Chapter Nine

Anti-Islam in the Name of Islam have made Islam seem like a religion of hatred and violence, although, in actual fact, the Islam sent by God is a religion of peace and concern for the welfare for all. A true Muslim is one who is concerned about the welfare of humanity, not someone who is at war with humanity. Islamic Jihad If someone were to sit somewhere and move his hands about and stand up and then claim that he was offering his prayers in the Islamic way, his actions would not represent the Islamic form of prayer. The Islamic form of prayer has certain clearly defined conditions or requisites. Only if an action observes these conditions or requisites can it be said to constitute the Islamic form of prayer. Otherwise, it will not be considered to be such. The same holds true of Islamic jihad. Jihad has certain clearlydetermined conditions or requisites. An action that fully observes these conditions or requisites would, in God’s eyes, be a jihad. An action that does not observe these conditions or requisites is a meaningless agitation, and certainly not a jihad in the true sense. An Islamic jihad is one which is engaged in in the path of God. To unleash war for the sake of power or wealth and other worldly things and call it jihad when it is nothing but strife or fasad is not right. Those who are involved in this sort of action definitely cannot, under any conditions, get the credit for engaging in Islamic jihad. Furthermore, according to the Islamic shariah, only an established government has the prerogative of declaring war. An individual or a group of individuals does not have the authority to declare war on its own against anyone in the name of jihad. No matter what complaint an individual or a group may have, it must necessarily act within peaceful limits. It is in no way legitimate for it to resort to war and violence. Jihad, in the form of qital or war, is a wholly defensive action.