Islam: The Greater Jihad

If I asked you what the first word is that comes to mind when you think of Muslims, what would you say? Would it be something like terrorists, dangerous, extremist, burkas, oppression of women? I wouldn't be surprised because that is how we've been programmed by the media and culture.

Let me offer another word: PEACE.

 Why? Because, to moderate and progressive (and probably to many conservative) Muslims, this is an inherent characteristic of someone who follows Islam.

Islam is an Arabic word which means peace, purity, acceptance and commitment to the teachings and guidance of God.

To be a Muslim means to be a “peacemaker and one who submits to the will of God.”

When I was teaching world religions at a local liberal arts college, I had an Imam come speak to my class a few times and he made it very clear that there is no room for terrorism in Islam. In fact, Islam forbids all acts of violence and disorder in the world. He quoted these two verses from the Quran:

• Sura 11:86 “And commit not iniquity in the earth, causing disorder”
• Sura 5:33 “… whosoever killed a person – it shall be as if he had killed all mankind”

He also said that Islam condemns aggression, hostility and mischief

• Sura 5:3 “Help one another in righteousness and piety, and help not one another in sin and transgression.”

While the Imam was very firm about Islam being a religion of peace, there are passages in the Quran that could be used out of the context of the intent of the religion to support both a pacifist approach and active opposition to unbelievers. Seems very much the same way with the Bible.  One can find ample evidence to love your enemy, turn the other cheek, and follow the non-violent example of Jesus… or one can follow a God who smote the enemy, destroyed the people who worshipped idols (aka indigenous religions) and advocated “an eye for an eye” philosophy. The question which road will we take?

Muhammad clearly exemplified the higher ethical and spiritual road. In his farewell address he is believed to have said:

“God has made the lives, property and honor of every [person] sacred. To take [anyone’s] life, [their] property or attack [their] honor is unjust and wrong. None of you can be a true believer until and unless [you] desire for [your] brothers and sisters what you wish for [yourself]. My movement is based on love.” (Inclusive language added by me.)

So this brings us to the question of jihad. Jihad is a term that extremist Muslims and the media have twisted to mean holy war. As if Muslims have free license and God’s stamp of approval to wipe out the infidel.

However, the true meaning of jihad is “to struggle” and “to strive.” The Quran, Sura 22:78, says, “Strive in the way of God with a service worthy of Him.”

The prophet Muhammad is said to have distinguished between two types of jihad – the Lesser Jihad and the Greater Jihad. Lesser Jihad is a war fought in self-defense only, regulated by 19 conditions. The Quran, Sura 22:40, states, “Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is made, because they have been wronged. And Allah indeed has power to help them.”

When Muhammad began his preaching in Mecca, he was ridiculed and persecuted by many. Finally, he and some of his followers escaped to Medina where he had been asked to help them draw up a constitution for the city. Mecca was suspicious of them for leaving and felt that perhaps Muhammad was rallying a group to retaliate and declare war on Mecca. To beat them to the punch Mecca declared war on Medina. 

The section of the Quran about defending oneself was written  when Muhammad and his followers fighting with Medina in the war against Mecca. After a few years of fighting, which scattered many of Muhammad’s followers and resulted in personal injury to him, Muhammad was finally able to negotiate a truce between the two warring cities and forgave those who had fought against him.

The Greater Jihad is an internal struggle with our egos and our lower, baser selves. When asked during this message, the folks at Sacred Journeys came up with this list of examples including: road rage, being judgmental, procrastination, rude, mean, impatient, anger, lazy, cynical, greed, jealousy, envy, lying, cheating, addictions, violence. The purpose of the Greater Jihad is to learn to live in a way that people can see the depth of our souls and our light.