A thin line between Islamic Jihad and Terrorism!

By Nadia Khan

Probably Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Professor Zafar Iqbal in 1985, when setting up Lashker-e-Tayyaba (Army of the Pure) and was laying the foundation of Jihad, likely a new version of Jihad, by approving suicide attacks upon civilian women & children, killing innocent non-Muslims, disregarding Shias, independence of Kashmir through guerrilla warfare, and waging Jihad until Islam rules the world, had gone through all those sacred verses of Holy Quran which talk about sanctity of human life, regardless of religion, and those sacred Hadiths (sayings of Holy Prophet peace be upon him) which condemned innocents (women, children, & old men) killing especially in the name of warfare, guerrilla war against non-combatants, & injured soldiers of non-Muslim armies and he must be aware of all those incidents those took place during Holy Prophet days where he had defined the boundaries of Islamic Jihad, as when it becomes essential and what are its boundaries. Among the things which Hafiz Saeed said are: "There cannot be any peace while India remains intact. Cut them, cut them so much that they kneel before you and ask for mercy." further he added: " India has shown us this path. We would like to give India a tit-for-tat response and reciprocate in the same way by killing the Hindus, just like it is killing the Muslims in Kashmir " Likewise, Haq Nawaz Jhangvi while laying the foundation of Anjuman Sipah e Sahaba (Protectors of Companions of Holy Prophet) or Lashker e Jhangvi (Army of Jhangvi, a place in Punjab province), should have gone through the teaching of Islam, predominantly, Quran & Sunnah in its true sense without being biased towards anything controversial, when he waged war against Shias in Jhang, and later in entire Pakistan, which took thousands of lives. Similarly, Masaud Azher, while setting up Jaish-e-Muhammad (Army of Prophet Muhammad), should have understood the teaching of Islam and approved hijacking air planes, killing non-Muslims as he himself got freed with Saeed Omar Sheikh, a prime suspect in Daniel Pearl case, after Indian Airline flight 814 hijacking by 5 activists!!!

On the other hand, in India, Babu Bajrangi of Ahmedabad, Gujrat India, was one of the major lynchpins of 2002 Gujarat genocide, has said on TV in front of number of cameras, "We didn't spare a single Muslim shop, we set everything on fire ¦ we hacked, burned, set on fire ¦ we believe in setting them on fire because these bastards don't want to be cremated, they're afraid of it ¦ I have just one last wish ¦ let me be sentenced to death ¦ I don't care if I'm hanged ... just give me two days before my hanging and I will go and have a field day in Juhapura where seven or eight lakhs [seven or eight hundred thousand] of these people stay ... I will finish them off ¦ let a few more of them die ... at least 25,000 to 50,000 should die." And as per the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) bible, as defined by M S Golwalkar, who became its head in 1944, says: "Ever since that evil day, when Moslems first landed in Hindustan , right up to the present moment, the Hindu Nation has been gallantly fighting on to take on these despoilers. The Race Spirit has been awakening." he further added,To keep up the purity of its race and culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic races â€" the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here ... a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by." 

In reality, Muslims are not targeted community in India ; Dalits (lower caste Hindus) have also been consistently targeted in last few decades. Beside, Muslims &Dalits, recently in Orissa & Bihar, Christians were the target of two and a half months of violence which left more than 40 dead. Forty thousands people have been driven from their homes; half of them now live in refugee camps.

''Babu Bajrangi was out on bail and lives the life of a respectable man in Gujarat . A couple of years after the genocide he left the Vishwa Hindu Preshad (VHP) to join the Shiv Sena. Narendra Modi, Bajrangi's former mentor, is still the chief minister of Gujarat . So the man who presided over the Gujarat genocide was re-elected twice, and is deeply respected by India's biggest corporate houses, Reliance and Tata. writes Arundhati Roy, a prominent Indian writer, recently. India has a long history of advocating herself being a secular state; a common place for religious minorities to live with each other peacefully since Mughal (Akber) e Azam or even before them. That's the dream her founding fathers had dreamt during the days of independence movement, advocated with their full zeal to Muslims, Sikhs, and low-cast Hindus. By looking at the number of communal riots in last few years, it is up to Indian nation, who always admire the secular values of their society, to decide democratically. Either to agree on Ram Rajia demanded by Bhartia Janta Party (BJP) or to maintain the secular nature of India , in coming general elections.

From Islamic perspectives, the root cause of such radical thoughts, now defined by Hafiz Saeed or others, as no Islamic scholar in last 100 years, have interpretedIslamic Jihad as warfare that kills innocents- is presumably internal frustration, especially when Muslims observes their brethren in non-Muslim countries being targeted for denial of their basic rights. Such as Israel, recent attacks upon civilians in Gaza, has refused the right of Palestinians to live a normal life in their own homeland peacefully and India has delayed the resolution of Kashmir issue since 60 years, added army action in held Kashmir killing scores of innocents denying their basic human rights and self determination promise. This internal dilemma of common man & women, attributed to a feeling that 'no space for weak in this uni polarized world', evolves either in the form of suicide attacks in occupied Jerusalem or guerrilla warfare in occupied Kashmir . However it doesn't warrant any concession for attackers but also gives a thought process to global thinkers working for freedom & global peace.

The roots of Jihad start from Afghanistan , since 1979, when a giant aggressor had stepped in to invade the country. Its people, as per their tribal traditions, came out to defend the land. USA and Pakistan came into the scene little late, after few months, after realizing that this war of communism could expand its horizon till hot waters of Middle East . This whole agenda, likely Islamic Jihad for Muslim fighters, left unneeded after 1989, when Russia left the country soon after Geneva accord, leaving space for Americans to rethink and local warlords to decide among themselves. 12 years later, with the fall of twin-towers, a new definition of terrorism has emerged. Friends of yesterday became today's terrorist. In Afghanistan , those who fought for its liberation under CIA and US Govt, after Geneva accord in 1989 became worse elements, later pounded with bombs and missiles elsewhere. The distinguishing line between freedom fighters and terrorists has diminished and a new world order experiencing a new definition. Under that, anyone who is fighting against US or Western interest is considered as terrorist, later termed as Islamic fundamentalist or Islamic terrorist. What if, this new definition could have applied to sub-continent freedom leaders; Gandhi, Patel, or Azad! They have fought fiercely against British rule in India for number of years; spend best of their lives in jails away from their families and children but for a noble cause- to liberate India . Would these 'gentlemen' of sub-continent be considered as terrorists? Of course not, since independence they have been termed as 'freedom fighters' and through them ' India wins Freedom.'

In both Indian and Pakistan , there are many Islamic-Political organizations, promoting Islamic ideology through peaceful ways and Jihad is predominantly based on self improvement. As none of these organization has announced Jihad, the way it is interpreted by radicals, and Jihad by sword has been placed as last item, only once you have encountered an aggressor upon you or you have established an Islamic govt. which provides justice, in its broader sense including food, shelter,  peace, equal chances of progress and social justice, to all regardless of religion, caste or creed within their jurisdiction and now you feel that it is time to invite non-Muslims to adapt this ideal society, which provides better way of social justice among non-Muslims. Even under such circumstances, Islamic govt. has to take it up further rather than private armies waging guerrilla warfare against the enemies of Islam.

Pakistan , even after 60 years, the country has failed to enforce the views envisioned by its founding father; equality, food, social justice, education, shelter, peace, and equal chances of progress. In fact, in last 8 years Pakistan has witnessed worse ethnic and violent moments negating basics of its ideology. If so, then those who are promoting radical thoughts should look at where they live in, ideally waging war against illiteracy, hunger, social injustices, and corruption to work for the formations of true Islamic society in Pakistan. It's a long way and 160 million people are looking for it eagerly since ages - a Pakistan attributing equal rights, peace, prosperity, and justice!!!