ThomasT said:
Point taken. But here's some, I think relevant, Wiki links:
War
Jihad
Militant extremist mujahideen see the encroachment of Western culture as a threat to fundamentalist Islamic society. They're engaged in the dutiful struggle to defend Islam.
That is certainly one interpretation, and although the vast majority of Muslims I've known believe in a personal Jihad, not a militant one... there's a huge variation over multiple cultures and 1.* billion poeple.
I've also met a guy with a green flag and sword yelling, "Jiiihaaad, Jihaaaad, Allahu akbhar, die jehudi!" (in Saudi Arabia)... so... yeah, some people really take this thing to an extreme. In terms of real cost, and cost of lives, I'm generally more concerned with fundamentalist Christians with endless litigation over "morals", and abortion, a war on Christmas, stem cell research, etc.
Still, I'm saying this so that you unerstand, that I grasp your point. I'd also say that the international terrorist 'Mujahideen' are a creation of 2 superpowers... both of whom are now experiencing blowback. If there is a war here, it's the end of proxy warfare between us (the USA), and the former USSR.
Look, Timothy "Can't Die Fast Enough" McVeigh thought he was at war too... I think he was a criminal in the class, "terrorist." Nations declare war, people can declare whatever they want, as long as they don't mind being killed by nations. We don't define criminals as they define themselves, we do so according to national and international norms, jurisprudence, and law.
I admit, the Bush rhetoric muddied that for many, but it doesn't change matters. It's not a war. Reagan didn't mistake the bombing in Germany, and his response in Libya, for war... all conflict and violence, however it's framed by the participants, is not war.
So, Muslims believe that the Quran is the literal and unadulterated word of god... which is rough, because that means you don't have the out nearly ever other religion does; writings of men, inspired by a god or gods. You have the commentary (Hadiith), so you have a small group that is highly educated in terms of religious scholarship, but with littlle lattitude. A "moderade Muslim" is going to always have issues with the West, and visa versa, and with themselves.
I've noted 2 major routes:
1.) Using commentary and interpretation as justification for action (from masturbation, to war)
2.) Bank on god being merciful.
To be really blunt, that sounds a lot like more religions that not... don't mistake the clash of cultures with a clash of faiths. Don't mistake all violent conflict for war.