Islam and Muslims have always configured global history in myriad ways: from their innovations in science and mathematics centuries ago in Al Andalus (Andalusia, Spain), to Muslim conquests establishing the largest empire in history by the the 8^th century, CE.

However, more recently, Islam and its adherents have been in the limelight after Muslim terrorists devastated the Twin Towers in New York, an event commonly known as 9/11. At the dawn of this century, perspectives on Muslims have been shaped overwhelmingly by the image of Islam and Muslims as militant and terrorists. I offer some context to understanding these perspectives.

There is a long history of vilifying Muslims through racist and bigoted thought and writing which Edward Said exposed as ‘Orientalism' in a book by the same title. 9/11 gave even more credence to the demonising of Islam and Muslims. This image is now even more entrenched, despite the fact that those who are militant, that is, actively seeking to wreak violence, are a very small minority. The majority of Muslims around the world - in most research and the well-received annual Pew Surveys - identify themselves as abhorring violence. Many Muslims, we now know, share many of the qualities that most human beings privilege: fundamental rights and freedoms, education and economic well-being.

Jihad

But a key question I am often still asked in fora especially in Malaysia, is about whether militancy is advocated in the Qur'an?

Most public discourse including by Muslim militants focuses on jihad as both ideology and catalyst. It is significant that although the Americans have since changed their mind, jihad became prolific and sanitised in media discourse in the 1980s when the USA referred to the struggle against the Russians in Afghanistan as a righteous jihad.

It is important to recognise that over the last century, jihad is the term that has been used the most in misrepresentations and misunderstandings of Muslims and their cultures so as to depict Islam as a religion of violence. Muslims themselves debate the term fiercely. On many websites and electronic discussion lists on Islam, one finds a whole range of positions including the anguish of being demonised as a Muslim who is defined by ‘jihad' in a post 9/11 world. There are also exhortations to acknowledge honestly that the term has a specific history which is problematic when invoked manipulatively for the present.

This reflection is written in resonance and empathy with Muslims who struggle to address resources for violence in Islamic text and history. It is a struggle shared by other religious traditions at various junctures of their histories.

The semantic meaning of the Arabic word jihad derives from the root ‘j' ‘h' ‘d.' Jihad is a verbal noun of the third form of the root jahada which means to strive, to exert or to struggle. The object of exerting one's utmost effort is often categorised as against a visible enemy, the devil, and/or aspects of one's own self. For example, verse xxix: 6 of the Qur'an says, "And if any strive (with might and main) - jahada - they do so for their own souls: For God is free of all needs from all creation." Jihad is never used to mean warfare in the Qur'an, but its connotation with qital (which means ‘fighting') in early Muslim history and in the Qur'an (where it appears in 167 verses), was to legitimate warfare.

The early invocation of jihad was to legitimate the expansion of the Muslim empire in the first century of Islam although it is absolutely imperative to understand that after the end of the Umayyad caliphate in 132/750, jihad evolved mainly into a struggle that was spiritual and abstract or for peaceful mission. The jihad that is invoked to justify the causes of a small group of Muslims who are committed to achieving their objectives through violence, is a selective and manipulative appropriation from sacred text and classical resources, and history.

The purposes of jihad are laid down clearly in the Qur'an. At first, jihad is ordained to be waged defensively, so that the worship of God may be pursued freely in the earth. "To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged; and verily, God is most powerful for their aid" (xxii:39-40). This element of jihad as ‘defensive' is a very significant - the understanding that waging jihad is never an aggression because war is forbidden in the shari'a except for two reasons: self-defense and the propagation of the Islamic faith. In the classical tradition, waging war even in self-defense is defined by clear rules and includes strictures such as not to kill civilians, women and children, or that assassination and ambush are forbidden.

The second main source of Islamic religious and legal practice, the hadith traditions attributed to the Prophet, support what the Qur'an says on jihad. According to the ahadith (plural of ‘hadith'), waging jihad in God's path is specifically defined as a duty incumbent upon every able-bodied Muslim [male]. But it is important to note that nonmilitary types of jihad appear in the ahadith. Thus, Bukhari tell us that performing the pilgrimage to Mecca is equated with performing the war jihad and that the women's jihad is the pilgrimage, although women may also go out to war with the men in noncombatant roles. Qurtubi tells us that building a mosque to transmit the knowledge and religion of Islam is called the best kind of jihad.

Finally, in a tradition which spiritualizes and dematerialises the concept, Ibn Mubarak relates that the true fighter in God's path (mujahid) is described as he who struggles against himself by himself. A noncanonical tradition even calls this the greater jihad in comparison to the military one, which is lesser. There is a well-known hadith attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that states that the only true jihad is that waged to exalt God's word.         

In the context of exhortations to wage war in the Qur'an and ahadith, it is imperative to understand the Qur'an and ahadith also as reflecting a specific history, and a material context. At the same time, it is crucial to reiterate the polyvalence of the term ‘jihad' - it is a struggle that includes qital or warfare, but also the struggle with one's own heart, the attempt to bring oneself into accord with the will of God. The means enjoined as appropriate to this struggle are prayer, study, and various forms of inner-worldy asceticism. Thus the whole enterprise of jihad is within a context of sanctity, of the struggle to a fidelity to Islam. This is far different from the common understanding that jihad is merely a call to violence and a declaration of war.

Muslims were not the only community inspired by their beliefs. Christians fought Crusades and the Mongols, from an early stage in their conquests, were also catalysed by the belief that they were destined to rule the whole earth. However, despite the enormous size of the caliphate and the ideology of jihad which supported it, the caliphate did not endure for centuries like the Roman and Chinese empires, but suffered a sudden and unexpected disruption after which it was never reconstituted. This came about before the end of the rule of the Umayyad family in 132/750. Because of this disruption which began with the civil wars of 122-3/740-750 and culminated in the replacement of the Ummayad dynasty with the Abassids, the political unity of Islam and Muslims was forever destroyed after 740.

This meant that jihad stopped on all frontiers, with only a few exceptions. It also meant a fundamental change in the way Muslims looked at the world, thus helping to shape the future course of Islam. Without expansion as a main cause, Muslims became introspective, turning their attention to the internal ordering of their own society. The principle of the equality of the believers of all different origins and stations in life was strengthened, forging the notion of the umma or community of believers. With the failure of the universal war jihad, more emphasis began to be placed on the peaceful spiritual quest, even though the concept of religiously sanctioned warfare remained ‘on the books' to be invoked if needed.

The peaceful transformation of jihad after the first century of Islam enabled the development of the already extant spiritual element of Islam to flourish. The evolution of the concept and application of jihad continues. It is important to keep the perspective that all words evolve through history - they are what we invest in their etymology, invoked for our reality. It is useful for us to bear in mind that today more than ever in its history, jihad is being redefined by more than those who distort it for violent ends. The whole world, together with Muslims, is ultimately responsible for what jihad will mean after this turning point in our collective history.

The overriding perspective we should work towards in terms of Islam and Muslims is one that is entrenched in the teachings of Jesus, and in his life. He spoke about and lived compassion, justice (especially social justice), and respect for all, including the ‘sinners' - tax collectors, publicans and prostitutes. But Jesus also left us a model of a prophet who spoke out against what was wrong, who defied unjust authority, and it is in this mode that we too speak out against injustices wreaked on us by Muslims who either misinterpret Islam for expedience, or who are themselves bigoted or racist but who use Islam for justification.

One constructive development of 9/11 is that bigotry about Islam and discrimination against Muslims is widely acknowledged. Thus ordinary human beings and their leaders such as the late Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and now President Barack Obama speak out about discrimination against Muslims. There are activities to understand Islam and reach out towards Muslims. Many Muslim leaders including from Saudi Arabia, and Muslim scholars from all over the world have reciprocated, especially to initiatives for inter-religious dialogue, many of which are resourced by Christians. Engaging with Muslims is the best way to contain extremist Muslims who continue to distort their faith, so as to wreak violence and destruction, even upon their fellow Muslims.

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Dr. Patricia Martinez is a Malaysian who researches, speaks and publishes on Islam in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, as well as Interfaith issues. She can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it