True Jihadies and untrue Jihadies (like true and untrue Muslims)

Submitted by Prashant, Jul 9, 2017 at 03:39

Dear Dr Pipes,

your reader DNM presented a linguistic analysis to come up with a meaning of the word Jihad. DNM's intentions are obviously good but his effort is futile: to appreciate an intellectual analysis, you need to be intellectually honest and I do not think Islamic leadership is honest when it comes to Islam. They want to continue to use the word jihad with double meaning so it serves their dual purpose. Also, when Linda Sarsour calls for a Jihad against Trump administration, the usage of word 'jihad' is surely problematic but the real word that is problematic is not 'jihad' but 'against'. You see, when Trump originally called for a ban on Muslim immigration, it was the job of American system of checks and balances to determine if Trump's call could stand the test of our constitution. But what was the job of the Islamic intelligentsia. How about some introspection? Is the democracy that Ms Sarsour so dearly loves in the United States, consistent with the doctrines of Islam? If she so proudly stands for Islam in America, she owes us an answer why Islam does not permit democracy to flourish in the lands under Islamic occupation/control.

So whether Jihad stands for a violent struggle or for personal struggle, in this context it should not be 'against' Trump. It should be against those Islamic tendencies that allowed Trump to say what he said and still win the support of millions of Americans. But let none of us worry. It is only untrue Jihadies that use Jihad for violence. True Jihadies are true Muslims and use JIhad for personal struggle.

But Linda Sarsour will remain a hypocrite that she always has been.

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