• Jihad literally translates to "My Struggle". So do the words "Mein Kampf"
• innocent = Islam, Muslims, and believers, all else are guilty.
• evil = Anything not Islamic or Muslim. Includes any and everything else in the world.
• peace = A condition where all are at one with Alla. There can be no peace without Alla.
• aggression - Does not include action taken to punish non-believers as this divine. Otherwise, it is any act taken against Islam to hinder or stop the observance or propagation of Islam or bring harm to the believers.
• Anti-Islam scheme = Anything that hinders or prevents the exercise of Islamic law, such as putting up a defense against military action defined as Jihad. Synonomous with aggression.
• Islam teaches there is only one true religion and it is to be propagated to the entire world. Whenever they say "follow Alla’s teachings" or "obey Him" etc, they mean to spread Islam. It is divinely ordered and MUST be done.
• Only Muslims can be opressed. Non-believers who are experiencing Jihad against them are not opressed as it is for you to become free of the world and a slave to Alla.

Do you see the trend here? It is the same "theology" Al Qaeda believes, the same Jihad, the same "we are the only true religion" religion. Read carefully, see how they feed us the same death sentence. This is the difference in radical and moderate Muslims, the moderates try a lot harder to convert you before they take off your head.

Response by Scholar:

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner,

Thanks for your question, and we implore Allah to help us serve the cause of Islam and to render this work for His Sake.

Actually, as it has been clarified again and again that while Jihad serves as a means of defense for Muslims against aggression, and acts as a deterrent factor against any anti-Islam scheme launched by enemies, it must never be construed as something synonymous with aggression.

Jihad is never a tool of waging war against the innocents; it's never a means of flexing muscles or bullying the weak and oppressed. Jihad in Islam is something unique, established to defend the divine message from being eliminated or hindered by its enemies.

Shedding more light on the true concept of Jihad, here is the statement made by Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, president of the Fiqh Council ofNorth America, states:

Allah says, "And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive with sincerity and under discipline. He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; it is the religion of your father Abraham. It is He, Allah, Who has named you Muslims, both before and in this (Revelation); that the Messenger may be a witness for you, and you be witnesses for mankind! So establish regular Prayer, give regular Charity, and hold fast to Allah! He is your Protector, the best to protect and the Best to help!" (Al-Hajj 22: 78)

Jihad is one of the most misunderstood, and abused aspects of Islam. There are some Muslims who exploit and misuse this concept for their own political objectives. There are many non-Muslims who misunderstand it. There are some non-Muslims who misinterpret it to discredit Islam and Muslims.

The word Jihad does not mean "Holy War". It means "struggle" or "striving". The word for war in the Qur’an is "Harb" or "Qital". Jihad means serious and sincere struggle on the personal as well as on the social level. It is a struggle to do good and to remove injustice, oppression and evil from the society. This struggle should be spiritual as well as social, economic and political. Jihad is to work hard to do right things. In the Qur’an this word is used in its different forms 33 times. It often comes with other Qur’anic concepts such as faith, repentance, righteous deeds and migration.

Jihad is to protect one’s faith and one’s human rights. Jihad is not a war always although it can take the form of war. Islam is the religion of peace, but it does not mean that Islam accepts oppression. Islam teaches that one should do one’s utmost to eliminate tension and conflict. Islam promotes non-violent means to bring change and reform. Actually, Islam urges that one should eliminate evil through peaceful means without the use of force as much as possible. In Islamic history from the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) until now, Muslims most of the time resisted oppression and struggled for liberation in non-violent and peaceful manners.

Islam teaches proper ethics in the situation of war also. The war is permissible in Islam, but only when other peaceful means such as dialogue, negotiations and treaties fail. It is a last resort and should be avoided as much as possible. Its purpose is not to convert people by force, or to colonize people or to acquire land or wealth or for self-glory. Its purpose is basically: defense of life, property, land, honor and freedom for oneself as well as defense of others from injustice and oppression.

1. Be strong so that your enemy fear you and should not attack you.
2. Do not begin the hostilities. Work for peace as much as possible.
3. Fight only those who fight, no collective punishment; non-combatants should not be harmed. Weapons of mass destruction should not be used.
4. Stop hostilities as soon as the other party is inclined to peace.
5. Observe the treaties and agreements as long as the enemy observes them.

Allah says very clearly: (Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not do aggression, for Allah loves not the aggressors.) (Al-Baqarah 2: 190)