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Jihad Dealer Ads Spark Disdain Among Some

As is often demonstrated these days, unfortunately more and more, there are some limits to free speech that are prompted not by the need to adhere to certain laws but to refrain from infuriating certain ethnic groups. The recent violence by Muslims, caused ostensibly by Pope Benedict XVI`s having used a 14th century Byzantine Emperor to equate Islam with violence, and the reactions of newspapers and media urging the Pope to offer a sincere apology, shows that we are living in an era of fear.

Terrorism thrives on what it is - the creation of terror in the hearts of normal, innocent civilian populaces. Buzzwords such as "jihad" are not to be used even lightly, for the connotations they bring with them are potentially incendiary. And so it was that a recent radio ad campaign by a car dealer was seen to have foolishly risked the wrath of those who use any excuse for violence anyway.

The ad, in Ohio, said among many other things "Friday is fatwa Friday, with free rubber swards for the kiddies," A fatwa is an Islamic religious edict, usually more well-known for declaring that a certain non-Muslim author or personality has a religiously-mandated contract on their life. Several local area radio stations refused to play the ad, which said the dealership would carry out "a jihad on the automotive market."