Good thing that Jihad is really some sort of benign inner struggle,
and that Westerners have been misinformed by a tiny minority of
extremists who give Islam and Jihad a bad name. Someone like me
might think (wrongly) that "pick up a gun and fight against the 
Government" means to pick up a gun and fight against the Government.

Good thing that Western leaders know better, and know that Islam is
a noble religion of peace that has been hijacked by extremists and
terrorists, whose followers don't really want Sharia law etc.

==================================================================

Kabul clerics rally behind Taliban

Urge worshippers to `pick up a gun' against government
Death toll from surge in violence surpasses 190 over 5 days
May 22, 2006. 01:04 AM
CHRIS SANDS

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

KABUL - Clerics in Kabul mosques are urging worshippers to join 
the Taliban's fight against the Afghan government and international
troops.

Insurgency has spread recently, with many provinces falling under
control of Islamists intent on driving out foreign forces. Encouraged
by this growing militancy, some imams here believe the time is right
to call for holy war.

[...]

The Taliban now control many rural areas south of the capital and
their increasing success is finding favour with fundamentalists here.

"It's a reality, the fighters are getting stronger and stronger
because the government is alienating the community and the people,"
Abdullah said.

"Real mullahs, imams and anyone with a knowledge of Islam has to 
say it's time for jihad. Those people who are fighting against the
Americans and the government are doing good, but the government and
the Americans say they are terrorists just because they want to give
them a bad name."

[...]

Also his worshippers want Islamic law, sharia, restored.

"Afghanistan is an Islamic country and it should be following the law
of sharia," Abdullah said. "In previous regimes, there were no shops
where they clearly sold alcohol. There were no houses or hotels where
they had prostitutes. Now we do have those things."

At another mosque, built with money donated by a Kuwaiti businessman,
Mustafa said the "time is ready for jihad." He accused foreign troops
of insulting Afghan culture when they raided homes looking for
militants.

"I can't tell them directly to start jihad because then I will get
into trouble," said Mustafa, 37. "But I will tell them to go away and
do what they want, because it is forbidden in Islam for soldiers to
search our houses."

Mustafa preaches to about 8,000 Muslims every Friday. His mosque's
exterior is decorated with posters of Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, an extremist
MP and ex-warlord whose forces devastated Kabul in the 1990s civil
war.

Imam Mohammed Sadiq happily gave his surname. As the gap between 
rich and poor grows, he said a call to jihad "is getting nearer 
and nearer."

[...]

Full article at "Toronto Star" ...
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/
Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1148248211722&call_pageid=968332188492


Cheers, Steve..

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