CRUSADE & TERRORISM

Bidyut Chakraborty

Crusade

is a war mongering postulate for religious dominance

over other religious sects. Terrorism is the manner crusade acts
upon for political aggression over caste creed nation, it is a part
and parcel of the strategy of crusade. Actually they appear

identical or seemed to have been made identical.

Interpretations by the different scholars may be different in
different and similar period of time.
The first crusade was accepted to have been occurred in 1096
CE and second in 1146 CE the war waged on the Jews by the
Christians.
But what about Jihad?
The ancient rivals of Christian Byzantium and Sussanian Persia
were locked in war from 602 CE to 528 CE. Similarly Arab army
swept to conquer Syria, Palestine, Persia and Egypt (known as
Golden Crescent) from 635 CE to 642 CE. In 638 CE Palestine
surrendered the Holy City of Jerusalem on the terms no shrines,
churches and synagogues to remain untouched.
Did crusade and Jihad bear identical vision? Religiously Crusade
and Jihad are in proximity of concepts.
In Ephesians 6: 11-17 (Epistle of St. Paul-New Testament) it is
dictated to put on the full armor of God to take the stand
against the schemes of Devil (rulers, authorities, powers of dark
world, spiritual heavenly evil forces), to stand firm with the belt
of truth buckle around the waste with the breastplate of
righteousness and shield of faith and the helmet of salvation
and the sword of spirit. These were addresses to the children of
god.
In Hindu epics the war was for self defense only. The humane
sorrow melancholy bereavement for close and distant relatives
and for known or unknown soldiers are labeled as temporary
emotion and the constant is the Lord of Universe
( Brahma/Brahman) and the Human Soul ( Atma/Atman ) the
ultimate indestructible which resurrects to fight the evils from
ages to ages There are four ages in the Hindu scriptures). In so
called Hinduism ( Brahman, Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti cult) the
God does everything and the human being performs the rituals
on the physically invisible and unheard heavenly dictates of

God. The internal battle amongst the Hindu sects and cults
were diminished after the reign and rule of foreign dominance
of Saka, Huns, Pathan, Mughal and British. All over Asia,
Buddhism and Jainism have its strong hegemony, their inner
fight among their diverse sects are also died down. An
anecdote of Alexander was very much popular in India.
Alexander won India in 325 BC. While passing by the road he
met some Jain monks walking past him without bothering his
presence. He asked the monks astonishingly about their
audacity to neglect the great emperor of the world. The monks
replied calmly the King Alexander could occupy that much
earth as every man could , because he was also a human being
like them. The difference remained in kings preoccupation of
making nuisance to himself and to others and for that
Alexander travelled so many miles away from his home. His
place in the earth after his death would be as much he would
take for permanent rest. Alexander was overwhelmed and after
going back his home he sermonized the lesson.
Indian Muslims had a glorious tradition of Indianisation and not
merely Islamisation. The second Akbar fought against the
sectarian religious administrative policies against of Emperor
Aurangzeb - his father. Aurangzeb killed his elder brother Dara
Suko, a reverend Indian scholar of east whose identity was not
dignified by his religion, he translated so many Hindu scriptures
including Upanishads from Sanskrit to Arabic which then
transliterated to Latin.
To save Somnath temple in Gujrat so many Shia Muslims fought
for the Hindu kings against Muslim invaders. Gazni Mahmud
had Hindu commanders and soldiers also who helped him to
attack Indian shrines.
In the freedom struggle of India, several Muslim leaders
sacrificed for the sake of India, neither for Pakistan nor for
Islam.

Hindu king engaged themselves in war never in the name of

religion. Maratha king Shivaji took effort to establish a Hindu
India fighting against the Mughals; he took vow before his Guru
Ramdas to behave like a common man and not like a usual
king. So Indian religious leaders and kings despite their inner
battles and internal fights preached for peace and self defense
for common people irrespective of religions. The history did not
record the fights amongst Shivaite, Baishnavas, Buddhists, Jains
and other religious sects although it was there but not in the
name of Dharma Yuddha (Holy War). Only kurukshetra war
(epical not a historical one) was called Dharma Yuddha. Other
historical wars were all political wars. Bimbishar (558491
BCE) , readying for battle surrendered and bowed to Gautama
Buddha (563483 BCE). In true sense the great emperor Ashoka
(269 BCE to 232 BCE) turned himself from Chandashoka to
Dharmashoka. H.G. Wells wrote of Ashoka in his book The Outline
of History: "Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs
that crowd the columns of history, their majesties and
graciousness and serenities and royal highnesses and the like,
the name of Ashoka shines, and shines, almost alone, a star."
Christianity and Islam waged wars after wars between
themselves and also against other sects in the name of Holy
War whereas the war was meant for aggression and invasion to
foreign lands be that land belonged to their own religion or
else. So to those attackers Crusades and Jihad are identical in
meaning.
In Islam, Jihad means a fight in two ways: one is against inner
evil and the other against outer evil.

Now Jihad has been interpreted in so many ways. Crusades lost

its
relevance due to the western enlightenment . Whatever
good interpretation comes about the word Jihad , as described
as sixth pillar of Islam by Sunni sect or tenth pillar by Shia sect,
a lot of Islamic terrorists organization called their guerrilla
attack to infidels and to kafirs as Jihad. Some of the warriors

called themselves as Muhajeed ,some Jihadi .meaning remain

the same.
Ahmadiyya view on Jihad : In Ahmadiyya Islam, jihad is
primarily one's personal inner struggle and should not be used
violently for political motives. Violence is the last option only to
be used to protect religion and one's own life in extreme
situations of persecution.
Quranists do not believe that the word jihad means holy war.
They believe it means to struggle, or to strive. They believe it
can incorporate both military and non-military aspects. When it
refers to the military aspect, it is understood primarily as
defensive warfare.
Sufic view classifies "Jihad" into two parts: the "Greater Jihad"
and the "Lesser Jihad". Muhammad put the emphasis on the
"Greater Jihad" by saying, "Holy is the warrior who is at war
with himself". In this sense external wars and strife are seen as
but a satanic counterfeit of the true "jihad", which can only be
fought and won within. There is no salvation for man without
his own efforts being added to the work of self-refinement. In
this sense it is the western view of the Holy Grail which comes
closest to the Sufic ideal, for to the Sufis, perfection is the Grail,
and the Holy Grail is for those who, after they become perfect
by giving all they have to the poor then go on to become
"Abdal" or "changed ones" like Enoch, who was "taken" by God
because he "walked with God" (Genesis:5:24). Here the "Holy
Ones" gain the surname "Hadrat" or "The Presence".
Bahs believe that the law of Jihad has been blotted out from
the scriptures [ Wikipedia].
Crusading reflected a social mentality grounded in war as a
central force of protection, arbitration, social discipline, political
expression and material gain .The crusades confirmed a
communal identity comprising aggression, paranoia, nostalgia,
wishful thinking and invented history.

The crusades were and are controversial and contentious far

beyond the academic community. More than any other incident
of medieval European history they have entered the sphere of
public history, where the past is captured in abiding cultural
myths of inheritance, self image and identity. [Christopher
Tyermans A New History of Crusade ].
In the Islamic area Caliphas words were the last one, it gets
down to Sultan and then to Sheikh. Mosque clergymen were
consulted by the Caliphas. In the Christian domain, Papal
instructions were the last words. Kings were consulted by the
church authority. Both sides try to convert their subordinates
into their own faith. Islamic texts, sura 109 stated that religion
is personal matter no body will impose Islam on any non-Islamic
religious subjects but for that non-interference the subjects had
to pay jiziya and might embrace subjugation.
Martyrs and Shahids are respected with holiness because of the
religious fanaticism allow the crusade and Jihad as a pious act
to reach to Heaven by this shortcut. So violence was endorsed
by society guided by the religious leaders for self sacrifice. c
Rumour in the air currently whirls about sex sacrifice also. The
system is known as jihad al-nikah or sex jihad. Publicity first
arose in 2013, and the veracity of the alleged practice became
the subject of greater debate in September 2013 after the
Interior Minister of Tunisia made a public statement as a
significant issue. In June 2014, it was reported by the Egyptian
Daily newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm that the Islamist group ISIL
(the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) put up posters calling
on the people of Mosul to bring them their unmarried girls to
participate in jihad al-nikah or sex jihad.[ Source: Wikipedia]
The
Clarion
Project
News
dated
26
Jul,
2015
(www.clarionproject.org) claimed that ISIS has recently taken
over vast territories in Iraq including Mosul, Iraqs second
largest city. Jihad al-nikah refers to women joining the jihad by
offering sex to the male fighters. Posters in public places in

Mosul read: We call upon the people of this county to bring

their unmarried girls so they can fulfill their duty in sex jihad for
their warrior brothers in the city and anyone who will not
appear will feel the full force of the sharia [Islamic law] upon
him.
Malaysian women join Middle East jihadists as comfort
women, reveals intelligence report
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysian
-women-join-middle-east-jihadists-as-comfort-women-revealsintelli
Of course it is naive to believe this narrative of a perfect
family amid all the destruction taking place in Syria and the
atrocities committed by ISISs beasts. But should we really be
worried about cleaning up the language of the news, which
does include shameful and embarrassing terms such as sexual
jihad, or should we instead focus on the reality of an
unprecedented phenomenon that sees dozens of teenage girls
leave their parents homes each year in order to join jihadist
groups?
[Written
by
: Abdulrahman
Al-Rashed
www.aawsat.net/2015/03/.../opinion-the-reality-of- sexualjihad].
In the name of God the priests and the preachers can do
anything interpreting the text of Holy books of their religion in
their own convenient way. Society and Religious Gurus give
tacit empathy if not active support. Several Hindu Sadhus and
Christian Clergies get arrested and face trials and jails being
convicted on economic offences, social injustice and sexual
exploitation like criminal with multiple identity do. Most
ridiculous are Fatwa and Jihad which route to violence.
Dr. Amartya Sen mentioned the reason of violence is based on
search of identity what religion assured. He spoke against only
one affiliation of human being. The way Islam and Christianity
spread over the worlds nation they left with one identity and
that is religious. There are a lot of African communities
converted to Islam saving the biggest muslim population of
India, Bangladesh , Pakistan (undivided India before 1947) and
Indonesia, Malayesia in eastern part of Asia saving the
immense population in China and Japan. Each and every case
life style differs, language differs, and dress code differs and
nothing matches with that of Middle East.

.we have to ask whether it is at all possible to define a

trueMuslim in terms of beliefs about confrontation and
tolerance, on which Islam does not dictate and on which
different Muslims have taken widely different positions over
centuries.[Identity and Violence The Illusion of Destiny].
The Islamic identity did not work. Cultural variation and ethnic
diversity posed a big danger. As the conversion from one
religion to Islam was the basic concept, the customs and rituals
of previous religious entity sustain. So there are multiple
diversity in the several nations of Africa and Arabia and Persia
and Turky. Apart from the developed economy of one place
brings thousands foreign traders and labors of various culture
and religions and languages the social customs become
complex, the tribal people and other subjects find no rooms for
their own rituals of living. The Mohicans of Canada- US border
were vanquished this way and so many tribal civilization wiped
away like Dravidian, Maya etc. There was violence subjugation
but not in the name crusades. The similar thing is happening by
the Arab Muslim on the Non- Arab Muslims.
What is going on Sudan? Muslims are killing their Islamic
brethren. Dar fur,sized nearly of France, in Sudan ( 6 million
muslim inhabitants of 100 tribes mostly nomads) was under
civil war due to conflicts on arabs and non- arabs differentiation
although both were Africans. The pro-arab king , Omar Bashir of
National Islamic Front took up reign in 1989 and started
torturing oppressing the non-arab nomads (Zhagwa, masalit
and Fur) killing 3 lakhs and displacing 30 lakhs of non-arab
nomads(UN estimate), in the name of ethnic cleansing.
Zhagwas claimed apartheid by Arabs against their tribes.
Daoud Hari, a sufferer zhagwa social worker and journalist in
his book The Translator, described the pitiful condition of zhagwas.
Nearly all young women are pregnant through rape .Possibly so
that the kids will carry the Arabian gene but with African
descendance because rapists are all African Muslims. In the
refugee camp sheltered in the border of Sudan and Lybia the
men cannot go out to collect firewood in fear of being murdered
instead the young women are sent to get the firewood even
being raped. Lakhs of bastards are coming out every year from
the womb of these distressed women folks.
Similar condition prevails in Syria.

As of January 2015 the death toll had risen above

220,000, with estimates in April 2015 as high as
310,000. International organizations have accused the Syrian
government, ISIL and other opposition forces of severe human
rights violations, with many massacres occurring. Chemical
weapons have been used many times during the conflict as
well. The Syrian government is reportedly responsible for the
majority of civilian casualties and war crimes, often through
bombings. In addition, tens of thousands of protesters and
activists have been imprisoned and there are reports
of torture in state prisons.
The severity of the humanitarian disaster in Syria has been
outlined by the UN and many international organizations. More
than 7.6 million Syrians have been displaced, and more than 4
million have fled the country to countries such as
Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq,
and Egypt and
have
become refugees. Millions more have been left in poor living
conditions with shortages of food and drinking water.[ Source:
Wikipedia]
This is terrorism- the violence done by the government to its
subjects in the name of ethnic cleansing and similarly the
violence undertaken by the religious mercenaries of a certain
religion.
Sharmeena Begum became one of the youngest British
teenagers to join the murderous IS terror group when she fled
from her home in East London and travelled to Syria last
December aged 15.
Three months later, three of her closest school friends Amira
Abase, 16, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Shamima Begum, 15 also
fled to Syria, triggering an international search to rescue them.
[OMAR

WAHID FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY, 1 August 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3182561/Britain-s-jihadi-bride-

groomer-Schoolgirl-radicalised-London-mosque-recruited-threeclassmates-join-ISIS-Syria.html#ixzz3hex6O2gu ]

The conflict between Iraqs government and the Islamic State

of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has begun to spread concerns
throughout the region, particularly in India. It is estimated that
nearly 30,000 Indian Shia Muslims have already signed up to
fight and applied for visas to fly into Iraq. (IraqiNews.com)
Some 30,000 Indian Shia Muslims have submitted their
passports and are ready to travel to Iraq to defend Shiite holy
shrines from the advancing Sunni Islamist insurgents by any
means available.
"We are looking at a million volunteers to form a human chain
around the holy shrines of Karbala and Najaf, in case the Isis
attacks. We will do everything to stop the advance of the
enemies."
[ Syed Bilal Hussain Abidi, leader of Anjuman E
Haideri www.ibtimes.co.uk Society Politics]
170 millions of Muslims reside in India out of which some 60-70
millions are Shia sects. What a fanatism ! Turkey and Iraqi
Government are conducting air raids on the militant
fundamentalists and these people will be there to save or make
Islamic country there in that foreign land.
On the contrary religion was not an essential identity to create
a stable cultural and political nation in India.
In Bangladesh and West Bengal, before and after 1947, the
most adorable icons of Music and Poetry are Rabindra Nath
Tagore, the first Asian Nobel laureate, and Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Bengali Hindus and Bengali Muslims never uttered the word
Hindu or Muslim for them. They are Poets of and Lyricists and
singers of Bengalis no other identity adored them. Indians
adore the ghazals of Mehdi Hasan and Fateh Ali khan of
Pakistan, never thought to differentiate between Sitarist Rabi
Shankar and Ali Akbar.

Baba Allauddin Khan (1862-1972 CE ),a Bengali shorodi

and multi-instrumentalist, ,was the father of sarod maestro Ali
Akbar Khan and Annapurna Devi (Roshanara Khan), and the
uncle of Raja Hossain Khan, as well as the guru of Ravi
Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Vasant Rai, Pannalal Ghosh, Bahadur
Khan, Sharan Rani, Jyotin Bhattacharya and other influential
musicians. He himself was a disciple of many great musicians,
including Gopal Chandra Banerjee, Lobo, Munne Khan, and
most importantly after a lot of struggle managed to become
a shagird of the legendary Veena player, Wazir Khan. Baba
learnt music from Gopal Krishna Bhattacharya, alias Nulo
Gopal, a very devout and orthodox Hindu.
Zakir Hussain ,son of the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha ,
was awarded as Tabla Maestro.
Taught by his father Haafiz Ali Khan Amjad Ali Khan is the pride
of India in Sarod recital, his wife Subhalakshmi had been a
great exponent of the Indian classical dance, Bharatnatyam
No Indian think the Indian Film stars Shah Rukh Khan( his wife is
Hindu) , Amir khan and Salman Khan with their religious
identity rather they are popular to play role as an Indian fighter
against Islamic jihadists. Again the multiple identities take the
first and foremost role in society.
So peculiar is that in the Twin tower destruction by Al Quaida
several muslims employess died and thearchtect of the tower
was a Bangladeshi Muslim.
Malala
Yousafzai born
12
July
1997
is
a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngestever Nobel Prize laureate.[4] She is known mainly for human
rights advocacy for education and for women in her native Swat
Valley in theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa province of northwest
Pakistan, where the local Talibanhad at times banned girls from
attending school. Yousafzai's advocacy has since grown into an
international movement.

On the afternoon of 9 October 2012, Yousafzai boarded her

school bus in the northwest Pakistani district of Swat. A gunman
asked for her by name, then pointed a pistol at her and fired
three shots. One bullet hit the left side of Yousafzai's forehead,
travelled under her skin through the length of her face, and
then went into her shoulder. [5] In the days immediately following
the attack, she remained unconscious and in critical condition,
but later her condition improved enough for her to be sent to
the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, for
intensive rehabilitation. On 12 October, a group of 50 Islamic
clerics in Pakistan issued a fatw against those who tried to kill
her, but the Taliban reiterated their intent to kill Yousafzai and
her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai.
The assassination attempt sparked a national and international
outpouring of support for Yousafzai.
Politics must not be polluted with fanatism of religion,
race,caste and creed and should not be corrupted by
criminalization, black money and dictatorship. What does it look
like? A nice gospel indeed. But where you can find such a nice
polity? So rites and rights are different word in religion. It
needs a polish of democracy or socialism.
Even then who supplies arms to the militant groups? Suspicion
goes to the worlds biggest exporters of arms very naturally.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Biggest_arms_sales
_2013.png/300px-Biggest_arms_sales_2013.png

The companies approved for manufacturing weapons do not

have much employment in 2013 as disclosed by the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Yes USA is the country who supplies arms and ammunition to
specific countries more than 50% of the market. Second
exporter is Russia. In the importer list first is UAE then India.
From a list of the world's largest arms manufacturers and other
military service companies who profit the most from the War
economy, their origin is shown as well.
The information is based on a list published by the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) for 2013. The list
provided by the SIPRI excludes companies based in China.
(Wikipedia).
What is the use of selling arms if USA want peace all over the
world and what are the uses of buying arms is seen in the
Middle East?

Arms control refers to international restrictions upon the

development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of
small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass
destruction.
[Barry Kolodkin. "What

Is Arms Control?" (Article). About.com, US Foreign Policy. The New

York Times Company. Retrieved13 May 2012].

It is typically exercised through the use of diplomacy, which

seeks to persuade governments to accept such limitations
through agreements and treaties, although it may also be
forced upon non-consenting governments.
Oscar
Arias
Sanchez President
of Costa
Rica (awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end civil wars
across Central America through the Esquipulas II Accords) has
stated:
When a country decides to invest in arms, rather than in
education, housing, the environment, and health services for its
people, it is depriving a whole generation of its right to
prosperity and happiness. We have produced one firearm for
every ten inhabitants of this planet, and yet we have not
bothered to end hunger when such a feat is well within our
reach. Our international regulations allow almost three-quarters
of all global arms sales to pour into the developing world with
no binding international guidelines whatsoever. Our regulations
do not hold countries accountable for what is done with the
weapons they sell, even when the probable use of such
weapons is obvious.
[ The Global Arms Trade: Strengthening International
Regulations. Interview with Oscar Arias Sanchez. Harvard International Review Date:
Tuesday,

July

1,

2008 http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-

offices/11664335-1.html accessed 10 Feb 2010].

Written finished on 02/08 /2015 at 20-10 Salt lake.