TURKEY - Jihad Defined
MUSLIM JIHAD OR 'HOLY WAR' A MORE RECENT ENTRANT ON AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN STAGE
Thursday, November 4, 2004
MUSLIM JIHAD OR 'HOLY WAR' A MORE RECENT ENTRANT ON AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN STAGE
Cycle Of Violence Will Depend On Which Man Will Win Hearts And Minds: Mohammed or Jesus?
By Steve Hagerman, US Director, Turkish World Outreach
Special to ASSIST News Service
In recent years, Western nations have seen a dramatic increase in terrorist acts committed by militant Muslims. Though such events have been common in other areas of the world for generations, the subject of jihad
(often referred to as “holy war”) has only taken center stage in the US and Europe in the past three years.
Nowadays, our newspapers and other media often use this Islamic term, and there is continuing debate over whether or not physical coercion is a standard practice of Islam. Moderate Muslims in the West, who by no means represent the majority, say this is not the case and that Islam is a religion of peace. In their thinking, it is no more fair to judge their faith by the actions of terrorists and political extremists than to tar and feather Christianity because of the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition.
However, when the Church looks back on the shameful events of the Crusades and the Inquisition, its response is generally one of shame and repentance. This is because the massacre, rape and torture of those days were in
direct violation of the teachings of Christ. It should also be noted that the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition actually adopted practices that had first been observed in Islam.
[XOFC Notes: In Addition, the actions of the Crusades and the Inquisition were those directed by the Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. Those actions had NOTHING to do with the millions of Protestant Christians, who were also persecuted under the Inquisition ALSO, and who DISAGREED (then and now) with the Practices of the Inquisition. Protestant Christians favor Human Rights and Religious Freedom].
The Arabic word jihad means “struggle” or “exertion” and is found 28 times in the Kor’an, the sacred text of Muslims. In Islamic teaching, there are five forms of this “holy struggle”-- jihad of the heart, mouth, pen, hand, and sword.
Jihad of the heart refers to an individual’s struggle to keep the precepts of Islam and overcome evil tendencies. This is through one’s own efforts or the enforcement of others. In Muslim tradition, this is referred to as the greater jihad. This concept does not include the aid of the Holy Spirit or a new nature, as in Christian understanding.
Jihad of the mouth involves the verbal undermining of opposition to Islam through argumentation, threats, and curses. When Saddam Hussein declared before the first Gulf War that coalition forces would face the “mother of all battles” and experience crushing defeat, he was practicing this form of jihad. Defiant Muslim leaders in Afghanistan and Iraq are doing so today by inciting violence and pronouncing curses on foreign forces in their countries.
Jihad of the pen makes use of the written word to advance Islam and undermine its opponents. Many Muslim scholars, though often sadly ignorant of Biblical doctrines, have made Christianity the special target of their apologetic works. Although Mohammed described himself as a sinner, great effort is made to present him as the perfect man and highest prophet of God, and his precepts as binding on all mankind.
Jihad of the hand refers to good works and praiseworthy deeds that promote the cause of Islam. Muslims typically believe that if a person’s good deeds outweigh his bad deeds he’ll have a good chance of entering Paradise on the Day of Judgment, provided he’s a follower of Islam. Deeds that promote Mohammed and his message are deemed to have the greatest weight.
Jihad of the sword is the last and most troubling. Although referred to as the lesser jihad, it has always been foremost in Muslim history, law, and tradition. In the Kor’an, the oft repeated words “jihad in the cause of Allah” refer without exception to armed combat for the protection or advance of Islam. Mohammed regularly engaged in this form of jihad and commanded his followers to engage in it as well. He is described by early Muslim biographers as an active participant in at least seventy battles and military attacks.
Since the time of its founding by Mohammed, the ultimate goal of Islam has been world conquest. The Kor’an and Muslim jurisprudence call for jihad of the sword against any land not yet surrendered to the armies of Islam. Militant Muslims advocate a return to the ways of Mohammed, with all of the terror and bloodshed that entails. This form of jihad poses one of the greatest threats to Western civilization today.
In the midst of all this, Christians are called to reach out in genuine love to the world of Islam. Even if they choose to be our enemies, we are commanded to pray for Muslims and to seek their good.
Whether the current cycle of violence and bloodshed continues or not will depend on who wins the hearts of the Muslim masses. Will it continue to be Mohammed, or will it be the truly perfect man, Jesus Christ?
Steve Hagerman is US Director of Turkish World Outreach
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Yet in most nations where the majority of the population are Muslims, there is systematic
government persecution of Christians.
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