Terrorists use extremist materials

The Age Newspaper has published an article which says:

“Extremist literature found in the homes of five Sydney men accused of a terror plot described jihad as a Muslim obligation and said one hour in battle was worth 70 years of prayer, a court has been told.”

I can only assume the extremist material they are talking about is the central book of the Muslim faith – that Koran.  The revered text penned by the religions creator is ripe with explicit and implicit instructions for violent jihad against the unbeliever.  Here are a few examples highlighted by Sam Harris’s excellent book, “The End of Faith”:

“Jihad is your duty under any ruler, be he godly or wicked.  A single endeavor (of fighting) in Allah’s Cause in the forenoon or in the afternoon is better than the world and whatever is in it.”

“A day and a night fighting on the frontier is better than a month of fasting and prayer. Nobody who dies and finds good from Allah (in the Hereafter) would wish to come back to this world even if he were given the whole world and whatever is in it, except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed again (in Allah’s Cause).” 

“He who dies without having taken part in a campaign dies in a kind of unbelief.” 

“Paradise is in the shadow of swords.”

“Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it. But you may hate a thing although it is good for you, and love a thing although it is bad for you. God knows, but you know not” (2:216).

Perhaps this is unfair, since many Muslims use the Hadith to interpret the Koran, but alas this makes matters worse:

Muslim (1:33) – the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah

Bukhari (8:387) – Allah’s Apostle said, “I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah

Ibn Ishaq: 327 – “Allah said, ‘A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion.’”

Ibn Ishaq: 992 – “Fight everyone in the way of Allah and kill those who disbelieve in Allah.”  Muhammad’s instructions to his men prior to a military raid.

Ibn Ishaq: 327 – “Allah said, ‘A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion.’”

This is not to say that all Muslims are violent bigots hell bent for total domination of the world.  Just like Christianity, many have managed to successfully ignore the violent parts of their central holy book and wish to live in peace with everyone else.  

This may be a symptom of receiving an education *before* being exposed to the full horror or their parents religion.  However, once a person truly believes the Koran (or any other holy text) is the true and perfect word of the creator of the universe, then the only question that remains is why there are so many people who are not prepared to follow it – even within their own religious sect.

When books such as these are considered perfect when they contain such explicit instructions, then the question really is why are there not *more* terrorist cells springing from all religions whose central texts contain such passages?