*In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.*

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His
Messenger.

Jihad serves as a means of defense for Muslims against aggression, and acts
as a deterrent factor against any anti-Islam scheme launched by enemies, it
must never be construed as something synonymous with aggression.

Jihad is never a tool of waging war against the innocents; it's never a
means of flexing muscles or bullying the weak and oppressed. Jihad in Islam
is something unique, established to defend the divine message from being
eliminated or hindered by its enemies.

Shedding more light on the true concept of Jihad, here is the statement made
by *Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi*, president of the Fiqh Council ofNorth America ,
states:

Allah says, (*And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive (with sincerity
and under discipline). He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on
you in religion; it is the religion of your father Abraham. It is He (Allah)
Who has named you Muslims, both before and in this (Revelation); that the
Messenger may be a witness for you, and you be witnesses for mankind! So
establish regular Prayer, give regular Charity, and hold fast to Allah! He
is your Protector, the best to protect and the Best to help!*) (Al-Hajj 22:
78)

Jihad is one of the most misunderstood, and abused aspects of Islam. There
are some Muslims who exploit and misuse this concept for their own political
objectives. There are many non-Muslims who misunderstand it. There are some
non-Muslims who misinterpret it to discredit Islam and Muslims.

*What is Jihad?*
The word Jihad does not mean "Holy War". It means "struggle" or "striving".
The word for war in the Qur'an is "*Harb*" or "*Qital*". Jihad means serious
and sincere struggle on the personal as well as on the social level. It is a
struggle to do good and to remove injustice, oppression and evil from  society.
This struggle should be spiritual as well as social, economic and political.
Jihad is to work hard to do right things. In the Qur'an this word is used in
its different forms 33 times. It often comes with other Qur'anic concepts
such as faith, repentance, righteous deeds and migration.

Jihad is to protect one's faith and one's human rights. Jihad is not a war
always although it can take the form of war. Islam is the religion of peace,
but it does not mean that Islam accepts oppression. Islam teaches that one
should do one's utmost to eliminate tension and conflict. Islam promotes
non-violent means to bring change and reform. Actually, Islam urges that one
should eliminate evil through peaceful means without the use of force as
much as possible. In Islamic history from the time of the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) until now, Muslims most of the time resisted
oppression and struggled for liberation in non-violent and peaceful manners.

Islam teaches proper ethics in the situation of war also. War is permissible
in Islam, but only when other peaceful means such as dialogue, negotiations
and treaties fail. It is a last resort and should be avoided as much as
possible. Its purpose is not to convert people by force, or to colonize
people or to acquire land or wealth or for self-glory. Its purpose is
basically: defense of life, property, land, honor and freedom for oneself as
well as defense of others from injustice and oppression.

*The basic rules of war in Islam are:*

1. Be strong so that your enemy fear you and should not attack you.
2. Do not begin the hostilities. Work for peace as much as possible.
3. Fight only those who fight, no collective punishment; non-combatants
should not be harmed. Weapons of mass destruction should not be used.
4. Stop hostilities as soon as the other party is inclined to peace.
5. Observe the treaties and agreements as long as the enemy observes them.

Allah says very clearly: (*Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you,
but do not do aggression, for Allah loves not the aggressors.*) (Al-Baqarah
2: 190)

(*The prohibited month, for the prohibited month, and so for all things
prohibited, there is the law of equality. If then any one transgresses the
prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him. But fear Allah,
and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves.*) (Al-Baqarah 2:
194)

*Jihad is not terrorism:*

It is to be emphasized that terrorism against  innocent civilians, whether
through aggression or suicidal means, is under no circumstances permissible
in Islam. Islam encourages the oppressed people to struggle for their
liberation and it commands other Muslims to help those who are oppressed and
suffering, but Islam does not allow, under any circumstance, terrorism
against non-combatants and innocent people. Terrorism is not Jihad, it is *
Fasad* (mischief). It is against the teachings of Islam. There are some
people who use their twisted arguments to justify terrorism for their
causes, but it has no justification: Allah says: (*When it is said to them:
'Make not mischief on the earth,' they say: 'Why, we only want to correct
things.' Indeed they are the mischief doers, but they realize (it)
not.*)(Al-Baqarah 2: 11-12)

Islam wants to establish a world order where all human beings - Muslims and
non-Muslims - can live with justice in peace, harmony and good will. It
gives its followers full guidelines to find peace in their personal and
social lives, but it also tells them how to extend the good will on the
basis of human relations towards others. Muslims worked under these
principles for centuries. People of many faiths lived with them and among
them. Islamic societies were known for their tolerance, generosity and
humanity.

In our modern society where we are living in a global village, where
non-Muslims are living with Muslims in  Muslim countries and Muslims are
living with non-Muslims in countries where non-Muslims constitute a
majority, it is our duty to bring better understanding among ourselves, work
for peace and justice for all people and cooperate with each other in
matters of goodness and virtue in order to stop all terrorism, aggression
and violence against  innocent people. This is our Jihad today.

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