wat is jihad?

Jihad, literally translated into the words holy war, is constantly making news for the world. For example, Yasir Arafat’s May 1994 call in Johannesburg for a “jihad to liberate Jerusalem” was a turning point in the peace process. Israelis heard him speak about using violence to gain political ends, and questioned his peaceable intentions. Both Arafat himself and his aides then clarified that he was speaking about a “peaceful jihad” for Jerusalem. The term jihad …

…published a fatwa (ruling according to the Shari`a) calling the war a jihad that every Muslim had to participate in -- including the Muslim subjects of Russia, France, and Great Britain. To secure the widest possible circulation, the fatwa was published in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Turkish. But the fatwa did not cause significant Muslim defections from the Allied cause, nor did it prevent the Arab Revolt against Muslim rule. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** (not included)