Overview: The Two Jihads By Malise Ruthven

This question is honestly the most difficult to answer. The entire book was intriguing from start to finish. I would say that what I liked the most about this book is all the pictures he placed on there. He captured every image with so much meaning. It is as it’s said, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” I got to see the faces of the fellow heroes in Fallujah.

According to Jihad ideology, the human race is separated by those who are Muslim and those who have hot embraced a faith in Allah. Those who have not embraced this faith are subject to a

According to Amin Maalouf, “It seems clear that the Arab East still sees the West as a natural enemy. Against that enemy, any hostile action-be it political, military, or based on oil-is considered no more than legitimate vengeance. And there can be no doubt that the schism between these two worlds dates from the Crusades, deeply felt by the Arabs, even today, as an act of rape” (Amin Maalouf). When reflecting on The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, this quote always sticks out as the most powerful piece of Maalouf’s work. As a growing college student this quote brings harsh reality to the world I live in. I believe as you grow through life, you become more and more aware of the world around you through education. In order to

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

Bernard Lewis, The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror. (New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2003), 190 pages.

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).

lower self – the battle to purify one’s heart, do good, deflect evil and make oneself a better person. The “Lesser Jihad” is an external struggle. Jihad represent a moral principle to struggle against any obstacle that stands in the way of the good. Bearing, delivering and raising a child, for example, is an example of external jihad, because of the many obstacles that must be overcome to deliver and raise the child successfully. Jihad may also involve fighting against oppressors and aggressors who commit injustice. It is not “holy war” in the way a crusade would be considered a holy war, and while Islam allows and even encourages convert, it forbids forced conversion. In Islamic tradition, the form of jihad that involves fighting requires

Jihadi Salafism is a medieval interpretation of Islam that was created when Europeans and East Asians threatened Arabs (TERRORISM AND HOMELAND SECURITY, 2015). Jihadi can be tracked back most clearly too Arab reform movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Salafi-jihad is more similar to an ideology than to a religion. Salafi-jihadists try to encourage Muslims to understand that their religion has been on the decrease. In encouraging this they urge Muslims to recognize that the tide has turned, and that Islam is in a constant state of decline in religious, political, military, economic, and cultural terms (Moghadam, 2008). Salafis see themselves as the only “true” Muslims, and they have assumed the authority to denounce fellow

Walter Laqueur’s book, “The New Terrorism: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction”, is empowering readers with the entire spectrum of terrorism. The reasons behind terrorism are not easy to understand, but Laqueur goes into great detail to try and bring the reader to an understanding of what the terrorist is thinking in order to justify the means to the end.

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.

We see this occurrence in modern news all the time, our media likes to associate the word jihad with terrorists or radicals in the Islamic community without fully understanding the more well known definition of the word.

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

The word jihad sends shivers down the spines of many Westerners. It readily comes to their mind that this term is associated with violence and oppression. However, it must be said that the meaning of jihad, as a 'holy war', is something which is totally foreign and not from Islam. By simply looking into the sources of Islam, one will be able to know that the true meaning of jihad is to strive/make effort in the way of Allah. Thus striving in the way of Allah can be both peaceful and physical. The Prophet Muhammad (saws) said:

There are many interpretations of the word Jihad, but the most common literal translation from Arabic to English is "struggle." Many interpret the idea of a Jihad as a holy war. While holy war may be part of the struggle of Muslims, it is not the entirety of Jihad. In its primary sense, Jihad is an internal struggle to rid oneself of debased actions or inclinations and devote