There is no Islam without Jihad

Obama's policy on this? Obama's counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan calls jihad a "legitimate tenet of Islam," arguing that the term "jihadists" should not be used to describe America's enemies.

Saudi Columnist: 'There Is No Islam without Jihad' Memri

Anas Zahed, a columnist for the Saudi government daily Al-Madina, criticized Arab and Muslim intellectuals who limit the term jihad to a personal, spiritual struggle and reject its interpretation as waging war against occupation, which he said is its principle meaning.
Following are excerpts:

"Islam without jihad is the product of colonialism and is in no way connected to the Islam of Muhammad. Without question, the greatest jihad is personal jihad, and therein lies the proof that the term jihad in Islam is not limited [solely] to waging war... [But] this does not mean that the term jihad does not include many other aspects, among them those which relate to the individual's responsibilities to society, and the relations of the [Muslim] society and ummah with societies and countries that declare war on a Muslim state.
"[However,] ever since the American [declaration of] war against what is called terrorism, there has emerged a group of Arab and Muslim authors and academics who try to limit jihad to one dimension, namely to personal jihad. This is exactly what happened in India during the period of British colonialism, when the Qadian sect, also known as Ahmadiyya, emerged and rejected the principle of fighting the colonialists. [They] abolished the duty of jihad in the sense of waging war, and were content with preaching merely personal jihad.

"What is striking is that these preachings, which were intended to rescind the duty of jihad from Islam, existed then, and still exist now, alongside the most brutal type of imperialism and occupation ever known to the Islamic world, and specifically to the Arab world. This fact sheds doubt on the intent of the philosophers, authors, and members of the media who took it upon themselves to disseminate a 'friendly' Islam that obligates its followers to live with occupation, [population] transfer, the resettlement of land, and the expulsion of its inhabitants by force of arms.
"I completely understand that we Muslims must reexamine the term jihad, after the extremist terrorist gangs have attempted to appropriate this noble term. Likewise, I completely understand that we are bound by the conditions and limitations of [declaring] jihad, namely [that jihad can only be declared when] Muslims are being expelled from their land and [are subjected] to religious coercion.

"But I do not at all understand Muslims' calls for the reexamination of the term jihad from a viewpoint that rejects declaring war on those who occupy their land, kill the innocent, destroy homes, and expel millions. Islam is a religion of justice, and the most basic principle of justice demands that evil be opposed and not surrendered to. It goes without saying that occupation is the severest form of evil. If we add to occupation the resettlement of land and expulsion [of population], we arrive at the greatest degree of evil that can befall man. There is no Islam without jihad."[1]
Endnotes:

Honduras Under Siege

GADJO
War is a Racket

Many years ago Major General Smedley Butler described US activities below the Mexican border for all time. He rose through the commissions to become the leading Marine Corps figure of his era.
In 1934 Prescott Bush asked him to lead a 500,000 mercenary force to overthrow the Roosevelt Administration. Instead, he informed the US authorities.

Honduras Under Siege
In Honduras Roberto has attempted the latest coup d'etat. He has the backing of the "best" people. The rich landowners, the US agricultural cartels, the Canadian mining companies and US big oil have backed Micheletti at each step. They have ousted democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya and have forced him into exile. To discourage the people from resisting the coup, they have resorted to censorship, curfews, death threats and beatings. In the latest confrontations, the soldiers have fired into the crowds killing several.
They fear the citizens and the gradual ascension of human rights. Leaders in other South American leftist democracies see the coup as a backwards step to the former mean and repressive regimes. They are putting more pressure on the Micheletti leadership to withdraw from power. Economic sanctions include holds on World Bank loan money and US humanitarian aid. The three neighbors of Honduras have sealed the borders.
Even in these beginning stages Hondurans are uniting across former class and cultural lines.

Honduran Clashes Turn Deadly
The Honduran military has thwarted an attempt by Manuel Zelaya, the ousted president, to fly back to the country, as clashes between his supporters and security forces turned deadly. A young boy has become the first to die in the wake of the coup after security forces opened fire on tens of thousands of Zelaya supporters who had gathered in anticipation of his return. Al Jazeera's Mariana Sanchez reports from Honduran capital Tegucigalpa.

Honduran Coup Resistance Grows
An interview with Sandra Cuffe, independent journalist reporting from the streets of Tegucigalpa, Honduras on the day the military opened fire on protesters. Tension peaked as unprecedented thousands marched to the airport to welcome the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, a return that was thwarted by the military.

Samo Samo
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was expected to meet Zelaya late Monday or early Tuesday, a Latin American president told The Miami Herald. And he may not like what he hears: The Obama administration is irked by the fact that Zelaya sought much of his advice from Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez." [McKlatchy]
Washington has joined leaders from across the Americas in trying to bring end to the crisis and seek Zelaya's return to Tegucigalpa. The Organization of American States, which has stated that Zelaya's return is not negotiable, is seeking a compromise with Honduran legislators and judges.

The stakes are high: as early as Tuesday, Washington may cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in aid Honduras gets.

In the Peruvian Rain Forest a Few Weeks Ago the World Deserted…..

The Indigenous human beings who live there. Against International Law and precedence three Canadian mining companies and three US oil firms.

An Exile Returns to Tibet

Mayank Sufi Austen talks to a young Tibetan; who went back to Lhasa and says;

"I was a foreigner in my homeland. I didn't know Chinese and it was everywhere. In restaurants, menus would be written in Chinese and I would ask stewards what was what. I would pass by the city's only theater that screened Hollywood films, dubbed only in Chinese. It was difficult to make out things. I was lost."

Global Voices

The Rising Cost of Baseball Tickets

Why does everyone assume elections will take place this year? As expressed in NSPD51, the President can state an emergency and declare Martial Law at his discretion.
Has anyone been able to change his course in a meaningful way?
Does he have a reason to retire?
Living abroad for 25 years, I'd like to see a ballgame or two. If the price of admission includes prison and torture, I'll stay where I am.