Islam, Jihad and Terrorism

How often have you read quotes from Quran that talk about jihad against non-Muslims? These quotes are used by some terrorist organizations to lure Muslims into what they call jihad. In the same way, the quotes are used by people who try to brand Islam as religion that advocates terrorism. Anyone who has read and really understood the Quran would know that the verses are always quoted out of context by people in order to support their view point.

Quran talks a great deal about jihad. One of the greatest deeds that a Muslim can do is participating in jihad. But sadly, even many Muslims do not understand the real meaning of jihad. The dictionary meaning of the word jihad is “struggle”. In the context of Islam, jihad refers to fighting in the way of Allah. Let me take the help of some verses from Quran to explain what jihad means according to Islam.

Quran 22:39 & 22:40 - Permission is granted to those against whom the disbelievers wage war, as they are being wronged; and indeed Allah is able to assist them. Those who were unjustly expelled from their homes just because they said, "Allah is Our Lord"...

The above verses clearly explain that Muslims can fight against others only when they are oppressed because of their faith. Conflict with non-Muslims due to any reason other than this would not be jihad. For example, conflict between Palestine & Israel, Kashmir conflict, etc, are all territorial disputes – they cannot be called jihad.

The verses of Quran that talk about fighting against non-Muslims are all with respect to specific wars that the Muslims fought in order to defend themselves. They are often misunderstood as statements that target non-Muslims in general. Even in case of a war, the Quran does not allow over aggression in the name of jihad. The below verse is the proof.

Quran 2:190 - And fight in Allah's cause against those who fight you and do not exceed the limits; and Allah does not like the transgressors.

Another very common notion about Islam is that it was “spread by the sword”. In the Quran one cannot find any mention of using force to make someone accept Islam. The Prophet’s duty was just to spread the message of Allah – whoever accepts Islam needs to do it voluntarily. There were many wars that Muslims fought at the time of the Prophet, but all of them were jihads as described above. Jihads, which were for self defence, were wrongly interpreted as wars to spread the religion.

Islam has no place for terrorism. Jihad, if warranted, should be fought directly against whoever is the enemy. Causing harm to defenceless people with the aim of instilling terror in their minds has nothing to do with Islam. In my opinion, the term "Islamic Terrorism" is an oxymoron.

While I was researching the Quran I was wondering why some verses are so misleading. The below verse answered my question.

Quran 3:7 - It is He Who has sent down to you (the Messenger) this Book containing the verses that have a clear meaning - they are the core of the Book - and other verses the meanings of which are indistinct; those in whose hearts is deviation pursue the verses having indistinct meanings, in order to cause turmoil and seeking its wrongful interpretation….

The above verse says that Allah has intentionally left some verses to have multiple interpretations. The purpose of it is to let people do their interpretations and judge whether their interpretations are consistent with the core principles of the religion. True followers are expected to interpret it in a way that does not cause turmoil on earth. This one verse itself is adequate to prove that Islam cannot cause any turmoil on earth.