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Sunday, August 8, 2010
MEMRI: Saudi Columnist: there Is No Islam without Jihad

MEMRI Special Dispatch|3147| August 6. 2010
Saudi Arabia/Jihad and Terrorism Studies Project

Saudi Columnist: 'There Is No Islam without Jihad'

Anas Zahed, a columnist for the Saudi government daily Al-Madina, criticized
Arab and Muslim intellectuals who limit the term jihad to a personal,
spiritual struggle and reject its interpretation as waging war against
occupation, which he said is its principle meaning.

Following are excerpts:

"Islam without jihad is the product of colonialism and is in no way
connected to the Islam of Muhammad. Without question, the greatest jihad is
personal jihad, and therein lies the proof that the term jihad in Islam is
not limited [solely] to waging war... [But] this does not mean that the term
jihad does not include many other aspects, among them those which relate to
the individual's responsibilities to society, and the relations of the
[Muslim] society and ummah with societies and countries that declare war on
a Muslim state.

"[However,] ever since the American [declaration of] war against what is
called terrorism, there has emerged a group of Arab and Muslim authors and
academics who try to limit jihad to one dimension, namely to personal jihad.
This is exactly what happened in India during the period of British
colonialism, when the Qadian sect, also known as Ahmadiyya, emerged and
rejected the principle of fighting the colonialists. [They] abolished the
duty of jihad in the sense of waging war, and were content with preaching
merely personal jihad.

"What is striking is that these preachings, which were intended to rescind
the duty of jihad from Islam, existed then, and still exist now, alongside
the most brutal type of imperialism and occupation ever known to the Islamic
world, and specifically to the Arab world. This fact sheds doubt on the
intent of the philosophers, authors, and members of the media who took it
upon themselves to disseminate a 'friendly' Islam that obligates its
followers to live with occupation, [population] transfer, the resettlement
of land, and the expulsion of its inhabitants by force of arms.

"I completely understand that we Muslims must reexamine the term jihad,
after the extremist terrorist gangs have attempted to appropriate this noble
term. Likewise, I completely understand that we are bound by the conditions
and limitations of [declaring] jihad, namely [that jihad can only be
declared when] Muslims are being expelled from their land and [are
subjected] to religious coercion.

"But I do not at all understand Muslims' calls for the reexamination of the
term jihad from a viewpoint that rejects declaring war on those who occupy
their land, kill the innocent, destroy homes, and expel millions. Islam is a
religion of justice, and the most basic principle of justice demands that
evil be opposed and not surrendered to. It goes without saying that
occupation is the severest form of evil. If we add to occupation the
resettlement of land and expulsion [of population], we arrive at the
greatest degree of evil that can befall man. There is no Islam without
jihad."[1]

[1] Al-Madina (Saudi Arabia), July 24, 2010.

For assistance, please contact MEMRI at memri@memri.org.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent,
non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle
East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background
information, are available on request.
MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with
proper attribution.
MEMRI
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
www.memri.org

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