But I have another question. The question is on “Jihad” – “holy war”. Western Muslims like to say, “Jihad is a struggle within oneself to keep the five pillars of Islam within your own life.” It is a holy war within your own self.
But it is still defined in the Quran and the Hadith as a struggle to defend Islam and, the fundamentalists say, to advance it for Mohammed said, “Allah has commanded me to make war against all nations and all people until all say there's no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet”.
He organized 65 military campaigns and personally organized 27. To this day the indigenous people of North Africa, the Berbers, are second-rate citizens in their own country; the Kurds are second-rate citizens in their own ancient homeland. Why is Iran, which as a Zoroastrian nation, Muslim? Why in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia Muslim? Why is Turkey Muslim? Why is Iran Muslim? They were invaded and occupied and forced to become Muslim at the point of a sword. That is the history Islam. Everyone knows it. How then can it be a religion of peace?
Now again, westernized Muslims would say, “Jihad is the struggle within oneself”. I accept that there are those who do not agree with it and they will put it in the same category as what the English did to the Irish or what the Europeans did to the American Indians and so forth, but let's look at Jihad.
Whether you interpret “Jihad” one way or the other is not the issue. The Quran says, “Allah will give the Muslim victory in the jihad against the infidel”. Irrespective of your view of Israel and Palestine and whose land is it and who was there first or who has the right to be there, let's just look at the subject “Jihad”.
One Arab leader, one Muslim leader after another – both Sunni and Shi’a – have called the struggle “Jihad”. After six Jihads, surrounding Muslim nations – just the Arab ones of 150 million plus in population – cannot defeat less than 5 million Jews. There’s 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, only 13 million Jews. Israel, even with the West Bank, consists of less than 1% of the land that is today Arabic-speaking. Less than 1%. It’s small, it’s surrounded, it’s under-populated, and has none of the vast oil wealth found in the Arabian pan handle, or in Iraq or Iran or Libya. Why is it? If Allah is God, and if He will give the Muslim victory in the Jihad against the infidel, that Israel has proven consistently indestructible?
When I’ve asked this question I've been told it’s because of America. I don't believe God is afraid of America or of any nation. If Allah is God, He’s not afraid of America or Russia or China or India or Britain or France. He’s not afraid of anybody, He’s God! On that I think we can agree. But how can it be because of America if Allah’s going to give you victory?
The fact is, under Nassir when the Soviet Union was backing the Arab-Muslim nations against Israel in 1967, America did not begin backing Israel in any significant way until 1973. East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip were conquered in 1967 – June of ’67 – six years before the Americans began backing them. Your argument makes no sense.
Now the Katub – the Bible, says the Jews would return to the land. Jesus said Jerusalem would be trampled down by the feet of the Gentiles until the time of the Gentile was completed. (Lk. 21:24) They go back to Jerusalem. The prophet Zechariah says they would be there and they would be indestructible because of Jesus. Read it. You can read it in Arabic. They’ll look upon Him whom they have pierced. (Zech. 12:10) When the nations come against Jerusalem He will make war against the surrounding nations.
