Crusade vs. Jihad

meanwhile, in iraq, al-Sadr's people declare jihad against the occupying troops.

to a muslim, every *struggle* is a jihad, it is a holy struggle performed in many levels. the *holy war* type of jihad occupies the last level and the jihad against the individual muslim's self is the highest. but the muslim's concept of holiness is different from that of the Christian model, so their actions, which to us are shockingly inhuman and perversions of our idea of holiness, are actually *good* in their perspective. so i really doubt the sincerity of the statements made by some muslims that condemn terroristic acts, it simply doesn't fit the precedent patterns of islamic expansion where violence against non-muslim civilians are tolerated.

although this is highly speculative and i haven't heard of any muslim teaching this, i believe that suicide bombers think that by conquering their natural, instinctive tendency towards self-preservation, they actually struggle against themselves and thus perform jihad in the highest form. they not only achieve holiness and go to paradise by merely blowing themselves up for a *holy* cause, they also get to do their part in a *holy* war against infidels. again, this is mere speculation and you are welcome to dispute this view.

anyway, i think people should overcome their hang-ups with the crusades and really seriously consider the prospect of another crusade in this age. however, i seriously prefer that the muslim world, which still aims to dominate the world as per their traditions, realize that nobody likes to be converted to islam against his/her will, and that they make a serious effort to *fix* their rank and file. but that would be tough to implement changes since islam does not have one unified structure, with a centralized government, like the catholic church. it is more akin to churches belonging to the evangelical, born-again movement, where individual churches are autonomous and teach their own interpretation of the bible which sometimes differ from another church. so in the islamic world, although they call themselves muslims, they have various schools and philosophies of islam and numerous ways of interpreting these. since this is the case, the call for a new crusade will be a prospect everyone should consider in this age of international terrorism.

but then again, after cosidering my own conflicting views, i maybe wrong. in the philippine scenario, muslim groups have been doing their own brand of jihad for years, even during colonial times, and we've managed to survive even when our forefathers didn't call for our own crusade. ordinary military activity was sufficient to thwart attacks emanating from the moros. of course, on the other hand, the absence of historically significant muslim victories does not guarantee the same in the future. then again, i maybe wrong, so your comments and violent reactions are highly welcome.