1. Jihad (Holy War) has been a cardinal feature of Islam since the 7^th century. It constitutes a clear & present danger to Western democracies, irrespective of the Arab-Israeli conflict, independent of the Palestinian issue and regardless of Israel’s policies and existence.

2. The most authoritative analysis of Jihad was published by the late Prof. Majid Khadduri of Johns Hopkins U. in War and Peace in the Law of Islam (http://yoramettinger.newsnet.co.il/Front/NewsNet/reports.asp?reportId=211429).

3. Hebrew University Prof. Moshe Sharon, a world renowned authority on Islam, sheds light on Jihad in Islam Against Israel and the West (2007):

“Jihad is the strategy and, therefore, agreements are a [tactical] interlude in the war [against the infidel]…

“Islam came to being as a fighting religion. Mohammed imposed his authority by means of his military strength…Islam established empire before it crystallized as a systematic religion…The imperial and religious aspects of Islam are interconnected. Without an empire, Islam feels that it lacks a home. The empire expressed Islamic power, prominence and virility. Islam was born in order to rule, as is only fitting for the religion of Allah which is one and exclusive…Jews and Christians cannot claim that they possess true, holy scripture as all of the holy scriptures must be identical to the Qur’an…Islam is supreme… Anyone challenging this Muslim law of nature rebels against Allah and should not be allowed to exist…The establishment of a Jewish state on Islamic land is an open rebellion…insolent towards the Prophet and impudence towards Allah…

“Any territory that was ever Muslim becomes sacred to Islam [Waqf – sacred Islamic endowment]…If the territory is conquered by enemies of Islam, like Spain, Palestine and parts of Europe, it is incumbent upon Islam to do everything to restore it to Islamic rule…Islam has not recovered from the loss of Spain…Spain, which Arabs insist on calling Andalus, is regarded to be a lost Islamic territory, the recovery of which is a religious and political duty…The Jihad for the conquest of Europe already began a few decades ago…[Muslims migrants] are coming to Europe as masters and not as immigrants…Thousands of mosques have been established from Finland to France. Islamic version of history and thought is creeping into al the echelons of [European] political and intellectual life, affecting the educational system on all levels…

“The laws of Jihad…form the basis of the relations between the Muslim world and the West…The only possible relations between Muslims and non-Muslims are war or a limited ceasefire…Any sign of weakness is a clear call to renew Jihad…An agreement which contains anything beyond a limited armistice or ceasefire is null and void. The only agreement with non-believers that is permitted by Islamic law is one that enables Islam to strengthen itself, so that when the time comes it can resume Jihad in better conditions. An armistice/ceasefire is based on the postulation that the infidel enemy will mistake the agreement for peace, lower its defenses and slide into a slumber, thus turning itself into an easy target…

According to Prof. Bernard Lewis, the world’s leading expert on Islamic history, “the Muslims believe that they had caused the fall of the Soviet Union [in Afghanistan]…Dealing with the soft, pampered and effeminate Americans would be easier…The lessons of Vietnam and Beirut (1983) were confirmed by Mogadishu (1993). A murderous attack on Americans was followed by a prompt and complete withdrawal…This was the course of events leading to 9/11…

“The Muslims are now convinced that terror is the most effective weapon in their arsenal. They found out that they can kill civilians without being punished…that terror has become an acceptable phenomenon. Some western writers have even defined terror as ‘the weapon of the weak’…Muslim terrorists are encouraged by ‘experts,’ who keep repeating: ‘There’s no military solution to terror.’

“In the Mideast, negotiations are a method to win time…Terrorists need time to arm themselves with more deadly missiles for more effective attacks on civilians…”

4. 4. Israel is the West’s First Yard Line of defense.

A strong Israel deters Jihad; a weakened Israel fuels Jihad.