Over the next several years, Muslims believe, the entire holy book would be revealed to Muhammad and form the scriptural basis of the faith, along with a collection of more than 100,000 accounts of the prophet's words and actions, known as hadith. In a climate of widespread inequity and idolatry, Islam was a revolutionary message of equality, justice and peace. For the last 10 years of his life, he and his band of Muslims battled relentlessly to establish their faith against the Meccan establishment and other Arab tribes. The Koran and hadith reflect their environment, with numerous verses urging them to fight for Allah. The Islamic sacred texts not only include exhortations to fight, they also lay out detailed rules of engagement.
Experts say the terrorists broke every rule in the Islamic sacred books.
It forbids suicide. It even requires notice before attack. The Islamic rules of engagement, however, seem to be lost on the terrorists. Abou El Fadl has closely analyzed the religious references used in the literature and speeches of extremists, including a year-old interview with Bin Laden rebroadcast last week on an Arabic TV channel. That was a reference to U.S. forces that have been stationed in Saudi Arabia in the decade since the Gulf War.