hi milind, I understand your dilemma which I think is also shared by a lot of our Indian brethren. These so called terrorists or Islamic fundamentalists as they are called have mis-interpreted the Quranic teachings. The basic fundamentals of Islam are to pray 5 times a day, perform haj, fast during the holy mnth of ramzan, charity and to fight against your inner desires/addictions(jihad). This is the actual meaning of jihad. Earlier our Prophet(PBUH) in his days used to fight with other tribes for survival. This is the meaning of jihad. Si jihad is a term used for "fight". It doesn't anywhere mention in the Quran that you have to kill all non-believers. Infact there's mention of Moses,Jesus in the Quran. And it also mentions that we need to respect other religions as well.And about the 72 virgins, its just another cheap method of brain-washing these guys like Osama use to convince recruits that they are not doing it for nothing. Most of the people whom they recruit are from illiterate backgrounds. And in Islam, much respect is given to people who grow beards and pray 5 times a day. But just growing beard is not enough, you have to be a true muslim at heart. But generally, people think that this guy has a long beard, always wears a cap,prays 5 times a day, what he is saying is/must be true.But people with even an ounce of common sense would understand that its all bullshit. These guys are just using the Holy Quran to justify their mis-deeds, which is very wrong and is highly
