Is there a relationship between Islam and Jihad?

Question

"That terrorist act has nothing to do with Islam!".

What?

But for Islam, could Jihad exist? Who doesnt get that? Lets see if I can better explain. There are many species violence.There is violence done because of: desperation, racism, religious fervor, socio-pathic indifference, etc. Jihad is one species of violence. Unless your a pagan who believes in a violence God that always keeps violence within certain levels, irrespective of where it comes from, then you must recognize that violence is not a certainty.

For example, take Bin Laden, without Islam, would he ever have done any violence? Apprantely, Bin Laden gave serious thought to becoming a farmer, and at one point, swore off Jihad totally. Bin Laden was not one for education, like the majority of his culture, but he didnt appear to be a violent man otherwise, and expressed deep foundness for farming. But for Islam, would he be what he is? Would such an ignorant man feel such self righteous hatred, without Islam?

Answer 1

You are correct. The Quran is perfect, and the Quran advocates the killing of infidels. Some of us, particularly in western countries, are obliged to lie about this and pretend Islam is a religion of peace. Enjoy your freedom while you can.

Answer 2

You are treading in dangerous waters. Blaming Islam for Bin Laden's violence? No. a psychopath is a psychopath. There are a lot of religions that use or used violence to promote themselves. The problems in the middle east cannot be blamed on religion...it's not that simple. The fall of the Ottoman Empire and the clash of colonialism combined with a rapidly changing western modernization is more to blame than anything else.

There have been plenty of ignorant, violent non-Muslims in history. Look at...oh any of the crusades...Hitler, Mussolini, Pol Pot...take your pick.

Answer 3

It is a sad fact that your small brain can not understand what Jihad means! Jihad is about the struggle to do what's right! If Jihad is all about violence then don't forget the relationship between Christianity (remember Crusaders) and Jihad.

Answer 4

I think your confusiong things. Jihad is the Islamic struggle within one's self for God, it isn't "religious war." Second of all, religions like Christianity cause problems also (example: the KKK, which is essentially the Christian equivilant of Al Quida). In every religion there are extremists who are crazy and unfortunately taken as stereotypes and representatives of their religion. After all, Jahovah's Witnesses are irritating when they come to your house, but their beliefs don't represent all fo Christianity do they now?

Answer 5

Thank you for posting a well-thought out Q. Please take the time to read my answer - it's not a cut and paste job, I typed it all right now.
Islam is taught as a way of life, and guides believing Muslims in all aspects of their life - it is all-encompassing. It addresses eating,sleeping, talking, praying, walking, sitting, washing, clothing, earning and spending, etc.etc. There is very little day -to-day activity that does not provide an opportunity to apply the principles of Islam.
Unfortunately, many Muslims, instead of doing the work of applying the timeless principles of the Koran to modern times, take the lazy route of trying to ape the actions of the first generation of Muslims, who did participate in (at least) two battles and a siege.
Let me backtrack. Islam literally comes from the root word "peace" in Arabic. The Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed over 23 years. For the first 10 years, the Muslims existed as a persecuted minority in Mecca who preached the oneness of God, humility, piety and equality. As their numbers slowly grew, their message of unity began to threaten the status quo, with all the evil,rich, pagan feudal lords trying to maintain social inequality. The Prophet was forced to flee to Medina to escape a murder plot against him.
In Medina, the Muslims were welcomed, grew some more, were attacked by the Meccans in two bloody battles, with heroic legendary martyrs, and eventually grew so large that, when they travelled back to Mecca, they conquered that city without raising a single sword. In fact, Mohammed forgave all his former tormentors. The myth that Islam was spread by the sword is just that, a myth.
His greatest victory, at the end of his mission, close to his death, was achieved by peaceful means. This message is lost on many half-educated Muslims, who can't understand that the Prophet's mission is an example of faith and goodness overcoming adversity and evil.
Muslims are not immune from evil, or from the darker parts of the human condition.
Jihad, in Arabic, means struggle. Each Muslim has to apply the guidance of Islam in his/her own personal struggle against his/her own darker/weaker/straying nature (you know what I mean).
ONe of the principles in the Koran is that "There is no violence in Islam except for in the face of oppression, for oppression is worse than violence." God has given us a litmus test as to when to engage in violence. Without evidence of oppression, any violence is an unqualified sin.
The corollary to this is that, to ignore the oppression and to condemn the violence only is also a sin. If the violence does not exist in a vacuum, if there are human rights that are being trampled, that needs to be dealt with. The Jihad issue, well, suprisingly, this violence is not the Jihad of the majority of Muslims. Ask 1000 Muslims, chances are (especially in lawful states like the US, UK, Europe, etc) 1000 of them will tell you that their Jihad does not include violence. HOw could it, if they live in a free country? "Jihad is a species of violence" is a false statement.
Now, let's deal with Bin Laden. He's the money man of his organization. The real interesting character is his second-in-command, Alzawahri. This guy was from a wealthy family, got educated as a doctor and a lawyer, worked in the poorest slums of Cairo, saw the inhumane conditions, and protested against the gov't. He was arrested, jailed, and tortured to within an inch of his life. That's why he looks crazy now. If he's ideologically driven, it's not because he's Muslim - that's just an ideology of convenience that he misinterprets to conform to his true ideology: get back at the people who control the Egyptian gov't: the US (that's his belief, not mine).
Yes, there are Muslims who preach violence as Jihad. They are the ones that everybody hears about in the news. What people like you don't see are the hundreds of millions of Muslims who engage in peaceful, personal Jihad to improve their own souls, because that stuff ain't on CNN.

Answer 6

Jihad is not a physical thing, Jihad is the Islamic term for an internal challenge that you have to overcome. It is a way of trying to better yourself through internal confict, to allow the good in you to overcome the evil. Once more, you confuse Islam with the propaganda that middle-eastern government uses to train terrorists...

Answer 7

Jihad is a just a word.. it basically means "struggle".. It is primarily used in Islam as a personal struggle in life to obtain your goals as set forth by God..
It is mis interpreted by the terrorists and coined as something bad...
You could say you have a personal "struggle" in life to live a good long life, be a wonderful husband, father, member of society etc... Thats actually what the word is entended to mean...

Answer 8

Bin laden brother is sitting counting money with Bush and you are hear bit ching like a baby. Terror this Terror that. Read this you imbecile.

According to the twisted logic recently espoused by Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, the failure to support illegal, immoral and unnecessary wars defines one as a terrorist. Let me be clear about where I stand: I know who the real terrorists are, and can name each one of them—Rumsfeld among the rest.



Everywhere you go in America you see the slogan, “Support our troops.” You see it on bumper stickers, storefronts, flags and banners, yellow ribbons and even in the windows of private homes. But what does it mean to support our troops? Is it to send them into harm’s way; to invade and occupy sovereign nations in illegal wars for empire? Is it to ask them to commit heinous crimes, to maim and to kill innocent civilians; to torture, insult, and to humiliate people who have done us no harm? Is it to steal the natural wealth that belongs to other nations and turn it over to American corporations?

If that is what it means, then I cannot support our troops. I cannot wish them well if their purpose is conquer other people, and plunder the wealth of other countries that have done us no harm. That would require me to endorse crimes against humanity conducted under the guise of national security and patriotism. I cannot do that—I will not. It is simply wrong.

Neither should we, as we so often do, confuse supporting our troops with supporting the president, or wrongful and immoral policies of corrupt government. The president and his ilk do not support our troops or he would not use them as pawns; he would take care of them when they come home broken and torn with psychic scars. He does not care about them—they are only a means to an end.

No, the best way to support our troops is to take a principled stand; to hold the moral high ground—to bring them home alive and whole. A government must not be allowed to require any of its citizens to engage in immoral or criminal behavior on its behalf. When a government behaves like a crime syndicate it does not mean that the people should follow its example—they must provide a better alternative, and refuse their allegiance to it.

So if the failure to support a government’s wrongful policies makes me a terrorist—so be it. If speaking truth to power makes one a terrorist—sign me up; move me to top of the NSA and FBI lists of suspects. Send forth the assassins with their rifles. If exposing the lies and corruption that attends power makes me a terrorist—I will proudly wear the crown and bear the cost. I will cheerfully take my place alongside other terrorists with names like Thoreau, Debs, King, Gandhi, Einstein, Zinn, and Christ.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

Yes, they are related. Jihad originally mean a spiritual struggle to fight the devil within us - our dark side so that we may be liberated from evil and be good. But lately, Muslims see Jihad as self-sacrifice in the name of religion, which is distorted.

Answer 11

Speaking of ignorant men, before you pontificate on Jihad, why don't you find out what it actually means?