Roberto+Abazoski

" Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." -Barry Goldwater = = = =

What provoked these Christian and Islamic extremists and how did they justify their actions? This subject is very important because many people think that extremists don't have a cause on why they took an issue to the extreme. This causes stereotypes and gives false information, or people see the issue differently than the extremist.

Jihad means holy war in the Qur’an and also means, “to strive or exert to the fullest”, for example, to strive against an inner struggle. Osama Bin Laden used the definition in the Qur’an and also dictionary to justify his attack on 9/11 by using it in a whole different way. Instead of seeing Jihad as striving to fight an inner struggle, he thought it literally meant creating a war based on his religion.
 * __Extremism in Islam__**:

What caused Osama Bin Laden to lead the plot on 9/11? Osama Bin Laden was mad at the Americans being invited into Saudi Arabia to protect the kingdom right after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Saudi Arabia is the holy land of the Muslims, and non-Muslims aren’t even allowed to set foot in Mecca and Medina. Osama was against this as it would create a deep sacrilege and betrayal. Therefore he wanted the Afghan mujahadin instead, but Secretary of State James Baker and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell convinced the Saudi leaders to allow in the American army. That is how he started the holy war by stating it in his fatwa, declaration of war. “The latest and the greatest of these aggressions, incurred by the Muslims since the death of the Prophet (ALLAH'S BLESSING AND SALUTATIONS ON HIM) is the occupation of the land of the two Holy Places [Mecca and Medina] -the foundation of the house of Islam, the place of the revelation, the source of the message and the place of the noble Ka'ba, the Qiblah of all Muslims- by the armies of the American Crusaders and their allies. (We bemoan this and can only say: "No power and power acquiring except through Allah")...

Through its course of actions the regime has torn off its legitimacy:

(1) Suspension of the Islamic Shari'ah law and exchanging it with man made civil law. The regime entered into a bloody confrontation with the truthful Ulamah and the righteous youths (we sanctify nobody; Allah sanctify Whom He pleaseth). (2) The inability of the regime to protect the country, and allowing the enemy of the Ummah - the American crusader forces- to occupy the land for the longest of years.”

Osama Bin Laden used the Qur’an, the sacred book of Islam, to justify his action with this quote; “O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them; and their abode is hell, and evil is the destination.” (9:73). It means that Osama is referring the unbeliever and hypocrites to the American soldiers and possibly all Americans that aren't Muslim, and to be determined to fight hard as in Jihad because they're evil people that live in hell.

__**Extremism in Christianity**__ Jeffrey Kuhner expresses his hatred of Obama because he thinks, “President Obama is on the verge of achieving his liberal revolution. His goal is to destroy our Judeo-Christian culture and replace it with European-style radical secularism.” He also said that Obama is Affordable Health Act as “rapidly advancing the culture of death – abortion, contraception, and homosexual marriage.” He is also very against the Department of Health and Human Services considering adding contraceptives to the list of medicines covered by insurers. He says it will be forcing a pagan society, a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions or non-Christian. “Promoting widespread contraception is essential to forging a pagan society based on consequence-free sex.”

All these quotes mean that he is against Obama for trying to turn our Judeo-Christian culture into a European-style radical secularism so that the Affordable Health Act will advance the culture of death, abortion, contraception, and homosexual marriage. Also, that he wants everyone to either pay for contraception, and we already see how that if affecting our population and many other issues in the US, than to go consequence-free if you’re sexually active and not having to worry that much about getting pregnant or paying for contraceptives.

Jeffrey Khuner protested about how the Department of Health and Human Services is forging a pagan society based on promoting widespread contraception to be an essential to consequence-free sex. By it being pagan is just like this quote; "Besides, he [Onan] not only defrauded his brother of the right due him, but also preferred his semen to putrify on the ground, rather than to beget a son in his brother’s name. The voluntary spilling of semen outside intercourse between man and woman is a monstrous thing. Deliberately to withdraw from coitus in order that semen may fall on the ground is doubly monstrous (Commentary on Genesis 38:8-10).3" Linking together the quote and Jeffrey Kuhner’s argument, what’s basically said is that using contraceptives so you don’t impregnate a female, is just like saying “The voluntary spilling of semen outside intercourse between man and woman is monstrous.” Also, by consequence-free, it means that if you have sexual intercourse, the consequence is that you have to father or mother a child, but using a contraceptive most of the time makes it consequence-free. For example, the contraceptive didn’t work and you ended up impregnating the female or got pregnant.


 * Works Cited**

"Osama Bin Laden." Photograph. //Osama bin Laden Killed: 'Justice Is Done,' President Says//. Dean Schabner, and Karen Travers. ABC News, 2011. Web. 8 Nov 2011. .

"KhunerHonest." Photograph. //Jeff Kuhner Now Calls Obama Usurper, Said Obama is Illegitimate President, Rush Limbaugh Agrees? Got Agreement!?//. First Last. 2010. Web. 8 Nov 2011. .

"The Qur'an." //Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement//. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov 2011. .

Adams, Jason. "What does the Bible say about contraception?." //One More Soul//. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov 2011. <http://onemoresoul.com/contraception/church-teaching-contraception-abortion/what-does-the-bible-say-about-contraception.html


 * Reflection**

I learned many things from this religion unit because at first I thought extremists did only what they felt like doing or for taking action on what they read in their sacred texts. But then, I was talking to my mom one night about this project so I could make it better, and then we got on the subject of what jihad means. That lead to her saying that Osama Bin Laden only lead that plot for revenge, so that sparked an idea of giving the story of WHY he did it other than what everybody thinks that Islam is a religion of terrorism. Also, I learned that extremism isn't always terrorism, but it's fighting for what you believe in, and that sometimes leads to terrorism.

I feel very good about this final product because it gives an insight of different kinds of extremism rather than what mostly everybody thinks of as warfare. My strengths are showing how the extremists justified their extremism by using what they read in their religion's sacred texts. My weaknesses are that I should've did 1 more religion to show how more than the main religion that is stereotyped has extremism.