World

Funding for jihad troubling, scholar says

by snuffysmith | December 19, 2009 at 07:15 pm

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- More than 35 percent of Egyptians and Saudis interviewed in a recent survey considered it their duty to back regional mujahedin financially, a scholar notes.

Private polling of Egyptian and Saudi citizens reveals trends regarding the public sentiment toward jihadi groups like al-Qaida.

David Pollock, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the polling shows more than 35 percent of those interviewed considered it "an Islamic duty" to support Islamic fighters around the world.

These results are more than troubling. They reveal what the problem is within these Muslim communities, and why perpetual war will probably be the result. Coupled with the fact that many in the Islamic world are in denial with the concept that blow-back will be the result if they should continue to support Jihad against the West, retaliation and war will always be the response from the West against these same communities.

It is always easy to say that one is the grieved party, and that their actions are just and honorable. Both sides are always making those points. But in the eyes of the West, Jihad has a horrible history, a history that has resulted in the deaths and enslavement of millions, and a legacy that has not earned any supporters among non-Muslims in today's world.

So as long as many in the Islamic war believe that Jihad is just and right, perpetual war and conflict will always be the result whether we want it or not.