Educational Moments

I want to share something I learned today in World Religions. We just finished with the history of Islam (and what a history it is) and we covered a rather hot button topic in class. You've probably heard of it before, the news likes to toss this word around:

Jihad.

It's a pretty scary word for most people. They conjure images of holy wars, 9/11, and the war on terror.

In reality, the word is grossly misused by both the media and terrorist groups.

It all started out after Mohammad's guardian and uncle, Abu-Tali died. Mohammad had no father, and thus no other male guardian to protect him. He and his followers lived in Mecca at the time and the people of Mecca did not like Mohammad at all. So, he and his followers went North to Medina. While in Medina, Mohammad and his group made a living in the already well-established community doing "camel raids" for people. Eventually they got very good at it and were able to make a name for themselves, and prove they weren't people to be messed with. They often raided camels going to Mecca--taking great care to not kill or hurt anyone.

Well, the people of Mecca got pretty sick of their shenanigans and started fighting back. Hard. The Muslims went to Mohammad and were all "Hey! They're retaliating against us! Our people are dying. Can we do anything about this? Killing is wrong!" So Mohammad asked God what to do. According to Mohammad, God said that they could fight back... under certain rules.**^{This is the condensed version.}

Rule 1: Never ever engage in aggressive jihad. It can only be in defense.
Rule 2: Never ever harm innocents (non-combatants).
Rule 3: Treat captives properly. No torture. No scare-tactics. No ill-treatment at all.

Jihad, literally, means "to struggle." It is the struggle against oneself to be a better person and the struggle against people who oppress them.

The "Just (Just as in "Righteous") War Theory" was based on these rules. That Theory eventually became the basis of modern International Law.

Jihad isn't a new idea. Muslims adopted it from Christians, who adopted it from Jews.

Also, a fatwa, or legal ruling, is often misused. Osama Bin Laden issued a fatwa that justified attacking the United States back in the 90's. Most people remember this and think that any crazy radical can issue a fatwa and declare jihad on anyone.

Not so much.

A fatwa can only be issued by a specially trained legal scholar who is well-versed in the Qu'ran and Hadith. Osama was not certified in any way. Most Muslims frowned upon his behavior, because he was not following their religious laws. His "fatwa" was, in essence, illegal.

So, basically, jihad isn't a scary word and the terrorists get these things just as wrong as the media.

Think of it like this: the terrorist groups are to Islam as what the Westboro Baptist Church is to Christians-- a small, loud minority giving everyone else a bad name.

Stay safe,
-That⊗neChick