June 10, 2024
The word “jihad” is clearly defined in Islamic doctrine, unlike other confusing words such as “Islamism,” “extremism,” “fundamentalism,” or “terrorism,” which have no doctrinal basis. Jihad means effort or striving. The aim of jihad is to establish the whole world as Islamic with the use of violent as well as non-violent means. Jihad comprises 31% of primary Islamic doctrine: 9% of the Koran, 21% of the Hadith (Bukhari) and 67% of the Sira. (1)
Mohammed was not very successful in spreading Islam until he became a jihadi. After 13 years of preaching, he had only 150 followers. When he died, all of Arabia was Islamic. It was jihad that brought Mohammed to power.
Jihad has had a significant influence on history and the world’s political landscape. The Middle East, Turkey, Egypt and North Africa were transformed from Christian civilizations into an Islamic civilization. For seven centuries, Spain and Portugal were under Islamic rule. Eastern Europe, particularly the Balkans, were under Islamic rule. Over the last 1400 years, at least 270 million Kafirs were killed by jihad. (2)
A common defense of jihad is that it has two forms: the greater jihad (inner spiritual struggle) and the lesser jihad (war against the Kafir or non-Muslim). Bukhari’s Hadith has around 1400 hadiths about jihad. Only 2% of those 1400 are about something other than violence. 98% of the jihad hadiths are about violent acts against the Kafir. (3)
It is important, however, to remember that although violence against the Kafir is an important part of jihad, jihad is multi-faceted. Jihad against the Kafir can be carried out in many ways (4), such as through money, speech, eliminating critics, influencing politicians and Hijra (Islamic political migration). To make the differences in types of jihad clear, adjectives can be used to form terms such as violent jihad, financial jihad, etc.
💡 Learn more and/or subscribe to our newsletter here: https://www.cspii.org/learn-political-islam/
🤝 If you would like to join us in our work, go here: https://www.cspii.org/joinus/
❤️ Please support us in educating the world! Donate here https://www.cspii.org/donate/: https://www.cspii.org/donate/
📚 Sources:
(2) http://www.cspipublishing.com/statistical/tears_of_jihhad.html
(4) https://www.cspii.org/speak-about-political-islam/ (The Guide on How to Understand and Discuss Political Islam, page 27)
#politicalislam #cspii #drbillwarner #kafir #jihad