It is not permissible in an Islamic state to start killing the unbelievers unless they are in a state of war or convicted by courts for specified offences. One has to live in peace and preach Islam by inviting them to the real message of Qur’an. ... ... someone has to find an answer to the question: *Is killing of innocent civilians, women and children whether Muslims or non Muslims justified in the name of Jihad?* Can the declaration of Jihad with arms be left at the discretion of few individuals or religious zealots? Or should it be the responsibility of the Islamic states keeping in view the teachings of Islam, national interests and the prevalent system of international relations (UN, OIC and other forums)? Muslim scholars and leadership through dialogue with the international community, have to analyse the reasons of this pathetic state of affairs and find out practicable, realistic and just solutions on long term basis to make the world safer place for everyone. -- *Aftab Ahmad Khan* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1418> Islam and Politics *Indian Elections: Congress should thank the Muslim voters who keep this country secular <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1417>* This election has shown that in the Muslim community there is desire for stability and security, and they will vote for parties which will guarantee that. The pervading sense of insecurity among the Muslims has increased after the spate of terrorist attacks in the country after which each one of them has been made a suspect. The renewed urgency in Muslim voting behaviour is visible not only in UP, Bihar and West Bengal but also in their overwhelming turnout for the Congress in Delhi and in Andhra Pradesh. For the electoral outcome, the Congress should thank the Muslim voters who continue to keep this country secular. Someone in the Congress needs to read the Sachar Committee report anew and explore ways to pay its debt to the voters. -- *Bharat Bhushan* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1417> Current affairs *India: Secularism has to come to stay <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1416>* *No room for Sangh Parivar’s version of the Hindu Rashtra* ... it (BJP) has to go beyond anachronistic elements like building a Ram Temple or targeting individuals in the name of moral policing. It must come clear in delineating its stand on the Muslim and Christian citizens of India. It can afford to remain a Hindu nationalist party, but it will have to drop its quest for a Hindu Rashtra, an idea that threatens not only the Muslims and the Christians, but also those who refuse to subscribe to the Sangh Parivar’s version of the Hindu Rashtra. M.G. Vaidya, the senior RSS leader, had once famously said that “the BJP is not the life-breath of the Sangh”. The BJP must take this to heart and commit the much-needed patricide. If the lessons of 2004 and 2009 are to be deciphered for the BJP, they are reducible to just one very significant element: there is nothing called a Hindu vote. Extending the argument, there is no political or social outfit that can claim to represent all Hindus, much less hope to transform a mythical Hindu unity into votes. -- *Jyotirmaya Sharma* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1416> War on Terror *The march of folly: Obama’s four-word AfPak strategy <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1415>* *Afghanistan is not Iraq* In a country already teaming with militiamen, more militias are being set up. But just as the existing Afghan militias took to terrorism after being armed during the Ronald Reagan presidency to fight Soviet forces, the new militias will begin terrorising local populations before long. Yet such is the rush to establish new militias that in an unusual decision to remove a wartime commander, the Obama administration last week fired the top American general in Afghanistan, David McKiernan, because he was overly cautious in creating such militias. It is unlikely that the dubious Iraq experiment can work in Afghanistan, whose mountainous terrain, myriad tribes, militants operating from across national frontiers, patterns of shifting tribal and ethnic loyalties, low level of literacy, lack of natural resources, special status as the global hub of poppy trade and a history of internecine civil conflict set it apart from any other Muslim country. Also, unlike the internally confined Iraq conflict, the AfPak belt already is the springboard of international terrorism. -- *Brahma Chellaney* 1 Comments More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1415> -- Syed M. 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