Feminising Jihad

Jihad is one subject often regarded a barrier to progress, dialogue, peace and reconciliation. For too often, Jihad is interpreted as synonymous with warfare and terrorism. Is this an accurate reflection of the reality?

Should Muslims today drop the notion of Jihad and aspire for a peaceful Jihad? Could this be an acceptable alternative to violent Jihad? Are we witnessing the emergence of what I call a ‘feminised Jihad’, and by extension a ‘feminised Islam’?
 
We cannot answer this without a thorough understanding of the goals of Jihad and its practice in the world today. Who better to shed light into this than the former Guantanamo Bay detainee - he contributed an excellent piece in the Arches Quarterly, entitled Jihad and Terrorism: A War of the Words.

He summaries Jihad as “inseparable component of Islam which embodies the very highest principles of faith, morality and rules of engagement. It is the belief of Muslims that “jihad will continue until the Day of Resurrection.” But even as it is waged, in all its forms, the Muslim must never allow the oppressor to become his teacher”.
 
Begg encapsulates the broad meaning of Jihad and its important status in Islam. It is a notion that is enshrined in the Islamic scriptures, with clear parameters (shurut) as to its application and different manifestations. Jihad can take the form of individual struggle to refining one’s character (jihad an-Nafs); to be steadfast in the face of adversity (istiqama); and unashamedly Jihad also means to fight (qital) in the battlefield should the circumstances necessitate this.

Jihad and Qital appear collectively around a hundred times in the Qur’an. “Limiting Jihad to any singular interpretation would be incorrect” explains Begg, and “the best way approach in recognising that the varying levels complement, rather than contradict one another.”
 
Coming back to the question of feminised Islam, I would like to challenge its proponents, mostly disguised as “reformed” Muslims, to actually try to live under occupation for a month of so, with their homes being bulldozed, with their family members killed in targeted state assassinations, routine suffering inflicted on them through imprisonment, sanctions and the like. I wonder how much appetite they’ll have after a few weeks for peace… No wonder resisting occupation, as in the case of Palestine, is justified by International Law, even the secular Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) is hesitant to condemn resistance efforts in Palestine.   
 
And now, a word about our enthused Muslims (mutahammiseen) living in the West who exhibit their brazen expressions of ‘Jihad’ with talk of killing the kuffar, bombing trains and public places… Their understanding is as ignorant as those who view Jihad as all warfare and terrorism. Thankfully their expressions are mostly empty talk (or sometimes doubletalk); most of these young Muslims haven’t a clue about what it means to fight in the battlefield.

Those who have reduced themselves to the next level by inflicting harm to others in non-battlefields like London and elsewhere, they are in reality – to put it crudely -  another expression of the feminised form of Islam. How, you ask? Well, if you are so passionate about defending Islam and you are ready to lay your life Fi Sabi Lillah, then why not go and contribute in the legitimate struggles abroad? It could be argued that there are many legitimate causes.

Exploding bombs in the underground network or on a bus is a pathetic [non] expression of Jihad. This is the easy option - it is the work of anarchists who have no real life-motives or aspirations for the hereafter. You can’t milk the system and at the same time attack it!

True Muslims conduct themselves with the proper Tarbiya of Islam and do so with sincere intentions. There is a place for Qital as there is place for peaceful endeavours. We mustn’t confuse our realities and rules of engagement.