“Fight for the sake of God those that fight against you, but do not be aggressive.”(2:190)
This shows the nonviolent approaches Islam and the Quran teaches its followers. However, this nonviolent meaning, can, where all peaceful attempts have fail, be fought in the form of a war. In doing this though, it should not be used to convert people to Islam, on nonbelievers and when the enemy surrenders. In Islamic countries it has been corrupt political leaders like Saddam Hussein that have abused their power and used this exception to force Muslims to fight for what they believed was religiously right. Unfortunately due to modernization, this teaching and representation of positive Jihad has been deeply misinterpreted among the West.
Ever since the September 11 attacks sent the world in a spiral of fear and terror, the term “Jihad” has been extremely misused. The event has constructed an entirely new western meaning to the word. Western experts believe that the Islamic fundamentalist group, Al-Qaeda are responsible for the attacks and have formed their own Jihad against Islam both physically in war and verbally in representations through the media. Despite the obvious peaceful teachings of Islam, Western media has positioned its audience to take a view of Jihad as being solely a violent war taught by the Quran. Western media emphasizes the violence taking part and the current war on terrorism and relates it to the Islamic culture, giving western people a negative view of Muslims. An example of this is when the Oklahoma City bomb went off, a headline in an American media article in 'Today' contained a picture of a fire fighter holding a dead child in his arms, the headline read: "In The Name of Islam.” This is a clear misrepresentation of Islam, as it is only “believed” that Islamic forces are responsible.
Jihad involves the two main Islamic groups, Sunni and Shi’ites. These are two very similar groups that differ only by an ancient belief that the Sunnis hold. This being that they do not acknowledge any innate political privilege to the decedents of ‘Ali whereas Shi'ites do. Both groups practice the peaceful Jihad but the Jihad of war is normally associated with Shi’ites. This has been used in wars throughout the Middle East, in the Gulf War and against Western forces just to name a few. Due to the excessive media coverage of Shi’ites in relation to war and terror, Westerners have been positioned negatively in regards to Shi’ites religious and political virtue.
Politics play a small part in fueling the conflict between Islam and the West over Jihad. This has been made possible by the immense amount of power political leaders can have over their people. One example is of American President George W Bush who, without evidence, has sent his troops over into the Islamic countries where both Jihads are regularly practiced, in search of weapons of mass destruction. This has added to the conflict of Jihad, as Westerners believe that what the Islamic fundamentalists are doing to them is what all Muslims do. This is why this issue of Jihad is so significant, as it is seen differently in eyes of all people, including Muslims, which causes a great deal of conflict between the cultures involved.
In taking all the above into account, this essay has discussed offered an explanation of Jihad, highlighted individuals, groups and other influences involved and explained why the issue of Jihad is important. This essay has proved that the thesis that there are mixed beliefs over the cause of conflict between Islamic and Western societies in relation to Jihad is accurate as well. In reality, if these additional influences weren’t a part of this issue, we wouldn’t be seeing the chaotic effect Jihad can have on an uneducated society.
Referencing
Internet:
Jihad. Last modified on 26 April 2007. WikiIslam. Accessed: 26 August 2008.<http://wikiislam.com/wiki/Jihad>.
WikiIslam, a site devoted to the sharing of Islamic knowledge, has produced many excellent articles in regards to the Islamic teaching of Jihad. This bibliographical reference is the main article on Jihad which I found very useful when determining the types of Jihad as well as good for the history and other information on Jihad. This site has been beneficial to my research essay.
'Jihad': idea and history. Last modified on 1st May 2007. Patricia Crone. Accessed: 25 August 2008. <http://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-europe_islam/jihad_4579.jsp>.
The article, written by knowledgeable scholar, author and historian of early history is an excellent text effectively discussing what Jihad means, how Islam was spread, Muslims, morality, and religious warfare in relation to Jihad. The article also describes the relevance of the previous topics to the modern world. This is a very valuable article as all the information in it benefits my essay.
Class handout:
Islam. By “Living Religion”. Accessed: 24 August 2008, 26 August 2008.
This handout is a very helpful text as it has based its information aroud the religion of Islam. The sections regarding Sunni and shi’ites as well as a detailed section on Jihad have helped me greatly in my research. In reading the whole of the booklet, it has given me a greater understanding of Islamic culture and society which has also benefitted my essay.
