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| Muhammad with sword, leading pious Muslims into battle. |
Why Do Terrorists Strike During Ramadan?
by William DiPuccio, May 26, 2017:
Ramadan 2017 opened with the bloody massacre of 28 Coptic Christians. Every year hundreds of people die in Ramadan attacks. According to statistics kept by thereligionofpeace.com, 2,988 people were killed in 2015, and 1,850 died in 2016.
Strict Muslims pattern their lives after the teaching and example of Muhammad who established a precedent for conducting attacks during the Arab holy months. Technically, Ramadan is not counted among the four holy months of Islam, but it is a solemn and holy observance.
Muhammad had begun a series of caravan raids against his own people, the Meccans, for rejecting his prophetic claims and persecuting Muslims. By universal agreement, fighting was prohibited during the holy months of the Arab calendar. So Muhammad hesitated to launch another raid during the holy month of Rajab.
But, he claims to have received a revelation encouraging the Muslims to fight. This marked the beginning of violence in the name of Islam:
“They ask you O Prophet about fighting in the sacred months. Say, “Fighting during these months is a great sin. But hindering others from the Path of Allah, rejecting Him, and expelling the worshippers from the Sacred Mosque is a greater sin in the sight of Allah. For persecution is far worse than killing” (Quran 2:217).
Muslims, then, are justified in conducting war during holy observances in order to prevent persecution. However, the Muslims were no longer under direct persecution since they had moved to Medina. This battle was waged to avenge the past and punish the Meccans for rejecting Islam. It proved to be the first successful caravan raid against the Meccans. Its success was seen as a certain sign of divine favor.
Following Muhammad’s example, terrorists are emboldened to engage in acts of violence against those who reject Islam and in any way inhibit the spread of Islam.* While Muslims are purifying themselves from the stain of sin during Ramadan, what better time is there to purge the faith and cleanse the land from all such defilement by destroying the infidel?
* [The Copts are twice ‘guilty’ in this regard. First, their very presence in an Islamic country and their willingness to receive converts from Islam is viewed as an offense. Second, by siding with the secular leaning government of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who ousted the Muslim Brotherhood, they are regarded as enemies of Islam according to some.]