Anisa Jibrell – General Assignment Reporter
The Islamic term Jihad, meaning to struggle or strive in the path of God, is often seen in a militaristic context, but Steven Judd, professor of Middle East history at Southern, said this path is open to interpretation.
“Some people would see that path as war,” said Judd, “others would see that path as the path to self-improvement.”
According to the Islamic Supreme Council of America, military jihad is declared to protect the faith against others, and it can be performed using anything from diplomatic to political means as long as there is no other peaceful route is feasible.
Public health major Asmaa Abdelati said jihad is usually not what non-Muslims perceive it to be.
“Me trying to not to skip my prayers for the sake of God is jihad, it’s struggling against oneself,” said Abdelati.
The Islamic concept of jihad has been misused by many organizations over the years as a crutch to justify various forms of violence, though Muslim scholars say misuse of jihad contradicts Islam, according to the Islamic Supreme Council of America.
Judd said other forms of jihad include, struggling to improve your community or struggling to make the world a better place.
“Many Muslims,” said Judd, “have been trying to make clear that this sort of military-style jihad is a very small part of what this involves.”
Abdelati stresses there are things organizations like ISIS, the Islamic State in Syria, do that the religion condemns and does not permit, but said it’s important for people to not generalize.
Abdelati recounts a camping trip in Rhode Island where she went down to a lake with some friends. Abdelati, like many Muslim women, chooses to wear the headscarf and cover herself. Prior to heading to the lake, Abdelati wore leggings in lieu of a swimsuit, whereas her friends wore full gowns.
“Some find covering themselves to be actually freeing in a way because they don’t have men leering at them,” said Judd.
Over at the lake, Abdelati said her and her friends were spotted by a woman who appeared to be furious with the way Abdelati and her friends were dressed.
“I feel bad for people like that,” said Abdelati, “and all the hatred in their heart.”
The woman’s fury did not end there. Abdelati said the woman started to call her and her friends “oppressed” and “terrorists,” and then began to videotape the girls without authorization.
Some choose to repel islamophobic remarks with anger, Abdelati chooses silence.
“There’s always going to be someone out there who doesn’t accept you,” said Abdelati, “and sometimes there’s nothing you can do to change that.”
The Clarion Project, an independently funded, non-profit organization dedicated to exposing the dangers of Islamic extremism, discusses how terrorist organizations can potentially be a product Islamic extremism, a radical interpretation of Islam. The project refers to the Muslims who reject this ideology as “moderate” Muslims.
“Being religious, is often seen as an indication of closed-mindedness and ignorance,” said Glen Lucero, senior philosophy major. “Which is the case with any religion.”
Abdelati said Muslims who are more devoted to the religion tend to be more peaceful because they follow the true Islam.
The five pillars of Islam highlight the Islamic values which tend to be cemented in peace, modesty and a sense of community. According to the Quran, the five pillars include, the declaration of faith in God and Prophet Muhammad as his messenger, fasting, giving 2.5 percent of one’s income to charity, prayer, and a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Judd said organizations like ISIS do not care what anyone else says and cling to their own idea of what the sharia law is and believe they’re following the rules.
“Other people say, well, wait a minute, you can’t punish someone without a trial,” said Judd. “These kinds of things are being raised by Muslim scholars.”
“Some people think Islam is the icon of terrorism,” said Lucero.
Surah al-Ma’ida, a chapter in the Quran, or chapter, states in one verse, that killing someone is the equivalent to killing all of humanity, and is painted as a great evil.
Judd attest that people start with their own beliefs and then cherry pick the Quran, the holy text of Islam, to find justification for what they already believe, rather than looking at the Quranic text as whole and in a way that makes sense.
“People come to it with preconceived notions of what they’re going to find and say, ‘see, there’s the proof of what I already believe,’” said Judd. “Ignoring everything that says something different.”
Islam is the second largest religion in the world, and is one of the three Abrahamic religions practiced by roughly 1.6 billion people worldwide, according to the December 2012 Global Religious Landscape report from the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Despite the Quran being written in Arabic, Arabs make up fewer than 20 percent of the Muslim population, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Judd said the Middle East is sort of central to world politics, and due to this, westerners tend to associate Muslims with Arabs.
“When do you hear anything on the news about Indonesia?” said Judd.
Indonesia is home to the largest Muslim population on the planet, with an estimated 205 million Muslims, according to Pew Research Center.
Judd said non-Muslims, people in the west in particular, have a preconceived notion of what an Islamic society ruled by Islamic law would look like.
Islamic law, otherwise known as Sharia law, is a, including daily routines, familial and religious obligations, and financial dealings originating from the Quran, and Sunna, which means actions of Prophet Muhammad, according to Council on Foreign relations.
What the notion involves is–extremely conservative, women are segregated from men, dress codes are imposed, alcohol is banned–typically something that is similar to the society in Saudi Arabia.
“The image that we have here in the west is Saudi-style Islam,” said Judd. “This sort of, moralistic repressive, puritanical kind of life. Most Muslims do not want to live in Saudi Arabia.”
Photo Credit: Firas
