Marc! And I had such repsect for you after your post on your mode of traspo.
There are billions of peaceful Muslims that have nothing to do with Jihad, Al Quada or terrorism. Its posts like this one that help to make the U.S. look like bigoted idiots to the rest of the world. Wow.

Such hate in Marc's words.

a very relevant quote and question. What is important to note here is that no conditions are explained in which jihad is obligatory. This means that the interpretation and understanding of WHAT Jihad is and WHEN it is expedient falls to the consensus of the believers.

Personally i would interpret the verse as follows:

The conditions of the world are such that even peaceful and pacifistic people come under threat. For a truly peaceful people, the thought of armed violence is one that fills you with dread and dislike. However in this world it is also important to stand up to those who do wrong to you and to others. Under some circumstances it is imperative that even peaceful people resist.
SO believers are told that at times they will be required to resist ( not for the glory of god, but for the greater benefit ) yet it will cause them pain and discomfort because they are peace loving people.

An aspect i have not touched upon regarding the Ahmedi sect is what constitutes Jihad. Well according to ahmedi belief, the days of the Jihad by Sword are over. Today only one sort of Jihad exists, and that is the Jihad of the Pen.

Ahmedis are advised to fight for civil rights, influence governments, social rights, gender rights and religious rights through education, teaching and dialogue. The purpose of this Jihad is the same in that it seeks to eliminate aggression towards your community AND to eliminate disbelief. As per Ahmedi theology, this can only be achieved through dialogue and debate. Changing a single word in any given law through the proper channels of legislation is infinitely harder, but it can only be rendered permanent if it happen inside the system, rather than trying to violently impose it from outside.

Thus The Jihad that is expedient upon men of peace ( being a muslim is based on your level of peace, not on your statement of affiliation or on the length of your beard ) is one in which injustices are combatted through greater education and dialogue between opposing parties.

Very often people equate dialogue with surrender. I don't believe this to be true. In fact i consider dialogue in the face of opposition, resistance against a party that may resort to violence ( even when you won't) and staying steadfast in your belief against the odds to be a truly difficult jihad, one that may last for years or decades, but one that leaves only a path of peace and illumination behind it but no blood.

The ahmedi community has faced nothing but discrimination and aggression from the very beginning. It has gone through periods of rioting initiated by mullahs and clerics and even of lynchings and vigilante action against its congregation. It has gone so far that the pakistani constitution requires every citizen to sign an affidavit that names ahmedis heretics before they can receive their National ID cards or Passports.

The ahmedis are even more discriminated than are the other minorities of Pakistan. This is because the ahmedi sect does not recognize the divine authority of ANY human. We do not believe that any mullah or cleric is qualified to judge our relationship with God. In fact we do not even believe that a man must be an ahmedi to go to heaven. The community exists for wordly administrative matters. But judgement belongs to God alone.

Yet the members have fought their jihad for more than 100 years. The ahmedi community has unprecedented levels of literacy ( both men and women ), they have their own sattelite channel ( first "muslim" TV channel in the world), they have vast communities spanning the entire globe, with each cogregation living within the laws and regulations of their adopted nations.

The most threatening thing and ahmedi can ever do to you is to challenge your belief and debate it with you.

This is the only Jihad that will have any positive effect in the world today.

The sword wielding lunatics you see are those who are stuck in the false perception of islam's "glory" in medieval times. Islam is a religion for all times, and must be understood in the context of the present. Those who wish to fight the US with a sword still think they will charge in on a stallion and cut of the disbelievers' heads. They are no more than ignorant cowboys ( of which every nation, creed and religion has its fair share).

PS . Just a small addendum

The ahmedi sect split into two sub sects in earlier part of the last century. The offshoot sect are known as the Lahori ahmedis. The website Winston viewed was theirs.

The differences that have occurred between the sects is basically regarding the divinity of Mirza Ghulam Ahmed ( whom the mainstream ahmedis consider the Promised Messiah with whom God has direct contact ) I personally couldn't vouch for the divinity of this man, but i do consider that his opinions and teachings were far ahead of his time and certainly exceptional and worth living by.

Anyhow i would recommend that you also check out Al Islam Online - Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to check out the views of the "mainstream" ahmedis.

Amen.

I think it's a shame that you will give credence to hateful and prejudiced writing such as this. It would be roughly the same if i took the word of extremist mullahs and posted them here. Fact is that apart from stated affiliations there is actually very little difference between the two sides.

Both sides believe that only violence will bring about peace. Both sides are completely convinced of the "evilness" of the other side. Both sides are completely convinced of the righteousness of their violence. And both sides are adamant that no compromise is possible.

Rather than dividing the world into muslim and non-muslim, i divide it into peaceful and non-peaceful segments. Both muslims and non-muslims thankfully have elements that believe in debate and dialogue. This type of virulent hatred and violence is the premise of small factions on either side. And they should be ignored.

I do not give credence to the depraved rantings of extremist muslim clerics. I advise you not to give credence to the uninformed and prejudiced ranting of anti-islam extremists ( anybody who justifies violence as a righteous action is an extremist).

It is a sad state of affairs that non-muslims will only listen to the violent minority of Islam and it is just as sad that your extremist anti-islamists are given so much credence by the muslims. Both sides are listening to the violent minorities of the opposition. As long as the violent buffoons speak for everybody, there is no chance of resolution.