As I was reading through Zad al-Ma'ad by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (student of renowned Hanbali scholar, Ibn Taymiyya) I began thinking about the Islamic concept of Jihad.

Much has been made about the distinction between Jihad al-Akbar (The Greater Jihad, a spiritual and internal struggle for good) and Jihad al-Asghar (The Lesser Jihad, the outer jihad). My thoughts centered on the latter. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya names jihad as 'dharwat ul-Sanam' (lit. pinnacle of the camel's hump) of Islam.

He says (and I translate) that "Jihad is the pinnacle of the summit of faith, and the prophet experienced it in all its states". Al-Jawziyya divides the outer jihad into several categories. Among them:

1) Jihad al-Lisan (tongue)
2) Jihad al-Qalam (pen)
3) Jihad al-Qalb (heart)
4) Jihad al-Sayf (sword)

1) Jihad of the tongue, which is professing the "truth of Islam" to the unbelievers in an attempt to convert them, this also includes speaking against "injustice".
2) Jihad of the pen, writing against injustice or in support of the faith.
3) Jihad of the heart. If there is an injustice which cannot be stopped by word or deed, knowing its evil in the heart is a jihad.
4) Jihad of the sword.

This is where I came to rest.The jihad of the sword is two fold:
1) Ibtida'iyya (offensive)
2) Dafa'iyya (defensive).

The first is used to spread Islam into the Dar al-Harb (Realm of war) and the second is to defend the Dar al-Islam (Realm of Islam). I noticed further that in Islam there are two forms of general obligation:
1) Fard Ayni (Individual obligation)
2) Fard Kifaya (communal obligation)

The Greater Jihad falls in the first category and the Lesser Jihad in the second. This is important because Jihad al-Ibtida'iyya is an OBLIGATION. It is obligatory to engage in offensive jihad against the non-believers. It is obligatory on the community, thus not everyone must take up the sword against the 'kufar' (Infidels), but there must be some who do.

In this sense, the 9/11 atrocities where the manifestation of an Islamic obligation. For any objections to the loss of innocent life, the Islamic position is that it is permissible as long as pecunniary restitution is made to the families of those lost. It is also permissible in Islamic law to use human shields in the performance of both offensive and defensive jihad. Suicide, however, is indeed forbidden.As westerners we must look carefully at this doctrine of mandatory and exclusive warfare. The world shall be reduced to:

1) Dar al-Islam, where all will be Muslim. Those that remain Christian or Jewish will be forced to pay a sizeable tax. All those not in these two groups will be given the option of conversion to Islam, or death.

2) Dar al-Harb. The non Muslim world. This world is in a perpetual state of warfare with Islam.

Occassional treaties are acceptable, only so long as it increases Muslim strength for another onslaught. It is far more reminiscent of Orwellian war, which never ceases. We should look hard at the dystopia that this form of Islam seeks to impose, and determine how best to deal with it.