Sheikh Ali Dhere is a Misunderstander of Islam. He doesn’t seem to understand that jihad is primarily an interior spiritual struggle. Nor does he seem to understand that when jihad becomes martial, it is only for defense. Instead, he seems to think that jihad involves offensive warfare to impose the…
Just making it official. After all, the two groups have a common goal — the fundamental goal of all jihad, the imposition of Islamic law. “Somali Islamists al-Shabab ‘join al-Qaeda fight’,” from BBC News, February 1: Somali Islamist rebel group al-Shabab has confirmed for the first time that its fighters…
“They have basically banned everything that is fun, so we feel increasingly bored.” There Is No Fun In Islam* Alert from Somalia: “Somalia Islamist group bans video games,” by Mustafa Haji Abdinur for AFP, January 28: MOGADISHU — Somalia’s Islamist insurgents on Thursday banned video games, one of the last…
What were we fighting for again? “U.N. Seeks to Drop Some Taliban From Terror List,” by Dexter Filkins for the New York Times, January 24 (thanks to Tanguy Veys): KABUL, Afghanistan — The leader of the United Nations mission here called on Afghan officials to seek the removal of at…
However, the Taliban didn’t invent it. Prominent elements of this “dress code” far predate their movement. “Somali militants enforce Taliban-style dress code,” from the Associated Press, December 23: MOGADISHU, Somalia — Residents of a southern Somali town say Islamists are enforcing a Taliban-style dress code. And the sign says, long-haired…
Obama is ready to play ball with the Taliban , and meanwhile, the Taliban are continuing to play a game of their own.
