Jihadists in the West

KNOWING THE JIHADISTS IN THE WEST

ABSTRACT

This thoroughly discusses the origin and nature of Jihad including its transformation from the religious-oriented group to being radicals and extremist . Their ideologies and missions are also discussed and how these ideologies drive them to fight fearlessly against anyone outside the sect of Jihadism . Relevant and reliable reports and studies on terrorism were also included in the in to bring out the clear connection of Jihadism on terrorism especially that one that operates in the West

INTRODUCTION

The Jihadists have been one

of the most terrifying Islamic terrorist groups that spread global terror . They have been well-recognized globally after thousands of lives and million worth of properties have been destroyed during the 911 attack . Even their fellow Muslims condemn these acts and even claim that these groups are not genuinely Muslims While Islam promotes peace , love and unity as with the God of the Christian community , the group 's mission can never be religious-oriented . While all countries in the world desired to have freedom and achieve international peace and unity , the Jihadists do all what they can to bring the world apart

What do these radicals really aim ? Why do they hate the West ? Who are they and what ideologies do they fight for ? All the answers lie on exploring the origin of these groups and their mission . In this the author will try to explore the origin of Jihad and its nature . This also includes the analysis and studies made by respected groups and personalities in the field of global security and socio-political studies for thorough understanding of who these Jihadists are and what threat do they pose to the West and the global community

A . THE NATURE OF JIHAD

During the time of Muhammad , jihad originally meant and aimed at spreading Islam by way of a non-violent struggle . Jihad is a derivation of the Arabic words lahd or juhd which means an ability of exertion of power , and ihad , meaning exerting one 's power in repelling the enemy HYPERLINK "http /www .globalsecurity .org " www .globalsecurity .org . It has originally two aspects of a Muslim 's struggle : the inward spiritual struggle which is aimed at attaining a perfect faith and the outward material struggle aimed at promoting justice and the Islamic social system (R . Wuthnow . It is the Muslim mystics called Sufis who are the known adherents of jihad as an inward spiritual struggle . The outward aspect of jihad is strongly founded on a Quranic passage that says command the right and forbid the wrong (3 :104 , 110 . The contemporary violent Jihadists are the obvious adherents of this aspect of Jihad

Tracing from its medieval doctrine , the Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion (1998 ) has provided a concise and yet concrete meaning of jihad : it is generally referred to a divinely sanctioned struggle to establish Muslim hegemony over non-Muslims as a prelude to the propagation of the Islamic faith (p .425 ' In Islam , the world is divided into...