Introduction of (Rules of engagement in war of ideas against Jihadists)

Definition of our war of ideas

                                                                       1-The usage of the term (war) in this context might create a problem, since we are talking about our war of ideas as an intellectual war, (a peaceful war) as a substitute for a military war, or as a de-escalating factor, curtailing the use of military might except in the most compelling situations. It is the culture of our contemporary times, where Humanity has reached a level of civilization, practice of democracy, human rights recognition and peace, it realized that war is not the solution for conflicts at all times, rather war could be the worst solution, better yet, itself becoming an added problem. We are still feeling the pains of two world wars that resulted in the death of millions of combatants and civilians, and what followed them of local and regional wars, in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East, none of which succeeded in accomplishing the desired objective, which is peace, tranquility and harmony among people, and the removal of causes of future wars. Hence, to use the term (war) in our war of ideas, is considered distasteful due to the negative connotations it elicits, 2-yet we are forced to use it for two reasons:

A-Our war of ideas against terrorists is the only peaceful one that prohibits or limits the use of military force, halts or limits terror attacks and random killing of the innocent civilians, whereas the other party who murders the innocents, uses the war of ideas, to brainwash simple Muslims into committing suicide attacks, killing themselves and others with no distinction. In other words, our war of ideas is meant to maintain peace, and to save lives including those of the suicide bombers, whereas, the war of ideas of those terrorists is meant to kill the innocents randomly.
B-The second reason, it is an actual and real war but of a different nature. A rational intellectual war, ideas collide, religious, historical, cultural and fatwas struggle against each other, and there is no other adequate description befitting this condition except the term (War). It is a war of ideas comparable to an actual militarized war, yet it attempts to replace if not limit the latter one in order to save lives on both side.
3- Furthermore, our war of ideas against terrorism differs than the militarized war in as much as the militarized one considers the other party as an enemy that should be killed, his infrastructure should be destroyed. On the other hand, our war of ideas does not consider the opponent an enemy; rather it regards his evil ideas as the enemy, those controlling ideas that make him sacrifice himself in killing others, thinking that that jihad is the price to be paid for an eternal abode in paradise. The war of ideas against terrorists is meant to save them from those misconceptions, whereby they become friends instead of enemies. In addition, of our goals, is to reform Muslims from within Islam, to embrace democracy, religious freedom of choice, values of justice, equality, human rights, tolerance, benevolence and peace as the essence of Islam in interacting and dealing with others, it also aims at motivating the Muslim masses, a billion and a half billion of them, to understand and come to terms with the plundering of its rights by the tyrants, and to assume its active role in doing what is good as commanded by Islam, and not  to remain as a subjugated mount for a corrupt insolent tyrant.

The ammunition of a war of ideas differs from that of militarized war. Its ammunition is extensive knowledge of Islam and Muslims. To use such ammunition in new armaments like a written word, a picture, through publishing books, articles, research papers, the internet, radio, TV and the arts. The foot soldiers of this war of ideas are the Muslim scholars, whether extremists, war and terror mongering as on the other side, or peace and reform advocates as in our camp.

The battle field is the one and the same for both; the heart and the mind of the Muslim. We try to teach and inform him with the forgotten principles of Islam, try to win his heart and mind, to reform him peacefully from within Islam. They try to force upon him, their Wahhabi doctrine, the culture of enslavement, and jihad that they interpret as the killing of the other different in religion or sect. This is evident in the young man whom they arm with their doctrine to become a suicide bomber; they fill his heart with hatred for the other, and the urgency of murdering him, they convince him ,through their Wahhabi or extreme Shiite doctrine to  blow himself up in order to kill the innocent other. In contrast, our war of ideas, tries to convince him from within the Quran, that killing himself and others, is nothing more that utter and absolute enmity to Allah, Glory be to Him, to His messenger and to Islam, and that if he were to commit such an act, he would earn Allah’s wrath, he would be accursed by Allah, and his destination on Judgment day would be eternal hellfire.

Two degrees of war of ideas

The simple degree is to convince someone to act as you want him to do. The dangerous degree is to brainwash him or her in order to control him or her to sacrifice his or her life or money for the cause, or what you make as a cause. This final dangerous degree is usually found in the religious fields. This is the difference between war of ideas in Western cold war against the late Soviet Union and the current war of ideas led by the Al Qaeda and the fanatic Jihadists against the West and the US.

In religious fields, you find only two kinds of war of ideas: abandon the real religion and fabricating a human made religion to deceive masses, or to uphold the real religion and its high value of justice, freedom, peace and tolerance to undeceive people and enlighten them.

This could be explained through Arab Muslim history.