Jihad is associated with Islamist terrorist groups killing innocent
people and blowing things up until everyone in a nation or region
converts to Islam and accepts sharia law. As we are about to find out,
this is just an abused and unacceptable interpretation of jihad, and
there have been some other odd uses of the concept, as well.
Jihad
itself actually means struggling or striving and not necessarily a holy
war, as many terrorist groups make it seem. Jihad primarily refers to
the internal battle of a Muslim striving to be a better Muslim. It does
not entail Muslims waging wars against other religions.
Sexual Jihad
Sexual
jihad (jihad al-nikah) refers to the temporary marriage between men
engaged in fighting jihad and random women. This sort of jihad is fairly
new and controversial.
Sexual jihad was first mentioned in
March 2013, when Mohamad al-Arefe, an imam at the mosque of the Saudi
naval academy, tweeted that single, divorced, and widowed women over the
age of 14 could marry fighters engaged in the Syrian war in temporary
marriages that only lasted for hours. Al-Arefe later denied sending the
tweet, claiming his account was hacked.
However, it was too
late, as other radical Islamist scholars issued fatwas supporting it.
One even mentioned that married women could secretly leave their
husbands to engage in sexual jihad. Other scholars denounced sexual
jihad and equated it to adultery. One claimed sexual jihad was an
invention of Jews, Americans, and Arabians.
Love Jihad
Religion
is a hot topic in India, where Muslims and Hindus do not always get
along. Interreligious marriage is often controversial. One Hindu-Muslim
marriage even led to a Supreme Court case.
A few years ago, a
Hindu woman named Akhila Asokan converted to Islam, changed her name to
Hadiya Jahan, and married a Muslim man. Her family claimed she was a
brainwashed victim of love jihad and requested that the courts declare
the marriage illegal.
In India, “love jihad” is a phrase
promoted by radical Hindus who frequently accuse Muslim men of seducing
Hindu women and coercing them to convert to Islam with the offer of
marriage. Muslims claim the radicals are just being paranoid and that
there is no such thing as love jihad.
In 2018, the case
reached the Supreme Court of India, where the marriage was declared
legal after Hadiya testified that she was not forced to convert to
Islam. Hadiya added that her parents had kept her in “unlawful custody”
and insisted that she wanted to be with her husband.
Offensive And Defensive Jihad
Offensive
and defensive jihad are the most controversial and well-known sorts of
jihad. An offensive jihad happens when Muslims launch attacks against
their enemies. Defensive jihad occurs when Muslims fight to protect
themselves from attacks launched by their enemies.
However,
the concept of offensive jihad is controversial in Islam, where it has
been exploited by terrorist organizations hiding under the guise of
religion to start wars and justify acts of terrorism. Many Islamic
teachers have condemned it for this reason.
Islamic teachers
say offensive jihad is only permitted when Muslims believe they are
about to be attacked, making it a sort of preemptive strike. Muslims are
not permitted to be the aggressors. The Quran itself condemns Muslims
launching attacks against non-Muslims.
Water Jihad
Water
jihad is unique to India and Pakistan. The two countries have
difficulty coming to agreement over issues of common interest, such as
water supplies. Both countries experience massive floods that sometimes
leave thousands dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Each
country has blamed the other for the deaths caused by such floods.
Pakistan has often accused India of mismanaging its dams to deliberately
cause flooding in Pakistan. Some in Pakistan have even referred to this
supposed mismanagement as “water jihad” waged against it by India.
In
2010, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist group infamous for
the deadly November 2008 terrorist attacks that killed around 170 people
in Mumbai, threatened to wage water jihad against India. Hafiz Saeed
issued the threat on television, promising to attack India over claims
that the country had built dams to stop water from reaching Pakistan.
Economic Jihad
Economic
jihad is Iran’s method of escaping the series of international
sanctions imposed on it since 2006. Economic jihad is promoted by Iran’s
supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who even declared the year 2011 “the year
of economic jihad.”
As part of this economic jihad, Khamanei
suggested that the Iranian government only sell its oil to selected
customers, improve its exports of gas and other oil products, exploit
different channels to export its oil, allow the private sector
participate in the sales of its oil, and consider bartering its oil for
other goods it needed.
Khamanei also suggested that the
Iranian government diversify the economy, reduce the nation’s energy
requirements, increase taxes, increase domestic production to reduce
imports, and find more foreign investors and importers for crucial
items.
Media Jihad
Media
jihad was a form of jihad promoted by the Islamic State in its heyday.
The group called on Muslims around the world to begin online campaigns
to support its cause and demoralize the enemy. It also encouraged
Muslims to republish works made by the Islamic State media team and
distribute them to the public.
Media jihad was first mentioned
in an article in the Islamic State’s Youth of the Caliphate magazine.
The magazine often praised fighters and encouraged more attacks against
their enemies. One article was titled “Media Jihad,” in which editors
called on Muslims to buy phones and laptops to spread terrorist
propaganda on the Internet and social media.
Humanitarian Jihad
Terrorists
claiming to be jihadists often engage in a radical form of offensive
jihad. However, these terrorists sometimes dump their guns to offer
humanitarian services to Muslims in need. They call this humanitarian
jihad. This sort of jihad is controversial since it could be a cover for
other intentions.
An instance of humanitarian jihad occurred
after a devastating earthquake killed tens of thousands of people in
Kashmir in 2005. A local terrorist group fighting for the transfer of
the India-controlled Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan dropped its weapons
to offer humanitarian services to people affected by the earthquake.
Fighters from the group distributed food and water, unearthed people
buried under the rubble, buried the dead, and even set up a hospital.
Another
case of humanitarian jihad sprang up during the ethnic cleansing of the
Muslim Rohingya by the Myanmar government. This time, it was from Front
Pembela Islam (“Islamic Defenders Front”), a controversial group that
could be a terrorist organization or a religious police group, depending
on who you ask.
Front Pembela Islam offered humanitarian
jihad services to Royingya Muslims. However, it also called for 1,200
“mujahidin volunteers” from its home nation of Indonesia and, for
unclear reasons, requested that they have some “martial ability” and be
ready to die for Rakhine state.
