Islam and Terrorism (5 page)

The Prophet Muhammad stated, “The person who participates in (Holy battles) in Allah’s cause and nothing compels him to do so except belief in Allah and His Apostles, will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty (if he survives) or will be admitted to Paradise (if he is killed in the battle as a martyr).”
¹

To the radical, death as a martyr is not defeat; it is the gateway to Paradise.

Y
OU AND
Y
OUR
F
AITH
A
RE
S
UPERIOR TO
O
THERS

A repeated theme in radical teaching is that the believer is superior to secular society—superior in faith, in understanding and concept of the nature of the world, in values and standards, in conscience and understanding, and in law and life. Radicals believe that society persecutes them because of their faith. Therefore, when a Western country takes military action against an Islamic country, many Muslims interpret it as an attack against Allah and Islamic faith.

C
ONCLUSION

From all the information in the chapter we can clearly see what kind of faith it is that causes radical Muslims to go to extremes. It is the call for a restoration of morality and defense of Islam combined with fear of hell and the belief that martyrdom is the only way to ensure access to Paradise.

The next section of this book takes you to the source where the terrorists found their Five Pillars of Radical Philosophy—the lives of Muhammad and his followers.

SECTION II

THE ROOTS OF TERRORISM IN ISLAM

Chapter 3

CORE BELIEFS OF ISLAM

The Mind-Set of Violence

W
HEN
I
WAS
a freshman at Al-Azhar University in 1980, I enrolled in class called Quranic Interpretation. Two times a month we would gather to hear lectures from a blind sheikh whose passion for Islam made him popular among the students.

Yet his radical side was obvious. Anytime he encountered a reference in the Quran to Christians or Jews, he took great delight in referring to the Christians as “infidels” and Jews as “the children of pigs.” He made it clear that he wanted to bring back the glory days of the Islamic empire through jihad.

One day he gave us students an opportunity to ask questions. I stood up and asked him something I had been wondering about for a long time: “Why is it that you teach us all the time about jihad? What about the other verses in the Quran that talk about kindness and forgiveness?”

Immediately his face turned red. I could see his anger, but I could also see that he chose to control it. Instead of yelling at me, he took the chance to reinforce his position in front of the five hundred students who were listening. “My brother,” he said, “there is a whole surah [chapter] called ‘Spoils of War.’ There is no surah called ‘Peace.’ Jihad and killing are the head of Islam. If you take them out, you cut off the head of Islam.”

Today that man is locked up in a prison in the United
States. His name is Omar Abdel Rahman, and he was convicted of masterminding the first bomb attack of the World Trade Center, which occurred in 1993.

Before he came to America, he was the spiritual leader of the radical Egyptian group al-Jihad, which carried out the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat. Later in this book I will tell the incredible story of how Sheikh Abdel Rahman talked the Egyptian Supreme Court into setting him free, which gave him the ability to travel to the United States and practice jihad there.

I
SLAM
202

As you can see from this story and from my testimony, I have lived close to terrorism for most of my lifetime. People in the West have a hard time understanding terrorists. They wonder, “Are they just all crazy?”

I can assure you, these people are not lunatics. Nor are they psychopaths who find psychological pleasure in hurting others. No, they are following a philosophy, and once you understand this philosophy, none of their actions will even surprise you.

In this chapter I will tell you the basics of Islam, but we are going to move beyond that very quickly in order to explain the specific religious doctrine that motivates an Islamic terrorist. I will also explain how fundamentalists do away with the verses in the Quran that speak of living in peace and harmony.

S
UBMITTING TO
A
LLAH

The word
Islam
means “submission”; the word
Muslim
means “one who submits to Allah.” The Quran says you cannot be a true Muslim unless you submit.

O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad) and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority.

—S
URAH
4:59, T
HE
N
OBLE
Q
URAN

Now the question you must answer when submitting to Allah is, what are Allah’s requirements? The answers are found in the holy books of Islam—the Quran and the hadith. These teachings also serve as the foundation of
Sharia
, or Islamic law.

T
HE
Q
URAN

The Quran was started in AD 610 when Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, said the angel Gabriel spoke to him while he was meditating in a cave near Mecca. Muhammad stated these were the words of the one true god—Allah. Muhammad’s twelve companions wrote down these words from Allah as Muhammad received them over a period of about twenty-two years. In short the Quran is considered to be Allah’s words. It is significant that the revelations did not all come at the same time, as we will see later.

B
OOKS OF
H
ADITH

The books of hadith are another set of holy writings. These books contain the reports of what Muhammad said and did during his life. In other words, the books of hadith give the teachings of Muhammad in word and example. As Muhammad is considered the perfect example for any committed Muslim, the hadiths, also known as the record of the
Sunnah,
have about the same authority for Muslims as the Quran.

Here’s how the books of hadith were created. People who were close to Muhammad, such as his friends or
wives, observed and recorded his activities. Scholars collected these writings, verified their authenticity and put those hadith that they accepted as true and reliable into six sets of books known as the correct books
(sahih)
of hadith. These books are referenced by the name of the person who originally collected the stories together, for example, hadith by Sahih Al-Bukhari.

The majority of the Muslim world considers these six books of hadith to be authoritative. (To be specific, Sunni Muslims accept all six books. Shiite Muslims accept most hadith, but reject the hadith recorded by the second wife of Muhammad.)

S
HARIA
(I
SLAMIC
L
AW
)

The contents of the Quran and hadith are the basis of
Sharia
, or Islamic law, which describes the duty of Muslims toward the God of Islam.

There are several Sunni and Shiite schools of thought, but all are in agreement that the highest authority for law under Islam is the Quran. So any judgment expressed in the Quran must be accepted and cannot be abrogated by any other source. For areas not addressed in the Quran, the legal scholars turn to the example of Muhammad for guidance. For areas not addressed by Muhammad’s life, the legal scholars look to the life of Muhammad’s companions. For areas not addressed by the companions, the scholars apply several methods of interpretation to develop new rulings. This process is known as
ishtihad.
The legal opinions developed by Islamic jurists
(fatwas)
become part of Islamic law.

Qutb al-Fiqh
is the word used for the books that describe Islamic law. These are not specific books, such as
the books of hadith. These books are a whole body of literature, some ancient and some modern.

R
EQUIREMENTS TO
B
E A
M
USLIM

So what does the Quran and hadith say that Allah wants people to do? There are five key requirements that must be met in order to be a Muslim. These requirements are known as the five pillars of Islam:

1.  
Statement of belief.
There must be acceptance of the Muslim statement of faith: “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.”

2.  
Prayer.
Muslims are to pray five times a day while facing Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad. Prayers are at dawn, afternoon, late afternoon, after sunset and night. Special prayers are on Fridays.

3.  
Giving alms.
This is similar to a tax. It is paid at the end of the year and distributed to those in need.

4.  
Fasting.
This takes place during the Islamic month of Ramadan, which starts at the first visual sighting of the ninth crescent moon according to the Islamic calendar. During this fast Muslims do not eat or drink during daylight hours. A light meal and a large amount of water are taken in before daybreak. After the sun sets, a heavier meal is eaten, and a large amount of liquid is consumed.

5.  
Pilgrimage.
Muslims are encouraged to make a pilgrimage at least once in their lifetimes to Mecca where a five-day ritual is followed.
¹

Why is it so important that Muslims do what Allah requires? It’s because Islam is a religion of works. Entrance to Paradise (heaven) must be earned. The sad part is that Muslims can never have assurance of salvation. When they die, they believe that they go to the grave, where they await their judgment at resurrection day.

When judgment day comes, Allah weighs the good works and the bad works and decides their fate.

Then as for him whose balance (of good deeds) will be heavy, he will live a pleasant life (in Paradise). But as for him whose balance (of good deeds) will be light, he will have his home in
Hawiyah
(pit, i.e., Hell).

—S
URAH
101:6–9, T
HE
N
OBLE
Q
URAN

Even if you do good works all your life, you have no guarantee of Paradise. It all depends on what Allah decides.

G
UARANTEED
E
NTRANCE TO
P
ARADISE

There is only one way to guarantee entrance into Paradise—and this makes the perfect motive for suicide bombers and jihad fighters. The only way to know for sure that you will get into Paradise is to die in jihad—to die while striving for the cause of Allah and fighting the enemy of Islam.

Jihad simply means striving for the cause of Allah, and it is commonly understood by radicals as meaning Muslims must fight the enemy of Allah until the enemies die or the Muslims die. The word
jihad
actually means “struggle.” Jihad has even been defined in legal terms by Islamic
fiqh
as follows:

[Jihad] is fighting anybody who stands in the way of spreading Islam. Or fighting anyone who refuses to enter into Islam (based on Surah 8:39).

If you die in jihad, you don’t even have to go to the grave and wait for judgment; you go directly to Paradise.

Jihad is really a contract between Allah and the Muslim. If the Muslim fights, Allah rewards him in the afterlife.

Let those (believers) who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter fight in the Cause of Allah, and whoso fights in the Cause of Allah, and is killed or gets victory, We shall bestow on him a great reward.