Loud silence on Jihad, *The Record,* Nov 21 2002, p 7

I want to support W. X. (14 November) for opposing the idea that "jihad" or "holy war" of the Muslims against other religions is opposed by 99.9 per cent of Muslims. She exposed the attitude* of the campaign opposing Australia's present policy on people smuggling.
In the Catholic Church, auxiliary bishops for centuries were given local titles of the lost dioceses in north Africa and the Near East. Have the Church leaders forgotten how these dioceses were destroyed?
Bin Laden's messages drip with hatred of the United States. There are many U.S. and Israeli injustices -- but killing people indiscriminately by blowing up Indonesian and African churches, nightclubs in Israel and Bali, and U.S. barracks, or shooting people returning from prayers, is not God's way.
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* (In the original, "shown in a talk by Jesuit Fr Tom Michel, and Fr Frank Brennan's ")

In previous years the Iranian religious leadership, with huge crowds in the city squares, cursed America as "The Great Satan." The Iranian clerics declared a "fatwa" against a novelist [Salmon Rushdie], offering a reward to anyone who killed him. Did the Muslim world leaders -- religious and civic -- condemn Iran for this perversion of religion?
If history bores you, just cast your mind back to the 13 November tape by Osama Bin Laden, which included six countries including Australia as a target of assassinations and bombings. He claimed that Australia made an "ignoble contribution" to separating East Timor. Isn't Bin Laden in grave error about East Timor?
Does the whole official Muslim leadership worldwide declare a "fatwa" against Bin Laden for his messages filled with hate and error?
What is the theology of inciting people to commit mass murder, and saying as he did "we pray to God to aid us that His religion might triumph"?

The Record, "Loud silence on Jihad," letter to editor, November 21 2002, p 7
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OPTIONAL EXTRA WORDING (not published):
After an initial preaching stage, Islam's growth continued by raids on the trading caravans of the Mecca merchants, the conquest of that city in 630 A.D., the execution or "conversion" of the pagans, Jews and Christians living there, and within 10 years its armies were conquering surrounding Christian and other nations.
The conquest wave wiped out countries of the Eastern Rites as well as the Western. The Churches both East and West knew what the danger was in those days! Spain was taken. France was saved at the Battle of Tours. Vienna was nearly taken twice, a Polish king coming south to lead its salvation on one occasion.
The great Christian city of Constantinople (now Istanbul) was attacked and centuries later was taken, never to rise again. Crusades were fought because a different set of Muslim rulers started persecuting pilgrims to the Holy Land.
When Muslim civilisation flowered, it was only if the rulers put aside the religious demands that they behead or crucify unbelievers, or heavily tax them. To defend their countries, the Christians had to put aside their faith's "turn the other cheek" teachings, and put on armour.