This statement marks the beginning of worldwide Islamic jihad. To make so serious a call upon the Muslim ummah there must indeed be dire circumstances. It is only right that the basis for this call to jihad be clearly explained. Right now the battle with shaitan is being lost. In modern terms this is the battle against western secular materialism.

You must know deeply in your heart that the influence of western secular materialism is the influence of shaitan. Western secular materialism takes us from our prayers, takes us from our Islamic culture, takes us from our Islamic economic system, takes us from our Islamic educational system, takes us from our Islamic values, turns our minds from Allah, and robs our children of an Islamic future. Western secular materialism gives us a society of crime, violence, drug abuse, alcoholism, prostitution, pornography, homosexuality, exploitation of people and resources, and reduces life to a meaningless exercise in futility. Western secular materialism creates in the minds of our children atheistic thought, disrespect for parents and elders, hopelessness, disregard for knowledge, and love of a debased animalistic lifestyle focused on only the crudest pleasures of the flesh. Do you not know this is exactly what shaitan most desires?

Right now the Western nations are actively pushing their shaitanic culture upon the rest of the world. They are the most powerful nations militarily and economically that have ever existed in the history of the world. They use that military and economic power to remake the world in their image. They also have the most effective tools of propaganda and influence the world has ever seen. This form of brainwashing is carried out through their news media, television, movies, popular music, and fashion. They have been very successful in the developing countries and the Muslim nations in using these powerful tools of influence to mold and twist the minds of the young so that they crave, praise and participate in that depraved Western culture.

The leaders of the Western world have already specifically identified Islam as the most powerful remaining threat to their way of life since the fall of communism, and have proclaimed this belief to their people. How often are the citizens of Western nations told that Muslims are fanatical terrorists, who have spread Islam across the world by the sword; and, how seldom do they hear the wondrous Truths of Islam, of the Mercy and Compassion of Allah? Let there be no doubt, the goal of the leaders of the Western world is to destroy the power of Islam.

Of course, they are partly right. Islam is the only real threat that exists to their way of life, to the shaitanic aspects of their culture. Nothing else in this world has any chance of stopping the power of Western secular materialism. Allah gave the people of the world Islam as their religion. Islam is the only way to stop the power of shaitan to rule this world.

Allah gave us as our responsibility the role of kalifah in this world. The primary role of the kalifah is to fight against the influence of shaitan. This obligation has three parts; we are to perfect ourselves according to the Will of Allah, we are to perfect all society according to the Will of Allah, and we are to perfect the physical environment according to the Will of Allah. Right now the Muslim ummah is not fulfilling this obligation.

In Islam there are obligations upon the individual and there are obligations upon the ummah. Every Muslim is responsible for fulfilling his or her own individual obligations. Responsibilities upon the ummah are usually fulfilled by only those among the ummah who specifically take on that responsibility. If those within the ummah who take on the responsibility successfully fulfill that obligation then it fulfills the requirement for all members of the ummah. If an obligation upon the whole ummah is not being fulfilled by those within the ummah who take on the responsibility then that obligation falls upon every member of the ummah until the obligation is successfully fulfilled.

It is for these reasons that this call to jihad is made upon every Muslim brother and sister in the world. This is an obligation upon every Muslim above the age of puberty, though due to the seriousness of the circumstances Muslims below the age of puberty should also be encouraged to be part of this jihad. Each has the responsibility to do as much as is possible and in every way that they can, to successfully complete this jihad. The authority to make this call to jihad rests in the truth of the words not in power bestowed on those who make the call. Judge these words according to the Will of Allah. If we lose this battle against shaitan then Islam is lost. This is the last battle, this is the final jihad.

A few important issues must be made clear in this call to jihad:

We must know who and what is the enemy. It is important to realize that not all things of the Western world and not all people from Western culture are evil. There are many good things offered through Western knowledge, technology and medicine. There are many good people in Western nations trying to live right lives. These things and these people are not our enemy; they also are victims of Western secular materialism. The enemy can be found in many places. The enemy is every idea, every word and every action that is in opposition to the Will of Allah. The enemy is those who hold to the wrong beliefs, those who speak in support of what is wrong, and those who act against the Will of Allah.

We must know how to fight this battle and what weapons to use. Islam gives us the answer. This is not to be a jihad of the sword, or of guns, bombs and violence. Not only would that be wrong, but also we would have no chance of success against the military might of the Western world. Non-Muslims must know they will never be harmed by this jihad, and must be helped to realize that it is done for their great benefit also. This is to be jihad fought only in the battlefield of the mind with a weapon far more powerful than any sword or bomb. The weapon in this jihad must be knowledge, but do not believe this to be solely an educational jihad. Knowledge can be wielded with the precision of a sharp sword to effect any desired social/political change necessary for the fulfillment of Islam.

There may be those who will say that this jihad is not necessary, that we can rely on Allah to protect us. Those who wait for Allah to save them wait in vain. Did not our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) say, "Rely on Allah, but first tie up your camel". We must consider the full and universal implication of those words. Allah does not do it for us. Allah has given us the knowledge of what we must do in every situation and when we follow His Will we can rely on Him to ensure the right outcome.

We must know this is a battle we will win, although it will be a most difficult struggle. At the battle of Badr who was stronger, 300 poorly equipped Muslims with Allah or 1000 well-equipped opponents of Islam without Allah? Is it not true that even one rightly guided Muslim with Allah at his side is stronger than all the armies in the world who do not have Allah on their side? Today there are perhaps 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, and we are not so poorly equipped as the opponents of Islam might like to believe. With Allah on our side we cannot do other than win - if we act rightly.