Due to violent acts by radical Islamic terrorist groups, the Western world has grappled with defining the Quranic term Jihad. The World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 have only exacerbated their confusion. It is important to understand what the word “Jihad” means before one can analyze how it being interpreted or misrepresented by the west. In Islam, Jihad refers to a duty that muslims must fulfill, or a religious duty. It could also mean the fight against someone’s negative emotions as referred to in the Oxford Islamic Studies or it could mean the struggle against nonbelievers. For example,converting non believers for the improvement of Islamic society is something that embodies the word Jihad. In some books containing Islamic law and the Quran it could mean the armed struggle against the disbelievers. It also means submission to peace and total submission to god as referred to in the Oxford Islamic Studies.
Today the word is used without religious relation and directly means the crusade to promote Islamic religion. Whenever the words Islamic or holy are added to the meaning or are in the context it is used in a religious connotation. Another meaning that tends to be a lot stronger or more apparent in Western societies is that Jihad and terrorism are somehow related or are the same thing. This paper will focus on the many different meanings of Jihad and how it has changed with time since 9/11. (As referred to in the Oxford Islamic Studies)
Before 9/11, countries where Islam was not a primary religion were not even aware of the word Jihad. Today, Jihad is a word that is met with negative emotions in non-Islamic countries. Depending on the area the word Jihad means different things. In Islamic practicing countries the word has reli...
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...nbelievers. After 9/11 to many Americans the word Jihad was unclear to to them because of distortion from the media. This became related to terrorism because the terrorist groups used it as justification. So it was a combination of unknowing and media distortion which made the word Jihad related to terrorism.
In conclusion the meaning of the word Jihad has definitely changed tremendously since the 9/11 attacks. The word once meaning something purely religious and a holy duty to the followers of Islam, is now met with disdain and negative emotions and media world over. When one hears the word Jihad, he or she thinks of terrorism. It is unfortunate that the two have been linked together, but that is the effect that terrorism has on society. It instills a sense of fear and insecurity in people, and this in turn has led to a once pure term becoming a sign of evil.
The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror is a book written by Bernard Lewis that ‘in particular charts the key events of the twentieth century leading up to the violent confrontations of today.’(Lewis) Lewis clearly and entirely pointed out key events explaining the choices to be made by the people of the Islamic faith. They must determine whether their religion takes its place alongside other religions in a global community, or whether it will revert back into conflict with non-Muslim nations.
Walton, Mark.W., George. F. Nafziger, and Laurent. W. Mbanda, Islam at War: A History, Praeger/Greenwood, 2003
Thomas W. Lippman gives an introduction to the Muslim world in the book Understanding Islam. He has traveled throughout the Islamic world as Washington Post bureau chief for the Middle East, and as a correspondent in Indochina. This gave him, in his own words, "sharp insight into the complexities of that turbulent region." However, the purpose of the book is not to produce a critical or controversial interpretation of Islamic scripture. It is instead to give the American layman an broad understanding of a religion that is highly misunderstood by many Americans. In this way he dispels many myths about "Muslim militants," and the otherwise untrue perception of Islamic violence. In this way the American reader will become more knowledgeable about an otherwise unfamiliar topic. However, the most significant element of Lippman’s book is that it presents Islam in a simple way that makes the reader feels his awareness rise after each chapter. This encourages him to continue learning about the world’s youngest major religion. Understanding Islam dispels many misconceptions about the Muslim world, and presents the subject in a way that urges his reader to further his understanding of Islam through continued study.
The concept of Jihad was not widely known in the western world before the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Since then, the word has been woven into what our media and government feed us along with notions of Terrorism, Suicide Bombings, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, and now, Jihad. Our society hears exhortations resounding from the Middle East calling the people to rise up in Jihad and beat back the imperialist Americans. Yet, if we try to peel back all of these complex layers of information we can we attempt to find out what Jihad really means. Webster’s Dictionary defines Jihad as “a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty or a crusade for a principle or belief” (1). Often, media depicts Jihad in the same manner—as a vicious clash between two very different peoples, each of whom believes that righteousness, and in many cases God, is on their side. From this interpretation and our daily media intake, one may reasonably assume that Jihad refers to nothing more than violent acts, or “holy wars.”
The tragedy of strained relations between Islamic and Judeo-Christian countries is a part of everyday life. One need only pick up a newspaper or check the news story of the day via television, radio, or internet to learn of the latest violent attack by a suicide bomber or military retaliation on such an attack. The terrorist attacks have been perpetrated by countries that are predominantly Islamic with the counter attacks coming from a well-armed Israel, supported by US arms sales as well as US silence. Arecent CNN talk show byline queried, “Are we at war with Islam?” One does sometimes wonder.
Islamic terrorists are estimated to comprise approximately 10% of the Muslim population, which is equivalent to 160 million out of 1.6 billion people. A terrorist is defined as a person who engages in violence and the infliction of fear in order to gain something either for themselves or for their people. Most Muslims are not terrorists. It is stereotypical to deduce that all Islamic people are involved terrorist groups, however, there are many people who are involved in these groups. Islamic terrorist groups use religion to justify their violent movement by claiming that their religion is the only just religion, strictly following religious leaders and sacred texts, and preserving their aboriginal religious beliefs.
According to the Quran and supporting Islamic texts, jihad means striving. However, there are several words and phrases, that when coupled with jihad, display a variety of sentiments. The phrase fi sabil Allah, "in God's path," can be interpreted as fighting for the sake of God. When paired with the word ribat, jihad is related to warfare or pious doings/activism (Bonner 2006). Jihad represents a fight that has provided Muslims with a solid base of military efficiency demonstrated historically in early Islam.
One of the ten practical principles of Islam, Jihad, is literally defined as “hardship, endeavor, exaggeration in work, reaching the height of something and capability”, while in the Sharia of Islam Jihad is sacrificing one’s life and property primarily for the sake of Allah, elevating and sustaining Islamic beliefs and standpoints. In this sense, Jihad is the act of Defending the Islamic territory against the assaults and intrusions of outsiders and invaders. The essence of Jihad lies in Defense, thus any violence which is shown with the intention of invading a country or a nation’s lives, property, etc. and for manipulating their economic potentials or human resources, not only is not called Jihad but also considered as the overt manifestation of injustice and cruelty which is strongly rejected in Islam.
...” (Woodward, 2001, p. 66). Moreover, Mark Gould (2005) argues that it is true that Jihad exists in Islam, but Muslims are not to use violence in all situations. (p. 16) “For example: Muslims are simply reacting to external impingement on Muslim lands.” Likewise, force cannot be used unless when reacting to a articular incident. (Gould, 2005, p. 16).
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
The religion of Islam garners large amounts attention. Many believe it is a violent and backwards religion. Since 9/11, "Islamic reform" has become an all-purpose phrase: equally a western impulse to protect itself from Muslim violence and a humanist notion aimed at assisting voiceless Muslims (Eteraz1). Extreme displays of Islamic faith such as the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 have generated negative stereotypes about Islam as a religion. These stereotypes of violence and backwards thinking have been further perpetuated by even more recent examples of extremism by Muslim terrorists. Although most Muslims are peaceful and do not endorse the violence of their Muslim brethren, there are some who believe it is their responsibility to punish those who do not adhere to Islam. This religion is no stranger to divinely motivated warfare. Islam was founded on the belief that it is excusable to harm others in the name of Allah. The terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, holds many of these beliefs. Al Qaeda's modern origins go back to Wahhabism, named after the revivalist movement founded by Muhammad Ibn'Abd al-Wahhab in 1744. Wahhab called for a return to a pure and unadulterated form of Islam closer to the ideals of the Prophet (Blond 3). Recently a movement is being made to reform and reinterpret Islam not just as a religion, but also as a culture. The reformation of Islam by its religious authorities and will yield a more passive interpretation of Islam, therefor deterring Islamic extremism and producing a more diplomatic faith.
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people.
A lot of people believe that Muslims, Islam, and/or the Holy Quran encourages killing, fighting, and terrorism. Events such as the 9/11 attack in the United States, the Boston Marathon Bombing, and conflicts in the Middle East causes the media to label Muslims as terrorists. When a specific group of people cause violence to another group it is categorized as ‘hate crime’, but if a Muslim does the same act, the media immediately labels it as ‘terrorism’ (Frater, 2009). As a matter of fact, regarding to the attacks of the mosques in Israel, the media did not use the acts to victimize or stereotype Judaism. Moreover, some extremist groups use Islam as a tactic to gain followers even though a lot of their practices go against the teachings of the Quran. A person would not be considered a Muslim if they spread fear or terrorize others. The Quran clearly states, “You shall not take life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law.” (Quran, 6:151). Islam is against any force or violence towards another person. Often the word ‘Jihad’ is taken out of context by violent militants; it means to strive or struggle for the sake of ones’ self improvement with respect to their spirituality. Religious and political groups use Jihad to justify ...
Terrorism has been around for centuries and religion-based violence has been around just as long. (Hoffman, 2). The violence was never referred to as terrorism though. Only up to the nineteenth century has religion been able to justify terrorism (Hoffman, 2). Since then, religious terrorism became motivated and inspired by the ideological view (Hoffman, 3). Therefore, it has turned against the main focus of religion and more towards the views of the extremist and what is happening politically (Winchester, 4).
In this book , Esposito provides a succinct, up-to-date survey of the Islamic experience, an introduction to the faith, belief, and practice of Islam from its origins to its contemporary resurgence. He traces the emergence and development of this dynamic faith and its impact on world history and politics. He discusses the formation of Islamic belief and practice (law, theology, philosophy, and mysticism), chronicling the struggle of Muslims to define and adhere to their Islamic way of life. Equally important is the essential information Esposito provides on the contemporary world of Islam, from Muslim responses to the challenges of colonialism and modernization to the reassertion of Islam in politics and society.