The British Government and Jihad — Page 8
8 It should be remembered that today’s Islamic scholars (who are called maulav i s ) completely misunderstand jihad and misrepresent it to the general public. The public’s violent instincts are inflamed as a result and they are stripped of all noble human virtues. This is in fact what has happened. I know for certain that maulav i s who persist in propagating these blood-spattered doctrines are in fact responsible for murders committed by ignorant, egotistical people who know nothing of why Islam was forced to fight battles in its early history. When these maulav i s meet present day rulers, they bow down as if ready to prostrate; but among their own kind they insist repeatedly that this country is “ d a r-ul- h arb ” [the zone of war]. They consider jihad to be obligatory in their hearts, and few of them think otherwise. They adhere so strongly to their doctrine of jihad —which is completely misguided and entirely contra- dicts the teachings of the Holy Qur’ a n and h ad i th— that they label as “ dajj a l ” [Antichrist] and advocate the murder of anyone who objects. A fatwa [edict] of this kind was pronounced against me some time ago. Some of this country’s maulav i s labelled me a dajj a l and a k a fir [infidel] and—without fear of the British Government’s laws—published a fatwa stating that I should be killed, and that it would be a blessed deed to loot my belongings or abduct the women of my house. What was the reasoning for this? Only that I incurred their displeasure because I am the Promised Messiah and preach against their concept of jihad , rejecting notions of the bloodthirsty Messiah and Mahdi whose advent would, they had hoped, allow them to engage in loot and plunder.