What am I going to do at Jihad Watch? Very simple: watch jihad. Jihad Watch is not just a blog, or a website, but an organization. It is being formed in order to bring attention to the activities of jihadists in the United States and around the world.
Why does jihad need watching? Consider this juxtaposition:
“Murder has no place in any religious tradition and must find no home in Indonesia. . . . President Megawati has confronted this evil directly. Under her leadership Indonesia is hunting and finding dangerous killers. America appreciates Indonesia’s strong cooperation in the war on terror.” — George W. Bush, October 22, 2003
And:
Villagers in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, are once again fleeing for their lives. They are reacting to recent attacks on four villages in the Poso district by bands of masked raiders armed with automatic weapons. Even the deployment of extra armed forces to secure the area has had little effect upon the worried inhabitants.
“People are too scared to remain in their isolated villages,” said Mona Saroinsong, coordinator of the Crisis Center of the Protestant Church in North Sulawesi. “They have been walking through the jungle to the coast or making for Tentena, the nearest Christian town. When I questioned them, they said they did not trust the authorities to protect them.'”…
Saatu, Pantangolemba and Pinedapa all had large Christian populations. The attackers sought out the homes of known Christians and forced them into the street where they were shot. Police reported that nine people lost their lives and 11 more were hospitalized….
Some Christian men have agreed to return to their villages, which are now under heavy police protection, but have left their women and children elsewhere, fearing new attacks. Especially vulnerable are villages such as Malewa and Galuga, where Christians have resettled.
In Lembomawo village near Poso, the police advised the Christians to
evacuate their women and children after receiving several reports of
strangers gathering behind the village….“There is growing chaos and unabated fear spreading throughout the Christian community. Please continue to petition the Indonesian government to do something about the root cause of the violence — rather than patch over the cracks — and make both sides adhere to the Malino agreement. Please keep praying for us here.” — Compass Direct, October 21, 2003
The persecution of Christians is not usually considered terror, although it targets innocent civilians no less unmistakably than Osama bin Laden did on 9/11/01. This persecution is jihad — the same jihad that is being fought today by terrorists worldwide. Wishful thinking has gone far enough, and ultimately will get us nowhere.