The pilots of 9/11 viewed their mass murder of 3,000 civilians as a work of God. In the spiritual guide, which was found by the FBI in the luggage of their leader Mohammed Atta, it said:

"This is the hour in which you will meet God, and pray to God. God will help to accomplish this. When you are in the airplane you should pray to God, as you do this for Him. ... Welcome death in the name of God!"

So, God wants people to be killed, just because they coincidentally happen to be in a skyscraper in New York?

God is the spiritual leader of suicide attackers?

God issues the commands for self-called 'Islamic' killer-commandos?--- Today, Muhammad (pbuh) would never be a suicide bomber, but would rather condemn those actions of inhumanity as contrary to Islam. The terrorists call themself 'Islamists in Jihad'- they are not at all but only brutal ordinary criminals- nothing else.

The pictures of the 9/11 pilots praying to Allah before killing more than 3,000 civilians in the World Trade Center, of suicide bombers blowing up busses in Israel with women and children or killing Muslim students in Bagdad or destroying the Holy Shrine of the Shiites in Southern Iraq, as well as beheadings, or the Taliban's destruction of the giant, ancient sculptures of the Buddha hewn into the mountains of Afghanistan, portray Islam as an inhuman, intolerant and aggressive religion, a threat to the Western and Christian world.

In fact, Muslims are the largest victims of this "religious" violence, as these brutal radicals kill more of their own Muslims brothers and sisters - the Sunnis, Shiites and vice versa - than Christians or Jews. The ideology of death which fanatics base on God consumes above all their own Muslim children, who should, according to the words of the Prophet, represent a better community of believers, an Umma. In this respect, the phenomenon of suicide attackers is first and foremost an inner-Islamic problem, and only subsequently a problem between the Western and Islamic communities.

Echoed by enormous media attention, the radical Islamists now dominate the public debate about Islam and the image of a religion with 1.5 billion followers.

Contrary to the use of the word in the media and in terrorist propaganda, "jihad" has nothing to do with the teaching of Islam in just warfare. Jihad means not "Holy war" but something different: the struggle and effort to put God's word into practice including all spiritual and intellectual elements.

There is a lot of misunderstanding on the issue of jihad.

Jihad is meant for upholding the uprightness of the Word of Allah; helping the oppressed, safeguarding the places of worship; and defense against the aggression and atrocities of the tyrants.

It is not meant for elimimating other religions, destruction of their places of worship or unwarranted massacres of non-Muslims.

It is certainly not an institution to propagate Islam, for propagation and acceptance of its teachings; Islam recommends interesting and suitable forms of preaching, persuasion and discussion.

When you promote the teaching of the Prophet of tolerance and respect towards other religions and human beings in general you put God's word into practice and you are in jihad. When you kill innocent people who did not attack you, you are not in jihad whatever the political arguments may be.

"If some have disregarded a long and well-established tradition in favor of utopian dreams where the end justifies the means, they have done so of their own accord and without the sanction of God, his Prophet, or the learned tradition." (Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI by Islamic Scholars 2007)

Muhammad demanded to reform the societies and the hearts of the people in jihad:

"We are returning form the Lesser Jihad (the battle) and going to the Greater Jihad"

The real purpose of Jihad is to remove injustice and aggression.

"There is a lot of misunderstanding on the issue of jihad. Jihad is meant for upholding the uprightness of the Word of Allah; helping the oppressed, for safeguarding the places of worship; and for defense against he aggression and atrocities of the tyrants. It is not meant for eliminating other religions, destruction of their places of worship or unwarranted massacres of non-Muslims. It is certainly not an institution to propagate Islam, for propagation and acceptance of its teachings; Islam recommends interesting and suitable forms of preaching, persuasion and discussion."

(Madani, Dr, Mahmood A.: Islam's Message of Peace & Security for All, Royal Aal al Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought)

When in 630 Muhammad with an army of 10,000 men entered Mecca there was no revenge, no bloodshed and nobody was forced to join Islam. He rode around the Kabah, the house of God and cried: 'Behold God has removed from you the arrogance of jahiliyyah with its boast of ancient glories, Man is simply a God-conscious believer or an unfortunate sinner. All people are children of Adam, and Adam was created out of dust." (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, 821, in Asad, Message of the Qur'an, 794, in Karen Armstrong, page 200).

And he said "Behold, we have created you all out of a male or a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Verify, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of him. Behold God is all-knowing, all-aware." (Qur'an 49:13)

Even the most cultivated nations - like Germany in the 1930s and Iran in the 1980s - can be turned to centers of intolerance almost over night.

In the new age of globalization, of threats by terrorists and their promotion by hate-preachers, along with the spread of weapons of mass destructions in non-traditional radical states, the issue of mutual tolerance and respect is the lifeblood of peaceful development, stability, freedom and progress in the 21st century.

Neither peace on earth nor the global struggle with criminal terrorists can be won if we cannot enhance tolerance and respect over the next decades in all countries of the world, whether they be Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim, as well as in the many millions of families, the 200 national education systems, and thousands of media outlets (in particular TV) with their special responsibility as global loudspeakers.

The 6.5 billion-strong but silent majority of human beings on our earth, and especially the responsible elite of perhaps only one million of the most influential and powerful movers and shakers in the 190 countries of the world, have left these important issues to the radicals.

We should therefore not blame the radicals for behaving as they do, but should examine ourselves and our attitudes of ignorance and inactivity - which should be changed now.

This is especially true with the start of a real dialogue and better understanding between the Christian and Muslim areas of the world, which have been neglected for hundreds of years. It is highlighted by the different aims of the so-called Islamists, and even relatively few terrorists, who argue that their prophet Mohammed requires them to use force against other ethnic groups and the non-believers.

The concept of suicide bombers killing civilians, including women and children, runs contrary to the original teachings and the Prophet Muhammad and his own personal example during his lifetime.

A jihad by radical self-and-media-called 'Islamists' against civilians is a perversion of the Islamic roots and is a sin against the Prophet himself.

Today, Muhammad would never be a suicide bomber, but would rather condemn those actions of inhumanity as contrary to Islam.

Islam also has deep roots in respect and tolerance towards the older Abrahamic religions, Christianity and Judaism, and human beings in general.

Islam needs a renaissance, a return to the roots of the life of the Prophet in Mecca and Medina.