Today, we are suffering from the horrors of terrorism. It is, in many cases, fed into our brains for selfish and political gains. But with increasing terror, misconceptions about Islam, Jihad, and concept of war in Islam are also spreading like a wild fire. It is now believed that terrorists are rightly following the teachings of "Quran" and Sharia Law and that the blame for their actions lies with their religion. I am writing this post to explain some of the commonly misunderstood terminologies and concepts related to concept of war in Islam.

Jihad is holy war against unbelievers

Jihad is probably the most recognizable but misinterpreted Islamic term in modern times. Due to Islamic extremists’ terrorist activities around the world, Jihad today is translated flatly, and inaccurately, as holy war. Jihad is a struggle for moral development on a personal and community level. Holy war is an armed conflict in support of a religious cause. This misconception is not only a source of humiliation and frustration for Muslims, but also serves the purpose of extremists. The so-called “Muslim Jihadists” propagate Jihad as a sacred war against non-Muslims in order to recruit poorly educated and radicalized individuals from around the world. The word Jihad is derived from root j.h.d., the meaning of which is to strive. In a religious context, it is a struggle against sinful inclinations for the moral development of individuals and their society. Despite the way in which the word is commonly portrayed, the meaning is not limited to war against infidels.

The word has been repeated 29 times in "Quran", and each time in a context more complex than solely military action. Jihad is a duty that every Muslim is obliged to fulfill in all walks of life. It is a never-ending struggle and an essential pillar of morality that motivates man to improve with every passing minute. Islam divides Jihad into two basic types: greater and lesser Jihad. Greater Jihad refers to struggle against the self and is further divided into Jihad of heart, tongue and knowledge. Jihad of heart calls for self-control against evil desires. Jihad of tongue, in a broad sense, is the struggle to not lie, curse or spread rumors. Similarly, Jihad of knowledge is one’s efforts to use knowledge for the benefit of the humanity. Lesser Jihad in Islam is the armed struggle.

Lesser Jihad is a matter of state according to Islamic teachings. It cannot be justified otherwise by a group or an organization. The ISIS, therefore, declared itself a state in order to legitimize their military Jihad in the eyes of poorly educated Muslims.

Muslims are required to fight (conduct Jihad) against non-Muslims

The conceptions of war, battle, and conduct of war are central to the formation of Islamic theology, jurisprudence, and ethics, because they happened during the life of Prophet and during the process of revelation itself. "Quran" justifies the possibility of armed conflict by saying that:

Fight in the way of God against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! God loveth not aggressors… And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they attack you there… But if they desist, then lo! God is Forgiving, Merciful… And fight them until tribulation is no more… Observe your duty to God, and know that God is with the pious (2:190-194).

Islam allows physical measures to be taken in self-defense and for the protection of religious freedom for all religions of the state. It does not allow any sort of armed conflict for worldly gains, whether political, economic or geographic. The goal of war is only to ensure survival and the protection of rights. It has nothing to do with dominating over non-Muslims.

Muslims have no respect for humanity when it comes to fighting

We have witnessed many incidents of brutality by Muslim extremists fighting in the name of religion. Sadly, it has conveyed the message that it is okay for Muslims to torture enemies to death and satisfy their beastly desires. In order to protect the spirit of war, Islam provides very detailed guide on rules of engagement during a war. During the times of war, the Prophet (PBUH) always sent his army into battle with specific instructions. He used to say (as quoted in "Bukhari"),

Go in the name of the God. Fight in the way of God… Do not act brutally. Do not exceed the proper bounds. Do not mutilate and do not kill weak old men, small children, or women.

The first Caliph Abu Bakar al-Siddiq used to give the following instructions to the Muslim army (as quoted by Ibn Anas):

I instruct you in ten matters: Do not kill women, children, the old, or the infirm; do not cut down fruit-bearing trees; do not destroy any town; do not kill sheep or camels except for the purpose of eating; do not burn date-trees or submerge them; do not steal from the booty and do not be cowardly.

Similarly, in "Quran", taking personal revenge (2:294), exceeding limits beyond corrective measures (2:190), dishonoring the chastity of women (24:19) and destruction of places of worship of any religion (22:40) have been declared haram (forbidden by Islamic law). Death by torture, especially by burning, is also forbidden in Islam. Killing of non-combatants and torturing prisoners of war is highly condemned by the Sharia Law. Prisoners of war have the right to be treated with respect and dignity. After the Battle of Badar, by the order of Prophet (PBUH), any prisoner who taught young Muslims reading and writing, or any other useful skill, was set free.

The purpose of an Islamic state is to establish Muslim rule over the world

Sharia law aims to protect five basic rights of humanity: religion, life, mind, honor and property. The right to religion protects religious freedom for all people of the state. The right to mind includes factors that obstruct human objectivity, including intoxication and lying. Hence the purpose of an Islamic government is to establish a just order in Islamic communities in order to provide freedom and protection of religion and life along with other basic rights.

How do Muslim terrorists justify their actions?

By presenting Islam in a highly inaccurate light, Muslim extremist organizations use Quranic verses out of context in order to prove the holiness of their cause. In order to mold the meaning for selfish gains, extremists neglect Quranic methods of narration. Almost every instruction in Quran is self-negated first and then explained later. For instance, the very fundamental verse of Islamic faith says, there is no God, and then later says, but God. By using only the first half of the verse, it could be argued that Islam negates the existence of any God, a complete misinterpretation of its true meaning.

"Sword verse" is probably the most misinterpreted Quranic teaching. According to the verse:

When the sacred months have passed, kill the polytheists wherever you find them, capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them at every ambush. But if they repent, and perform the Prayer and give Alms, then let them alone. Indeed God is forgiving, merciful (9:5).

If taken out of context, this verse not only orders Muslims to kill non-believers, but uses religion to justify the massacre. The verse following the sword verse says that,

If any of the polytheists seeks asylum from you, grant him asylum until he hears the Word of God. Then convey him to his place of safety. That is because they are the people who do not know (9:6).

This verse explains how Muslims were supposed to treat polytheists if they were loyal to the state. Although they were ordered to spread the word of Islam, they were not allowed to force religion onto anyone. Muslims were, in fact, ordered to protect religious minorities in order to ensure their safety.

Quranic revelations must be seen in the context of what Muslims were going through at the time. When Muslims migrated to Medina and established an Islamic state, there were a lot of polytheists living under the rule of the newly formed government. Due to their hatred for Islam, they used to conspire against Muslims in order to obstruct the matters of state. The sword verse was intended to address the issue of how to deal with traitors who happened to be polytheists. Their religious identity has been used to help convey the message that their treacherous acts were the product of their ideological hatred of Islam.

Conclusion

Muslim terrorists barely make up 0.01% of the total 1.57 billion believers of Islam. If what they claim about the religion was true then billions of Muslims around the world would not be living their lives peacefully. Our world would have been a much worse place to live in. Luckily that is not the case. The very meaning of word "Islam" is peace, not war. Just like it will be unfair to blame Christians for Holocaust, it is unfair to blame Muslims for violence around the world. Instead of believing what is portrayed on media, we should be looking around us. Looking for Muslims in form of our friends, neighbors and colleagues who are just like us; people with goals and families. They should be the source of our opinion on Islam because it is unfair to judge them based on someone else's actions. Muslims are more willing than anyone else to put an end to all this, because at the end of the day, they are the ones who suffer from it the most.

I hope I was able to clear some ambiguities about Jihad. If you have any questions that I was unable to address, please feel free to ask them in the comments section below.