Jihad has constantly been associated with terrorism. It is primarily the
western media which deliberately misuses and misrepresents the two concepts.
Jihad is the term which is used in western media to describe contemporary savage
acts of terrorism. Unfortunately, most people are not very educated and thus, it
is quite easy to delude them. I would like to briefly define both terms. I will
base my definitions on scholarly recognition rather than prejudicial
influence. Terrorism is the calculated use of aggression or the threat of
aggression against civilians in order to attain aims that are political,
religious, or ideological in nature. This is done through intimidation, coercion
or instilling fear. Whilst Jihad is the use of combat mission against a hostile
force. This is done in either a battlefield or in the form of a reactionary
disposition to hostility. If your state is threatened with a military
expedition, then you are religiously obliged to sternly engage in combat with
transgressors. But there are ritual rulings which are directly affiliated with
combat missions in Islam.
The first one, and the tip top ritual is the total prohibition of targeting
civilians. This is a fundamental principle in the rituals of Jihad. It’s the
bottomline. You can’t target civilians, even if they were your enemies.
What about those who wrapp themselves with bombs, they commit
suicide and they murder innocent civilians with this savage act. This has
to instantly be categorized as terrorism.
The subsequent link is to a Youtube
video, a thorough documentary on the subject. It’s called Jihad on terror. It’s
made and produced by (Bridges Foundation), an international foundation which is
notable worldwide for dedicating its essence to advocate for Islam. I was quite
fortunate to attend some of their courses where they taught us how to present
Islam to non-Muslims and how to refute common misconceptions. I highly encourage
you to carefully watch this documentary. It’s a bit lengthy but it’s really
worth watching. It will inshallah give you a quite different impression about
the clear distinction between Jihad and terrorism. I hope you give this
some of your time and attention. As I said, it’s lengthy and therefore, if you
can’t watch it in a one shot, I may suggest that you divide it into several
sessions. This is a humble attempt to educate the masses. I hope it’s inshallah
worthwhile and beneficial.
Here is the documentary;