Time to send some of that mad Sandcrawler traffic to the wonderful people whose brilliance allows me to schlep on the couch all day scarfing bon-bons and watching 24 repeat marathons on A&E (what Rusty calls "fishing"):

Kyer: A third anniversary tribute.

Tee Bee: V for Vendetta = G for Get Over Yourselves, It's Just A Frickin' Movie.

Muslihoon: The Hitchiker's Guide To Taqqiya.

The Dread Pundit Bluto: Not cross posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Merri: Abu Ghraib? What Abu Ghraib?

Me: I am suffering major blogger burnout. It must be all of those "Bush Planned 911" emails I get every f***ing day.

And, as an added bonus, a full length reprint of a post done by Muslihoon at my home blog under the fold. It's a Part 2, the link to Part One is in there somewhere. Since he didn't cross-post it at his blog, I think it's okay for me to cross-post it for him here. While flipping through Understanding Jihad by Professor Dr. David Cook, I came across this:

As can be seen in the discussions in chapters 5 and 6, the primary factors that keep militant jihad from becoming part of Islam's past are the close relationship between Islam and power, exemplified by the shari'a, and the historical interpretation and religious significance of the Islamic conquests. Since the shari'a is basically the manner by which Muslim domination is expressed through law, calls for its implementation--aside from the legal problem of defining what precisely theshari'a means--are essentially calls for the renewal of Muslim domination. Since Muslims are no longer politically or militarily in the world, all implementations of the shari'a will ultimately collide with the non-Muslim world's norms (human rights).
(David Cook. Understanding Jihad. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2005, pp. 166-167.)

I would recommend this book to everyone interested in learning more about jihad. It is simply excellent!

Below is commentary on certain parts of the above. [Vinnie note, the following was placed below the fold on the original post]

the primary factors that keep militant jihad from becoming part of Islam's past are the close relationship between Islam and power

There is a close relationship between Islam and power because Islam seeks to exert political, social, cultural, economic, and spiritual control over the lands it rules, and it is the imperative to Muslims to encompass the whole world within the world of Islam.

exemplified by the shari'a

Islam as a political force is most visible in the sharee'ah, which is the code of laws it seeks to implement.

and the historical interpretation and religious significance of the Islamic conquests.

Early Islamic conquests are interpreted as evidence that Islam was from God and that God was with the Muslims. They are seen as the beginning of a wave that would sweep the whole earth. They are also seen as the ideal interaction between Islamic and non-Islamic powers. They are also seen as primarily a series of unprecedented victories over overwhelming odds. This has spiritual/religious significance because it is seen as evidence that Islam is right and so all should, logically, submit to it. It also provides a method by which Muslims can aggrandize their self-esteem and, more importantly, from which to draw solace in this age when Muslims are politically and militarily impotent. These factors are crucial, at the moment, in Islam and affect how Islam is defined, judged, and treated by Muslims and non-Muslims.

Aside from the legal problem of defining what precisely theshari'a means

As mentioned in a previous post, there are great problems in pinning down what exactly the sharee'ah is and how it is to be implemented. This issue and all issues corollary to it are significant indeed. Surely Muslims are not ignorant of this fact.

are essentially calls for the renewal of Muslim domination.

This is why Muslims call for the implementation of the sharee'ah: not because that is what they want (to do so would be to place a major and unprecedented burden on the Muslims' shoulders) but because it expresses, in less blatant, stark, frank, and startling terms, the Muslims' desire for the return of Muslim dominance.

Since Muslims are no longer politically or militarily in the world, all implementations of the shari'a will ultimately collide with the non-Muslim world's norms (human rights).

Any attempt to implement the sharee'ah will face stiff resistance from secular or non-Muslim laws and peoples. Unfortunately for the Muslims, and fortunately for us, the Muslims are impotent to impose their will as they are politically and militarily powerless and impotent.

The last part, in parentheses, is also important: the implementation of sharee'ah will fundamentally and essentially got against human rights as the focus of the sharee'ah is not human rights but rather what rules and regimes God has commanded. Under the sharee'ah, "human rights" are only those rights which God decided to grant humans, rather than being universal and uniform as is elsewhere. This clash would be the most visible and divisive in the confrontation between Western laws and sharee'ah laws, between Muslims and non-Muslims, and between fundamentalist Muslims and Muslims who don't want to oppressed under the sharee'ah.

Posted by: Vinnie at 11:36 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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