Jihad

Word of the day

Jihad

As a general term, the struggle to create a just and divinely ordered society. The Quran refers to armed defence and justly executed warfare, for which Islam specifies the conditions of war and peace, the treatment of captives and negotiation and resolution of conflict.

In juristic writings Muslim scholars developed further the idea of jihad both as concerned with the defence of Muslim society and also as an extension of its borders. Such writings include extensive discussions of all aspects of warfare, including the notions of justifiable aggression, the authority for and conduct of war, the appropriate treatment of captives, including women, children and the elderly, and the role of arbitration and negotiation in bringing hostilities to an end.

Among Sufi Muslims and others, the idea of jihad as warfare represented incomplete understanding of the concept and interpretation of the Prophetic tradition. They emphasized the distinction between the lesser jihad, for war and defence, and the greater jihad, the struggle for mastery of one's own self to gain deeper spiritual understanding of the inner meaning of the faith.

In contemporary times Muslims have defined jihad in broader terms to encompass ideas of resistance to colonial rule, the struggle for emancipation and the fight against injustice and tyranny as well as ignorance. The term JIHADIST is now sometimes used in the media, to describe those who argue for and undertake war against the state or those they believe to be against the restoration of a true Muslim society and state. To such groups, Muslims and non-Muslims are equally culpable and therefore legitimate targets against whom violence and killing is justifiable.