Current usage Jihad

1 current usage

1.1 muslim public opinion
1.2 distinction between greater , lesser jihad
1.3 other spiritual, social, economic struggles
1.4 warfare (jihad bil saif)
1.5 debate

current usage

the term jihad has accrued both violent , non-violent meanings. according john esposito, can mean striving live moral , virtuous life, spreading , defending islam fighting injustice , oppression, among other things. relative importance of these 2 forms of jihad matter of controversy.

according scholar of islam , islamic history rudoph peters, in contemporary muslim world,

traditionalist muslims classical works on fiqh in writings on jihad, , copy phrases those;
islamic modernists emphasize defensive aspect of jihad, regarding tantamount bellum justum in modern international law; and
islamist/revivalists/fundamentalists (abul ala maududi, sayyid qutb, abdullah azzam, etc.) view struggle expansion of islam , realization of islamic ideals.

muslim public opinion

a poll gallup showed significant majority of muslim indonesians define term mean sacrificing 1 s life sake of islam/god/a cause or fighting against opponents of islam . in lebanon, kuwait, jordan, , morocco, frequent responses included references duty toward god , divine duty , or worship of god , no militaristic connotations. terminology applied fight women s liberation. other responses referenced, in descending order of prevalence:

commitment hard work , achieving 1 s goals in life
struggling achieve noble cause
promoting peace, harmony or cooperation, , assisting others
living principles of islam

distinction between greater , lesser jihad

in work, history of baghdad, al-khatib al-baghdadi, 11th-century islamic scholar, referenced statement companion of muhammad jabir ibn abd-allah. reference stated jabir said, have returned lesser jihad (al-jihad al-asghar) greater jihad (al-jihad al-akbar). when asked, greater jihad?, replied, struggle against oneself. reference gave rise distinguishing of 2 forms of jihad: greater , lesser .

the hadith not appear in of authoritative collections, , according muslim jurist ibn hajar al-asqalani, source of quote unreliable:

this saying widespread , saying ibrahim ibn ablah according nisa in al-kuna. ghazali mentions in ihya , al-`iraqi said bayhaqi related on authority of jabir , said: there weakness in chain of transmission.

—hajar al asqalani, tasdid al-qaws; see kashf al-khafaa’ (no. 1362)

abdullah azzam attacked false, fabricated hadith has no basis. saying of ibrahim ibn abi `abalah, 1 of successors, , contradicts textual evidence , reality.

nonetheless, concept has had enormous influence in islamic mysticism (sufism). other observers have endorsed it, including al-ghazali.

hanbali scholar ibn qayyim al-jawziyya believed internal jihad important suggests hadith consider jihad of heart/soul more important jihad sword , weak.

other spiritual, social, economic struggles

muslim scholar mahmoud ayoub states goal of true jihad attain harmony between islam (submission), iman (faith), , ihsan (righteous living).

in modern times, pakistani scholar , professor fazlur rahman malik has used term describe struggle establish moral-social order , while president habib bourguiba of tunisia has used describe struggle economic development in country.

according bbc, third meaning of jihad struggle build society. in commentary of hadith sahih muslim, entitled al-minhaj, medieval islamic scholar yahya ibn sharaf al-nawawi stated 1 of collective duties of community whole (fard kifaya) lodge valid protest, solve problems of religion, have knowledge of divine law, command right , forbid wrong conduct .

majid khadduri , ibn rushd lists 4 kinds of jihad fi sabilillah (struggle in cause of god):

jihad of heart (jihad bil qalb/nafs) concerned combatting devil , in attempt escape persuasion evil. type of jihad regarded greater jihad (al-jihad al-akbar).
jihad tongue (jihad bil lisan) (also jihad word, jihad al-qalam) concerned speaking truth , spreading word of islam 1 s tongue.
jihad hand (jihad bil yad) refers choosing right , combat injustice , wrong action.
jihad sword (jihad bis saif) refers qital fi sabilillah (armed fighting in way of god, or holy war), common usage salafi muslims , offshoots of muslim brotherhood.

scholar natana j. delong-bas lists number of types of jihad have been proposed muslims

educational jihad (jihad al-tarbiyyah);
missionary jihad or calling people islam (jihad al-da wah)

other types mentioned include

intellectual jihad (very similar missionary jihad).
economic jihad (good doing involving money such spending within one’s means, helping poor , downtrodden ) (president habib bourguiba of tunisia, used jihad describe struggle economic development in tunisia.)
jihad al-nikah, or sexual jihad, refers women joining jihad offering sex fighters boost morale . term originated fatwa believed have been fabricated syrian government in order discredit opponents, , prevalence of phenomenon has been disputed.


usage non-muslims


the united states department of justice has used own ad hoc definitions of jihad in indictments of individuals involved in terrorist activities:

used in first superseding indictment, jihad arabic word meaning holy war . in context, jihad refers use of violence, including paramilitary action against persons, governments deemed enemies of fundamentalist version of islam.
used in superseding indictment, violent jihad or jihad include planning, preparing for, , engaging in, acts of physical violence, including murder, maiming, kidnapping, , hostage-taking. in indictment against several individuals including josé padilla.


fighting , warfare might necessary, minor part of whole jihad or struggle, according karen armstrong.
jihad propagandistic device which, need be, resorts armed struggle – 2 ingredients common many ideological movements, according maxime rodinson.
academic benjamin r. barber used term jihad point out resistant movement fundamentalist ethnic groups want protect traditions, heritage , identity globalization (which refers mcworld ).

warfare (jihad bil saif)


mujahideen ansar dine fighting on of dshk

in late 20th , 21st centuries, names of many militant groups included word jihad  :

the international islamic front jihad against jews , crusaders: (osama bin laden s 1998 fatwa),
laskar jihad of indonesia,
palestinian islamic jihad movement,
egyptian islamic jihad,
yemeni islamic jihad.

some conflicts fought jihad since 1980s include:

rohingya insurgency in western myanmar (1947–present)
soviet–afghan war , afghan civil war (islamic unity of afghanistan mujahideen, 1979–1992)
iran–iraq war (1980–88, considered jihad islamic republic of iran)
kashmir conflict (lashkar-e-taiba, 1990–present)
algerian civil war (1991–2002)
somali civil war (al-shabaab, 1991–present)
internal conflict in bangladesh (1991–present)
moro conflict (abu sayyaf, 1991–present)
bosnian war (bosnian mujahideen, 1992–95)
afghan civil war (taliban, 1994–present)
insurgency in northeast india (multa, 1996)
xinjiang conflict (east turkestan islamic movement, 1997–present)
al-qaeda insurgency in yemen (al-qaeda in arabian peninsula, 1998–present)
chechen war , insurgency in north caucasus (arab mujahideen in chechnya, 1994–present)
nigerian sharia conflict (boko haram, 2001–present)
insurgency in maghreb (al-qaeda in islamic maghreb, 2002–present)
iraqi insurgency (islamic state of iraq, 2003–present)
south thailand insurgency (2004–present)
war in north-west pakistan (2004–present)
sistan , baluchestan insurgency (jundallah, 2004–present)
insurgency in balochistan (jundallah, 2004–present)
gaza–israel conflict (2006–present)
northern mali conflict (2011–present)
syrian civil war (al-nusra front, 2011–present)
factional violence in libya , libyan civil war (shura council of benghazi revolutionaries, 2011–present)
syrian civil war spillover in lebanon (2011–present)
insurgency in egypt , sinai insurgency (2011–present)
wave of terror in europe (islamic state of iraq , levant, 2014–present)
conflict in najran, jizan , asir (2015–present)
isil insurgency in tunisia (islamic state of iraq , levant, 2015–present)

fred donner states that, whether quran sanctions defensive warfare or whether commands waging of all-out war against non-muslims depends on interpretation of relevant passages. according albrecht noch, qur not explicitly state aims of war muslims obliged wage; rather passages concerning jihad aim promote fighters islamic cause , not discuss military ethics. however, according majority of jurists, qur anic casus belli (justifications war) restricted aggression against muslims, , fitna—persecution of muslims because of religious belief. hold unbelief in not justification war. these jurists therefore maintain combatants fought; noncombatants such women, children, clergy, aged, insane, farmers, serfs, blind, , on not killed in war. thus, hanafī ibn najīm states: reason jihād in our [the hanafīs] view kawnuhum harbā ‛alaynā [literally, being @ war against us]. hanafī jurists al-shaybānī , al-sarakhsī state although kufr [unbelief in god] 1 of greatest sins, between individual , god almighty , punishment sin postponed dār al-jazā’, (the abode of reckoning, hereafter).

debate

controversy has arisen on whether usage of term jihad without further explanation refers military combat, , whether have used confusion on definition of term advantage.

according gallup survey, asked muslims in several countries jihad meant them, responses such sacrificing 1 s life sake of islam/god/a cause , fighting against opponents of islam common type in non-arab countries (pakistan, iran, turkey, , indonesia), being given majority of respondents in indonesia. in 4 arabic-speaking countries included in survey (lebanon, kuwait, jordan, , morocco), frequent responses included references duty toward god , divine duty , or worship of god , no militaristic connotations. gallup s richard burkholder concludes these results concept of jihad among muslims considerably more nuanced single sense in western commentators invariably invoke term.

middle east historian bernard lewis argues in quran jihad ... has been understood meaning wage war , of recorded history of islam, lifetime of prophet muhammad onward , jihad used in military sense, , overwhelming majority of classical theologians, jurists, , traditionalists (i.e. specialists in hadith) understood obligation of jihad in military sense.

historian douglas streusand writes in hadith collections, jihad means armed action . in standard collection of hadith, sahih al-bukhari, 199 references jihad assume jihad means warfare.

according david cook, author of understanding jihad

in reading muslim literature – both contemporary , classical – 1 can see evidence primacy of spiritual jihad negligible. today no muslim, writing in non-western language (such arabic, persian, urdu), ever make claims jihad nonviolent or has been superseded spiritual jihad. such claims made solely western scholars, study sufism and/or work in interfaith dialogue, , muslim apologists trying present islam in innocuous manner possible.

cook argued presentations along these lines ideological in tone , should discounted bias , deliberate ignorance of subject , no longer acceptable western scholars or muslim apologists writing in non-muslim languages make flat, unsupported statements concerning prevalence – either historical point of view or within contemporary islam – of spiritual jihad.