With the modern Muslim fixation on the evil of sexual permissiveness, it would be reasonable to assume that Islam frowns on sex. Prophet Muhammad, however, taught that sex within marriage is an act of worship.

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Of course the earth isn’t going to last forever. Scientists currently estimate we’ve got about 5 billion years (give or take a couple billion) until the Sun wipes out our planet.

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If the body of Jesus was located, without any doubt as to the identity, my opinions of Christianity would not change.

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Before I answer this week's question, let me be very clear: This question is exceptionally offensive and borders on religious bigotry. That a group as good-willed and open-minded as the On Faith moderators would even consider asking a question like, "Is Islam a violent religion?" reveals the astounding depth of prejudice and ignorance about Islam that is rampant in American society and media today.

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With the forum discussing what it means to apologize and to ask for forgiveness, I thought it would be timely to look at what the Qur'an and the Prophet have to say about God's response to our repentance.

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Given the topic, and the current popularity of equating Jihad with war, I thought it might be good to see what the Prophet had to say about jihad.

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In keeping with the theme of the week, here is the story of Jesus as found in the Qur'an. The story is told in several places, with a slightly different focus -- one place talks more about him speaking from the cradle, another focuses more on his death. This selection is more encompassing -- describing the totality of his life.

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While Hitchens and I would disagree about the existence of a God, I do believe that religion (or lack thereof) is created anew by each individual as s/he navigates her or his own faith course.

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The conversation about the affirmation of the Latin mass, and in particular the discussion about the problematic reintroduction of sections of which are anti-semitic, brings to mind an issue that has troubled me for a long time over some of the Islamic liturgy.

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1. WHAT IS JIHAD? UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS DOES ISLAM SANCTION THE USE OF VIOLENCE? WHAT WOULD YOU TELL SUICIDE BOMBERS WHO INVOKE ISLAM TO JUSTIFY THEIR ACTIONS?


The term jihad literally means "struggle" and is understood in the Qur'an to mean struggle for the good -- whether that be an inner struggle for righteousness, or an external struggle for justice. The greatest jihad, according to the Prophet, is the struggle to control one's baser desires. He described the strong man as one who could control his temper, not one who could beat others in a fight.

Accordingly, you will hear many American Muslims describe their daily life as a jihad. In particular, they will refer to the struggle to observe religious laws in a society which presents countless opportunities, incentives, and even pressure to violate them as a jihad. Wearing hijab is often described as a jihad, as it exposes the wearer to constant quetioning and negative judgements. So too observing rules against the consumption of alcohol, which may exclude American Muslims from social and business gatherings, is often seen as a struggle between the desire to get ahead in this world and the desire to uphold Islamic law.

More difficult than either of those is the spiritual quest. At a time when many Muslims feel under seige -- from extremists who are wreaking havoc among our bretheren in the Muslim world and attacking our homes, from Islamophobes who make egregious attacks on Islam itself, and from those who see every Muslim as a potential terrorist -- the challenges to American Muslims' faith and spirituality have never been greater.

For many of us, 9-11 was a shock not only because our homeland had been attacked in a horrific manner, but because people calling themselves Muslims had done it. It provoked a deep spiritual crisis within the community, making us question if fundamental beliefs that Islam is a religion of peace, inclusive, and teaching intercommunal harmony were indeed accurrate, making us confront questions of how devout Muslim could have come to the conclusion that such a vile act could ever be justified as Islamic. For some it was a wakeup call that they could not turn a blind eye to the extremism festering within our midst; for others it was more tempting to simply walk away from the Muslim community, to say these people are not my people. For a large part of the community, this spiritual crisis resulted in denial that 9-11 and other acts of terrorism were committed by Muslims at all.

Whatever the spiritual response, the struggle to hold onto one's faith, to continue to improve one's character, to reach out to others through good deeds, has indeed been an intense struggle for many American Muslims. Many of us feel caught between the need to defend Islam from those who defame it through fear, ignorance or malice, the imperative to support those Muslims who have been unfairly targete in the war on terror, and the clear and desperate need for reform within Muslim communities, whether it be confronting extremism or oppressive governments.

Slight wonder then, that daily life is seen as a jihad by many American Muslims.

This inner aspect of jihad is, of course, not the only manifestation of struggle. The Prophet told us, "When you see an evil action you must change it with your hand; if you cannot do so, with your tongue; if you cannot do so, change it with your heart." (Bukhari and Muslim) He described jihad as being with the tongue, the pen, the hand and the sword.

The first refers to sermons, lectures, exhorting one another to good. The second includes scholarly work, jurisprudence, articles, inspirational poetry. The third is working for good with your wealth and your time -- charity and volunteerism. The last refers to military struggle.

Depsite the many charges that Islam requires Muslims to slay all non-Muslims until they agree to convert, this is not the case. Rather jihad by the sword is specifically to relieve oppression. The Qur'an says, "How could you refuse to fight in the cause of God and of the utterly helpless men and women and children who are crying, "Oh our Sustainer! Lead us forth out of this land whose people are opressors, and raise for us, out of Your Grace, a protector, and raise for us, out of your Grace, one who will bring us succor!" (4:75)

It also is ruled by strict limitations. It is not to be aggressive, only defensive as God says, "Fight in God's cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression, for, verily, God does not love the aggressors." (2:190) If the other party sues for peace, then the Muslim side should cease fighting. "But if they desist, then let all hositlity cease, save for those who continue to commit oppression." (2:193) The Prophet further stipulated that in the course of warfare, non-combatants should not be harmed, nor should buildings, orchards, or farmland be destroyed. The Qur'an also tells us that our response should be commensurate with the provocation. "And one who attacks you, attack him in like manner as he attacked you." (2:194).

These precepts, coupled with the Prophet's teaching that suicide is a sin, make it clear that terrorist acts such as 9-11, the London, Bali and Madrid bombings cannot be justified by the Qur'an or the Prophet's words. Any attempt to do so by certain Muslim factions is illegitimate, dervied by twisting some texts and purposefully ignoring others.

At the same time, it is also quite clear that the Qur'an does not preach universal and unilateral pacifism. If all other means -- jihad via tongue and pen, ie negotiation and diplomacy -- fail, Muslims should stand up against oppression, aggression, and injustice militarily. It is a precept that I find resonant with the values I grew up with in New England, where the slogan "Give me Liberty or give me death!" was commonly championed.

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It seems to me that there are two visions of how to implement the First Amendment. The first involves ensuring that the government does not promote any religion. The second prefers to allow all religions equal opportunity. I find myself torn between these two positions as the first is stifling and over-controlling, while the second is impractical, as there are thousands of religions practiced throughout the world.

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Religion and Science aim at two different things. The former seeks to encourage us to develop our characters, or moral sensibilities, and to expand our relationship with the Divine Other. The latter seeks to describe the natural world and how it works. Together, they can form a powerful motivation for environmental activism.

Scientists have increasingly shown us that man's impact upon our world is devastating, to the point that we threaten the existence of life as we know it on this planet. Religions teach us that our responsibility is to be stewards of this world, to care for it as the treasure that it is, to do no harm -- to the world, and to fellow humans and animals (and depriving them of a sound environment is surely a grave harm).

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There are days when I dread opening the newspaper. The report of a 20-year-old Afghani man (dare I call him boy) being sentenced to death for reading an internet article about the possibility of women's rights to multiple marriages within an Islamic framework, and distributing it to his class, is just one example of why. There is so much wrong with what happened to this young man, not just in terms of basic human and civil rights, but also in terms of blatant violations of Islamic morality and legal codes, that I don't even know where to begin.

First of all... the issue of freedom of information. The idea that reading an article and distributing it for discussion could be an affront to Islam is ludicrous. The Qur'an is filled with injunctions to study history, to learn from the successes and mistakes of others. The book itself tells stories of attempted seduction, theft, murder, arrogance and greed. If we were to read nothing but what is currently considered legal, whole portions of the Qur'an itself would have to be excluded from our library.

Couple that with the Prophet's injunction to seek knowledge even unto China (which at the time was not a hotbed of Islamic learning...) and it becomes obvious that we are to learn from whatever source we can, and that no topic is off limits for discussion.

Even if Sayed had energetically propounded the opinions expressed in the article, that is no sin.

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