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The literal meaning of Jihad is struggle or effort, and it means much more than holy war. Muslims use the word Jihad to describe three different kinds of struggle: A believer's...
- Islam
The conduct of war. Islam bans the killing of non-combatants...
- Practices in Islam
Lesser jihad is sometimes called a holy war. It must be...
- Islam
Quranists do not believe that the word jihad means holy war. They believe it means to struggle, or to strive. They believe it can incorporate both military and non-military aspects. When it refers to the military aspect, it is understood primarily to be defensive warfare. [162] [163]
Jihad, in Islam, a meritorious struggle or effort. Although in the West it is sometimes erroneously translated as ‘holy war’ and understood as referring exclusively to military combat, Islamic texts yield a broader array of meanings connected to moral and ethical struggles.
Lesser jihad is sometimes called a holy war. It must be approved by a religious leader, fought in self-defence and not used to either convert people to Islam or gain land.
The word Jihad is mistranslated as “Holy War”. The Arabic equivalent of “Holy War” is harb-u-muqadasah. This term is not found in any verse of the Qur’an. There is nothing in the Islamic sources that permit a Muslim to fight against non-Muslims solely on the basis that they are not Muslim.
Muslims who successfully wage this jihad are “the true mujahid,” or “holy warriors,” in Islam. This sounds fairly peaceful, except that it is mainly seen as the necessary first step in waging an external holy war.
Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda undertook a global war of terror against Muslim governments and America, distorting Islam and countering Islamic law in issuing their own fatwas (legal opinions) in an attempt to legitimate their war and call for attacks against civilians (noncombatants).
