“Is it even possible to stop two nut jobs going online and radicalising themselves and then going out to kill someone on the street with kitchen knives?” an exasperated official asked me yesterday morning. “How do you prevent that?” Demonising Islam or Muslims won’t help....

Sami ul Haq, nicknamed ‘The father of the Taliban’, famous within his social circle as ‘Maulana sandwich’. Now that we have learned to accept our Maulana’s religious disorder with equanimity, the reputation can be conveniently kicked aside for the greater cause, so to say. Sami ul Haq is considered to have the clout that can exert pressure on the Taliban to compromise and put their guns down that they have taken up against the state of Pakistan....

The six-month sojourn of the suspect in the Boston bombing, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in the Russian territory of Dagestan last year has drawn unusual attention to the low-boil guerrilla warfare of the North Caucasus. A picture has come together of Mr. Tsarnaev as an outsider feeling his way around the edges of an insurgency that looked very different from the stories of partisan fighting that he had heard growing up among Chechen refugees....

There is a fight going on between Islamism and Islam, the former is extremist, the latter is moderate. Unfortunately the voice of the extremists is more dominating as compared to the moderates. We have to raise our voice. The extremists are brainwashing the innocent, young Muslims into committing heinous acts, it is our time to brainwash them....

The Taliban are running after a mirage. Their dream of establishing an Islamic caliphate is only a pipedream. It can never be realised. Their ideal of an all-inclusive Islamic caliphate is in direct contrast with their exclusivist approach. Their sectarian, rigid and violent outlook can never be able to establish an all-inclusive global Islamic caliphate. They have been using such Utopian lollypops to get the support of the ignorant Muslims of the world just as they did in Afghanistan before capturing power there. They used to go to the common Muslims with a copy of the Quran in hand and say, ‘We want to establish a government based on this Quran, so support us.’ The people were fascinated by the idea of a government based on the Quran. They thought a government based on the Quran would be an ideal government. They will no longer face any difficulty, persecution, injustice and discrimination under such a government. But after the Taliban came to power, they established a government that was mostly in contravention of the ideals of the Quran….

It is important to stress that from the estimated 5,000 converts to Islam every year; almost all of them embrace Islam after being inspired by its monotheistic clarity, its moral guidance and its holistic framework. Conversion to Islam is rarely political, but it is usually connected to personal self-building and spiritual awareness....

Their messages reflected the outrage of the nation and the particular anger of a community that felt the perpetrators had hijacked their religion to justify violence. "The horrific attack in Woolwich had nothing to do with Islam and everything to do with the scum who say they do this in the name of Islam," wrote one Facebook user, Imran Khan. "It's a minority like you, who give Muslims like me who work hard to build interfaith relationships, a bad name. You are a disgrace to Islam...

The cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed has been secretly filmed stating that decapitation of the enemies of Islam was permitted. Today, in comments met with outrage, he told The Independent that he could understand the feeling of rage that had motivated the attackers and that what they had done could be justified under certain interpretations of Islam....

If Maudoodi's exhortations are not enough to motivate Muslims to conduct acts of terror, we have the words of the late Hassan al-Banna being distributed in our schools and universities. Al-Banna makes it quite clear that the word "jihad" means armed conflict. He mocks those who claim jihad is merely an internal struggle. Al-Banna says this redefinition of the term "jihad" to depict it as a non-violent act of self-examination, is in fact a conspiracy so that "Muslims should become negligent."...

That this was a barbaric and horrendous act goes without saying, but given the legal, military, cultural and political significance of the term "terrorism", it is vital to ask: is that term really applicable to this act of violence? To begin with, in order for an act of violence to be "terrorism", many argue that it must deliberately target civilians. That's the most common means used by those who try to distinguish the violence engaged in by western nations from that used by the "terrorists": sure, we kill civilians sometimes, but we don't deliberately target them the way the "terrorists" do....

The Taliban has begun military operations against two regional parties: the MQM, the front of North Indian refugees, and the Awami National Party of the Frontier. The third enemy is the PPP, which is likely to become a Sindh party after this poll. The Taliban are not talking about defeating them in elections. They are seeking to eliminate them physically…..

Many wonder how have the radical Wahhabi ideologues been able to create an army of suicide bombers in their war against the world to create a global Wahhabi Khilafat. The traditional wisdom is that it is the lure of the hoor in the hereafter that leads young men to find a way of leaving this world in a hurry. This is no doubt true. You just have to read the writings of Maulana Masood Azhar, the terrorist who was freed from an Indian jail in exchange for passengers on the hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 (IC814) and went on to found Jaish-e-Mohammad, the most successful in creating suicide bombers. He describes what goes through the minds of these young men who are on the way to their suicide mission – fantasies of sex with young virgin hooris in Heaven where they will soon be as they have been told by the likes of Maulana Masood Azhar or Hafiz Saeed of Lashkar-eTayyeba.

But there is more to it than the lure of hoor. One important influence is exerted by incredible stories of miraculous help from God that is awaiting them at every step in this so-called Jihad. In the following write-up Osama Bin Laden’s mentor, Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, recounts concocted stories of the Karamaat (miracles) of the Auliya in the so-called Jihad of Afghanistan to motivate young men in this and other theatres of war. These stories are interspersed with the stories of miracles from the time of the Prophet. The irony of the matter is that the main criticism of Wahhabi ideologues against the mainstream Muslims, many of whom revere Sufi saints is that they recount so many stories of miracles performed by Sufi masters. But I suppose Wahhabi ideologues believe that everything is fair in war, including contravening the Wahhabi ideology itself in order to win a war for the establishment of a Wahhabi caliphate in the world.  – Sultan Shahin, Editor, New Age Islam

But it is the Taliban issue that is uppermost in my mind on Election Day. Here, the PPP has unambiguously condemned the terrorists and supported army action against them. The truth is that civilian agencies are hopelessly outgunned by these killers, and only the army has the firepower to take them on. American drones — despite their unpopularity in large sections of Pakistani society — remain the most effective weapon against them.....

The English Jihadi magazine, which is apparently meant to cater to English-literate Muslims in South Asia, including Afghanistan, is similar to “Inspire”. the English Jihadi magazine of Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula operating from Yemen, which has a readership among the Muslims of South India. Some Muslims arrested by the Bengaluru police last year were alleged by the Police to have been motivated by the articles carried by “Inspire”....

Many wonder how have the radical Wahhabi ideologues been able to create an army of suicide bombers in their war against the world to create a global Wahhabi Khilafat. The traditional wisdom is that it is the lure of the hoor in the hereafter that leads young men to find a way of leaving this world in a hurry. This is no doubt true. You just have to read the writings of Maulana Masood Azhar, the terrorist who was freed from an Indian jail in exchange for passengers on the hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 (IC814) and went on to found Jaish-e-Mohammad, the most successful in creating suicide bombers. He describes what goes through the minds of these young men who are on the way to their suicide mission – fantasies of sex with young virgin hooris in Heaven where they will soon be as they have been told by the likes of Maulana Masood Azhar or Hafiz Saeed of Lashkar-eTayyeba.

But there is more to it than the lure of hoor. One important influence is exerted by incredible stories of miraculous help from God that is awaiting them at every step in this so-called Jihad. In the following write-up Osama Bin Laden’s mentor, Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, recounts concocted stories of the Karamaat (miracles) of the Auliya in the so-called Jihad of Afghanistan to motivate young men in this and other theatres of war. These stories are interspersed with the stories of miracles from the time of the Prophet. The irony of the matter is that the main criticism of Wahhabi ideologues against the mainstream Muslims, many of whom revere Sufi saints is that they recount so many stories of miracles performed by Sufi masters. But I suppose Wahhabi ideologues believe that everything is fair in war, including contravening the Wahhabi ideology itself in order to win a war for the establishment of a Wahhabi caliphate in the world.  – Sultan Shahin, Editor, New Age Islam

LeT has remained active outside Kashmir as well. Out of the 45 prominent terror attacks witnessed outside theatres of violence in J&K and the North East since August 14, 2000, the LeT was alleged to be involved in no less than 17 incidents, which resulted in at least 630 fatalities. Though the outfit had established linkages and operational capabilities across India much earlier, disclosures by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad...

THE truth that makes men free is often the truth that men prefer not to hear, said a sage. The initial shock over the two Chechen brothers’ apparent involvement in the Boston bombings has been followed by an endless hysteria in the United States with politicians and all sorts of terrorism experts and media wonks, rushing to blame the usual suspects and the ‘ideology’ that inspired the attack.
Neocon pundit Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, who has made a career out of Muslim bashing, has triumphantly declared Islam as the “real problem.” In a piece titled “Excusing Jihad in Boston,” he blasts the US media for “underplaying the religious angle” in the attack, claiming Qur’an exhorts Muslims to use the “steeds of war to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies.”

It is truly a sad state when the group affected the most by the current climate following the Boston marathon bombings have to wait for an outsider to speak some sense on their behalf. It is not that Muslims lack the capacity to express themselves and engage in an intellectual dialogue. But, when the rhetoric all over the media continues to assert the label "radical Islam"....

Many wonder how have the radical Wahhabi ideologues been able to create an army of suicide bombers in their war against the world to create a global Wahhabi Khilafat. The traditional wisdom is that it is the lure of the hoor in the hereafter that leads young men to find a way of leaving this world in a hurry. This is no doubt true. You just have to read the writings of Maulana Masood Azhar, the terrorist who was freed from an Indian jail in exchange for passengers on the hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 (IC814) and went on to found Jaish-e-Mohammad, the most successful in creating suicide bombers. He describes what goes through the minds of these young men who are on the way to their suicide mission – fantasies of sex with young virgin hooris in Heaven where they will soon be as they have been told by the likes of Maulana Masood Azhar or Hafiz Saeed of Lashkar-eTayyeba.

But there is more to it than the lure of hoor. One important influence is exerted by incredible stories of miraculous help from God that is awaiting them at every step in this so-called Jihad. In the following write-up Osama Bin Laden’s mentor, Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, recounts concocted stories of the Karamaat (miracles) of the Auliya in the so-called Jihad of Afghanistan to motivate young men in this and other theatres of war. These stories are interspersed with the stories of miracles from the time of the Prophet. The irony of the matter is that the main criticism of Wahhabi ideologues against the mainstream Muslims, many of whom revere Sufi saints is that they recount so many stories of miracles performed by Sufi masters. But I suppose Wahhabi ideologues believe that everything is fair in war, including contravening the Wahhabi ideology itself in order to win a war for the establishment of a Wahhabi caliphate in the world.  – Sultan Shahin, Editor, New Age Islam

The teacher smiled and said: “You have to draw a line across her neck so she does not come on Judgment Day and demands that you give her a soul so she can live, as it is taboo to imitate Allah’s creatures. But if you draw this line across her neck, you’d be saying she is not alive and she is only a drawing.” I understood nothing back then: Why did I have to strangle the beautiful girl with the embroidered dress?...