The purpose of jihad, in other words, is not directly to spread the Islamic faith but to extend sovereign Muslim power (faith, of course, often follows the flag). Jihad is thus unabashedly offensive in nature, with the eventual goal of achieving Muslim dominion over the entire globe.
It's nice to see.
The Civilta Cattolica piece represents the first indication that any Catholic Church officials recognize the dimensions of the religious conflict that jihadists are waging against Christians and others around the world.
[. . . .]
Civilta Cattolica also counters the dozens of misleadingly incomplete analyses of jihad that Muslim advocacy groups have used to befuddle the public over the last few years. Jihad, it points out, "has two meanings, both of which are equally essential and must not be dissociated, as if one could exist without the other. In its primary meaning, jihad indicates the 'effort' that the Muslim must undertake to be faithful to the precepts of the Koran and so improve his 'submission' (islam) to Allah; in the second, it indicates the 'effort' that the Muslim must undertake to 'fight in the way of Allah,' which means fighting against the infidels and spreading Islam throughout the world. Jihad is a precept of the highest importance, so much so that it is sometimes counted among the fundamental precepts of Islam, as its sixth 'pillar.'" The only meaning of jihad you will get from American Muslim spokesmen is the first. Is there some reason why they don't want you to know that radicals are acting on the second all over the world today?
There is more, and there are other links on this site.
