Understanding Jihad
BY
In many discussions about Hamas, Hamas is described as a “terrorist organization” (which it is) but with no reference at all to Jihad (“Holy War”) in its Islamic context.
Mohammed invented Jihad in Medina in 623 C.E. after 1-1/2 years of unsuccessfully trying to convert the Jews and others there by using peaceful persuasion as Mohammed previously had done in Mecca from 610 to 622 C.E.
Mohammed’s peaceful persuasion method used in Mecca for 12 years before his own tribe, the Quraysh, drove him out of Mecca was a failure resulting in only 150 Muslim converts from Mecca who traveled with Mohammed to Medina.
After being unsuccessful in his mission in Mecca and then in Medina, Mohammed turned completely to “Jihad” in which he decided, according to the various hadiths (his sayings and deeds) and as recorded in his biography, the Sira, that every single rule of civilized behavior could and should be breached including committing murder, torture, terror, oppression and humiliation, rape, beheading, burning, beating, sex slavery, stealing, lying (“Takiyya”), hostility, insults, threats, mockery, maligning, cursing and any other form or threat of violence in order to achieve submission of the infidels — PROVIDED IT WAS DONE IN THE NAME OF JIHAD FOR THE SPREAD OF ISLAM.
This is what Hamas did to Israelis in southern Israel on October 7th.
Jihad offers a “win/win” result to Jihadist Muslim “holy warriors” or “mujahideen” whether they live or die in pursuing Holy War. If they live and carry out their mission to convert the Kafirs (infidels) by offering Islam or death by the sword, they win. If they die trying, they become “shahids” (martyrs) and still win by securing two important post mortem benefits under Islam: (i) they go directly to the highest Islamic heaven where they eternally cavort with 72 houris or virgins and (ii) they skip “the terrors of the grave,” the Muslim belief that right after burial angels, Munkar and Nakir, appear in the grave and terrifyingly fight over the soul of the Muslim to determine whether he is to be sent to heaven or to hell.*
While westerners may criticize the Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 as “savages, murderers, barbarians and animals,” it is important to note that the Hamas terrorists do not see themselves that way at all. Rather, they consider themselves as holy warriors (mujahideen) carrying out the sacred mission of Islamic Jihad to conquer the “kufaar” (the infidels)** and spread Islam throughout the entire world as Allah and Mohammed have commanded.
While “terror” and “humiliation” are two of the many devices used by Hamas and all the other Islamist groups such as Hizbullah, the Houthies, Islamic Palestinian Jihad, Boko Harem and the Iranians, these are tactics that do not constitute or describe the strategic goal of Islam.
A strong clue of this is displayed in the Hamas name.
“Hamas” is an acronym for the “Islamic Resistance Movement.”
Note the word “Islamic” — which many commentators often never mention.
What does “Islamic” mean?
The mission of Islam is to spread Islam throughout the world from “Dar al-Islam” (The House of Islam – those Muslim countries and territories already under the rule of Islam and the Sharia) to “Dar al-Harb (“The House of War” – those countries not yet conquered by or amalgamated with Islam which Jihadi process was initiated by Mohammed in Arabia in the last nine years of his life and has been continuously underway by Jihadist Muslims since his death in 632 C.E.)
Only in advancing Islam by violent Jihad, a proven, successful strategy invented and used by Mohammed to conquer Arabia,*** will all the world eventually become part of “Dar al-Islam” to be led by a reinstituted worldwide Islamic caliphate. These have been and continue to remain their eternal goals.****
All Israelis and westerners need to understand the Islamic religious foundation and motivation of Hamas which should not be omitted or glossed over as so many western oriented analysts do — largely because they know little to nothing about Islam.
Consider all the research and study poured into Holocaust Studies regarding the Nazis and their allies in persecuting and murdering six million Jews before and during The Second World War. Why are we not spending even a fraction of this time and money in studying Jihad and its violent Jihadists who attempted the same thing on October 7, 2024 in the Hamas attack on southern Israel — and have promised more? This is an ongoing holocaust taking place in real time.
Accordingly, I strongly suggest that this subject be studied, discussed and elucidated in webinars and conferences with reputable Islamic scholars such as Dr. Mordechai Kedar in Israel or Robert Spencer in New York so that Israelis and their supporters will have a correct understanding of Hamas and their Jihadist motivation.
Only in doing so can Israel strategize for the long term by truly understanding and addressing the violent motivations of the Jihadists and ultimately execute the de-radicalization of Hamas, Gaza and the Palestinian Authority.
* The Terrors of the Grave.
Mosab Hassan Yousef (“The Green Prince”) who wrote “Son of Hamas” (2011), after seeing the burial of a Muslim corpse, describes the terrors of the grave as follows: “This man’s soul will soon return to him and two terrible angels named Munkar and Nakir will come out of the sky to examine him. They will grab his body and shake him, asking, ‘Who is your God?’ If he answers incorrectly, they will beat him with a big hammer and send him down into the earth for seventy years. Allah, we ask you to give us the right answers when our time comes!… And if his answers are not satisfactory, the weight of the dirt above him will crush his ribs. Worms will slowly devour his flesh. He will be tormented by a snake with ninety-nine heads and a scorpion the size of a camel’s neck until the resurrection of the dead, when his suffering may earn Allah’s forgiveness.” (p. 17).
** Kufaar.
While the common translation of the Arabic word “kufaar” (plural of “kafir”) is “infidels,” the meaning of this Arabic term is very derogatory and demeaning. The Arabic word is linguistically related to the Hebrew root word “CFR” which means “to cover up.” The Muslim view of non-Muslims such as Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and others, is NOT that these non-Muslims have a legitimate but different religious path to God which should be respected. Rather, it is the opposite. They consider that “Kufaar” (Plural: “Cover Uppers”) know very well that there is only one true religion, that of Allah and Islam and one true prophet, Mohammed, but they evilly cover it up to promote their own false religions.
*** Mohammed’s Conquest of Arabia.
An Islamic scholar, Professor Bill Warner, has calculated that Mohammed initiated a raid, battle, expedition or other armed event 65 times which is on average every six weeks from the time that Mohammed adopted Jihad in Medina as his strategy in 623 C.E. to the time of his death in 632 C.E. In 622 C.E. Mohammed had 150 followers who traveled with him on the “Hijra” (Migration) from Mecca to Medina. Following nine years of Jihad, at his death in 632 C.E. he had secured an estimated 100,000 followers and Islam was the only religion left in Arabia. Waging Jihad was immensely successful.
**** Jihad Forever.
Islam commands that Muslims will wage Jihad until the “last Day” when the Day of Judgement will occur. As such, it is an eternal, never ceasing commandment. Muslims know that temporary set backs in achieving victorious Holy War will be overcome based on Mohammed’s experience with the Treaty of Hudabiyya. In 628 C.E. Mohammed attempted to re-enter Mecca (having been driven out in 622 C.E.) to pray at the Kaaba. His forces were not strong enough at the time so he signed the 10 year Treaty of Hudabiyya which regulated when and how many of his forces could pray at Mecca’s Kaaba each year. Two years later, some Muslims skirmished with the Meccan polytheists. Mohammed used the two years to build up his forces so he then broke the Treaty of Hudabiyya and proceeded to conquer his home town of Mecca. From this lesson Muslims learn to be patient and wait to conquer, if they need to do so, until they are stronger, their enemy is weaker — or both.