On Islam and Jihad

history and sociology. He followed the revolutionary course of attempting to present history as a chronicle of events centering on the common man rather than on kings, their generals and the battles they fought. But since war heroes were already entrenched as the idols of society, the caravan of writers and historians continued to follow the same well-worn path as had been trodden prior to Ibn Khaldun. When people have come to regard war heroes as the greatest of men, it is but natural that it is the events of the battlefield which will be given the greatest prominence in works of history. All other events will either be relegated to the background or omitted altogether. Ideological Hatred Hatred is a crime and ideological hatred is the greatest crime. The so-called Islamic, fundamentalism, if judged by its result, is the greatest crime of this kind against humanity. Anything can be eliminated, but what is impossible to eliminate is the hatred produced by a sacred ideology. Hatred generates violence and ideological hatred generates unlimited violence. It can kill off all of humanity without suffering any feelings of remorse or repentance. Hence the self-styled Islamic fundamentalism turns into an un-Islamic theory. One type of movement is that which is based on love. Its aim is to reform human beings. Such a movement awakens in its adherents feelings of well-wishing towards other human beings. Its exponents strive peacefully to pass on the truth that they have discovered for the benefit of their fellow men. Such a movement far from causing harm to society becomes a driving force towards the moral and social uplift of people in all walks of life.