Mr. Pipes, I believe you're mistaken about Jihad

Submitted by An American Muslim (Yehya) (United States), Jan 13, 2003 at 13:35

Dear Mr. Pipes,

While you may be right about the way Jihad is practiced in certain parts of the world, he fails to grasp the big picture of what jihad means. Jihad, as a concept, is one of the most fluid asects of of the Islamic religion, defined almost entirely by a Muslim's surroundings. While it is wrong to say that Jihad *only* means non-violent struggle, it is equally unfair to say that it only means war.

If you were to ask a Muslim living in the US (such as myself) what Jihad means, I would tell you that it doesn't mean violence at all, but simply a self discipline to make myself a better person and help the society around me. And that's not simply a PR move. Its an honest statement from a community that does not see the need for physical violence, but does see the need to work harder than my brothers and sisters in the Middle East in order to retain my religion. In several instances, you've focused on the reach of Militant Islam within America. However, one fails to realize that the pockets of Hamas and Al - Quaeda support in the US come mainly from the immigrant community, still tied to a different way and

However, if you were to go to, say, the West Bank or Kashmir (places where the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims is defined solely on military terms), and ask what Jihad means, you're more likely to get the wiley, gun-toting version seen on CNN and Fox News. Move to Europe, and the definition changes again. If you look at Europe, you see an immigrant population that, despite being given basic freedoms of speech and religion, are still relegated to the status of second class citizens, still denied full entry into European society (ie: relegated to certain communities, being unable to hold office). The result: a community that interprets Jihad as a political struggle. While there is more support for terrorist organizations, the real goals of the community are politics (for example: a misguided, and potentially dangerous law in France banning the slander of Islam).

The situation changes dramatically when you look at Indonesia, where Jihad is seen as a struggle to get rid of organizations such as the IMF and World Bank (and for the record, you failed to mention that an equal number of Muslims have been killed in the ongiong tensions there). To places like Rawanda, where jihad is seen as a tool to STOP the fighting between the Hutus and Tootsies.

I remember one scholar saying that jihad could be considered the sixth pillar of Islam. That isn't so because, unlike the other pillars, which maintain a constant meaning and definition. Jihad is solely an issue of what a Muslim faces in society.

Also, your suggestions of how to change the meaning of Jihad assume a lot more about the Islamic commmunity than is the case. No, we are not a single-minded and well organized community with one goal in mind. We're not the Catholic Church. There is no Pope to apologize on behalf of all Muslims. I have yet to meet a European Muslim, or an Indonesian Muslim. That makes it very difficult to organize an effective Jihad fighting campaign (the sheer irony of those last three words are not lost on me).

Thank you for your time,
Yehya

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".