Jihad: "To Struggle" - it refers to struggle against those who do not believe in Allah, or to protect against the enemies of Islam, or armed struggle against persecution, or the inner struggle of a believer to fulfill his religious duties (Wikipedia. Jihad).
Herem: "Devote" or "Destroy" - a mode of secluding, and rendering harmless, anything imperilling the religious life of the nation, or the uncompromising consecration of property and dedication of the property to God without possibility of recall or redemption, or the total destruction of the enemy and his goods at the conclusion of a campaign (Wikipedia. Herem).
The above vocabulary words will be important later on.
I don't often feel like posting political blogs; not unless they irk me to the point where I feel the need to clarify a few things in the face of ongoing, and compulsive, ignorance. And, it just so happens that this blog post relates to motorcycles as well. Why? Because of the "2 Million Motorcycle" Ride to Washington D.C. on Sept. 11th, and their obvious goal of countering the "Million Muslim March" that they felt was an affront to everything sacred in Good Ol' 'Murica!
You do realize the same laws that allowed those bikers to assemble are the same that allows the groups you disagree with to assemble as well, right? Spelled out very clearly in the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. Does anyone get the point I'm trying to make? You can't, out of one side of your mouth, spout a love of this country and out the other side spit on the very freedoms that you so espouse, just because someone who disagrees with you wants to use those same freedoms.
What hit me the most, though, had nothing to do with the motorcyclists. (I sort of knew, going into it, that most of the riders of American-style cruisers (and yes, I'm pointing a finger at the majority of Harley owners on this one) were an incestuous-style group of jingoistic chest-pounders who ride around with some sort of mandate to drink the Far-right, or alt-right, Republican Kool-aid.) What struck me was the ignorance of some of the counter-protesters that showed up in opposition to a rally whose stated purpose was to bring to light the ongoing injustice leveled at Muslim Americans (whether that's what they actually talked about is another matter. The stated purpose of the 2 Million Bikers to DC was to remember the event of September 11th, 2001).
One particularly ignorant sign said "One Nation under God." Setting aside the fact that the founders of this country did not found this country as a Christian nation, this rather asinine sign fails to take into account one major point: The God of Isaac and Ishmael (the sons of Abraham) is one and the same. What that means, boys and girls, is that the Jews, Christians, and Muslims are, in fact, worshiping the same God.
I can understand the need to honor those who died on Sept. 11, 2001. It was a horrible day for this country. But, we can not let ourselves forget the foundations of this country; the Freedoms of Speech and Religion among them. Even if Muslims worshiped a different God, this fact would still hold true and they should never be marginalized for it. Part of the problem was the media dubbing their rally as the "Million Muslim March," and insisting that their entire purpose was to, somehow, negate the involvement of Islamic Terrorists in the attack. Fewer than 200 showed up. Yeah, that's one heck of an onslaught, 150 semi-delusional conspiracy theorists vs. around 800,000 bikers.
Let's not forget, folks, that the word that we should be focusing on is "Terrorist" and not "Muslim" or "Islamic." Terrorists come from every religion (KKK, anyone?).
To let prejudices cloud our actions against fellow Americans in inexcusable, no matter what the subject matter (unless they are supporting mass genocide. Still can't get behind that one).
And for those who think that the Koran is alone in providing a justification for such terrorist acts, via Jihad, I return your attention to the word Herem above. This word is Jewish, and is "justified" several times in the Old Testament, most notably with the destruction of Jericho. In fact, the Israelites were punished by God if they didn't kill every living thing in the city (but, what am I saying? Right-wing religious nut-jobs love hand-picking only the passages that suit them).
The majority of Muslim scholars refer to two types of Jihad. The "lesser jihad" refers to physical struggles against those who attempt to oppress them and their beliefs. The "greater jihad" refers to an inner struggle to live a devout and religious life.
So, given just the basic above information, jihad is typically less violent than the Jewish alternative.
If there is any piece of motorcycling that I do not enjoy it's the seemingly endless association of motorcycling, particularly of Harley-Davidsons (and, by extension, cruiser riders), with less of the spirit of what America is supposed to be and more of what the Christian Right-Wing wants it to be.
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