Many reasons are offered to explain the interminable conflict in the Middle East, especially that of the Muslim Arabs versus Jewish Israel. Foremost in the “blame game” is finger-pointing at Israel—its policies, its geographic space, its history, even its very existence. Arab victimization at the hands of the Jewish state is an oft-repeated canard.
Despite the burgeoning anti-Israel industry, there are still those thinkers, writers, and academics who care enough to look beyond the surface of the conflict, beyond the day-to-day incidents, the relentless media distortion of Israel. They have shown that other factors play a major role. One is Arab tribalism with its concomitant societal organization based on opposition and honor. Another is Muslim worldview, which inculcates in the young the attitudes of grievance and victimhood. Also, there is the question of free will: Peace will not come until Muslim Arabs choose to have it.
However, there is an Islamic concept which is not directly referred to in the above theories of causation, yet is intrinsically part of them—jihad, or holy war. Viewed from an Islamic point-of-view, the struggle against the Jewish state, in what is otherwise a Muslim Middle East, can only be seen as jihad.
Jihad in the Hamas Covenant
Jihad is the Arabic word for "holy war." In general, it means a war waged by Muslims in the cause of their god, Allah. The broader meaning also incudes aspects of eternal reward, opposition to Infidels, and the spreading of Islam, with violent means not being excluded (Duhaime). Euphemistic definitions such as “inner struggle” are often invoked to soften or obscure the warlike meaning; nonetheless, this is the word used by Muslim terrorists themselves. In particular, Hamas in whose 1988 Covenant “jihad” is mentioned 41 times, uses the word in ways that leave no doubt as to its violent meaning:
- "Jihad fighters who sacrificed their lives ..."
- "The banner of jihad in the face of oppressors ..."
- "The jihad fighters of the Muslim Brotherhood ..."
- "They wage jihad in order to raise the banner of Allah ..."
- "There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by jihad."
If those who insist that jihad is an inner struggle are correct, then there a great many of their co-religionists who are mistaken. Muslim-Canadian writer and founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress,Tarek Fatah, however, is forthright: “Any Muslim with a mustard seed of integrity would have considerable difficulty denying the contemporary narrative of jihad in the mosques of the world ... "
Jihad, therefore, does mean armed struggle in the cause of holy war, and it is being taught in mosques worldwide. How big a role does it play in the Arab-Israeli conflict? It is the whole and complete cause, according to ex-Muslim author, Nonie Darwish.
Nonie Darwish: The Role of Jihad, Islamic Holy War
As an opponent of Sharia (Islamic law) and a known supporter of Israel, Nonie Darwish is heavily criticized for her opinions; however, she unequivocally views the Arab-Israeli conflict as a jihad against the Jewish state. In Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law, she asserts, “The Arab-Israeli war is a religious war against any religion other than Islam that dares rule itself in the Middle East. That is the problem in a nutshell, period. Muslim society’s hatred of Jews is simply a reflection of Mohammed’s hateful obsession against them. Very few people recognize this. It is embarrassing and sad.”
Referring to the disparity between the size of Israel (less than one one-thousandth of the Middle East land mass) and the extent of the forces aimed against it, she writes, “Islam owns one-third of the world’s land but is ready to sacrifice several generations of its children, women, and men over Israel, an area of the Middle East that is smaller than the size of New Jersey.” Viewed in this light, it is hard to see the Muslim opposition to Israel as only a protracted land dispute: viewed as jihad, its relentlessly zealous and religious nature becomes clear.
Palestinian Refugees Also Victims of Jihad Ideology
Darwish’s mention of the “sacrificed” generations refers in part to the Palestinian refugees, pawns of the Arab foes of Israel. Whereas the 800,000 Jewish refugees who fled Arab attacks at the time of Israel’s creation—and whose persecution had increased because of that event— have all been absorbed by Israel and around the world, the Palestinian refugees from the same crisis are still living a refugee existence.
Denied citizenship and any significant aid from their Arab kin (even wealthy Saudi Arabia) the Palestinians, their numbers now swollen, are still waiting for the clock to be turned back. However, their existence proves useful by way of illustrating supposed Israeli malfeasance. In other words, the suffering of the Palestinian refugees is tolerated (even prolonged) by other Muslim states because it is seen as part of the jihad against Israel.
Golda Meir’s Views on Middle East Peace
Included in the sacrificed generations of which Darwish writes are many children. There can be no doubt that children—from Gaza, Egypt, Syria, etc.—taught hatred of the Jew in their schools, as she describes, have had their childhood innocence sacrificed, and their future life-paths constricted. Palestinian television regularly encourages young children in the wish to be a martyr. In even more chilling examples, both Hamas, by using children as human shields (Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and Hezbollah, by strapping bomb belts on children (The American Spectator), risk, even kill, their own young. It is all part of the jihad.
The late Golda Meir, prime minister of Israel from 1969-74, understood that this willingness to cause hurt to one’s own children in order to damage an enemy indicates a warped worldview—one which includes jihad as a duty, even for children. Her words reflect the reality that underlies the Arab-Israeli conflict: “Peace will come to the Middle East when the Arabs will love their own children more than they hate us” —in other words, until they reject jihad.
The future course of the Arab-Israeli conflict will be the prime barometer of her words.
Sources:
- Darwish, Nonie, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2008.
- Duhaime Legal Dictionary.
- Fatah, Tarek, The Jew is not my Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 2010.
- "Golda Meir on Peace." Jewish World Library.
- Lewis, Bernard, What Went Wrong? : The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East, New York: HarperCollins, 2002.
- Salzman, Philip Carl, Culture and Conflict in the Middle East. Amherst, NY: Humanity Books, 2008.
- "The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas." MEMRI.
Jen L. Jones - Based in Canada, Jones writes on human rights, history,and the natural world. She focuses also on Turkish and Scottish travel and ...
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