OPPapers.com Essay Index >> Religion >> Jihad
We have many free term papers and essays on Jihad. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
jihad Islam, one of the world's great monotheistic religions, has Saudi Arabia as its heartland. The followers of Islam, called Muslims, believe in God - in Arabic,
Jihad Vs. McWorld Just beyond the horizon of current events lie two possible political futures-both bleak, neither democratic. The first is a retribalization of
Lesser Jihad Lesser Jihad Introduction Jihad, or "holy war", though a new concept to the western world has a long-standing tradition in Arabia predating the foundation
Jihad Vs McWorld, The Ultimate Showdown Jihad vs. Mcworld, the Ultimate Showdown According to Benjamin Barber, the future of International Relations is dominated
Jihad. Jihad. It was once a word unfamiliar to American ears. But in recent years it has become all too familiar. The actions of Muslim militants and terrorists
Submitted by steeley7406 on October 13, 2007
Category: Religion
Words: 753 | Pages: 4
Views: 210
Popularity Rank: 66,775
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
Islam, one of the world's great monotheistic religions, has Saudi Arabia as its heartland. The followers of Islam, called Muslims, believe in God - in Arabic, Allah - and that Muhammad is His Prophet.(Embassy of Saudi Arabia, 2006) Jihad means "holy struggle" which literally means to struggle in the way of god. It sometimes is referred to as the sixth pillar of the Islamic religion. The reason to this is because the characteristics of jihad are like the five pillars. Jihad is also one of the 10 practices of the religion. (Esposito, 2005) This means that muslims have to practice jihad once in their life. According to the Islamic Jihad, a proper reading of the Qur'an and an understanding of history would lead to the conclusion that Palestine is the focus of the religio-historical confrontation between the Muslims and their eternal enemies, the Jews. (Tel Aviv University, 2002) The second meaning, associated with mystics, rejects the legal definition of jihad as armed conflict and tells Muslims to withdraw from the worldly concerns to achieve spiritual depth. Jihad in the sense of territorial expansion has always been a central aspect of Muslim life. (Pipes, 2002)
According to Daniel Pipes in 2002, Saddam Hussein had his Islamic leaders appeal to Muslims worldwide to join his jihad to defeat the "wicked Americans" should they attack Iraq; then he himself threatened the United States with jihad. The Islamic religion means when they say jihad is to have their own inner struggle with themselves in life but the media and western societies portray this as holy war on another country. Islamic people go into jihad based on their religious practices because jihad is the way of Allah. The abandonment of jihad is also a source of punishment from Allah. Allah says in the Qur'an, "If you go not forth [for jihad] He will afflict you with a painful doom, and will choose instead of you a folk other than you. You cannot harm Him at all. Allah is able to do all things"...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!