Jihad Mural on Mosque Sparks City Probe (Which Is Kind of Funny Since the City Funded It in the First Place)

Stupid infidels try to play catch up. Too bad for them the Islamists are always at least one step ahead of them:

TORONTO - The City of Toronto is investigating a controversial publicly-funded mural which critics say promotes a holy war against non-Muslims. 

The city-funded piece of art on the wall of a building housing the Al-Tawakal mosque on Gerrard St. E., near Greenwood Ave., incorporates a verse from the Qur’an, which is written in Arabic and scrawled in modern, urban-style graffiti. 

Critics charge it is a jihadist battle-cry against the West — an assertion disputed by the artist and at least two Toronto academics.

“City staff are currently investigating the concerns raised about this mural,” city spokesman Lynne Kyle said in an e-mail, adding “there was an extensive amount of community consultation that went into the design of the mural and there were no issues raised at that time.” 

Taken from a chapter of the Muslim holy book, it is a verse that talks of Allah’s blessing and an Islamic victory of some kind being close at hand. 

Salim Ahmad, a member of the Muslim Canadian Congress, has launched a petition calling on Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to remove the contentious image.

“It’s an excerpt from the Qur’an, (and) it is used as a slogan when you’re fighting a jihad,” he said. 

In the petition, Ahmad claims the verse is used by both the Taliban and al-Qaida terrorist groups...

Not so fast, say some apologists "experts." The verse can be interpreted in a variety of ways:

Laury Silvers, a part-time professor of Islamic studies at University of Toronto, said the mural’s message has been blown out of proportion. 

The verse used in the mural, she added, is based on an ancient Muslim battle with those of polytheistic faith over land and property. 

And Adrian Hayles, a non-Muslim artist commissioned to come up with the mural, added Tuesday he chose that Qur’an verse because he was attracted to the look of the Arabic script and felt the English translation conveyed a positive message. 

He also said the community was consulted about the project before any paint was put to brick. 

Anver Emon, a professor of Islamic law at the University of Toronto, says the word “victory” has many meanings in Islam, depending on the reader’s interpretation.

So you mean that not only did we infidels fund the sucker, an infidel selected the jihad verse?

That's actually funny, in a pathetic sort of way.

Good thing the verse, the one which has justified centuries of bloody holy war and which still inspires by-the-book warriors today, can also refer to that non-threatening personal, internal "struggle" to heed Allah.

Looks like we dodged a real bullet there, huh?

Update: Professor Emor "interprets" sharia law pertaining to dhimmis in his book Religious Pluralism and Islamic Law. The book

• Presents an original analysis of the dhimmi rules governing the approach Islamic law takes towards foreigners, giving new perspectives on the nature of Islamic law and problem of governing amidst diversity
• Offers an interdisciplinary interpretation of the issue of the treatment of foreigners in Islamic law, examining it from the perspectives of Islamic law, legal theory, and history
• Demonstrates the difficulties present in pursuing pluralism alongside rule of law and effective governance.

Yeah, it's hard to make pluralism and sharia cohere when only one of 'em can have--now, what was that word with various meanings again?-- a "victory" was it, Professor?