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Jihad
Jihad (جهاد) is a tenet of Islam and a religious duty to strive in the way of God. There are two general ways to do this, the Greater Jihad and the Lesser Jihad. The Greater Jihad is an introspective journey to conquer your internal demons and follow the Divine Laws more closely than previously; this kind of jihad should be entirely peaceful. The Lesser Jihad refers to conflicts and confrontations between Muslims and Non-Muslims or other Muslims, which often erupt in war, but can also be performed through non-violent protests, debate, and advocacy.
242 Questions
Jihad is a tenet of Islam and a religious duty to strive in the way of God. There are two general ways to do this, the Greater Jihad and the Lesser Jihad. The Greater Jihad is an introspective journey to conquer your internal demons and follow the Divine Laws more closely than previously; this kind of jihad should be entirely peaceful. The Lesser Jihad refers to conflicts and confrontations between Muslims and Non-Muslims or other Muslims, which often erupt in war, but can also be performed through non-violent protests, debate, and advocacy.
They were established by Israel as a counterbalance to the PLO.
Meanwhile, back on Earth . . .
Based on the principles of Islamic fundamentalism gaining momentum throughout
the Arab world in the 1980s, Hamas was founded in 1987 (during the First Intifada)
as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Co-founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin
stated in 1987 and the Hamas Charter affirmed in 1988 that Hamas was founded to
liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area
that is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
What kind of government do the Hamas have?
First, there is the debate as to whether Palestine is a country or not. For the moment, let us avoid that debate and consider "Palestine" to refer to any are within the former Mandate of Palestine not under de jure Israeli control.
There are currently two distinct Palestinian Governments: the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas-Government.
The Palestinian Authority is the only internationally-recognized legitimate government of Palestine. It is a Parliamentary Democracy formed of an elected Parliament. The two main parties prior to 2007 were the political wings of Fatah and Hamas. After the Palestinian Civil War, Hamas has been removed from the Parliament, effectively making it a Fatah dictatorship.
The Hamas Government is an unrecognized "rogue" state. It is typically considered a One-Party Dictatorship with recognized heads in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, there is a central coordinating and directing wing in Damascus, Syria.
What are the similarities and differences between christian crusades and Islamic jihads?
Hardly. The crusades at their core were an effort to reopen Jerusalem as a Christian shrine. The war on terror is an attempt to reduce or eliminate all forms of international terrorism.
AnswerI wont disagree but one can say that the crusades might not be relevant but the Jihad is. Saladin did also start a Jihad as did Osama. So in its own way, it may still be partly a holy war as was the crusades. AnswerI strongly disagree with the above.There are at least three striking similarities:
No we have all the similarities: 1. Made-up causes 2. Profit for a few rich, white men usurping moral leadership. 3. Millionfold death of poor people - cannon fodder.
Now to the War of Terror:
Phoney cause: The alleged "Islamic terrorists" were really very wicked: By flying into the newly renovated north-side of the pentagon they only managed to destroy all the files which could have helped solve the puzzling dissapearance of 2,3 TRILLION $ in the defense budget, admitted to by Rumsfeld on 9/10/2001.
But Osamas most cunning deed was the destruction of WTC Building 7. Thereby he proved that terrorists don't even need airplanes any more to bring down buildings in nearly free fall speed. With Allahs help alone did it crumble, six hours after 1 & 2. Or was it after Silverstein had given the order to "pull it"? Wait! And why would Osama want to destroy a building in which were kept, among others things, all the files concerning the ENRON scandal. Hm, Allah wanders on mysterious ways....
So does Osama, btw. For ten years already, that old rascal has managed to run his evil underground network without ever being detected by the Super mighty spy satelite-abounding USA. It took 6 years to bring down Hitler. Hitler's military might did go beyond 19 box-cutters - slightly.
Are terrorism and jihad the same thing?
Answer 1
No. Terror is quite different than Jihad. Refer to related questions below.
Answer 2
The two concepts are vastly different, but to say there is no overlap is incorrect.
Definitions
As concerns terrorism, it is determined by having the following definition with six distinct parts: (1) an act performed by a person who (2) uses violence (3) against civilian populations (4) in order to provoke fear among that civilian population (5) in order to instigate for political change in the country where the civilians were attacked (6) in line with the preferences of the person who used the violence.
As concerns the Greater Jihad, which is an introspective journey to conquer your internal demons and follow the Divine Laws more closely than previously, there should be no terrorism that derives from the jihad. As concerns the Lesser Jihad, this is usually in the form of warfare between Muslims and Non-Muslims or other Muslims. In this age where Muslims and Islamic countries cannot wage a successful war against Western powers or local autocratic regimes, those who fight in the Lesser Jihads around the world perform acts of asymmetric warfare and terrorist activities.
If we plug Islamic asymmetric warfare into the "terrorism definition", it satisfies, (1), (2), and (6) immediately. The reason it does not necessarily satisfy (3), (4), or (5) is because Islamic asymmetric warfare does not necessarily target civilians. Where it does not target them, it is not terrorism, but an insurgency.
Civilian Targets
Muslims are quick to point out that the attacking of civilians is a violation of the terms of a Lesser Jihad, but there are serious debates in the Islamic communities worldwide as to what a "civilian" is. A number of leading Sheikhs, including Egypt's Qaradawi, for example, have held that since almost all Israelis are drafted in the Israeli Defense Forces, there is no civilian population in Israel and targeting Israeli non-combatants is NOT a violation of the jihad requirements to avoid civilian deaths. Bin Laden and his ilk have expanded these rulings to say that all people in a democracy publicly vote on the government and are, therefore, responsible for its decisions. In that way, targeting the non-combatants in a democracy would NOT be a violation of the jihad requirements to avoid civilian deaths. Muslims who follow these perspectives are willing to perform violent acts against civilians and satisfy all six prongs of the terrorism definition.
Why are Israel and Hamas fighting in the Gaza Strip?
The Israelis and the Palestinians are not fighting over the Gaza Strip. There are
presently no Israelis living there and no Israeli military forces stationed there.
The area is presently governed by Hamas, a political/military entity listed by the
US State Department as an international terrorist organization, and with the
explicit, publicly expressed goal of destroying Israel. Weapons and ammunition
are constantly flowing into the area, from Sinai, through tunnels under the
border policed by Egypt, and from time to time, rockets are launched from
inside Gaza and land in civilian neighborhoods in nearby Israeli cities. Also
from time to time, Israel mounts a military operation designed both to take
rocket manufacturing and launching facilities out of operation, and to register
its disapproval of their use. Like, say, the US might do, if, say, rockets launched
from Tijuana were to rain down on residential neighborhoods in San Diego.
What is the religion of Hamas?
Hamas is an Arab Muslim Terrorist and Paramilitary Organization. Hamas operates out of the Gaza Strip and Qatar. (Prior to 2011, Hamas operated out of Syria, but their Anti-Assad position during Arab Spring got them evicted from Syria.) Some particular elements of Hamas Ideology include:
Jihadist Ideology
In terms of politics, Hamas is a Jihadist organization. Jihadism is a political ideology whose goal is to bring a particularly repressive version of the religious tenets of Islam into the daily functioning of a government and its laws. Additionally, it believes that violence in defense of the faith is the preferred way to do this. Jihadism is a political ideology rooted in Islamic religious concepts, but not part of the Islamic religion per se. Hamas argues that its Jihadist struggle is part of the holy Islamic struggle of Jihad and anyone who opposes them is not properly guided (in Islam). Because of the religious sectarian orientations, Hamas identifies itself as avowedly Sunni, but accepts Shiites because of Iranian funding.
Anti-Israel Sentiment
In the Jihadist conception, only Muslims should be in power in the State and any non-Muslim minorities should have a secondary role if they should have one at all, whereas Jews are too "uppity" in having created a state where they are in the dominant position. Second, Israel is situated in territory which used to be governed by Muslims for nearly 1300 years (with a century-long break under the Crusader States). As a result, Israel is considered a usurpation of historical Islamic authority whereas European countries (for example) never had Islamic authority before.
Anti-Semitism (Jew-Hatred)
Hamas is a virulently Jew-hating Organization. Not only do they oppose Israel's very existence, they have references in their charter to the elimination of all Jews throughout the world. While Islam is not inherently Anti-Semitism, its doctrines are easily to meld to an Anti-Semitic world vision and historically have been melded in such ways. Islam has several Anti-Semitic thrusts. In addition to the crucifixion of Jesus the Messiah (which is not deicide in Islam since Jesus is not God in Islamic theology and because Jesus eluded the attempt to crucify him), Muslims have made the argument that Jews are the killers of the Prophets plural, even though Jesus was the only one of the 35 prophets in the Qur'an who Jews attempted to kill (per Islamic teachings). Additionally, Muhammad and the early Muslims had negative political and military relationships with Arabian Jews which led to Anti-Semitism having a greater prominence in the early Islamic tradition. Hamas has endorsed and promoted all of these Anti-Semitic Views.
Terrorism and Attacking Civilians
The most common and identifiable Hamas terrorist action is the suicide bomber who blows himself up to take out some enemies as well as himself, but Hamas has increasingly used missiles and rockets. Most Muslim terrorists wish to inspire fear in their enemies and therefore primarily attack civilians, considering them part of the enemy.
Palestinian Nationalism
Hamas argues that the Palestinians are the indigenous people of the southwest Levant and Hamas is aggrieved that people from abroad would come to the land that their people's parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had lived on and worked for as long as they could remember. Hamas refuses to help settle Palestinian Refugees and encourages the children and grandchildren of refugees to remember where in current-Israel they came from: the exact village and street. The point is to create an emotional and intractable grievance to push for Palestinians having the right to go back to their homes in contrast to more realistic solutions.
Welfare for Public Support
Since Hamas exists in Palestine, which has a weak internal support structure, it will use its own funds to build schools, parks, hospitals, and other social services in the communities it occupies. It provides goodwill with the local inhabitants and allows them to more effectively spread whatever messages they may wish to say.
Irreverence Towards Democracy
Hamas has actively engaged in elections in Palestine with its own political parties. However, the engagement is a farce, because if the governments formed after the elections were not desirable to Hamas, Hamas has engaged in militant actions to force the national government to capitulate to their desires. As a result of Hamas's discontent there was a Palestinian Civil War in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas continues to murder Fatah militants and politicos in the Gaza Strip as a method of securing power.
Charter
You can read more about Hamas's beliefs and ideals in the Charter of Hamas, linked here, which explains in Hamas' own words the main points and views of the organization.
Hindu jihad is nothing but struggle, Hindu jihad normally Hindu millants will say to themselves. RSS and sister organization involving in current terrorism in India, Pakistan and Nepal.
This Hindu jihadhis will fight again christian & Muslim conversion, keep bombs in Muslim mosque and christian churches.
eg. - many christian sisters in madhya pradesh was raped and killed by this jihadhis
When did Islam jihad begin and why?
In the lifetime of Muhammad, when the Muslims started to fight the Meccan idolatres. These events took place on the Arabian Peninsula, mainly around the areas of Mecca and Medina.
Why do Muslims kill to get to heaven?
Even though Islam emphasizes on being good and doing good as the path to heaven, some misled Muslims believe that killing non-Muslims will get them to heaven.
NO Muslims do not kill to get to heaven if anything that is considered the way to HELL. Only under extreme circumstance like jihad when an enemy will force Muslims into war is killing a person permissible.
How jihads contributed to state formation in west Africa?
Different jihads contributed to state formation in West Africa by grouping similar minded people within a certain territory, which then established boundaries to separate their state from other warring factions.
How many people died from jihad?
Estimating the number of people who have died as a result of jihadist violence is complex and varies by context and timeframe. While specific numbers can differ across studies and reports, it is generally understood that hundreds of thousands have died in conflicts linked to jihadist groups, particularly in regions like the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Additionally, these figures are often subject to debate due to the challenges in accurately recording casualties in conflict zones.
The first Jihad was proclamed by Muhammad after he traveled from Mecca to Medina.
Why syed Ahmed barelvi started his jihad movement?
[Freedom] Muslims peasants were leading oppressed lives under the exploitation of Hindu landlords and tax collectors. They were humiliated and ill-treated. Their properties, lives and dignity were not safe from the hands of Hindus and Sikhs. Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barelvi (SASB) wanted to restore their pride, respect and living conditions. That is why he started Jihad to win freedom for the Muslims so that they could lead lives according to their own wishes.
[Religious Liberty] In the Sikh regime under Ranjit Singh in Punjab, Muslims had restrictions in practicing their faith - even the call to prayers was banned in some places. This was intolerable, because Muslim culture, values and religion were in danger. Syed Ahmed believed that an independent state was necessary for having religious liberty. Therefore, he started armed struggle (Jihad) to get rid of Sikh rulers.
[Purifying Islam] SASB was a great religious leader who wanted to uproot the evils that had corrupted the Islamic society. He wanted to purify the Muslim society from Hindu customs, beliefs, myths, influences and practices that had crept into their worship and daily lives. He wanted to clean the Muslims from social and moral evils. But spiritual upbringing and purification of their beliefs were not possible under the control of Sikhs and Hindus. For this purpose, he launched Jihad Movement and revived the desire of Jihad in the Muslims of India. He made an army of volunteers and gave them military training.
Jihad is an Arabic word that means struggle. Struggle is a human natural behavior in his life irrelevant to the faith or religion. Everyone struggles for a cause that could be having better position, better salary, getting more money, recovering from illness, raising up children, seeking freedom, seeking democracy, striving to get God satisfaction by alms giving and other ritual worships, ... etc. refer to question below for more information.
There are two types of Jihad; namely:
- self Jihad (or oneself struggle and is called the greatest or major Jihad), and
- military Jihad (or struggle with others and is called the smallest or minoe Jihad)
Self Jihad is that any Muslim should practice Jihad or self struggle to avoid doing wrong deeds and/or committing sins that are forbidden by Islam and by his community. It is also doing good things that Allah wants you to do, such as following the morals of Quran and prophet Muhammad (PBUH), reciting the Quran, helping the poor, striving to fulfil your family requirements, learning and studying useful sciences and arts, etc.
Regarding Military Jihad, it is licit only in two cases:
- First: to defend home land and home people against any invaders.
- Second: to provide help and support to other people who are oppressed and unable to practice their own will and freedom of choice.
In both cases, Muslims (as in all other faiths) are commanded, by their religion, to be fair and just. They are forbidden; by Quran and prophet Muhammad teachings; to kill a woman, child, or an old man or any civilian. They are commanded not to be excessive in using force and not to terrify civilians. They are forbidden from spoiling the nature, cutting a tree, or polluting/poisoning air or water.
Every concept, or word for a concept, has two meanings: what the user wishes it to mean and what it means to the listener, based on his or her experience. Jihad means "struggle" and some wish to use it to mean "interior effort to reach self-perfection" kind of struggle. Many people however heard it to mean "holy war" based on the number of Muslims who have committed atrocities while claiming they were on jihad (the Arabic word for "jihad-ers" is "mujahideen").
Some Muslims wish "jihad" to mean the latter (i.e., killing people). Others think Western interpretation of this sort is unfair to them.
It's something of a problem to say which version is "correct" without being able to read the speaker's mind. A perfectly analogous situation surrounds the word "crusade": to a Westerner, "crusade" means a dedicated effort to correct something, as in "Crusade against Illiteracy" or "Crusade for Clean Water." To Muslims, however, the term only means "military action against Muslims."
What percentage of muslims support jihad?
Assuming that you are referring exclusively to violent Lesser Jihad, e.g. the Islamic Holy War, as opposed to Greater Jihad (self-reflection and self-improvement) or peaceful Lesser Jihad (advocacy and protesting), the numbers are unclear. A lot comes down on how you phrase the question, whether you are talking about reality or theory, whether you are talking about monetary support or simply vocal allegiance, which Jihadist organization you are talking about, etc. However, we are talking about a significant minority, between 15-40% of Muslims. It is worth noting that less than 1% are actually engaged in violent Lesser Jihad.
When and in which surah was jihad made compulsory?
Jihad is an Arabic word that means struggle. All people of the world of all religions and faiths are struggling (practicing Jihad); since start of mankind creation; to have better life, better education, achieve their goals of life, raising up their children, caring for the poor, ... etc. Same per Islam religion, Jihad is obligatory to every Muslims; same as in other religions. Refer to question below for more information.
How can you write a sentences using the words jihad and Muslims about religion?
Jihad is what represents the struggles that Muslims have personally just to make god happy.
What type of rocket does Hamas have?
Hamas uses grad style rockets, mortors and Kassam missiles. Kassam missiles are no bigger than about 4' long.
Hezbollah uses katyusha rockets which are normally fired from the back of a truck and are about 9' long and have a longer range.
There is, perhaps, no term today that is more misunderstood than the term "jihad". Nowadays, the word jihad has solely come to signify "holy war", terrorism, or the mass murder of innocent people. However, what is jihad really about and what is its correct meaning? The term jihad is in fact derived from the Arabic verb "jahada", which linguistically means to strive or struggle. In Islam, however, jihad means to exhaust utmost effort striving to please God. This, unsurprisingly, includes fighting, as fighting is a form of struggle. In fact, majority of the time the term jihad is mentioned in the Qur'an it means "fighting in the way of God" (for His sake), and to make His Word the highest. The one who engages in jihad is called a mujaahid; the plural is mujaahideen.
Jihad is a very important part of Islam. Unlike Christians, Muslims do not believe in the idea of "love thy enemy" or turning the other cheek when we are attacked. Instead, we believe in the divine principle, "fight those who fight you." This general guideline and rule agrees with our human nature and survival instinct. That is because it is only natural for one to retaliate against aggression and defend one's life, property and wealth from any external attack.
Sadly, this basic human right - the right to defend oneself - is nowadays denied to Muslims by modern-day democracies and so-called free nations, such as Britain and the USA. This is clearly evident in the fact that Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Chechnya and Kashmir who are resisting the brutal occupation of their lands are continually branded and portrayed as terrorists and violent extremists by Western powers.
On top of this, any Muslim in the West that has the fortitude to condemn the evil actions of Coalition forces is similarly branded as a "terrorist sympathiser" or accused of "glorifying terrorism" for believing in the right of Muslims to defend their land from occupation. It is not even allowed for us to discuss the causes of 9/11 or 7/7 - in order to gain lessons - without fear of being labelled a terrorist fanatic.
The irony of this situation is that if tomorrow Britain is under occupation, every Briton would consider it their right, without any question, to fight for their country and defend their land, even if such actions were deemed terrorism by other nations.
So, in summary, jihad does not translate as "holy war" or the killing of innocent people. It is to strive, with utmost effort, to please God and fight in His way. It is famously reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "The best form of jihad is to speak the truth in the face of a tyrant ruler."(Abu Daawud and Al-Tirmidhi)
The greatest tyrants today are those who prefer the rule of man over the laws of God (Sharia law). Jihad and the establishment of Sharia law on earth are the only two things which will unite all people, of all races, and rid the world of oppression, poverty and corruption for good.
Which are the correct meanings of jihad?
First, we should clarify that there are two types of jihad. Greater Jihad, which is an introspective journey to conquer your internal demons and follow the Divine Laws more closely than previously, is a practice to promote a person's piety. Lesser Jihad is usually brought to life in the form of warfare between Muslims and Non-Muslims or other Muslims, but can also be expressed in non-violent protest or debate.
Muslims are quick to point out that the attacking of civilians is a violation of the terms of a Lesser Jihad, but there are serious debates in the Islamic communities worldwide as to what a "civilian" is. A number of leading Sheikhs, including Egypt's Qaradawi, for example, have held that since almost all Israelis are drafted in the Israeli Defense Forces, there is no civilian population in Israel and targeting Israeli non-combatants is NOT a violation of the jihad requirements to avoid civilian deaths. Bin Laden and his ilk have expanded these rulings to say that all people in a democracy publicly vote on the government and are, therefore, responsible for its decisions. In that way, targeting the non-combatants in a democracy would NOT be a violation of the jihad requirements to avoid civilian deaths. Muslims who follow these perspectives are willing to perform violent acts against civilians. In most cases, these civilians are Non-Muslims.
One particularly recent example of Non-Muslims killed in a declared jihad are the Assyrian Christians and Yazidis being hunted down by ISIL in northern Iraq. Whether ISIL is properly within the terms of a Lesser Jihad when it performs these activities is hotly debated in Islamic circles, but it is incorrect to say that Non-Muslims are not being killed as a result of something that is, at least facially, a jihad. Other examples include the Palestinian Intifadas which primarily targeted Jewish Israeli civiians, the Mumbai bombing which targeted primarily Hindu Indian civilians, etc.
Note: This answer is confusing because of double-negatives and exclusion of people groups who cannot ever be combatants, such as Arabs married to Americans/Israelis, blind Israelis, unborn children inside the womb of a non-Muslim, people who have no arms, tourists.
Hamas was created to destroy Israel. They tried to destroy Israel since 2006 but they did not come close. They bombed Israel over 50,000 times and only 131 people died.
Hamas was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a Palestinian spiritual leader who became an activist in the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood after dedicating his early life to Islamic scholarship in Cairo. Beginning in the late 1960s, Yassin preached and performed charitable work in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, both of which were seized by Israeli forces following the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1973, he established al-Mujamma' al-Islami (the Islamic Center) to coordinate the Muslim Brotherhood's political activities in Gaza. Eventually as Fatah and other secular-aligned Palestinian militant groups were less and less successful, the Muslim Brotherhood stepped into the breach as a theocratic-aligned Palestinian militant group. The rest, as they say, is history.
