Jihad

A purely Islamic term, jihad literally means exerting the utmost effort, and striving for success, but has multiple connotations within the context of Islamic thought; a religious duty that needs to be performed by every Muslim. A very controversial phenomenon, jihad has largely been misunderstood by non-Muslims, and equally misinterpreted and even abused by Muslims, especially by radical, violent groups. Its multiple meanings under Islam have contributed a great deal to this controversy.

That being said, it is probably useful and explanatory to refer to only four versions of jihad, all of which however are intertwined. First, every Muslim individual is obligated under Islam to carry out an inner struggle in order to maintain self-control and avoid sinful actions. Second, every Muslim individual is also obligated to prevent or correct any misbehavior or any situation that is potentially harmful to the society as a whole. Those two are performed in individual capacity. Third, the Muslim community has to join the Holy War that could only be waged by the legitimate public authority against the infidels. Fourth, the Muslim community is also obligated to wield every effective method for the purpose of disseminating the message of Islam. The latter two are performed collectively. Except the case of Holy War, jihad is totally based on nonviolent methods, and obviously the last one is essentially an example of activism, that requires the mobilization of the masses.

During the Prophetic Era, Prophet Muhammad himself and His Companions had been very active in promoting Islamic values and disseminating the precepts of Islam. Largely due to this active engagement, Islam rapidly spread throughout the Arab Peninsula in the Prophet's lifetime. The most notable factor for this rapid spread was the peaceful and creative methods of jihad employed by the Prophet and His Companions. It has been observed that the spread of Islam has considerably slowed down in wartimes; so it was the non-violent methods that the first Muslims had considered as the most effective methods to be used for the purpose of expanding the domain of Islamic faith.

However, the succeeding Muslim generations have for the most part abandoned this activism associated with the duty of jihad, and instead, focused more on scholarly works. This state of indifference has—with a few exceptions—continued until the end of 19th century. Throughout the 20th century, the world has witnessed the intensive activities of numerous Islamic groups and movements dedicated to the cause of jihad.

While some of those groups have committed what could be called terrorist actions, the majority have adopted nonviolent methods. However, there have been significant differences between even the nonviolent jihadist groups. Some have been moderate (e.g., Sufi tarikats, or orders, Nur movement, Muslim Brotherhood), some extremist (e.g., Cemaat-i Islami, or [Page 778]Islamic Community), some have had political ambitions (e.g., Association of Muslim Brothers), and some have successfully distanced themselves from politics (e.g., the majority of Sufi orders and Nur movement).

Despite the differences, almost all those groups have proven to be successful in recruiting activists, ensuring the perpetuity of their activism, and adapting themselves to the changing circumstances by creating new tactics and methods. For instance, Muslim Brotherhood, the genesis of the contemporary jihadist movements, is still alive and influential despite its 80 years of history, and the influence of Nur movement, initiated by Said Nursi around the 1930s, is today more visible because of the global dialog activities carried out by its adherents.

...