[A cautionary note: This essay is a twenty parts series; its content may be deemed offensive to some readers. The author will not be responsible in the event any reader feels anger, umbrage, agitated, distraught and/or derided after reading this serial. You have been forewarned. Read at your own risk.]

'They say we are terrorists? They are right-of course we are. That is what we do for a living' - Khalid Shaikh Muhammad

Synopsis

This article investigates the very application of terror tactic that was used some fourteen hundred years ago by the very first Jihadists of Islam to gain booty and become quick-rich through plunder. The main purpose of this essay is to probe whether a direct link exists among the Modus Operandi of the Jihadists (read Islamic Terrorists) of Muhammad's time and their counterparts of today. In all, one hundred (100) cases of armed conflicts were investigated for their cause, timing, venue and the principal actor/s involved. The finding of this detail investigation is quite disturbing indeed; mind-numbing one may say. This exercise establishes, without any doubt whatsoever, the uncanny similarities that exist between those Islamic fighters of Muhammad's time and their counterparts of today. It is also found that except for two or three, all other cases of armed conflict were due solely to the aggressive terrorist acts of the Muslim perpetrators. It was invariably the Islamic Jihadists who usually initiated the conflict, in many cases without any plausible reason/s and/or without or slightest provocation. The result of these terror tactics was that the participant Muslims engaged in unbound savagery that often included gratuitous murder, genocide, ethnic cleansing, revenge killings, political assassinations, and in many cases, simply plain plunder and armed robbery. Muhammad followed this path of terror and pillage to reward his followers with easy and handsome booty, land, other goods and material benefits. The exercise of terror and its concomitant gain made the early Jihadists rich, self-supporting and this was crucial in the establishment of the authority of Islam in the entire Arabian Peninsula. Please make no mistake about it.

Most biographers of Muhammad dealt at length with a handful of well-known wars that were fought between Muslim soldiers and the infidels' trained army. These major combats or wars number around thirteen in all and they are well documented by many historians. Nonetheless, it is the so-called minor or the so-called small-scale skirmishes that stand out as the most important events to expose the true scale of savagery, cruelty, barbarism, unbound greed, treachery, guile and lasciviousness of the early converts of Islam-this, truly is a surprise discovery and is the well-kept secret amongst Islamists. It is rather sad to note that very few biographers/historians have attempted to investigate in detail these 'small' or 'insignificant' acts of terror.

Many cruel Sharia or Islamic laws were formulated based on the examples set by Muhammad and his followers during those violent armed conflicts/terror campaigns. Plenty of Qur'anic verses also relate to these combative events. Since Sharia laws and the Qur'an are absolutely immutable and valid for eternity, therefore, there is no hope that any harshness of these Islamic 'divine' laws can ever be diminished by reform or through peaceful means.

This prolix article is based on information culled mainly from impeccable Islamic sources. We must first of all, realize that these 'immaculate' information were of course, carefully censored, filtered, cleaned, sanitized and any 'bad' and/or the 'horrendous' elements surgically removed before they were made public. Even then, we find enough mind-boggling, terrible, barbaric and utterly indigestible events/information buried deep inside those authentic Islamic books. If true freedom of information was practiced and no Islamic censorship was in place, imagine what would have been the content of un-sanitized, un-censored version of these Holy resources! A really worrying find of this study is that the latest English translated versions of the compilation of Sahih Ahadith have been organised by 'clinically' removing those 'bad,' 'terrible' and 'horrendous' Ahadith that make Islam look indeed, a religion of terror and Bedouin barbarism. To gather the truth one must refer to the original Sahih Ahadith and their original translated versions. This latest attempt of 'surgery,' truly, is a clever ploy by the modern 'doctors' of Islam to fool and beguile the world-now that everyone harbours absolute doubt that Islam is a religion of peace.

Finally, this study leads the author to the opinion that Islam and terrorism are completely inseparable. The root of terror a la Islamic fashion is in the divine command itself. It is deeply entrenched in the preachings, commands, injunctions, inspirations, practices and the examples set by Muhammad and his contemporary followers, who lived by the sword (read terror) and used it as the most potent weapon to subdue their adversaries who happened to cross their path. If a Muslim follows the 'Real Islam'-the unadulterated, pure Islam preached and practiced by Muhammad, he can't but be a terrorist-plain and simple.

Bibliography

Departing from the conventional practice of inserting the bibliography at the end of an article, I have decided to include the bibliography at the beginning of this essay. This is done for the convenience of the reader. The serious reader should keep this bibliography handy for cross-referencing and verification.

"The Holy Qur'an," the internet version of three English translations can be read at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/]

Ali, Abdullah, Yusuf, "The Holy Qur'an: Translation and Commentary," Amana Corp., Brentwood, Maryland, 1983.

"The Holy Qur'an," translated by Maulana Sher Ali, Islam International Publications Ltd., Telford, Surrey, U.K., 1997.

"The Koran, " Penguin Classic (1956), translated by N.J. Dawood, Penguin Books, London reprint, 1999.

"The Koran," translated by J.M. Rodwell; first published in 1909; reissued by Phoenix Press, London, 1994.

Pickthall, Mohammad Marmaduke, "The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, Translation and Explanation" reprinted by Adam Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi, India, 1996.

al-Hilali, Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din(Dr.) and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, "The Noble Qur'an Transliteration in Roman Script And English Translation of the Meanings," Darussalam Publishers, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1996. [The internet version of the English translation by these two modern translators can be read at: [http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/]

Makhlaf, Ash-Shaikh Hasnain Muhammad, "Kalimatul Qur'an," translated by Duraid & Faiz Fatouhi, Kitab Bhavan, 1784 Kalam Mahal, Daraya Ganj, New Delhi, 2^{nd. ed. 2002.}

^{Abu Dawud, Sulayman b. al-Ash'ath, "Al-Sunaan," a collection of Hadith, translated in English by Prof. Ahmad Hasan}

^{al-Bukhari, Muhammad b. Ismail b al-Mughira, "Sahi al-Bukhari," translated in English by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan}

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^{Malik, ibn Anas ibn Malik, Abdullah al-Asbahi al-Himyari, "Muwatta," translated in English by A'sha Abdurrahman at-Tarjumana and Ya'qub Johnson}

^{Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad b. Yasr, "Sirat Rasul Allah," translated in English by A. Guillaume; first published by Oxford University Press, London in 1955; fifteenth reprint by Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, 2001.}

^{al-Mubarakpuri, Saifur Sahman, "The Sealed Nectar (Ar-Raheeq al-Makhtum)," revised edition; translated in English from Arabic by Mahir Abu Dhahab, Darussalam Publishers, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2002. [An older edition of this book can be read online]}

^{Ibn Sa'd, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad, "Kitab al-Tabaqat," vol ii, translated in English by S. Moinul Haq, Kitab Bhavan; 1784, Kalan Mahal, Daraya Ganj, New Delhi, India, 1972.}

^{al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Jarir, "Muhammad at Mecca," vol. vi, translated and annotated by W. Montgomery Watt and M.V. McDonald, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1988.}

^{al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Jarir, "The Foundation of the Community, Muhammad at al-Medina," vol. vii, translated and annotated by M.V. McDonald and W. Montgomery Watt, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1987.}

^{al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Jarir, "The Victory of Islam," vol. viii, translated by Michael Fishbein, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1997.}

^{al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Jarir, "The Last Years of the Prophet," vol. ix, translated by Ismail K. Poonwala, , State University of New York Press, Albany, 1990.}

^{Rodinson, Maxine, "Muhammad," translated from French by Anne Carter; first published in 1971; The New York Press publication, 2002,}

^{Muir, William, "Life of Mahomet" in four volumes, Smith, Elater & Co. London, 186}

^{Haykal, Muhammad Hussain, "The Life of Muhammad," translated by Isma'il Razi A. al-Faruqi}

^{Dashti, Ali, "23 Years: A Study in the Prophetic Career of Mohammad," translated from Persian by F.R.C. Bagley, Mazda Publishers, Costa Masa, California, 1994.}

^{Hamidullah, Muhammad, "The Battlefields of The Prophet Muhammad," 3rd. ed., Kitab Bhavan; 1784, Kalan Mahal, Daraya Ganj, New Delhi, India, 4th., reprint, 1992.}

^{Hughes, Patrick Thomas, "A Dictionary of Islam" first published in 1886; latest reprint by Kazi Publications Inc,, Chicago, 1994.}

^{Ibn al-Kalbi, Hisham, "The Book of Idols (Kitab Al-Asnam)," translated in English by Nabih Amin Faris, Princeton University Press, 1952.}

^{al-Misri, Ahmed ibn Naqib, "Raliance of the Traveller ('Umdat al-Salik)," revised edition, translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Amana Publications, Bettsville, Maryland, 1999.}

^{Hamilton, Charles, "Hedaya," translated in English in 1870 from the Persian version; reprinted by Kitab Bhavan, 1784 Kalan Mahal, Daraya Ganj, New Delhi, 1994.}

^{Doi, Abdur Rahman I.," Shari'ah: The Islamic Law" first published in London, in1984; Malaysia reprint by A.S. Noordin, G.P.O. Box No. 10066, 50704, Kuala Lumpur, 1998.}

^{Fouda, Yosri and Nick Fielding, "Masterminds of Terror," Penguin Books, Australia, 2003.}