them) . . . But those who are slain in the way of Allah, He will never let their
deeds be lost. Soon will He guide them and improve their condition, and admit
them to the Garden which He has announced for them (Sura 47:4–6; see also
Sura 3:157).
One passage chides those who shrink from fighting and
praises those who wish for death:
If a wound hath touched you, be sure a similar wound hath touched the
others. Such days (of varying fortunes) We give to men and men by turns: that
Allah may know those that believe, and that He may take to Himself from your
ranks martyr witnesses (to Truth). . . . Did ye think that ye would enter Heaven
without Allah testing those of you who fought hard (In His Cause) and
remained steadfast? Ye did indeed wish for death before ye met him: Now ye
have seen him with your own eyes, (And ye flinch!) (Sura 3:140–143).
On the basis of these and other similar passages, the
foremost cleric in Sunni Islam, Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid
Tantawi, the Grand Sheikh of AlAzhar University in Cairo,
‘‘emphasized that every martyrdom operation against any
Israeli, including children, women, and teenagers, is a
legitimate act according to [Islamic] religious law, and an
Islamic commandment.’’[38]It seems clear that Tantawi’s
view is held by many in the Islamic world, judging from the
events of recent history.
- Why do many Muslims seem to hate the United
States and the Western democracies?
There are several reasons for this. Muslims point to
conflicts around the world where American forces, in
attempting to resolve particular humanitarian or security
issues, have seemed to oppose Muslims. A recent example
of this was the Clinton Administration’s mid 1990s military