re: Metz-marct discussion (p. 4)

In attempting to see things from the viewpoint of our extreme Salafist brethren, I like to start with Maududi. Maududi wrote with clarity (as also his intros to each sura in the Koran) and brevity. His much larger body of work is lost to me, since I am not an Arabist.

Sayyeed Abdul A'la Maududi, Jihad in Islam (Lahore, 1939) (pamphlet based on an address given by Maududi on April 13, 1939), where he answered the question :

"What does Jihad Actually Mean?

"If Islam is a “Religion”, and Muslims are a “Nation”, according to the commonly accepted understandings of these terms, then Jihad - despite the fact that it has been dignified with the title “The Best of all Prayers” in Islam - becomes a meaningless and useless term. But Islam is not the name of a mere “Religion”, nor is Muslim the title of a “Nation”. In reality Islam is a revolutionary ideology and programme which seeks to alter the social order of the whole world and rebuild it in conformity with its own tenets and ideals." [p5 in this .pdf]

http://www.ukim.org/dawah/jihad.pdf

I suggest that Maududi saw the "center of gravity" as the person. Convert the person and all good things would flow from enough conversions (which, btw, cannot be forced). So, Maududi's program requires true believers, cutting across national and even tribal boundaries.

Maududi also makes it clear that there is no distinction between "offensive" and "defensive" jihad; that political and military methods are interlinked to achieve the end result; and that his brand of Islam is not adverse to technology, trade and commerce, applied in conformity with Islamic standards.

So, we have a utopian end result (cf., Marxist-Leninism); but based on a religious construct encompassing not only politics and governance, but all aspects of a person's life. Pretty heady stuff for many people.

Focusing on "tribes" does come closer to Maududi's "center of gravity" - the person. Focusing on "nations" seems irrelevant. Just some thoughts on a person who seems to have been a "practical anthropologist".

Sorry, can't help on motorcyles. Physically unable to ride a bicycle, or to safely mount a motorcycle (or a horse). But have fun.