The Rationale of the Zawahiri Statements
By Douglas Farah
To many, the statements of al-Zawahiri and other radical Islamists on elections and _jihad_ can be interpreted as the rantings of mad mullahs who hate freedom and the West.
But a careful reading of Islamist texts, provided by such authors as Andrew Bostom and Mary Habek (Knowing the Enemy) show that these reponses are entirely rational within the _jihadi_ world view. This theology and ideology were developed centuries before Israel came into being and long before Western liberal democracies gained currency in the world.
The rationale, taken from Wahhab, Qutb, al Banna and others is simple: Only the Quran, as interpreted by these groups, can guide the world, providing a religious, political and legal handbook that cannot be abridged. Anything that is contrary to these interpretations of Allah's law-including the statements in the Quran itself that speak less harshly of Jews and Christians, deemed to have been made under specific historic conditions no longer applicable-are punishable by death. My entire blog is here.
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