On Jihad 51

We discuss Jihad over dinner. Jyghal says that teachers in places like Syria and Iran with no authority have usurped the teachings of the Koran, which demands, most broadly, peace (the Iran Iraq war was a sanctioned two-way holy war that killed easily a million Muslims).

Who, then, can call jihad? Any imam and only in response to an attack, or threat, on the Muslim practice. The ultimate authority is the most learned 'student' of the Koran - the Ayatollah Khamenei, for instance. But the local Osh imam can do it, too.

Why would a practicing Muslim want to go to paradise (72 virgins) for Jihad if he loves his wife? "He loves his wife and Paradise is only18 years. Then what? Nothing, it is dust."

Is there 'hell' for, say, murder? "32x heat of the sun."

Yet nothing, says Jyghal, including murder, is worse than pre-marital sex which disgraces the family and the village. I wonder: Does it flip everything on its head - women are the center of Islam, reflected by the ability to cause the greatest harm, instead of subjugated in a dominant male culture? I don't know the answer.

"Stan" means 'land of" like Kazakhstan. Or Finland or England.