Jihad and the World Essay

Islam extremists believe in "jihad" which is interpreted by traditional clerics and Muslim scholars, the word speaks of spiritual struggle against sin. This can include fighting an attacker, but when it does, it has specific rules that bar indiscriminate killing. The word can also refer to the believer's internal striving for self-improvement. But within the dictionary of Islamic extremists, it has connoted acts of exceptional violence against governments that are deemed as non-Muslim or inadequately Islamic. This has led to include the launching of deliberate attacks against innocent civilians, essentially, terrorism. From the perspective of totalitarian ideologues, societies that reject the call for total revolutionary transformation are

The equation of dealing with terrorism on an ethical level is complicated by its components not connected to an official state. Just War theory sets a list of checkpoints before a just war can be declared (Snauwaert 2004). This list is known as the Jus ad Bellum and is comprises, but not limited to: just cause, right authority, right intention, proportionality, reasonable hope of success, and last resort (Snauwaert 2004).

The Global Jihad was materialized as the 21st century phenomenon, and its understanding by academics has been controversial. Two main features can be identified, the insurgent character of its strategy, and the transnational element of the organization. An insurgent movement is understood as

The Canadian Center for Intelligence and Security Studies report explains that, “Al Qaeda 's propaganda portrays the current socio-political system as one that oppresses and discriminates against Muslims, who are the victims of an international world order dominated by the West – the aggressor and enemy of Islam.” (ITAC

On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda, an Islamic extremist group, orchestrated an attack on the United States. That concluded in thousands of deaths and injuries; emotional distress and fear in all the civilians of the United States. Hijacked New York airplanes, controlled by suicide bombers part of al-Qaeda, were crashed into the Twin Towers, an empty field in Pennsylvania and right outside the Washington D.C. Pentagon. These inhuman actions contradict the true aspects of the Islamic religion. The religion preaches: equality, love, peace, mercy, righteousness, morality, justice, sincerity, tolerance, truth and forgiveness. Additionally, the Qur'an wished for the followers to behave in a human and civilized matter. The Qur'an, the holy book of Islam,

In the United States, we have Americans that are waiting and wanting to destroy anything that has to do with our country and our western way of life, all in the name of “jihad” or holy war. Just in the past year and almost 10 years after September 11, 2001, there has been upsurge in jihadist recruitment and

Historians, specifically American historians of the 21st century have demonstrated an interest in the Middle East in Islam, due to Americans frequent contact with the Middle East in the early 1960s. Islam and the Middle East have played a remarkable role in Americans discussion and reaction to the events that took place on September 11th, 2001. During this time Americans were beginning to regard the Middle East, Muslims, and Islam as one entity. Americans and the world regarded the Middle East as Islam and Islam as the Middle East. Thus, this correlation between the two made Muslims say Muslim Americans and Muslims in America as less western and more of another, but they were also seen as untrustworthy individuals. Additionally, prior to the September 11th, attacks and an after effect of September 11, was that Muslim men were violent and Muslim women as oppressed individuals. Thus, the perception of Islamophobia and the threat it brings to western society has impacted the discussion of Islamophobia in America.

Shaykh Muhammad al- Akiti, explains how Jihad was misused in the modern day, and refuse all type of excuse that allows the Muslims of using his corpus as the weapon to kill other, and considered it as a suicidal act, not Jihad. Prophet has always clarified the permissible and the impermissible concerning the legitimacy of Islamic Ruling by stating in his Hadith the Halal is clear, and the Haram is clear, and what comes in between is a doubtful matter. Shaykh Akiti explains the contemporary circumstances of using Jihad in the modern world, meaning by that both the Quran and the Hadith forbade the Muslims of targeting civilians, default noncombatants, women, children, Monks, elderly. However, in the modern world women began to engage in the

Jihad – a dispute or war between followers of Islam faith and those who do not follow the Islam faith; a struggle within a Muslim between good and evil (Dictionary)

Yet even with thousands of innocent civilians killed on American soil by Islamic terrorists, the full significance of the Muslim concept of jihad has not been grasped by the American public.

After the attack of 9/11 many American citizens sought out an answer to why one would hijack a plane and run it into the Twin Towers, killing millions. According to the Huffpost, Islam became the main reason for the attack and furthermore labeled religion as the inspiration for many terroristic attacks (Gibson, 1). According to many Muslims, however, the attacks are anti-Islamic because the Quran states not to harm civilians who are not involved with war and to avoid it at all possible times (PBS, 3). The conflict between Muslims and Americans is growing and many issues in the Middle East has become the focus for religious terrorism.

Jihad as a political word was first recorded during the struggle of the Meccan establishment by Prophet Mohammed. The early movement of Muslims, first under their Prophet and later his passing, advanced both religion and political dynamics. In addition to the five tenets of faith, the organizations of the community were centered on structure, movements, decision-making systems and political agendas. The five pillars of the faith are: witness, prayer, pilgrimage, alms, fasting. Jihad main interest is the global jihad and they were looking for pure jihad. They have continued to dominate the scene in South Asia and the Middle East, their influence has reduced in the western diaspora.

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

In light of recent events in the global community, one word that is used frequently but rarely truly understood is the Islamic word Jihad. Jihad has become a very volatile word, so it is necessary that those who use it should understand exactly what it means, what it entails, and what significance it has in current global events.

453). A prime example of an Islamic Fundamentalist movement is al-Qaeda which was a new militant Islamic group when it emerged in 1988. It followed on from the spread of strong religious beliefs and codes that was common in Africa and the Middle- East (Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 150). Al-Qaeda was founded by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, its goal when established was to spread the word of God and to make his religion to most triumphant religion of all. A main characteristic of Islamic Fundamentalism is to create a theocracy which is a regime based on religious principles (Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 150). Al-Qaeda is most known for its attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon in the USA in 2001, whom they openly claimed responsibility for and motivated the USA's war on terror (Goodwin, 2007, p. 432).