Jihadists and their religious and political affects Essay

“Fight in the name of God and in the ‘path of god’. Combat those who disbelieve in God.” The quote above is an excerpt from Matthew Gordon’s book, “The Rise of Islam”. Throughout the course of history, many religions have had a profound effect on western civilization. During the early 5th century a religion arose that had an extremely important impact on western civilization. The Arabic prophet Muhammad founded the religion known today as Islam. Violence, diplomacy, Arabic tradition, and public law played a vital role in the rise and conquest of Islam. These four key elements that fostered the rise of Islam helped establish one of the largest religions in western civilization.

My definition or impression of the word “Jihad” before I watch these videos is a struggle, or a war, or a fight between someone.

     The Islamic concept of jihad, often mistranslated as “holy war,” plays a strong role in Muslim just war tradition. Jihad more correctly refers to a “holy struggle” or “striving”. Unfortunately, jihad has been used as a means for justifying everything from defense of the right to worship Allah to blatant aggression against neighboring countries. Both Sunni and Shiite Muslim scholars recognize that jihad is a term to be used cautiously, as it seems to be in some sense applicable to fighting anyone whose faith in Allah can be questioned. Political leaders on the other hand have had a tendency to use the term whenever it increases their popularity or their people’s patience for enduring conflict. Iraq is one of numerous Middle Eastern nations that could be classified as dar-al-Islam; a nation in which Muslim law dictates much of everyday life. (Hunt, Crotty)

Like the Bible is the code of conduct by which Christians should wage war, the doctrine of jihad is the rules that the followers of Islam are called to adhere to. In the Quran, jihad is described as a “holy war”, and it is declared that “permission is given to those who fight because they are wronged,” (Irwin 222; The Qur’an Al-Hijr 22:39). While this is true, jihad is also defined as “striving in the path of God.” (Bonner 2). So, it is meant to be something that carries both

Terrorism is the act of engaging in destructive acts or causing mayhem by a group of people in order to pursue their agenda. This act of intolerance has been on the rise especially in Muslim countries. Terror groups such as the al-Qaida and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have emerged in different parts of the Asia and Africa. Their agenda is to impose the sharia law in the Muslim community. This is because they feel oppressed by the Western countries which are composing of the Christian majority (Duyvesteyn & Peeters, 2015).

First: the battle against temptation and sin for the sake of self-control and the development of virtue; Second: the battle against any and all who oppose Islam.

Jihad is not the armed struggle that many think it is. Jihad is a personal requirement for all Muslims to promote Islam and that can take various forms. Not all are capable of armed struggle and so it can manifest itself in demonstrations, apologists, but the requirement is always there.

In the novel Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in the Age of Globalization, Reza Aslan argues that the war on terror is a cosmic war. Many people studying the issue make the terrible mistake of overlooking the purpose of the radical jihadist groups located in the Middle East, such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Aslan states that although they present a frightening image by hurting and killing "infidels", one of their main purposes is to educate the world on their religious values/goals and power. The leaders of these groups require no victory or prize to be won, but only the symbolism that is learned from their extreme actions and sacrifices. The groups justify their devastating choices by executing plans in the name of their god.

The term Jihad is drawn from Arabic to mean struggle. There are many Jihads such as: jihad-al nafs, jihad bil-listen, jihad bil-yad, and others. A common misconception is that jihad means battling for God. However, none of these is ascertainable from the Quran, and thus, this claim is erroneous. This misunderstanding is closely related to the holding that people who die for the sake of God become martyrs. Nevertheless, this is fallacious as the Quran brands one an amateur only in the following circumstances; if one dies on a pilgrimage to Mecca, in car clash when going to the mosque or when a woman dies giving birth. As thus, jihad does not support terrorism or unnecessary battles.

Thousands were recruited in the process to join what became the holy war (jihad) against the invading atheist enemy. They were immediately deemed as 'Mujahedeen' - A term reserved to holy warriors for the project of Islamic conquest led by the Caliphates in the early history of Islam during the Medieval era (7th through 9th Century).

In recent events in our society, terrorism has been relevant and obvious in everyday life. It floods through the media, splashing headlines, and is a common topic being debated. There is much debate on whether religion is the cause of the wars we are fighting in this modern day. The most current terrorist group today is ISIS or The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. They are oppressing and destroying their fellow Syrian’s and Iraqi’s and they are spreading alarm and panic across the world with their violence and destruction. ISIS is a Muslim society, which paints a negative picture on the religion, but they are extremists. ISIS does not speak for the Muslim society and people; in fact most Muslims detest them. In these circumstances it is important to not get lost in the big picture, but realize that groups like these are radical and not a fair representation of these religions. Extremism, politics, and interpretation are the face of wars; Religion does not cause war, people do.

All non Muslims governments and parties in the world are against Jihad because they are likely to become one of its targets and will lead to high civilian costs of life among the populations and the degradation of civil rights that have been established. Since Jihad is affecting the whole world morally and mentally, someone could ask “Is Jihad ethical?”

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)

In Islam, one of God’s names is salaam. Salaam means peace in English. The term also means a just social order where everyone is treated with respect and there is no violence or conflict. Sufi Muslims believe in the importance of peace and harmony with others and God. The Islamic holy book, the Qur’an also puts restrictions on the use of force. The book says that God does not like those who are aggressive. Because of this, Muslims practice jihad. Some Muslims think of jihad as peacefully overcoming oppression. The concept of jihad causes many problems in modern day society. One of the words meanings is the struggle against oppression by military means if necessary. Many evil acts have been committed by extremists who use jihad as their excuse for their actions. This is not a valid excuse. The concept of jihad itself is not bad, there were many holy wars in the Bible. Jihad becomes bad when people use it as an excuse to be

The most widely recognized strict interpretation from Arabic to English is "struggle," whether it be a struggle against oppression, corruption, injustice, poverty, hunger, and my use of it right now, ignorance. Although “Holy war” is a popular interpretation also, it does not encompass the whole meaning of Jihad. Following the doctrine of Jihad would actually benefit society and even the whole world. The word “struggle” itself is used so you can overcome it. So, overcoming the struggles of poverty, corruption, hunger, and many other topics that tackle societies balance today would benefit society for the better. Actually following Jihad to the very core, Muslims have been labeled the most charitable people in all of the UK (United Kingdom) as of 2013. That’s what controls most people’s