About
Blogger Jafar “Jeff” Siddiqui is an American Muslim living in WA.. USA.
He grew up in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (North-West Frontier) Province and has maintained close contacts in Pakistan.
He is a member of American Muslims of Puget Sound and is a human rights activist. He is involved with movements for inter-faith understanding. He has contributed articles for a textbook on terrorism, used by US law-enforcement agencies. He has also presented discussions and written article, on the Indo-Pakistan hostilities and their impact on Afghanistan.; he writes articles and gives lectures on Civil Rights, American Foreign Policy, on Islam, on current affairs including events in the Middle East, South and Central Asia. His works have been published in various print media. He also gives commentaries on radio and TV on these subjects.
******************************************************************************************************************
Dare I say “Jihad”?
Occasionally, I use the term “Jihad” in my articles, as the action needed to help make changes to better the ills of society. I often get feedback in which people worry more about my use of the word “Jihad”, than they do about the injustice about which I wrote; some wonder why I would use such a charged word among non-Muslims.
I intentionally use “Jihad”, because I want to jolt Muslims AND non-Muslims; “Jihad” cannot and must not become de-legitimized just because some people do not care to understand the true meaning of a sacred term and decide to associate it with terrible things.
“Jihad” springs from the Arabic “Jhd” which means “struggle”; “Jihad” means the act of struggle, “Mujahid” (Plural, Mujahideen) is someone who is doing “Jihad”.
At the core (the highest level), it is the duty of every Muslim to struggle against the basic negative predispositions we all have as humans…greed, envy, jealousy, rage, deceit, theft, murder etc.
At the next level, it is the duty of every Muslim to fight against the ills that beset Mankind…hunger, disease, homelessness, illiteracy, injustice, lack of water, pollution etc.,
At the least important level, Muslims are required to fight those who attack us AFTER we have exhausted all other efforts towards peaceful resolution. Even then, if peace is at hand, even at mid-battle, one has to stop and accept terms that are just and preserve the dignity of all parties.
I would imagine these are things that every person needs to subscribe to, not just Muslims.
Yet, there is a growing body of opinion in the non-Muslim West, that “Jihad” can ONLY be equated with murder and mayhem and thus, anyone using the word, can be presumed to be associated with supporting murder and mayhem.
I would suggest that supporters of the body of opinion that would like to taint “Jihad”, are people who consider themselves at “War!” with Islam, Muslims and Arabs. They may be a growing number of people, but they are wrong and it would be wrong for Muslims to lend credence to this opinion by shying away from “Jihad” in word, or in action.
Not so long ago, the Jewish organization ADL, launched an attack on some Muslim groups because the Muslims were wearing the Muslim Affirmation… “Shehada” (“There is no God but one God, and Mohammed is His prophet”) on their headbands and the ADL said that the Shehada stood for terrorism.
There are a growing number of bigots who state that Islam’s holy book, the Quran, is a symbol of evil and violence.
What should Muslims do? Abandon the Shehada and the Quran?
Some may say that we should just not use the Shehada on headbands, why not? Either the Affirmation (Shahada) is sacred or it is not; if it is sacred, then wherever it is used, as long as the use is not profane, is also sacred. If the Shehada is used in a profane manner, then the reflection is not upon the Shehada, but on the abuser.
Hitler took the Swastika as his symbol and today, it strikes fear and revulsion in the hearts of many, especially Jews. However, the Swastika is thousands of years old and among Hindus, the “Savas Tika” (“Peace sign”) is a holy symbol, it is used to adorn temples and used by Hindus at almost every occasion…it can be clockwise or counter-clockwise.
Should the Hindus be asked to abandon the Savas tika as a symbol?
If we dared to make such an absurd demand, we would be laughed off the stage.
The Star of David strikes fear and revulsion among millions of Palestinian men, women and children; should the Jews be asked to abandon the Star of David as their symbol?
I am betting millions of Bosnian Muslims shudder a little when they see a Crucifix, or the Christian Orthodox cross, because of the genocide of Bosnian Muslims by the Serbs and the Croats in the name of Christianity in the 1990s; should those symbols be cast aside?
The principle of “use it or lose it” is quite valid here. If we retreat for any reason, we are acknowledging that our sacred and holy terms or symbols are sometimes themselves, evil. Once we give that ground, then we can no longer use our Savas Tikas, our Crucifixes or our terms…THEN, the bad guys have truly won.
I believe that as reasoned and rational people, we cannot allow ourselves to fall victim to populist bigotries. We must look at what the symbol actually stands for, rather than associate it with the negative events that were tied to it by evil people; we must be able to differentiate between Nazi Swastikas on one hand, and symbols and words that are sacred, on the other.
Jihad; it is a sacred duty for every Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu…for every human being of good will.
- 9-11 ADL Afghanistan AJC Al-Qaeda America American Anti-Muslim myth-buster Anti-Semitism bigotry CAIR CIA Civil Rights Civil Rights in America Daniel Pipes Donald Trump Fasting FBI Foreign Policy Freedom of Speech Gaza Geert Wilders Genocide Gitmo Guantanamo Hamas Hate Homeland Security India Iran ISIS in America Islam Islamophobia Islamophobia in America Israel Israel Hamas war Jews Jim McDermott Kashmir law enforcement Middle East Minorities in Pakistan Muslim Muslim Civil Rights Muslims Muslims in America Obama Pakistan Pakistani Taliban Palestine Police Brutality Police Training Profiling Quran Ramadan religion Rep. Peter King Republican Party Robert Spencer Saudi Arabia Shia Shia Sunni Divide Suicide bombing Syria Taliban Terror Terrorism Thomas Friedman Torture Two state solution US US Congress US Constitution US Foreign Policy War on Terror
-
Join 52 other subscribers
Penjihad's Blog 
Jeff- Congrats on the site! How did you put it together? What are you going to do with “myth-buster”?
LikeLike
The plan for the Myth-Buster is to publish stiries about Islam and Muslims that have taken off in the fantasies of the bigots, stories like, “Jihad”, “72 Virgins” or, “Can a Muslim be a good American” etc.,
This way, if people want to read up about the facts of a story, they can look it up on the blog by clicking on the “Anti-Muslim myth-buster” tag or, going to the page itself.
Your boos and bravos will be MUCH appreciated.
LikeLike
You act as if we “bigots” invented things like the sexual rewards for Jihad which are plastered all over the Hadiths (and to a more lesser extent, the Quran). If some people mistakenly citing a weak narration on 72 wives equals bigotry, then what is it when the Quran itself makes numerous inaccurate comments about Christianity? “Bigotry”?
Why is the 72 virgins Hadith an issue? This is blown out of proportion; especially considering the Hadiths mention in numerous places the sexual rewards of paradise the men who die in Jihad shall receive from many females. This sounds like an excuse to call names and split hairs more than anything else, and to call it “bigotry” is a gross exaggeration and a sad attempt at self-martyrdom.
There is nothing inaccurate about Jihad stated by Western critics. It’s directly stated in the Quran (mostly Surah 9) and in every Sahih Hadith collection:
Bukhari Volume 1, Book 2, Number 24:
Narrated Ibn ‘Umar:
Allah’s Apostle said: “I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah’s Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives an property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah.”
The above is repeated a multitude of times, and violence against the kafir is further invoked in Surah 9.
The typical Muslim response? To invoke abrogated verses from Surah 2. This is not honesty. We are not stupid and we cannot be easily fooled.
Add to the ream of modern Islamic literature which seconds the teachings of the Quran and Muhammad through the Hadiths: http://www.e-prism.org/images/The_Ruling_on_Jihad_and_its_Divisions_-_Yousef_Uyery.pdf
No we are not “bigots” for noticing this and pointing it out.
Calling names is a coward’s way out, and it means you have no answer.
Considering Islam requires its adherents to live and practice under Shariah, how does that not conflict with them living in a Western state of which its government was heavily influenced by Christian values at its founding? The author of this blog actually states his own case for why Islamic Law is not compatible with Western values. He absolutely cannot handle free speech that casts his religion in a negative light and has made attempts to stifle others.
You proved our case for us. Thank you for that.
There are Hadiths which also say that Muslims should not live among the kafir or take them as your friends, as that to do so means that the Muslim is one of them. Perhaps you should take these to heart and relocate yourselves to the lands of Islam?
The gulf between your beliefs and what Islam teaches is not a matter of “bigotry” by those of us who point it out.
You have a false conception of a religion that teaches violent mistreatment of others. Either that or you fully understand what the religion teaches in its earliest, purest form, and you’re lying to your enemy as is obligatory per the laws of war in Islam.
There’s not much wiggle room here, so it has to be one or the other, by definition.
And these statements of yours on the sidebar here,
At the core (the highest level), it is the duty of every Muslim to struggle against the basic negative predispositions we all have as humans…greed, envy, jealousy, rage, deceit, theft, murder etc.
At the next level, it is the duty of every Muslim to fight against the ills that beset Mankind…hunger, disease, homelessness, illiteracy, injustice, lack of water, pollution etc.,
In this, you’re firstly admitting that forcing your moral views down the throats of others is obligatory in your religion. Secondly you add Western modernist left wing social and environmental causes to it as well – none of which were taught in the Quran or Sunnah.
It seems your Islam is in part a strange meld of revisionist modernist Islamic teachings combined with a Left Coast Seattle mentality.
LikeLike
So that the 72 virgin reward is mentioned in Tafsir Ibn Kathir, then Imam Ibn Kathir is a “bigot,” too?
God, what an incorrigible dumb ass you are.
LikeLike
Excellent! Most of us Muslims including myself I am sorry to say, are too busy with our personal issues that we forget about he bigger issues that can destroy us sooner or later. I want to thank you and let you know that we appreciate all you do. Soon IA, we will follow!
Abdinassir
LikeLike
dirty kafir pigs will have their throats slit no matter
LikeLike
i’ve been seeking to dialogue with Mr. siddiqui for a long time. My understanding is that it is the moderate Muslims who are considered, by those Muslims more faithful to the Quran, to be, for want of more accuracy, ‘backslidden’.
(Any thoughts? I am sincerely curious)
LikeLike
Bill. I am afraid I do not understand your comment or your question, perhaps you could explain a bit?
Personally, I hate the terms “moderate” and “radical” applied as prefixes to “Muslim”. Generally, I see these terms applied by people who have some bias against Muslims or, who know very little about Muslims. We Muslims are simply that; MUSLIMS. There is no “moderate” or “radical”, no “violent” or “extremist” or, “peaceful”, we are simply MUSLIMS. Yes, there are violent and extremists who are Muslims, just as there are violent and extremist Christians, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists, but today’s society does not identify those people as “extremist” Christians or, “violent” Jews. The prefix.suffix qualifiers are applied almost exclusively to Muslims as if to suggest that there are either violent Muslim or moderate ones and only the violent or extremist ones are recognized as “proper” Muslims, which is bunk.
You are correct in saying that there are some Muslims who regard other Muslims as not adhering to the holy book, but that is true in any faith. I personally know Christians who declare that Catholics are not Christians, there are Jews who do not accept Reform or Conservative Jews to be real Jews, so what of it? Don’t we all like to believe our belief system is the best example of our faith?
“Backslidden”? I have no idea what oyu mean or, how some Muslims would be seen as backsliding in their faith…which by the way, all people of all faiths do, but I sense oyu have a different meaning for backsliding Muslims. If you elaborate, I will be happy to respond.
LikeLike
Reply to penjihad
I first heard of Jafar Siddiqi ,(Jeff), when he was interviewed by a talk show host Brian Suits on KVI. he struck me as a reasonable human being and faithful Muslim, of which I know there are many, whom I could learn from, dialogue with, and who would answer questions I have.
it has been a guiding principle of mine for a decade, now, that there are two sides to every story. Having been an avid listener to talk radio, I have also become very aware that my mentality is a value commodity to those who would love to capture it, mold it, even corrupt it. By the way, in being a ‘talk radio listener’, I would just as frequently listen to “progressive talk 1090”, when it was on, as I would to KVI or KTTH ‘the truth’.
I look forward to reading every word in your blog, over time, suspecting there are many answers to my questions here. I will write a subsequent post, clarifying (hopefully) my original question.
LikeLike
Jeff. Are you a Muslim as the result of a life-long study of science, philosophy and the history of the world and all its many religions, or just because you happen to have been born and raised in Pakistan? As a friend of yours for over 40 years – albeit most of them at a distance – and as a Brit, born and raised a Christian in the UK, I’m afraid that I still don’t know, but would really love to. I had realised that Christianity was a load of crap before I was out of my teens, but I was so brainwashed that I even said a little farewell prayer to “God” as I left in 1965 and I identified as an agnostic rather than as an atheist until the early 2000s, when my spiritual quest to find a common thread that could justify religious beliefs in my research for “Transcending Terror” (2004) led me to realise that the only common thread is one that could be labelled ethical or humanist, and that every other aspect of every religion that I studied only degraded its ethical or human value, so I now identify as an atheist, humanist and world citizen. So, I ask again: Why do you identify as “An American Muslim”? And do you really think that the answers to humanity’s problems lie in the aggressive pursuit of Muslim identity politics?
LikeLike
When all the points you raise are conflated as a single concern or thought, then it does become difficult to answer properly. However, your points must not be conflated because they WILL lead to misunderstandings. If life-long study of one’s religion were the criterion for determining whether one can claim a religion or not, then I doubt if more than a handful of people would qualify and I would not be amongst them.
I am Muslim first, because of an accident of birth. I have been a very casual Muslim for the longest time as I am sure you have observed. After 9-11, like many other Muslims, I thought to myself, “I need to understand my religion better because the Western world and US in particular, is targeting us and persecuting us as existential threats to ‘the civilization'”. I learned about Islam and discovered that while there are passages in the Quran that are not appealing, the calls to forgive, to show mercy, have charity and live with Justice were far, far, greater. I also heard the many calls by Muslim fanatics that did not resonate with me, nor were they in keeping with the directives in the Quran but they were presented as such and that fooled many ignorant Muslims into believing they were doing God’s work when they resorted to violence. Over time, I have been quarrelling often, with such opportunistic people.
I learned about Judaism and Christianity and discovered that while they too had many rather horrific passages in them, overall, they were all leading people to a good path. As in Islam, I found far too many Christians and Jews also misinterpreting their religions in order to further violence. I also found this to be true for Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism. In my opini9on, too many people of every faith, have been brainwashed into mal interpretations of their faith but getting beyond such brainwashing is a distant goal.
If one were to split hairs, I guess I would have to say I am Muslim more in faith than in religion; I don’t have much time for people who claim to follow Islam, they put in their attendance cards but as for following the commands in the Quran, they are sadly short. I am an American Muslim because this is my country. I know people seek to demand a choice between Islam or American, but those people are no different from ISIS or Taliban and I have time for none of them.
“Muslim identity politics”? That has been forced upon Muslims in America and Western world. Before 9-11, I did not know any Muslim who had much interest in politics AS A MUSLIM. But after we were and are continuously identified as Muslim (the “Other”) getting involved in politics as Muslims became an imperative to survive. We are still far from the goal of obtaining political recognition as a group that must have equal protections and equal treatment, but we are slowly getting there.
LikeLike
Thanks Jeff. Just as I’d feared. Cheers, Ian.
LikeLike