“War is deceit,” said the Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Bukhari, IV:52:268-270). He also said that lying was permissible in battle (Sahih Muslim, book 32, no. 6303). Several Muslims have objected to my citing of such passages, and others such as Qur’an 47:4, in connection with cases that do not involve a hot war. These things are only allowed in battle, you see. I would ask them then to explain how they arrived at the conclusion that Abu Bakar Bashir and other jihadists do not believe they are engaged in battle when they are doing things such as appearing in court. A “battle” can be many things besides an exchange of gunfire and bombs, and the Islamic apologists who have taken issue with me well know it.
Anyway, Abu Bakar Bashir contradicts himself below. (Big surprise, I know.) In December 2003 he was defending the Bali bombers as jihadists. Now he says they weren’t fighting a jihad. Can you spell taqiyya? From Al-Jazeera, with thanks to Ali Dashti:
Indonesian cleric Abu Bakr Bashir has said the Bali nightclub and Marriott hotel bombings in Indonesia did not follow the rules of jihad that he advocates.
The 66-year-old cleric told trial judges on Tuesday that he supported the Islamic holy struggle, or jihad, but that violence should take place only within conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Philippines.
Referring to the Bali nightclub and Marriott hotel bombings, he said: “I disapprove, if they were regarded as jihad, because they were executed in peaceful or non-conflict zones.
“If the aim were to attack the interests of the United States, the country that has clearly violated and attacked Islam, they should have taken up arms in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines or other such places.”