ALL TERRORISTS ARE BANDITS AND THEIR ‘JIHAD’ OR ‘CRUSADE’ A CRIME AGAINST INTELLIGENCE AND AN INSULT TO ISLAM, JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND ALL FAITHS

Everytime I see a newspaper headline saying ‘Jihad’, I wonder what they are talking about. And when it is followed or preceded by ‘al-Qaeda’ or ‘Taliban’ or ‘Extremist Islam’, or words and names of similar effect, it makes me think again.

I HAVE NO POWER. I cannot stop a person from saying he is fighting for God and the Prophet in a Holy Jihad against the damnable infidels. I am not a newspaper mogul, nor am I the editor. So I also don’t have the power to stop the mass media from repeating the words of these madmen and bandits. Because that is what such people truly are, these men (and sadly, some women) who have hijacked the religion of the heart, the religion of the conscience, the religion of delicate grace, mercy and good manners which is the Treasure of the Prophet, this way of life that man call Islam.

MEDIA MOGULS AND BEARDED IDIOTS. Every time Jihad and Islam and Terror is repeated in the great unwashed mass media, the link is made. Everytime a bearded idiot waves a placard in the streets like “We must kill those who insult Islam!” or some pathetic slogan like “Islam Will Dominate the World!”, I cringe, I turn away and finally, I simply sigh, thinking to myself,” Idiots…”

WE ARE STUCK. Between the media’s insatiable appetite for war, death and terror (well, such headlines sell copies, we all know that) and the idiots with their guns and bombs, skulking in some corner of humanity, dreaming of world domination, we are really stuck, sunshine! Information has become infotainment with emphasis on entertainment and zero on info.

GOD WINS. And let us not forget the right wing fundamentalists nuts who are attempting an aggressive take-over of the Christian faith with their rapturous dream of Armageddon and war in Israel. Sadly, the blood and guts platoon have their representatives in all religion. All lovers of Jesus, Prince of Peace, must be offended by their game too. For they have taken the beautiful message of Christ and turned it into a competition to win the End of Time sweepstakes, just like my own home-grown lunatics with their fatwas. I would be more than pleased to throw these two dimwit tribes together for a right old rumble. But no, they want to drag the rest of the world into the fight to see who wins come End of Time, realising not that at the End of Time, God wins… regardless of whether you are Punch or Judy, a Muslim or a Christian, a Manchester United or a Liverpool soccer fan.

FATWAS AND FAT CATS. And to top off this litany of sorrow, what about those fat cats sitting in their CEO’s chair of the companies that make guns and bombs? The only people happy to see all this news of mayhem and potential mayhem are the merchants of death. They are the real winners whoever wins in the so-called Jihad-Crusade. These fat cats and their politico-puppets who earn their daily bread inciting hatred and the ‘us and them’ ideology.

BY ARMS OR BY WORDS. There is no excuse, no rationale for any unconscionable act of terror against the innocent and civilians. So there is no excuse to support them, either actively or by tacit silence. They are scumbags and blood thirsty bandits, even if they profess to practice the religion of Islam. In fact, the fact that they say they are doing it all in the name of Islam makes it beholden even more for all sane Muslims to reject them. And reject them we must - if not by arms, then by the certainty of our words.

I do not write this posting with pride. I do not bask in the glory of being right. It is with sadness that I share my thoughts with you.

God bless God, God bless the Prophet and may God save all humanity from the plague of religious hubris and material arrogance that is blighting our times. We are talking here on a sad and troubling topic, but I would like to end this posting with a cry for valour, for chivalry and Love!...

1. Desperately in love
There are banners fluttering in the breeze,
Called by the whisper of a silent praise
Sung by someone for Muhammad.

And I sit beneath a blue sky,
And a rising light illuminating
A mosque of my heart.

I am desperately in love with my Lord,
I am desperately in love with His Love,
And I am desperately in love with you.

Have a beautiful and sane day, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.