Islam’s Jihad in Context

The deputy leader of the Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda (Saeed al-Shehri) has called on Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula to wage regional holy war against Jews and Christians. In an attempt to cut off U.S. shipments to Israel through the Red Sea, the group has also called for a blockade claiming, “... you have no other way out from this plight other than to wage jihad.” This is the same group of religious fundamentalists who claimed responsibility for last Decembers failed terrorism attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

In our ongoing efforts at Intersections to combat misconceptions and stereotypes about Muslims and Islam, it is important to share some context about how the Qur’an (Muslim holy book) characterizes jihad.

As supported by the holy text, jihad is based on either an internal or external struggle to follow the right path, with the former being the “greater” jihad—that is, the greater jihad within oneself. When the Prophet Mohammad first revealed the word of God in Mecca, he was advocating ideas that ran counter to the local law of the overwhelmingly pagan city. This led to the persecution and marginalization of Muslims, who later left and established an Islamic political system in Medina. During this time, wars were fought between Muslims and Meccans, and the revelations that came from God (God is a direct translation of Allah) suggests this context.

God allows for defensive wars to be fought against aggressors, but specifically suggests that believers not exceed the “limits” if attackers (and nonbelievers) repent or drop offensive aggression and persecution. Thus, a nonviolent response over what sometimes might have been a just or necessary defensive response is preferred.

Consideration must be given to the conditions of Muslims during the time the surahs (versus of Qur’an) were revealed and what the holy word implies. Jihad is supported by the word of God as being defensive by its very nature, and does not advocate offensive warfare. In contrast, al Qaeda does.

Religious fundamentalists like al Qaeda advocate offensive murder and terrorism—Islam ordains neither. To say that al Qaeda’s actions are Islamic would be to say that Christian fundamentalists who advocate offensive murder—like last year’s killing of a women’s health doctor—are Christian.

Islam places such a strong emphasis on the protection of life that the Qur’an says one can renounce their faith in certain situations so long as faith remains in their heart—an implication that life is valued over death. This point alone shows there is no textual support whatsoever for the actions of suicide bombers, for example, who take their own life.

Furthermore, Jihad used as an offensive weapon of warfare by al Qaeda is simply un-Islamic.