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Jihad———195

Further Reading a hypocrite who fails in the test of sincerity and all of
his [religious observances] are a sham, a worthless
Asser, Martin. “The Palestinian Connection.” BBC News
Online, May 4, 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/ hollow of devotion.”
world/middle_east/newsid_736000/736490.stm. Islamic jurists described jihad as a general obli-
Katz, Samuel M. Israel Versus Jibril. New York: Paragon gation of the Muslim community. In this view, Muslims
House, 1993. are required to participate in violent jihad only when
Milne, Seumas. “Lockerbie: Theories and Evidence.” The Islam comes under attack. The Islamic legal philo-
Guardian (London), December 20, 1993. sopher Ibn Taymiya (1268–1328), however, took a
Walker, Christopher.” Palestinian Group Offers to Fight for more confrontational position. He declared that a ruler
Gaddafi.” The Times, April 17, 1992. who fails to enforce the shari’a (Islamic law) rigor-
ously in all its aspects, including the performance of
jihad, forfeits his right to rule. Most jurists at the time
JIHAD tolerated Muslim rulers who violated the shari’a for the
sake of the community, preferring tyranny over disor-
der, but Ibn Taymiya insisted that waging jihad is a
Although the Arabic term jihad is often interpreted requirement for a Muslim ruler.
as “holy war,” the word is derived from a word root
meaning “to strive” or “to make an effort.” The word INTERPRETATIONS OF JIHAD
jihad is commonly followed by the Arabic expression
fi sabil Illah, meaning “in the path of God.” The con- Beginning in the 20th century, some Islamic thinkers
cept of jihad is often defined as a struggle against sought to reconcile Islam with the interdependence
injustice or ungodliness—from the injunction in the of modern nation-states, which required adherence
Koran (the Islamic holy book) to “command the right to non-Islamic international laws and treaties. One
and forbid the wrong.” scholar, Muhammad Shaltut, a former rector of Al-
The form that jihad should take—violent war or Azhar University in Cairo, described shari’a’s empha-
peaceful striving—has been the subject of much sis on international peace and the legitimate right of
discussion and disagreement by Islamic scholars self-defense through jihad as similar to the principles of
throughout history. The Koran and the hadiths (reports the United Nations.
on the sayings and acts of the prophet Muhammad) Modern Islamists, particularly Islamic extremists,
refer to four ways by which the duty of jihad can be ful- describe jihad differently. Mawdudi presented jihad as
filled: by the heart, the tongue, the hand, and the sword. warfare not merely to expand Islamic political domi-
Jihad is seen by some Muslims as primarily a nance but also to establish Islamic rule. For Mawdudi,
struggle against evil and injustice within oneself. One jihad was akin to a war of liberation; Islamic rule
hadith recounts how Muhammad, after a battle, said, meant freedom and justice.
“We have returned from the lesser jihad (al-jihad al- Mawdudi’s ideas were very influential in the devel-
asghar) to the greater jihad (al-jihad al-akbar).” opment of modern Islamist ideas of jihad. Thus, in the
When a follower asked, “What is the greater jihad?” 20th century, jihad became associated more with
Mohammed replied, “It is the struggle against one- Islamic liberation movements and the fight against
self.” This view of jihad was predominant in Sufism, colonialism. This approach allowed any resistance,
an extremely influential form of Islamic spirituality. even by non-Muslims, to Zionism and Israel (and
To this day, many Muslims conceive of jihad as a per- more recently the United States and Jews everywhere)
sonal rather than a political struggle. to be termed jihad.
However jihad is understood, it is considered by For Islamist thinkers such as Mawdudi, Hassan al-
most Muslims to be one of the primary duties of Banna (1906–1949), and Sayyid Qutb (1906–1956),
Islam. Sayid Abdul Ala Mawdudi (1903–1979), the jihad includes the overthrow of governments, even
founder of the Ja’mat-i-Islami Party in Pakistan and Muslim governments, that fail to enforce the shari’a.
a leading fundamentalist scholar, described jihad Significantly, Islamists consider jihad to be a manda-
as “just as much a primary duty of Muslims as daily tory and individual duty for all Muslims, rather than a
prayers and fasting. One who shirks it is a sinner. His duty of the state. This view sanctions terrorism as a
very claim to being a Muslim is doubtful. He is clearly legitimate form of jihad.