Understanding Jihad by Cook David;

Author:Cook, David;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of California Press

. . . a convoy of 150 mujahidin had been captured after running out of ammunition in Takhar . . . after they were captured, U.S. troops using chains hung one mujahid by his arms for six days questioning him about Usama Ben Laden. After six days of the mujahid not saying a word the U.S. troops gave up and asked him about his faith. The mujahid replied that he trusted in Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, and the Holy Qurʾan. Upon receiving this answer, the U.S. troops replied that “Your Allah and Muhammad are not here, but the Qurʾan is, so let’s see what it will do to us.” After this, one U.S. soldier brought a Holy Qurʾan and began urinating over it, only to be joined by other US and Northern Alliance troops who did the same. A little while after this incident, the mujahid was brought down out of the chains and given some water to drink and some flour with which to make bread. The mujahid used the water to wash the Qurʾan, and tried to stitch the Qurʾan together with the flour he was to supposed to make bread with to eat. The report states that the mujahid said that after the incident, the color of the Qurʾan had been turning increasingly red with each passing day, and that the words were disappearing. The mujahid stated that he was sure that Allah will destroy the U.S. and Northern Alliance troops soon.

Sadly, in light of the revelations at the Abu Ghraib prison in the spring of 2004, this description is not as implausible as it should have been.

Clearly this tradition of martyrologies is an important one for radical Islam, and it is striking how similar the themes between classical and contemporary Muslim jihad literature are. In all cases, the motifs of assistance from heaven, seeing visions of paradise and houris, and receiving unexpected aid are prominent. It is extremely important that the bodies of the martyrs reflect the nobility of their death and be treated respectfully, while it is equally important that the bodies of their enemies demonstrate outwardly their torment in hell. Moreover, the stories of the martyrs are usually detailed in such a way as to “prove” that every time a mujahid is martyred, his children will follow in his footsteps. The stories of the martyrs are, according to my analysis, responsive to their environments: some emphasize the miraculous, others the piety of the fighters or their bravery, and yet others the role of women in the fighting. In all cases they serve to prove to the Muslim audience that God is supporting the mujahidin.

Since this is true, we must ask: what is the final vision of the jihad?

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