Muslims Need Interfaith Understanding, Not Jihad
By: Zahir Mannan

Does the banning of minarets alone warrant jihad? Islam says no. In fact, the Quran prohibits warfare except in defense (22:40) or upholding religious freedom (2:194).

Minarets themselves are not mandatory mosque structures. During the lifetime of Muhammad, mosques were built without minarets.

Switzerland is the home of 400,000 Muslims and nearly 200 mosques. On what grounds, then, can Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi wage jihad against Switzerland while his own country exudes evidence of religious intolerance? The U.S. State Department reports that Libya severely restricts the religious freedoms of non-Muslim religious communities.

As a leader, Gaddafi should call for interfaith understanding in Libya before waging war against a country much more conscious of religious freedom than his own.