The Gulf Crisis and New World Order — Page 184
Temh Friday Sen11011 Ja11 25, 1991 In spite of this, no Muslim scholar or Muslim ruler has the right to call these wars Islamic Jihad. However, when the Muslims masses are summoned to arms in the name of Jihad, they will enthusiastically answer the call because deep in their hearts and from their sad experiences they had undergone again and again, are aware that there is a strong undercurrent of enmity and animosity against Islam. This animosity underlies and fuels these wars against Muslims. When such people so aroused fight and are killed, I have firm faith in Allah's mercy that He will treat them mercifully even though they cannot be declared to be martyrs in the context of perfect teachings of Islam. These people fight in good faith and firmly believe to right the wrongs and injustices done to Islam, therefore, Allah will treat them with mercy and forgiveness. However, I rep e at that neither the Muslim clergy nor the Muslim rulers have the right to declare their political wars as Jihad even if they are at wars against oppression. HATE BEGETS HATE In fact, the animosity against Islam that I have described is becoming more evident and manifest day by day, and it is a continuing hatred. Vague utterances for peace may be made in public, but an underlying current of hate is detected when the utterances are closely analyzed. U. S. and the West continue to depict Muslims as evil, painting them in very dark colours. These wicked images of Muslims are publicised by the media to the world to subvert Islam. In such an atmosphere, one thing is certain; there can be no peace. The atmosphere is too poisonous for the launching of any peace process, as hate can only beget hate, not peace. All the so called efforts now being hatched to establish peace in the Middle East will come to nought. When so much hate has been sown it is not possible to bring in a harvest of peace, only a harvest of hate. These are seeds of war, not peace. So in effect what the U. S. and the West are now doing will certainly produce turmoil and commotion in that region and destroy all chances of peace in the world. God will, in due course, punish those responsible for this tragedy, because man is helpless. 184